Tune in to the next episode of the Suite Spot: Independent Hotel Show series to catch special guest Nicholas Gold, who takes center stage on the podcast!

As Managing Director of Black Desert Resort, Nicholas shares the early beginnings of his hospitality journey, the one-of-a-kind appeal of independent hotels, and how the newly opened Black Desert Resort is accentuating the guest experience in hospitality.

Ryan Embree:
Welcome to Suite Spot, where hoteliers check in, and we check out what’s trending in hotel marketing. I’m your host, Ryan Embree. Hello everyone. Welcome to another episode of The Suite Spot. This is your host, or Ryan Embree here for another edition of our Independent Hotel Show series, episode #3, and we are getting closer and closer to September down where we are gonna have the largest collection of independent hoteliers and network. We are so excited to hopefully see you down in Miami Beach, September 17th and 18th. We’re gonna talk about that a little bit more, but I’m gonna bring in my guest right now, managing director Black Desert Resort and Red Mountain Resort, Nicholas Gold. Nicholas, thank you so much for being on the Suite Spot.

Nicholas Gold:
Ryan. My absolute pleasure. Cheers.

Ryan Embree:
Well, we’re gonna have a fun time on this episode talking about your beautiful resort in Utah. I’m so excited. But before we get into that, before we start talking about the Independent Hotel show, which we’re both here for, let’s talk about your hospitality journey and the story that led you to a Black Desert Resort.

Nicholas Gold:
Yeah, sure. You know, it’s, I started when I was too young to know any better in the hospitality business. I at a fairly young age, I was working in a restaurant in London. I was the guy, you know, I’m relatively old, so we did a lot of tableside cooking back then, and I was the gang who worked the Gary Don, and that really spoke to me because it led me to, it fed my love of storytelling, which I’ve just been able to expand upon as I’ve grown in the industry, and that that juxtaposition between service and storytelling really is what the Independent Luxury Hotel is all about.

Ryan Embree:
Yeah, it absolutely is. Nicholas completely agree with you. Every amazing independent hotel has a story. You know, sometimes, sometimes it’s challenging in the, in independent hotel space. Give our listeners a little bit, you, you say you love storytelling. Give our, our listeners a little bit of story about the property that you have the privilege of, of managing over there at the massive Black Desert Resort.

Nicholas Gold:
Yeah. So we are in about 600 acres just by snow Canyon State Park, and we do a really good job of blending luxury hospitality with golf, wellness, dining, a huge residential living component. We’re building right now, we’re about to break ground on a 24-court world championship pickleball complex, which is certainly the wave of the future. And we just finished working on the designs for a four and a half acre waterpark, which is not gonna be open to the public, only open to our members and hotel guests.

Ryan Embree:
Absolutely incredible. And I think, it’s funny, we’re talking about storytelling here in, in independent hotels because you, you’re able to write your own story sometimes and be able to adjust and adapt to trends that you see out there. I see you mentioned wellness, a huge trend in hospitality right now, being able to do some unique things in that space. Pickleball, even on the amenity side, being able to do that and who doesn’t love, I’ve got a couple young ones, who doesn’t love a nice little waterpark to relax at as well.

Nicholas Gold:
I would also be remiss in missing the fact that I think we’re one of the only courses in the country to host both an LPGA tour and a PGA tour.

Ryan Embree:
Incredible.

Nicholas Gold:
It is pretty good.

Ryan Embree:
Yeah. Listen, when those young ones are at the waterpark, you know where I’ll be, I’ll be on the links with my buddies. It seems like that you got every something for everything over there at the Black Desert Resort. Its a massive property. It’s picturesque. If you’re watching us on YouTube, you can see Nicholas’s background right now. But it, if you’re not, and you’re listening to us on one of our platforms, I encourage you, this is a background that you do not wanna miss. For those who aren’t familiar with that area, Nicholas, that you’re in, paint really a picture for us of where you’re located.

Nicholas Gold:
Well, as I mentioned, we’re just outside Snow Canyon State Park, which is just north of St. George, Utah, about 25 minutes from Zion National Park. But we’re right underneath the Red Rocks of Snow Canyon. Yeah, I spent seven years in Hawaii and I spent a few years in Sedona. And when I got here, when I landed in Ivans, which is where the resort is, my first thought was, this is where Kona and Sedona met and had a baby.

Ryan Embree:
Yeah. And it, it certainly looks like it, it’s absolutely picturesque. Like I mentioned, encourage you to go check it out, we have had the privilege of talking to several independent hotels with Black Desert Resort, certainly being the largest one. And I think, you know, when people think about independent hotels, sometimes they think about this kind of small little mom and pop hotel. Certainly not the case for you, but I wonder with being such a large resort, how has being an independent brand benefited the property and given it the freedom to offer it some of its unique offerings to its guests?

Nicholas Gold:
I’ve worked for some smaller corporations, and I’ve worked for a lot of independent hotels. And for me, I found certainly for here, for Black Desert, being independent, you know, I’m not beholden to any legacy of any brand. So we can really speak of who we are, who Southern Utah is, and you know it’s rare, it’s rare in your career to be part of something like this that’s going to help redefine a complete region and do it with a purpose. And I think we would struggle tremendously to do that with a flag and to be part of a brand being independent gives us the flexibility and the ability to pivot if we needed to on a much faster basis than it would be if we were part of a larger organization.

Ryan Embree:
Its a common theme we’ve been hearing in this series, Nicholas. And I think you’re right. The community is almost able to embrace and support you differently than it would a major brand because it feels more connected to your property. And I think a lot of independents do a great job of embracing that community feel and make it, you it’s not just a flag that you can find in this city and in the city, 30 miles, 50 miles down the road. This is a unique story. You talked about storytelling and one of the places where independence certainly shine, I think, in an opportunity to, is their F&B experiences. Talk to us a little bit about Black Desert, how you’ve embraced the F&B experience and how that plays a role in the guest experience there.

Nicholas Gold:
Ryan, you’re right. I mean, food is a, food is basically an emotional connector, right? And it plays a huge role for us. My signature restaurant, the Salt is ostensibly a steakhouse, but it uses a lot of seasonal ingredients. It uses a lot of local ingredients. All our beef all comes from Utah. Most of it is grass fed. We try and use as much local product produce, as well as protein as entirely possible. 20th Hole, which is our, let’s call it sports bar for a better, better use of the phrase. We have some things that our members and our homeowners will find comforting as well as something to explore for those visiting. So what we try and do is balance what is familiar with what is interesting whilst using as much local product as possible.

Ryan Embree:
I love that. And that’s part of the story too, is local sourcing you, we got on the wellness trend, but also sustainability and local sourcing. Such a huge hospitality trend right now that I feel independents have the freedom to maybe dabble in a little bit more than maybe your brand standards, of a flag, a property under a flag would be able to, so cool that you’ve implemented that into the F&B experience over there. We were talking off camera about how the pictures, the background that your property sits on your resort sits on, Nicholas, it kind of speaks for itself and it’s, I’m sure social media, you’ve got a huge social following tens of thousands of followers, fans online. How has that like user generated content and digital marketing impacted the property success and really helped tell that story that we’re talking about here?

Nicholas Gold:
It’s absolutely amazing. And talk about how powerful storytelling is. Yeah, we’ve, we’ve only been open for a few months and yet a lot of our followers and content creators are rabid. I mean, it’s just such an easy, easy thing to shoot and shoot well, that it’s so picturesque, it’s amazing. Our guests do an incredible job of capturing and sharing the absolute awe of the plate. From the sunrise yoga shots to drone footage of the lava fields. This authenticity has been our best marketing tool. So instead of us telling the story, our guests are replacing us and telling the story themselves. And that resonates so strongly. It’s incredible. It’s, been our best marketing tool. It really has.

Ryan Embree:
It’s so cool to hear and it’s so cool when that happens, because it’s not something that you can force Nicholas, a lot of the time. It has to kind of grow organically. That’s how the best social media stories are kind of told is organically, authentically, that picture used to be, let’s go ahead and get the professional photographer out here and get the most the best looking picture. And now people wanna see what things look like in real time. They want to see what am I going to experience? ’cause I might not catch that sunset at the, at just the right time. I wanna see what that Salt Steakhouse looks like on a busy Friday night. I want to feel like I’m there. And that’s where that true user generated content can really come into play. And you were talking about those rabid fans online. I also think there’s something to influencers and followers of the independent hotel community that just have a passion for that space, maybe more than they do for branded hotels sometimes. And I think it’s because it is one of a kind. It’s unique and they relate to that, you know, and they wanna embrace that and help tell your story. So very cool to see. You mentioned it before, Nicholas. You’ve worked, you’ve had the privilege of working at several independent and lifestyle properties. You know, we try to always, both me and you kind of have a similar so background in the sense of we fell into hospitality, but we’re trying to build some more bridges for young professionals to say, Hey, you don’t have to fall into this career. You can make this a lifelong career from the get go. What advice would you give to a young hospitality professional listening to this podcast, and what would be your pitch to them? I’m gonna put you on the spot to say, why don’t you gain a little independent hotel experience at some point in your career?

Nicholas Gold:
You know, when, when I say I fell into this, you know, I fell into it when I was 17, so I realized I absolutely loved it from a very early age. You know, the advice I always give people, and we work with the local universities here as well, so much so that we actually have a practice facility on our golf course for just designated for them. But my advice for them is always try and be doing the next job without being asked. Always assume that you are going to get it. Always assume that you’re going to be doing more. And the odds are you probably will if you wait for it to happen, especially in the independent space, it probably won’t. The other piece of it is work for somewhere that matters. Work for work for a company or a site or an independent hotel that is making a difference either in the world or in the community. Life will be so much more rewarding for everybody if you do.

Ryan Embree:
It aligns perfectly with what we’re hearing about this, younger generation, gen Z workforce that’s coming in, who is prioritizing that in their career. They want, they want something that’s intrinsically rewarding to them. I think the independent hotel space can offer that. And it’s exactly what you said, Nicholas. You get, you can be everything on an independent hotel, right? Especially a smaller one where you could be the head engineer for a couple minutes at trying to fix a property. You could be a head housekeeper really embracing that as a way to get a plethora of experience in a short amount of time. But I love that advice you gave. I wanna do some rapid fire here to get to know you in the Black Desert Resort a little bit better. This one might be difficult ’cause you’ve got a lot of great views, but what’s your favorite view on, on the property there, Nicholas?

Nicholas Gold:
We have a roof deck on Oasis, which is one of our food and beverage outlets in the middle of the golf course. That’s, obviously very, it’s a roof, so it’s elevated and the, the sunset over the lava fields into Snow Canyon from the roof of Oasis is unparalleled. It’s extraordinary.

Ryan Embree:
And I’m curious ’cause I’m sure you see, I mean, obviously very seasonal over there, right? As far as, you know, the snow capped and then you know, the picture behind you where, where people are playing golf and gonna be enjoying that waterpark. Well, what, when you do that view, what, what’s in, what’s in your head? Are you in the winter, the winter or the summertime?

Nicholas Gold:
What in my head? You know, if you’ve seen my career at all, this is actually the furthest north I’ve lived in some 30 years. So winters are definitely not my friend.

Ryan Embree:
Gotcha, gotcha. What about favorite fact, fun fact about your property, Nicholas?

Nicholas Gold:
You know, it’s funny. We have a thing about threes here when we are doing some planning, when we’re doing, some development work on, it gets a little complicated because we’re actually owned by three different municipalities and owned by, we sit on three different municipalities, St. George Ivans and Santa Clara, which makes doing things a little more interesting. But we also sit on the conversions of three geologic regions, the Mojave, the Great Basin, and the Colorado Plateau.

Ryan Embree:
Wow that, yeah, I’m sure, I’m not sure if you looked into that, I mean, but that you’re probably the only resort to be able to make that type of claim that’s very impressive. Favorite signature dish? You talked about some of the F&B experiences over there.

Nicholas Gold:
So probably our aged rib from UT47 and UT47 is they’re based out of Logan, Utah. So it’s local meats, it’s grass fed and then finished on corn. But the beef is absolutely extraordinary.

Ryan Embree:
Love to hear it. Favorite guest experience or amenity at the property?

Nicholas Gold:
Again, this is a very silly one, but when you come here to check in they offer you a welcome spritzer, essentially, which is a local prickly pear lemonade, refreshing drink on arrival. And they actually make the ice cube out of the prickly pair lemon syrup, and it’s just you know, after a long journey to get here. It’s just a really cool, refreshing sparkling drink.

Ryan Embree:
Hey that’s a great first impression. When you walk into the resort, first thing you’re handed is a drink. I’ll take that for sure. It’s so funny though, it’s exactly what you’re mentioning is every single aspect I think of one of these questions has some sort of local tie to it, and I think that speaks to that, that bigger that bigger theme that we found kind of in this episode here. Last one. Favorite piece of art at your property?

Nicholas Gold:
So the property is designed to really take advantage of the views and what’s outside. So it’s really tough to compete with the big picture windows encompassing the landscape. It’s, you can’t get away from it.

Ryan Embree:
Well, I mean, listen, you gotta use, you gotta use what you got, right? A lot of properties don’t have that view outside. So they gotta kind of put, I’m sure there’s probably some a lot of portraits inside of these other hotels that might have this region in their background. You get to see it right outside your window. A nice little privilege you have over there at the Black Desert Resort. I wanna shift gears. Independent Hotel show. That’s what this series is all about. Nicholas, happening September 17th and 18th in Miami Beach at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Don’t forget listeners, Embree25, that’s E-M-B-R-E-E 25. Get yourself a complimentary code. Hope to see you there with me and Nicholas. Nicholas, you recently joined the advisory board. Congratulations. What kind of inspired you to get involved with this event and how do you see it supporting independent hoteliers?

Nicholas Gold:
Thanks. I was incredibly honored to be asked to join the board. It’s one of the few shows, one of the few events that actually really champions the independent hotel industry. And I wanted to be part of that conversation, how we move the industry forward, how we elevate the guest experience. And then as you were talking about earlier, how we inspiring the next generations of hoteliers to really dream big.

Ryan Embree:
I absolutely love that and I think your resort is a great example of this. The wide spectrum of voices and property that are gonna be at this event. You know, something from the massive black desert resort all the way down to the smaller, independent hotel hotels that we might see right there on south Beach in Miami Beach. So we encourage you, all of our Suite Spot listeners, hope you’ll be there. Hope you will join us as we wrap up today, Nicholas would love to get, we always like to end kind of looking forward, looking into the future. what’s your vision for the future of the Black Desert Resort in your mind?

Nicholas Gold:
The vision is to become the most sought after luxury destination in the west. You know, as I said, we’re building the pickleball complex, which is a world championship complex. I’m building a $55 million water park that’s only gonna be open to guests and members. We’re looking at three more golf courses bringing in to the fold, as well as another clubhouse. It’s going to be an absolutely extraordinary adventure where golf wellness and that base camp for adventure, for all the national parks that surround us come together.

Ryan Embree:
Got a feeling we’re gonna be able to, we’re gonna be seeing Black Desert Resort, in hospitality news and in the, social media profiles, and of travelers all over the world. Nicholas, I want to thank you for taking the time. We covered a lot of ground on the episode. Appreciate you taking your time. Any final thoughts before we wrap up?

Nicholas Gold:
Yeah as we’ve said, hospitality is about connection. It’s about, it’s the connection to the place, the people and purpose. And that’s what we’re building here and that’s what I’m hoping that next generation of hoteliers understands. It’s about purpose and the legacy.

Ryan Embree:
Love to hear it. Great message for those young hospitality professionals. Thank you Nicholas, for taking the time to join us and share your beautiful property with us and some insights.

Nicholas Gold:
I really appreciate it today, Ryan. Thank you for your time. Appreciate it.

Ryan Embree:
All right, thank you. We’ll talk to you next time on The Suite Spot. To join our loyalty program. Be sure to subscribe and give us a five star rating on iTunes. Suite Spot is produced by Travel Media Group. Our editor is Brandon Bell with Cover Art by Bary Gordon. I’m your host Ryan Embree, and we hope you enjoyed your stay.