INTERVIEW
RICH WEISSMANN
Last year, KSL Capital Partners became majority stakeholders of US destination spa Miraval. As the firm prepares to announce two new Miraval resorts, KSL partner Rich Weissmann explains its vision for the brand to Rhianon Howells
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Miraval Resort & Spa, a nearly 20-year-old destination spa in Tucson, is arguably one of the best-known brands in the global spa industry (see SB12/4 p60) – quite an achievement considering it is, in essence, a single site in the middle of the Arizona desert. But as KSL Capital Partners’ Rich Weissmann will testify, this has no bearing on its potential. “Miraval is a business that
clearly punches above its weight,” says Weissmann, a partner with the private equity firm, which bought a majority stake in the resort from Steve Case’s company, Revolution, last June. “I think that’s because of the quality and nature of the experience that people get there.” It was the opportunity to translate this
Hidden value On its website, KSL claims its investment philosophy is not about financial engineering, but about unlocking the “hidden value” of businesses through targeted capital expenditures, operational efficiencies and enhanced marketing strategies. So where does KSL see the hidden value in Miraval? “It’s a brand,” Weissmann says.
Before KSL, Weissmann headed up the hospitality and gaming practice at Goldman Sachs
reputation into growth that piqued the interest of KSL’s managing director, Mike Shannon, when the firm started looking for spa investments seven years ago. As a specialist in travel and leisure investment (see p32) KSL was already involved in the spa business through its then ownership of destination resorts with significant spas, from La Costa in California to Grand Wailea in Hawaii. But the world of wellness was relatively new territory. “We needed to focus on wellness, and
we came up with two names: Canyon Ranch and Miraval,” says Weissmann,
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who joined KSL in 2008 after 10 years at Goldman Sachs, where he headed up its hospitality and gaming practice. “Miraval dovetails with the demographic we were trying to target.” The KSL clientele, says Weissmann,
want to consume leisure in a meaningful, non-prescriptive way and also have a relaxing vacation. Miraval, with its stunning location in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, its focus on life-affirming experiences and its lack of regimens, ticked all the right boxes. So where exactly is Miraval heading
under KSL’s steerage? Before the deal, Revolution had announced plans to open several new Miraval resorts in the US. Now there’s talk of rolling out the brand both at home and abroad, but where and how?
“Since we’ve bought the business, we’ve had significant enquiries on opportunities either to brand new developments as Miraval or invest in other businesses that are related to what Miraval does. “What we’re focused on now
is how to connect with guests on a daily or weekly basis when they’re not in the resort. So we’re looking at all the different aspects [of Miraval’s offering]
and asking, ‘how does that translate into a more ongoing consumer experience?’ That might be through creating programming that’s portable or by affiliating with or buying like-minded businesses that have distribution in multiple locations.” In terms of the rollout, Miraval will push
ahead with plans to open new resorts: “We’d like to see half a dozen or so. East coast, west coast, probably south-east… we could probably do two in California.” Although details of two sites are due to
be revealed imminently, Weissmann will only confirm that one is the rebranding of an existing operation in Natirar, New Jersey, already announced by Revolution in 2013 (see SB13/4 p40). “That’s one of the two, but we’ve been doing some revisions to the programming and design,” he says.
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