MARSH HARBOUR – The February 2006 merger between the Ritz Carlton and The Abaco Club was a sensational economic vision for Abaco. Now owners are moving forward by providing constant training opportunities for the employees at the resort.

"You can teach a person almost anything, but you can't give them a personality if they don't have one," Peter de Savary, chairman and founder of The Abaco Club, has said on many occasions, and this philosophy became the standard hiring doctrine at the club.

Consequently, The Abaco Club has always sought the best personalities to fill all positions at the resort, striving to provide the employees – whom they refer to as "ladies and gentlemen" – with the best of training, even before opening their doors in December 2004.

Since then the training trend has continued.

Only a few weeks ago Dr. Samuel Heastie was brought in to teach his "Focus Attend Combine Engage "(F.A.C.E.) course to the entire staff.

On completion, the service levels at the club improved tremendously in all departments.

Then during the week of June 21 - 28, the Ritz Carlton imported its entire top training personnel to provide additional training for all employees at The Abaco Club.

The sessions included orientations on their operations. The Ritz Carlton insists on 250 hours of training annually for their line employees and 350 hours annually for managers.

This is to ensure members and guests receive the best service from "ladies and gentlemen" who are current with the changing times and techniques in all areas.

De Savery's hiring strategy and training efforts paid of in spades. This was verbalized by most of the Ritz trainers. They had first-hand experiences of this as they were guests at the club receiving the extended services at the time of the training sessions.

They were also privy to the natural talents and abilities of many staffers at The Abaco Club.

The merger between The Ritz Carlton and The Abaco Club on Winding Bay was announced at a special well attended town meeting in February 2006 at Cherokee Sound, Abaco. However, the Ritz Carlton officially took over the managerial aspect of the resort on July 1.

De Savary note that this is destined to be a colossal success and will provide The Abacos and The Bahamas with additional prestige as an elite traveller destination.

This venture is a first for The Ritz Carlton, which has never bought into an existing operation. They maintain one of or the most rigorous hiring practices of any company in the hospitality industry, and executives agreed that the level of professionalism demonstrated at the club will make the transition less strenuous, but there remains a distance to trudge before the club gravitates to the Ritz standards.

All of the "ladies and gentlemen" employed at The Abaco Club are excited and welcome their new partners.

They are also eager to learn the Ritz way.

This merger will provide all employed at the club with a distinctive privilege as it relates to being a part of the best of the best team on the planet, the paramount trained group in The Bahamas associated with the service industry and having more opportunities, privileges and benefits than all the others in the same business.

TRAINING SESSION – Ritz Carlton trainers and a few members of the upper management team from The Abaco Club on Winding Bay, during a recess from one of the 250 hours services enhancing and improving training sessions for all the "ladies and gentlemen" employed at The Abaco Club. The event was recently held at The Great Abaco Beach Resort in Marsh Harbour Abaco.