Hotels to hold online travel mart in September

MANILA, Philippines — The Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) Philippines is rolling out up to 70 percent discount deals from its member hotels come September.

In a Facebook post, HSMA Philippines called on its members to come up with their best offers and join its online travel mart dubbed as the September Online Sale.

The selling period will be from Sept.15 to 30 with a validity of one year from the date of purchase.

Under the guidelines for the operation of hotels under community quarantine areas, accommodation establishments in areas under modified general community quarantine will be allowed to resume operations at at only 50 percent capacity.

Accommodation establishments must also secure a certificate of authority to operate from the DOT before they can commence operations.

To secure the certification, DOT–accredited hotels and other accommodation establishments need only to submit to the DOT Regional Office with jurisdiction over their area the letter of intent to operate, while non-DOT-accredited hotels and accommodation establishments need to apply for accreditation to ensure compliance of basic requirements.

Last May, HSMA Philippines launched an online sari-sari store as part of efforts to help the member hotels stay afloat amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

“HSMA members who have their own business or wish to promote items can post items for sale,”the HSMA said earlier.

The tourism industry, which hotels are part of, is among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Latest data from DOT show the estimated inbound tourism revenues for the first half of the year plunged 66.7 percent to P81.05 billion as travel restrictions remain in place amid the pandemic.

In addition, international visitor arrivals dropped 68 percent to 1.3 million during the period.