We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rocco Bova a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Rocco, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I think I was born with it. Since childhood, I remember to be a curious by nature but also a very patience individual. I never got into fights or stuff like that. I then, once onto more adulthood, I begun to learn that to get what I wanted I had to overcome even the most difficult barriers (and trust me I did).
Coming from a humble family, a small village and an average education system, I had to truly work hard to get to what I am today.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I have been working in Hotels for over 30 years. Then something happened when I turned 50. I wanted a change and, after a suggestion from my wife, I begun my consultancy business.
Since the past three years I have been involved with over 75 projects in various stages. From conception to design, to preopening, to operation, rebrandind and even sale of the business.
It’s so exciting and I am nearly at the stage to refuse business.
My specialty are boutique, independent hotels. My mission is to provide the tools and resources to those that don’t and can’t have the same as the big players in the hospitality industry.
At the same time I have been working on my very own hotel brand, My Humble House. One of the very, very few hotel companies (actually I know only one more that does it) which share profits with its employees.You can have more information on my Linkedin page.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1- Learning and self development. One cannot get to his own objective if does not continuously learn and develop himself. Now it’s so much easier, we have more tools and resources and it’s so much faster.
2- Work Hard. I don’t know anyone who is successful who doesn’t work hard, every day. Often on weekends too.
Achieving your objective and to remain above your competition requires dedication and time.
3- I am not sure if I can put it as a quality but to have the right partner (wife in my case) to support you and guide you is another most important point. I wouldn’t be here today without my wife and family.
To those that are just about to start in their career I will tell them to not be afraid of making the first step and listen carefully to what’s out there. You can anticipate the future only if you are always listening, learning and investigating.
Everything will unfold.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
I am now very disappointed with the hospitality industry and how they are handling the talent (management) challenge. I am every day flabbergasted by seeing and reading certain things online and also through direct connections.
For example recruitment and search for talents, interview process, ghosting, among many other ridiculous activities which are making the talent pool going further away from the industry.
I feel a little helpless but, through my Linkedin network I am trying my best to scream loud and make people/companies aware of this mess.
I hope we go back to what hospitality was about B.C: (Before Covid).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-humble-house/?viewAsMember=true
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roccobova/
Image Credits
My Humble House Brand logo some pictures of me in action while working at the Al Bustan Palace and Chable Yucatan
