Nurturers by nature

Grandmothers, mothers, daughters, aunts, nieces—whatever your role in life is, women are nurturers by heart. Whatever they do and wherever they are, this trait is always foremost.

This is true with Hyatt Regency Saipan’s Christie Sablan-Keptot and Anthea Joy Baltazar-Capati, who have been dutifully taking care of tourists, guests, and island residents alike and making sure that Hyatt is everyone’s home away from home.

Christie Sablan-Keptot, the housekeeping manager and department head at the Hyatt, has been with the hotel for almost 10 years now. In that time and in various capacities, she has always had a hand in taking care of co-employees and guests.

She started working at the Hyatt in 2010 as a Human Resources administrator, then went up to being an HR personnel officer, housekeeping management training, assistant housekeeping manager, and currently housekeeping manager.

“Women are definitely stronger and more patient in general and with that strength comes the ability to be more caring and compassionate of other people’s needs. I am assertive and try to be confident in everything I do because I have to set an example to my children, colleagues and friends,” she said.

Separately, as a member of the Hyatt family for 16 years dealing with guests as room service manager and part of the operations of Kili Café and Terrace, Anthea Joy Baltazar-Capati interacts with different people and adapts to varying moods.

As room service manager and part of the operations of Kili Café and Terrace, Anthea Joy Baltazar-Capati interacts with different people and adapts to varying moods everyday. (DONNA RIVERA)

“In developing and maintaining successful relationship, I strongly believe that it has to start from building trust,” she said. “With that trust, mutual respect follows. That results in meaningful connections [that] you will build along the way.”

As nurturers, both women start their day with a set routine to see to it that everything is in order. That then gives them the means to be giving.

A typical hotel work day begins as early as 6am, Sablan-Keptot said, with a briefing for a housekeeping team of seven or eight persons.

“We live in a society that is so competitive and overly eager to impress, but I try to be composed and level-headed because, if you are not strong emotionally, tensions can easily arise and even blow up. …I speak with a normal tone so you are able to calm a situation down and reorganize properly and effectively,” she said.

Similarly, Baltazar-Capati start her day preparing for operational concerns. She usually starts her day checking her emails and doing follow-ups on any related operations concerns, after which she proceeds to Kili and Room Service to check on food presentation, service standards, guest satisfaction, and managing restaurant reservations, and communicating the demands to the culinary team.

Christie Sablan-Keptot is the housekeeping manager and department head at the Hyatt Regency Saipan. (DONNA RIVERA)

“I am very hands-on with my restaurant operations; I set clear goals and expectations. I do my coaching on the floor if there are corrective trainings needed. I spend most of my time checking the quality of work while ensuring that my team is getting the full support from me and my management team,” Baltazar-Capati said.

To be a nurturer also means to be brave and Sablan-Keptot has learned the art of combining both. “I know no one likes to do hard work but if you work hard and are committed, it will pay off not just financially but in everything you do in life,” she said

“I believe if you possess basic characters of integrity, honesty, loyalty, self-sacrifice, accountability, and self-control, that means you have a good head on your shoulders that will earn you great respect in life,” she added.

Baltazar-Capati believes that giving care is not work if you are enjoying it. “A woman has this motherly touch and that factor is always present in our hearts. Yes, we get emotional on some things, but this also helps us to care for people around us,” she said.