MANILA, Philippines — He works in a not-so-secret garden in the middle of a luxury hotel complex, away from the glitz and glamor. But City of Dreams Manila’s landscape manager Cirilo Alerta’s star shown bright when he was named “Asia’s Unsung Hero of the Year” at the Stelliers Awards held recently at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
Alerta, with more than 25 years of hotel industry experience under his belt, was recognized for pioneering the vermicomposting facility and greenhouse nursery in hotels he has been with. At City of Dreams Manila, his passion and dedication for this initiative drastically lessened the luxury resort’s organic waste, generating thousands in savings and playing a vital role towards achieving City of Dreams Manila’s long-term sustainability goals.
Alerta established the resort’s vericomposting facility
“We are proud of Cirilo, whose commitment and efforts helped pave the way for a more sustainable means of operations at City of Dreams Manila, and whose dedication and pursuit of this initiative is inspiring and worthy of emulation in an industry that’s gearing towards sustainability,” Kevin Benning, City of Dreams Manila’s chief operating officer, said.
Besides establishing the luxury resort’s vermicomposting facility, Alerta also spearheaded the set-up of a greenhouse nursery and herb garden that enables the complex to propagate its plant needs and, at the same time, grow herbs and spices to supply the kitchens’ requirements.
Alerta joins 33 other Stelliers awardees in Asia and South Asia, besting their peers from over 100 properties across 19 different countries. Now on its sixth edition under its new identity as Stelliers, the annual awards platform received about 400 applications.
He receives the Stellier award for “Asia’s Unsung Hero of the Year”
These applications were deliberated upon by a panel of experts through a two-round judging process based on interviews, testimonials and facts presented on the written applications. The judges, who possess a wide range of industry-specific skills and knowledge, included Julia Monk, senior principal and director of Hospitality Design in Hok; Jenny Soo, regional director and head of Workplace Experience in Corporate Solutions Asia Pacific-Jones Lang Lasalle; Cristophe Laurent, values ambassador in Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne; Christine Gamarra, senior operations lead for LRA by Deloitte; and Guy Heywood, former chief operating officer in Asia at the Two Roads Hospitality Regional Office.
Previously known as The Hotelier Awards, Stelliers has become a symbol synonymous to excellence, and is known as the prestigious and leading hotelier awards platform that is committed to recognize and celebrate the brightest individuals of the hotel industry in Asia, South Asia, and Greater China.
According to the hotelier awards platform, the name Stellier was derived from Stella Polaris, the brightest star in its constellation, and is also often referred to as the ‘pointer of the sky,’ which is a fitting representation of the hospitality industry’s leading stars.