Justin Otto, a long-serving and impactful Bartender at Cap Juluca Resort, a Belmond Hotel in Anguilla, is still relishing an exciting trip he won in September to Mexico in recognition of his fantastic guest service skills.
Justin, who serves at The Shack, one of Cap Juluca’s famed beach restaurants, emerged the proud winner of the most positive guest mentions in an evaluation system at the resort.
Director of Human Resources, Mr. Ludwig Simonsen, stated in a release to The Anguillian newspaper: “At Cap Juluca we have an incentive programme for our Julucans. It gives them the opportunity to earn a financial reward each time one of them receives a positive social media mention on an evaluation left by a resort guest.” He explained that the system has the involvement of TripAdvisor, Facebook and the resort’s own guest experience surveys.
“Every quarter that the resort is open, we announce the Julucan who has received the greatest number of positive guest mentions. We award that person with a trip to one of our sister properties inclusive of airfare for two persons.”
Mr. Simonsen said the COVID pandemic made the arrangement a bit more difficult. However, in September Justin Otto was recognised for having the most positive guest mentions from November 2020 to January 2021. As a result he was awarded a trip to Casa de Sierra Nevada, a Belmond Hotel in the city of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico where he spent five nights. There he was welcomed by Eric Gonzalez Tenorio, the property’s General Manager who was formerly at Cap Juluca.
“Although the main purpose of the prize is to allow the winners of the trip to enjoy some much-deserved rest and relaxation, they also get the tremendous benefit of experiencing the luxury service at one of our sister properties,” Mr. Simonsen observed. He added that winners also perhaps learn how to apply what they have observed on their trip when in their role at Cap Juluca.
Justin was highly commended for his work as a most impactful and respected Bartender at Cap Juluca by guests, management and staff as well. This is according to Cap Juluca’s Resident Manager, Mr. Kevin Carty. He added that Justin is held in so much esteem that when some of Cap Juluca’s guests heard that he was in Mexico they travelled there to visit him. Mr. Carty noted that other employees who had also won trips at different occasions, were Jean Proctor, the first of the winners, who travelled to Belmond Hotel in Charleston, South California and the most recent winner was Claudia Baker, who is going to Santa Barbara, California.
As stated above, Justin is still relishing his Mexico trip which he describes as having been amazing. He was particularly taken aback by being a guest of a 500-year-old hotel in the small city of San Miguel; and the historic churches, some built in the 14th, 15th and `16th centuries. “It was just amazing,” he added, thanking Cap Juluca and all who made his prize trip a joyous and unforgettable experience.
General Manager, Mr. Tiago Moraes Sarmento, added his comments. “I am very proud of Justin,” he remarked. “This is not only because he won two awards in a row, but gave one from his heart to Claudia Baker who came in second for the trip to Santa Barbara and will soon be travelling there. Justin is a very special man and is one of the pillars of Cap Juluca. He goes the extra mile and we are grateful to him.”
