A few well-meaning friends are giving me some tough love recently, asking:
"Why leave an industry where you’ve spent 15 years building a solid reputation?"
"Why jump into an industry where you have zero experience?"
"Why not just double down on what’s already working, instead of starting from scratch?"
If I’m being completely honest, I tried to rationalize it at first. I told myself that with the rise of AI, content and photography are shifting rapidly, and service businesses are just too hard to scale. But those were just logical justifications to make a terrifying leap feel safer. 😅
The real truth? You just feel it in your bones when a new passion calls you. Building something new makes me feel alive. (It also makes me poor at the very beginning stages, but that’s a story for another day! 😅🙈)
What I do know to be true (humble brag aside 👀) is that I have an inherent eye for "taste," a relentless curiosity for creating, and the grit required to build with resiliency. I didn’t grow up with luxury; in fact, I grew up with very little. My taste was built on years of resourcefulness, learning how to DIY, how to curate, and how to make ordinary things beautiful simply because I had to.
Right now, launching a parallel wellness and self-care hospitality brand in the region might look like a nosedive into a pit of uncertainty. Hospitality is arguably one of the sectors heavily navigating the current global climate. So, why build here, and why now?
Because hospitality thrives on "sameness" and "duplication." You walk into a five-star hotel room and you often get the exact same white robes, the same bed linen thread counts, and the same synthetic, fragranced bottled amenities. The same welcome.
I understand why the playbook exists. When hotels are operationally overwhelmed, predictable systems keep the machine running. But a slowdown? A slowdown allows for reinvention, deep improvement, and truly making a name through unforgettable guest experiences.
Look at history. The most iconic transformations happen when outsiders disrupt the status quo. When Aman Resorts first launched, they rejected the corporate hotel blueprint entirely. They scaled down, eliminated the noise, and focused purely on privacy and a deep connection to the local land.
The founders who aren't just sitting by waiting for the market to magically fix itself are the ones who will offer a refreshing new reality that guests are thrilled to return to. And there is no better place in the world to think differently when times are tough than the UAE.
Over the 22 years I have lived here, I have watched this country bounce back from challenging times better than anywhere else on earth. I was here during the financial crisis of 2008–2009; I saw what the city built right after. I was here through COVID; I watched daily life return, businesses pivot, and the city welcome the world back faster than almost any other nation.
Every single time, Dubai comes back with more ambition, better experiences, and bigger ideas.
With SACRA CARTERII, we are developing products, objects, and rituals for hospitality. We are rethinking how people bathe, rest, and feel during their stay. Instead, we are quietly working with indigenous regional botanicals, locally sourced materials, and thoughtful textile design to craft a deeply sensory, elevated wellness experience.
Our goal is to express the authentic welcome of this region through products that are actually sourced and made right here. Why should someone travel all the way to this beautiful part of the world, only to experience hotel amenities that they could find in New York, London, or Paris? Why not give them a true sense of the land?
Right now, the work is happening in the quiet spaces: developing concepts, refining designs, testing materials, and finding the right partners to bring this vision to life.
I am building this with an outsider’s eye. But maybe that’s exactly what the industry needs right now—a consumer who became a builder, bridging the gap for what might be missing.
Or I could be missing the plot here. This could be a very costly mistake. But I am in a country that makes bold moves every single time. I know I will meet partners and hoteliers who are just as excited as I am to build something of true provenance, give it that distinct "Made in Dubai" spirit, and surprise the world.
We are allowed to dream big here. What are you building during the slowdown?