Hospitality Service into a Different Level

CEBU, Philippines - “Modern hospitality is service and commitment with sincerity, care and concern to that service.” This is the line that will propel Waterfront Airport Hotel & Casino Mactan forward even further under the direction of its new hotel manager Rex Benhur Caballes, who started steering the Airport hotel into its fresh course on July 15 this year after a brief stint at the Waterfront Manila Pavilion Hotel.

Service through Engagement and Human Encounters

Management by Profiling and Guest Recognition

Caballes plans to manage the hotel by profiling. “Guests don’t look for the basics anymore. They are looking for more than just amenities and efficient service,” he explained.

The new hotel manager stressed that they are going to do guest recognition using a system that will allow them to provide the kind of service that is tailored fit to the needs of all their clients.

“We encourage our team to talk to guests casually, so they can check what they want. Even our cleaning service crews are involved in this. They are asked to observe and report to the front desk what a certain guest likes. If a guest wants mangoes, then we will provide them with a basket of mangoes instead of the usual assorted fruit basket,” Caballes stressed.

Butler Service Done the Waterfront Way

Caballes also mentioned that right from the time a guest checks in until he checks out, he will be made to feel really well-cared for. With their express checking service where they extend butler service done the Waterfront way, Caballes said they take care of their guest’s luggage and will even unpack for them. For frequent guests of the hotel, especially those that stay for as long as three months or longer, they also extend attaché service through the guest amenities offered in the rooms. Business cards and letterhead with the Waterfront logo are provided. They also present departure amenities and give away souvenirs like luggage tags or monogrammed bathrobes.

“Our butler service is on a different level and our departure amenities are also top notch. That’s how we want to be remembered. We take care of you even if you’re not staying with us anymore and we give you the feeling that we are always anticipating to welcome you upon your return,” the new Airport hotel manager said.

Caballes added, “Individualized recognition – when you do that to guests and employees, nothing will go wrong. Everybody is happy.”

In a personal statement he released to the media, Caballes also assured everyone that they are going to a direction of “personalized service, individual recognition, butler service given the Waterfront way and a promise to create magical moments for your most cherished events.

“We aim to provide memorable events for clients, so we always add the personal touch to everything,” he reiterated.

A New Look in 2014

Meanwhile, the Airport hotel manager also shared how dealing with different environments keeps him going in the hospitality industry. He said these are the kind of things that makes him want to do more and do better.

In line with this, he revealed that as Waterfront Mactan is doing well revenue-wise, the challenge they are now facing is more on the hotel’s structural developments. He said they are now set for such refurbishments as the installation of new carpets. This will commenced at the end of the year and by the end of the first quarter next year, two of their guest floors will already have been refurbished and given a new look.

“We want to keep the classic feel of the hotel, but being dynamic and hip has to be there,” he stressed.

The Road Traveled Before Waterfront Mactan

Unlike other hotel managers who had collegiate background in the hospitality industry, Benhur Caballes holds a Fine Arts – Advertising major from the University of Santo Tomas. Hence, he learned the hotel operations from the ground up.

“This is something that not many people know about me. I started from the ranks and worked my way up. This is how I learned the operations. But, I have no regrets. In this business, you need to have passion and to like what you’re doing and I have that,” he pointed out. 

Caballes started his journey into learning the ropes of the hospitality industry and excelling in it, at the former Westin Philippine Plaza, where he stayed for two years and discovered that he has a passion and a heart for the hotel business. In 1996, he joined the ranks of the Makati Shangri-la Hotel where he remained for eight years, filling out several positions until he became Assistant Front Office Manager.

From Manila, he came to Cebu in 2007 to become the Resident Manager of Alegre Beach Resort in the municipality of Sogod. Although he only stayed a year with the beach resort, Caballes already got the impression of the Cebuanos’ warmth during his brief residence in the southern town. This made it easier for him to accept the job position he is now holding at the Waterfront Mactan, which came after he was tasked to become the Front Office Manager of Waterfront Manila Pavilion in 2008 and then the Hotel Manager of GHotel Manila by Waterfront for three years.

Caballes continued to learn the ropes of the hotel industry from all these experiences. He also joined in the Managerial Core Competencies Program of Les Roches, Ji Jiang International Hotel Management College, in Mainland China. This course allowed him to improve all his skills in hotel management.

When he is not busy at the helm of the hotel, Caballes indulges in beaches, cars and his family. The hotel manager is a proud dad to his baby girl, Chelsey.

“I like cars and I have my family here. I got married two years ago, so I am enjoying family life and we are enjoying Cebu,” he shared.

Aiming to provide the kind of service that is packed with engagement and human encounters, it seems the new hotel manager is living by the words of Harley Davidson’s President John Russel who says, “The more you engage with customers, the clearer things become and the easier it is to determine what you should be doing.”