A culture of success

The numbers are impressive. An average occupancy rate of 80% vis-á-vis the industry’s 55% to 60%. Healthy bottom line. A low attrition rate.

These indicators of high morale and teamwork have made Discovery Suites an employer of choice. It is the only Philippine company and one of seven in the hospitality industry included in the top 20 employers in Asia list of Dow Jones and Hewitt Associates.

"We want to create a culture of success. We keep expectation levels high. Everybody here is a winner because winners hang around with other winners. We don’t have a weak link. The few who have left us were not pirated by other companies but chose to migrate," said general manager Jack Tuason.

From day one, staff understand what they are in for.

"They don’t work for me, they work with me. Behind the scene, staff can have fun," he said. "We have created an environment of fairness and support. If a staff member makes a mistake, I don’t keep count. I am open to suggestions. Nothing is a bad idea. Some of the best ideas come from silly thoughts."

Personalized

Discovery Suites is both the name of a 42-floor hotel and office building in the Ortigas Commercial Center and the 225-suites hotel it houses. The property is owned by Oakridge Properties, which has the same ownership structure as the company that manages the complex, HSAI Raintree Co.

"We are actually in the serviced apartment category. Our guests can leave their things with us while they are out of town. We are, however, treated as a hotel," said marketing manager Gemma Batoon.

"Our service is so personalized that it is almost customized. We find out what our guests want, whether it is eating bibingka or going tiangge shopping. Our executive housekeeper, Rose Valencia, for example, has been changing the framed photos in the suite that an expat regularly returns to. The photos were taken during the monthly parties that we host for former and current guests," said sales and marketing director Tricia Tensuan. "These are little things that take little effort but have big returns in terms of repeat business since we opened three years ago."

Designed for long stays of a week onward, Discovery Suites’ target markets are single expatriates who don’t want the hassle of keeping house and balikbayans who don’t want to be too much of a bother to their relatives.

Motivated

The focus on long-staying guests has translated to three times less work, resulting in the more efficient use of staff time.

About 90% of staff do not have experience when they join the company.

"Once you’re in, that is it. Attitude is a focus rather than experience," said Tuason. "Our best hires are referrals. The staff member who refers a good hire is given a P1,000 incentive. Referrals makes everybody accountable for good or bad seeds in the company."

Although they hold entry-level positions, these associates share equally with supervisors and managers the service charge take at the end of the month. Associates, however, keep tips given by guests.

Training is continuous but is more intensive during lean periods such as the Christmas holiday when expatriates return home to their families.

"Our training programs are not limited to work-related programs. We have had self-fulfillment programs on bonsai gardening and Spanish lessons as well," said Batoon.

In the three years of operation, promotions have been fairly fast. Cross posting have become a possibility with the redevelopment of another Oakridge property managed by HSAI in Makati, the old Gilarmi Apartments. Oakridge also plans to develop a resort in the country and is looking at properties overseas.

This year, Discovery Suites expects a 40% jump in net profits, with rooms as the company’s bread and butter.

"There’s the 80-20 rule that 80% of your time is spent on 20% of the business or what brings in the money. We’ve reversed that rule," said Tuason. "We don’t mind spending if it makes money. We will save only when it is not visible to our guests and when it doesn’t affect the quality of our service."

"We are aggressively going after corporate clients and keeping them loyal to us," said Tensuan.

The numbers bear this out.