#113 Rocco Bova - GM Chablé Yucatán - Mexico

11/09/20 • 79 min

Rocco Bova is living quite the hospitality adventure. I wanted to catch up with him for a few reasons.

Firstly he’s running a health resort in Mexico, a fascinating country. Sometimes a reputation for drug cartels, kidnapping and more recently a catastrophic impact of COVID-19. But Rocco loves Mexico, and he’s lived in enough countries to be able to make an objective decision.

Secondly, with people maybe questioning why they work in hospitality and wondering what the future might hold, Rocco demonstrates just what an exciting and varied career it can provide. He’s worked in all the corners of the globe, really getting to know local cultures and people as he lives in, rather than travels through, so many different countries. It’s one of the great opportunities a career in hospitality can provide. But I wanted to chat realistically about the pros and cons. Is a family life still possible, is managing different cultures a challenge, does he miss the comforts of a regular home life. I won’t spoil the conversation, but safe to say Rocco absolutely LOVES hospitality and all the adventurous opportunities it has created for him.

Finally Rocco runs a wellness resort, and has some strong views on the vortex of negative thinking and what we should all be doing, both mentally and physically to maintain a positive outlook and make the most of our limited time on earth.

We also chat through some practical tips on social media management, how to make guests feel like they are staying with their mother for their vacations, how excited he is that his kids are following in his footsteps and studying hospitality and the global human values of respect love and trust and so much more.

Find out more about Chable resorts on the website or follow Rocco himself on instagram or linkedIn

Rocco Bova is living quite the hospitality adventure. I wanted to catch up with him for a few reasons.

Find out more about Chable resorts on the website or follow Rocco himself on instagram or linkedIn

Previous Episode

#112 Nicholas Dickinson - Congham Hall Hotel

If you don’t know his name, you’ll certainly know some of the venues Nicholas has worked and some of the businesses he’s developed. Nicholas without a doubt is a bona fide 'human of hospitality'. It’s been his life’s work. From cutting his teeth at the Chewton Glen working for the likes of Robin Hutson, to becoming the MD at Le Manoir and being Raymond Blanc’s right hand, man whilst working in partnership with Richard Branson and the virgin group. And having learnt from some of the most inspirational leaders in our sector it was time to go it alone when Nicholas co-founded Luxury Family Hotels. Along with a few others at the time creating a new genre of hotels that many have replicated. I’ll let Nicholas tell the story of how the purchase of a hotel in Liverpool led to the need to start considering a sale and how Von Essen’s offer was just too good to turn down.

Now Nicholas has found his happy place back on the coal face of hospitality with just one beautiful country house ‘Congham Hall’. Nicholas has some strong views around the challenges of the governments approach to COVID in the rural hotel space and how ridiculous the implementation of some of the rules are. But overall he’s busy, still in love with hospitality, tells the story of his adventures very well and still has ambitions to continue to develop and add rooms to what will be his last hotel.

Nicholas was warm and generous with his time and has been good enough to introduce me to some great future guests too. I hope you’ll enjoy hearing first hand about his interesting career that once again demonstrates just how much fun and how much can be achieved in a life of hospitality.

Check the website or twitter or instagram.

Next Episode

#114 Zoe Wangler - Setting up an ecological farm

Zoe is from the 'ecological land cooperative' (ELC) - a 'Not For Profit' trying to solve some of the problems of excessively large farms, often mono-culture dominated and using too many chemicals, having a very detrimental impact on the land and ecosystem.

I speak to many people being inspired to enter the world of hospitality, not only to sell better quality more ethical food to the consumer, but also interested in how to grow this food and actually produce it in the first place. If you're interested in how to have a positive impact on the food you buy, or how it is grown, you will enjoy this weeks conversation.

The ELC want to see a living, working countryside where land is valued as a way to enhance the good of community, countryside and the natural world. Revitalising rural economies.

They want to see low-impact, land-based livelihoods flourish. The stewardship of land to create healthful, wholesome and ecologically sound food and land-based products that benefit people and the biosphere.

And they do this in a number of ways, that starts with buying land and finding stewards who want to set up their own business. They help spread the cost of this land over a number of years and help the new stewards with planning to actually be allowed to live on the land whilst they regenerate and farm it.

I think ELC is great NFP. Not only does it have great aspirations, but it already has a number of successful farms up and running and actually making a difference. But it is early days and so much more can be done. I hope some of you listening to this conversation will be inspired to want to set up your own small scale business on a piece of land. But many of you will want to support the incredible work this charity does. And even more of you will think about where you are buying your food and where you can support a local veg box scheme.

For further inspiration check out the movie 'the biggest little farm' or 'kiss the ground'.

Read more about the ELC on the web. And here are a couple of other great sources of info that crops up in our chat:

https://landworkersalliance.org.uk/ https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/