On Thursday 29 June 2017, the Bonaire Hotel and Tourism Association (BONHATA) announced the winners of the I Love Bonaire Awards 2016/2017 at Red Palm Village. A stunning number of 24 employees from within the BONHATA membership were nominated for these awards and BONHATA CEO Irene Dingjan was pleased to congratulate a total of 5 winners in 4 categories.
The I Love Bonaire Awards is an employee recognition program developed by BONHATA to recognize the employees that turn the wheels of the company. This recognition is important for the nominees in question and their employers; being voted a winner will increase motivation and self-esteem for the nominee and ultimately motivate colleagues and other employees in the broadest sense to receive such recognition themselves.
All nominees shared important qualities such as friendliness (to both the customer and their colleagues), motivation to work, eagerness to learn, energize the rest of their team and share knowledge with colleagues in the benefit of the whole industry. The winners of the I Love Bonaire Awards 2016/2017:
Benno Michel – Account Manager at Maduro & Curiel’s Bank (MCB) Bonaire – won the award in the category Guest Relations;
Eric de Vries - Master Scuba Diver Trainer and retail manager at VIP Diving – won the award in the category Team Spirit;
Danny Klein – Manager and Chef at Red Palm Pool Restaurant – and Lucy Diaz - Branch manager HATO at Maduro & Curiel’s Bank (MCB) Bonaire – shared the first place in the category Professional Development;
Danielle Werther - Dive instructor/social media marketing at VIP Diving – won the award in the category Creativity & Innovation.
Almost a 100 people visited the awards ceremony and Happy Hour at Red Palm Village to support their colleagues, cheer for the nominees and winners, and enjoy Happy Hour.
This year, the winners were recognized with a framed I Love Bonaire Award and presented a gift voucher (either from City Shop, Courtyard by Marriott Bonaire, Dive Friends Bonaire, MCB Bonaire or Bonaire Food Group), Rom Rincon from the Cadushy Distillery, and an invitation for a 3-course dinner made by the Bonaire Culinary Team 2017. The employers of the winners also received a certificate acknowledging their talented staff.
BONHATA congratulates the winners and their employers and is looking forward to next year’s I Love Bonaire Awards.
