From First Season to Belonging
A Nimmo Bay Team Experience
No matter what’s going on during a busy day at Nimmo Bay, you’ll always know that someone cares about you and your wellbeing. This is at the core of what team member Nikita Speck learned in her first year working at the resort.
“They really care about everybody there…at Nimmo, everybody knows you by your name, they take the time to get to know you”
We had the opportunity to chat with Nikita about her experience working at Nimmo Bay. We went over what challenges year one brought, the growth that occurred, and connecting to her identity while working in remote British Columbia.
MEET NIKITA
Nikita Speck joined Nimmo Bay for her first season in 2025 as part of the housekeeping department. Arriving with a background in healthcare and hospitality, Nikita felt a deep pull toward adventure, simplicity, and community.
As someone who’s worked in other hospitality jobs and high-stress, busy environments, Nikita had a lot of expectations of what this position may be like. However, she spent the year having a lot of those expectations flipped upside-down. She quickly discovered that Nimmo Bay is not just a workplace but a site of healing, reciprocity, and true belonging. Read on to learn more about what it’s like working at a remote wilderness resort.
Finding Belonging at Nimmo Bay
What is the team culture like at Nimmo Bay?
Nikita describes the team at Nimmo as a group of beautiful, authentic, and powerful people. We’re lucky that like attracts like! Nimmo is one of those places where the moment you step onto the dock, you can kind of tell if you’ve found your people. It’s a place where everyone comes to learn more about themselves, whether they realize it or not.
THe POWER OF POSITIVITY
You really are a product of your environment and it’s important to surround yourself with good people. The team at Nimmo prioritizes spreading positivity and you’re recognized for the good work you do. In past jobs, Nikita has been the person handing out positive affirmations. And though we try not to seek outside praise for validation, it can be draining when you don’t get that in return.
It was self-affirming to be built up by fellow team members. “I feel like I’m never going to be the same after that. It was huge for me. It was a very potent experience of finding belonging and finding community and all the sisterhood I didn’t realize I was yearning for… It was kind of just like a big pack of weirdos out there, and we all just… blended in so well. I am excited to go back, because I miss everybody so much”. Needless to say, Nikita is looking forward to year 2 at Nimmo Bay.
Connection to Nature, Place & Identity
Nimmo often brings out a deeper connection to nature for those who work and visit this space. Nikita experienced an entirely new level of this connection to place over the last year. While she understood Nimmo was a remote location in BC, she had a revelation when she first arrived. One of our longtime team members, Chris, took her aside one evening and showed her a big map the area in the guide shack. When he pointed out where Nimmo Bay was, she had a shocking moment of realization. She was standing in her traditional territory.
ABOUT Musgamagw Dzawadaʼenuxw
The territory is called Musgamagw Dzawadaʼenuxw, and in Kwakwala, musgams means four houses. Nikita explains that it’s a collection of four different tribes within the area. Wakeman Sound is one of them and Nimmo Bay is just steps away. “To find out that I’m doing all of this within the territory where I’m from… I don’t think there’s an experience I could have that’s as potent as this one. It feels like everything that has happened in my whole life has called me to be in this space.”
HER FAMILY LEGACY
Nikita heard so much about Wakeman Sound growing up from her Gran, but this was the first time she’d ever been. She shared with me that her Gran had recently passed. They were so close and it felt like a kismet moment being called to this place and unknowingly ending up on her territory. “We were just looking down at Wakeman Sound and I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I’d heard so much about it growing up. I never thought I’d see it with my own eyes.”
A Culture That Invests in People
A Human Approach
Nikita’s previous job was at a hospital on the island. And while she knew what she was getting into in that environment, it can be a challenge when you’re simply known by your employee number.
Nimmo takes a much more human approach to the working culture. One of the ways the staff is set up for success at the start of the season is through team building. This is a week where the entire staff spends time together, learning about one another and about themselves. No guests, no work, just connection.
AN UPFRONT INVESTMENT
It’s important for Nimmo to invest time and money into this week. Team building is a real difference maker when guests arrive onsite. If your team doesn’t get along, the atmosphere will reflect that, and it can bleed into the guest experience. One of the exercises that stood out to Nikita during team building last year was learning about everyone’s core values. It was an internal deep dive surrounded by 40 new people. While it could have been scary, it felt natural to share, open up, and be vulnerable with one-another.
The days also end with a gratitude circle. “This is something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life, to sit doing with all of these people who started out as strangers, and then when we were doing our gratitude circle, I was looking around and thought, ‘these are all my family now’.”
Growth, Learning & New Challenges
A Humbling Learning Curve
Nimmo provides a level of service unlike anywhere else. Nikita has a background in housekeeping and hospital care, but when she first arrived at Nimmo there was a steep learning curve. At one point, it had her questioning if she really knew how to make a bed… “Going into this experience was so humbling. At the hospital [in her past job] I could basically do everything in my sleep… then I got here and I was like, ‘Whoa, I don’t know anything anymore”.
SUPPORTED BY OTHERS
When making up the spaces at Nimmo every element needs to look untouched and each cabin gets three services a day. It’s an intense daily schedule and regiment, all while going unseen by guests around the resort. And while it was difficult at first, she was trained and taught by the veterans in the department and setup for success. The rest of the housekeeping team rallied around her through it all. She says they became like sisters. “We are so dialedin. We freaking got this. It felt good once I figured out what I was doing”.
Cross-Training & Curiosity
If you’re looking for growth both personally and in your work life, Nimmo Bay is an open space where curiosity thrives. Nikita decided this last year she was going to be a sponge and suck up as much information as possible. That included going fishing for the first time, starting to learn guitar, diving off rocks, and now she has an honorary place in the maintenance department. There are often little fixes that need to be done in housekeeping, and Nikita learned to do them herself. “I love and really admire when people have that ‘fix it’ attitude—looking at something and going, ‘Okay, how can I problem‑solve this?’ Instead of, ‘I need somebody to do this,’ it’s: evaluate it, see what I can do first, then ask for help.”
Life in a Remote Coastal Wilderness
What is it like to work in a remote lodge in BC?
Working and living in a remote environment is a two-sided coin. There are absolutely benefits, but it also comes with unique challenges. In 2025 Nikita was experiencing all of this for the first time.
IT’S Physical
Working in remote hospitality, it’s easy to overlook the physicality of many positions on site. Most team members are highly active in their rolls and it can take a toll on the body. Nikita is quick to remind me of the physical aspects of housekeeping. You’re constantly moving, bending, reaching, and lifting through cleanings and cabin changeovers. Mix the physical stress with the mental load of tight timelines on turnover days and you need to make sure you prioritize your own health and wellness.
LONG DAYS
Days at Nimmo can also be long. Team members are often working 12 hours a day during their 21-day shifts onsite. After your weeks-long shift, you travel back home for 10 days of off time. You must be tough both mentally and physically with these extended working shifts in the remote forest.
LIVING AND WORKING WITH CO-WORKERS
When you work in a remote location, there’s the unique factor that you’re also living with your co-workers. This is one of the reasons why Nimmo focuses on building a strong community at the start of the season.
But the remote BC rainforest can be so rejuvenating. Nikita experienced this time and time again at the end of a long day. “I’d be leaving housekeeping, walking down the ramp so tired, and then I’d look over and see the waterfall rushing, the sunset reflecting off the ocean, hear people laughing down at the restaurant…and I’m recharged. I’m like, this is what I needed”.
Behind the Scenes of the Guest Experience
What goes into creating the Nimmo Bay guest experience?
While everything runs seamlessly from the guest perspective, there’s an immense machine working behind the scenes to pull off the Nimmo Bay experience. At all times there are a minimum of 40 staff onsite, that’s a 2:1 team to guest ration.
Nikita provides a perfect behind the scenes look at what it feels like from a team perspective. “My favourite thing is how the whole production of Nimmo Bay just seems like controlled chaos. When we’re doing a flip [of cabins] and new people are coming in, everybody’s got their job, everybody’s zooming around doing their own thing, and they know what they’re doing. We’re like a beehive”.
The team is what sets Nimmo apart from other similar destinations. It’s a group of diverse individuals, from all over, who bring different life experiences with them. Unlike other luxury destinations, Nimmo encourages team members to bring their authentic selves to the guest experience. There are no cookie-cutter conversations happening and it adds to the inclusive feel of the resort. We welcome everyone to the team and they welcome guests into this beautifully accepting destination.
Credit
Words by: Alexandra Janes
Alexandra Janes is a writer and marketer based in British Columbia, Canada and is the voice behind many Nimmo Bay stories. With a background in environmental communications, she specializes in bringing complex ideas to life in a way that resonates with a broad audience. Over the past seven years, including four at Nimmo, her writing has focused on sustainability, wellness, food and drink, and immersive experiences in wild places. The root of her work comes from a deep passion for the natural world and a desire to connect people with the outdoors.
Photos: Jeremy Koreski
Jeremy Koreski is an assignment photographer known for capturing world-class outdoor adventures and remarkable wildlife. He has over 20 years of experience in the field. His commercial and editorial work is featured internationally in publications such as The New York Times, The Surfer’s Journal, and with brands like Patagonia and YETI. Since his first visit to Nimmo Bay over a decade ago, Jeremy has felt like part of the family, developing a distinct ability to capture the true spirit and atmosphere of the resort.