Alpa City Suites credits staff for global recognition

CEBU, Philippines - Having been awarded as Cebu’s Top Boutique Hotel last month by TripAdvisor.com, Alpa City Suites acknowledges the role of its personnel and staff in achieving such recognition from one of the world’s largest travel website.

Barbara “Bambi” Gothong-Tan, Vice - President of Alpa Land Inc. and Chairman of Alpa City Suites, said that the 2012 certificate of excellence from the online site serves a milestone for the company’s young existence in the hotel industry.

Earning a 4.5 rate among top 62 hotels in Cebu excluding resorts, she added to be given with such award; the company must get a rating of four or higher based on the reviews of the people in the site.

“The TripAdvisor award inspires us to raise the bar, to work harder and to serve better. It reflects the opinions of the people who matter most to us – our guests. As a fairly young hotel turning four this November, we were quite surprised with the award and feel ecstatic about it. We hope to gain more awards and have more guests,” she said.

Operating in 30 countries worldwide, TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world with more than 50 million unique monthly visitors and over 60 million reviews and opinions.

Acknowledging the vital role of the personnel in the company, Tan further noted that the team’s performance contributed to the accomplishment of the hotel, giving them the motivation to do better.

“We work as a family. We assess and discuss things in our regular meetings. We see if the market offers any available opportunities. We are happy to have a working team with business ethics. We work harmoniously, seeking and giving value to each other’s opinions,” she added.

She also said that prioritizing customer service, attention to details and value on customer satisfaction and money also gives them the edge among other hotels in Cebu.

Catering mostly to the needs of business and leisure travelers and foreign and local visitors, she said that online reservations accounts 25-30% of its total number of bookings and the rest are from walk-in guests or corporate reservations.

Meanwhile, the hotel company also celebrated the 72nd birth anniversary of its founder Albino Gothong while re-launching the Amo’s café named after him and unveiling the café’s new logo.

Formerly under the European management, Alpa City Suites has been handled back by Alpa Hotel Management Services, Inc. for nine months already that started last September 16, 2011. — (FREEMAN)