Money can’t buy you love

It’s easy when you live in a 5* resort to become addicted to luxury. We’ve all been trained to demand high standards, to shudder at the thought of a towel being used more than once. But it’s also the Hyatt mission to provide authentic hospitality. By its very definition, you cannot teach authenticity so it’s lucky for us that generosity is at the very heart of Maldivian culture. As much as I love fish, it’s the people that have kept me in the Maldives; the local villages have humbleness and warmth that never fails to make my heart swell.

We recruit as much of the team as possible from the nearby islands. So when a guest comes to visit Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa, they are not simply staying at a resort; they are welcomed into a community. This connection gives Hadahaa a sense of home. Tourists and locals are usually kept quite separate in the Maldives, it’s possible to visit a resort and have the feeling that you could be anywhere. But we want our guests to absorb the culture of the Maldives, to have memories of somewhere extraordinary.

Ahmed “Speedy” Nabeel is a waiter in The Dining Room and for eight months represented his island of Gemanafushi as a “Hyatt Thrive Ambassador”. He particularly looks forward to showing guests around his home island, I asked him to explain why

I feel very proud to show them my island. When we bring the guests we don’t tell the island to expect visitors; they are not seeing anything different to normal life. Sometimes we will arrange a special lunch for the guests. We don’t do it for money; it’s for them to experience. We just make normal local dishes. If they are vegetarian we have to think a little bit because we don’t eat a lot of vegetables, for us tuna and coconut is enough. I think the guests like it because they are getting to see the real Maldives, a different experience. The guests know me already from the resort, and when they come to the island they can meet my family and visit my house, they feel happy because they see the proper Maldives.  Only four years ago there were no resorts in the area, we never met foreigners, we were only fishing.

The guests feel that they are entering a different world. Of course, they get to understand traditional things like houses and food, but I think they also enjoy seeing a simple, relaxing life. No worries. No headaches. No traffic. When I step off the boat onto my island I feel all the tension leave my body, I don’t need to think about much.

We could never ignore someone who comes from somewhere else, if anyone new comes to the island, everyone knows; we think “that’s a visitor” and we will try to help them. If they need anything, we will try to provide them with those things. If somebody gets stuck, we will help them. When I left the Maldives I was surprised that people weren’t as friendly, only the people working in the shops really talked to me. That’s why I always want to live on my island because everyone knows each other. That’s the important thing, we are all friends, everybody will help everyone else, and there will always be someone to help you if you need it. 

Speedy conducting a careers workshop for some local kids 

Hyatt thrive

The Maldives is a tiny country with an incredibly small population, yet it’s a bit of a celebrity on the global stage. Certainly everybody I meet when I’m at home in London knows the Maldives. There’s nothing better than someone blandly asking me what I do during a wedding or dinner party. I particularly enjoy watching eyebrows fly up and the look of polite curiosity transform to extreme envy.

Like a siren, the islands captivate travellers with their beauty - the combination of crisp, flawlessly white sandy beaches and blindingly turquoise water. They have the appeal of freshly fallen snow, clearly begging for you to plant your footprints in the sand and splash around in the glossy tranquil waters.

However in recent times, interest in this chain of reefs and islands has been boosted by their vulnerability to climate change. The presidential office has done a good job of highlighting how fragile they are as a nation. The first question I’m asked is usually “are we really sinking?” to which regrettably I have to respond “The consensus amongst the scientific community is that sea levels are rising.” But never one to miss an opportunity to share our beautiful island, I go on to add “so you better come and stay at Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa before it’s too late.” 

The intimidating thing about global climate change is the sheer scale of the problem, where to start when we need the cooperation of billions of people. The answer to that conundrum, in our opinion, is education. At Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa we make a considerable effort to minimise our impact on the environment. From bottling our own water, preventing the production of 100,000 further plastic bottles a year, to reclaiming heat from the generators to warm the bath water. But how useful is this if the island next door doesn’t have a clue and are busy undoing our good work? A number of local people have never left their little 1km² island, they’ve never seen a city, let alone a power station or factory. Yet these are the people will be amongst the first to have their homes and heritage engulfed by rising seas and the other negative impacts of climate change.

Our relationship with the local people has to be very strong, more than 55% of our employees are Maldivian, and a large proportion of those come from the nearby islands. The remote location of Hadahaa rewards us with an exceptional stillness and peace, but it also presents inevitable logistical challenges which require sustainable resources. The more supplies and staff we can source from local islands the better. It’s with this philosophy that we have started to develop a symbiotic relationship with our neighbouring islands. This month we have launched an incredibly exciting community development initiative by the name of ‘Hyatt Thrive’. 

Although a large number of the employees on Hadahaa are from nearby islands, we all live together on the resort. The initial aim of Hyatt thrive was to allow us to continue to contribute to the communities while we are all living away from home. We’ve taken inspiration from the UN and formed a committee of elected ‘Ambassadors’ to represent the different islands. Our ambassadors understand the status of their islands with regards to sustainability and employment issues and are fully aware of the capabilities of the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa team which is a powerful tool for the establishment of a worthwhile educational program such as this. The focus of ‘Hyatt Thrive’ is based around long-term sustainability education, the development of new business skills and other personal development projects that will improve the lives and livelihoods of the local people.

Through better connectivity, shared knowledge and encouragement from all sides, we will create a new situation in which everyone benefits. We can inspire sustainability and environmental responsibility, gather supplies and recruits from nearby islands, while the local communities develop and prosper.  It’s a project we are extremely proud to launch. The level of enthusiasm and support we have received from all in involved is terrific. I’ve come to realise that most people want to help. By breaking the problem down into manageable bite sized chunks, and giving everyone a means to act on their concerns, I am confident that together we can achieve great things.  

Executive Chef Elchin chatting with some local children