F1 Hotel: First in happy experiences

MANILA, Philippines - With the right amount of patience, hard work and determination, nothing in life is impossible.

Tony Co, the new general manager of F1 Hotel Manila (F1 for first, as in the first hotel built in Bonifacio Global City), built his successful career as a hotelier on that belief. But he is quick to point out that things were not handed to him on a silver platter.

Co is the eldest among five siblings. His father was a laborer while his mother was a laundrywoman. To be able to study, he started working as a waiter at a small restaurant in Binondo when he was 13.

“I knew that if I will not work, I won’t finish schooling. Our family’s financial situation also sort of influenced my choice of career. I was thinking of becoming an architect but I knew I wouldn’t be able to finish. So I took up another course – Bachelor of Science in Commerce major in Management – where I felt I would be able to graduate,” Co told The STAR.

Throughout his college years, he took jobs in various restaurants as well as fast food chains. Upon graduation from Far Eastern University in 1989, he got an offer to become a management trainee of Pizza Hut, rising to become an understudy for area manager. He stayed with the company until 1993. “I was one of the people who pioneered pizza delivery,” Co shared.

He was influenced by his peers to become a medical representative so aside from hotels, he also submitted his resume to pharmaceutical companies.

“I got a call from Bayer. I underwent training and everything. When I finally passed my revalida or the sequence of examinations medical schools give to their students, I got a call from Makati Shangri-La. They said I was fortunate to be chosen as one of their management trainees,” he said. That fortuitous event set Co on his career path in the hotel industry.

Co credits as his best asset the ability to get the best out of his team.

“I believe this is the way to the Promised Land – whether it is revenue, employee satisfaction, guest satisfaction or bottom line for the owners. The team will take you there. It’s up to you to lead. That’s the responsibility incumbent of you. Of course you work on it little by little – from a group, section, division then to the whole hotel,” he said.

Co, who has an extensive background on food and beverage, said the most difficult aspect of management will always be staffing.

“You gain your planning and organizing skills from school. You will learn directing in the process. But staffing will forever be a challenge because people are dynamic by nature, especially in our industry,” he said.

As a manager he has the advantage of having risen from the ranks so he knows “how it is from down there.”

In an industry where Westerners still dominate the executive suite, Co vowed to do his best to prove that Filipinos can also run a hotel well.

“The only difference is skin tone. I feel I am even better,” he said. “We are hospitable by nature and that already is a big advantage. I have a Pinoy team – we speak the same language, we have similar culture. I know how to treat them because I know how they want to be treated. At the end of the day, the organization benefits from it because there is no adjustment needed.”

F1 Hotel is purely Filipino owned and managed, with an all- Filipino staff.

“We capitalize on our Filipino hospitality as we give the best service and product that we can. By service we mean how the guests are approached, the response time and the like. Product, meanwhile, refers to the quality of food, rooms and other amenities,” he explained. The hotel is currently undertaking upgrades of its amenities and facilities, such as high-speed elevators and making the buffet restaurant more interactive.

Co wants to cut the attrition rate or the number of employees transferring to other hotels. “I want to make the staff stay with the hotel not only because they are being paid but because they are happy. And they are happy because it’s a family more than a business,” he said.

While he has usually stayed at a hotel for around two to three years, there was one hotel that he had a very hard time leaving. “It was so hard to go, when in fact I wasn’t paid well. That’s what they call ‘the secret.’ I know because I saw it myself,” he said. “Every time we went to the hotel, it’s like going home to our families. Everybody smiles. We were well taken care of, not by pay but by emotional stability. It’s something that I want to achieve here.”

This kind of working atmosphere will pave the way to achieving the company’s measurable targets like return of investments, according to Co.

“If people are happy working, they will deliver and you don’t have to tell them. They will be happy doing it for you. They will go for overtime, even if they are not paid. I know because I was once like that,” he said.

And this, he believes, will be instrumental in living up to their hotel’s tagline as the “Home of Happy Experiences.”

“If every employee has a smile on his face, it rubs off on the guests. Then it becomes an overall aura. And this is something that money can’t buy,” Co said, with a smile of course.

Fi Hotel is located at 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Call (632) 928-9888 or visit www.f1hotelmanila.com Photos by manny marcelo