Employee(s) of the Month - October

Katie and I, the General Managers of Popa Paradise Beach Resort took a long awaited two-week vacation to New York, where my family and friends live, for a wedding and to meet the newest member of my family, a niece born to my brother and his wife. It was the first time since Popa Paradise has been in operation that we have left the staff without a manager for more than three days!

Upon our return, we were more than proud and so happy to see that the staff had performed excellently without our daily supervision. It has been one of our goals to be able to train our staff to a point where they take initiative, have large amounts of responsibility and can make decisions prioritizing guest needs first. This "enlightened hospitality" training has been a year in the making and by the feedback from the guests who stayed here while we were away, it is working. In the two weeks we were gone, Popa Paradise received two TripAdvisor comments. Both were 5-star excellent reviews with a stamp of 100% recommendation.

Usually we have one employee of the month. Someone who goes above and beyond their duties in order to make a guest feel at home and to make lasting memories for our guests. This month we are pleased to honor two of our employees as they both did an outstanding job.

Cheryln Ancyl, our administrator, has been with us since this past April. She is bilingual and takes a great share of the load off of Katie's back, helping with payroll, check-in/check-out and much of the day-to-day office business that usually is overflowing our inbox. She is also a great bartender, loves to chat with guests and has a warm personality that creates an atmosphere of welcome and hospitality for our guests.

Cherry's duties were to take over our supervisory positions while we were away and be responsible for making sure all the "little things" that make Popa exceptional, were taken care of. It is and was a formidable task, but she performed it excellently, earning the respect of the team, in our absence.

Eduardo "Cholo"Rayo, our maintenance supervisor, was also an immense help to Cherry and us while were away. Cherry was able to count on Eduardo for helping her with the supervision of the staff and creating a seamless experience for our guests.

Cholo came to Popa Paradise initially to help fix a faulty toilet and some other small repairs. When the nearly two-page long to-do list for Cholo was finished in half-a-day, he was quickly hired on full-time. His pace has not slowed nearly two-years into his time here at Popa. He maintains the generators, electrical fixtures, plumbing etc. On top of that, he is responsible for organizing all "the guys," our shorthand term for the team of staff that works from 7-4 everyday making sure the resort is in tip-top condition.

Both Cholo and Cheryl greatly deserved the title Employee of the Month for October. They have demonstrated a learned knowledge of enlightened hospitality and rose to the occasion to provide that hospitality in our absence.