Posts written by Celeste Jacobs

It’s always great returning to an area as beautiful as Somerset West in the Western Cape.  The past 5 days have been pretty intense as we had so much to get through and so much to prepare!  I did one on one training with a young lady that has been employed to look after a group of UK holiday makers that will be staying at the NH Lord Charles hotel.  Our training covered, customer service, enhancing the customers experience, dealing with difficult situations, body language, soft selling skills, listening and communication to name a few.

Nwabisa, or “Sweetness” as she is know to her guests is passionate about delivering the best service to her customers and her focus, determination and dedication to her role is going to get her far in this industry.  What a lovely place to be working and what a fantastic opportunity for this young lady.  I wish her all the very, very best.

If ever find yourself in the Somerset West area, make sure you check out the NH Lord Charles Hotel.  Excellent location, excellent staff, excellent all round.

I had the opportunity to return to Botswana and carry out some training.  It is always nice to go back and see familiar faces again.

Botswana, a landlocked country in southern Africa, has a landscape defined by the Kalahari Desert and the Okavango Delta, which becomes a lush animal habitat during the seasonal floods.  Luxury safari camps are a common way to spend your time in the bush.  In the Delta’s Moremi Game Reserve, dug-out canoes are used to navigate past birdlife, hippos and crocodiles.  On dry land, wildlife includes lion, leopard and black and white rhino to name a few.

There is so much to do in Botswana and to ensure you do not miss out, i can highly recommend the service of Pride of Africa Safari.  They will make your trip one you will never forget.

http://www.prideofafrica-safaris.com/

Some fun while training these great people.

I was fortunate enough to travel back to Madagascar and work with the local agent Mercure Voyages.  During my week on the island, i was training two of the local guides.  Our training focused on International Tourists, ways to enhance customers experiences and general dealings with International guests.  The guides are very passionate about their island and were very keen to learn and explore the many different ways to satisfy guests.

This island has so much to offer, i thought i would share 8 quick facts about Madagascar with you.

1. Most of Madagascar’s wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth!
2. Lemurs are sacred in Madagascar.
3. Madagascar was settled by Asians before mainland Africans.
4. Before French colonial rule, Madagascar was ruled by a woman.
5. Many nature plants of Madagascar have medicinal properties.
6. There may have been an anarchist pirate utophia in Madagascar.
7. Madagascar has strong human rights protections.
8. The cuisine in Madagascar reflects its cultural diversity.

If you ever find yourself in Madagascar, do yourself a favor and contact Mercure Voyages who will make your stay relaxing and interesting.  They offer great customer service too!

http://www.mercure-voyages.com/

Wow, how time fly’s!  As you may all be aware, we are now offering ETDPSeta Accredited Assessor, Facilitator and Moderator courses.  We are so pleased that we made this move as it have been well accepted by many.  It is important to point out, that although THT Hospitality Training is mainly focused on exactly that – the Hospitality industry, the Assessor, Facilitator and Moderator Courses are courses that ANYBODY can do, you do not specifically have to work in the hospitality industry.  These courses are standard, so anyone wanting to be an Assessor can complete our course and you will use it in your field of expertise.  We wanted to broaden our scope to enable us to accommodate and assist more people.

So you may ask who should do one of these courses?  We will help you out.

Unit Standard 117871 Facilitate Learning using a variety of Methodologies:  This one is excellent for any person in Sales and Marketing or head of personnel.  If you are in HR/HRD practitioner; teacher of any sort; lecturer anywhere or trainer of any kind, this course will benefit you hugely.

Unit Standard 115753 Conduct Outcomes-based assessments:  This one is for Supervisors doing assessments in the workplace.  Again also beneficial to HR/HRD practitioners; teachers; lecturers; trainers in any field!

Unit Standard 115759 Conduct Moderation of Outcomes-Based Assessments:  To all our Supervisors and Managers, this one is perfect for you!  Yes, also to HR/HRD practitioners; teachers; lecturers; trainers in any field!

So as you can see, a step in the right direction for us to offer these 3 courses.  We also need to point out that we offer them as correspondence courses.  Since we have recognized that many people are working and would not have the time to attend lectures, you can now do this at leisure.  You will have a maximum of 3 month per course to work your way through producing your PoE (Portfolio of Evidence).  Remember, we are here every step of the way to assist you if you are stuck.

To those of you that have done these courses with us – thank you as always, we appreciate all your support.  To those that are interested, give us a shout as we are running specials at the moment!

Chat again soon,

Celeste

My bags are packed, i’m ready to go

I am in Mauritius having another opportunity to work with White Sands Tours (http://whitesandtours.com).  I love being invited back to work with companies i have dealt with in the past – it’s kind of like meeting up with old friends again!  This time round i had a group of 12 Tour Managers, some of whom i trained four years ago!  While all the tourists relax on the white sandy beaches of Mauritius, we were “hiding” indoors doing our training sessions in some hot and humid conditions – thank goodness for air conditioning!

All in all the training ran smoothly.  These Tour Managers are so focused on providing their customers with the best experience possible.  They are all willing to please and go that extra mile to ensure guests return back to Mauritius.  This island, as little as it is, is full of charm !  The smiling faces, warm welcome and true hospitality shown by all the people you encounter, is a lesson that many destinations can learn from.

With my duties done, here i am sitting in the reception of the lovely Tamassa Resort (www.tamassaresort.com) , waiting for my airport transfer to take me back to MY beautiful South Africa!   They say home is where the heart is – it’s true!

Today i had the opportunity to do Customer Service training with the staff from the Pavilion Hotel.  The front office manager Navin Singh and his team made me feel very welcome and the training ran well.  I was really pleased that the hotel had given us the opportunity to carry out the training with their staff.  More organisations in South Africa need to start focusing on investing in their staff.  Our mission is to improve service standards and it is fantastic to see that this hotel is making the effort to arm their staff with the tools to exceed guests expectations when it comes to service.  I wish everyone at the Pavilion Hotel all the very best for the future and may you delight all your guests.

If you find yourself in the Durban area, check out the Pavilion Hotel  http://www.pavilionhotel.co.za/

We are so excited to be attending the Durban Business Fair.  Pop over to the Durban Exhibition Centre this weekend and come and visit us at stand T&T12!  There is something for everyone to enjoy and entrance is FREE!  If you are interested in any of the courses and you add your name to our little book – you will get a 10% discount on the course you do – just for coming in to see us.  We are ready and waiting for YOU!

Nestled in the unspoiled surrounding of the Drakensberg Mountain range (a World Heritage Site) is the beautiful Cathedral Peak Hotel http://www.cathedralpeak.co.za/ . This hotel first opened its doors to guests in 1939 and has never looked back. The hotel offer warm hospitality, delicious food and amazing views. Only 250km from Durban – you would be crazy not to visit! Personal thanks to the Assistant General Manager – Gabriel Muzi Mnguni for inviting me over and for a very positive meeting. Fingers crossed i will be back and build an ongoing relationship with this lovely place.