From Maldives to Bali to Cayman Islands, Marc Leblanc and Laura Robinson live and work where most people dream of visiting.
They work in the hospitality industry - Canadian LeBlanc started working as a dishwasher in a hotel at the age of 16. Before pursuing a degree in hotel management, he went to Bellman and then arrived at the reservation desk.
Robinson, the British, studied marine biology and worked as a diving instructor before transitioning to hotel leadership.
The couple met while working in the Cayman Islands and have since lived and worked on several islands in Asia – most recently the Little Simba Island in eastern Indonesia.
Now they live in Shinta Mani Wild, a luxury resort tucked away on Cambodia’s Cardamom Hill, with Leblanc serving as hotel general manager and Robinson overseeing business and sustainability.
Robinson and Leblanc, ready to zip over 1,000 feet in the Cambodian jungle, enter the Shinta Mani Wild, the most popular way to get into the resort.
Source: Laura Robinson
LeBron said the couple often talked to hotel guests, many of whom “are really interested in knowing our story.”
He told CNBC Travel that for the first time, working in places like the Maldives (known for its concept of "one island, one resort").
"You're locked on that island, surrounded by water," LeBron said. "You're not really going anywhere... You're kind of stuck there for a long time."
For employees, the center of the resort is in a staff village where workers sleep, eat and do laundry - LeBron likens this situation to summer camps.
“It became a small community of its own,” Robinson said. “You still face the same challenge of having a large group of people together to show. There are differences in personality and perspective.”
She said managing these differences is important, especially in places like the Maldives, which have a multicultural workforce. On Shinta Mani, she said, it was easy because “everyone except for some of us are Cambodian.”
Many people think working in a hotel is to ensure that guests have a good time. but “She said you also have to make sure that 100 (employees) are happy too. ” she said.
Robinson said she and LeBron celebrated the hotel’s staff’s birthday and other events. "Mark sometimes takes his deck out and provides them with DJs, and they love it," she said.
Robinson said that while life on the island brings sunshine and fun to most travelers, salt water creates maintenance problems for those working behind the scenes.
Robinson said in a photo of the Cayman Islands that her past work as a diving instructor has prepared her to handle activities and experience in hotels she and Leblanc managed.
Source: Laura Robinson
In Cambodia's forests, environmental challenges are different. "Here, your humidity and forests are trying to recycle yourself," she said.
Shinta Mani has 15 guest tents, but the resort is located on “Central Park-sized” land and it requires “a lot of attention to detail in terms of products and services, but we also need the conservation efforts we do.”
He said staff patrol the property, which includes a large farm on the land, while also maintaining the trails throughout it.
“It’s new to us,” he said. “We’re learning.”
Life in some of the world’s most coveted travel destinations has its privileges, but Leblanc and Robinson also live with far away from their families.
Robinson said when they lived in the Maldives, their parents visited them every year and went home to see their siblings every other year.
She said the couple is now home every year. “My siblings are starting to have babies…our parents are getting older.”
The couple has no children, so going to school – a major consideration for many expats – is not a problem. They said they recently adopted two dogs from the Cardamom Mountain Forest.
Leblanc and Robinson discuss another challenge: a couple lives and work in remote areas.
"Initially, you didn't know how it went," LeBron said. But "we worked well together."
LeBron said hiring couples to manage hotels makes sense for remote destinations. "We're between each other," he said.
Source: Laura Robinson
"We're still doing this," Robinson laughed, adding that a separate office was key.
As general manager of Shinta Mani, LeBlanc oversees matters related to HR, finance, security and engineering in hotels, while Robinson handles more "front-house" matters.
"Laura is very organized, efficient, and I'm more creative," LeBron said.
Robinson said LeBron came up with bold ideas and was good at executing them. She said the couple spent some time, even on personal holidays, thinking about thoughts – often finding inspiration from travel.
“There are no shortage of places to find couples,” LeBron said. “Some recruiting companies not only recruit couples, not only hotels, but private islands for extremely high net worth individuals. Job opportunities.”
LeBron said having companions can also relieve loneliness in remote destinations.
"We make sense to each other," he said.