RIU honours 25 Jamaican employees at 25th anniversary celebrations

WESTERN BUREAU:

The RIU Hotels and Resorts hospitality chain last week honoured 25 employees who have been with the company since it opened its first property in Jamaica 21 years ago, during its 25th anniversary celebration at the RIU Montego Bay Hotel, in St James.

The awardees, whose journey with the Spanish-owned company began with the opening of the RIU Palace Tropical Bay property in Negril, Westmoreland, were honoured on Thursday in the presence of dignitaries such as Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, and Jose Maria Fernandez Lopez de Turiso, Spain’s ambassador to Jamaica.

Carlington Pryce, the public relations manager for Riu Ocho Rios and one of the 25 awardees, told The Gleaner that he was pleased to have had his contributions publicly recognised, particularly since he had worked at RIU’s first two hotels, Riu Palace Tropical Bay and Riu Negril.

“Having had the opportunity to be at the opening of the first and second RIU hotels and having worked at almost all of them, it is a good feeling for me to be acknowledged in such a way,” he said. “There were some days where it might not have been the best of days, but overall, the experience has been very good.”

Fellow awardee O’Neil Vernon, the executive chef at Riu Palace Aquarelle, said his time with the hotel chain has allowed him to grow in experience, noting that the company treats its employees like family.

“RIU is a company where, as long as they see potential in you, then you can have a lot of growth with them. They will never look outside to find someone to fill a spot, when they know someone inside the company is capable of doing the job,” said Vernon.

RIU Managing Director Joan Trian Riu praised the hotel chain’s Jamaican team for helping to solidify the business’ familial link with the local community and visitors alike.

“Your charisma, your work ethic, and your natural warmth have created a bond so powerful that our guests do not just return to a hotel, they return to a family,” he said. 

”We are immensely proud and deeply grateful for our Jamaican team, who have built deep and lasting relationships with both our guests and the community.”

The RIU Hotels and Resorts chain, which was launched in Mallorca, Spain in 1953, got its start in Jamaica in 1995 when founder Luis Riu Guell visited the island to study the all-inclusive hotel model for RIU’s Caribbean service. That visit led to the 2001 founding of RIU Palace Tropical Bay in Negril.

In addition to RIU Montego Bay, RIU Palace Tropical Bay, and RIU Negril, RIU Hotels and Resorts operates the RIU Ocho Rios resort in St Ann; RIU Palace Aquarelle in Trelawny; and RIU Reggae and RIU Palace Jamaica in St James, with 4,200 rooms across all seven properties.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com