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Tag: Anna Maria Island Concierge Services

Island business community loses beloved ambassador

Island business community loses beloved ambassador

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Business, Feature.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The Island business community lost a great friend and ambassador with the recent passing of Susanne Arbanas.

According to close friends, she was discovered deceased at her apartment in west Bradenton on Dec. 8. She was 67 years old and is survived by her 98-year-old father and Holmes Beach resident, Ron Arbanas, and her brother, Keith, who lives elsewhere.

In 2010, Arbanas opened Anna Maria Island Concierge Services and she spent several years connecting Is­land visitors with the various services provided by Island and Island-area businesses. Her LinkedIn page notes that she was AMI Concierge Services’ “Director of Contagious Enthusiasm.”

During her career, Arbanas also worked at the Compass Hotel Anna Maria Sound in west Bradenton and previously worked as a resort host and concierge at the Waterline Marina Resort in Holmes Beach when it opened in 2017. From 2008-10 she served as the membership coordinator for The Center of Anna Maria Island.

Arbanas moved to the Island from Australia about 15 years ago. In Australia, she worked as a hotel manager and guest relations manager. Before that, she worked in Australia as an airport manager after spending 15 years as a flight attendant for Continental Airlines.

At the time of her passing, Arbanas was a longtime member of the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce board of directors and also served as one of the Chamber’s volunteer ambassadors.

“Susanne was a huge advocate for the businesses and the Chamber,” Chamber President Terri Kinder said. “She spent a lot of time connecting chamber members with other chamber members that could be of assistance. If there was something a business owner needed, Susanne always knew someone to refer them to so they could work together. She had a huge impact on the busi­nesses and she will be greatly missed.”

Anna Maria resident Trish Edwards and Pineapple Marketplace owner Marcia Mattick were two of Susanne’s closest friends.

Trish Edwards and Marcia Mattick were close friends with Susanne Arbanas. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

“She was outgoing and always trying to promote and help the businesses out here,” Mattick said. “She was always at the Chamber events and she encouraged me, as a business owner, to go too. We tried all the new restaurants when they opened and I met a lot of businesspeople because of her. I’m going to miss her as a friend.”

Edwards said, “I met her in 2010 or 2011 when she was doing her concierge business and we became friends. She knew everybody, she was super-friendly and she liked promot­ing everybody on the Island who had a business. She was such a good person and she wanted all the businesses to succeed. She had great stories about living in Australia and she was fun to hang around with.”

Longtime family friend and Ginny’s and Jane E’s Café owner Paul Foster said, “Susanne was a great ambas­sador and a big promoter for the Island’s small businesses. She always had something positive to say. She had a lot of friends on the Island, she was big part of the community and we’re definitely going to miss her.”

“She was a wonderful spirit and always positive,” AMI Rotary Club President Jim McDaniel said.

“Susanne was a true inspiration who led by example with her enthusiasm. We should all be more like her,” Slicker’s Eatery owner Bob Slicker said.

AMI Concierge Services allows visitors to spend more time relaxing

AMI Concierge Services allows visitors to spend more time relaxing

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Tourism.

ANNA MARIA – A new business in the heart of Gulf Drive in Anna Maria is helping Island visitors spend less time booking activities and more time enjoying their vacation.

Whether it’s a family that wants a golf cart and some personal watercraft rentals or a wedding party that may need an entire restaurant privately booked, Susanne Arbanas can make it happen. Her newly-opened business, Anna Maria Island Concierge Services, takes pride in alleviating the stress of booking multiple excursions and rentals, leaving guests more time to spend enjoying the Island and less headache researching what’s right for them. 

“A newlywed couple may not want to book a sunset cruise on a boat with a lot of excited children, they may want something a little more quiet and romantic. I know which charters meet their needs, so rather than call and research to find exactly what they want, they can just come to me, so they can relax and enjoy the honeymoon and let me take care of the details,” said Arbanas.

Arbanas is no stranger to the hospitality industry. She worked for Continental Airlines from the 1980s to around 2000 before moving to Australia in 2000 to work in the airline industry for Sir Richard Branson with Virgin Atlantic, as well as Qantas Airways. Arbanas returned to the U.S. in 2008 where she settled on Anna Maria Island. Certainly not a stranger to AMI, Susanne had been coming here every year since age 3 to visit her grandparents, who had a home on the Island. 

“After heading up concierge for Compass by Margaritaville, I saw the change here. The Island had gone from 90% locals and 10% tourists to exactly the opposite. The visitors were now the 90%, so I thought this may be a great time to take my talents and my 13 years of networking and put them to good use,” said Arbanas, speaking of her decision to leave Compass and start AMI Concierge Service. 

“Because of my passion for the Island, all things Anna Maria, I just love the fact that people are coming to explore the Island. It’s even better when you can help with their adventures and them not have to take those precious days that they have here figuring everything out. You can tailor a vacation for them and guide them in the direction of what it is exactly they want to do,” Arbanas added.

In addition to being an expert in the hospitality industry, Arbanas truly loves being a part of the AMI community and gets satisfaction out of seeing other people find enjoyment in the Island she calls home. She is involved with multiple charities and organizations on the Island, including being an Ambassador for the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce.

“I’m involved with her because her energy level is so high, I couldn’t imagine meeting her briefly and not having a good time. If she’s going to help plan your weekend, or plan your week, you’ve got the right person for it,” said Bob Slicker, who owns Slicker’s Eatery in Cortez.

The self-proclaimed “Director of Contagious Enthusiasm” is available weekdays; walk-ins are welcome at 9805 Gulf Drive in Anna Maria, or you can call 941-404-7575 or reach her online.