Boutique Design - June 2018 - 36

WELLNESS WARRIOR
INGO SCHWEDER | CEO AND FOUNDER, GOCO HOSPITALITY
guess myself. I spend a lot of time on personal
constructive reflection. But I usually follow my intuition. It's also important, though, to absorb creative
and constructive feedback. I seek input and insights
from our team, but as the head of the organization, I
make decisions fast. It's important to remember
that implementation is always a collaborative
endeavour and requires the support of many. I'm a
leader and a captain, but I have an amazing team I
respect a lot. Very few corporate headquarters
invest in hiring a personal health chef to provide
team members with complimentary lunch every
day. We provide a variety of dishes for the team here.
Healthy nourishment is very meaningful. It's important that we truly live a health-conscious lifestyle.
That's what we sell and who we are.

nosed with stage 4 terminal cancer in 1993. Before
that, I'd felt invincible. Clearly, then, I was faced with
my own mortality. It was very sobering. This led me
to analyze and learn a lot about health and wellness. I
subsequently merged that knowledge with my hotel
industry knowledge and shifted my focus to spas and
wellness hospitality. I changed my daily life to incorporate healthy foods, yoga and meditation. That
made me calm, even in crisis situations. It certainly
helped when we launched GOCO Hospitality just as
the economic crisis hit in 2008. I didn't anticipate
how intense that recession would be, but I came to
see that a lot of people were turning inward and
looking for an escape from stress. They wanted places
to go that were about wellness, not pure hedonism.

large brands. They become a commodity-merely
a set of standards and processes without any real
personality. Greed, insecurity and a lack of
creativity are what limits new thinking. Often,
individuals are too complacent.
HOW HE KEEPS HIS VISION FOCUSED: I rarely
look at my competition. Instead, I read a lot in terms
of politics, design and culture to discover new ideas. I
travel the world and try to explore the sights and
sounds and observe people that I encounter. Too
many people feel they can get everything from the
internet and don't really exchange ideas with leaders,
get their hands dirty and put themselves into new,
uncomfortable environments to discover what's there.
WHAT RULES NEED TO BE BROKEN: Hotel

HIS RISKIEST MOVE: To start the company, I sold

my two houses and my three cars in order to set up
the legal, logistical and other infrastructure and
generate cash to pay for the rent and salaries. I was
left with no physical assets. This was a big risk, but it
clearly paid off. This year our turnover will be $40
million. There's never any reward without taking a
risk. I enjoy taking calculated risks. I have fewer anxieties because of my lifestyle changes and no fears.
WHY HE'S A MAVERICK: I'm very hands-on. I
pay high attention to detail. And I want to create
projects that are unique. Too many investors
engage you, but only want the same old thing.
There are very few people genuinely interested in
creating a new chapter, further expanding the
market in a more creative fashion and crafting
new experiences. This is particularly true with the
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schools prepare students to sell rooms and maybe
F&B, but they fail to educate future hoteliers on the
evolving aspects of hospitality such as wellness,
design, real estate and technology. That has to
change. Hotels need to address more clearly defined
guest segments and understand their needs fully, not
superficially. Designers shouldn't just design spaces
for the sake of design but should read the customer
needs and create new experiences. Steve Jobs did
that so successfully at Apple-inventing what we
love before we even knew we wanted it. But,
designers can't forget about the practical needs of a
space and just go for the wow. I'd like to see more of
a focus on sustainability throughout-from development to design and operations.
CAPTAIN OR TEAM PLAYER: A ceo has to be a
leader, but also has to be collaborator. I second-

WHY GIVING BACK NEEDS TO BE A LIFESTYLE
HACK: Once you've provided for your own needs,

you have a responsibility to help those who are less
fortunate. From 2004 to 2006 in Hong Kong, I was
supporting an orphanage every Sunday with five to
six hours of hands-on care of 10 to 15 infants. It's so
important to give these children a positive outlook
and a chance to be part of a family. I spent quite a
lot of time, effort and money to do what I could for
them, and that work completely changed my
outlook on life. My current goal is to develop a small
business or a home that provides career opportunities for and supports orphans. The young and innocent deserve a lot of love, support and nurture.
Serving on the advisory council for the Indian
School of Hospitality is very important because
India is such a vibrant and exciting country, and
also one of the most complex nations on earth. I'm
very grateful for being able to work with Ananda
and the Vilas Collection. For the latter, my core
team of 12 and I traveled through India, interviewing
over 10,000 students and hiring the top 150 based on
outlook, attitude and potential. Everyone had to
have enough knowledge to be able to take on the
duties of any role in the hotel, regardless of department. We also trained them in meditation and yoga
to give them focus and concentration. It was a
resounding success. I'm fortunate to be have been
able to contribute to the careers of hundreds of
employees. You only get in life if you give.
Many people just take but don't give back. That's
the start of an imbalance that can't last much
longer. However, I believe it's an individual decision,
so I don't pressure others to do it themselves, but
would rather lead by example. I believe in win-win.
One of the responsibilities of success is to give.

C O U R T E S Y O F G O C O H O S P I TA L I T Y

WHEN WELLNESS GOT PERSONAL: I was diag-

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