Filipino Hoteliers Share Industry Tips, Insider Info & More

If having the “perfect job” means enjoying free food, wearing elegant uniforms and getting travel privileges more than one can count, then hotel professionals may just be the most fortunate people in the world. But is that really what being in the hospitality industry is about?

In an exclusive interview with the winners of the recently held Virtus Awards, a prestigious project recognising the top sales and marketing professionals in the country, we found out more about their seemingly “glamorous” profession.

Also read: Virtus Awards 2019: Event Highlights & Winners

Ian Bencio David

Hotel: Conrad Manila
Designation: Sales Manager

What’s the best part about your job?

I think the best part about the job is being able to meet a lot of people along the way, expanding your network and having an understanding of different industries. As a salesperson, it all boils down to you understanding your industry, asking the right questions because it will help you to give more valuable recommendations to your clients, and finding a perfect match between what they need and what you can offer.

How do you deal with challenges in working in the travel industry?

You can’t properly establish the value that you are offering. The product (the hotel) will speak for itself. But the client will also have other considerations, like the budget and how much they’re willing to allocate. Sometimes it can be a little challenging, meeting halfway. If they see the value that the hotel can offer, it’s so much easier for them to understand.

What are some of your favourite travel memories?

I guess the international training that we have. During the training, you also get to meet other salespeople from other properties abroad and it’s a nice avenue for you to learn from their best practices. You understand the industry landscape from the country they’re from better. You also get to use that in the local setting.

Name one thing about your job you wish others know.

It’s not just about selling, but it’s really more on building that relationship. The role that we have is not limited to just taking the orders, getting the requirements. It’s really more on being an advisor and being able to give useful recommendations to the clients.

Any piece/s of advice for those considering a career in hospitality, particularly sales?

You should be able to thoroughly understand a client. You have to know how to properly connect to the people. It’s important that your client would feel that you’re not just there for the business, you’re not just there for the money, you’re not just there to get the contract signed. It’s really about addressing whatever questions that they may have and giving recommendations whenever needed. If that is how they see you, the business will follow.

Evangeline Imperial

Hotel: Solaire Resort
Designation: Director of Sales and Marketing

What’s the best part about your job?

Marketing a Filipino brand. My background is working in luxury hotels abroad. I’m Canadian but I was born and raised here. I left in 1986 to come back to the Philippines after being away for 31 years. To market a world-class Filipino brand is such an amazing experience.

How do you deal with challenges in working in the travel industry?

I’ve been in the industry for a long time. Sometimes it’s hard to balance between the demands of the hotel and the demands of your personal life. But I love what I do and I’ve developed the skills to focus on what’s the best thing that I can do at the moment.

What are some of your favourite travel memories?

In Canada, I used to be a director of sales and marketing for hotels in a ski resort. At the beginning of the ski season, we market the resort in Japan. You come to Asia from Canada, which is a 12-hour flight, you go back to Canada, and then the next day you go to Europe. Sometimes the travel gets so exhausting and sometimes you almost don’t know where you are.

Name one thing about your job you wish others knew.

Dinner and cocktails are not as glamorous as you think. It means that even if you feel bad, if you’re sick, you have to put up a show. It’s always about entertainment and entertaining your customers and making sure they’re happy with what they’re seeing.

Any piece/s of advice for those considering a career in hospitality, particularly sales?

Focus. It’s learning skills, honing your craft, focusing on the now, on what is the best move that you can do now. You have to be flexible, and in the travel industry, there are so many things that can happen. Whatever plans you have, you have to focus on what is the best next move.

Ronie Marie Reyes

Hotel: Crimson Hotel Filinvest City, Manila
Designation: Director of Marketing and Communication

What’s the best part about your job?

You’re in a very nice working environment, and it’s a five-star hotel. It’s important that you’re able to promote a brand or a property that you believe in.

How do you deal with challenges in working in the travel industry?

One of the biggest challenges is the ever-changing consumer behaviour, so you have to adapt to that. Secondly, your competition versus the resources that you have, especially in Alabang, you have different hotels there, you are given this small amount of budget to spend to market your properties. So we resort to social media, which is cost-effective. You also cope up with the trends, to understand what works and what doesn’t work.

What are some of your favourite travel memories?

In my previous company, which is a management company, we handle different resorts, so I get to go to the beach. I’m a bit of a beach person so it’s a good opportunity to be able to go there without spending because it’s free, the accommodation and everything.

Name one thing about your job you wish others knew.

As a client, for example, when we go to a hotel or a restaurant, we easily complain and say “Bakit ganyan?”. We don’t realise the effort that the team is putting.
Any piece/s of advice for those considering a career in hospitality, particularly sales?
You should be able to continuously learn because what worked 10 years ago may not work today, so you have to really understand all aspects of sales and marketing.

Kirk Anthony Llamas

Hotel: Crimson Hotel Filinvest City, Manila
Designation: Director of Sales and Marketing

What’s the best part about your job?

Talking to people, especially in our work as sales and marketing. That’s part of our everyday lives. If you’re based in the hotel, the working environment. You speak to operations people. We deal with different generations. There are millennials and there are zillennials. We also learn from them.

How do you deal with challenges in working in the travel industry?

Having began working 15 years ago, I can see a different breed of the workforce. That is a challenge for us, the new leaders, on how we can educate them further. They have a different style, that’s one. The profile of a client’s market is also changing.

What are some of your favourite travel memories?

When I was working with this chain, Hyatt, I brought my family to Hong Kong. In Hyatt, we have free stays in other properties, so that was actually where we would travel frequently.

Name one thing about your job you wish others knew.

People see us wearing a suit and think “Ah, it’s a glam job”. No, it’s not. You’re wearing a suit, you look stiff sometimes. But after we remove our coats, we roll up our sleeves, we are also like the normal workforce. And it’s not easy because people say that when you’re in sales and marketing, it’s more of just talking to people, entertainment. It’s not that easy.

Any piece/s of advice for those considering a career in hospitality, particularly sales?

Sales and marketing is fun. The people who plan to work with this division just really need to be passionate and creative. And the important thing is they really have to love the work, love the job, love being in sales and marketing.

Jel Villarin

Hotel: The Bellevue Hotel and Resorts
Designation: Marketing Manager

What’s the best part about your job?

We’re able to communicate to all of the other departments because marketing doesn’t have a value of its own. The barometre of our success is the success of the other departments. And with that, we’re able to help the other departments achieve their goals.

How do you deal with challenges in working in the travel industry?

It’s ever-changing. Most especially in the marketing department, you should always be ahead of the trend, you always need to do social media listening. You also need to know about the market. For example, Chinese is the biggest market now. But next year, what’s the emerging market? So we have to prepare for that. Everything’s digitalised. So we also have to make sure that we’re seen online. We have to know our market, we need to know what they need and what they want.

What are some of your favourite travel memories?

I used to work for El Nido Resorts. During that time, I was able to handle the big groups. There was even a time when I was doing an information sheet about a guest, but I didn’t know who this guest is. It turns out it was Bill Gates, when he was visiting the Philippines. Whenever I bring in guests to Bohol or El Nido, it’s always a different experience. I enjoy capturing the moments of the guests whenever I see them look at the property and they’re in awe.

Name one thing about your job you wish others knew.

Most of the time, all of our ideas just come out because of pure conversation. Whenever we’re talking about something or whenever we have new ideas, we don’t brainstorm. It’s not like “Let’s go to the room and let’s brainstorm”. Sometimes it’s over lunch. Sometimes while we’re having breakfast. That’s where the best ideas come from, when you’re not fully aware. It’s very organic. It’s very authentic.

Any piece/s of advice for those considering a career in hospitality, particularly sales?

You have to be very resilient, you have to have a never-say-die attitude. Number two you always have to be humble, I don’t want you to have a grandiose idea that marketing is the best department. No. We’re always here to assist the other departments on how they’ll achieve their goals. And number three, you should have progressivity. It’s very important that you’re able to challenge the norm, that you’re courageous and that you’re passionate enough to be part of the solution.

Rigil Kent Acapulco

Hotel: The Bellevue Hotel and Resorts
Designation: Events Manager

What’s the best part about your job?

I think it’s the thrill that every day, you deal with a lot of personalities. If you’re a people person, you get the joy of knowing a lot of personalities and learning how to manage them. That’s something I really love about my job.

How do you deal with challenges in working in the travel industry?

Competition is very, very imminent. So for us, I guess it’s the fighting for the clientele because there’s a ratio of more hotels as compared to the clients itself. We cope by doing what we’ve been successfully doing, which is the rapport-building with the clients. No matter where you go, no matter how many companies or hotels, reach out to them.

What are some of your favourite travel memories?

When I went to China with the TPB (Tourism Promotions Board) as a part of the delegation for a roadshow there. I’ve been to Beijing, I’ve been to Hong Kong but not exactly mainland China so I was able to discover cities that I’ve never heard of.

Name one thing about your job you wish others know.

That we are also human beings. Sometimes clients tend to demand too much from us. As a hotelier, you’re a hot wire, you’re created to provide the best possible service. When I go out, I try to be human to my fellow service providers. We have to understand.

Any piece/s of advice for those considering a career in hospitality, particularly sales?

If this opportunity is given to you, go grab it. If you’re a traveller, you get to travel to a lot of places selling your property. It’s a lifetime career. It’s something that you’ll be proud of. It’s something that will give you good compensation. But most importantly, it’s the experience of working in the hotel industry and succeeding in it that really matters.

Michael Anthony Sagaran

Hotel: Taal Vista Hotel
Designation: Marketing Communications Manager

What’s the best part about your job?

I think it’s more of the diversity that I get to do so many things. If you’re in marketing, you get to mingle and build a relationship with different types of people, designations, experiences, plus the nature of work.

How do you deal with challenges in working in the travel industry?

I think it’s the competition. It’s not just locally, but also internationally. The challenge is to come up with a strategy wherein you’ll be able to be on top of the competition.

What are some of your favourite travel memories?

We had a media familiarity tour in partnership with Pico de Loro. We hosted the media, bloggers, influencers, and we let them experience Taal Vista and Pico. For me, it was a fresh experience.

Name one thing about your job you wish others knew.

If you’re working in the service industry, particularly in a hotel, while everyone is enjoying a vacation, you are actually on the job on holidays like Christmas Eve until New Year’s countdown. They don’t realise that it is hard.

Any piece/s of advice for those considering a career in hospitality, particularly sales?

Identify your strengths and weaknesses, and leverage your strengths. For example, if your strength is more of people skills and you want to work in the hotel industry, you’re fit to be a frontliner because you get to deal with different types of guests.

Also read: Young Filipino Pilots Who Are True Work-Travel Goals

It’s about time we saw Filipino hoteliers not for the glitz of their job alone. Because at the end of the day, there’s really a lot more to it than meets the eye. Hopefully, these Filipino hoteliers have given you everything you need to know about their extremely demanding, yet in many ways rewarding profession. May you find them useful should you aspire to get into the travel, particularly hospitality, industry in time to come!

The quotes above have been edited for grammar, clarity and flow.