Page 32 - How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times

Employee Engagement C19

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Gaylord Hotels—How Great Workplaces Achieve
Great Success
One of the employers we feature is Gaylord Palms Resort
and Spa in Orlando, Florida, a beautifully themed 1,406-
room luxury hotel located just 1 mile from Walt Disney
World. This over-the-top resort offers a variety of restau-
rants, two pools, a spa club and salon, and a lavish 4.5-acre
indoor atrium, which is glass enclosed and air-conditioned
for comfort. The atrium includes four sections, each repre-
senting a different region of Florida: Key West, St. Augustine,
the Everglades, and Emerald Bay. Without leaving the hotel,
guests can wander through the misty Everglades, party on
a boat in the Keys, explore a Spanish fort, or even watch live
alligators being fed in the atrium waterways.
The Gaylord Palms was opened in 2002, the second of four
upscale Gaylord Hotels in the United States. The meetings-
focused resorts are located near Nashville, Tennessee;
Orlando, Florida; Dallas, Texas; and Washington, D.C. Each
of the Gaylord properties celebrates the geographical heri-
tage of the destination in which it is located, with regional
themes and attractions designed exclusively for that resort.
The Florida resort, which has 1,400 full-time and more
than 600 part-time employees, on-call temps, and contract
partners, has won an impressive list of awards over the
years, including being named one of the Top Five Employ-
ers for Working Families in Orlando and a Top 5 Gold Key
and Gold Platter Elite Award for Banquet and Convention
Services in North America. The Gaylord Palms has received
top 10 recognition as a Best Place to Work by the Orlando
Business Journal for three straight years.
We interviewed the hotel’s general manager, Kemp
Gallineau, and Gaylord’s vice president of corporate cul-
ture and training, Emily Ellis, to find out how the Palms has
attained and sustained its premier-employer status and