24/11/2025
๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ โจ
Vin reflects on why culture begins long before opening day:
Throughout my career, Iโve been fortunate to work on several property openings. I say โfortunateโ because there is an energy in those moments that you simply canโt recreate once the doors are already open. The buzz, the pressure, the endless decisions, and then finally seeing culture, ideas, branding, and experience come to life.
- Is it chaotic? Yes.
- Is it challenging? Yes.
- Is it rewarding? ๐๐ฏ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐.
People often ask me about company culture, and for me it begins long before the first guest walks through the door. Culture doesnโt appear once the business is running. It forms in the early conversations, in how people are hired, in training, in the way leaders respond during stressful moments, and in how the team comes together to handle those intense pre-opening days.
Those early days set the tone. Culture can grow into something positive or turn sour and toxic, but it always takes shape in those first foundations. It comes from a conscious commitment to your people, to building an environment where they feel supported and able to thrive. When start-ups and pre-opening teams neglect this, it becomes a problem to fix later, usually after the best people have already moved on. When it is done intentionally from the beginning, it becomes one of the strongest pillars of success. Teams feel respected, leaders stay grounded, and the opening energy becomes sustainable instead of something everyone has to recover from.
One of the biggest lessons Iโve learned is that work life balance does not begin โonce things calm down.โ If you postpone it, it never happens. The habits, boundaries, support systems, and team rituals you introduce at the start genuinely matter. The small celebrations, the honest check-ins, and the simple decisions that show people their wellbeing is part of the plan, not a reward for surviving the chaos. ๐๐๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ, ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ก๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐๐๐จ.
In hospitality we often talk about mission statements and guest promises, but the truth is that your promise to your team matters just as much, if not more. During start-ups, launches and openings, youโre not just preparing a property, youโre building the culture that will define it. Those early actions shape everything that follows.
