STAFF at the six Southern Sun properties in Durban underwent intensive training before the start of the 13th International Aids Conference being held at the International Convention Centre this week. All the hotels have contingency plans in place, and are "fully prepared" for any unforeseen circumstances.
So reports Southern Sun marketing director, Richard Weilers, who told Travel Now that it is company policy to implement rigorous staff training prior to any major event.
"We feel it is important to create an awareness of the type of consumer they're dealing with and to be able to anticipate their needs and requirements."
According to Weilers, training - conducted by Southern Sun's own in-house training division - for the Aids Conference was broken down into three components and was directed at all staff involved at the different properties.
"Firstly, staff were taken through an understanding of the Aids movement as part of creating awareness of current trends and ideologies," he said.
The second training component - presented in conjunction with Southern Sun's medical aid company - consisted of highlighting the clinical aspects of the disease, dealing with basic information on the disease such as how it is contracted and its outcome.
Thirdly, explains Weilers, the training focused on the business imperative and service delivery.
"The impact in this instance was that all our Garden Courts had to be upgraded to full-service, in keeping with the needs of the international delegates."
Staff were also briefed on the diversity of the delegates and informed about the special needs and background of the group.
"For example, if the South Beach property has a large number of German delegates, staff at that property will undergo training of guest expectations as well as pertinent information on that particular country, such as the language, basic geography and dietary requirements."
In addition, staff were trained on the different lobbying groups and alerted to the potential "unforeseen" circumstances which might arise, and how to successfully deal with them.
Trained counsellors are also on hand - on a 24-hour basis, at all six properties - to act as an internal referral service for specific Aids-related enquiries.
(Adéle Mackenzie)
