luxury eco-resort hotel vil uyana and jetwing development project
luxury eco-resort hotel vil uyana and jetwing development project
luxury eco-resort hotel vil uyana and jetwing development project
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LUXURY ECO-RESORT HOTEL VIL UYANA AND<br />
JETWING DEVELOPMENT PROJECT<br />
In 2006, nine months before the launch of the <strong>luxury</strong><br />
<strong>eco</strong>-<strong>resort</strong> Vil Uyana in Sri Lanka, the Jetwing Youth<br />
Development Project (JYDP) was initiated with the<br />
strong support of the local Buddhist temples. As a<br />
result, 40 young <strong>vil</strong>lagers were trained <strong>and</strong> employed<br />
to work in the hospitality sector. Jetwing Hotels, a<br />
local company, owns <strong>hotel</strong>s, Ayurveda <strong>resort</strong>s <strong>and</strong><br />
colonial style <strong>hotel</strong>s at tea plantations in Sri Lanka. Its<br />
management has a broad vision of corporate social<br />
<strong>and</strong> environmental policy, evidenced in their flat<br />
hierarchy <strong>and</strong> innovative approaches to problems.<br />
All of the <strong>hotel</strong>s practice responsible environmental<br />
management keeping with existing laws <strong>and</strong><br />
regulations, sound practices of energy <strong>and</strong> water<br />
conservation, air quality management, pollution<br />
reduction, use of environment-friendly resources,<br />
recycling <strong>and</strong> environmentally friendly purchasing<br />
have been introduced.<br />
‘In our company we<br />
try to allow the ideas<br />
to grow up.’<br />
- Mr Jude Kasturi<br />
Arachchi<br />
(Group Engineer,<br />
Jetwing)<br />
Concept of Hotel Vil Uyana <strong>and</strong> Jetwing Youth Development Project<br />
In October 2006, Jetwing Hotels opened a new <strong>hotel</strong> called Vil Uyana. It is located near Sigiriya Rock<br />
Fortress, a heritage hotspot in the centre of Sri Lanka’s<br />
the so-called Cultural Triangle because of its Buddhist<br />
temples, ancient ruins <strong>and</strong> national parks.<br />
Vil Uyana is the first <strong>hotel</strong> in the world to include a<br />
wetl<strong>and</strong> system. Its lakes <strong>and</strong> reed-beds form a private<br />
nature reserve that provides a haven for wildlife <strong>and</strong> a<br />
setting of peace <strong>and</strong> tranquillity for guests. This manmade<br />
reserve integrates 25 private wooden <strong>luxury</strong><br />
chalets, designed to reflect Sri Lanka’s local <strong>and</strong> rural<br />
traditions.<br />
Because of its high-quality services, complex<br />
environmental management <strong>and</strong> community<br />
participation, the USP for the Hotel Vil Uyana is ‘Extreme Eco <strong>and</strong> Extreme Luxury’<br />
From its very inception, the <strong>hotel</strong> was invited to be a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.<br />
Rationale for the Jetwing Youth Development Project (JYDP)<br />
The huge manpower shortage in Sri Lanka has worsened as skilled employees are increasingly<br />
attracted to the Middle East, the Maldives, Europe <strong>and</strong> Canada. Moreover, the country faces the<br />
massive problem of youth unemployment, particularly in rural areas where the schools do not<br />
prepare the students for skilled jobs. Even those in good academic st<strong>and</strong>ing are often not accepted<br />
into universities or within the <strong>eco</strong>nomic mainstream. The wait can be long <strong>and</strong> frustrating <strong>and</strong> these<br />
young people often end up taking whatever jobs are available simply to survive.<br />
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Jetwing envisions tourism as the ideal vehicle to minimise these problems. To build potential within<br />
the industry, they developed the Jetwing Youth Development Project (JYDP) providing hospitality<br />
training, at no cost, to rural young men <strong>and</strong> women who had completed basic schooling but were<br />
unemployed, as well as to some adult women (ages 40 to 50) who were the sole providers for their<br />
families.<br />
Aims of JYDP<br />
The Jetwing Youth Development Project was designed to improve the Sri Lankan tourism sector in<br />
four ways:<br />
• Addressing <strong>and</strong> offering a solution to the manpower shortage in their own <strong>hotel</strong>s <strong>and</strong><br />
in the Sri Lankan <strong>hotel</strong> industry in general.<br />
• Involving local communities in tourism, sharing its benefits.<br />
• Helping resolve the unemployment problem among Sri Lankan youth.<br />
• Providing the frustrated youth with gainful employment.<br />
‘Being with the community<br />
was our idea. From<br />
the very beginning we felt<br />
very<br />
confident working with<br />
these communities.’<br />
– Mr Kumara Senarathne<br />
(Head of Human Resources,<br />
Jetwing Hotels)<br />
Involvement of Stakeholders<br />
Before starting the <strong>project</strong>, Jetwing informed<br />
important stakeholders about the planned <strong>project</strong>.<br />
Thus, local Buddhist monks, principal teachers,<br />
government authorities <strong>and</strong> interested parents<br />
learned of the company’s intention to offer English<br />
lessons followed by hospitality training at no cost to<br />
unemployed youth in the region.<br />
The idea was especially supported by two chief<br />
Buddhist monks, who distributed the application<br />
forms to potential trainees <strong>and</strong> even offered to<br />
arrange for classes to be held at Buddhist temples<br />
in the neighbouring communities of Kimbissa <strong>and</strong><br />
Rangirigama.<br />
English Language Lessons<br />
In January 2006, the <strong>project</strong> began by offering lessons in the English language to 120 unemployed<br />
youths in the area (86 boys <strong>and</strong> 34 girls). After 2 weeks, those young people who had attended<br />
initially out of curiosity did not return. No allowance was paid to the trainees during that initial period<br />
because Jetwing wanted be sure that only those truly interested in such work would participate in<br />
the programme.<br />
Jetwing believes that learning English is a vital step toward a fulfilling career. The programme is<br />
therefore intended to provide youth from the rural school system with a working knowledge of the<br />
English language, enabling them to express themselves as well as underst<strong>and</strong> others. The company<br />
was extremely fortunate in enlisting a local, highly experienced teacher for the JYDP who could train<br />
the students in practical English, using role-play in a series of real-life situations, as well as exercises in<br />
grammar, general knowledge <strong>and</strong> Western customs.<br />
The Jetwing English course was divided into two classes per week, with a total of 96 hours of instruction<br />
per class. The English training continued once a week during the first year after the opening of Vil<br />
Uyana. Now, 2 years later, the majority of the participants speak moderate to good English, <strong>and</strong> some<br />
have even reached a level of excellence.<br />
Training in Life Skills <strong>and</strong> Hotel Operations<br />
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After a 4-week period of English instruction,<br />
Jetwing began adding entry-level industry training.<br />
They started with a general introduction to life<br />
skills, including self-<strong>development</strong> through personal<br />
hygiene, good grooming <strong>and</strong> a positive attitude.<br />
After 4 weeks, trainees were assigned to various<br />
areas of <strong>hotel</strong> operation. This was followed by entrylevel<br />
training in the <strong>hotel</strong> staff <strong>vil</strong>lage in the areas of<br />
front office, housekeeping, food <strong>and</strong> beverage <strong>and</strong><br />
kitchen operations. One-day excursions to other<br />
Jetwing Hotels were organised to offer the trainees<br />
further insight into the daily routine of <strong>hotel</strong><br />
operations. Instructions were given in both Sinhala,<br />
the trainees’ mother-tongue, <strong>and</strong> English.<br />
‘I expected that Jetwing<br />
would ask me to teach the<br />
staff – but not the <strong>vil</strong>lagers.<br />
The Jetwing people are not<br />
conventional people, they<br />
have very practical approaches<br />
to problems.’<br />
– Mr Bernard Kasthuri Kumara<br />
(English Teacher)<br />
Since the trainees had very little knowledge about the area, Jetwing also introduced them to the<br />
cultural history of the Sigiriya area, including classes on the country’s diverse flora <strong>and</strong> fauna as part<br />
of a larger lesson about environmentally-friendly <strong>hotel</strong> management.<br />
The training was based on Jetwing’s clearly defined corporate ethos; its vision, mission, core values<br />
<strong>and</strong> corporate stance on customer care <strong>and</strong> etiquette:<br />
• Life skills – the importance <strong>and</strong> benefits of employment<br />
• Teamwork<br />
• Meditation<br />
• Mind enrichment – appreciating the meaning of life; finding your own identity; meditating,<br />
contemplating <strong>and</strong> thinking positively; showing humility, kindness <strong>and</strong> love<br />
• Mind cleansing – avoiding jealousy, anger, hatred, snobbishness, uncooperativeness<br />
<strong>and</strong> other behaviours that hamper an individual’s performance<br />
• Appreciation, respect for others, willingness to admit mistakes<br />
Many of the trainees felt that this curriculum helped both personally <strong>and</strong> professionally, building<br />
their team-work skills <strong>and</strong> discipline.<br />
‘I learned a lot of things, not<br />
only tourism – especially<br />
what is important about<br />
work – how to work with my<br />
colleagues without having<br />
any arguments.’<br />
– Ms Amali Liyanage, age<br />
22 (Assistant Receptionist,<br />
Front Office)<br />
Ceremony<br />
After 5 months, 50% of the students graduated,<br />
60 in total, <strong>and</strong> organised their own graduation<br />
ceremony, which was held in June 2006 under<br />
the distinguished patronage of the Secretary to<br />
the Ministry of Tourism, representatives of the<br />
media <strong>and</strong> other dignitaries. This ceremony was<br />
an extremely important event for the trainees; a<br />
chance to demonstrate what they had achieved in<br />
the past months. Afterwards, they moved into the<br />
<strong>hotel</strong> for the final 4 months of preparation before<br />
the <strong>hotel</strong> was opened. About 40 graduates were<br />
employed by Jetwing. The English <strong>and</strong> hospitality<br />
training continued for one more year on a regular<br />
basis.<br />
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‘This <strong>project</strong> has been a tremendous success.<br />
Most of these children, not knowing how<br />
to write even their name when they joined,<br />
are now able to carry on a simple, decent<br />
conversation with the discerning clientele.’ – Mr<br />
Kumar Senaratne (Head of Human Resources,<br />
Jetwing)<br />
Gender Considerations<br />
Especially among rural people in Sri Lanka,<br />
tourism does not have a good reputation, as it is<br />
commonly associated with ‘sun, s<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> sex’.<br />
At first, some parents were wary about sending<br />
their young daughters to the training classes.<br />
But when it was made clear that Jetwing has<br />
a strict policy against sexual harassment in<br />
the workplace, the young women <strong>and</strong> their<br />
parents felt that they would be safe <strong>and</strong> secure<br />
at Vil Uyana.<br />
Investment<br />
Jetwing itself invested a total of US$7,500 in<br />
these training activities, including the English<br />
classes.<br />
Benefits for All Stakeholders<br />
The benefits achieved so far are diverse, as<br />
reflected in the stakeholders’ responses to indepth<br />
interviews conducted in September<br />
2008 by a consultant of German Technical<br />
Cooperation (GTZ). Below is a summary of<br />
selected comments <strong>and</strong> feedback from the 29<br />
interview partners.<br />
From participants of JYDP <strong>and</strong> staff of Vil<br />
Uyana:<br />
• Stable <strong>eco</strong>nomic situation (fixed income);<br />
the income is between 8,000 <strong>and</strong> 15,000<br />
rupees (US$80-150), including service charges.<br />
Most of the young staff deposit 10-20% or even<br />
more of their salary into a bank account <strong>and</strong><br />
spend the rest on daily living expenses or to support to their parents.<br />
• The salary is comparable to other jobs in this area, such as working as a bus driver<br />
(15,000 rupees) or as a soldier (25,000 rupees). Due to the ci<strong>vil</strong> war in Sri Lanka, all<br />
<strong>hotel</strong>s in the country face a critical situation regarding their low occupancy rate.<br />
The same applies to Vil Uyana, with an average occupancy rate of 20-30% in 2007<br />
<strong>and</strong> 2008. For that reason, the service charge <strong>and</strong> tips are not as high as expected.<br />
Nevertheless, no complaints have been made about this situation, since these<br />
young people are all aware that with one or two more years of experience in this<br />
upper-market <strong>hotel</strong> they can easily find a good-paying <strong>and</strong> skilled job in the tourism<br />
industry in the Maldives or the Middle East for a planned time frame of 2 to 4<br />
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years.<br />
• Official certificates are presented to those participants who pass their examinations,<br />
giving them good st<strong>and</strong>ing for interviews at other <strong>hotel</strong>s in Sri Lanka or<br />
abroad.<br />
• Annual challenges/contests among Jetwing <strong>hotel</strong>s generate pride <strong>and</strong> confidence<br />
among Vil Uyana staff, since they are often among the winners in each category<br />
(barmen, cooking, reception, housekeeping, etc.).<br />
• Lectures about environmentally-friendly <strong>hotel</strong> management.<br />
• Improved image within the community.<br />
From communities near Vil Uyana:<br />
• Support for three Buddhist temples (water tanks, meditation chambers, meeting<br />
hall, monthly aliments).<br />
• Infrastructure in neighbouring <strong>vil</strong>lages (paved road, electricity, supported excavation<br />
for water pipelines, a laboratory for the <strong>vil</strong>lage school, painting <strong>and</strong> cleaning<br />
of the local hospital.<br />
• Support of the New Year Festival <strong>and</strong> other events<br />
Small food supply (staff sells herbal products <strong>and</strong> fruit to Vil Uyana).<br />
From Jetwing Hotels – Vil Uyana:<br />
• Good relationship with communities <strong>and</strong> authorities in the region, eliminating local<br />
resistance to the construction of the <strong>hotel</strong>.<br />
• Trained staff who underst<strong>and</strong> the vision, mission <strong>and</strong> core values of the Jetwing<br />
Family.<br />
• Staff are local residents, which means that they can go home after their shifts <strong>and</strong><br />
enjoy time with their family instead of spending only 3 or 4 days a month with<br />
them after exhausting, time-consuming travel.<br />
• Very few thefts have been reported at the <strong>hotel</strong> site, even during construction.<br />
Outlook<br />
In April 2007, Vil Uyana was awarded a Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gr<strong>and</strong> Award in the<br />
Education <strong>and</strong> Training category for its Youth Development Project. Jetwing plans to use this <strong>project</strong><br />
as a model for all their <strong>hotel</strong>s <strong>and</strong> for new investments by adapting the principles to the local<br />
circumstances.<br />
‘Our pilot <strong>project</strong> has proved that rural youth are highly service-orientated, very focused on customercare,<br />
<strong>and</strong> demonstrated their unique suitability for the tourism industry. We will be applying the<br />
lessons learned from our Sigiriya <strong>development</strong> <strong>project</strong> at our other <strong>hotel</strong>s elsewhere in Sri Lanka.’<br />
– Mr Kumara Senaratne (Head of Human Resources, Jetwing)<br />
The participants of the Jetwing Youth Development Project themselves have different perspectives<br />
regarding their future. Nearly all hope to improve their English skills <strong>and</strong> computer knowledge. Most of<br />
them also want to climb the career ladder by b<strong>eco</strong>ming executive chefs or guides or even by working<br />
abroad in the Maldives or the Middle East. Jetwing whole-heartedly approves of these aspirations,<br />
since the JYDP initiative was designed not only to develop rural youth for suitable employment<br />
within Jetwing Hotels but also to create opportunities for them to find employment with other <strong>hotel</strong>s<br />
in the country or overseas. The company believes that most of them will return to a Jetwing Hotel<br />
after a few years, having been inspired by their new experiences <strong>and</strong> skills, but also dedicated to the<br />
core values they learned from the Jetwing Family.<br />
As a result of their experiences <strong>and</strong> training at Vil Uyana, <strong>and</strong> with the certificates they hold in their<br />
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h<strong>and</strong>s, these young professionals from rural Sri Lanka will undoubtedly have the chance to achieve<br />
their professional dreams. ‘We dreamed a dream’ has b<strong>eco</strong>me a reality.<br />
Fur further information, please contact:<br />
Trevor Reckerman Head Of Marketing<br />
Company:<br />
Jetwing Hotels Ltd.<br />
Tel: 94 11 2345700 Ext – 302<br />
Tel.:<br />
+94 77 2772001 (Mobile)<br />
Fax: +94 11 2345729<br />
E-mail:<br />
trevor@<strong>jetwing</strong>.lk<br />
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