The 8am buzz at 2pm

The Marriott Aruba Resort & Stellaris Casino bid farewell-for-now, to General Manager Tom Calame, the leader Maximo of all three successful properties, last night.  

He is leaving Aruba after 5 ½ years, heading to Hawaii where he will put his leadership skill to work for a related Marriott brand, the Honolulu Sheraton Waikiki, and make himself at home at any of the resort’s 1,636 rooms, best of all he got $220million to spend on the giant’s complete renovation.

He will be catering mostly to Japanese clients and is determined to master the language, the same way he mastered flawless Spanish and English, on his world tour, as a Dutch-born hotelier, starting in Amsterdam, then Washington DC, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, St Thomas, Cancun, Lima, Amsterdam, and Aruba.  

His team in Aruba gave him an exceptional warm-and-fuzzy ayo, prompting the CEO of the Aruba Tourism Authority to declare that she’s never witnessed any similar outpouring of praise and gratitude, ever before.

I missed the video, a full-length production starring many associates from the Marriott Aruba Resort and Stellaris Casino, the Marriott Ocean Club and the Marriott Surf Club, but I went around soliciting quotes, determined to crack the code of exceptional leadership.

“His face says, talk not me; he is always available to listen, not to talk, and he is good at constructive feedback.”

“He’s very humble, a man with no ego, and infinitely patient.”

“Not a micro manager, he allowed plenty of room for his people to exercise their personal management style and abilities. He allowed me to define my own success and own it.”

“He’s willing to take risks on his people, if you believe in yourself, he believes in you.”

“He is very forward-looking, innovative, visionary, never looking back, forging ahead with an optimistic view of the future.”

“The lobby is his office, for more than five years that man was Starbuck’s best client, and the most visible member of management. Never hiding behind closed office door his presence in the lobby was constant, quietly conducting meetings, with a steady hand on the resort’s pulse.”

“Cool, calm, collected, always even-keeled no matter what.”

“Unselfish, his people always come first. A loyal family man, for sure family comes first.”

“Very focused. He’s gonna get there, even if it takes a lifetime.”

“Intuitively, he read the island’s crazy political landscape very well. Unimpressed with pedigree or power, he went about his business, running his resort, leaving politics to politicians.”

“The best the Marriott has ever had. It’s a great loss for the island, no other general manager had ever produced such high internal and external satisfaction rates, not to forget ownership, over the moon about his financial performance.”

“It’s the collective wisdom, accumulated over time, working and living all over the world, collaborating with a diverse, large number of people. Empathy and respect are his second nature.”

We are sending the adorable Karin Swiers along with Tom, as his wife, and knowing that her belly button in buried here – an old Aruban saying – we’re assured they will be back!

Share on:

July 17, 2018
Rona Coster