Podcast
Episode 21: The Power of Place with Malibu Beach Inn
Set along a luxurious seaside haven on the shores of the Pacific, Malibu Beach Inn stands as a resilient icon in the face of environmental and social change.
With freshly made negronis in hand (our guest’s preferred cocktail), I welcomed longtime AZDS client Gregory Day, President of Hospitality at Mani Brothers and Managing Director of Malibu Beach Inn, to the LTI studio for a rich conversation about the changes in hospitality since the pandemic, the transformation of Malibu Beach Inn since its inception, and how the community has bounced back since the devastating fires earlier this year.
Malibu Beach Inn sits on a coveted stretch of PCH real estate, backing up directly onto Carbon Beach. The site of the property is unique in that it seems to have always meant to host a hotel, originally as a Don the Beachcomber Hotel in the 60s, until 1975 when it was torn down. 28 years later, new proprietors came along with the desire to build a hotel in the same spot. Mani Brothers purchased the property from David Geffen in 2015 and turned it into the luxury property seen today. Just 34 steps straight to the beach, it is the only property in all of Los Angeles County with direct water access. Mani Brothers, as a brand, has gone on to own 3 properties and 17 short term rentals, with learnings from Malibu Beach Inn informing the success of the rest of the hospitality division.
One such property, Black Sand Beach, was acquired alongside an aircraft to shuttle guests to the property. This was to solve for the very lengthy and very windy single route, the famed Road to Hana, marked by 450 hairpin turns and 50 single-land bridges between the airport and the hotel. From Gregory’s perspective, being successful in the hospitality industry is all about allowing the individual property to inform the business decisions that run it, rather than the other way around.
Gregory’s path to working in the industry was a bit non-traditional. He started as a paramedic on the Monterey Peninsula, while dating someone who worked in the hotel industry, and following a raucous weekend, he ended up interviewing for the assistant coffee shop manager at the Double Tree Hotel Monterey. The infamous Pebble Beach Resort was his first stint in the luxury side of the industry, where a connection with the general manager eventually led him to Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
“If helping people isn’t in your DNA, this is not the job for you.”
When Malibu Beach Inn first opened, the demographic of the guest profile leaned heavily older, as well as about 30% of business coming from international. In the five years since the pandemic, there’s been a noticeable shift towards younger and aspirational guests. With more people working outside the office than inside (or at least half and half), hotels have had to adjust. Previously, the mindset was expected that the luxury client would simply adapt to the environment they were provided. In today’s world, it’s the property’s job to adapt to the environment the guest wants.
Adaptation of new technologies, including AI advancements, is something that Gregory hopes will make work smoother; however, he’s not convinced that it will be a dramatic change at the on-property level. Malibu Beach Inn is already working with AZDS in including AI Assistant on the booking engine, which will allow for more intuitive trip planning for guests.
There’s been a bit of bad luck for Malibu Beach Inn lately, most recently with the devastating Palisade fire. And Gregory very candidly shared that the property has suffered, year over year. Much of the Pacific Coast Highway, a main corridor to the hotel, was shut down for months. But he believes they are on the precipice of change in a positive direction. Eastern Malibu remains a total paradise and the rest is on the way towards rebuilding. On property, every room faces the ocean, complete with binoculars to scout marine life. Restaurants are thriving, new shops are opening. The local community writ large has come together to show true resilience. It’s been a bad blip, but it’s not a permanent situation and the best way to show support is to pour into the local economy and plan a getaway to find your own Malibu magic.
We wrapped up our conversation with LTI’s signature rapid fire questions. For personal travel, Gregory is headed to Parent’s Weekend with his wife to visit their son at University of California, Davis. Looking back at the glamorous days of travel, Gregory misses the level of effort and care travelers put into their appearance while flying. For future innovation, he hopes for simultaneous translation programming in real time (particularly useful while traveling internationally).
“There’s more that brings us together in travel. Right now, the only thing that really separates us a lot is language.”
Thank you, Gregory, for joining me on this episode of Luxury Travel Innovators, available to listen to and watch on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Youtube.
