Loyalty & travel consultant Tennille Rowe has only been a part of the Sandals South Coast family for just under a year but she’s already blazing a trail in her department as the consultant that consistently reaches and exceeds her target on a month-to-month basis.
She was recently awarded for her outstanding efforts surpassing targets for her region which covers Westmoreland and Hanover (Sandals South Coast, Sandals Negril and Beaches Negril).
Tennille has more than five years of experience in sales and started her Sandals journey back in 2006 as a cocktail waitress at Beaches Negril. With a hunger and passion for achieving more, she transitioned away from Sandals, to a five-year stint in sales before finding her way back home to hospitality and the Sandals brand when she took on a role as a bartender at Sandals Negril. During her two years in this position, she learned about and developed an interest in the resort’s loyalty and travel department and although her three attempts to join the team were initially not successful, she remained undeterred. Though disappointed, she was determined to not lose sight of her goal to become a part of that team.
“I’ve always loved sales and during my time at Beaches Negril I grew to love the tourism and hospitality industry too. I knew therefore that the loyalty and travel department would have given me the perfect opportunity to marry the two. What I had learnt over the five-year span in sales would give me an advantage in the department. It would also give me the opportunity to help my team members where it was needed,” she said.
She recalls how one morning, while on her way to work, she crossed paths with Sandals South Coast’s Loyalty and Travel Manager Russell Jackson and they got to talking.
“I told him of my interest in joining the team and my passion for sales. We exchanged contact information and he promised that should an opportunity arise in his department he would reach out to let me know,” Tennille recalled.
Remaining hopeful even after weeks passed, finally, the news she was anticipating came and she was rearing and ready to go.
“It was one night after coming home from working late. I saw a text message from Russell asking if I received a call from Human Resources (HR) concerning an interview. Turns out I had missed the call but asked him to send me the details to reach out to HR. Two interviews later I was successful,” she said excitedly.
“I was over the moon when I found out that I had secured the position. I already knew so much about the department as I had done my research and envisioned myself as a part of the team for so long. I felt as though the timing was just perfect,” she added.
Since transitioning to Sandals South Coast, her work ethic is one that has been noticed by her peers and guests alike.
Her manager Russell Jackson said, “Tennille has been with me since August 2021 and has been very impressive! She is a go-getter and a fighter. Her professionalism is commendable and I know that with the hard work I see her put in every day, she will continue to excel.”
As Sandals Resorts International expands throughout the region with Sandals Royal Curacao set to open in June and the first Beaches Resort in the Eastern Caribbean already in the works, Tennille has her eyes set on further personal growth and development and qualifying herself through the Sandals Corporate University (SCU) in hopes of one day extending her tenure to work at one the company’s many resorts across the Caribbean.
“I’m planning on taking full advantage of the many offerings of the SCU to continue to improve my skills,” she said.
General Manager O’Brian Heron is among those impressed by her.
“I am indeed proud of the work Tennille has done for our resort and the Sandals brand at large. It’s these types of stories and development opportunities that make our team members aspire to continue working hard at their jobs. Sandals Resorts International is a family that cares about their team members and Tennille has our support as she gears up to further her education,” he said.
Despite her busy work schedule, Tennille still finds time to excel at being a full-time mother to her six children. She says it can be a balancing act between making time to assist with homework and online classes, to taking her kids to church and just having family time.
She encourages women to keep on pushing despite setbacks.
“It may not always be easy and it may seem like what you want to do right now just isn’t working out but God has a plan and you just have to trust him and align yourself to be ready when the opportunity presents itself,” she said.
