Business

How to keep good staff from leaving

Published

8 years ago

July 14, 2018

My friend at Ryanair appears to be in hot water again. Having narrowly averted a strike over the busy festive season, the airline now faces a parliamentary probe into allegations of unfair employee working conditions. Since it’s clear Michael O’Leary doesn’t know how to keep good staff from leaving, I thought I would give him, and you of course, a couple of tips on how to retain your best employees.

Respect them

Treat your employees with dignity and respect, and communicate with them in a mature, professional way. That means no flying off the handle unnecessarily, belittling them in front of their colleagues or instilling fear in the workplace.

Let them get on with job

You have hired staff because you believed at the time they could do the job. So, respect their ability and let them get on with the job. There are a few things more demotivating than being micro-managed. Provided your hiring and training processes are sound, they should be more than capable to get on with the job themselves without your constant interference.

Don’t move the goalposts

Be consistent about your expectations and clear about what success looks like. Try not to change the goals constantly as it’s confusing for staff and frankly, quite unfair. If you do need to change the goalposts, communicate properly why this is the case and enlist their support for the changed goals.

Praise, praise and praise again

As important as it is to give constructive criticism, so too is it important to praise. Your staff need to know how they’re performing and what they can do better. Publicly recognise good service, innovation and hard work.

Be flexible

If you can be flexible within the realms of what is required in the role, extend that flexibility to your staff; whether that be working from home or flexible working hours. Your travel staff will reward your flexibility with loyalty and enthusiasm.

Ask them for their views

Your staff have on-the-ground knowledge of processes, the environment and their customers. To keep good staff, ask them for their views on potential improvements not only in the workplace, but in the product or service you offer. This makes them feel valued and respected.

A more meaningful travel role

Communicate your vision and values so that staff understand what their role is within that and whether their personal values align with that of the organisation. Staff who understand their greater purpose within the company are more likely to be innovative and proactive – not just another number on the payroll, but a meaningful contributor to the company’s success and the happiness of the travel company’s customers.

To keep good staff happy is easier than you think. In the case of O’Leary, a little humility and respect would go a long way to retaining airline employees who want to leave. And who could blame them…

Note: James Roberts spent four years working for British Airways and its subsidiary British Regional Airlines, ending up as a Regional Business Manager. He completed a six-month consultancy contract with Siemens as Travel Manager for their business worldwide, and spent four years with a UK-based travel recruitment consultancy before establishing Progressive Travel Recruitment in 2005.

Business

Feydhoo Hall opens at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives as new event space

Published

2 weeks ago

February 16, 2026

m@ldives

Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, has announced the opening of Feydhoo Hall, a landmark event venue at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives, redefining the possibilities for meetings, celebrations, and destination events in the Maldives.

Designed to bring scale, flexibility, and creativity to island gatherings, Feydhoo Hall represents a bold step forward in positioning the Maldives as a dynamic destination for conferences, weddings, and large-scale social occasions.

Feydhoo Hall offers a versatile event complex designed to accommodate a wide range of gatherings, from corporate meetings and conferences to weddings and social celebrations.

At its core is the 390 sqm Main Hall, capable of hosting:

Up to 300 guests in theatre-style setup
Up to 240 guests for dining and banquet-style events
Up to 200 guests for cocktail-style receptions
Up to 144 guests in cluster-round configuration

Enhancing the flexibility of the venue are additional dedicated spaces, including:

A 110 sqm Veranda Terrace, ideal for welcome receptions, breakout sessions, and pre-event gatherings, accommodating up to 100 guests for cocktail-style events.
A spacious 1,000 sqm Lawn Space, perfect for large-scale outdoor celebrations, destination weddings, and open-air events, accommodating up to 400 guests for cocktail receptions and up to 350 guests for dining setups.
The 55 sqm Ekugai Meeting Room, designed for smaller meetings and executive sessions, accommodating up to 30 guests in theatre or dining setup and 24 guests in cluster-round format.

Together, these integrated spaces create a seamless indoor-outdoor event experience, allowing planners to design dynamic and personalised event journeys.

True to the dusitD2 brand’s lifestyle-driven philosophy, Feydhoo Hall introduces a fresh approach to meetings and events — where productivity meets creativity in an inspiring island setting.

The venue offers flexible meeting formats designed to suit different event needs, including:

Half-Day Meeting Package (4 hours) — ideal for focused sessions, executive meetings, and creative workshops.
Full-Day Meeting Package (8 hours) — designed for immersive conferences, extended workshops, and large-scale corporate gatherings.

These thoughtfully structured packages provide planners with the flexibility to create impactful and seamless experiences, whether hosting intimate strategy sessions or dynamic full-day events.

Located just seven minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport, dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives combines accessibility with vibrant lifestyle energy, offering event planners and guests a rare balance between convenience and tropical escape.

With the introduction of Feydhoo Hall, the resort strengthens its position as a versatile destination — not only for leisure travellers but also for international conferences, creative retreats, luxury weddings, and large-scale social celebrations seeking something refreshingly different in the Maldives.

Business

BBM expands retail presence with new Hulhumalé outlet

Published

2 weeks ago

February 16, 2026

m@ldives

Bestbuy Maldives (BBM) opened a new wholesale store in Hulhumalé Phase 2 on Monday.

The outlet is located on the ground floor of Lot 20286, Nirolhu Magu, and is intended to improve access to BBM’s imported goods for residents of Hulhumalé Phase 2 and for businesses operating in the area.

According to the company, the opening forms part of its plan to expand services closer to customers in line with population growth in Hulhumalé.

With the opening of the new store, BBM’s full range of imported and distributed products will be available at the Hulhumalé Phase 2 location. These include consumer goods from international brands such as Lifebuoy, Vaseline and Unilever.

The store will also stock wholesale food products from brands including Daily, Cavin’s and Redman.

BBM has supplied goods to resorts, hotels and retail outlets across the Maldives for several years.

Action

Ataraxis Grand & Spa hosts integrated work-and-dive corporate retreat in Fuvahmulah

Published

1 month ago

January 29, 2026

m@ldives

Ataraxis Grand & Spa recently hosted a week-long, closed corporate offsite in Fuvahmulah for a US-based artificial intelligence company, highlighting the island’s growing suitability for integrated work-and-experience retreats. The retreat brought a group of 36 international professionals to the property, which was reserved exclusively for the programme.

Designed as a private company offsite, the stay combined structured daily work sessions with guided diving and beginner-friendly surf experiences, creating a balanced format that blended focused collaboration with physical reset.

A notable component of the programme was dive training and certification. During the retreat, 17 participants completed their Open Water certification, while a further six undertook the Advanced Open Water course, with training and dives scheduled alongside work sessions as part of the integrated itinerary.

Throughout the week, participants worked on-site using dedicated shared spaces supported by reliable high-speed internet, allowing meetings, informal collaboration and scheduled activities to take place within a single, uninterrupted environment. This setup enabled teams to move seamlessly between work periods and organised ocean activities without leaving the property.

Fuvahmulah’s natural and operational advantages formed a key part of the retreat’s appeal. As one of the Maldives’ largest inhabited islands, it offers immediate access to pelagic dive sites, internationally recognised shark diving and surf breaks suitable for instruction, alongside the infrastructure required to support extended group stays.

The offsite reflects a growing preference among technology and knowledge-sector teams for small-scale retreats that prioritise concentrated work environments and team cohesion over traditional conference formats. Such programmes typically involve longer stays and higher per-capita spend, aligning with sustainable, quality-driven tourism models.

The retreat also demonstrates how locally operated properties such as Ataraxis Grand & Spa are supporting this shift by delivering unified environments where accommodation, workspaces, connectivity and curated experiences operate as a single programme rather than separate services.

As organisations continue to explore alternative formats for strategy sessions, team resets and creative offsites, Ataraxis Grand & Spa’s experience positions Fuvahmulah as an increasingly viable destination for integrated corporate retreats.

Ataraxis Grand & Spa offers work-and-dive retreat programmes in Fuvahmulah that combine accommodation, dedicated workspaces, high-speed connectivity and organised diving and surfing.