Island Bay Resort in Tavernier, Florida

Nestled in their kayak, Mike and Carol Shipley glide through the waters of Florida Bay, just off the Florida Keys, alternating their paddles, right, left, right left. The sun, a bright ball of orange, is still high in the sky, giving them plenty of time to do their search. They finally spot the treasure they've been hunting for - a banana colored kayak, wedged far back in the mangrove trees to the far right of their property at Island Bay Resort in Tavernier, Florida. Their guest claimed it had been stolen, but the search revealed it had just gotten loose and floated out on its own.

Returning the lost watercraft to its owners, they're thanked for going out of their way in the name of excellent customer service. That's a common practice for the Shipley's, as they serve visitors who stay with them from all around the world.

Owning a hotel seemed like second nature since Carol and Mike have over 45 years of combine experience in the hospitality industry. Both in the restaurant business for years, Carol was a bartender and Mike was a trainer for the Hard Rock Café. They fell in love with the warm weather and beautiful sunsets when Mike's job led them to Florida and ultimately, their dream.

Fifteen years ago, while celebrating their love for each other on an anniversary trip to St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands, the desire to own a hotel began to creep into their hearts.

"We stayed in an eleven room hotel and thought, hey, we can do this," says Mike.

A week after Mike's job gave him a pink slip, the Shipley's headed where they often did, to the dive capital of the world, the Florida Keys, to go scuba diving. They couldn't resist stopping into a realtor, not realizing this was the beginning of their new career.

Looking back on that life changing year in 2000, Mike shares how their decided on Island Bay Resort.

"The realtor didn't take us seriously at first since so many people stop in saying they want to start a business in the Keys," says Mike. "But they ended up taking
us to five hotels. Two of them were out of our league. They were either too expensive or had more rooms than we wanted. When we got to Island Bay Resort, we fell in love with the place. It was torn up and needed tremendous work but we knew we could do something with it. The beach was in good shape and it had enough land for plants and trees to give it a tropical feeling. Since it had so much potential, we decided this was the one."

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Perched on her chair in the front office of the hotel, Carol checks her email. She wears the "official" island uniform - informal shorts, a t-shirt and sandals. The wooden desk in front of her holds her day planner and reservation book. Local attractions line the walls around her, on glossy, colorful brochures filled with marketing copy and photographs, each fighting to get tourist's attention. She doesn't realize she's swaying to the sounds of Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville" streaming from the radio.

The routine of her day began at 8:30 am just as it does everyday. The actions afterwards were every bit as habitual. Open the blinds. Unlock the door. Turn on the music. Answer the phone.

"Good morning, Island Bay Resort," says Carol. "How can I help you? Yes, I'd be happy to take your reservation. Which room would you like? We have ten cottages, some with queen or king size beds and several have futons for the kids to sleep on."

She hangs up the phone and pencils her guest in for Conch Key cottage, a two room suite with a queen size bed, twin sleeper sofa and fully equipped kitchen. Facing her computer, she once again tries to conquer her email.

Walking down the stone driveway, Mike has already been out in the scorching Florida sun touring the property. He's has a busy agenda today: mow the lawn, change burnt out light bulbs, build new outdoor furniture, stop by the Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

But last night's storm leaves him with a new task - checking on things. Nothing is unusual with the beach at the far end of the resort. All lounge chairs remain where they were left, the beach umbrellas too. The wooden dock, a product of Mike's fine craftsmanship, still stands strong. The concrete patio leading to it hasn't endured any damages from last night's storm either. The crisp American flag blowing in the gentle breeze remains, proof the patio hasn't been defeated.
Stopping to make the hammocks are still secure, Wahoo, the Shipley's cat, rubs against Mike's leg. Getting up from a hard morning of sunning on the picnic table, he leads Mike past all the palm trees reaching for the sky, right to the one that fell over. Resting on the ground it looks like it fainted from the heat. It was the storm that got to it though.

Seizing it up, Mike's realizes his agenda for the day has changed. He never thought with all the beaches surrounding him that he'd have to play Paul Bunyan, but that's what happens when you are a hotel owner. You're responsible for everything. Fortunately, the Shipley's have caring customers.

"Let us help you with that," says a few tourists from Michigan, staying in Bahia Honda cottage just near the fallen tree. "We can't just sit here and watch."

"I was so thankful for their help," says Mike. "It would have taken me two or three days to cut up that palm tree."

Back at the hotel office, the hinged door appears to have become revolving. The housekeeper goes in to get her days responsibilities. Carol hands her her chart of duties and gives special instructions. Customers go and in and out. It's check out time for some, and like children giving back candy their not allowed to have, they hand over their key. Their vacation is over. It's time to head back to reality.
Now crunch time begins. New guests will soon arrive.

"You scramble to get things done in three hours between check-out at 11 am and check-in at 2 pm" says Carol.

And the Islamorada Cottage isn't cooperating, or at least the people that were renting it aren't.

"99% of our customers are great, but sometimes people come, stay with you and break things," says Mike. "I had to tape up the window because the last guest put a futon through it. They couldn't figure out how to get it open. The repair man couldn't come right away, so we apologize to our next guest for the hole in the window and gave them a fruit basket. You do what you have to do."

"We've had water pipes break on Christmas," says Carol. "And have found lumps in the bedspring after a guest checked out. We're fortunate that we have a mattress company that can deliver a replacement within the same day. One time we even had a flooded room that buckled the title. We had to put a throw rug over it until it could be taken care of. Our day consists of a lot of maintenance."

New guests flow in and out of the office, one couple arriving with a less then please looked on their faces.

Carol emerges from the Shipley's apartment just behind the hotel office with several of Mike's shorts and t-shirts and a few of her own. The weary traveler dressed in long sleeves and jeans gratefully accepts. This will hold them over until the airline finds their luggage.

Another couple comes in looking for recommendations and the Shipley's take on a new role as tour guide.

Pulling brochures off the wall, Carol recommends John Pennekamp State Park for snorkeling. She explains that you can see the world's first underwater park swarming with creatures in a kaleidoscope of colors. The No Name Pub off of Big Pine Key shouldn't be missed either. They have one dollar bills, signed and left by their customers as a way to show they were there, hanging from the walls - a must see - and the pizza isn't bad either.

"We're expected to be the-know-all for the Keys, so we make recommendations to places that we go to," says Mike. "They must have good service and good food. It embarrasses us if we recommend a place and one of our customers says it's really bad"

With so many hats to wear as hotel owners, why would they want to run their own resort?

"It's interesting to meet people from all over the world," says Carol. "They all have their own personalities. Our repeat customers are our favorite. It's like relatives - we catch up with them every year."

Plus the Shipley's get be a part of special times in their guest's lives.

Setting up the last part of the archway, Carol has finished up all the decorations for the couple's wedding. Their minister and twenty guests will witness them take their vows just off the beach by the sparkling water, the Florida sun serving as their backdrop. Their just one of ten couples the Shipley's have watched get hitched at their resort.

Carol's interior design skills serve her well, not only did she initially decorate the resort with a sea shore theme that draws on local places, she decorates for the holidays as well.

"We didn't realize people travel so much during the Christmas holiday," says Carol. "It's the biggest time of year."

Hanging up the lights on the porch of room number nine, she only has one more cottage to finish. The garland has already been hung and red bows have been affixed everywhere. She's had a long week, decorating and baking Christmas cookies every night to give to her guests when they check in. It's well worth it though. She wants her visitors to feel right at home.

The work day is finally over and Mike and Carol sit under a tiki hut not far from the water. They've lit the tiki torches in anticipation of sunset. The sky is filled with blues, pinks and purples and they know within a matter of minutes the sun will quickly slip from the sky.

They're engrossed in conversation with the customer their dining with, a repeater from Maine who comes to Florida annually for bike week and then stays with the Shipley's for a few days. Dinners on him tonight - he had it delivered. He treated Carol and Mike to succulent Maine lobsters brought to the resort all the way from his home state by the United States Parcel delivery man.

"The Keys are an outstanding place to live and work," Mike says, cracking his lobster. "Owning a resort is a tremendous amount of work but I am going to work this hard, I'd rather work for myself than some big corporation."