How Hospitality Found Me
Sometimes your limitations end up being the reason you succeeded.
At the age of 13, I vividly remember my first organized travel experience and the guide who took care of everything. That was the first time I understood what it means to be taken care of, when the only thing you need to do is show up and bring a good mood.
That trip determined my future. I noted down in my diary that I would go on to study tourism.
When you come from a third world country like Serbia, the first things they teach you are survival, resilience and discipline. One of the good things about growing up in such an environment was mandatory foreign language learning. By the age of 15, I was already fluent in English and Russian. And no, Russian is not similar to Serbian, but on that topic some other time.
Straight out of college, I got my first job at Hyatt Regency Belgrade. Back in 2002, it was the only five-star hotel in the city, and to this day I think we had some of the best hospitality people in the industry. That was the age when standards were followed like bible and no one dared to practice anything different. It wasn’t a matter of position or salary. Following standards was simply non-negotiable. I didn’t realise it at the time, but my skills and personality were being shaped, moulded and perfected for what was to come later.
I wasn’t aware of all this then and all I wanted was to travel. I had this thirst for knowledge which made me devour any information I could find about food, wine, service and culture. Ten years in, with a sommelier certification in hand, endless shifts behind me and fine dining restaurants on my CV, I felt like I was rowing hard but getting nowhere. It was time to revisit my dream of travelling. I had great plans for studying, however it turned out the diploma didn’t mean much at that time. Montenegro became my pit stop for a few years before I set my sails. Well, almost literally.
The yachting industry was, and still is, a somewhat mysterious world. It runs on its own rules and operates in its own orbit. Without going into details or down the rabbit hole of discussing how messed up our world can be, I will share that my passport made it that much harder to break into an industry that was already challenging to reach. Here came into play the cultural context I thought had only limited me, but the perseverance and resilience part came in handy. Being stubborn and young was a great combination, as it made me a bit delusional about my prospects and I refused to accept anything but great offers. The more I was told no, the more I pursued.
It seem that if I didn’t have those limitations, perhaps I wouldn’t have ended up being that ambitious and resourceful.
The next decade of hard work, constant learning and travel went both slowly and quickly. If I start thinking about every project I worked on, it seems long. But now that I am sitting on the other side of the bar, it feels like it all passed in a breeze.
I wasn’t aware of the knowledge and experience I had accumulated until I stopped and gave myself time to look back. The environments I existed in greatly influenced who I am today. Living and working with people from all parts of the world, hosting some of the richest people on the planet, spending time in their vicinity, observing how worlds we know nothing about operate, visiting places and destinations most people only dream of - all of this leaves a mark on you.
Five years ago, I started telling everyone I was building my own business. Only it wasn’t a business until a bit later. I just knew that I was being called towards something different, and I so badly wanted it to happen overnight, but life had other plans for me. It became a great lesson in patience, and a test of how much I actually wanted this business. Being an entrepreneur is so glorified nowadays, and for the sake of our sanity I think we should talk more openly about what it actually entails. Yes, you leave the 9–5, but you also leave a good night’s sleep, because even when you’re not working, the work is still in your head.
When it was clear this wasn’t just a hobby of mine but a way of living, it occurred to me that I had been approaching it from the wrong angle. I was trying to learn how to lead a successful business instead of building it around something only I can do. What is my superpower?
Brand & Spice started as a design studio, born from my passion for colour, design, architecture and objects. It took its current shape exactly a year ago, when I had an aha moment. (Isn’t it funny how a light bulb moment does happen in an instant, but what it leads to can sometimes take many years?)
I was sitting at breakfast at a beautiful boutique property in Tuscany. It was one of the most design-oriented places I had ever seen, and I have seen many. It was put together in such an interesting and unique way. Everything was welcoming: the space, the people, the area and the way hotel was laid out. And yet even this “perfect” property gave me quite a few notes to jot down.
That was when it occurred to me that I had been doing this for years. Working in these environments, then travelling and exploring on my own. Always watching, taking it all in, noticing how it works. From the booking site and first email to the welcome, the stay and the goodbye. I realized that without trying, I see the place or the project and I notice the pieces of the puzzle. Whether they are in order or not. Whether some pieces are missing.
And I thought, how wonderful would it be if hotels had someone like me to help them? Someone who knows the back of house, the hours, the pressure and everything in between. Someone who understands both owners’ decisions and guest requests.
I don’t see myself as someone to be hired and left outside the story. Yes, one has to list services on a website, but what I hope reads between the lines is that I become part of the story, part of the team. I immerse myself fully, whether it is at the very beginning, when the ideas are great but making them real still feels far away; when everything is working well but something is missing and no one can quite put a finger on it; or when a new guest experience needs to be added without looking like a staged list of amenities or things to do.
Since the early days, I have been mesmerized by human behaviour and what drives people. For years I have been collecting clues on how people behave in different environments, how a culture or a country influences them, why they choose what they choose, and where all of this points us next. These codes are something indescribable that I bring to every project I work on. Some would call it emotional intelligence, which is definitely part of it, but without sounding too precious, I do believe these codes are my superpower.
My new dream is to open and run my own boutique hotel. I see it as an ecosystem of land, people, heritage, nature and relationships.
Meanwhile, I am as excited as one can be to help someone else bring their dream and vision to life.