Employees at CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa are continuing to receive much encouragement and expressions of gratitude from the ownership and management of the property for their hard work and commitment to service. The latest show of appreciation was the First Quarterly Celebration for 2013. The event was held on Friday, March 8, by the General Manager, Mr. Stephane Zaharia, and the Director of Human Resources, Ms. Carleen Gumbs, who hosted an awards ceremony for twenty-one employees.
The presentation of awards was preceded with comments by Mr.Zaharia on several matters related to the successful operation of the hotel and its various services. He was delighted to report that the resort was doing well and that January was a good month in that, while the occupancy was not very high, the property had very carefully managed its expenses.
“It is very important to show to the ownership that we are doing everything we can to turn the corner with our revenues as well, and that our average rate was very healthy,” Mr. Zaharia said. “February was a very nice month as well. It is a little slow right now, in March, but starting from this weekend, and following next week and in the way forward, we are going to be extremely busy and extremely occupied.”
He spoke about new bookings, resulting from a strong sales and marketing campaign, and said that if occupancy continued to grow it would be possible to hire more people.“First of all, we need to take care of our employees in terms of giving you full hours consistently, and after that we will hopefully hire new people if the economy is going into the direction that we feel it is going right now,” he stated.
The General Manager took the opportunity to comment on the Golf Course project where the resort is expanding. There will be a new hotel called The Reef by CuisinArt in addition to a number of villas and other facilities. “This is definitely something that is growing nicely in its planning,” he said. “We are looking to break ground in August, and we are in the final stages right now in the architectural and design phase. To me, we have already broken ground because the area is completely changed. We have done a lot of demolition there in preparing the area.”
Mr. Zaharia thanked the staff for their dedication, and emphasised the need for them to continue to provide good service to the guests whom he said were enjoying their stay at the Resort. He was pleased to show the Resort’s appreciation to the staff by hosting the awards ceremony for the twenty-one employees for their outstanding service.
The winning awardees for the First Quarter, extending from November 2012 to January 2013, were as follows:
For November from the Front of the House: Viola Romney of F & B – Room Service, and Angella Turvides of Housekeeping, both at the Resort; and Teres Liburd of Guest Services at the Golf Club House.
Heart of the House: Kareem Romney of Landscaping at the Resort; and Yvette Lake of Housekeeping at the Golf Club House.
For December 2012 from Front of the House: Zoraya Ramirez of F &B – Santorini, and Latoya Scarbro of F&B – Events, both at the Resort; and Roxanne Richardson of F&B – Italia of the Golf Club House.
Heart of the House: Colletta Harrigan of Laundry at the Resort and Denise Gumbs-Henry of Security at the Golf Club House.
January 2013 from Front of the House: Keisha Connor of F&B – Tokyo Bay at the Resort and Jershema Morton of Guest Services at the Golf Club House.
Heart of the House: Ramona Connor of Culinary at the Resort and Amos Adolphus Richardson of Landscaping at the Golf Club House.
The above winners received US$100; a framed certificate; a gift from the Boutique; and dinner for two at Santorini, Café Mediterraneo, Tokyo Bay or Italia.
Vincent (Sam) Hodge of Food Beverage was the winner for more than twice of the award for Most Recognised Employee by Guests. He received US$50 and a framed certificate.
Donacinth Kirwan of Reservations and Maureen Gumbs of Food and Beverage won the awards for Front of the House Team Leaders of the Quarter; and Gracelyn Lake of Culinary was Heart of the House Team Leader of the Quarter. Each of them received US$150; a plaque; and dinner for two at any of the Resort’s four restaurants.
Cameca Edwards of Venus Spa and Lies Gumbs of Housekeeping were the winning Front of the House Supervisors of the Quarter; and the winner of the Heart of the House Supervisor of the Quarter was Lionel Hodge of Engineering. Each of them received US$200; a plaque; a spa treatment; and dinner for two at any of the Resort’s restaurants.
The Manager of the First Quarter 2013 was Brian Corbett of Landscaping. He received US$250; a plaque; one night stay for two at Oyster Bay Beach Resort (St. Maarten); and lunch for two also at Oyster Bay Beach Resort.
In all cases, the other nominees (who did not win awards) received a framed certificate and a gift from the Boutique.