Twenty-five recognized with HERO and Golden Latte awards for excellence in tourism
For the first time in five years, the Guam Visitors Bureau and the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association brought back the HERO and Golden Latte Awards ceremony Tuesday at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort in Tumon to recognize excellence in the tourism industry.
The HERO awards recognizes outstanding employees while the Golden Latte Awards acknowledges companies and executives. There were 95 nominees and 25 awardees.
Lifeguards Setiel Velasco and Ryan Yarofalpiy from Hyatt Regency Guam took home the HERO awards under the Life Saving category.
Last November, Velasco and Yarofalpuiy quickly responded to a family’s distress call at the beach and saved their children who were swept out to sea.
The winner of the Golden Latte Award’s Hafa Adai Spirit is Hilton Resort and Spa’s Supernatural Legends of Guam, a Halloween exhibit and a captivating homage to Guam’s mystical dimension.
GHRA President Mary Rhodes said it’s the first time they combined the award events together.
“All of our nominees are truly winners to start with. We have 95 nominations which is great that in 5 years we were able to bring back this prestigious event so we can really honor our employees who really work through Covid, the typhoon, as well as any other type of emergency that we’ve had in the past. And just with the fact that our tourism is still recovering and rebounding with where we’ve been pre-covid,” said Rhodes.