South Seas hosted a job fair today in hopes of finding future employees.
It was at the Ranch Concert Hall and Saloon in Fort Myers. It was filled with loud music, activities and potential candidates.
It comes as the resort gets closer to opening, two years after Hurricane Ian. It also comes as South Seas was given the green light to add to its density and raise the building heights last year, but the Captiva Civic Association sued them and Lee County over that decision.
From future servers to restaurant managers and more.
"We got Bellman, bell women," said Shawn Farrell, South Seas general manager. "We have trolley drivers. We got housekeeping stewarding, leadership positions, retail, and all kinds of recreation."
Farrell said they're looking for a mix of fresh faces and former employees. They're hoping to hire 150 people over the next 60 days or so. He said they are planning to hire some people on the spot.
Candidates said the thought of working for such a beautiful place is exciting.
"It's very, very beautiful," said Christiana Joseph, job fair attendee. "I really like it."
"Me on the beach, and I'm getting paid for that?" said Christian Gramm, job fair attendee. "I can do that."
They're still working on getting their restaurants back open. Farrell said 50% of their units for rent are back up and running.
While there's still a lot of work to be done, Farrell said it's the employees that will recover the resort and the local economy.
"We know that the customers that are coming from the Midwest, the Northeast, and all over the world," Farrell said. "They can travel anywhere. Why pick South Seas? Why pick Captiva? Why pick Lee County to come to? It's because of these people that we hire today."
The job fair's last day is tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.