23 years of faithfulness

Elizabeth Joseph Food and beverage manager Ann Gumbo says challenges and adversaries fuel her passion.After hearing about the establishing of the Nest Hotel at Lüderitz in 1997, Gumbo dreamed to be a part of the team once the hotel opened. "I knew I wanted to work in the hospitality industry. I realised that this industry was a place where I could develop a career,” she says. “When they were busy building the Nest Hotel back in 1997, I told myself that I will be the first of the employees to be a part of the company. “Fast forward one year, my dream came true and I started working there in February 1998. I was 23 years old and employed as a bartender," Gumbo recalls. Gumbo says she fell in love with the industry because she saw how enjoyable the work and the environment were. She further says that the dynamics of the work and the various shifts all form part of the fun. "The different sets of responsibilities and the feeling of starting training and ending up in a management position are more than satisfactory for me.“It does not stop with customer relations but I get to meet and socialise with people while representing a wide range of nationalities, in an even wider range of places from all around the world." Facing it head-on Courage and passion are what kept Gumbo at the hotel for so long. She takes every challenge and tries to turn it into an opportunity for success. "I like challenging myself and that way I'm never bored. The biggest challenge in my role is customer service. The way my staff and I treat the guests will either make or break the business. “The future of our establishment depends on our customers. If they are satisfied with our service, they will stay loyal and even recommend us to people they know," she says. Gumbo believes that a positive work culture and leading by example is what will secure the future for her and her colleagues. She continues to say that it is important to hire people with good and positive personalities and a healthy mindset for hospitality. "Always choose personality over skill, because you can teach a skill, but it is difficult to change a person's personality. One of the major goals that I want to work on is a loyalty programme that will strengthen the relationship between our customers and the business, and keep the customers coming back regularly," Gumbo says.

23 years of faithfulness

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Republikein 2025-07-01

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23 years of faithfulness

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Republikein 2025-07-01

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