Power momtrepreneur Durana Elmi effortlessly balances raising two daughters, ages 8 and 10, and running one of the industry’s most successful natural and organic supplement companies with her husband, Shahab. She manages to ride the waves of life by working hard, parenting with love and vacationing in luxury. Elmi is always jetting off to the next island or beach destination and that means bringing the family (and dog) along, too. She shares with Hollywood Life where is loving right now (Cabo!) and her wish-list for the perfect A-list stay.
Most recent trip and why did she love it?
Montage Los Cabos. “The resort is family-friendly, couple-friendly and an overall incredibly classy environment. The restaurants are amazing. The staff is phenomenal — making reservations happen or anything the kids want.”
Strengthening the family bond with travel.
Easy access to the private airport and expedited passport control are a few things that matter to Elmi and her family. Living in San Diego, she declares that Mexico is one of their most convenient destinations for a weekend getaway. “It’s such a quick trip. We get on the plane. You’re just having your snacks and then we’re right off.”
Happy kids, happy mom.
A hospitality experience with family means everyone should feel special. Montage Los Cabos pulls off the little details that really make a difference. “The most important thing is creating a personalized experience. Sometimes it’s leaving a chocolate with my daughters’ names or a card. For me, that initiates them feeling special right from the get-go.”
Family-friendly environment.
A personalized experience is paramount — but so is the family-friendly aspect. Since her two children are under the age of 12, Elmi makes sure that the atmosphere is appropriate for the girls. “For me, having two daughters who really look up to everything that I do, who look around and are very curious, I want to protect my children as much as I can. I want a very classy, clean environment with the right caliber of people.”
Five-star service.
Montage Los Cabos assigned the family a butler right at check in. “He instantly created a WhatsApp group chat between myself and my husband and was in touch with us at all times. ‘You are at the pool, is there anything I can get you?’ The kids wanted floaties and they were there in a blink of an eye. Because we were a large group, even the restaurants were so accommodating in terms of giving us a private area within the restaurant.”
The beach or the kids club, decisions, decisions.
Beyond personal touches, fun activities are another guarantee for whole-family to have an experience that exceeds expectations from the beach to the facilities. “The kids have such a great time at the pool as well as the beach — they only spent a few hours at the kid’s club. But, we generally like to ensure that the kid’s clubs are clean, [and] to identify what the ratio is from children to the caretakers.”
Another matter of equal priority is safety, especially with waterfront amenities. “If we’re going somewhere where it’s on the beachfront, we want to ensure that the beach is safe,” she says.
Motherly advice.
Two well-behaved kids ultimately take the stress out of traveling. “For them, it’s really just about the pool and the restaurants. They’re very girly girls, so they love to get dressed up. They aren’t running down the hallway and acting crazy. I always say to them, ‘If you want to go to adult places, you have to act like a little adult.
Make the hubby a priority, too.
Elmi also carves out time for R&R with her husband. A trip to the spa at Montage Los Cabos is always on the agenda, with all the amenities such as a dry sauna, wet sauna, pool, Jacuzzi and a cold plunge. “We did a 90 minute massage, both my husband and I went into a coma.”
Beyond the pampering — accompanied by some snoring — her husband spent time at the pool and swim-up bar, watching sports and drinking “Duranas,” the signature cocktail he created for her.
Safety first.
Security is always the top concern when it comes to traveling abroad with family.
“There are security cameras everywhere. From the moment that we got picked up from the private airport to the hotel, I felt very, very safe. And safety today, in the world we live in, is a priority for me and my children. I want to be able to feel safe,” she says.
Sweet suite.
Elmi always wants a room that connects directly to her daughters. “At Montage Los Cabos, our room was a villa and it had an attached room for the girls. We had our own living room with a half bathroom, and then it connected to my childrens’ room with double beds and a full bathroom. They had their patio area with a Jacuzzi. It was like everyone felt like they had their own space.”
Just like she runs her business.
At the end of the day, a resort that holds the high standard of service that she offers in her business is what Elmi values most. She prefers “a hotel or a resort, that puts the customer first [and] that can be quick to come to solutions — that’s professional, has good internal communication, that’s clean and that feels safe. Where I know at the end of the day, the hotel cares about myself and my family.”
“Personal connections make people want to come back. In our business, in the supplement space, that’s the whole reason why we didn’t take our customer experience offshore. We wanted a very personalized experience with each and every one of our customers. We want to be a part of their health journey.”
Two wags for Montage Los Cabos.
Elmi took her mom’s toy Maltese along for a dog-cation and she got the VIP treatment. “On the second day, they made these little [gifts in] the shape of a bone. They were engraved with the puppy’s name.”
All of these combined details encompass what makes a family vacation truly memorable. “It’s those little things that matter. When [they] make it personal, I feel like my family is important to [them],” Elmi says.
Elmi created the world’s first custom subscription bundle platform and broke massive records. In just the last four years Cymbiotika has achieved record-breaking numbers, doubling customer subscriptions to a total of over 150,000 subscribers and increasing annual revenue from $1 million to over $100 million. Cymbiotika added over 40 SKUs to the company’s product offering in the last three years.
Article by Melinda Sheckells