People Who Make the Resort Industry Great!

Brittany Babin Guest Services Manager, Bluegreen Resorts

Since 2008, Brittany Babin has served as Guest Services Manager for The Club at Bear Village in Big Bear City, California. This is a Bluegreen Presidential level property with 18 units in Big Bear Lake, California, comprised exclusively of three- and four-bedroom luxury villas. Twenty new two-bedroom units are currently under construction.

In her role as Guest Services Manager, Brittany has been called upon to plan parties, remember names and preferences, make repairs, grab a mop, understand fractional ownership, interpret financials, handily deal with most discerning owners and make everyone’s day … sometimes all at once.

This high-energy, super dedicated lady was recently selected for ARDA’s top award in their annual competition in the resort Operations Team member category. She has also recently graduated from ARDA’s Resort Emerging Leaders Program with high distinction.

According to Kari Graham, Resort Manager, “There is no special wand or sprinkle of pixie dust that can outdo the magic that she does on an almost daily basis. I wish we had a dozen employees just like her! She is a great example of what hospitality represents and is an inspiration on many levels to other staff members.”

She helps support a small staff (until the new phases are open) and often finds herself wearing many hats to meet daily demands. If the housekeeping staff is running behind, she jumps up from her desk to help without being asked. Brittany is also responsible for providing updates to the resort’s Board of Directors, training and development of all new hires for on-boarding, housekeeping and the guest service associates, inventory control, as well as financials and forecasting.

Brittany is very dedicated to her resort’s greening program, and has become a “greening guru” to respond to guests’ growing awareness of its impact on the environment. She is constantly seeking opportunities for implementing earth-friendly initiatives, which resulted in achieving the first Greening Platinum status for her resort. This enabled her resort to win the award for Tier One for highest greening platinum points for the calendar year. This award and status is based on high standards of recycling and maintaining the highest levels of sustainability for the resort.

In addition to her resort work, she is a competitive roller derby player and the loving mother of five children, from ages 5-14 including one with special needs. Brittany is also going to school full time and set to graduate this year with a business management degree.

Shares Brittany, “Working within the hospitality/timeshare industry is inspiring on a daily basis. In meeting new people every day, I enjoy many opportunities to develop new skills. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t learn something new. I work in an environment where I get to make people smile every day. How lucky is that? So, you see, I am the one walking out the door with a smile from the compassion and positive energy I encounter from associates and guests on a daily basis.”

Breanna Barton Portfolio & Funding Manager, Welk Resort Group

As Portfolio and Funding Analyst for Welk Resort Group, Breanna Barton is responsible for managing external reporting and loan pledging on a portfolio of over $300 million in consumer loans. This involves evaluating the terms of each loan to ensure they adhere to corporate underwriting guidelines and producing multiple reports for appropriate entities to confirm that files are complete and contain all required documents.

Breanna also works with lenders on the funding of new collateral as originated, and the release of any collateral from lender security. On a monthly basis, she oversees $10 to $20 million in new loan volume origination, ensuring accuracy in data transmission and evaluating loan parameters for future cash advances. She must maximize the borrowing limits for each of the loans by analyzing all of them – based on FICO scores and other loan factors – to determine how to divvy up the assets by lender to ensure the best advance rate.

This kind of work obviously requires a very special type of person – someone with a keen analytical mind and a depth of financial expertise – who is capable of absorbing huge volumes of information. Not only is she greatly admired and respected by her colleagues at Welk Resort Group, she was recently honored with the top award from ARDA for the best Business Administration Team Member in the Finance, Accounting and HOA category.

Added Carisa Azzi, SVP and CFO for Welk Resort Group, “While other developers may have a small army of accounting people responsible for this volume of consumer loans, at our company, Breanna seamlessly handles this entire process totally on her own. Her high level of efficiency and attention to detail has enabled us to streamline all of the file check-in procedures, and prepare monthly reconciliations to ensure data integrity and appropriately documented files.

This highly treasured employee has been with Welk Resorts four years and in her current role over a year. Breanna also participates in Welk’s Wellbeing Program, which helps employees enjoy a “better living” lifestyle through healthy eating and exercise. Although it is outside the general scope of her duties, she is a major player in this program. As a member of the Wellbeing Committee, she helps lead different objectives throughout the year. One of the initiatives she led and implemented was the installation of vending machines throughout the company, which contain healthy food choices.

Having earned an MBA from National University in San Diego, Breanna’s colleagues respect her for her keen intellect and analytical prowess as well as her sensitivity in caring for and helping others.
Breanna currently oversees a staff of 30 contracts team members, helping them create process efficiencies and improvements to minimize costs. Although she is one of the busiest bees in the business, she makes this a priority knowing that she is not only helping her team grow but ultimately improving efficiencies in her own work and providing cohesiveness to the entire team.