Cebu Marriott to allocate investments for trainings

CEBU, Philippines - While the classy physical structure of a hotel is an advantage in attracting patrons, Cebu City Marriott Hotel believes competence in customer service is likewise as important, thus the investment priority of the hotel now leans towards human development.

Cebu Marriott’s newly appointed general manager Bruce Winton said the new management’s primary focus right now is to “perfect” the hotel’s customer service and relations by providing professional trainings to its associates.

“A hotel experience is more about people, their connection to the guests,” Winton said adding that Cebu Marriott’s associates will be sent to other countries for professional development training to further hone their expertise in different areas in hotel operation.

The management will be allocating investments specifically for the training of department heads, at the same time maintain the standard of providing at least 40-hour training program for all associates across levels.

Winton said it is high time for the hotel to further enhance its world-class customer service after the Ayala-owned hotel spent P300 million for renovations in 2008.

The premier business hotel in Cebu registers an average occupancy rate of 70 percent in the first half of 2010 and it targets to increase by 10 percent by yearend.

Winton, who was assigned in Marriott Seoul, South Korea, prior to his Cebu assignment, said Cebu has a huge potential to attract more foreign visitors, especially the untapped Korean corporate market.

He said that Cebu Marriott may soon be able to tap the Korean corporate market through its partnership with the Marriott global sales office (GSO) in Korea. At present, Cebu is only known as a leisure, vacation or ESL (English as second language) or education destination for most Koreans.

Korea is a powerhouse economy and the Philippines’ rates can be a good bargain for them.

Aside from Korea, Winton believes that the hotel can also tie up with its GSO in Bangkok, as Cebu is getting a good number of bookings from Bangkok lately.

Winton, who has been with the Marriott chain for years, said that Cebu, as well as the Philippines has good potential to compete with other tourism destination in Asia, like Thailand, if aggressive promotional blitz will be done globally.

As an expatriate, he believes that if the Philippines will spend more in promoting the country to the world, it can maximize its potential in tourism. “We spend money to make money.”

Winton began his career as a culinary intern at the Farmington Marriott in Hartford, Connecticut. He has held Director of Restaurants, director of F&B and director of operations positions in eight Marriott properties including, among others, the London Marriott Grosvenor Square Hotel, The Boston Marriott Copley Place, the JW Marriott Washington DC, and the Greenbelt Marriott in Maryland suburbs of Washington and the historic Key Bridge in Arlington Virginia.