A ‘corporative’ resort

Sta. Isabelle Corp. is a cooperative, which prefers to be classified as a "corporative."

"So far, it has a worked," said vice-president Ricky Tamparong. Club Noah Isabelle, a luxury resort in Palawan, is owned by its employees but is run as a corporation.

All the founding employees (many of whom help start the nearby resort El Nido) have an equal share in the company, which was incorporated in 1994 but which opened only in 1996.

Decisions are made by consensus rather than by a few individuals. "In the service industry, you work a full eight hours. Here, when we work beyond that, we work as co-owners of Club Noah and it has been very fulfilling," said activity officer Randy Dabuit .

"Here, we have no chips on our shoulders. Even if I’m vice-president, I will defer to the decision of the dive masters or activity officers when it comes to whether it is safe to ride a boat or do water activities on certain occasions. They are the experts and we respect that," said Tamparong.

Last year, Club Noah averaged an occupancy rate of 60%, relatively high within the industry but lower than its own 80% rate before the hostage crisis in Mindanao.

Most of its guests are Koreans and Japanese, many of whom are honeymooners.

"We spend a lot for security and for other safety measures. In this business, we cannot afford to make a mistake. After all, this is our own business," said Tamparong.

Underwater resort

In the medium term, Sta. Isabelle is positioning itself as a new generation resort, the first in the region to put up an underwater resort. Using existing technology that constructed the huge aquariums used in Japan for the preservation of the dugong or sea cow, an endangered specie in Palawan, the guestrooms will have all the amenities of a luxury hotel and the added attraction of a sea view.

"We have already found an island in Tubbataha where the environment is so virginal and the people are friendly and unaffected. The underwater resort will fit in perfectly," Tamparong said.

As a matter of cooperative policy and good business sense, Sta. Isabelle will include the locals, either as workers or as suppliers in the project.

Historically, Sta. Isabelle has set aside 10% of its net income for the preservation of the neighboring environment. Since most of the livelihood in such islands is fishing, spending money for the preservation of the coral reefs has made it possible for the fishermen to have a steady catch in outlying waters. The resort acts as a nursery of various types of marine life.

"It is a symbiotic relationship. For the resort to be successful, we need clear waters and the fishes and other marine life in their natural habitat. When these fishes mature, they instinctively seek deeper waters," Tamparong said.