Silver lining
Published Feb 10, 2020 12:00 am
MEDIUM RARE
By JULLIE Y. DAZA
Jullie Y. Daza
As the Brits say, keep calm and carry on.
Keep your cool but don’t catch a cold.
The business of living, working, playing goes on.
I entered the Manila Hotel and my forehead was targeted with a point of red light, showing temperature normal. I was ushered in with a smile.
At the lobby lounge, was I glad to see no one was wearing a face mask. So I folded mine into my purse.
In another part of the hotel, an eye-catching exhibit of orchids in watercolors was going on. Quite a crowd there, but no one sneezed or coughed. I stayed 15 minutes.
The next day I was in another hotel, Conrad Manila, to join colleagues in wishing GM Laurent Boisdron bon voyage. Since its opening, he’s had an incredible time leading the charge to put the hotel on top of Conde Nast’s list of the best of the best: best hotel in the Philippines, 3rd best in Asia, 45th best in the world – all in the last 24 months – plus 52 industry awards.
Guests were checking in on a weekday, no sign of a crowd of masked tourists. No worrisome sign of a sudden plunge in hotel occupancy either, according to commercial director Mike Albaña. Sure, this month’s figures will likely show a dent compared to the 2019 record, but as Monsieur Laurent put it, last year’s exceptional performance should cushion the N-coV factor. Then he dug into his Valentine-hued bon voyage cake.
Before he leaves us for the Radisson in Minneapolis, the GM had this to say about his staff: “Their extraordinary work has put the Philippines in a most respectable position within the hospitality industry.”
That’s the same silver lining that DOT Secretary Berna Puyat hopes to hang behind the cloud that’s casting shadows on tourism. She’s pinning her hopes on us natives picking up where tourists, especially those from Hong Kong and China, are being kept from doing. Let’s tour the islands to energize the trade and its entrepreneurs! And what more dramatic way to reveal a new and different Makati and Manila, stars of the urban scene, than loading her celebrity guests on a ferry boat for a Pasig river tour just before the sun sank into Manila Bay.
Full steam ahead!
Jullie Y. Daza
As the Brits say, keep calm and carry on.
Keep your cool but don’t catch a cold.
The business of living, working, playing goes on.
I entered the Manila Hotel and my forehead was targeted with a point of red light, showing temperature normal. I was ushered in with a smile.
At the lobby lounge, was I glad to see no one was wearing a face mask. So I folded mine into my purse.
In another part of the hotel, an eye-catching exhibit of orchids in watercolors was going on. Quite a crowd there, but no one sneezed or coughed. I stayed 15 minutes.
The next day I was in another hotel, Conrad Manila, to join colleagues in wishing GM Laurent Boisdron bon voyage. Since its opening, he’s had an incredible time leading the charge to put the hotel on top of Conde Nast’s list of the best of the best: best hotel in the Philippines, 3rd best in Asia, 45th best in the world – all in the last 24 months – plus 52 industry awards.
Guests were checking in on a weekday, no sign of a crowd of masked tourists. No worrisome sign of a sudden plunge in hotel occupancy either, according to commercial director Mike Albaña. Sure, this month’s figures will likely show a dent compared to the 2019 record, but as Monsieur Laurent put it, last year’s exceptional performance should cushion the N-coV factor. Then he dug into his Valentine-hued bon voyage cake.
Before he leaves us for the Radisson in Minneapolis, the GM had this to say about his staff: “Their extraordinary work has put the Philippines in a most respectable position within the hospitality industry.”
That’s the same silver lining that DOT Secretary Berna Puyat hopes to hang behind the cloud that’s casting shadows on tourism. She’s pinning her hopes on us natives picking up where tourists, especially those from Hong Kong and China, are being kept from doing. Let’s tour the islands to energize the trade and its entrepreneurs! And what more dramatic way to reveal a new and different Makati and Manila, stars of the urban scene, than loading her celebrity guests on a ferry boat for a Pasig river tour just before the sun sank into Manila Bay.
Full steam ahead!