HONG KONG, China, October 9, 2008. Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers has presented Long Service Awards to a total of 52 associates in the Long Service Award Ceremony held in the Grand Ballroom, as recognition of the associates who dedicated their long commitment and devotion to the Hotel.

Associates who served the company for a period of 30, 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5 years were presented a certificate and a gift from the Managing Director, Mr. Ananda Arawwawela, as a token of appreciation for their contribution to the Hotel. More than 60% of the awardees served the hotel for more than 10 years and they represented different divisions in the hotel. The longest period of service among the awardees is by Ms Lilian Hui Lai-ha, who is the Purchasing Manager of Sheraton Hong Kong and has served the hotel for 30 years. Ms Hui first joined the hotel in 1977 as Reservations Clerk and was promoted to Purchasing Manager in 1990, devoting her career to the Purchasing Department. “Hotel industry is ever-changing, high-demanding and requires lots of attention to details, which however, gives me incredible job satisfaction and opportunities for improvement,” said Lillian.

“The past 30 years were filled with challenges and memorable moments. I remember one time my team and I had to arrange the delivery of some decoration materials in a 20-feet container for some conferences in New York, and we got only 3 weeks to finish the purchase, packing and shipping of the materials, which normally should take 6 weeks to complete. Luckily, with the support of the colleagues and reliable suppliers, we were able to meet the tight deadline and I was so excited that the events received great success and a lot of compliments,” said Lilian.

Despite the high turnover rate resulted from the continued improvement in the employment scene and the opening of many new hotels in the recent months in Hong Kong and Macau, Sheraton Hong Kong has managed to retain its professionals successfully and almost 50% of the employees have been serving the hotel for 5 years or above. This encouraging result should be accredited with the Sheraton’s core value of Warm, Comforting and Connected, which is performed not only to the hotel’s guests but also within the hotel. “Treating colleagues with respect is the core attitude in communicating and working as a team with them, and their friendliness and kindness provide me with the motivation to keep on staying at this hotel,” said Lilian.

Within the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Sheraton Hong Kong provides abundant opportunities to inspire its associates to achieve their goals, including world class training programs, strategic career development and rewarding work experience.

“Life-long learning is essential to everyone, even to a Purchasing Manager, to extend one’s capacity to cope with challenges in the future. Actually, instead of confining myself in the field of purchasing, I also applied for some finance courses to gain a broader view of the whole economy.”

In order to promote teamwork and collaboration in the dynamic and fast-paced working environment, Sheraton Hong Kong also encourages the associates to join together and participate in all kinds of activities to maintain a good relationship and attain a balanced life, including sports activities, interest classes, and in particular, voluntary work. For over 10 years, the associates of Sheraton Hong Kong have contributed their efforts to the community in the joint project with Hong Kong Youth Art Foundation, which is one of the major activities sponsored by the Sheraton every year for the community.

What the Sheraton provides is not just a job, but opportunity for career development, as well as a circumstances to let associates feel being cared and proud.