Thumbs up for M Social Auckland! Honourable Minister Dr Megan Woods (5th from left) and Air Commodore Mr Digby Webb (2nd from right), who jointly oversee isolation and quarantine facilities in New Zealand, were given a warm welcome by the team and General Manager Mr Nigel Edwards (4th from left) when they came for a visit.
M Social
Auckland
Garners Splendid
Feedback For
Isolation
Management
Contributed by M Social Auckland General Manager Mr Nigel Edwards.
M Social Auckland is a managed isolation facility in the New Zealand, where returnees undergo a two-week quarantine. The team has received wonderful feedback from managed isolation guests to the New Zealand Defence Force and support agencies that help run the managed isolation programme. The team has been complimented for providing great service, even while stringent infection prevention and control procedures are in place. General Manager Mr Nigel Edwards introduces some of the team members that help make the quarantine experience enjoyable.
As Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “an army marches on its stomach”!
We take pride in the meals and services we provide our isolation guests, and this pride obviously extends to our colleagues that work alongside us in the fight against COVID-19.
Executive Chef Top Lorthae has been at the helm of our restaurant Beast & Butterflies since its opening, and has developed sensational methods to deliver our well renown style of cuisine to the same consistently high standards. The meals have habitually received accolades from our guests, as the restaurant serves up approximately 15,000 meals a month from the same kitchen that was designed for a third of that number.
Chef Top is always boiling with excitement when developing new ideas, and his humble approach makes this task seamless. “Sure, let’s do it” is his catch phrase, as he stations himself on the kitchen pass every shift, ensuring that the food quality is up to standard.
His right-hand man Alex Burroughs is in procurement and is tasked with sourcing for equipment and ingredients to ensure that the excellent standard is maintained (and of course on budget). An integral part of the senior team, Alex has been with hotel since its opening and the company for 13 years! A real star, he’s often found helping out in the lobby, assisting with carrying bags, taking phone calls and taking care of arrivals.
Our Guest Experience Manager Sue Yoo and Food & Beverage Operations Manager Maurice Ligutom are also all hands on deck. They ensure that service levels are maintained across rooms and food and beverage, with constant communication regarding any guest allergy, dietary and religious requirements.
There is a need to inspire the hotel team, so we challenge ourselves and discover various opportunities to do this, through activities such as Mother’s or Father’s Day celebrations and movie nights. In turn, the isolation guests appreciate a break in the monotony of their stay with us. Another significant advantage is that we retain the talent we have in the hotel which will provide real benefit for when we reopen back into the market. We trust this is creating additional goodwill among the general public that have been our isolation guests in the past nine months and beyond, this will be vital and valuable for our sales team to capitalise upon.
Our goal when we entered the Isolation business was to be the most requested hotel in the country and I firmly believe the M Social team has achieved this.
