Being at the heart of modernity, the “City of Love” has given Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo a chance to see first-hand its growing economy and infrastructure and to feel how the Ilonggos have warmed up to an international hotel brand that promises them the best treatment and helps them promote to the world the locality they hold dear.
Over the past year and a half of operating at Iloilo Business Park (IBP) in Mandurriao district, the hotel had accommodated guests who were there not only to huddle for business but also to celebrate life events and make meaningful connections.
“We always want to set the trend for Iloilo,” said Director of Sales Joy Alonte, “a positive environment and working relationship, and good collaboration with the community.”
Stay in one of the 326 rooms of the hotel designed with you in mind. Find the best deals and book them today though www.courtyardiloilo.com
As hundreds of guests come in and out of the hotel every day, Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo and its associates find themselves in a unique position to experience how partnerships are built among the residents and their visitors, and what the city and its neighboring municipalities have to offer.
These have allowed them to identify and imbibe a cultural character that they highlight wherever and whenever they mention the community that hosts them, and that informed the ways they attract and care for all of their customers, as they reap the reputation for being a highly preferred accommodation establishment and one of the most recognizable landmarks in the burgeoning metropolis today.
“We promote Iloilo first. … [But] you need to embrace and love the city first before you are able to talk about it,” said Alonte, noting how Iloilo is different from other areas, like Manila and Cebu, where their brand can also be found.
Delighting guest with sweet treats led by the Executive Committee! (From left: Marichu Lopez – Front Office Manager, Rosalyn Sardon – Human Resources Manager, Maia Israel – Dir of Operations, Marlon Galo – Asst. Dir. Of Finance, Jobas Carillo – Asst. Chief Engineer, Michael Delmar – Housekeeping Manager.
She said many of the foreigners — the market that would easily recognize them — they have spoken to do not know where Iloilo is yet, “only Boracay.” So, they resort to “creating interest about Iloilo first” before talking about the hotel.
From left: Nico Velasquez – Marketing Communications Manager and Kevin Balomit – Front Office Agent
According to Marketing Communications Manager Nico Velasquez, talking about Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo without talking about Iloilo City “will never work,” said.
“While people will get a great experience here at [the hotel], it will still be what they experience in the community that will make a difference in their stay. [So] we can’t stop talking about Iloilo,” he said.
Bringing forth the importance of Iloilo in the Philippines’ economic and tourism development is not much of a challenge at all, owing to its immense potential for investments, said Alonte.
Alex Lico, Front Office Associate, welcomes you with the sweetest smile upon your check in!
The hotel opened for business in May 2018. After the “soft opening” on May 1, it had a grand launch eight days later, with executives from the hotel management and Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc., government officials, the media, and other special guests in attendance. At that moment, it was a sign that it was about time for Iloilo City to have an international hotel — the first international hotel in Western Visayas and the first Courtyard, a Marriott International brand, in the Philippines.
Aside from the obvious spur of businesses (IBP of Megaworld Corp. itself is teeming with establishments, from high-end hotels and restaurants to classy boutiques and supermarkets), the conservative lifestyle and security will make anyone fall in love with Iloilo City. “This environment is ideal for raising a family,” said the mother of one.
No wonder why Iloilo is such a “family market,” Velasquez noted. “It’s a market that thrives in who you know, who you talk to, and what you want to do that’s centered on the family.” This warm hospitality, evident among big groups and even among guests who are not related by affinity, has made making connections at the hotel easier — and is exactly the kind of culture that Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo wants to promote.
Talking to the guests, especially those from outside of the city, Velasquez said, “We would talk about the linkages they could get when they visit Iloilo. We link them to the government, we link them to the DOT (Department of Tourism), we link them to specific private business owners.”
The Managers and supervisors of Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo
And they believe these ties that they help facilitate contribute to the growth of Iloilo. “It’s an assisted growth,” he added.
These connections are made wider by the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions) industry, which the hotel actively campaigns for.
Majority of the hotel’s guests are Filipinos and foreigners engaged in business — the same market that the general manager, Cleofe Albiso, tagged as the “trailblazers”: the influencers, the decision-makers, people living fast-paced lives — and who are highly likely present in big conventions and conferences, particularly at the nearby Iloilo Convention Center, said Alonte. “There’s a 100-percent occupancy at the hotel whenever there is a MICE event in the city.”
MICE events are “a key driver of revenue not just for the hotel but for the entire city,” Alonte admited. “You are looking at [people getting on] flights, (land) transportation, events organizing, [the influx of people in] restaurants, shopping malls.”
Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo is grateful to have a share of the local and foreign guests that abound in this city whenever there are events big and small. It’s always a chance for the hotel, particularly its associates, to showcase the kind of hospitality that makes customers come back.
“Every guest that comes to the hotel is our business partner,” said Alonte. “We treat them fairly — whether you are a local or a foreign guest, regardless of race or place of origin, everyone is treated fairly.”
Ms. Maia Israel, Dir. of Operations, call Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo’s corporate partners to say thank you for the strong partnership and trust in the hotel’s services.
Behind the smiles and the greetings from the associates is a mindset deeply ingrained in every level of the Marriott hotels’ human resource. “Putting people first — that’s our mantra,” said Alonte. “We serve the associates — our internal clients — first. (John Willard) Bill Marriott (Jr., executive chairman of Marriott International) would always say that, if you put people first, they will pay it forward to the guests.”
The hotel official notes that 80 percent of their associates are Ilonggos. “Our associates would treat the guests the same way they want their families treated,” she said. “Guests will get what they deserve, which is excellent service, and when they check out of the hotel, there’s a bright smile on their faces.”
Velasquez said serving “from the heart…with honesty and genuineness” is their key to making lasting connections with their guests. “We’ll give them the best that we could, the best option that they can get, and identify the best way to go about whatever they want to accomplish here in Iloilo.”
Citing the recent launch of a movement that pushes for innovative products and processes toward the creation of a smart city, which is hoped to usher in more investments in the future, Velasquez said it is getting easier to sell Iloilo City now that it is starting to “boast of what it can do to the global community.”
He added: “There’s so much pride in Iloilo. The past may always be present, but we are always forward-facing.”
Meanwhile for Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo, Alonte said, “Touching the lives of the people we meet and creating a lasting partnership with them” is what they hope to keep doing. “How we want the community (in Iloilo City) to grow is how we want to grow ourselves.”
