Island Hotels Group celebrated their 25th Anniversary in 2012. Island Chronicles is the story of those 25 years told through 24 hours in the life of this company.
As the 25th Anniversary approached, the Island Hotels’ team decided they wanted to tell their story. In a unique project, and in collaboration with design agency, Mangion and Lightfoot, they commissioned a writer in residence to live and breathe the Island Hotels experience. Where did it all begin? How has it happened? What does it really feel like to be a guest?
This writer in residence lived in the Island Hotels properties for two weeks, spoke to as many people as possible and simply observed. A Day in the Life is an honest description of a rare opportunity – the chance to see behind the scenes.
Hotels never sleep and a whole world of careful planning and complex operations are hidden from view. At every moment of every day staff are working, looking after guests and interacting with their team. They carry the spirit of the company in everything that they do – as practiced by the whole team, as encouraged through training and as shared between themselves.
Island Hotels is a business with a corporate outlook and core family values. These values, summarised by one single word – genuine – are the key to their success. They have codified their values in PEARL, an acronym for Passion, Excellence, Attitude, Reliability and Loyalty.
PEARL is also the name of the Island Hotels annual awards scheme, held every November. The PEARL Awards celebrate members of the team who have excelled in specific areas at work – such as friendliness, creativity and outstanding performance – as well as in the wider community. PEARL is a way of fostering Island Hotels’ unique approach to business as the company enters a new period of rapid growth.
The key to this ‘genuine’ approach is reciprocity. You have to feel it to know that it is there, both as host and as a guest. A Day in the Life is your chance to feel this for yourself, across twenty-four hours. Each hour focuses on a particular aspect of hotel life and each hour is led by an individual representing their team. When you reach the end, you’ll have a sense of what makes Island Hotels truly unique, and you’ll realise that the last page is just the beginning – the start of the next chapter.
The book was printed by Butler, Tanner & Dennis in Frome, UK. Photography by George Scintilla. Words Emma Lightfoot. Illustrations by Marisa Attard.
