The Tribune

SANDALS Royal Bahamian Resort is ramping up preparations for its reopening on January 27.

With extensive renovations to the re-imagined resort continuing to unfold, the resort is also well advanced in recruiting nearly 1,050 team members across several levels and varying departments.

As a result, the resort is proceeding with an immersive orientation and training exercise, preparing the team to welcome guests for the first time since closing in March 2020.

In the most recent onboarding session Adam Stewart, Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts International said the resort’s all new features were on target to set it apart from others in the country.

“I want to use this opportunity to officially welcome you to the World’s Best Team- team Sandals,” Mr Stewart said in a welcome to new team members. “Having witnessed the progress of the renovations, I can tell you all that the reimagined Sandals Royal Bahamian and all its new features is going to be the most exquisite resort in this country. The reopening of Sandals Royal Bahamian will be magical and I’m looking forward to all of us growing and evolving together. Any company that is growing is a company that provides opportunities and those opportunities are for you to seize.”

He added the reopening provides an exceptional opportunity for Sandals and the Bahamian government to continue an amazing and mutually beneficial partnership as the tourism industry and the region continue to chart the way forward on the path to economic recovery.

“My family and I have a love affair with the islands of The Bahamas, there is nothing quite like this country. We made the decision to keep this resort closed so that we could invest in it and invest in this country, as we wanted to ensure that when we stand the test of time for the next 20 years, we have a resort like no other. As a company we promote brand Bahamas using various marketing strategies from traditional to new media, as this is a partnership between you and our organization,” he said.

Philippa Adams, returning team member from the laundry department said that she is delighted about the reopening.

She said: “I would scream right now but that may not be appropriate but I’m overjoyed that the resort will be reopening in January. The orientation sessions have been so empowering and refreshing and have given me a major boost in confidence. The sessions are furnishing us with all the tools we need to get back to work and execute at an optimal level.

The orientation commenced on November 1 and will run through to November 26, 2021.

Utilising technology and new state of the art training mechanisms, the orientation sessions are being held in adherence to COVID-19 protocols and are therefore being conducted in phases using dual modality of face-to-face sessions and virtual courses by way of the company’s Learning Management System (LMS).

Director for Learning, Development and Service Standards, Dr Phillip Brown said: “As a team, we pride ourselves on innovation. As the company forges ahead, we elevate our systems to incorporate new ways of ensuring our Sandals standards are maintained, our guests’ expectations are exceeded and our team members are fully equipped for success. During these phased training sessions, team members will be exposed to our company’s world-renowned service standards, our ethos of community involvement, particularly through our Sandals Foundation as also the myriad of personal development opportunities through our Sandals Corporate University.”

Dr Brown is part of the company’s training team that is on the ground at Sandals Royal Bahamian.