Hotel Owners Back New DOT Star Rating System

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. recently met with some officers of the Philippine Hotel Owners Association Inc (PHOAI) to discuss plans and concerns of the accommodation sector from the local tourism industry. The PHOAI informed the Secretary that the Association is preparing a roadmap for the hotel sector, which is expected to establish the framework for future development of the hotel industry in the country.

An industry peer review advisory committee shall be created by the DOT to be composed of retired hotel general managers and industry experts. This committee shall be consulted relative to property assessments, star-rating, and other accommodation-related concerns.

DOT and PHOAI agreed to do a review and refinement of the standards, as well as conduct regular dialogues.

The personalities above are (L-R) Leny Fabul, PHOAI Executive Director; Yam Kit Sung-Director, Manager Grand Hotel Management Group, The Heritage Manila; Richard Masselin-Director, Owners Representative / General Manager, Pan Pacific Hotel Manila; Undersecretary Maria Victoria Jasmin, DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., Arthur Lopez-President, Owners representative, Waterfront Hotels and Casinos; Arthur Gindap-Vice President External, Regional Manager, Philippines and Thailand, The Ascott Limited; Michael Al Legaspi- Director, President, Ayala Hotels and El Nido Resorts; and Jose Mari Del Rosario - Director, President of Microtel Inns and Suites (Philippines).

Top Five Alternative Birthday Destinations

Wazzup Pilipinas!

It can often be difficult to decide where to celebrate the birthdays of our loved ones without being repetitive. To help with this, online property portal Lamudi Philippines has compiled a selection of the top five cities from around the world that are amazing alternative birthday destinations.

This list of birthday destinations was created in honor of Lamudi Global’s second anniversary of operations as a leader in emerging market real estate.

In the spirit of making it easier for people to find a unique place to celebrate a loved one’s birthday, as well as helping international investors to choose a city in which to invest, Lamudi presents the top five alternative birthday destinations both here and abroad.

Globe Eyes Growth in Postpaid Base with New Postpaid Plan with Bigger Data Allowance, Free Content

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Globe Telecom is strengthening its leadership in the postpaid segment as it lures new postpaid customers with a new postpaid promo plan that offers bigger data allowance and free content in the advent of the digital revolution.

Looking to give customers value for money in their postpaid plans, Globe unveiled its limited edition myLifestyle Plan 499 and 599 equipped with the Surf More data service with bigger data allocation. The line-only Plan 499 comes with 3GB of data while Plan 599 has 1.5GB of data with a free Samsung J1 or Lenovo A5000 device. Both plans come with an additional 1GB of data to use Spotify Premium or HOOQ free for 3 months.

All myLifestyle plans come with unlimited calls and texts to Globe and TM, 1 GB of Globe Cloud Storage for 24 months, and access to a richer digital lifestyle with a choice of either a Navigation, Explore or Fitness pack. Customers can navigate the city with Google Maps, GrabTaxi, MMDA and Waze, Explore and travel with Agoda, Cebu Pacific, Looloo, Philippine Airlines, Trip Advisor, and Zomato, or keep fit with the help of myFitness Pal, Strava, and RunKeeper.

“The myLifestyle Plan has become a driving force in today’s shift to the digital lifestyle as it gave customers a full smartphone experience with complete access to content and apps that have become indispensable in our lives today,” says Erli Valdez, Vice President for Postpaid Business at Globe. “With the limited edition myLifestyle Plan, we are extending the reach of this innovation to more would-be postpaid users, especially those that look for a postpaid plan which will give them value for money because of bigger data allowance so they can surf longer, as well as free content to enjoy their digital lifestyle.”

Customers can further boost their plan by adding more packs for their calling, texting, and surfing needs such as Surf Packs for their mobile internet needs from GoSURF99 for 100MB of mobile internet to as much as 15GB monthly with GoSURF2499; Lifestyle Packs, which includes Music (Spotify), Productivity (Work Bundle for access to Evernote, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Globe Cloud), Life (Navigation Bundle, Explore Bundle and Shopping Bundle for access to Amazon, AyosDito, eBay, OLX, and Zalora), and Social (Chat Bundle for access to Viber, Facebook Messenger, KakaoTalk, Line, WeChat, and WhatsApp; Photo Bundle for access to Instagram, InstaSize, Photo Grid, and Photo Repost; Chat Bundle for access to Viber or Facebook Messenger; and standalone access to Facebook or Twitter); and Classic Packs to get extra calls and texts to other networks, as well as landline and international services.