Delino Moss is the epitome of a person who has climbed the corporate ladder, having risen through the ranks from bellman to hotel manager at Sandals Royal Bahamian (SRB).
To put Moss' accomplishment in perspective, the hierarchy rung is general manager at the helm, then hotel manager.
A hotel manager overseas all areas on property, although they may be assigned certain areas for which they are directly responsible, and the managers of those areas report to the hotel manager.
Currently, all rooms divisions managers at SRB report to Moss. He oversees the butler, housekeeping, Club Sandals and front desk operations, and the managers of the department report to him.
"It has been an indescribable journey," said Moss, one of the resort's newest hotel managers in the Sandals chain who has served in almost all areas of guest services - bellman, operations manager and just about everything in between.
"It's been a learning experience," said the Bahamian who has worked at Sandals for 23 years in a career that has taken him across the Caribbean.
"It's been love, discovery ... it is a lot of things. You can't sum it up in one word. It is life," he said.
Moss began his employment at SRB at age 19. As he tells it, the moment he entered SRB's gates, he immediately started dreaming of an incredible career path within the company.
When he applied to Sandals, he was still a student at The College of the Bahamas [now University of The Bahamas], studying biochemistry with the dream of becoming a dentist. That changed. He switched his major to tourism management and delved into extracting guest issues, and ensuring that smiles were placed on guests' faces.
"Once I started working at Sandals, I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life," said Moss. "I understood from very early that in order to get to the top, you have to put in the work. I remember when I was a bellman, telling my mother that I wanted to be a hotel manager and it has now come to pass. It's like I spoke it into being. The thing is, you have to put action against the words you speak."
Although he is one of the leaders in the resort, Moss is a firm believer in not dismissing small beginnings. He said they serve as the stepping stones to a firm future.
"I spent hours beyond my call of duty just trying to learn all I could," he recalled. "I moved from being a bellman to being a front desk agent, then a Club Sandals agent and I did night auditing as well. I pushed hard and the leaders saw a lot in me and helped to push me as well."
He is proud to be able to say that he has worked in every department in the resort.
"I am able to deliver certain services seamlessly today, all because I never said no," he said. "Whenever my leaders recommended that I move to a new role, I took on the challenge head on because I recognized that they saw something in me."
Moss is also considered to be a history maker at Sandals in his own right. After serving in several capacities, he was introduced to the Management Trainee Programme (MTP) which provided dedicated two-year training, allowing him to delve deeper into management within Sandals across various Caribbean countries. While most people graduate from the MTP and become managers for a specific department, Moss graduated not only as valedictorian for his cohort in 2014, but was swiftly appointed to the role of resort operations manager, in charge of the entire rooms division. He was the first management trainee to undertake such a feat.
However, he does not take all the credit for achievements.
"I worked, but people and relationships helped to get me where I am right now," said Moss. "I am thankful and grateful for the opportunity to hold this position and for the confidence that the senior management of Sandals had in me to say, 'OK, we believe in you and we're going to put you in this position to take care of our guests and team members."
Moss is grateful for the opportunities that Sandals has afforded him.
"Sandals has given me the opportunity to learn and grow. My work across so many other Caribbean islands has also prepared me to learn best practices and take them back home to my beloved Bahamas and further our tourism product."
Grateful for the ongoing journey, his advice to people looking to the hospitality industry for a career is to be prepared to put in the work. He said the rewards are worth it.
"Give 110 percent," said Moss. "You will have failures in life, you will have bumps in the road but keep moving. There are going to be challenging days and good days. Celebrate on those good days and keep pushing hard on those not-so-good ones. Don't give up."
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