Distinctly Belize
Business Initiatives
Customer Service & Relations – Guest comfort, satisfaction and an authentic Belize luxury experience has been our mission since the day we created the Guest Exclusive Policy at Chabil Mar Villas. Chabil Mar is the only full-service resort on the Placencia Peninsula and in the Village of Placencia that reserves our property amenities, restaurant and bar for the exclusive use of our guests. At Chabil Mar, we desire that our guests receive a naturally Belize experience, including privacy and immersion in local authenticity.
To that objective, we monitor feedback from our guests on a daily basis via several social media sites, website advertising entities and companies which feature guest reviews. All reviews are shared with our senior staff, who then relay the details to their department staff members. Daily management meetings are used to identify and resolve any potential guest issues.
We maintain both full time guest services, concierge and beach captain staffing on site to assist our guests throughout the day and into the evening hours.
Belize Business Partnerships – We have developed multiple business relationships, both nationally and locally, to enhance the tourism in Belize, the Placencia Peninsula and the Village of Placencia.
National:
1) We maintain, promote and sell multiple jungle, island and intracoastal tourism vacation packages with Cayo District, Ambergris Caye, Turneffe Atoll and Placencia Offshore Caye Resorts
2) We have partnered with multiple non-tourism industry business entities as supplier and guest service entities in our daily operations
3) Our website and social media platforms are supported and maintained by a Belize entity.
4) We have participated in every Belize Tourism Expo (BETEX), to promote our Country’s tourism industry
5) Support of the Belize Tourism Industry through active membership in the following trade associations:
• Belize Tourism Board (BTB) www.travelbelize.org
• Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA) www.btia.org
• Belize Hotel Association (BHA) www.belizehotels.org
• Placencia Tourism Industry Association Chapter: www.placencia.com
6) Participation in the BTB Frontline Person of the Year (2021) Award Program
– Awarded to Nurse Donaldine Lizama, Nursing Suprevisor for the Central Health Region. Weekend stay at Chabil Mar Villas for 2 Persons
Placencia Peninsula:
1) We have partnered with and endorse multiple local tourism industry business entities in the dining, tour guide and transportation services
2) We have partnered with multiple non-tourism industry business entities, including construction, furniture makers, carvers, arts and entertainment services.
Placencia Village:
1) We have partnered with and endorse multiple tourism industry business entities in the dining, tour guide and transportation services. All tour guides who provide services to our guests are local Belize certified guides. All tours are subcontracted to local business men and women to support the local tourism industry.
2) We have partnered with multiple non-tourism industry, including construction, furniture makers, carvers, arts and entertainment services.
3) We have partnered with several local dining entities to provide food and beverage services to our guests in the following ways.
* We provide complimentary evening transport to our guests who wish to utilize and embrace the businesses and culture of Placencia Village.
* Our proximity to Placencia Village Center, ½ mile, is not only endorsed via our website and other advertising media, but is embraced by our guests on a daily basis, thereby infusing our guests’ spending dollars into the local businesses throughout the Village.
NOTE: Due to our location’s close physical proximity to the Placencia Village Center and by maintaining our Guest Exclusive Policies, including our dining options, beach and pools, we are not only enhancing our mission of a “True Belize” guest experience, but we are not competing with our local Placencia establishments for these highly desirable services. In reality, this policy encourages our guests to take advantage of the local establishments.
Belize Legal Government Requirements – Chabil Mar Villas complies with all legal and licensing requirements in Belize and is a Gold Standard Certified Resort by the Belize Tourism Board.
Handicapped Accessibility – We have designed access to two of our Seafront Villas for disability ease.
Language – As an English speaking country, Belize our staff is primarily English speaking with Mayan dialects as well. Spanish speaking can be assisted via staff and our website has been designed with multiple language translations to provide ease of understanding and communicating with individuals throughout the world.
Dining – We pride ourselves on providing authentically unique flavors and presentations while using the freshest possible local ingredients and from-scratch preparations on all dishes. Our passion and admiration for Belize cuisine and our culture keeps us continuously finding new experiences to share with our guests and to revisit our roots. We are delighted to share our Belize journey with our guests for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
About our “Roaming Butler Service” – We are often asked, “Where is your restaurant?” A service designed to maintain the highest level of a Belize dining experience we could imagine, exclusively for our guests!
Simply put, this is a very unique service in the tourism industry, where our guests dine wherever they choose on the property, We deliver menus to them on the pier, the beach, pool-side, “Café Mar” by the sea, our bar and lounge, and, of course, their personal Villa verandah! And, we serve their meal, cocktail, beverage of choice and desert to them in any of these locations. Al Fresco dining, throughout the entire resort, is provided to accentuate the beautiful Belize experience.
We use on only environmentally friendly products in our dining service, such as biodegradable straws, to-go cups, and takeout plates.
Accommodations
Chabil Mar Villas location was selected to treat guests to an idyllic balance of authentic Belize daily life & culture in the traditional fishing Village of Placencia (pop: 2500), combined with guest centric services at the Resort. We encourage our guests to learn, enjoy and participate in the daily life of our locals and their businesses, via a stroll along the beach, our complimentary bikes, kayaks and paddle boards, or evening shuttle.
Our Villas are designed and decorated in decor crafted from locally-grown hardwoods and the colorful artwork of local artisans.
Environmental Plan
Water Usage: We use our grey water for watering plants and always considering other ways to recycle our water uses.
Waste Management – We use only recyclable bottles for soda and beers. Paper is recycled as well. Waste management and recycling are a priority.
All soda and beer is purchased in returnable bottles with no plastic bottled water used on site, including the water that is provided to our guests in the refrigerators upon their arrival.
All fuel is safely stored in a separate area. This is primarily spare gas for golf carts, and
grounds machines (lawn mower and such).
Landscaping – Chabil Mar Villas, true to the gifts that nature and our ancient Maya history have bestowed upon our beautiful country, has designed our gardens, and wrapped our Villa surroundings with vibrant lush gardens of Belize flora, uniquely representing all regions of our diverse geography… the mystic rain forests to our west, the sandy beaches of our coast and our ancient Mayan symbol, the Ceiba Tree.
Energy – All exterior lights are LED, and we are moving toward led lights under and in the kitchen cabinets as they are replaced. Pool is heated by nature, and we use only zoned air conditioning as well as high efficiency washing machines.
Guest air conditioners are turned off when not in use.
Sustainable Community, Social and Cultural Plan
Local Employment – All but one of our staff are Belizean, several of whom have been employees with us from the day we opened for business 15+ years ago and one during our construction phase. We emphasize promotion from within to provide our employees with the opportunity to develop long term career forming occupations. Our compensation package includes base, service fees, bonuses, paid vacation and health benefits.
Employee Training – Employee training includes on-the-job, periodically invited consultants and a variety of government and our Belize association membership opportunities. All employees are fully informed about the company policies and perspectives on sustainability and educated about the environmentally sensitive issues related to their particular area. Employees are encouraged to discuss the company’s environmental policies with guests.
Internships: We support multiple Internship programs We regularly work with both ITVet, which is essentially a 2-year trade school college, to accommodate interns for their study. A number of those interns have been hired later on after they graduate. We also work with the local high school for potential internship candidates and have utilized this method of finding interns as well.
Community Development – Our local community’s needs and support is a focus of our mission statement. We do so through local event sponsorships, such as, the annual Placencia Lobsterfest, Belize marathon, Art & Music Festival, Fishing Tournaments, Village-wide beach cleanups, Pack for a Purpose to support St. John’s School and Placencia Humane Society, along with a food bank during the early months of the COVID pandemic until the country of Belize was re-opened to tourism.
In addition, we have assisted in multiple projects via financial support to community development and maintenance, such as replenishing our football (soccer) field and its scoreboard, our community basketball courts, our staff’s rebuilding of the plumbing of our elementary school. We have donated to helping to build Placencia newly installed sidewalk along our town’s main road. And, we have developed a high school scholarship program, sending over 20 children to high school.
Community Outreach and Giving Back Initiatives
• Placencia Lobsterfest – Annual Sponsorship
• Mistletoe Ball – Annual Sponsorship
• Placencia Beach and Island Cleanup Day – Annual Sponsorship and Employee Participation
• Blissful Sage Cancer Foundation Donation to 2015 Battle Cancer
• Placencia Sailing Club – Purchase of a boat for local children to us in Nationwide Regattas and sponsorship for the Children’s Placencia Regattas
• Seine Bight Village Council – Annual Sponsorship of Seine Bight Day
• Placencia Village Council – Annual Sponsorship of Easter Events Day and Celebration
• Staff assistance and donations to Placencia Village clean-up day
• Placencia Marathon – Annual Sponsorship, Water Station and Employee Participation
• Annual Placencia Christmas Parade
• Rotary Club Belize – Donations in Kind
• Placencia Police Department
Housing – Chabil Mar Villas provides on-site housing for employees as needed, including staff internet access and satellite television system. We add additional amenities as feasible.
Health and Safety – In addition to providing health benefits, we have provided emergency assistance and transportation when needed to supplement standardized benefit programs and have contributed to several emergency medical situations involving our staff and/or their family members.
Gold Certification for Safe Travel – Chabil Mar has earned the Gold Standard Certification from the Belize Tourism Board. With the safety of travelers being a top priority, visitors to Belize during Phase 3 of the country’s tourism reopening plan will utilize a certified Gold Standard Entity that has been approved for reopening. These entities have adapted new behaviors and procedure while ensuring minimal impact on guest experience.
In addition, during this very challenging time for the tourism industry worldwide, through innovation, Chabil Mar Management, and our staff are meeting and exceeding those challenges in all aspects of our guest experiences!
• Chabil Mar is the only full-service resort, including on-sight restaurant service, property amenities and bar service on the Placencia Peninsula and in Placencia Village, reserved for the exclusive use of our guests.
• Guest Exclusivity has been our policy since the day we opened our gates13 years ago and, of course, continues on. This is sure to please those who value their privacy and personalized service without sacrificing their safety during their Belize vacation.
• As a boutique resort, a limited number of guests on our property at any one time and our amenities are not open to the public.
• Villa features include: • Private Entrance • Each with a Sea-Facing Personal/Private Veranda and Hammock
• All Dining options, by way of our “Roaming Butler Service” are outdoor, al fresco throughout the entire property
• Contactless Reservations, Checkout and on-site Concierge tour planning
• Enhanced Hygiene and Cleaning
– Processes have been implemented to disinfect common areas more frequently for premises/areas with high traffic flow and common facilities
– Chabil Mar has created hand sanitizing stations, which are strategically placed throughout the property
– Each Villa have a supply of hand sanitizer for guests
– Staff Training – All cleaning staff will wear appropriate Personal Protection Equipment while conducting cleaning duties and receive guidance on what to wear for specific activities
– Private Resort transportation is provided R/T between Placencia Airport and Chabil Mar, as well as for complimentary evening shuttles to Placencia Village with limitations on capacity for each trip
*** For any guests departing Belize to a country that requires a negative COVID test prior to their departure, we will make reservations for the appropriate test on their behalf and testing will be done at Chabil Mar in an outdoor area, for their convenience and safety.
