PAGE 14 THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016

The new General Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami knowsguests come to the resort to make lifelongmemories, and he’s excited and proud towork with a stellar staff to ensure a staythat will never be forgotten for all the rightreasons.Mark Ferland, who took the helm at the

Key Biscayne Ritz and its Coconut Grovesister resort last November, has the samephilosophy about welcoming Village resi-dents to the resort, noting he looks forwardto partnering with the community and serv-ing the people who call it home.The Massachusetts native, who said he

fell in love with the hospitality industry inhigh school while working as a busboy,aims to accomplish those goals not onlythrough ensuring excellence in day-to-dayoperation, but via major upgrades includ-ing remodeling all the guest rooms and areimagining of the Cioppino restaurant. “It’s exciting to be part of an iconic

brand, and I’m especially proud to be partof the Key Biscayne community,” Ferlandsaid. “I love to come to work and to createexcellence each day.”Ferland’s passion for his career started at

a young age. After bussing tables as a high schooler,

he continued working in the hospitality in-dustry to help pay his way through college.“Although it’s extremely hard work, it re-ally gets into your blood and you love it,”he said. “You love seeing what you doevery day, which is providing extremelymemorable experiences for your guests.”When Ferland graduated from the Uni-

versity of Massachusetts hospitality school,his education and real-life training put himin a great position to start working in resortsales and marketing. The majority of Ferland’s career has

been in the luxury end of the resort busi-ness, and he spent the past 28 years withRitz-Carlton, some in the Atlanta corporateoffice and also at properties everywherefrom Boston to Orlando. He has also trav-eled extensively throughout Asia.After seeing the world, Ferland was ex-

cited for the opportunity to settle in South

New Ritz GM will oversee room remodeling, Cioppino reimaginingFlorida, where he previously spent timeduring his career with the Ritz.“My wife and I love Miami, so we

jumped at the opportunity to come back toMiami,” said Ferland, who lives in Brickelland enjoys walking his dog, exercising,vising nearby parks and trying to get in alittle golf during the tourism industry’s off-season.Ferland, who had been working as area

vice president for the Ritz region that in-cludes the Key Biscayne property, was alsoexcited for a chance to return to hands-onmanagement. “I missed being on the prop-erty and being part of the experience everyday,” he said.As soon as he was on the ground in Key

Biscayne, he knew he’d made the right de-cision.“Clearly, the most rewarding thing is the

opportunity to be the leader of 600 amaz-ing and passionate ladies and gentlemenhere at the Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne andour sister hotel,” he said, referencing theresort motto that refers to employees andguests alike as ladies and gentlemen.“Every day when I turn into this beautifulentrance, I’m excited to engage with ourkind, caring team of service professionals.”Ferland also embraces the second main

component of resort operations: servingRitz guests. He loves to walk around theproperty’s pool, lobby, restaurants, etc. tohear about patrons’ experiences. Many tellhim about the memories they’ll take withthem from their vacation, or about how histeam made their birthday or anniversarycelebration memorable and unique.Ferland said he challenges himself and

his staff to provide exceptional serviceevery day, all day. That means the 300thguest checked in at 1 in the morning shouldget the same excellent reception as the firstguests to check in at 1 in the afternoon.“You must provide that warm, relaxed, re-fined experience,” Ferland said. “Allguests have the same expectations.”And those expectations are high. Ferland

said guests have plenty of options for high-end resort stays in South Florida, so he’llstrive to make sure the Ritz offers an “ex-ceptional experience.”That involves both hiring the right peo-

ple – Ferland looks for “ladies and gentle-

men” who are qualified, engaging, caring,eager to learn and passionate about thefield – and making the right improvementsto the physical resort.To that end, later this year the Ritz will

make two key changes: guests rooms willbe upgraded with a blue/green palette thatreflects Key Biscayne’s island oasis feel,and Cioppino will be redone to providemore of a seafood experience, per guests’wishes.“This is one of the most exciting years in

the history of our hotel,” Ferland said, not-ing the resort will celebrate its 15th an-niversary in July with numerous activities.“It’s going to be spectacular.”Work on both projects will start in

August and be finished by the Thanksgiv-ing holiday. The property will continue toserve guests throughout by doing the roomrenovations in phases and maintaining itsother four restaurants to provide plentifuldining options.Ferland said the improvements will give

guests an even better experience, althoughhe noted the Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscaynealready has plenty going for it. “This par-ticular hotel is one of the most popular andhigh profile resorts within the Ritz-Carltonbrand,” he remarked. “It’s an island oasis.It’s a very special place.“Families return eight, 10 years in a row

for holiday weekends and vacations, and

they always say the reason they comeback is the kindness and warmth of ouremployees,” he said.Add to that the resort’s world-class spa,

wide variety of dining options and more,and the Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne istruly a special place to be, Ferland said.He aims to make it even more so by

eliminating imperfections in guests’ stays,working with the staff to provide consis-tently excellent service, promoting the re-sort’s values and more. “I believe strongly in continuous im-

provement,” he said. “We never stop try-ing to improve, and it’s especiallyimportant in the luxury resort segment,because our guests are worldwide travel-ers and they visit the finest resorts in theworld. Their expectations are very high.”The same goes for the Ritz’s Key Bis-

cayne clientele, and Ferland looks for-ward to finding new ways to partner withlocal residents and programs. “We’reproud to be part of the community,” hesaid, noting the Ritz is involved with localbeach cleanups, habitat restoration, char-ity events and more. “We do this becauseit’s the right thing to do for our commu-nity.”And he loves to welcome Key residents

to the resort’s restaurants, spa and specialevents, such as a holiday season Christ-mas tree lighting and entertainment at thebeachfront Dune restaurant. “We wouldnever be able to succeed in our restaurantswithout the incredible support of our is-land residents – we really have a great fol-lowing on the island,” Ferland said. “Weinvite them to be part of our community.We love our local community. It’s a greatpartnership.”Ferland said he aims to keep that part-

nership strong, noting while he loves totravel and especially has a passion forAsia – “Our next journey will probably beto Beijing, and we’ll take a side trip toBali. We really enjoy that part of thecountry – the people are tremendous,” henoted – there is absolutely something spe-cial about the Island Paradise.“When I drive over those two spectac-

ular bridges every morning as the sunrises, there’s nothing better than that,”Ferland remarked.

By: KELLY JOSEPHSENkjosephsen@islandernews.com

Another successful K-8 Winter Fest Every year the Key Biscayne K-8 Center PTA celebrates with its Winter Fest event, bringing families together to have fun and support the school.

Photos courtesy Paul Zuccarini

Ritz-Carlton General Manager MarkFerland.

Photo courtesy Ritz Carlton