Daniel Bibby spoke about recent developments at Spirit Ridge as guest speaker at the lunch meeting of the Rotary Club of Osoyoos. Pictured with him is Giselle LeClair, who is designated as the next president and was filling in for President Lynda Bliss. (Richard McGuire photo)

Since taking over the reins as general manager at Spirit Ridge a year ago, Daniel Bibby has been focused on changing the resort’s image.

The biggest change was a franchise agreement with Hyatt Hotels, announced in October, which makes Spirit Ridge the first Canadian property in Hyatt’s “Unbound Collection.”

But Bibby has other goals in the works and these include bridging any gap between Spirit Ridge and the Osoyoos community, he told a recent lunch meeting of the Rotary Club of Osoyoos.

“We want to be an active part of the Osoyoos community,” he said, noting that the unit owners are ordinary people who have “invested in a vision.”

He also wants to increase interest in Spirit Ridge and local tourism more generally beyond the busy May to September months and into the shoulder season.

Bibby started at Spirit Ridge on March 1, 2017, coming from a position as general manager of the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort in Kelowna, a position he held for almost 10 years.

He’s been working in the hotel industry for about 28 years under such hotel brands as Canadian Pacific, Fairmont and Delta.

“I love Kelowna, but the opportunity came to come down here to Osoyoos,” he said. “I recognized that Spirit Ridge is a very unique property.”

From a personal standpoint, the move also made sense.

About five years ago, Bibby and his wife Christy sold their property in Kelowna and bought a farm at Okanagan Falls – a move that one of their kids called “the craziest midlife crisis you ever heard of.”

They launched a boutique family farm winery called Nighthawk Vineyards.

“I was commuting for about four and half years from Okanagan Falls to Kelowna and it wears you down after a while,” said Bibby. “Anyway, all the stars lined up and I was able to come down here.”

Bibby said he recognized quickly that work was needed to build a culture at Spirit Ridge so that employees felt good about working there, that owners and guests were taken care of, and the resort could be turned around.

But the big change has been that the franchise agreement allows Spirit Ridge to tap into Hyatt’s extensive international marketing.

He dispels the misconception that “this big American company has come in and taken over.”

“That’s not the case,” Bibby emphasized. “We are owned by our owners at the Spirit Ridge Owners’ Association, many who live in Osoyoos year round, and many who come here throughout the year.”

The franchise agreement, he said, allows the resort to reach a broader audience, and people from all over the world are starting to look at Osoyoos and Spirit Ridge.

Traditionally, the resort has drawn people from Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. More recently, he said, visitors are coming from Toronto, Seattle and Los Angeles.

“I’m getting calls, comments and notes from people who have never considered coming here before,” he said. “They can’t fathom that there’s a desert in Canada, that you grow grapes here and that there are great wines.”

The Unbound Collection is a group of properties, currently seven, that promote unique and “story-worthy” experiences.

In the case of Spirit Ridge, that “story” is its ties to the traditional and sacred lands of the Osoyoos Indian Band.

It’s also about being a lake resort in the desert and built among vineyards and a winery. And guests are right next to the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre.

“We describe what guests are going to experience when they come,” he said. “They can go to Spotted Lake, they can go to Anarchist Mountain and they can experience the cultural significance of why we are and who we are.”

The Unbound Collection aims to be authentic and local, including food from local farms and local beers and wines. It’s not so much about corporate hotels with big Hyatt flags flying, he said.

“We want to make sure that it’s very local and very genuine,” said Bibby.

One example he cited is that Spirit Ridge last year started hosting the Okanagan Yoga Festival, an annual event in September. In its first year here it drew about 500 people and Bibby expects that to grow.

The resort is able to let people experience yoga in their own way, meditating in the pit houses and teepee village, on the rooftop or down at the beach.

“We want to make sure we’re spiritual, relaxed and captivating,” Bibby said. “We’re not pretentious. The Hyatt brand is not about being this snobby five-star brand that is coming to town and separating ourselves from everywhere else… We’re never pretentious, assuming or hurried.”

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times