Anguilla now boasts of having as one of the main headliners of its growing upmarket tourism industry, the 101st property owned by world-renowned hotel chain, Four Seasons Resort and Residences. The new resort, formerly Viceroy Anguilla, opened on Thursday, October 20.
Director of Human Resources, Dorla Hodge, set the tone for the opening ceremony, describing it as “an historic moment” and “a long journey.” She added: “We are now the 101 property in the Four Seasons’ family.”
General Manager, Ilse Harley, gave Mr. Roy Shanholtz, Vice President and Asset Manager of Starwood Capital Group (owners of the Resort) an opportunity to speak to the employees and other persons in the gathering. He joined in saying that it was a historic day for Four Seasons, the Government of Anguilla and the Starwood Capital Group.
“Six and a half years ago,” he continued, “Starwood Capital Group had a vision for this property, this island, and each of you. Six years later, through leadership, strategic investment, hard work, cooperation and partnership with each of you, we realised that vision. The property opened, unlike 95 -98% of the properties that were started in the Caribbean back in that time, so our capital was able to succeed and thrive. It is because of you and Starwood Capital’s vision, hard work and dedication that we were able to partner with Four Seasons. As I told you, Four Seasons is the best of the best and it is a privilege and honour for them to come to this property and to this island. It is a gift that Starwood Capital has given to the island and the people of Anguilla. When you think about Starwood Capital and Four Seasons, what they have in common is vision, hard work and dedication to their investors and to their investment of the equity and the people. Both are equally important.”
Mrs. Harley, the General Manager, acknowledged the presence of two other persons who joined her for the opening ceremony: her boss, Thierry Kennel, Regional Vice President of Four Seasons; and the President of Hotel Operations for the Americas, Vince Parrotta.
”This is a very significant opening for Four Seasons,” she told her listeners. “It marks our 101st property. I am honoured to be the General Manager and my family and I have been extremely fortunate to be living in such an amazing location. I am excited to share with you that we have retained the mass majority of our employees, and have continued to expand our workforce with local talent.
“Our team at Four Seasons has been arriving in Anguilla since late July – most of whom are on temporary assignment leaving their families to assist us during this conversion. They have worked tirelessly alongside our employees to infuse the culture and service standards Four Seasons is known for. We have only scratched the surface for service training, and the real work begins when we welcome our first guests in a few hours. I could not be more proud of our entire team. Our employees have embraced training with enthusiasm and professionalism. They have accepted the challenge to become the best and have agreed to put in the work required to get there. They have promised to share the rich culture of Anguilla with our visitors to ensure that this is not just a trip of a lifetime for someone, but instead a destination that one cannot image only visiting once.
“I speak on behalf of Four Seasons’ colleagues, both on the island and around the globe, that we could not be happier to be officially Four Seasons Resort and Residences, Anguilla.”
Chief Minister and Minister of Tourism, Mr. Victor Banks, also described the opening of Four Seasons as “a very historic occasion for Anguilla.” He asked for a round of applause for Starwood Capital Group for staying with the project and for eventually bringing Four Seasons to Anguilla. He also thanked Four Seasons for agreeing to come to Anguilla and for bringing the level of quality of service for which it is renowned and from which we can only benefit going forward.” He took the opportunity to congratulate the employees who were selected to be members of the Four Seasons’ team. “Your choice brings with it responsibility,” he charged them. “You have responsibility to Four Seasons, to yourselves, to Anguilla and, more importantly, you have responsibility for the guests’ experience and that is what Four Seasons has distinguished itself for all over the world. We are more than happy, as a Government, to welcome them and cooperate with them, in every way that we can, to making this experience for all of us and, particularly, for the guests that we want to encourage to Anguilla. We want them to have the best experience possible.”
The Chief Minister continued: “The negotiations took place over a period of time. From time to time there were differences of opinion about how we can achieve the vision. Nothing happens in a vacuum. There are always related aspects to everything that is done, and we hope that as we go forward we can continue to work out any issues that we may have in making the operations of Four Seasons one of the best in the Caribbean – and indeed in the world. I want us to continue with that vision that has been expressed by Mr. Roy Shanholtz who has been here from the very beginning working with the Government, the staff, the people of Anguilla, and whoever was required, to make this vision of his a reality.”
Mr. Banks added: “Let us move forward from today. It is an historic occasion, but it is an important event in the lives of so many people here in Anguilla, and we thank the Four Seasons for choosing Anguilla and the staff that will represent them and Anguilla. We look forward to a great time together and a prosperous business venture in this part of the world.”
Other persons who participated in the ceremony were the Reverend Dr. Wycherley Gumbs, Superintendent of the Anguilla Methodist Circuit, and Pastor Simon Rios, the Resort’s Security Supervisor. Both of them delivered the opening prayers in English and Spanish respectively in view of the diverse workforce at the resort.
