Return to the Limelight
Bob Kramm and his team put the wow power back in the Sundial Beach Resort
It’s Saturday night and the musical sounds of steel drums have a weekend crowd tapping their feet to the island rhythms of troubadour Danny Morgan and his band. Wearing his signature ball cap Morgan strums his guitar and sings “Sha la la la la la la la la la la ti da,” as the Jimmy Buffett fans in the audience sing and sway to his redetion of “Brown Eyed Girl.” Rum cocktails are flowing, and the new Sea Breeze Café at the Sundial Beach Resort is fast becoming the go- to place— once again.
In June last year— after being closed to the public for more than five years— the Sundial Beach Resort opened its doors to show off its $ 5 million renovation and welcome hotel guests, visitors and locals to its restaurants and public spaces. Guiding the rebirth of Sundial is general manager Bob Kramm, a seasoned hotelier with three decades of world- class hospitality experience. Since his arrival, the general manager has focused on strengthening resort operations while working with 100 hospitality professionals, including that bartender mixing up those intoxicating rum concoctions, to enhance the guest experience.
Guiding the reintroduction of a resort like Sundial is not only challenging, it is also fun. “Our most important asset is the people who make Sundial the warm and friendly place it is. They are engaged, inspired and play a major role in helping us execute our vision,” explains Kramm. “Our long- range goals are to infuse Sanibel Island’s history and culture with excellence in hospitality, blending the resort experience with fine cuisine, live music, entertainment and yearround celebrations.”
One of his first actions was to engage Danny Morgan and his band for weekend entertainment. Once the word got out, Morgan’s fans followed him to the Sea Breeze Café on Friday and Saturday nights and the Turtles Beach & Pool Bar on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. His upbeat music attracted a crowd, who soon discovered chef Patrick Fitz’s fish tacos and grouper sandwiches— teasers to what Fitz is doing in the resort’s elegant Waterview restaurant.
Kramm knew the food would be a draw— a reason to come back. So in contrast to the laid- back vibe at the café and pool, his team created the Waterview, an upscale restaurant. Tables dressed in white linens are merely feet away from the blue- green Gulf waters, and floor- to- ceiling windows turn the beach view into a tropical panoramic scene. To start, Fitz serves seafood chowder made with the fresh coastal catch, followed by his Mediterranean- style local Gulf grouper, baked in a clay pot with roasted tomato, cured olives, fennel, basil, garlic and caper berries. You won’t find a prettier location to indulge in the fruits of the sea.
Marketing ideas for Kramm fall like ripe apples from a tree nearly every day. He says many of them come from his team members who understand the needs of
HE WILL LEAD IT BACK TO ITS HALCYON DAYS WHEN IT [ SUNDIAL BEACH RESORT] WAS THE PLACE TO STAY AND VISIT ON SANIBEL ISLAND.”
— AL TEN BROEK, PRESIDENT OF MARINER MANAGEMENT SERVICES
the marketplace. “Without their freedom to create and be involved, we would not enjoy the early success we have achieved,” he adds, referring to the property being named Best Full- Service Resort on Sanibel and Captiva islands in last year’s Best of the Islands award competition conducted by the Islander newspaper.
In 2013, the resort hosted its first Sundial Summerfest and Sundial Fall Festival celebrations, followed by special gatherings on Columbus Day and Halloween. A classic holiday buffet for Thanksgiving and Christmas, plus a gala New Year’s Eve party, are destined to become annual events.
Kramm believes he has been fortunate to enjoy success in many different places, each facing their own set of challenges. To encourage local businesses to jump on the Sundial bandwagon, he also introduced a Retail Partners program for area businesses. His Four Seasons of Sundial campaign includes a register- to- win opportunity, where retailers can offer their shoppers a chance to score a weekend at the resort.
Prior to assuming leadership at Sundial Beach Resort, for nearly three years Kramm served as chief operating officer and general manager of Abaco Beach Resort at Boat
Harbour on Grand Bahama Island, where he led resort and condo- hotel sales, marketing and operations at this destination resort. He achieved industry recognition for quality operations, skillful sales and marketing roles and was nominated as Hotelier of the Year for his efforts.
“Bob Kramm is a consummate hotelier who is always readily available to Sundial guests, employees and hotel- condominium owners,” said Al Ten Broek, president of Mariner Management Services, the managing company for Sundial. “He will lead it back to its halcyon days when it was the place to stay and visit on Sanibel Island.”
The hospitality bug actually bit Kramm at the age of 15 when he began his hotel career as a bellman during summers at a Cape May, New Jersey, hotel. He knew immediately that this was a career he wanted to pursue and believes his subsequent training with Marriott and Sheraton corporations and his good luck to be mentored by top professionals guided him along the journey.
Kramm served in the U. S. Air Force, later graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a B. S. in Hotel and Restaurant Administration, and spent 15 years with Marriott and Sheraton corporations in marketing and operations positions. This led to 13 years as a senior executive with Huizenga Sports and Entertainment Group, where he was general manager for the famed Pier 66 Resort & Marina in Fort Lauderdale, vice president of marketing for the Florida Marlins Baseball Club and president/ COO of Pro Player Stadium in Miami.
Jack Lannom is CEO of Lannom Worldwide, a leadership development training organization and respected author of 15 books. He has known Kramm for more than two decades and worked with him when he was at Pro Player Stadium. “During my 40year career, I consider Bob Kramm one of the best CEOs I have ever met. His leadership style is characterized by humility, not hubris. He is successful because he puts other people first, maintaining a steady balance of human and business systems.”
Kramm and his wife Sonia recently celebrated their 40- year anniversary and recall how it really was love at first sight. They met while he was in the Air Force. The couple has three children and five grandchildren. Daughter Heather is a rheumatologist, Lee is an ophthalmologist, and Justin is in Internet marketing. Kramm looks forward to Sonia moving to Sanibel to teach preschool.
For many years, Kramm has been a supporter of golden retriever rescue organizations and has three of the dogs at his home in Fort Lauderdale. He began playing drums at the age of 15 while listening to Ringo Starr at 105- plus decibels at home. He says it is no coincidence that he left home at about this same time to start working in resorts.
Looking ahead, Kramm says, “Al Ten Broek and I have had some great successes together in other locations. We feel strongly that Sundial has enormous untapped potential for greatness. We are very pleased with the resort’s acceptance and encouragement as evidenced by the Best of the Islands award and look forward to restoring Sundial as the place for fine food and entertainment on Sanibel Island. Our entire staff is dedicated to this goal.” Marge Lennon is a writer and publicist for the hospitality and shared- use industries. She has been writing about Sanibel and Captiva islands since 1978.