Much has been made of the 600 persons let off by the Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort last month as a result of their temporary closure but resort executives saying a large number of those persons are set to be re-hired.

As of September 25, nearly 180 of those former staff members who applied have begun orientation with more positions to be filled this according to the resort executives.

Director Corporate Services, Jeremy Jones, which operates 14 Sandals resorts in the Caribbean including three in The Bahamas, said the company was not deterred by the fact that the majority of persons that were made redundant did not turn out for the job fair.

“Only about two-thirds of those employed before turned out for the job fair though everyone was invited. While we were a bit disappointed in the numbers, we were not totally surprised. The severance packages made it possible for people who had been working hard to take some time off. Others may have chosen to go back to school or develop skills for a different position or career. For many, the unexpected closure and immediate pay-out opened up opportunities,” Mr. Jones said.

Mr. Jones added that the company is confident that it will meet its deadline in regards to repairs at the resort.

“We are on target for a mid-October soft opening,” he said.

“We want to make sure all posts are filled with a six-month training cycle so there is little time to spare. Fortunately, everyone is showing tremendous enthusiasm and there is a real spirit of rejuvenation, a pride in being part of something historic and something new all at once.

“When you are doing extensive repairs in an historic property like the Royal Bahamian you learn to expect the unexpected. Despite extra work that had to be undertaken, construction crews and sub-contractors have brought their best game and have hit schedules remarkably well and we really thank them for that,” Mr. Jones said.

Hundreds of Bahamians began orientation to prepare for positions when Sandals Royal Bahamian re-opens next month following a multi-million-dollar restoration.

That closure resulted in the forced termination of some 600 staff members who received severance packages, with some senior members walking away with more than $34,000.

Sixty employees were transferred to Sandals Emerald Bay in Exuma to help accommodate the extra bookings from transferring guests who had reservations for Nassau.

At the same time, Sandals said there would be no overall job loss, pledging that the fully refurbished Sandals Royal Bahamian would employ the same number of people that it had on staff prior to the closing.