Mr July: Nick Untermann on the Power of Giving People a Chance

The General Manager of Terranea Resort reflects on growing up in a hotel, the lessons he carried from firefighting into hospitality, the women who shaped his career and why talented people need leaders willing to invest in them.

Nick Untermann may have been destined for hospitality long before he recognised it himself.

When he was seven, his parents, both university professors, moved the family from Seattle to Santa Barbara. There, they transformed a historic property into the 24-room Spanish Garden Inn. Nick’s first summer jobs involved parking cars, carrying bags and working at the front desk, but his real education in hospitality began much earlier, watching his parents host and learning to notice when someone looked lost or needed help.

Still, his path into hotels was not entirely straightforward. Nick studied fire science, qualified as an EMT and joined the Granite Mountain Hotshots, spending weeks in remote terrain cutting fire lines. An injury eventually brought him back to Santa Barbara and, perhaps inevitably, into hospitality.

Since then, he has worked across front office, housekeeping, rooms and operations at properties including Bacara Resort & Spa, Beverly Wilshire, Hotel del Coronado, L’Auberge Del Mar and Ojai Valley Inn. He joined Terranea Resort as Resort Manager in 2023 and became General Manager in January 2025.

What becomes clear in speaking with Nick is that he does not separate leadership from helping other people move forward. Many of the leaders he still turns to for advice are women, while some of the moments he is proudest of involve recognising potential in someone who had not yet been given a chance. Meet our Mr July, Nick Untermann!

You grew up around hospitality. What did that early experience teach you?

My parents were university professors specialising in architecture and landscape architecture. They moved our family to Santa Barbara after finding a historic property, which they transformed into the 24-room Spanish Garden Inn. They owned it for around 20 years.

From elementary school through high school, my parents were always entertaining guests or friends. I was introduced to hosting, getting outside my comfort zone, saying hello to strangers and recognising when someone needed help. You learn to read facial expressions: this person looks lost, so let me see whether I can guide them. My first summer job was valeting, carrying bags and working at the front desk.

I did not know then that hospitality would become my future or my passion. Looking back, people say, “Of course you ended up in hotels. It was always part of you.” I just did not necessarily see it at the time.

Nick serving wine at his parents hotel age 10

Before hotels, you worked as a firefighter and EMT. What did that teach you about leadership?

I did not know exactly what I wanted to do, so I studied business and earned an associate degree in fire science. I completed the Prescott Fire Academy, became certified as an EMT and eventually tried out for the Granite Mountain Hotshots.

I was the youngest person on the crew, around 19 or 20, and I spent my 21st birthday on a fire. Being the youngest helped me grow up very quickly. It taught me responsibility, teamwork and the importance of hard work.

There were times when we spent two weeks in the mountains with only sleeping bags and sleeping pads. We were so remote that food, water and bathing supplies had to be dropped by helicopter while we cut lines ahead of fires.

The word I would use is grit. It did not matter how tired I was because everyone around me was tired too, and together we could do it. Many of our leaders were former military, so there was also a lot of discipline.

I eventually injured my back and could not continue. I see that now as a blessing in disguise because it brought me back to hospitality.

How did you make the transition back into hotels?

After hurting my back, I returned to Santa Barbara and my parents told me I needed to find a job. I applied to Oceana Santa Barbara, which is now Hotel Milo, and the Four Seasons Biltmore.

Oceana hired me on the spot. The Biltmore offered me a job two days later, but my parents said, “You have already given your word.” So I politely declined Four Seasons, although Four Seasons came back into my career later.

I worked for a private company called JRK, which moved me from Santa Barbara to Santa Monica and then to Nashville to help open a convention hotel. I quickly realised that was not my world. There was too much movement in and out, and not enough personalisation or connection with the guests.

I missed luxury hospitality, so I returned to California and joined Bacara. From there, my career continued through front office, housekeeping, rooms and operations.

How has working across so many operational departments shaped you as a General Manager?

One of the things I love about Terranea is that we can be very intentional about developing people.

We became fully independent in October 2025 after many years under third-party management. That means we are not always looking along a corporate chain for the next person who is going to arrive from another hotel and fill a role.

We can look at the people who are already here. Someone may not have every skill we need immediately, but they may have the right personality, passion, energy, focus and desire to grow.

When you see those qualities, you can teach the rest.

Hospitality employs many women, yet fewer reach its most senior operational roles. Where do you think the pathway narrows?

That is a difficult question for me to answer because so many of the leaders around me are women.

Women lead events and catering, revenue, human resources and marketing on our executive committee. Our Director of Front Office, Director of Guest Services, Director of Reservations and several of our restaurant leaders are women.

Some of the biggest mentors in my career have also been women. I have spent most of my career in California, and I have always seen women leading at a very high level.

At the same time, I know women can be judged differently. I was speaking with our HR director about how a woman who is direct can be perceived as demanding or difficult, while a man behaving in exactly the same way may be seen as a strong leader.

That double standard is real, and I hope it continues to change.

Aerial view of Terranea Resort

Which women have had the greatest influence on your leadership?

Coni Thornburg, Managing Director at Ojai Valley Inn, is a huge mentor to me. She taught me the everyday meaning of tenacity. I knew the word, of course, but she showed me what it looked like in practice.

Coni has had an incredible career, including leadership roles at The Little Nell, Rancho Valencia and Calistoga Ranch. I still call her all the time.

Another important mentor is Chitra Jayanathan, Director of Housekeeping at Hotel del Coronado. She has opened properties including Wynn Las Vegas, Monarch Beach and Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa as a Director of Housekeeping. She later became an asset manager, overseeing the financials, organisational structures and standard operating procedures for a portfolio of hotels, before returning to Hotel del Coronado.

The beautiful thing about Coni and Chitra is that I know when I call, they will either answer or immediately tell me they will call back. They are my people, and I have learned so much from them.

My mother is another major influence. She is a brilliant businesswoman. My father received much of the public credit for the hotel and their other projects, and he is a brilliant man, but he says himself that he could never have built their career without her.

They built, owned, sold or renovated 28 houses during their marriage. My mother made the connections, kept everything organised and drove the projects forward. I remember her saying that it sometimes hurt when my father received the credit, even when he tried to acknowledge her contribution. That stayed with me.

What does supporting talented people look like in practice?

We talk about two qualities at Terranea: being a high performer and being a cultural ambassador.

When someone is both, one of my mentors used to say, “Keep feeding them vitamins.” Keep developing them and keep giving them what they need. If they need more responsibility, support, resources or compensation, you find a way to provide it.

Mary DiBernardo, our Assistant Marketing and Communications Manager, is a great example. She started as a pool supervisor, became Pool Manager and then expressed an interest in marketing.

She was very intentional about learning the business through the pool operation, including how to manage people, schedules and a P&L. Now she is thriving in marketing. Seeing her take ownership and grow into the role has been a beautiful thing.

Our Director of Front Office, Rachel Famagetti, is another example. She had been at Terranea for years yet didn’t have previous experience in a director role. I looked at her personality, passion and work ethic and thought, I am going to give her a chance. I knew I would need to teach and coach her. We would have to have some hard, direct conversations, but I also knew she could handle them.

I hope that one day, when she is a General Manager or an executive, she will say, “Nick gave me a chance. It was not always easy, but he was patient, told me when I needed to improve and gave me the resources to succeed.” I would be honoured to be part of that story.

You say you do not look at gender when considering talent. How do you reconcile that with the barriers women still face?

I look at people as people. I want good people to be successful.

When I see someone who is a high performer and a cultural ambassador, I want to help that person grow. I do not care about their gender, race, first language or where they come from.

But I also do not live in a fantasy world. I understand that women still ask themselves, “Did I not get that job because I am a woman? Am I being paid differently? Did I not receive the title because I am a woman?”

I believe we are going to see a big shift with millennials and the generations coming after us. Decisions based on gender will simply stop being socially acceptable.

What is your personal “why” as a leader?

I realised it when I was around 27 or 28 and working in my first director-level role at Beach Village at Hotel del Coronado.

It was the middle of summer. Expectations were through the roof, rooms were not ready, people had called off and I felt as though I had spent weeks getting beaten up. I remember wondering, “What am I doing? What am I being paid to do?”

I had to step back and find my why.

My why is to help people. It is to help people grow and become the best versions of themselves. Whether I promoted someone, gave them a chance or helped guide their career, I want people to look back and feel that I contributed.

In a way, it connects directly to being an EMT. I think I have always wanted to help people. I have simply found a way to do it that is a little less dangerous.

Women are increasingly travelling alone and with friends. Are you seeing that at Terranea?

Absolutely. It was a major demographic at Ojai Valley Inn, and it is also a significant part of our business at Terranea.

We welcome families, corporate events and incentive groups, but we also see many women arriving for girls’ trips, bachelorettes, babymoons, spa days and pool days.

Solo travellers are important too. There is one woman from the East Coast whom I met while walking on one of our trails. She asked whether I worked at the resort, and we started talking.

She now comes twice a year, sometimes for a week or two. Terranea has become her place to reset, read, think and find some peace. She has made friends with people at the hotel and even has coffee with some of our leaders.

We are a busy resort, so I hold on to those moments. When someone finds solace, connection and meaning in a hotel, beyond simply having somewhere to stay, that is what hospitality is all about.

What is one change you hope the next generation of women in hospitality will no longer have to fight for?

I hope this no longer has to be a question.

I hope a woman never has to ask herself, “Did I not get this job because I am a woman? Am I being paid differently because I am a woman? Did I not receive the title because I am a woman?”

I hope we create a workforce where that self-doubt no longer exists because gender is simply not part of the decision.

I know we are not there yet. But I hope we get there sooner rather than later.