In partnership with Moskito Island, Necker Island, Rosewood Little Dix Bay, Scrub Island Resort, Spa & Marina and Bitter End Yacht Club, Saira Hospitality has established an eight-week pop-up school for 100 students.
The British Virgin Islands Tourist Board has also been supportive of the program, assisting with marketing the program, sourcing students and trainers, contributing to student information days and providing advice and guidance for the program. The full program is provided to accepted students from local communities at no cost and is hosted Monday through Friday on two main islands (Virgin Gorda and Tortola) to accommodate applicant interest. All trainers for these Saira courses are residents in the area. The program in the British Virgin Islands will allow each partnering organization to interview Saira graduates in their hiring, bringing members of the local community into the rebuilding of the hospitality market in the region.
“I knew I wanted to get involved with organizations in the British Virgin Islands when I saw Hurricane Irma and Maria cause such devastation in the region. Inevitably we knew there would be a time to rebuild, and we wanted to make sure we played a role,” said Harsha Chanrai, CEO & Founder of Saira Hospitality. “Through our newest program, we aim to enable members of local communities to gain essential skills and secure long-term employment in this resilient field of work.”
Saira Hospitality (a 501c3 nonprofit organization) provides members of local communities with the life, language and industry skills needed to gain long-term employment in the lifestyle and luxury hospitality industry. This unconventional approach to recruitment disrupts the hospitality industry’s long-standing tradition of importing trained professionals from overseas, large cities and other hotels, conserving both training time and salary spending while establishing positive relationships with nearby neighborhoods. Partnering hotels, resorts and luxury organizations also benefit from a dedicated staff of expertly trained individuals with a deep understanding of local customs, activities and geography.
Each class at Saira’s pop-up hotel schools is tailored to match students’ skills and ambition with ample training for entry to mid-level positions at partnering hotels. Upon graduating, all students who apply for employment are interviewed for their chosen role/roles in hospitality. The majority of Saira Graduates are interviewed for employment with Saira’s hospitality partners upon completion of the program. Many Saira graduates receive job offers at the end of their training, while others use their newfound skills to pursue existing careers in hospitality and beyond.
The Saira Hospitality pop-up school in the British Virgin Islands will accept approximately 100 students from the local area to the eight-week training program, free of charge for accepted participants. All classes are taught by seasoned experts in hospitality and diverse educational fields, hand-selected and trained by CEO & Founder, Harsha Chanrai. The intensive hospitality classes involve sessions covering topics like tangible and intangible service qualities, loyalty programs, turnover, service recovery, mindfulness, wellness, as well as cultural and emotional intelligence. Students will also gain a broad understanding of hotels, tourism today and the modern traveler. In the second half of the program, the focus of instruction shifts to technical skills and knowledge, training students on the different departments of each partnering property. All students are also granted access to an online course at a reduced rate through Saira Hospitality’s partnership with eCornell if they would like to continue their education. Saira’s educational program in the British Virgin Islands also includes training in sustainability, nutrition, personal finance, entrepreneurship and managerial thinking. Over the course of the program, Saira Hospitality will work with each individual student to identify personal goals, strengths and weaknesses to map out career paths to encourage long-term employment.
Within the past two years, Saira Hospitality has graduated 100 local students from training programs in partnership with Bunkhouse’s Hotel San Cristóbal in Todos Santos and Costa Palmas Beach Club Managed by Four Seasons. All open positions at the partnering properties were filled with students of Saira Hospitality, retaining Saira’s 100 percent ROI on all projects.
The program in the British Virgin Islands began October 1, 2018, on two islands, Virgin Gorda and Tortola for all students. To learn more about Saira Hospitality’s programs, visit www.SairaHospitality.com.
