After 25 years, we at cazenove+loyd each have our own special relationships with the places where we send our clients. We tend to travel to ‘developing’ regions and often, we are the first guests in a new lodge or small hotel. Sometimes we are campers in the building which will become the lodge. Working with the owners is a collaboration as much as it is a business relationship. The positive feedback from our first client is always a vindication of our instincts and, as such, a relief. A relief not just that a client is happy, but also that the investment and enthusiasm of the owner we were with on Day One looks on course for success.
Owner-run lodges and hotels are also as much about the people as they are about the place. Hacienda Zuleta, in Ecuador’s Northern Sierra, is one of those special places which we have worked with from the very start.