Marteyne van Well, the Regional General Manager of Six Senses Laamu and Six Senses Kanuhura, is no stranger to the luxury hospitality market. With over three decades of experience in the industry – more than a third of which has been spent in the Maldives – Marteyne brings a unique perspective on the Maldivian tourism sector.
An avid diver and a passionate conservationist, Marteyne shares with us her experiences, her advice for up-and-coming young people in tourism as well as the way luxury and sustainability are defined and interwoven into the Six Senses’ operations and guest experience.
Hotel Insider: You’ve been in the hospitality industry for several decades and worked in multiple cities around the world. What has it been like?
Marteyne: I’ve been in the hospitality industry for over 30 years, and I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people out there because of it. I’ve had the good fortune to meet some really amazing people through this work; people that you can learn from, be inspired by, and can grow together with.
I’ve been in some really stressful, powerful roles, working in places like the Plaza Hotel in New York and the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C., when I was managing the diplomatic market and in charge of state head visits in the U.S. I’ve also done really fun jobs where I’ve worked in skiing alps as well. However, my longest service has been to Six Senses. I’ve been with the company for over 16 years and most of that time has been spent here in the Maldives. I think the Maldives is possibly one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and out of all the places I’ve worked at, it’s my favourite place to be.
Hotel Insider: How do you define luxury at Six Senses Laamu and Six Senses Kanuhura? And how do you strive to set that particular brand of luxury apart from other resorts and properties in the Maldives?
Marteyne: At Six Senses, we want to make certain that people are able to reconnect and be rejuvenated with their senses. We offer empathetic service, pioneering wellness and sustainable practices, both of which are really woven into everything we do.
The Maldives is growing and there are a lot of incredibly beautiful resorts that offer luxury where it might be defined in terms of design, products, and technology. But at Six Senses, we define luxury as the opportunity to reconnect with yourself, to have choices in how you wish to explore your journey. Especially in a destination such as the Maldives, we offer the opportunity for our guests to be educated about something that they might not be exposed to in their daily lives.
All Six Senses resorts and hotels are in places of incredible natural beauty, and we offer meaningful experiences for people to reconnect with themselves, with others and the world around them. None of our services are cookie cutter or one size fits all. Everything is tailored towards the local surroundings, the team, the environment that we need to protect, and I think that differentiates us in many ways from other resorts. The experiences we offer are curated; we want people to explore what it means to be mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually happy. We want to curate the experience for you, so that you can get what you want to get out of it.
Hotel Insider: As the Regional General Manager overseeing both Six Senses properties in the Maldives, what does your job entail? What’s your vision for both resorts under your leadership?
Marteyne: I think my vision for both resorts is to ensure that we continue to do what we do, and we continue to do it well.
Six Senses Laamu and Six Senses Kanuhura are completely different properties. The experience offered in terms of empathetic service, reconnecting, sustainability, and wellness – which is interwoven into everything we do – that’s the same at both resorts, but the look and the feel is not necessarily the same. At almost 14 years of operations, Six Senses Laamu is more of a legacy while Six Senses Kanuhura is a newer version of this. It opened under our ownership in September last year after substantial renovations to the previous resort. My role is one of support, of making sure that both resorts deliver the authentic Six Senses experience and that it is something that we can be proud of. It’s about maintaining the culture, the ethos, and making certain that the two resorts complement each other.
Hotel Insider: Sustainability is a very important factor for Six Senses and your initiatives in both Laamu Atoll and Kanuhura island reflect that. Could you tell us about it and the impact that it has made on local communities as well as visitors to the Maldives.
Marteyne: One of my all-time favourite quotes is by Baba Dioum, which goes – “In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.” So, that to me was part of my vision for what we do here at Six Senses.
We wish to educate and engage the hearts and minds of our staff, local communities, guests, and people that we interact with, making certain to not only tell them about the beauty here but about the importance of conserving it. At both Six Senses Laamu and Kanuhura, we have Earth Labs where you can learn how we turn waste into wealth and how you can eliminate single use plastic from your life. At Six Senses Laamu, we are particularly proud of our Sea Hub of Environmental Learning in Laamu (SHELL) that has just celebrated its one-year anniversary. This building highlights our conservation efforts and is named partly after one of our marine biologists, Shelly, who unfortunately passed away and was instrumental in setting the foundation for it. We have currently had twelve local schools come and visit the SHELL, as well as other key atoll stakeholders including, local Women’s Development Committees (WDCs) and members from local councils.
Our passion is to share knowledge and to make certain that the next generation is given the tools to go forward with it. We are continuously inviting experts to grow and develop our processes, and we are proud of the experiences that we have developed with the local community.
Hotel Insider: As a woman in a predominantly male-dominated field, especially here in the Maldives and as a General Manager, what has your experience been like? Is there any advice you would like to give to other young people who see your journey as an inspiration?
Marteyne: I’ll be honest, it’s not always easy. But when you’re surrounded by a team that you trust, who are transparent, open, and honest, it works. For any woman in the Maldives who would like to come into a senior position in the industry, there is a certain learning that you as a woman need to do. You have to understand the culture and make sure that you appreciate and understand what it stands for.
I would say to stick to it. There will be good days and bad days but don’t give up on the bad days. Things will go wrong, but when it does, you have to be willing to move forward from it. Figure out what it is that you want to achieve, be resilient, speak up and seek advice. I love it when young hosts here ask me for advice; it brings me great pride to be able to offer them support. I hope that with more time, more women come aboard to the industry.
Hotel Insider: You’ve been in the Maldives for more than 10 years. What changes would you like to see in the Maldivian hospitality industry in the coming years?
Marteyne: The Maldives is definitely growing, and there are many different ideas around how to do that. In my opinion, despite all these changes, the authentic Maldivian beauty should not be compromised. While there is value to being open to visitors of all sorts of budgets, the exclusivity of having access to beauty and nature and being able to reconnect with it is of incredible value, and I hope as the Maldives grows and develops, it does not happen at the expense of what makes the country so beautiful.
I also hope to see more focus on developing our staff. I think it’s very important to develop people, especially those working in the tourism sector in the Maldives and give them the opportunity to have cross-cultural experiences that people from Asia, Europe or even the United States might have access to. It allows people the chance to grow into their roles and advance as well. While education is an important aspect, there is also value to being able to experience other countries and cultures without it negatively impacting your own culture, and that exposure will only enhance people. If I personally have a wish, then it would be there to be even more focus on that in the years ahead.
Hotel Insider: It was lovely to speak with you, Marteyne. Thank you!