Our hospitality industry, where it's heading!

 

By Philip Cu Unjieng

Published Jun 15, 2025 12:05 am

The HSMA, an association of hotel sales and marketing professionals, will be holding their third Sales and Marketing Summit this June 19, at the City of Dreams (COD) Grand Ballroom. Having attended the two previous iterations, I’m certain it will once again be an illuminating “snapshot” of our hotel industry – with speakers and panels discoursing on where the hospitality industry is headed, what improvements are needed, and what roadblocks still persist.

Entitled “Leading the Shift: Redefining Sales and Marketing for the Next Generation,” the media gathering held the other week was the HSMA’s teaser of what to expect, and why this emphasis on the next generation. Foremost in the mindset of the organizers was the recognition that the composition of the present HSMA Board are primarily filled with “veterans” and long-standing luminaries of the industry. While that is fine and good, the issue of succession, of enabling the next generation of leaders, has become a pressing concern. Plus, it is about making the Summit relevant to the younger HSMA members, who now make up the majority of the Association’s membership.

It’s about embracing innovation, and creating future-ready teams. It’s about seeking solutions from fresher minds, and new voices. The figures of our inbound foreign visitors for the first four months of 2025 remain sluggish, to say the least. We are tracking 2.1 million visitors for January to April. And to put it into perspective regionally, Vietnam had 7.6 million visitors for that same period, and Thailand 11.3 million. So you can’t pull out the “coming back from pandemic” excuse; and we have to face the reality that winning Best Dive Destination, Best Beach Destination, and all the awards we’ve collected over the years, have still not translated into a sudden upsurge in foreign visitors.

The visitors who come do spend when they’re here; and generally, are all praises for the Philippine experience. So I do hope the Summit will come up with an analysis, and some answers/solutions, on why we still get “trickles,” and what we should do to change that scenario. While one eye should be set on the long term, and most definitely include infrastructure issues and concerns; given the vital role tourism plays in our national development, some “quick fix” measures can be proposed and adapted. Otherwise, we’re looking at a hospitality industry and tourism sector that will remain too dependent on the domestic market, while we enviously cast our eyes at our ASEAN neighbors.

Nice to note that Manila Hotel’s Kim Tan is on a panel to be moderated by Jenny Santillan, HSMA Director of Programs, and Director of Sales & Marketing, City of Dreams.

Nice to note that Manila Hotel’s Kim Tan is on a panel to be moderated by Jenny Santillan, HSMA Director of Programs, and Director of Sales & Marketing, City of Dreams.

As it is, the one-day summit is packed with potentially illuminating dialogues and discussions. The Impact of Government Policies on the Hospitality Business is one such talk, and between the DOT, the DILG, the Department of Transportation, and even the DICT; it’s easy to observe that their policies impact on tourism and hospitality. Channel Management and Distribution Strategies should bring out experiential best practices, and how the Summit can act as a sounding board for adapting new strategies, and optimizing efficiencies in the industry.

Then there’s Revenue Optimization and AI Driven Marketing. This should be especially useful for those ready to embrace AI and technology, while appreciating how tenure, experience, and the human touch are still irreplaceable. There’s Leadership Development for the Next Generation of Professionals, and this echoes the growing concern about succession. Building Meaningful Industry Relationships that Drive Conversions is one broad topic, and would emphasize how the industry has to work as a community, and not so much as competitors. I’m sure Online Travel Agencies (OTA) will be called on as resource speakers; as globally, it’s impossible to ignore the reach and business generated by the OTAs.

“The HSMA Summit is where industry leaders and rising stars come together to shape the future of Philippine Tourism. The next generation of sales and marketing professionals must attend; not just to learn, but to lead. This summit gives them the tools, insights, and inspiration they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world,” says Loleth So, HSMA President, and Group Commercial Director of MEGAWORLD Hotels and Resorts.

Two other major activities of the HSMA each year are their September Online Sale, and the Virtus Awards. The Online Sale is a nationwide travel fair that’s popular for offering the best deals for accommodations. The Virtus Awards is the HSMA honoring their own, recognizing deserving individuals and stellar marketing campaigns.

Thursday, June 19 is the date; and there’s a discounted registration fee for HSMA members, while non-HSMA individuals can also attend. Just visit the HSMA official FB Page and Instagram account for details. It promises to be a lively discussion; with a ton of learnings offered up by those who are at the front line of the hospitality industry.

Happy Father’s Day!

Puregold's OPM Con 2025 is this year's destination music event

 

by Robert Requintina

Published Jun 13, 2025 01:54 pm

Puregold’s OPM Con 2025 is set to light up the Philippine Arena on July 5, generating global excitement as fans worldwide plan to witness this historic music festival live.

Concert enthusiasts are reportedly flying in from Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, while overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are also eager to come home.

The much-anticipated OPM Con is shaping up to be a lavish celebration and homecoming event all in one.Across the archipelago, there is a growing excitement related to the ongoing global attraction. Puregold stores in Butuan, Bacolod, and Leyte have reported early ticket sell-outs, with shoppers booking flights and long-distance bus rides to participate in this musical milestone. 

The Philippine Arena is anticipated to welcome not only fans but also a surge of local tourists eager for a large-scale concert experience.

“More than anything, we organized the Puregold OPM Con 2025 as a service for all our shoppers and music fans,” says Ivy Hayagan-Piedad, Puregold’s Senior Marketing Manager. “Expect a powerful lineup and heart-pounding performances. Whether you’re a stan for today’s hottest artists or grew up on classic OPM, join us as we make music history together.”

Regardless of how it unfolds, the extraordinary interest in Puregold’s retailtainment highlights its significant impact. The event embodies a blend of passion, tradition, and performance. 

With a lineup featuring some of the most iconic OPM artists today, OPM Con 2025 aims to make world-class entertainment accessible to all Filipinos. It’s not just a major music event of the year; it’s a celebration of our identity. As we count down to July, one thing is sure: the world is watching.

True love goes beyond common sense

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THAT’S quite obvious if we would just consider these clear words of Christ. “I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him also the other. And if a man will contend with you in judgment, and take away your coat, let go your cloak also to him. And whoever will force you one mile, go with him other two. Give to him that asks of you and from that would borrow from you, turn him not away.” (Mt 5, 39-42)

We should train ourselves to live by this standard because this is what true love really is. It’s not just a matter of loving the lovable. The authenticity of our love is proven when it is given even, and most especially, to the unlovable. That’s what Christ himself has shown us with his passion and death on the cross to bear and conquer all our sins. He even went to the extent to offering forgiveness to those who crucified him.

            It’s in the very essence of love to give oneself without measure, without calculation, without expecting any return. It just gives and gives, even if along the way it encounters difficulties, rejection, suffering. It embraces them, not flee from them. By its nature, it is given gratuitously. 

Love engenders generosity and its relatives: magnanimity, magnificence, compassion, patience, pity, etc. This is the language of love, the currencies it uses. It thinks big, even if the matter involved is small according to human standards. In fact, it’s love that makes small, ordinary things big and special.  

That’s in theory. In practice, though, there can be elements that put limits and conditions to that love. This can be due to a number of reasons. One, because man grows by stages, and his capacity to love also develops in stages. It goes through a development timeline, much like one’s growth timeline from childhood to adulthood and maturity.      

      Thus, philosophers have distinguished more or less like 3 kinds or stages of love: “eros,” where one loves another because of what he can get from that other person. This usually happens among children who love others mainly because of what they can get in return from others. That’s very understandable.   

Then, there’s “filia,” where one loves another because he shares the same things—interests, likes and dislikes—with that person. This is typical of young boys and girls who happen to like sharing things among themselves.      

Then, there’s the final stage of “agape,” where one loves another because they just want to, without expecting any return, and continues to love even if that love is unreciprocated, or worse, rejected. This is the love of the truly mature persons, and definitely of heroes and saints.      

This kind of love definitely would require us to learn how to be magnanimous, enlarging our heart to make it more universal to accommodate everyone and any situation and condition properly. We have to see to it that our thoughts, desires and intentions, our words and deeds are always animated by charity. There should be no negative elements in them, even if we notice the defects, mistakes and sins of others, and even if they have wronged us.

For this, we need to have a good grip on our emotions, able to dominate and properly orient our biases, preferences and other idiosyncrasies that constitute our differences and even conflicts with the others.

We have to learn to focus more on what we have in common rather than on what divides. And what we all ultimately have in common is that we are all children of God, brothers and sisters of each other, meant to care and love each other.