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In the year since opening, The Asbury has drawn accolades from national publications, including Travel + Leisure.

Behind the scenes, hotelier David Bowd [at right] created a hospitality training program he calls the Salt School, titled after his own hotel management company.

That workforce development program geared toward employing local residents is now the subject of PBS’ Here’s The Story set to air at 8 p.m. June 7.

The show not only follows the 10-week training held at the local Boys and Girls Club on Monroe Avenue, but includes follow-up student spotlights, the hotel in action, and Bowd, who got his start as a bellman at age 15.

“Hospitality is one of the few industries where you don’t need formal qualifications,” Bowd said. “You can really learn on the job.”

Today he is among the leaders in the industry, with 30 years experience under his belt. Bowd worked his way up to the top of his field with no formal education. Prior to forming Salt Hotels, Bowd worked for renowned hoteliers Ian Schrager and Andre Balazs in New York. He has two hotels in Provincetown, Mass., and a third on Shelter Island.

“The hospitality industry is so unique because it doesn’t really care who you are or where you come from — you can rise to become whoever you want to be,” Bowd has said. “Throughout my career, I have had incredible mentors that have helped me become who I am today, and it is my turn to give back to the industry that I love. That is what Salt School is all about—providing Asbury Park residents a chance to achieve their own personal goals.”

From the over 400 applicants, Bowd accepted a 140 diverse student body ranging in ages 15 to 60. Tutorials on all aspects of the industry were administered by executives from Apple, Neuhouse, Thompson Hotels, Morgans Hotel Group, Standard Hotels, Bowd’s on Salt Hotels, and venue designer Anda Andrei.

“It was a great way to incorporate the community into the hotel,” Bowd said. “No matter how beautifully designed a hotel is, the very soul of it comes from the team within it – and when that team is local, a kind of magic happens.”

In the end, 80 of the 110 graduates were hired, with the majority of them hailing from Asbury Park. Today five of those graduates hold a supervisory position.

“Hiring locally and hospitality training is imperative for the community’s growth,” Bowd said.  “I believe in the motto: hire the attitude and train the skill and we wanted to do that with Salt School.”

This year, Bowd conducted an abbreviated three-week training that drew 1,000 applicants, as reported by Publisher Dan Jacobson in our affiliate publication triCity News on May 25. Its focus was on mission, vision, and value; great hospitality; food and beverage; creative/social media; and design. From the 400 accepted applicants, 300 completed the program and 70 were hired, with the majority hailing from Asbury Park.

Filmed during last year’s class and at the hotel following its opening, the Here’ The Story piece focuses on the training and its impact on operations and the participants.

“I get so many comments from guests about how friendly and helpful our staff is during their stay, often going above and beyond what one would expect,” Bowd said. “This is what we focused on at the school – guest relations. We put the guest in the very center of everything we do.”

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The Asbury Park Sun is affiliated with the triCityNews newspaper.

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