The summer capital’s only five-star hotel, The Manor at Camp John Hay, has launched a top to bottom intensive training program entitled Make It Better. A total of 300 staff, including those of the hotel’s food and beverage partner Billy King’s Le Chef, attended programs specially designed and conceptualized by The Manor’s General Manager Ramon Cabrera. The Make It Better training program is composed of workshops for managers, supervisors and rank and file staff. The main message being "last year, our objective was to exceed guests expectations and in 2012 our goal is to make things even better!" Cabrera states.
COOL BEGINNINGS AT THE MANOR
The Manor opened in 2001, with 177 suites and full deluxe hotel services, including a spa. Initially managed by Baguio’s adopted citizen German hotelier par excellence Heiner Maulbecker, the hotel appointed Ramon as General Manager in 2009 and promoted Maulbecker to Managing Director. This team of two great hoteliers has transformed The Manor into one of the best-operated five-star hotels in the country. Cabrera proudly says that The Manor and the city of Baguio are favorite destinations for many Filipinos and foreigners because of the very rich and interesting heritage the Cordillera region has to offer, above the given fact that it is the summer capital of the Philippines due to its year round cool weather. He further states that with the continuing improvement of the road networks accessibility to the city of pines has just improved a great deal. The NLEX and SCTX have already cut short the road trip to four to five hours. The construction of the TPLX (Tarlac, Pangasinan, and La Union) expressway will bring all vehicles to the entry of both the Marcos Highway and Kennon Road and further cut the trip to only three hours!
SERVICE, THE MANOR STYLE
Cabrera considers himself a very hands-on manager, paying attention to every detail of hotel operations. He adds that, "without a great management team, the job would be very tiring and frustrating." Cabrera is happy that in the three years he has been General Manager, he has beenable to establish and strengthen his relationships with this team and the hotel staff in general. "They know what I want, and how hotel services should be rendered at all times," he explains. He believes that if he is successful in being able to inspire his staff well enough, they will do what is necessary to reach our common goals. Quite passionate about how guest services can be rendered in better ways, he is already busy preparing for a guest services program that will measure the over-all service effectiveness of his staff.
For Cabrera, excellent service simply means how consistent service is rendered from the moment a guest arrives in the hotel until his departure. It also includes both pre and post guest interactions done by hotel staff that will ensure guest loyalty. He believes that hoteliers of the future are those who will look at their careers without any boundaries or territories, meaning being willing to learn everything there is to know about hotel keeping.
Cabrera, who has over 30 years experience in the hotel industry and who rose from being a waiter at the Intercontinental Manila to General Manager, advises aspiring hoteliers to make sure that they have a "real passion for people, a burning desire to be of service and a willingness to continue learning everything there is to learn about the business."
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