by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 21, 2020 | Business
With its dedication to making every Filipino feel at home in all its stores, Adobo Connection has chosen “momshie” and TV host Melai Cantiveros to be its first-ever brand ambassador. A launching event was held today at SM North EDSA.
Unassuming and cheerful, Melai is the quintessential Filipino mom who endeavors to capture her family’s craving for good, uncomplicated, and hearty Pinoy dishes – with adobo on top of the list. “Adobo is forever – char! Kasi di ba staple food siya, walang Pinoy ang hindi gusto ang adobo. Unlike kasi ng iba na naging usong pagkain, saglit lang naging hype tapos after ilang months lang, wala na. Si adobo kasi, di pinagsasawaan. Kaya kumuha talaga ako ng franchise. Honestly ito ang pangtawid gutom ko,” said Melai.
Meredith Ngo, Managing Director of Adobo Connection
Meredith Ngo, Adobo Connection’s Managing Director says, “We’re really proud to announce the first-ever brand ambassador/franchisee of Adobo Connection, Melai, who embodies what a true Filipino mom is – yung maalaga sa pamilya and may malasakit. Similar to our brand statement, we want our customers to feel at home and remember their mom’s cooking every time they enter our store.”
Recognizing that Adobo Connection is deeply ingrained in Filipinos’ lives, Melai had also taken things one step further and decided to invest in an Adobo Connection franchise. This was to ensure not only her family’s financial stability but also because she loves seeing people enjoy Adobo Connection’s offerings.
Adobo Connection unveiling the store icon
Admitting she did not know much about running a business, Melai also found Adobo Connection’s support and commitment to its franchisees truly reassuring.
“Sa panahon ngayon, ang hirap na makahanap ng business na papatok at higit sa lahat ang hirap makahanap ng katuwang sa negosyo – yung talagang mapagkakatiwalaan at tutulungan ka talaga. Pinadali talaga ng Adobo Connection and pagbubusiness ko. Dahil sa mga maaasahang teams nila, masaya at madali ang naging experience ko,” Melai shared.
Today, Melai owns three Adobo Connection outlets nationwide. She has found that Adobo Connection offers a solid business proposition – a working market concept, sound marketing, and operational systems, and strong franchisor support.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 21, 2020 | Business
A good leader possesses not one but a combination of many good qualities. For Bayview Park Hotel Manila’s General Manager Eugene T. Yap, his best assets stem from his innate compassion for people and the desire to always provide service that only gets better over time.
Mr. Yap took his seat as the hotel’s General Manager in 2002, but he has been with Bayview Hotel Development Corp., the company that owns and operates the hotel since it acquired the property in the late 1980s. At that time, he was serving from the company’s head office in Makati as part of the legal team that handled the property acquisition. Later, he was tasked to look over the structure’s renovations and repairs.
It may seem like a stretch for a corporate lawyer to work in the operations and management side of a hotel. After getting a business degree at the University of Santo Tomas in 1985, Atty. Yap pursued a legal career and went straight to law school at Manuel L. Quezon University, before passing the bar exams in 1990.
But as he recalls, “You know how children usually dream what they always see? When we were younger, whenever we go to restaurants or hotels and service is given to us superbly and we feel happy about it, you tend to feel like you want to work in those types of service. At that time there wasn’t really much of a ‘hospitality industry’ to be spoken of so I wouldn’t call this my childhood dream. But when our company acquired Bayview, I simply began to love the property.”
The passion to serve people became Yap’s main drivers at work. “In the hospitality industry, we serve our guests and we take care of our employees. In legal practice, we also take care of our clients and our staff. So, in this aspect, they are really not much different,” he says.
He believes that good service can only be provided to hotel guests when the people working behind the scenes are also being valued by their leader, so he strives to give them a good working environment and has even adopted a program called the Managers’ Initiative. Through this program, employees are encouraged to pitch in their suggestions on how they can improve the hotel’s services, amenities, and even marketing efforts, and gives them the platform to explore their ideas.
He also puts value in having a work-life balance among his employees and even with himself. “I always set a time limit for work because when you are enjoying the work, you tend to lose track of time and you should never lose time for your family. It is also important for me and my staff to recharge once in a while so we can provide better service to our guests when we return to work.”
When asked to describe his leadership style, “You can say relaxed but still professional. I believe in accountability where each one is responsible for their own actions, but I also believe in learning from others. I am forever a student of the hospitality industry so I try my best to learn from all people.” He constantly keeps a listening ear open for comments and suggestions from every person who walks into the hotel because he believes that
“Guests are your best teachers,” he says, “How do I know when I’m doing a good job? When I see guests smiling. When they are satisfied with your service, that guest will keep coming back and keep asking for you. When the guest starts needing you, that means you’re doing something right.”
Not only at Bayview Park Hotel does Mr. Yap apply his mantras of good leadership. He also takes pride in being the president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines (HRAP). As a leader to the organization, he aims to leave a mark in the industry through his “leadership by accommodation,” which is founded on understanding, being approachable, and being reasonable. “Just keep on giving the best available service to your guests and don’t forget to give your employees the pat on the back that they deserve. When you start receiving compliments from your guests and loyalty from staff, that’s where success comes in.”
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 16, 2020 | Business
Dot Property, Southeast Asia’s leading real estate portal, recently honored the best and the brightest real estate developers, companies and professionals in the region during the recent Dot Property Southeast Asia Awards 2019.
With delegates coming from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, the prestigious awards program honored more than 45 companies and individuals. Dot Property CEO Matthew Campbell, commercial director James Claassen, and director for events and international markets Adam Sutcliffe led the awarding ceremonies.
Winners from the Philippines were Grand Land for Best Mid-Range Condominium Development Award for Amani Grand Citygate Davao; Santos Knight Frank for Southeast Asia’s Best Real Estate Agency for 2019 and SM Development Corporation (SMDC) for Best Township Development for Gold Residences. The photo shows Dot Property 2019 awardees during the event held at the Park Hyatt Bangkok.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 16, 2020 | Business
The Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines once again proves its commitment towards the continuous improvement of its management systems by successfully maintaining its ISO 9001:2015 certification.
The audit performed by the Certification International Philippines, Inc. showed that the quality management systems in place at TPB have seen remarkable improvements and discovered no non-conformities in the organization’s existing processes on design, development, and provision of Philippine tourism marketing and promotions versus the ISO standards. An attached agency of the Department of Tourism, TPB exists to market and promote the Philippines domestically and internationally as a world-class tourism and MICE destination.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jan 11, 2020 | Business
Leading global bathroom and kitchen solutions brand GROHE recently awarded its first batch of students who have completed the International Certification module at the GROHE Dual Tech, a training facility made possible through the partnership between GROHE and Don Bosco Youth Center. A total of 42 graduating students passed the International Certificate on GROHE Standards assessment exams, validating their technical competence in plumbing. GROHE also inaugurated the newly constructed public restroom in St. John Bosco Parish, Tondo.
The photo shows the first batch of internationally certified students with:
- (Top row, center, L-R) GROHE vice president training & management development Timo Kurz, GROHE management board member Michael Mager, and global product manager Manfred Kuehn; Don Bosco Tondo Rector Rev. Fr. Gaudencio Carandang Jr., SDB, Don Bosco Mondo e.V deputy director corporate cooperation Dr. Susanne Franke, Lixil Philippines general manager Alpha Ang, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) director Rev. Fr. Manuel H. Nicolas, SDB
- (2nd row, center, L-R) German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (G-PCCI) Dual Training and Education director Tobias Petersen, and STEAG State Power Inc. CEO Bodo Goerlich
- (3rd row, center, L-R) Wilcon Depot senior executive and vice president Rosemarie Ong, PCCI president Bing Limjoco, Salesian Society of St. John Bosco-FIN Province Planning and Development officer Rona Aurea Palma, (Bottom row, outer left) Lixil Philippines marketing manager Emily Besavilla
- (Bottom row, center, L-R) K+12 project coordinator Andreas Dernbach, Lixil Philippines assistant country manager Joralyn Ong
- (Bottom row, outer right) GROHE brand manager Arian Zaragoza
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jul 7, 2019 | Business
In this age of sharing and social media, lifestyle aspirations are driving consumer preferences in the real estate industry.
This is according to Tina Bautista, head of Property24, one of the most powerful online enablers for property buyers and sellers. Bautista cites, in particular, upper mid and luxury properties expected to be in high demand in 2019.
The Philippines continues to lead the world in social media usage, spending the most amount of time online, about four hours and 12 minutes a day. The number of social media users in the country grew by 13 percent, with more than 9 million users added since January 2018. Social media penetration is at 71 percent, which is above the worldwide average of 45 percent. As for mobile phone social media use, 67 percent of online Filipinos access social media on their phone, making social media an influential force. This is according to the latest digital report released by We Are Social and Hootsuite.
Property24, with Bautista at the helm, keeps a close tab on consumer digital behavior and trends in the real estate industry. Bautista has many years of experience working in the e-commerce industry. Before joining Property24, she led the overall online product strategy and channel expansion of Samsung, as online business demand management lead; served as vice president for the regional head of commercial planning for Ensogo Inc.; regional assistant brand manager for the low tier laundry detergent of Procter & Gamble Int’l Operations Pte Ltd, Singapore, and lead broadband planner for the product design and creation division of Globe Telecom.
Bautista, who has 12 years of experience in successfully creating strategies for online products and studying online consumer consumption, foresees a shift in buyer preferences, especially in the real estate industry, over the next five years.
“The major shift that may happen over the next five years is that technology will enable more than just searching and communication between property buyers and sellers. Technology will be able to change even how properties are bought and rented or financed by banks. We see this happening in more advanced markets. Generally as well, because of consumer preferences, we can also expect property developers to cater to emerging technology needs, such as high speed internet connectivity, online delivery and receiving hubs and smart home technologies,” Bautista says.
In the real estate industry, the speed of transactions and the expectations of potential property buyers are increasing rapidly, as the amount of information and influence that they receive online also grows. That is why Bautista advises companies to adapt swiftly to these developments.
“In our case, we are constantly working with our Product and Engineering teams, including enhancing our chat and contact form features, to make communication easier and faster between buyers and sellers. We also fine tune our search algorithms and filters to be able to reflect better user behavior and preferences,” she says.
Property24’s willingness to adapt has paved the way for it to become one of the strongest and most influential online platforms in the country today.
“Buyers today have many options and resources at their fingertips,” says Bautista. “It’s best for them to compare across all of these to be able to make the best decision. At the same time, they also have to exercise caution and judgment to ensure they are transacting with trusted brokers and agents.”
The influence of social media and online marketing has made a significant impact on the real estate market. Brand identity is the most effective way to gain a competitive edge in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Image and perception on social media and branding of property developers are the key factors for property buyers and investors.
He also puts value in having a work-life balance among his employees and even with himself. “I always set a time limit for work because when you are enjoying the work, you tend to lose track of time and you should never lose time for your family. It is also important for me and my staff to recharge once in a while so we can provide better service to our guests when we return to work.”
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