The Winding Road to the Wauwinet—Finding, Restoring and Operating a Premier Property

The Winding Road to the Wauwinet—Finding, Restoring and Operating a Premier Property
Jill Karp
Owner
The Wauwinet

First Step on the Road: Finding the Right Property
Let me begin by saying that The Wauwinet, the premier hotel on Nantucket Island, is not something you just happen upon, but rather, a destination. Nearly hidden, at the end of a winding road, it’s separated from the comings and goings of the rest of the island. I often think about the guests traveling up that road to our hotel: their expectations, the feeling that they’re about to find something very special. It’s the same way I felt in 1986 when I first came across The Wauwinet.

The location was absolutely ideal: to begin with, the hotel is on Nantucket Island – one of the most sought after vacation destinations in the world. And it’s the only property on a beautiful and off-set stretch of land with the Atlantic Ocean on one side, Nantucket Bay on the other.

But this was not a hotel that was flourishing, by any stretch of the imagination. Since the mid-1800s, The Wauwinet had been operating as an inn on the island, a place for family vacations. It was a very welcoming, popular place that offered good food and nightly entertainment. But after many years of neglect, The Wauwinet had become dilapidated; it had lost its unique charm. All of the hotel’s beauty and potential was still there, it just needed to be fully realized.

Every corner of it seemed to be in disrepair. Anyone could see this was not a property that simply could be repainted, rebranded and reopened. But still, I saw something in it – the remarkable place it could be in and of itself of course, but also as part of the island. Call it part instinct, part dream. I was new to becoming a hotelier. I would find out later that a combination of three things – vision, experience and determination – would be needed to bring The Wauwinet to life, and to bring guests to The Wauwinet.
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Following an Unexpected Path: A New Vision Can Renew a Hotel
Imagine bare light bulbs in the rooms. Metal bed frames with flat mattresses. A thread-worn couch on the back porch. The Wauwinet has one of the prettiest island locations, but when I first saw the hotel itself, it wasn’t a pretty sight. How and where to begin? Before I actually started any renovations, I asked myself a question that I think is fundamental to the success of any hotel:

What would be most pleasing to our guests?

Simply put, this is what a hotel provides – pleasure for its guests. In what they see, what they taste, what they smell. Pleasure in how they are treated, how they spend their time. Pleasure, even, in how they sleep at night.

With that in mind, I started to make changes, literally piece by piece and room by room. Of course my own tastes and preferences played a part, but I tried to see everything about the hotel – inside and out – through the eyes of a guest. I continue to see things that way even today.

As with any hotel renovation or refurbishment, it was important to know from the beginning what I could and couldn’t do. There are always restrictions, financial and otherwise, that need to be considered. In Nantucket, that meant following a strict code provided by the Nantucket Historic District Commission (NHDC).

The NHDC requires that all refurbished buildings – not just hotels – retain the look of the original. In keeping with island tradition, the hotel exterior would have to be covered with unpainted cedar shingles. Also, any building construction had to follow the original footprint. We could build up, but we needed to retain the original layout of the foundation.

So that’s what we did – we rebuilt The Wauwinet literally from the ground up. Our “Inn By The Sea,” as we had started to call it, was beginning to take shape.
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Minor Details are of Major Importance Once the major construction projects were complete, I turned to the smaller things. The details are what set an exceptional hotel apart from one that is ordinary. Details can change the way a room looks or the way a meal is prepared. And, more often than not, the details are what stand out in a guest’s mind.

My choice for the décor of The Wauwinet can best be described as “country eclectic.” I saw the hotel as a combination of a country inn and a seaside resort, a place offering guests the best of both. No detail was overlooked, from the wallpaper and art to the fabrics and paint colors. The bedding – mattresses and linens – was carefully chosen. We even measured to make sure that the bed frames were just the right amount of inches off the floor.

Each room was to have its own unique look, style and feel. No two rooms would be alike, which meant that guests could experience something new with every visit or they could choose to stay in a favorite room. The furniture, including major pieces such as the armoires, was handpicked and differed from room to room. I had bed ruffles custom made. And we weren’t afraid to experiment with new looks: wallpaper borders were placed on the perimeter of the ceiling rather than at the top of the walls. We painted faux rugs on many of the common area floors – with even a faux wrinkle or two!

Long before other hotels began trying to create a “homey” feel to their properties, The Wauwinet had succeeded in making guests feel as though they truly were being welcomed into our home.

Just as I think a lack of attention to details can render a hotel ordinary, duplication in décor can detract from a hotel’s appeal and allure. Our guest rooms have commonalities, of course, but each an individual character, as well. But a hotel is more than a collection of rooms. Quality needs to extend to every detail in every corner of the hotel. I added personal touches to the common areas and the restaurant as well. From the special china patterns to the naming of the restaurant (TOPPER’S – after our family’s Welsh Terrier), no detail was left to chance.

Finally, after two years, the first phase of the renovations was complete. The Wauwinet was no longer just a shell of a hotel – it had become an amazing “Inn By The Sea.”

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Weathering Changes and Changes in the Weather: Satisfying Guests Always Comes First
The bare light bulbs that we found when we first took over the hotel are gone. So is the perception that The Wauwinet was just simply too far gone. Today, the hotel has 35 guest rooms and cottages and two private beaches. The Wauwinet has been featured in many major travel publications and won numerous industry awards, including Wine Spectator’s Grand Award and Zagat’s Restaurant Guide. Most recent accolades have been Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report’s Top 20 US Resort Hideaways and the Conde Nast Traveler Gold List. And it’s a member of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux collection, the only such property on Nantucket Island.

A large part of the hotel’s success – any hotel’s success – comes from being able to constantly improve and make changes along the way. A hotel shouldn’t remain totally unchanged year after year. What guests see and experience needs to be refreshed from time to time in order for guests to feel refreshed themselves when they visit.

At The Wauwinet, we take a new look at things every season, especially since our season is very short. Nantucket is a seasonal destination which, in turn, means that operating a hotel on the island is a seasonal business. The Wauwinet is open for less than six months – every year from early May until late October. Most of our business comes from the summer months. During this season, the weather is ideal, travel conditions are most agreeable and few places could be more picturesque, more inviting than Nantucket.

Knowing your business well keeps a hotel flowing smoothly but it’s anticipating changes that can keep a hotel operating successfully. At the Wauwinet, we plan and prepare for the off season – early spring and fall – when business is generally slower. We offer special rates to help attract additional business and extend our season at a time when less visitors come to the island. We’ve developed creative packages that offer guests not only great rates but also special activities that showcase the best of the island during the spring and fall seasons.

Taste of Nantucket is a great example of how creative thinking and planning for change can contribute to a hotel’s success. As part of this program, guests enjoy an array of complimentary excursions and tours. Lobstering and surfcasting. Bicycle tour to Sconset complete with TOPPER’S picnic lunch. Four-wheel drive to Great Point wildlife excursion for exotic bird watching. A drive to a local fishing village in our 1946 Ford Woody Wagon.

Rather than just accept the end of the busy season we look for creative ways to extend the season. It’s proven to be a successful strategy for The Wauwinet. This type of thinking not only benefits the hotel, it also provides wonderful options for our guests – which is why many of them keep coming back.
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Change is Key – Most of the Time
Change can be positive for a hotel in many ways – but not in every way. One thing should never change regardless of the season or economic fluctuations or travel trends: treating customers well.

Attend to each guest as you, as a guest, would expect. You might assume that in the hotel industry this is top of mind, but, in fact, it’s a way of doing business that’s often neglected. The guests’ needs can get lost in the minutiae of managing a property. It’s easy to lose sight of what we are providing: an experience where guests feel welcomed and tended to at all times.

At The Wauwinet we remain focused on our guests through the use of detailed customer profiles. The profiles include information such as the reason for a guest’s visit, favorite meals, any special requests and preferred activities. With repeat customers, the profile helps us know, in advance, what a returning guest expects. With new guests, the profile serves as a tool for getting to know them better. In both instances, we use this information to anticipate each guest’s personal preferences. We also track the amenities that guests receive at The Wauwinet so that on each subsequent visit we can offer them something new and different.

I also believe strongly in the “personal touch.” Hotels seem cold and remote if the only personal interaction they offer guests is a “hello” at the front desk during check-in. Making a guest truly feel comfortable takes more than a warm décor – it requires a staff that is, itself, warm and welcoming. The Wauwinet’s innkeepers mingle daily with guests whether they’re welcoming repeat visitors or greeting someone for the first time. At times they even go along on Taste of Nantucket excursions. These are the ways in which we treat guests more as friends and neighbors rather than paying customers.

Everyone likes to feel special at one time or another. A hotel stay should always be one of those times.
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What’s Down the Road: Keeping Current Keeps Guests Coming Back
When you stop and think about it, the hotel industry is all about change. Our customers – our guests – literally come and go all the time. Some of them return; some of them don’t. At The Wauwinet, we see familiar faces and new faces every year. And every year we’re determined to provide an exceptional stay whether it’s a guest’s first visit or fifth.

A hotel always needs to plan for the next day, the next week, the next season. At The Wauwinet we never stop looking for ways to improve the guest experience. During the 1990s, the hotel underwent a second round of major renovations. We’ve continued to refurbish and improve the structure and layout of the property. At the same time, we continue to evaluate our services and amenities to make certain that we’re providing guests with the very best.

Today’s travelers have become savvier. Guests are increasingly well traveled. As a result, hotels are expected to offer a well-rounded experience – it’s no longer just about providing a comfortable place to sleep. At The Wauwinet we’ve increased our focus on the dining experience, which is always an important part of any stay. We offer European-style complimentary breakfast and dining experiences personalized to guests. For example, guests who go on a fishing expedition as part of our Taste of Nantucket program can enjoy their “catch” for dinner, cooked to order. We also have special “tasting” menus so that guests can sample seasonal specialties. And we participate in special community events such as the annual Nantucket Wine Festival, the Nantucket Film Festival and the Boston Pops event on Jeddie’s Beach, all of which allow our guests to experience some of the island’s best activities.

Keeping a hotel open and successful requires keeping your eyes and ears open. Look at what seems to please guests the most. Listen to what they say they prefer. And look at the trends – in the hotel business and in other industries – that really seem to have caught on. Some of a hotel’s success comes from consistency, some of it comes from change. Guests will expect both
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There are No Shortcuts
Operating a successful hotel takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight, or in a season or two. A reputation has to be established, and from that reputation comes a clientele. One builds on the other and, eventually, a hotel business is born.

Looking back, I don’t think that any of the changes to The Wauwinet would have been possible without three things: a vision for the hotel that was much different than what I saw in front of me. Experience that came from being involved in major real estate projects in New England and from being a long-standing resident of the Nantucket community. And determination to see the project through not only day after day but also year after year.

There are no shortcuts along the way. From the look of the hotel and the staff that is chosen, to the restaurant offerings and the blankets on the beds – every step counts. A great guest experience comes from the smallest of details. And to be a successful hotelier you have to take pleasure in making sure that all of those details are just perfect. Operating a hotel is not always an easy road. But when you see that a guest is truly sorry to be leaving – and already thinking ahead to the next trip back – that is when the reward comes.

Jill Karp is the owner of The Wauwinet on Nantucket Island. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Syracuse University and taught elementary school before becoming a hotelier. Along with husband, Stephen R. Karp, Jill cofounded Nantucket Island Resorts, a collection of premier properties on Nantucket that includes The Wauwinet, White Elephant, Harbor House Village, The Cottages and Nantucket Boat Basin. Jill is a major sponsor and fundraiser for several charitable organizations and medical institutions. She has served as president of the Women’s League of Children’s Hospital in Boston, helping to raise millions of dollars for that facility. She is a major sponsor of Nantucket Cottage Hospital and she has been on the boards of the Harvard Eating Disorders Center and Facing History and Ourselves.