Interview: Eustace Mita, CEO

Eustace Mita

CEO ICONA Resorts

What is the importance of ICONA Resorts to South Jersey’s hospitality industry?

With our latest acquisition in Avalon, the Windrift, ICONA has become the largest hospitality brand in South Jersey. We’ve had the great privilege and honor to have three of our four hotels rated from dead last on Tripadvisor (when we bought them) to No. 1 now. As a result, our team has brought great renown to hospitality in South Jersey. These are accomplishments we are very proud of and that we think shine a great light on Cape May County.

How significant of a challenge has access to labor been?

Very difficult. Here are some statistics: We have always paid higher than minimum wage, it’s part of our culture and ethos, yet our labor costs are up 60% over the last 18 months, and that is not transitory inflation, it is permanent. When the labor pool grows, and we stop paying people to stay home, then we’re going to have more people in the labor pool. Are we going to drop our wages? No, we’re not.

What innovations have you instituted as a result of the pandemic?

For one, we have more outdoor seating, which is popular with the guests. Also, the heightened cleaning protocols that were seen instituted throughout the world. In regard to those, I should mention that they are here to stay and are not going to go away after the pandemic.

What is your near-term outlook?

We’re bullish for a number of reasons. We think the pandemic affected a lot of people’s thinking. People who were inclined to put off a vacation will no longer be of that mind. People who were going to stay one night are staying two, those who were going to stay two are staying three. People want to spend time together in a way they hadn’t before.

Commission, which participates in a number of arts centered programs through local college campuses. It is also home to the Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts, which provides performances, exhibitions, education programs and community projects, including plays, choral and orchestra performances. In Burlington County, there are annual food festivals, culinary art and farm-to-table events, as well as a host of art galleries and outdoor nature programs. The South Jersey Cultural Alliance has created a cultural asset map project, whereby the local community collaborates to collate and disseminate information about the cultural offerings available in the region.

Hotel performance Perhaps one of the hardest hit areas in 2020 throughout the pandemic was the hotel industry, which is still