Hospitality Graduate’s Ventures Add Value to Prized Vacation Time

“Our services will always have a one-client-at-a-time feel,” observed Ben Goldberg ’01 in a visit on February 19 to HTM professor Rod Warnick’s Advertising and Promotions class. The HTM graduate is founder and owner of Enjoy Nantucket and Enjoy Aspen, lifestyle management companies that provide high-touch concierge, household management, catering, event planning, and property rental services in both vacation venues. This summer, Ben and his team of seven will leverage the skills of many others to enhance the vacations of 300 families. The team also serves corporate clients.

Ben founded Enjoy Nantucket in 2001 and Enjoy Aspen last year. “As a 20-year-old caddy on Nantucket, it dawned on me that most vacationers didn’t want to spend their scarce vacation time doing things like cooking, shopping, and maintaining houses,” he told the students. “They were in Nantucket to be with their families and enjoy the island.” At the same time, Ben noticed a void in services to make that happen. So after graduating from Isenberg’s HTM program, he created Enjoy Nantucket to fill that void.

Artisanal, Customized Services

Since then, he has built an expanding network one client at a time. Along with household provisioning, maintenance, and logistics, he’s arranged fishing charters and island tours. And he’s coordinated parties, weddings, and corporate retreats. “I sit with my clients and listen. I notice everything—who among their employees is doing their job and who isn’t,” Ben remarked. “Ultimately, it’s not about the locations. It’s about the clients. We can help them when they’re not on the island as well.”

Word-of-mouth praise for Ben’s services has generate referrals and buzz for his business. So has social media advertising and branding that capture the special qualities of Nantucket and Aspen. His company’s Instagram site features Ben’s own evocative photos that resonate with those qualities. “I like sharp, beautiful pictures, including sunsets—photos with just a few words that tell stories,” he emphasized. “Pictures have led me to clients and clients to me.”

Judicious Expansion

With careful deliberation, Ben is expanding his brand in two new locations—Martha’s Vineyard and Palm Beach. The challenge, he observed, is to grow while maintaining the company’s commitment to artisanal service. He is working with a marketing consultant, who has created a cleaner family of identity marks for each venue. And he is hiring a seasoned professional to coordinate some of the brass tacks of the business. That, he says, will allow him to fulfill his role as inspirational entrepreneur and confidant to his clients. “I am, after all, the company’s dreamer,” he remarked. “This business is an extension of who I am.”