Challenging Environment Inspires Rosie Holidays Rising Star, Miti, to be the Best in What He Does
Giving back to people was what attracted Mitieli Vinu Koroitamana Vodonaivalu to a career in the tourism sector.
The Nayavu native from Wainibuka in the province of Tailevu is the Director of Sales - Tour Desk & Thrifty Car Rentals at Rosie Holidays.
Mr Vodonaivalu had more than 70 staff members who are Tour Desk Consultants and Airport Team.
Business is halted at the moment, he said in an interview, given the sweeping border restrictions, grounded flights and airport closures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. He shared a quote from Wintley Phipps that encouraged him during these tough times…
“It is in the quiet crucible of your personal private sufferings that your noblest dreams are born and God’s greatest gifts are given in compensation for what you’ve been through”.
“People often talk about light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s about time for us to be that light in the tunnel and be people of influence to others,” Mr Vodonaivalu says. “There are times when we want to run our mouth and grumble and complain but it’s during when we choose to humbly persevere through those quiet moments and quiet struggles that some great ideas are birthed.”
About the company
Nadi based Rosie Holidays is a full service destination management company, that also owns and operates resorts and the Thrifty Car Rental franchise in Fiji with a modern fleet of quality brand new vehicles. Rosie Holidays has been present at all major hotels in Fiji with its Tour Desk services in the hotel foyer.
“To be honest, I only knew Rosie Holidays as just an iconic organisation in the industry when I moved across from Fiji Airways,” Mr Vodonaivalu said.
“I was inspired by the fact that I was going to be working under the guidance and leadership of two of Fiji’s passionate tourism leaders being our Managing Director Tony Whitton and our General Manager Eroni Puamau.
“People asked me about why I was leaving the glamour of the National Carrier – Fiji Airways to join Rosie Holidays.
“While it meant forfeiting discounted airline travels, it was a no brainer when you’re given the opportunity to work under such passionate and big-hearted Tourism industry leaders and I wanted to be a part of it. “I loved to take on challenges and I knew that the role would come with its demands requiring dedication, commitment and hard work which is the epitome of the two gentlemen.
“Whilst we envision to be Fiji’s Best Travel Company, the organisation is involved in a lot of community and charity work using Tourism as a vehicle to improve the lives of our fellow Fijians.
“I am amazed at the manner in which Rosie Holidays has become what it is today as I see it as an organisation that continues to punch
Director of Sales - Tour Desk & Thrifty Car Rentals at Rosie Holidays, Mitieli Vinu Koroitamana Vodonaivalu.
above its weight and has the potential to do greater things within the industry. That’s my story of Rosie Holidays!
“I didn’t ever dream of being in a Senior Management Position very early in my career as my goal growing up was so clear of just owning a 15-seater minibus and being a minibus driver.
“Now that I’m here, my vision is to help people grow and inspire them whether young or old.
“There are plans to further my studies in an MBA but I first have to be consistent with reading my Bible which is so important for me.”
Below are excerpts of an interview with Mr Vodonaivalu:
Tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m named after my grandfather, Mitieli Vodonaivalu and a dear friend of his, Vinod Achari, of whom I was given the middle name ‘Vinu’.
Interestingly, my name was birthed out of their very close friendship back when my grandfather was a Principal of Lomaivuna High School and Mr Achari or Mr Vinod as he was commonly known was the Assistant Principal of the school.
I see myself as a very enthusiastic, go-getter, vibrant and most importantly, a humble individual who strives to add value in being of service to others.
Director of Sales - Tour Desk & Thrifty Car Rentals at Rosie Holidays, Mitieli Vodonaivalu, was inspired by the fact that he was working under the guidance and leadership of two of Fiji’s passionate tourism leaders, Managing Director Tony Whitton (left) and General Manager Eroni Puamau (right).
It is satisfying for me when I know I’m able to help someone above and beyond their expectations.
Tell us a bit about your role as Director of Sales - Tour Desk & Thrifty Car Rentals at Rosie Holidays?
My role as the Director of Sales - Tour Desk & Thrifty Car Rentals at Rosie Holidays involves overseeing 25 of our retail outlets commonly known as ‘Tour Desks’ located at key hotel and resort lobby’s on Denarau, Nadi Area, Coral Coast all the way to Suva, overseeing our Rosie Airport Operations involving meet & greet services and overseeing our Thrifty Car Rental Sales and Operations.
Whilst the key focus of my role is to maintain and improve a good sales performance, I’m also heavily involved in training my Team on the customer services front and technological/digitisation advancement of our service delivery with our Human Resource and People Development Team.
Getting to the top is great but staying on top of our service delivery is a challenge because of the dynamics of the industry. Whilst the challenge, I see it as an opportunity to use that challenge as a focus of my Team because as a front-liner, my team are constantly driven by integrity, consistency and reliability which serve as key ingredients of our customer service touchpoints where we have the ability and skillset to provide phenomenal experiences for our guests.
Not only servicing our Rosie guests but to all visitors that we come into contact with at Nadi International Airport or at hotel or resort lobbies.
When a guest or tourist has a phenomenal experience at the hands of our front-line Team, this builds a level of trust that has a snowball effect on the Rosie Holidays brand where they get to meet our guides and our drivers or if they happen to dial in to our customer care or reservations Team for assistance.
This trust brings people back because of the consistency in our service, product and our people who really are our brand! This trust allows us to stay connected beyond guest transactions during and after their stay in Fiji!
How is Business?
Business is halted at the moment given the sweeping border restrictions, grounded flights and airport closures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
No flights mean no tourists and no tourists
means no revenue.
We’ve seen the drastic effects of this pandemic on the tourism industry ranging from declines in forward bookings which consequently means employment is affected across the industry.
There is heavy reliance on our key source markets (Australia, New Zealand, North America, China, Europe) which has now become a waiting game at the moment and whilst there’s uncertainty of when we’ll receive news of when commercial flights will resume, we continue to be optimistic and plan accordingly for our comeback.
What business plans do you have in place once everything returns to the new normal?
The new normal is still uncertain at this stage as this will result in global instructions on the tourism and travel industry ranging from social distancing to post COVID-19 compliance which may put a lot of pressure on tourism stakeholders in facilitating the new normal arrangements.
Date of resumption is still widely unknown, and the fact remains that it’s going to be a totally new perspective on business models. Our plans will be more inclined towards adaptability, fresh start-up plans, looking at innovative ideas to generating revenue and keeping an open mind to how things will pan out.
Who were your influences?
My mum has been my biggest influence and I’ve never seen her quit or try to.
We have this amazing $5 story where there was this one time that I was so hungry and with a tear in her eye, she looked to me and said that she only had $5 in her purse to take us through to her next pay.
It was at that point that she made a promise to me that we will never have to face that ever again and she’s kept to that promise to this very day.
Despite the ups and downs that we’ve had as a family, mum is my hero and I’ll never trade that for anything else.
What would be your advise to young ones who wish to pursue a career in Tourism?
Grab it with both hands when you have the opportunity.
I know it’s hard for young people to visualise this during this crisis period, but many young people see the Tourism industry as being synonymous with hotels – serving food and drinks, clearing tables, housekeeping. But there is so much more to explore within the Tourism industry.
Tourism has created vast employment opportunities either directly or indirectly through various sectors of the industry and is very rewarding to know that the little you do; we get to be Ambassadors to the world when they visit our shores and inspire them that Fiji is indeed a blessed holiday destination.