Eight Nigerians working with a Port Harcourt hotel, Le Meridien Ogeyi Place, have been redeployed to one of the hotels under the global Starwood Hotels and Resort.
The eight staff who were working in the food and beverage department of the hotel got an international transfer to work at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Speaking during the send forth party organised by Ogeyi Place last week, the General Manager of the hotel, Mr. Chris Duncan, encouraged the redeployed staff to continue to work hard and show good example to staff from the other countries.
Duncan noted the need for the workers to be good ambassadors for the hotel and Nigeria at large, adding that this could only be achieved if they stay focused.
In his contribution, the Human Resources Manager, Mr. Chile Nwabuko said that the staff have benefited from the opportunity offered by Starwood to work in another country.
Nwabuko said that the international transfer is aimed at giving the company’s associates better scale that will enhance their future, as well as “prepare them for higher exposure and responsibilities with a better pay package.
He noted that they could come back to Nigeria in the future and decide to open a hotel business which would be a boost to the hospitality industry.
The Manager further said that the redeployment has also created employment opportunities for other Nigerians who would fill the vacuum created by this movement.
On the challenges faced by Ogeyi Place in recent time, he said the issues of insurgency and the health crisis caused by Ebola Virus has been a major challenge.
According to the Human Resources Manager, “The outside world only knows Africa and are afraid of coming to the continent for anything. We have had many business connections cancelled because of Ebola fears and people do not even know that the distance between Nigeria and Sierra Leone is very long”.
He noted that these issues have really been a problem that will make it impossible for the hotel to meet up on the 2014 budget.