In an atmosphere of cordiality and camaraderie, Malliouhana-Auberge Resort in Anguilla took time off on Wednesday, May 15, to celebrate and award members of its over 100 staff – having functioned very well since its reopening in December 2018.
General Manager, Mr. Kapil Sharma, who took up his appointment in January 2019, brought the employees up to date with the progress of the resort which is still redeveloping and expanding following Hurricane Irma in September 2017. Mr. Sharma, who made passing reference to the unfortunate death of Kenny Mitchell, was grateful to the staff for how they tried to come to terms with the situation and for their continuing commitment to service and excellence.
He disclosed that Mr. Craig Reid, CEO of Auberge Resorts, based in Dallas, Texas, will be visiting the hotel next week to see the progress it is making and to meet with employees, among other matters. He also spoke of a number of visitors who are booking at the iconic resort and plans to ensure they have an enjoyable stay there and in Anguilla.
Mr. Sharma spoke to The Anguillian newspaper which was invited to cover Wednesday’s event. “We opened the property in the last week of December and we have had a very successful quarter.” He reported. “January, February and March have been great months for us. I think the hard work and the efforts of all of our team members have been of great assistance and our very loyal guests have been coming back to Malliouhana. It is wonderful to see that the hotel has had strong occupancy and strong rates for the first quarter of the year. Today we are celebrating all of our team members who did great work for us during the first quarter of the year. We are also using this time to celebrate our Heart and Front of the House employees for the month of April and we will be ending with some birthday celebrations for all team members celebrating birthdays in the month of May. So it is a mixture of informative sessions and celebrations.”
Asked about the importance of awarding employees, the resort’s General Manager replied: “To us, our people are who make us what we are. Malliouhana has an iconic history on the island. It was one of the first hospitality locations in Anguilla and many of our team members have been with us from day one. They are loyal to the company, the country and our amazing hoteliers. We are successful as a company because of our people and today it is most important that we take the time to stop and thank them; to celebrate them; to acknowledge them; and to encourage them to continue what they are doing.
“We have struggled as an island due to the devastations from the storm last year and as we ramp up into 2019, we want to make sure that we bring Anguilla back on the map for being an outstanding destination with wonderful people; a wonderful location with generous hospitality – what Anguilla has always been known for.”
Questioned about the continuing development of the property, Mr. Sharma stated: “We are about two-thirds of the way done. We have about 44 of the 63 rooms complete and we are continuing to work with our partners on finishing the development of the property. We have opened up the main house; some of the main rooms and restaurants. Today we will open up Bar Soleil which used to be the Sunset Bar and very popular at Malliouhana. It will be handed over to us today by the developers. We will now start to work with our team on creating wonderfully crafted cocktails that have a bit of a local flair but also meet our international guests.
“Over the next 30-60 days we will continue to work on Leon’s our Beach Bar concept which is dedicated to Leon Roydon who was the founder of Malliouhana. We will continue to open new products and new amenities. We feel that by July oy August the property should be fully complete. We have a lot of new additions, new rooms and new amenities to showcase to our guests and we are continuing to reposition Malliouhana on the map in Anguilla.”
Mr. Sharma said that when fully completed, the resort would have about 120 employees. Currently, the number is just over one hundred.
Speaking about himself, the Malliouhana-Auberge General Manager said: “I have been in Anguilla since January of this year. Prior to that, I spent the last 22 years in seven countries. I was born in the Caribbean and spent a lot of time in The Bahamas, Cayman, Jamaica and Cuba. I have also lived in the Middle East, Asia and all over the United States – mainly on the East Coast from Miami all the way to New York. I have worked for some large and luxury hotel brands and I am very excited to be in Anguilla and be a part of the Malliouhana-Auberge family.”
Mr. Sharma took much pleasure in awarding two employees for their outstanding work for the month of April. They were: Dshon Claxton of Food & Beverage; and Pieter Carter of Purchasing.
During the event, Deanna Cabrera, Talent & Culture Manager, addressed the employees on several cultural and other matters; and Valencia Liddle-Cox, Coordinator/Talent & Culture and General Manager Assistant, made presentations to two prize winners: Tomica Carty of Reservations; and Romieko Richards, Pre-Arrivals.
Special recognition was also paid to a number of birthday celebrants for May. They were: Chazaire (Butch) Fleming (Culinary); Patricia Connor (Housekeeping); Javard Clarke (Steward); Khonda Hazel (Events); Jefri Fleming (Landscaping); Eduardo Urquiza; Zylpha Romney (Laundry); Mario Chang (Finance); Melissa Auguste, Dikeera Brade and Chelsea Walters (Food & Beverage); Stasia Greer (Purchasing); and Ricky Rouphine (Security).
It was a delightful afternoon at Malliouhana-Auberge Resort.
