Table of Contents Hide
VSS Scheme was being offered
Yup, that’s right! The Golden Sands Resort and Shangri-la’s Rasa Sayang Resort in Batu Ferringhi’s employees faced the voluntary separation scheme (VSS) scheme last month. It is stated that the hotels which are under the Shangri-La Hotels (Malaysia) Bhd, controlled by tycoon Tan Sri Robert Kuok, offered employees VSS to sustain revenue from seizing the operation entirely. And, it seems that employees were keen to apply as the closing date was on December 31, 2020.
The Golden Sands Resort
Due to the prolonged pandemic, the decision has been made to help maintain long term viability. It has become a roller-coaster ride for every hotel to create a safe, profitable vacation spot for guests. The Golden Sands resort’s general manager Elaine Yue stated that employees were not selected for layoffs. Instead, the scheme was accepted voluntary due to the roller-coaster ride that the resort has been facing off-late. Only the management category employees are excepted for the scheme as they are due for retirement in 2021.
Shangri-la’s Rasa Sayang Resort
Ever since the beginning of the widespread of COVID-19 cases, the management has been making cost management decisions. The steps were taken to retain as many employees for as long as they could including salary reductions, shorter workweeks, freeze hiring and cuts on non-essential spending. Unfortunately, the VSS scheme was the best option to give every employee the right that they deserved before its too late. Thank god for the government’s wage subsidy programme, the hospitality industry has benefitted from it to relieve some of the financial burdens during these challenging times. The total numbers of employees accepted the scheme has not been confirmed, nor the reveal of the current headcount.
Both resorts will not be closed, but…
Instead of seizing the operations entirely, the resorts have come up with unique ways to stream revenue. They have launched ‘Shang Shack Drive-thru’ for food and beverage (F&B) takeaways and introduced the ‘Eat, Pay, Stay – Pay to Eat and Free to Stay’ where guests can enjoy the delicious food to the fullest while staying for free instead.
“For every RM2 spent at our F&B e-platform and at the Shang Shack Drive-thru, guests will be entitled to earn one point which can be accumulated to redeem a room stay voucher from 350 points onwards.”- Shangri-la’s Rasa Sayang Resort spokesman
Wow! Count me in, please! But, remember! The room voucher will only be valid for there months from the date issued. So, better to plan your vacay carefully.
Wait, there’s more! The resorts also set up live pop-up stalls selling some of the locals’ fav dishes–cendol, char kueh teow, penang laksa, and more. Available from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., you can locate the ‘Shang Shack Drive-thru’ are the car parking area between the two resorts.
