Members of the Housekeeping Department at Sandals Montego Bay showed off another side of their personality recently when they were treated to an afternoon paint & sip session.

The team, led by Executive Housekeeper Patricia Grant and her assistant Kirkland Smith, were tickled pink as they let their paint brushes do the talking for a change.

“We are really appreciative of the efforts by the resort to give us to chance to let down our hair from our normally stressful day time work activities,” said Grant.

“Apart from being able to relax it also showed that our employers care about our mental state of mind,” added Grant.

She said that the past few months had been a challenging one for members of the housekeeping team due to the novel coronavirus pandemic which had led to Sandals Resorts implementing more stringent sanitisation method under its Platinum Protocols of Cleanliness in order to protect both team members and guests.

“It is much more time consuming to prepare and service rooms as well as sanitise public areas, but the team has rallied and done an amazing job,” said Grant.

In between enjoying the refreshment on offer and delicate strokes of his paint brush, Smith was lavish in his praise of the mental relaxation brought on by the paint & sip event.

“Painting really relaxes the mind, taking it off the day-to-day pressure of work and allows you to just enjoy the moment and distress,” argued Smith.

“Today was a very special day and we look forward to more days like this,” declared Smith.

General manager of Sandals Montego Bay Carl Beviere said finding creative ways to have team members relax and engage in soothing mental exercises was part of the hotel’s continuing drive to assist them during this very difficult period.

“We have also been assisting with care packages, staging welcome breakfasts, awards and life skills seminars, because our team members are our greatest asset and we want to show them how much we care,” Beviere said.

He also pointed to Sandals Resorts International staging a series of leadership workshops for managers at Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Royal Caribbean recently.

“The workshops were aimed at gearing its cadre of managers to meet the rigours of the COVID-19-era workplace, focusing on not just the technical competence of its managers, but their mental fortitude as well,” noted Beviere.