Rowena Sagaysay, President of the COHREP, giving the opening remarks
Enderun Colleges hosted the Hotels and Resorts Careers Conference (HRCC) at The Tent at Enderun on February 16, 2016. Organized by Enderun Extension, the Office of Career Services and co-presented by the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Educators of the Philippines (COHREP) and Jobstreet.com, the Hotels and Resorts Careers Conference became the perfect platform for students who wish to establish themselves in the hospitality industry.
The breakout and plenary sessions provided more than 700 students coming from Metro Manila and other provinces, with the perfect forum to discuss current issues and realities affecting the hotel industry.
Frank Reichenbach, General Manager of Marco Polo Ortigas, focused his talk on how to deal with the disruptive inclusion in the market of Airbnb, and pointed out features such as consistent quality, reliable reservation process, loyalty programs, and safety as key competitive advantages of traditional hotels vs Airnbnb. He also discussed the new generation of “Millennials” and proposed a set of strategies to manage the reality gap with this generation.
Current trends such as the increase importance of Sustainability and the emergence of Hotel Green Standards in the South East Asian Market were also part of the discussion, as addressed by Macky Maceda, Director for Sustainability of Enderun Colleges.
Steven Wolstenholme, COO of Tiger Resorts, shared his insights in the casino industry while Dani Aliaga, co-owner of La Lola Group and Paolo Nesi, owner of L’Opera group, gave their piece of advice on the restaurant industry. Under the title: “Do you really want to open a restaurant?” they provided students with a real insight to the hardship of opening a restaurant, and both agreed in pointing out quality of the food and customer experience as the best marketing tools.
During the career fair, students were able to present their credentials and interact with industry partners including hotels and resort chains such as: Midas Hotel and Casino, Privato Hotel, Tiger Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, Resorts World Manila, Marco Polo Ortigas, New World Manila Bay Hotel and Microtel By Whyndham; and organizations such as: DealGrocer, Zip Travel, Vision International Philippines and Expedia.
Macky Maceda, Director of Sustainability of Enderun Colleges
“Enderun’s industry partners are a solid network of main players in the industry. We put great value on the partnership that we have with them, which I think, goes the same way for how they value Enderun. Whenever we open the doors for our industry partners, they’re glad to come and participate in our Career Fairs, Conferences and Talks.” – said Grace Luna-Figovc, Director for Career Service of Enderun Colleges.
Rowena Sagaysay, President of the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Educators of the Philippines, summarized the Hotels and Resorts Careers Conference by saying: “The conference is the icing on the cake- classroom learning has been topped with industry insights on best practices and trends coming from the experts themselves- likewise the opportunity to network and meet friends as well as experience dynamics of hospitality businesses”.
From left: Daniel Perez, Co Founder of Enderun Colleges and Director of Admission & Enderun Extension; Grace Luna-Figovc, Director for Career Service of Enderun Colleges; and Frank Reichenbach, General Manager of Marco Polo Ortigas
