The Malayan plaza goes a step further

MANILA, Philippines - Creating quite a buzz in the hospitality industry nowadays are serviced residences. This specialized accommodation has become a popular and preferred alternative to booking at a hotel for that lengthy business trip, holiday or simply to relax.

Small wonder, really. How can a discerning visitor resist a place to stay that lets him enjoy the full services and fancy trimmings of a hotel, but with the added advantages of more space, convenience, comfort, privacy, flexibility and freedom to work and unwind?

The Malayan Plaza, one of the leading serviced residences at the heart of the Ortigas commercial district, welcomes the increasing patronage by constantly introducing exciting amenities, stepping up its brand of service and offering creative promos to welcome more guests.

According to general manager Melisse Salvano, this is just in keeping with the signature quality of any property managed by the Quantum Hotels and Resorts, and ensures each guest will truly feel that his experience is a rewarding one.  

“People are more discerning now. They would like to get more value for their money. This is something not only dictated by the market, but this is what Quantum Hotels and Resorts has been mastering from the very beginning.  Managing and marketing serviced residences is our expertise here at Malayan Plaza, but also from a corporate perspective” says Salvano.

The newest feature of the Malayan Plaza is the boutique Executive Lounge, which serves breakfast to the guests and is open to private functions and small meetings. The lounge has an impressive wraparound view of the city from the 33rd floor. 

The Executive Lounge makes a perfect addition to a property which caters to both business and leisure travelers. Nevertheless, the Malayan Plaza’s spacious rooms and its central location have long been its strongest incentive to guests since it began its operations in 2006.   

“We often get groups and have many corporate accounts that frequent our residences. We do have a large share of long-staying guests, which is a good mix of foreigners and locals. They stay with us because here, they have the full services and facilities of a hotel and more. Guests have more space because our rooms are really bigger if you compare them to the regular hotel room sizes. The rooms impressively measure from 42 square meters to 92 square meters at the largest. Tastefully furnished, each room comes with living, dining and kitchen facilities,” says Salvano.

“And our location is great,” she adds, referring to its address which is right across business centers and offices along Emerald and ADB Avenues.   “Our industry is very, very competitive due to increased hotel inventory throughout Ortigas and all of Metro Manila. This has really been a challenge, but we have managed to sustain our returning clients and added many new ones because we really have a good location and an excellent product. Although there’s a string of hotels around us, our serviced residences separate us from the others and are really ideal. Yes, there are a lot of choices in the area, but The Malayan Plaza has remained a top choice when staying in the Ortigas area.”  

Apart from the location and the rooms, what Malayan is also most proud of is the service. “Our ongoing goal is to keep on improving our services, and that’s one of the things we are known for. We are very proud of the service we give to our guests from the time they arrive to their checkout. That’s why we have a high percentage of repeat guests who return over and over since we opened. They come back because they know our staff and service are excellent and have been maintained over the years.”

Salvano says that to have service-oriented staff is “something we really invest in.” “We invest in the training of the people, from the very basic customer service to handling customer concerns and requests, to understanding our guests and what they expect of us. The market has evolved over the years as more clients become accustomed to serviced residences and like the focus on large rooms with hotel services.”  

“In addition to our Executive Lounge we have a large swimming pool, deck area, children’s play room and open meeting areas on the 32nd floor and a fully equipped fitness room on the 40th floor. We often have weekend guests residing very close to the Malayan who just wish to relax and enjoy our facilities without a long drive out of town,” she says.   

“Our service is not as simple as a ‘Hi!’ or ‘Welcome to Malayan Plaza,’ our service comes with the understanding of who our guests are, or what are their expectations. The staff understand the guests staying in our hotel, even what the nature of their business is, or that they simply want a getaway, so that we can better meet their needs. With more and more people booking online and managing their own travel plans, The Malayan Plaza is making sure it’s adapting just as fast to the ever-changing trends of our industry,” she adds.

Salvano, whose seasoned hotel experience includes working abroad for international chains, says, “Things have really evolved from my traditional visitor industry introduction. It is very, very interesting. We are living in a different environment today, and it’s so fast the way trends change. Take, for example, the feedback that arrives immediately via online guests. This helps us make changes more rapidly than before and actually assists us in constantly upgrading our service standards. This is very important for us as past guest feedback is our lifeline to our clients and the small ongoing changes ensure they will continue to return.”

The overall Philippine visitor industry is experiencing a boom in arrivals over the past two years. Yet even with that, Salvano says they are not going to become complacent.  Her professional staff consistently come up with various ways to continuously offer all sorts of amenities, incorporating much-appreciated little luxuries like free spa, movie tickets and special room rates. Right now, Malayan Plaza is offering the Cityscape promo wherein you can avail yourself of its rooms with buffet breakfast and movie tickets for two in SM Cinemas at only P3,799 net (studio superior) and P4,399 (one-bedroom deluxe) during the midweek or the weekend.     

Salvano says, “We always have to be on our toes. We are keeping up with whatever is new in the industry. We have to always go a step further when giving service to guests.”

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The Malayan Plaza is managed by Quantum Hotels and Resorts and is located at Opal Road corner ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center. E-mail at malayansales@quantumsuites.com, call (632) 706-0055 or fax at (632) 635-2969.