Theirs went from being a staff of 18 to a staff of seven . That meant the remaining staff had to come together to make sure the 39,000-square foot spa continued serving its guests to the high standard they expect .
“ At the end of the day , it comes down to everybody realizing ,‘ We need to pitch in to pull this off , or we ’ re not going to work ourselves ,’” Spa Director Claudine Riemer says .“ That ’ s a big thing to say , but it ’ s also unfortunately just reality . We ’ re the lucky ones to say ,‘ OK , we can still do this and we can pull this off ,’ but the only way we can pull this off is teamwork , because you can ’ t do it by yourself . It ’ s not a one-person job .”
One example is how therapists are no longer only performing massages ; instead , their appointments are staggered so they have adequate time to disinfect their area . Not being able to schedule treatments back-to-back is obviously a detriment financially — Riemer says Villa Del Palmar is pulling in about half as much business as this time last year — but the therapists understand this is part of their new role . Spending a lot of time cleaning isn ’ t what a therapist went to school for , and the valets aren ’ t supposed to be spending their time cleaning , but everyone is chipping in .
Even Riemer , who has been in the spa industry for 25 years and worked her way up the ladder , is leading by example and working the reception desk . No task is beneath anyone on staff . Getting that kind of buy-in can be tricky when the staff is only used to performing their specific roles , but Riemer has made that part of the culture at Villa Del Palmar .
“ I ’ ve always had the philosophy that everybody does everything ,” Riemer says .“ And we always have . This is not just here at the spa , the whole hotel is the same way .” Riemer proudly shared a story of when she saw a co-worker rushing off to somewhere .“ Where are you going ?” she asked . The co-worker answered ,“ We ’ re a little bit shortstaffed right now in housekeeping , so I ’ m going to go help them .”
Before the pandemic , Riemer ’ s philosophy was to cross-train its employees so they knew how to perform a variety of roles . They didn ’ t need to necessarily be an expert in another area , but they could fill in if needed .
“ It ’ s a great mentality ,” Riemer says . “ The leadership we have allows us to really be a team and work together in
order to solidify our resort . And it applies to each department , as well . You just have to be humble and not use titles . Just because you ’ re a director , a receptionist or a valet , it doesn ’ t matter . You may be a director , but you can also be a valet or a receptionist .”
Riemer noted that this mindset is part of the culture in Mexico . It ’ s not uncommon for a valet or a butler to become a massage therapist . Riemer breaks it down into categories . The receptionists all have additional roles outside their department , the trainers have additional roles , and so on .
The Cross-Training is Payin Off Now .
“ Mexico is a country that lives off tourism , so it ’ s so important that we do this ,” Riemer says . “ At the end of the day , we ’ re lucky that people want to come here during this crazy time to vacation , so we need to be really humble and grateful for that and do what it what it takes to get the work done without your guests knowing what ’ s going on .” n
FEATURED SOURCES
PAM MAES
Spa Director MIRBEAU INN & SPA
CLAUDINE RIEMER Spa Director VILLA DEL PALMAR
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 ■ PULSE 37