Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark & Maggie Mathisen.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Mark & Maggie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
We had been spent a number of years researching a boutique hotel that would fit our needs. We searched all of over the country, taking trips in person to certain areas that piqued our interest. In the end we decided to focus on Southern Florida because of it’s year-round tourism, gorgeous beaches, and warm turquoise waters. We happened upon Hotel Seacrest when on our way to another hotel and we immediately fell in love with the 8 room boutique.
Then we discovered the town of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea itself, where the hotel is located, and that sealed the deal. Simply put, LBTS is one of the best-kept secrets on the eastern seaboard of Florida. A quaint small beach town that embraces old Florida, there are few large hotels here, mostly small boutiques like our own. A great town center with fabulous eateries and pubs, myriad ice cream parlors and a pier. It’s a slice of heaven, and those that have discovered it do their best to keep it a secret.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We bought the hotel from a guy who really did not know at all what he was doing, he spent a week helping us and then was gone. It was the beginning of summer and we had a full hotel. Needless to say, we hit the ground running and that first year we weren’t sure if we’d survive. Almost everything the former owner told us was wrong, or just not well thought out and we had to learn the hard way much of what we now call our personal wisdom about the industry. Hard-won knowledge about people, guests, and our own well being.
Please tell us about Hotel Seacrest.
We are hands-on owner/operators and divide up the myriad tasks involved with running the hotel. Check-ins, reservations, social media, marketing, website, et al fall under my purview and my wife is in charge of the rooms and gardening. We are the # 2 hotel in town on Trip Advisor, and we’ve gone back and forth as the # 1 hotel with our main competitor a block away. Being just a three-star rated hotel that regularly garners five-star reviews, we realized from the beginning that a few key issues would be tantamount to running a great hotel. First, the priority of maintaining pristine rooms.
My wife’s OCD has been channeled into a high-level standard of extremely clean rooms and our guests have noticed. So that’s where we begin – with hyper clean rooms and an excellent daily room service. If we didn’t bring that to the table and do it extremely well, all other attributes would go by the wayside. Maggie is a force for that never quits. She insures all is well on the property, takes great care of guests, and tends our extraordinary garden throughout the property. Which leads to the other thing we bring – ourselves. We strive to infect our guests with really good energy when we interact with them, and some have even become good friends. It all begins well before their arrival because in this day and age there is no reason to not have key information on all guests before they arrive, i.e. their first names, where they are from, and how they just got to your hotel. With knowledge of those three simple things, you can initiate an informed and respectful dyad with the guest immediately upon their arrival.
All first-time arrivals to Hotel Seacrest are treated to an unprecedented check-in. We meet them as they get out of their car, and generally know their names and where they’ve come from because I’ve been in contact with them since they booked. After a nice preamble with a hearty hail and hello, we commence with the orientation. Taking them entirely around the property to point out all we have to offer. We show them exactly how to get to town, the beach, the grocery store, etc…and then we bring them into the room and go over the TV, the AC, the WIFI password, and answer any questions they might have that we haven’t covered by that point. It’s a far cry from the usually bored desk front clerk giving you a key card and a map and listlessly telling you where to go. For guests to receive such a personal greeting and check-in, from the owners no less, is a rare thing indeed in this day and age. And it makes all the difference.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Shelling with my folks on Sanibel Island.
Contact Info:
- Address: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
- Website: hotelseacrest.com
- Phone: 954 530 8854
- Email: hotelseacrest@gmail.com
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
