Meet today’s artisan, Kurt Bjorkman, who is the Chief Operating Officer of The Ranch at Laguna Beach!
Generation: Gen X
Hometown: Lived in many places, but my true hometown would be Los Osos California.
Day Job: Serving my Team.
Night Job: Spending as much time with my family, hiking, sailing – basically anything outdoors.
Headquarters: Laguna Beach, CA
Instagram: @theranchlb
Tell us what you create: Personal and transformative work experiences for my team and the same for our guests.
Tell us your mission: To let people know that entering this amazing business is indeed an amazing career – not just at management level, as some of the most incredibly happy and stable people in this business I know are not managers. We need to shift the idea that in order to be successful in a hotel you have to pursue management – this is a great career at the line level!
Tell us your most noteworthy achievement in hospitality: Opening The Ranch at Laguna Beach – no contest.
Tell us how your hotel impacts the world in a positive way: Our resort is very committed to operating as sustainably as we can while supporting our local community and cultures. I like to think that anyone working here or staying with us has a better day because of their experience.
If you had one day to experience your hotel, what would you do?: My property has so many activities to participate in, but my dream one-day stay would be to check in, order a nice bottle of red and sit on my private patio reading a great book, followed by dinner at Harvest restaurant and a late-night swim – then enjoy the bliss of an amazing night’s sleep in total privacy. Of course, I would be tempted to try the spa, or maybe a round of golf – oh and the local hike up Valido Trail might be in order – can’t I stay for a few more days?? 🙂
Tell us what your favorite part of being a boutique hotel operator is: I personally love the flexibility of trying new things, forging new collaborations, and crafting amazing team member experiences. Having the ability to dream up something on a Friday and launch it on a Monday is very exciting – while not putting undue burden on my team!
Something that is coming up in the pipeline: Our resort operates two beach cafes. We just opened the second last week – so that is new enough to still have “pipeline” thoughts. Making this new café the most successful beach café in California (seriously!) is something I think will happen this summer!
The Ranch at Laguna Beach is a cherry-picked approved boutique hotel.
