October 2016 Page 1
Welcom HiFRIEND From
Ophir Gayle of Public Relations would like to send an extra special shout out to Amenda Augustin, Wedding Manager of Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa & Beach Resort!
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t h e M o n t e g o B ay R e g i o n
Kirkland Smith Housekeeping Supervisor sends greetings to Jolon Jones aka Hollywood at Sandals Barbados. “Big up yuhself!”
me back! WHAT’s Inside
ADAM STEWART AWARDED
5 ORDER OF DISTINCTION 7 STAY POSITIVE 9OVERWATER LIFE LESSONS
14 PICTURE PERFECT
PHOTOS
SUITES
PHOTOS
HELP US MAKE INTOUCH 2016 bigger and better thaN ever
Reach out to your PR Managers and find out how you can contribute to your favourite staff magazine! October 2016 Page 3
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F E AT U R E
ADAM STEWART
Sandals Deputy Chairman and CEO receives
NATIONAL AWARD for Contribution to Tourism
“I am humbled and honoured to be bestowed the Order of Distinction, Commander Class by the Government of Jamaica. I am very proud to be Jamaican and having the opportunity to contribute to my country’s development and to the development of the region through tourism is something I’m very thankful for...” Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sandals Resorts International, Adam Stewart has been conferred with the Order of Distinction (Commander Class) for outstanding contribution to Jamaica’s tourism and the hotel industry. The Order of Distinction is a national honour conferred by the Government of Jamaica upon citizens who render outstanding and important services to the country. The motto of the Order is “Distinction through Service”. Stewart was officially presented with the insignia yesterday, National Heroes’ Day, at the National Honours and Awards Ceremony held at King’s House, the official residence of the Governor-General. Stewart was among several Jamaicans to receive national honours in recognition of their contributions to various sectors, ranging from education, health, agriculture and
of course tourism. Stewart, who has been at the helm of Sandals Resorts International for the last 10 years and has filled multiple leadership roles within the sector, including First Vice-President for the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, said he was humbled to receive such a prestigious award. “I am humbled and honoured to be bestowed the Order of Distinction, Commander Class by the Government of Jamaica”, he said. “I am very proud to be Jamaican and having the opportunity to contribute to my country’s development and to the development of the region through tourism is something I’m very thankful for and something I take very seriously. I want to say thank you Jamaica, thank you to all my amazing teams across our group of companies and across the region and thanks to my amazing family.”
October 2016 Page 5
LIFE SKILLS P R IN T
T HI S
PA GE !
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LIFE SKILLS
7 Ways to Get Rid of Negative Energy and
Become Positive BY CHRIS TALAMBAS
Negativity affects ourselves and everyone around us. It limits our potential to become something great and live a fulfilling, purposeful life. Negativity has a tangible effect on our health, too. When we make a decision to become positive, and follow that decision up with action, we will begin to encounter situations and people that are also positive. The negative energy gets edged out by all positive experiences. It’s a snowball effect. Although negative and positive thoughts will always exist, the key to becoming positive is to limit the amount of negativity that we experience by filling ourselves up with more positivity. Here are some ways to get rid of negativity and become more positive.
1. Become Grateful for Everything When life is all about us, it’s easy to believe that we deserve what we have. An attitude of entitlement puts us at the center of the universe and sets up the unrealistic expectation that others should cater to us, our needs, and our wants. People that don’t appreciate the nuances of their lives live in a constant state of lacking. And it’s really difficult to live a positive life this way. When we begin to be grateful and appreciate everything in our lives–from the small struggles that make us better, to the car that gets us from A to B every day–we shift our attitude from one of selfishness, to one of appreciation. This appreciation gets noticed by others, and a positive harmony begins to form in our relationships. We begin to receive more of that which we are grateful for, because we’ve opened ourselves up to the idea of receiving, instead of taking. This will make your life more fulfilling, and more positive.
2. Laugh More, Especially at yourself Life gets busy, our schedules fill up, we get into relationships, and work can feel task oriented and routine-driven at times. Being human can feel more like being a robot. But having this work-driven, serious attitude often results in negative and performance oriented thinking. Becoming positive means taking life less seriously and letting yourself off the hook. This is the only life that you get to live–why not lighten up your mood? Laughter helps us become positive by lightening our mood and reminding us not to take life so seriously. Are you sensitive to light sarcasm? Do you have trouble laughing at jokes? Usually, people who are stressed out and overly serious get most offended by sarcasm because their life is all work and no play. If we can learn to laugh at ourselves and our mistakes, life will become more of an experiment in finding out what makes us happy. And finding happiness means finding positivity.
3. Help Others Negativity goes hand in hand with selfishness. People that live only for themselves have no higher purpose in their lives. If the whole point of this world is only to take care of yourself and no one else, the road to a long-term fulfillment and purpose is going to be a long one. Positivity accompanies purpose. The most basic way to create purpose and positivity in your life is to begin doing things for others. Start small; open the door for the person in front of you or ask someone how their day was before telling them about yours. Helping others will give you an intangible sense of value that will translate into positivity. And people might just appreciate you in the process.
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4. Change Your Thinking We can either be our best coach or our best enemy. Change starts from within. If you want to become more positive, change the wording of your thoughts. We are the hardest on ourselves, and a stream of negative self talk is corrosive to a positive life. The next time you have a negative thought, write it down and rephrase it with a positive spin. For example, change a thought like, “I can’t believe I did so horribly on that project–I suck.” to “I didn’t do as well as I hoped to on this project. But I know I’m capable and I’ll do better next time.” Changing our self-talk is powerful.
4. Surround Yourself with Positive persons
4. Take Full Responsibility
We become most like the people that we surround ourselves with. If our friend group is full of negative energy-suckers and drama queens, we will emulate that behavior and become like them. It is very difficult to become more positive when the people around us don’t support or demonstrate positive behavior. As you become more positive, you’ll find that your existing friends will either appreciate the new you or they will become resistant to your positive changes. This is a natural response; change is scary. But cutting out the negative people in your life is a huge step to becoming more positive. Positive people reflect and bounce their perspectives onto one another. Positivity is a step-by-step process when you do it solo, but a positive group of friends can be an escalator.
4. Calm Down, Then GET INTO ACTION Negative thoughts can be overwhelming and challenging to navigate. Negativity is usually
accompanied by a “freak-out” response, especially when tied to relationships, people and to worrying about the future. This is debilitating to becoming positive and usually snowballs into more worry, more stress and more freak-outs. Turn the negative stress into positive action. The next time you’re in one of these situations, walk away and take a break. With your eyes closed, take a few deep breaths. Once you’re calm, approach the situation or problem with a pen and pad of paper. Write out four or five actions or solutions to begin solving the problem. Taking yourself out of the emotionally charged negative by moving into the action-oriented positive will help you solve more problems rationally and live in positivity
You are responsible for your thoughts. People that consistently believe that things happen to them handicap themselves to a victim mentality. This is a subtle and deceptive negative thought pattern. Phrases like “I have to work” or “I can’t believe he did that to me” are indicators of a victim mentality. Blaming circumstances and blaming others only handicaps our decision to change something negative into something positive. Taking full responsibility for your life, your thoughts and your actions is one of the biggest steps in creating a more positive life. We have unlimited potential within to create our own reality, change our life, and change our thoughts. When we begin to really internalize this, we discover that no one can make us feel or do anything. We choose our emotional and behavioral response to people and circumstances. Make positive choices in favor of yourself.
Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny
Lao Tzu Page 8 October 2016
I N T H E N E WS
Overwater Suites
at Sandals Royal Caribbean
We’ve all seen the renderings. We’ve heard the stories of the floating hammocks, glass floors, private infinity pool and outdoor showers. Now for the first time in the Caribbean, here are the latest images from our Overwater Suites at Sandals Royal Caribbean for your viewing pleasure:
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I N T H E N E WS OVERWATER SUITES AT SANDALS ROYAL CARIBBEAN
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THE BUZZ
Desiree GIBSON
Sandals Barbados says goodbye to Desiree Sandals Barbados said goodbye to their ever popular Human Resources Manager Ms. Desiree Gibson in October as she moves on to another exciting career. Desiree, also known as the “Heartbeat of the Resort” left us in the way she came full of song, dance and ever smiling; although during her farewell she tried best to hold back a few tears. From inception team members met and knew her as the Human Resources Manager and related stories of her
sitting them down in her office and always there to lend assistance when needed. “I will miss you greatly and would like to thank you for your tremendous support, mentorship & guidance. During the past three years you have also provided me with unbreakable friendships which I hope will continue. I do wish you and the company continued success in all future endeavours. I don’t like goodbyes so let’s just say see you soon,” said Desiree.
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I N T H E N E WS
SANDALS ROYAL BAHAMIAN
Warm Welcome for first Royal Bahamian Guests – Once was definitely not enough for loyal Sandals fans, the Blodgetts. The couple from Nevada have visited Sandals properties 28 times, 20 of them at Sandals Royal Bahamian in Nassau. They were the first guests to walk through the door when the iconic hotel reopened October 25 after a lengthy closing for a multimillion dollar makeover. (Photo courtesy of Sandals Royal Bahamian)
Construction crews pictured during renovations (Photo Donald Knowles)
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Looking sharp and ready to roll out the red carpet, white glove service – A 10-member butler team is pictured outside Sandals Royal Bahamian as the stately and historic hotel on Cable Beach prepares to re-open after extensive renovations. (Photo courtesy of Sandals Royal Bahamian)
I N T H E N E WS
Refurbished Sandals Royal Bahamian re-opens following multimillion dollar makeover, expects nearly 100% occupancy by November Sandals Royal Bahamian has re-opened its doors with a complement of nearly 500 staff members and guests in 75 rooms following a multimillion dollar makeover that began in mid-August and breathed new life into the historic property on Cable Beach. It was the first time in 10 weeks that voices could be heard above the steady buzzing, throb and drone of jackhammers, concrete mixers and backhoes. In place of heavy equipment what greeted guests was a hotel with sparkling interiors and exteriors, including massive new pool decks and bright, contemporary furnishings, gutted and renovated villas, fresh paint and refinished wooden floors where royalty and celebrities of old had once danced the night away. Hundreds of staffers had undergone training preparing for the soft opening originally scheduled for mid-October but delayed by about 10 days due to Hurricane Matthew. According to Sandals Royal Bahamian General Manager Gary Williams, the re-opening went smoothly. “We’re very pleased to announce the reopening of the hotel with a refreshed property and staff,” Williams said. “This morning we welcomed our first guests at 7am, Mr. and Mrs. Blodgett hailing from Nevada. The Blodgetts have visited our various Sandals properties 28 times, with 20 being here at Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort, so it was only fitting that they were our first guests today. By November 1, the hotel will be full and we are looking forward to giving our
new and returning guests a renewed Sandals experience.” During the renovations, hardly a square foot of the property escaped attention. Boilers and chillers were changed, two large pool decks were completely removed and replaced, ballrooms renovated, guest rooms re-done, several villas gutted and rebuilt, pathways and common areas re-created, new air conditioning installed, and more. More than a dozen Bahamian companies were engaged to work on repairs that were so extensive the hotel had no option but to close, according to an engineer’s report. Hotel sources were taken by surprise – the closure came in August as the Cable Beach luxury-included all-inclusive was enjoying nearly 100% occupancy and was facing a nearly fully-booked property for the next several months. Many guests were invited to stay at Sandals Emerald Bay in Exuma with extended stay packages and airline change fares picked up by the company. Some 60 Sandals team members were transferred to the Exuma property and offered complementary housing to accommodate the increased number of guests. Throughout the process, spokespersons for the awardwinning resort chain, the largest in the Caribbean, said morale remained high. “Everyone is showing tremendous enthusiasm,” said Jamaica-based Director of Corporate Services Jeremy Jones. “There is a real spirit of rejuvenation, a pride in being part of something historic and something new all at once.”
During the renovations, hardly a square foot of the property escaped attention. Boilers and chillers were changed, two large pool decks were completely removed and replaced, ballrooms renovated, guest rooms re-done, several villas gutted and rebuilt, pathways and common areas re-created, new air conditioning installed, and more. October 2016 Page 13
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