Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection office moving, to adopt flexible work scheduleRitz-Carlton Yacht Collection office moving, to adopt flexible work schedule

The company is leaving its Coconut Grove headquarters.

And employees will be shifting to a flexible 50-50 office schedule, with people coming in when it makes sense — for example, team meetings.

Quality of life

'This is about quality of life for people,' CEO Doug Prothero told Seatrade Cruise News.

Getting people out of cars is good for them, and it's good for the planet, he said, adding that some employees had been driving two to three hours a day commuting to Coconut Grove.

Reservations to continue home-based

A residential zip code analysis determined the location most convenient for the workforce. Some 50 people will be moving. This doesn't count reservations staff, who are going to be permanently home-based, something Prothero said is working 'really, really well.'

The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection's Malta office is going to function similarly. Reservations staff will continue working from home and others will have a flexible office schedule.

Hot desks

Prothero said the new South Florida location will be designed as a 'commuter office' with hot desks and some private offices.

The company hasn't made any decisions on its return-to-office COVID-19 vaccination policy.

Ritz-Carlton's is yet another model in the varied approaches of South Florida-based cruise lines.

Cruise lines adopt different work models

Silversea Cruises started back at the office Monday, with the rest of Royal Caribbean Group employees (apart from the call center staff) expected to follow in the coming weeks.

Carnival Corp. & plc, on the other hand, will have a hybrid model.

Neither Royal Caribbean Group nor Carnival Corp. is mandating vaccination of shoreside employees, though they encourage it.

And the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings brands are in full return to office mode with vaccination a condition of employment for customer- or vendor-facing roles in the US.