The Beautiful Boca Raton Resort
Michigan is currently phasing out the tip credit for restaurant employees – a point of contention for industry owners and servers. But there is no debate at The Boca Raton, an exquisite club and beach resort in southeast Florida, which employs a “no tipping policy” for its 2,100 staff members.
“We don’t want our guests and members giving tips to the staff because we want everyone providing fantastic service whether they are tipped or not. We want you to feel like you’re visiting someone’s home for the weekend. Once you’re a hotel guest, you become a temporary member of the club, so we don’t want guests to have to carry cash,” said Daniel Hostettler, President and CEO of The Boca Raton, a club’s with 14 restaurants, 8 swimming pools, a 50,000 square-foot spa, golf course, tennis courts and mile of private beach behind gates and only open to guests of the resort. Incidentals are charged to whichever of the resort’s 950 rooms, spread throughout five distinct lodging properties, over 200 waterfront acres you choose to occupy.
Hostettler explained why each staff member I encountered at The Boca Raton was nevertheless helpful and friendly. “The daily resort fee you pay here goes to the staff. We allocate the tips each month based on the comment cards the guests leave behind. If a department scores a service level of 92-percent or better on our guest comment cards, they get 100-percent of the tips each month. If you come in below 92, you get the percentage you scored. The system motivates a high level of teamwork. The team members self-police because they earn a wage plus a percentage of the resort fee.”
Tech titan Michael Dell purchased and renamed The Boca Raton in 2019 and invested $130-million renovating the nearly 100-year-old resort. Investing in and hiring the right employees is also vital, Hostettler explains. “We can teach anyone to do hospitality. Taking care of people, checking someone in or waiting a table is not rocket science. But we cannot make you want to be in the service business or smile – it must be your natural inclination. We really are hiring for personality…and then training for skill. We are looking for personality, not length of resume.”
I experienced this philosophy in action with each staff encounter. A young man named Elia Lenzi manages the elegant yet fun, 4.5-acre Harborside Pool Club’s tree-shaded lazy river adjacent to the adult swimming pools and luxury cabanas. He made time to assure me, “You can be a kid at any age, sir,” when I splashed off one of two hidden waterslides. Lenzi told me he loved his job. He is a true ambassador for The Boca Raton, as was Kenyata Nixon, who, from behind the desk the front desk, laughed when two young colleagues of hers, both with big, curly hairstyles, complimented my red blazer. “I’d trade it to have your hair,” I admitted with a shrug.
Stylish architecture and interior design make The Boca Raton a prestigious principality. Photo by Gladys Shiels
Samantha Seetaram, director of Tower Suite Collection, a was excited to showed me every view from the 28-th floor private lounge. The pink Tower, the tallest building in Palm Beach County, is one of The Boca Raton’s luxury hotels inside the garden gates of what is, essentially, a principality. My sprawling guestroom in the contemporary Tower Suites overlooked the Atlantic, the marina, and the Intracoastal Waterway across which cute Duffy boats ferry guests on a four-minute cruise to The Boca Raton’s new, hip, South Beach-vibed, 13-acre Beach Club. “No, no,” a smiling housekeeper corrected me as I tried to help her make my bed. She was amused that I tried to assist…but my technique wasn’t up to her standards.
“We train the staff to not be stiff and stuffy. We don’t want to use the ‘Ritz Carlton’ model of ‘my pleasure,’ and ‘ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen,’” said Hostettler. “Our team members are well-spoken with good manners, but we want them to be themselves, because the guests want to have a conversation and engage with them. We want the property to feel elegant but not formal.”
Fun? Think room key cards with a secret-meaning monkey on them; bocce courts at the Asian fusion restaurant with British theming; and rides in a creamsicle orange, floating Fiat 500.
Hostettler takes inspiration from premium companies such Ferrari, as evidenced by the Roma parked on display beside the valet entrance and available to rent. “We also have a poolside Ferrari cabana completely decorated in Ferrari leather on the walls and Ferrari-designed sofas, explained Hostettler. “We studied Ferrari’s business model because they create demand and control the demand. Ferrari treats their customers to be with them for life.”
The Eden Roc, in St. Barts, is a hotel that served as inspiration for The Boca Raton’s new Beach Club. “Elegant with great service…but whimsical and fun. We have a rolling Vespa bar that will cruise around the swimming pool in the afternoon and hand out boozy popsicles.”
Contact Michael Patrick Shiels at MShiels@aol.com His new book: Travel Tattler – Not So Torrid Tales, may be purchased via Amazon.com Hear his radio talk show on WJIM AM 1240 in Lansing weekdays from 9 am – noon.
