Man About Town

Happy hotel employees

Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor general manager Robert Hauck is a happy man because the hotel scored in the top one percentile of hotels around the world in the latest Employee Engagement Survey by Gallup.

The survey is not published for public consumption, but Hauck says it was a huge achievement for the hotel and showed the activities the hotel staff engages in actually work.“When the result came in we were questioned by our corporate office about how this result was possible,” he said.

He added that while the Siem Reap hotel could not compete with the other international Raffles hotels in terms of revenue volume, it could instead engage its guests and staff with superior services and activities.

Some of the activities the Raffles staff participated in last year included football tournaments, clean the river campaigns, charity events, competing in the Water Festival boat race and a monthly quiz.Hauck said the hotel was also placed first last year in the guest survey, where every guest receives an electronic survey on guest satisfaction.

Puppet time

THE 2011 Giant Puppet Project will kick off on Saturday night, February 19, following a successful fundraising evening at the Abacus Bar last Saturday which saw over $1700 raised through the sale of $5 raffle tickets.

Parade organiser Bina Hanley thanked local businesses for donating prizes for the fundraiser, including the owners of the Abacus Bar, Renaud Fichet and Pascal Schmit, as well as DJ Stuart Cochlin for providing musical entertainment.

The puppet parade starts at 7pm on Saturday night, and follows a path from the Steung Siem Reap Hotel through the Old Market and Pub Street, before finishing at the Royal Independence Gardens.

Meanwhile, the Angkor Hospital for Children and the Cambodian Living Arts is holding its annual fund-raising Shadow Puppet Show on Tuesday February 22 in the circular driveway at the front of the hospital.

Bike rally registration

SIEM Reap’s Paul Dubrule hospitality school, in association with Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort, will hold its second annual “Tour De L’Ecole” bicycle rally on Sunday March 27.The bike rally is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, and the City of Siem Reap.

Registration for the 30-kilometre bike ride is now open and closes on Friday March 18. Minimum age for entrants is 12. The fee for Khmer riders is $3, and for “international” riders, $22. Riders who need to rent a bike for the rally can do so for an extra $3.

Source = phnompenhpost