HEALTH & HYGIENE
Due to the remote island location , the resort had to be prepared with a proper resort clinic , especially since employees were recruited from different geographical locations and may have adverse reactions till they adapt to their new surroundings . It is essential to provide medical attention to them immediately if any health problem arises due to the location . Setting up the clinic as per the requirements of the Ministry of Health and Quality Assurance and Regulations Division was a task in itself . We hired a resort doctor as per the procedures required and coordinated an inspection to secure the clinic operating license . With a proper resort clinic and a qualified resort doctor in place we are now able to take prompt action should any health emergencies arise , giving our employees the confidence to commit to stay .
SAFETY AND SECURITY
When our resort pre-operations began to settle well with over 100 colleagues on site , we addressed the next most important factor i . e . ensuring safety and security for our property and colleagues . We partnered with an external expert security partner to ensure all safety and security measures are met without fail such as property safety , fire-fighting , accident prevention , disaster management etc .
For any emergency situations that may arise , we have ensured that through our Security Manual and Disaster Management Plan we are self-reliant with the help of our Security Team , comprising of a Security Manager and 7 security officers . We also extended our connections and built relationships with the officials of MNDF ( Maldives National Defense Force ) to ensure proper guidance , update and assistance from time to time to be ready for any situation .
SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY
With a genuine intention to give back to society and to support local communities , the resort management ensured several initiatives to provide employment and learning opportunities for local youth and communities by holding job camps to identify local talent from the nearby islands . Due to our recruitment fairs and camps , we were widely exposed to our future workforce from the nearby islands in the GA Atoll with connections being established between island administration , counselors , resort management and potential skilled and talented candidates , developing a greater awareness of resort operations and career options available to them . We also collaborated with United Nations Development Program team to brainstorm and identify critical projects best suited to meet the sustainable requirements of the local community in our atoll and more specifically within our neighborhood to extend our support and aid to build livelihoods while providing opportunities to grow , prosper and co-exist . Personally , this is one area very close to my own interests and the support from the General Manager was significant in making all those brainstorming sessions more effective and worthy .
CONCLUSION
The opening of a new hotel presents additional challenges , as well as opportunities . Despite budgets , checklists and best laid plans , the reality of opening will inevitably reveal unexpected operational issues , unique market dynamics and other challenges or opportunities that will necessitate some level of adjustment in strategy and approach . Maintaining close supervision during the pre-opening period is critical to a property ’ s rampup , as well as achieving financial objectives and investment returns .
My exposure and involvement in this pre-opening project has been a great personal learning experience and I was able to establish a rewarding network with my superiors , peers and subordinates with management ’ s support . As a member of the preopening team at Mercure Maldives Kooddoo , I feel an enormous sense of pride in knowing that I contributed to building the systems and procedures that are used to run the hotel , which in turn will be useful for myself and all involved as we head forward to our new project at Pullman Maamutaa in the next few months .
About the author Vaibhav Garg is currently holding the position of Executive Assistant Manager ( EAM ) at Mercure Maldives Kooddoo Resort while handling a parallel role of Cluster Director - Talent & Culture at AccorHotels , Maldives and is responsible for Mercure Kooddoo and Pullman Maamutaa Pre-Opening Resort Projects in the GA Atoll | Republic of Maldives . In his hospitality career of over 15 years , he has worked with all major segments of hotel operations i . e . Luxury , Upper Upscale , Upscale and Budget brands of hotels in India and overseas including Maldives and has been instrumental in driving the key functions like Operational Excellence , Hospitality Service Excellence , Strategy Development , Business Excellence , Human Resources and Learning & Development with several best practices in each of his role at the Tata Group and Taj Group of Hotels where he had a stint of over a decade working with 3 Tata Companies . Active in the area of hospitality service research and academics ; Vaibhav has been invited by several renowned international universities , business schools and hotel associations from Asia , Europe , China and USA to present his research papers published in American , Indian , Maldivian and other international management journals and hospitality magazines .
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