We recently connected with Annie and Tony DeMille and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Annie and Tony, thanks for joining us today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

Tony and I have always loved to travel and when we do, we find that we seek out interesting destinations and even more than that, we’re drawn to unique lodgings or stays. We were living in LA when we purchased a home and land in the Joshua Tree, CA. area and decided to create our own glamping retreat called Lazy Sky in 2015. It was really amazing to create that from the ground up…to be able to concept and run every aspect from the build, to the design, to the cleaning, reservations, maintenance and everything in between. After years of running it, the market began to saturate with copy cats and we faced issues with zoning that made us look elsewhere. While looking for a new place to create something unique, we made the choice to move back to my hometown of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We envisioned a 4 season glamping destination and began the search for a unique structure that could withstand the dramatic seasons. Geodesic domes checked all the boxes and were also perfect for providing guests with a totally unique stay. It doesn’t hurt that they’re on a river, surrounded by mountains, and a short drive to endless Colorado beauty. Besides, the domes are just plain cool.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Tony and I got into hospitality in a round about way. Tony was a production designer in Hollywood and I was involved in behavior analysis and special education. When we met, we found out we had a lot in common, from motorcycles and cars to design, art, travel and more. We decided to leave the rat race of LA behind and moved out to the Joshua Tree area and started brainstorming ways to combine our loves and voila, Lazy Sky was born. We were able to host visitors from all over the world, be creative with design and structures (tipis, wall tents, and vintage trailers), and even hosted motorcycle rally’s and other events introducing us to a lot of great people. Returning home to Colorado, we wanted to do something that still combined our loves, so we started a Motel called The Nightingale along with our take on a craft cocktail lounge called The Neon Mallard. The interior of the Neon Mallard is pretty special. We sourced antiques, collectibles and oddities for over a year, bought a crazy number of antique lights and created unique seating spaces inside so you can have a different experience each time you visit. Once those were up and running, we helped with the remodel and design of another local motel called High Creek Lodge and Cabins. During the creation of those properties, we kept our sites on our true love which was developing another glamping retreat, here in Colorado – a sort of Lazy Sky 2.0. We have poured our heart and soul into creating what we think is our coolest accommodations yet. We just hope that anyone who visits enjoys all the love and details within our projects. Pagosa Springs is such a special, beautiful place and coming back and getting to add all of these new creative places to my hometown is just a dream!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Building a business in a small town has major pros and cons. Everyone knows who you are and what you are doing, and because of this you have to foster relationships and be a part of the community. When Tony and I talk about what we do and what takes up our time, so much is trying to be involved, and maintaining the relationships that contribute to the community and make business work. Our day to day is the obvious like physically building the project, designing so that it’s aesthetically pleasing and comfortable for guests, managing our teams of employees and customers, marketing and thinking ahead, but then this huge unseen piece is going beyond that and collaborating with other local businesses to help grow each other. We meet regularly with other small business owners to discuss how we can hep one another. We attend town council and tourism meetings when there are issues that will affect our businesses. We donate and attend lots of functions for other things in our community-from the early education schools, to the public school to the charters, to 4H, to arts initiatives to make sure we are giving back and being part of the community. I think this is something that people don’t realize and is so important; to support the community you work in. This is often the gripe with people creating a business in places where they don’t live and we think it is the responsibility of any business owner to give back and participate in the community. There will always be issues, but work hard, do your best and be a supportive member of your community.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Be there for your staff. Being present and managing a team is often the hardest part of the business. Being in a small town where everyone is competing for hires, means you have to be the best manager you can be to maintain the teams you have. You have to listen when they need support and be there to work alongside them when they need help. I have worked in several places where the boss or manager is not part of the team…they aren’t available to answer questions or support their staff and that does not sustain a team of people who are happy to be working. Tony and I let our team know that they will never be asked to do something that we haven’t already done or aren’t willing to do. When we started the Nightingale, we were every member of the team-we conceived and created the space, literally built it and project managed all the permits, meetings, and subcontractors, and then once we opened we were the reservationists, the cleaners, the maintenance, you name it. I think staff have a different level of respect when you are willing to jump in and do the job that they are doing. You have to support, listen, and be there for them. Don’t just oversee and manage the team, be a part of the team.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pagosariverdomes.com www.thenighingalemotel.com
• Instagram: @pagosariverdomes @the_nightingale-motel @theneonmallard @highcreeklodge @lazyskyretreat
• Facebook: facebook.com/pagosariverdomes facebook.com/thenightingalemotel facebook.com/neonmallard