Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/248536
43 Events maltatoday, Sunday, 26 January 2014 Hilton Malta bids farewell to General Manager Incentive Trip of a Lifetime for Frank Salt Real Estate Team Hilton Malta employees bid farewell to General Manager Mr. Clement Hassid at a retirement party thrown in his honour at the Portomaso Suite, Hilton on Wednesday, 15 January. The event was attended by local and international Heads of Management, the Fenech family, esteemed clientele and close friends. As a special surprise, the theme of the event featured elements from Hassid's personal life, hobbies and personal collections, as well as farewell messages and video clips from his nearest and dearest. George Curmi 'ilPuse' entertained guests throughout the evening. In the course of his eight year tenure at the helm of Malta's lead- ing hotel, Hassid was instrumental in heading the Hilton to the forefront of the industry. A merit which he recognises would not have been made possible without "the strength, commitment and passion of each and every Hilton employee". His retirement party marked the end of a 47-year career in the hospitality business. Hassid paid special tribute to, Hilton, George Fenech, Directors and Department Heads and each and every one of his Team Members for making his life in Malta and at the hotel an enjoyable experience. He went on to wish his successor Matthew Mullan continued success and good luck. Las Vegas: Work Hard. Play Hard Some members from the Frank Salt Real Estate team have recently returned from a fantastic trip to the glitzy American city of Las Vegas, for an incentive exercise to round off 2013. The trip included brainstorming sessions, key meetings and planning exercises – all of which will be relayed to the rest of the Frank Salt team in the coming weeks as part of the company's on-going development strategy. That said, there was plenty of time for good old Las Vegas fun too. Those on the trip stayed at the world-famous MGM Grand, which is renowned as the second-largest hotel in the world in terms of bed occupation. The group was treated to five-star luxury all the way, with chauffer-driven limousines at their disposal and champagne on arrival. Over the next eight days highlights included dinner at fine-dining Asian restaurant and nightclub Hakassan, followed by an all-night party led by top DJs Nervo and Moby. Other once-in-a-lifetime activities included the National Rodeo Finals 2013, exotic car driving, 'insanity rides' at the 909-feet Stratosphere Tower, shopping, sight-seeing and desert buggy racing. Meanwhile, the various brainstorming sessions – some of which were held in the private dining room on the 104th floor of the lavish Stratosphere Towers – were key to the success of the trip. These meetings covered several topics and operational areas. Aspects discussed included the improvement of the customer experience for clients buying or renting a property through Frank Salt, as well as the provision of a more comprehensive service to vendors and landlords who entrust the company with their property. Additionally, the team discussed how best to empower and assist the sales and letting consultants to become more effective and productive, and also shared ideas on how to think outside the box and be inno- vative within the ever-changing real estate field. Now, the trip is set to become an annual event. The idea is to select workers from the various tiers within the company, including managers, consultants, sales and letting staff, administrative personnel and secretaries, and to reward them with an incredible vacation. Meanwhile, this will also encourage them to feed their ideas into the general running of the company, helping it to constantly grow and improve. "We hope that this will turn out to be the first of many incentives for our team," says Grahame Salt, the company director who spearheaded the idea for the trip. "It really was the experience of a lifetime for the 11 people who attended, coupled with plenty of meetings that align with our recently-unveiled strategy plan. It was fantastic to share ideas in a relaxed environment with our excellent team and develop a deeper understanding of our client and team-member needs. And, as the result of the discussions in Las Vegas, a number of concepts will be formulated and implemented as part of our strategy and vision for 2014 and beyond. Everyone had so much to give to the company and we love to listen to new ideas from the people 'on the ground'." The Frank Salt strategy, which was revealed in September 2013, has provided key ideas for the next five years. Primarily, it is a blueprint that strives to double the company's sales figures, and related plans include the expansion of various divisions and the opening of new branches. Moreover, the company is dedicated to being more dynamic and flexible in its business approach so as to better cater for changing customer needs, as well as aggressively tackling the overseas markets that hold best growing potential. With that in mind, the company also plans to hire more staff members over the next few months. "These are exciting times for Frank Salt Real Estate, and our team is growing as a result," says director Douglas Salt. "As part of our effort to recruit more, we now offer new remuneration plans that really do give the best return possibilities available for consultants in Malta. We also pride ourselves on our family-oriented, fun and forward-thinking work environment, which rewards hard work, goal achievement, collective team effort, dynamic thinking and innovation. "So who knows? It could be one of our new recruits off on our incredible incentive trip in 2014!" Salt adds. Peering into Malta's underwater landscapes 89.7 Bay appoints new Sales Manager With an area equivalent to 240 times that of the archipelago, the Maltese seafloor is an extensive and complex landscape waiting to be discovered. An upcoming lecture by Aaron Micallef will take the participants on a journey from the Maltese coastal waters to depths exceeding 4,000 metres. We will revisit the landscapes that have been discovered using the latest seafloor mapping technology – e.g. caves, fossil shorelines, cliffs, land bridges, landslides, canyons – and discuss their significance from an environmental, societal and economic point of view. Aaron Micallef is a lecturer in marine geology and Marie Curie fellow at the University of Malta. As a marine geologist he uses numerical techniques to solve problems related to submarine landslides, canyons, fluid flow processes, submerged landscapes and seafloor mapping. His areas of study include the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Aaron graduated with a Masters from the University of Oxford and a PhD from the National Oceanography Centre, UK. Andrew Zammit has been appointed as the new Sales Manager at 89.7 Bay. Zammit expressed that, "it is a true privilege to re-join the team at 89.7 Bay and the Eden Leisure Group. 2014 promises to be a very interesting year for the group. I am looking forward to the challenge and, together with a very talented team of people, succeed in reaching and hopefully surpassing our targets." After graduating from the University of Malta with a degree in Communications back in 2007, Andrew was then employed as a full time presenter and producer at Bay Radio, where he hosted the very popular Bay Breakfast Show. Zammit then moved into Sales and Marketing, whilst also remaining heavily involved in radio. With over 10 years of experience, Andrew is now reading for a Master in Business Administration (Marketing) from the London School of Business and Finance. The lecture will take place at the offices of Din L-Art Helwa, 133, Melita Street, Valletta on 4 Febru- ary at 18:30. Organised by Din l-Art Helwa and Majjistral Nature and History Park Andrew Zammit