Skift Take
Modern luxury doesn't necessarily need overly formal staff and a stuffy atmosphere. It can be "consistently inconsistent," and yet still be totally unforgettable.
Nihi Sumba isn't your average luxury hotel.
The 33-villa resort is set in around 500 acres of land on an Indonesian island, where, according to Nihi Hotels CEO James McBride, guests rarely ever see a boat in the ocean or a plane in the sky.
This isolation is part of what McBride calls "the edge of wildness."
"It's wild, but our accommodations are chic and elegant but not too much. Everything is at the right level and responsible," McBride told Skift columnist Colin Nagy at the recent Skift Global Forum in New York City.
For McBride, who has spent his career in the hospitality industry, it is about creating a "warm and human" atmosphere not necessarily about striving for the highest luxury standard.
"I got a letter from a guest, [in] which the guest wrote, Mr. McBride, we had the most wonderful time. However, your staff were consistently inconsistent with a consistent smile.
"I read it over—consistently inconsistent—and I said, 'You know, that's about right.'"
McBride is looking to spread this approach to other destinations with a new site planned in Costa Rica. He is also keen on Iceland, Mexico, and Colombia.
READ THE FULL EDITED TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW
Skift: Hi everyone I'm Colin Nagy. I write the hospitality column for Skift, called On Experience. I'm joined with James McBride here on the stage today. James has been a lifelong hotelier, an entrepreneur, an interesting business man, and also had a call from his mother at the last minute telling him to wear a tie before he came on stage today. Also, a kind and rooted human. But, to start, there is a quote I really like which is, To break the rules you must first master them. And I think, James, you've worked at the Carlyle, you ran the Carlyle. You worked at the Ritz Carlton, you know you've been a lifetime hotelier at these places that we all hold up to be, you know very rules based and orderly. But I think your whole career's been very contrarian, so what is the role of that kind of contrarian mindset been in everything you've done?
James McBride: A little contrarian. But, firstly I'm truly honored to be here today, Colin. What an incredible group of people, and I'm very humbled and just feel so fortunate. So thank you so much for that. I was born in South Africa, and as he said, my mother called when I was walking in this morning and said This is a big day. Are you wearing a tie? I said, No, Mom. She said, Well, a gentleman always wears a tie. And when your mother
