Clark Twiddy is the President of Twiddy & Company, an asset management and hospitality firm founded in 1978 along the North Carolina Outer Banks. He was raised in Duck, North Carolina, and is a combat veteran of the US Navy and an alumnus of several universities.

Clark has served in numerous public, private, government, and non-profit capacities at various levels, from volunteer to Chair. He was selected as the FBLAs Business Person of the Year in North Carolina in 2019 and is currently the President of the Outer Banks Community Foundation.

Married to a native Texan, he is the father of two young daughters and enjoys time on the water and the guitar in his spare time.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Clark Twiddy about leading effectively during a crisis. Clark reflects on how he worked to build a trusting relationship with his customers even during the lockdown and why that allowed him to reap the rewards once things reopened. We also discuss how Clark’s company built capacity and value through digital innovation and how they work in partnership with the University of North Carolina in the spirit of co-opetition.

What You Will Learn:

Clark reflects on his experience managing his vacation rental business through the pandemic
The two reasons businesses in the travel industry can fail
How showing vulnerability builds trust
How Twiddy & Company built capacity and value by leveraging digital tools
Why Clark was so keen to engage with the broader community on a sustainable tourism project
The creative ways that Clark has guided his company through the last 18 months and the key lessons learned

Maintaining Visitor Trust

As the pandemic took hold, customer confidence in the possibility of future travel took a nosedive. Clark explores the lessons his company learned about maintaining visitors’ trust and why it was so important to be honest and transparent — and he shares the three key factors that comprised their covenant with their customers. We discuss why it is so powerful to acknowledge failures and how it allows community partners and stakeholders to have faith in your business.

Leading in a Crisis

Leaders in the hospitality industry are predisposed to want to give visitors a positive experience, but that desire was tested amid the COVID-19 crisis. Clark explains why he felt it was important to highlight to his team that it was ok to make mistakes but that the most important thing was to learn from those mistakes. He outlines how they built their founding principles of reflectiveness and transparency and how he sees them benefiting their partners in sustainable destination management in North Carolina.

Book: Memories of the Currituck Outer Banks: As Told by Ernie Bowden by Clark Twiddy
Website: https://www.twiddy.com/
LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/clark-twiddy-3b61a7133
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/twiddy-&-company-realtors/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TwiddyOuterBanks
Twitter:
- https://twitter.com/clark_twiddy
- https://twitter.com/TwiddyOBX

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