Hotels Train Staff to Predict Needs Through Body Language

It's considered the extreme in customer service.

More hotels across the globe are choosing to train their staff not to just assist with the needs of guests, but to actually predict their desires by reading a customers’ body and face language.

“We were looking to take it to the next level,” said Chrissy Denihan, chief comfort officer of Denihan Hospitality Group --which owns such properties as the Affinia, The Benjamin and The James hotels. “Comfort means giving different things to different people,” she said.

Denihan is overseeing the Tender Loving Comfort (TLC) movement at Affinia Hotels. “Standard procedure doesn’t make people feel comfortable,” Denihan said.

To help, the company brought in body language expert Patti Wood to train the employees. The training involves learning how to pick up on subtle signs that might reveal what a customer wants before they speak, or even during a conversation. For instance, men and women deal with conflict differently.

“Women prefer face-to-face contact, men prefer side-to-side and as the employee was speaking to the couple she actually used it and she resolved the situation,” Denihan said. Reading facial expressions, like anger or happiness, can also clue in staff about how best to handle a situation.

Affinia has stationed a TLC crew member at each location to remind staff about Wood’s tips. “It’s the little things,” Denihan said. “People who work in hospitality have a trusting instinct to begin with. Giving them these tips really empowers them,” Denihan said.

Dr. Lillian Glass, an internationally renowned body language expert who has worked with other hotel staffs nationwide, said that the aim of this training “is to make people sensitive.” Having a hotel staff that is keen on guests’ feelings helps to create a hotel staff that can be considered “family away from home,” she said.

It’s also not just about keeping guests comfortable either. There happens to be an important safety component behind all of this, as well.

In an era of TSA pat downs, baggage searches and security checkpoints, it should come as no surprise that security experts also recommend that hospitality staff know how to detect criminal or terrorist behavior.

Glass has paired up with D.Vincent Sullivan, a retired FBI agent who spent 28 years on the force and for 20 of those years was on the Joint Terrorist Takes Force, to train hotel employees. The concept comes from “indirect assessment” of a person, which is the skill of being able to determine the intention of a person without directly approaching them, said Sullivan. In a hotel staff of 800, let’s say 30 are dedicated to the security team but Sullivan asks, “why not have a force and train everyone?”

The two have authored a soon-to-be-released book See Something, Hear Something, Say Something: Guide to Identifying the Body Language of Terrorists, and they are also in talks with the Department of Homeland Security to set up training.

Sullivan and Glass say that trained hotel staff who have an eye on security also puts guests at ease. Denihan agreed that certain aspects of the training “will definitely help with that.”

“You need to be vigilant, look at the whole picture, look at what they're doing with their head, their posture,” said Glass.

In addition to learning about the guests, employees are taught how to deal with themselves. For example a breathing technique are used to settle themselves down so as not to add more fuel to the conflict. There is a humor technique, how to diffuse the situation with a love and kindness technique, a questioning technique and a direct confrontational technique.

Glass says through the training, she has seen employees become more confident, and gain a renewed sense of importance.

“We don’t just pump you up on how to be a better motivator,” Glass said. “When you have a business or organization and you notice the morale is good, it translates everywhere.”

Developer Plans to Establish Five-Star Filipino Hotel Chain

A DEVELOPER is looking to set up the country’s first, homegrown, five-star hotel chain, starting with a project in Muntinlupa City.

CHMI Hotels and Residences, Inc., the hotel arm of housing developer Corporate Holdings Management, Inc. (CHMI), said it plans to open Acacia Hotel Manila by the first quarter of 2012.

The 17-storey, 262-room Acacia Hotel in the so-called Filinvest Corporate City will target businessmen and multinationals already in the area, Acacia Hotel Manila General Manager Ramon E. Martinez said in an interview.

“We will build up our momentum this year to around 60% occupancy so by mid-2012, we can confidently say we can achieve a target of about 95% to maximum occupancy,” Mr. Martinez said.

Beyond this, the firm is already eyeing expansion.

“We plan to build our second hotel within a year. We have been in the industry for more than 25 years — in investment banking first — but we are also into housing, and hotels are not far from housing,” said Cheryl R. Chua, the group’s president and chief executive officer.

Future expansion will first take place in Muntinlupa City, and may follow in the Calabarzon region after, Ms. Chua said.

Outside Luzon, CHMI is eyeing Cebu as a potential hotel site, she added.

“The south is slowly emerging as a prominent business district, and proving to be very accessible as well. Our target market is slowly building here too,” she said, declining to state a profit guidance for the hotel until it has further established operations.

The launch of the firm’s first hotel comes in line with projections of higher hotel room units this year. Colliers International estimates Metro Manila hotel rooms to grow by 32.92% to 969 units this year.

CHMI, the parent firm of CHMI Hotels and Residences, was incorporated in November 1984. The company entered real estate in 1987 and has developed over 5,500 units inMetro Manila, Laguna, Batangas and Tacloban City, according to its Web site.

Source: Hotels Tacloban

Cheap Hotels in Tacloban Plus Tips About Hotels

One of the cities in the Philippines that have gone through the fast lane competition of economic development and modernization is Tacloban, where the famed Gen. Douglas MacArthur Park was built as a tribute to the American General with his famous line, “I shall return”. The city is also known for being the hometown of the flamboyant former Philippine First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, whose Romualdez family still commands a large political influence in the area.
Tacloban City has gone a mile in their economic development. That is why there are a number of hotels that have paved way to the modernized development of the hotels in Tacloban.
Aside from the best hotel accommodations, hotels in Tacloban are fully equipped with ultramodern facilities like airport transfer, spa and wellness centers, swimming pools, business meeting rooms, bars and lounge rooms, and gift shops. With all these, they can proudly promise a smile on your face when you check out.
Sometimes, relaxing at a hotel means you should have enough peso to sustain your stay, but you don’t need to worry. We have made a list of tips on how you can afford to relax with your enough budgets.

10 Tips on Finding a Cheap Hotel in Tacloban

Finding cheap hotels in Tacloban means finding cheap hotels that are good value. Here are some tips on how to find a cheap hotel room that offers extravagant value.

1. Find hotel location that is accessible to all. Hotel rates vary from place to place depending on its location. In Tacloban City, you need to have access to everything like the historical park, malls, church the ability to walk to and fro.
2. Compare rates at different hotels. The key to a cheap vacation is information and the more you have the better your chances of saving a few pesos.
3. Be alert to promotions and coupons. Check out hotel coupons to save a lot. You may also ask your friends if they know or might have seen promotional ads. You can check this also on newspapers and/or the internet.
4. Schedule your check in time with the season. If you are planning to stay away from home, try to make your hotel reservations for off-peak seasons. Avoid booking weekends. It is difficult to find a cheap hotel for a weekend simply because there is a greater demand for it in the market. Hotels tend to be in the business for the week by utilizing the weekend opportunity. You can book your stay from Monday to Thursday to get a better deal than on a weekend.
5. Negotiate to get good deal.  Most front desk personnel are personable and can give good advice on getting better rates at their hotels. Talk with them to get good discounts for your stay. If you are staying for more than a week, then you might want to ask if they offer lower rates for longer stays.
6. Use the power of the internet. Search online to compare rates, amenities, and location. The internet makes searching for good rates on good hotels as easy as 1 2 and 3.The good thing about this is that most hotel search websites show prices for rooms, amenities, location, and best of all, user reviews of the hotel itself. This will give you a better idea of what to expect when checking in with a hotel for the first time.
7. Opt for a Travel Agent. Travel agents have good contacts among hotel chains and can get discounts on reservations thus made. If you choose to have a travel agent help you get a good hotel, then make sure that the service fee you pay them does not make going through an agent more expensive then making the reservation yourself.
8. Use your credit card points. Most credit card companies offer hotel reward programs especially if any are partnered, and you’ll be surprised how quickly your points can add up. Some airline reward programs even let you use air miles for hotel stays.
9. Consider hotels that are friendly to kids. Look for hotels that let kids stay for free and eat for free or at reduced rates. You’ll save a lot on food  budget per child.
10. Book in advance. The earlier the better. You can book your stay in advance and chances are that you might land up a great discount or some additional features in the form of freebies. Remember that hotels tend to increase their prices for the rooms booked urgently.

With all these handy tips in mind, you can be assured that your stay in any of the cheap hotels in Tacloban will be enjoyable and relaxing without worrying too much on the hotel bill.

PIA-8 Reveals P5-B Payable from LGUs’ IRA Share

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, August 16, (PIA) -– Local government units may now experienced little relief of their worries in the reduction of their Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) in 2012 as the regional director of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in Region 8 revealed that local government units has still a collectible of P5-B in IRA shares from the national government.

PIA-8 Regional Director Erlinda Olivia P. Tiu informed the public live on Tuesday in the PIA regular radio program “Suruswerte ha PIA” that the P5-B in IRA share due to LGUs was part of the P20-B short in IRA releases due to LGUs during the Estrada presidency that was the subject in the Mandanas vs Ermita case.

She added that the 75% of the collectible IRA was paid during the Arroyo presidency through a Land Bank-facilitated monetization scheme charged to the national government treasury in seven years.

It was learned that 50 members of the League of Provinces of the Philippines have consolidated their positions in its 19th general assembly at the Century Park Hotel where various options were raised in order to avert the reduction in their IRA for 2012 which is expected to result in reduced social welfare spending.

It was further learned that members of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) trooped to Malacañang Palace for a brief dialogue with President Noynoy Aquino last August 7, 2011 and insisted upon the President the P5 billion collectible in IRA due to LGUs.

She further said that President Benigno S. Aquino pledged to consider the idea of the governor submitted in his office and informed them soon if it is feasible or not the soonest time.

There was even a group of mayors in Eastern Visayas who would like to write to President Aquino asking to defer the implementation in the reduction of IRA for LGUs scheduled for next year.

She emphasized that the reduction in IRA of LGUs in 2012 was not an idea of President Aquino or an idea of DBM Secretary Abad but it came out due to the computation of the BIR.

Meanwhile, DBM Regional Director Imelda Laceras urged the local officials in the region to submit their positions regarding the impending cut in their IRA for 2012 so they may be clarified and could further ask assistance for policymakers of the country to consider their stand on the issue.

Director Laceras was the guest on August 16 episode of Suruswerte ha PIA where she explained thoroughly the reasons behind the cut of IRA in LGU in 2012. (PIA 8)

View the original article or browse a directory of Hotels in Tacloban, visit Hotels Tacloban.

Brgy. Officials Undergo Budgeting Training – Ritz Tower Hotel

BORONGAN CITY, Eastern Samar, Aug. 16 (PIA)– The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Regional Office No. VIII through Regional Director Imelda C. Laceras in coordination with the Eastern Samar Association of Local Budget Officer (ESALBO) conducted a two-day Training Workshop on the Budget Operations Manual for Barangays (BOMB) in one city and 18 municipalities in Eastern Samar.

The 18 municipalities are: Guiuan, Mercedes, Salcedo, Lawaan, Balangiga, Giporlos, Quinapondan, Gen. Mac-Arthur, Hernani, Llorente, San-Julian, Sulat, Dolores, Maslog, Oras, Jipapad, San-Policarpo and Arteche and Borongan City.

The training-workshop started on June 27 to August 16, 2011.

This training workshop is pursuant to Local Budget Circular No. 82 dated October 18, 2006.

The Training Workshop focused on the procedures in connecting the plan to the budget and introduces to the barangay officials the concept of a policy driven and output or performance-based Barangay budget.

A workshop followed after the lecture-discussion on the Annual Investment Plan (AIP) preparation to appreciate the value of connecting the plan to the budget and the forms in the Barangay Budget Process.

The topics discussed were: Overview of Budget Operations, Manual for Barangays, Connecting Plans to Budget, AIP preparation, Budget preparation, AIP and Budget Operations, Budget Authorization, Budget Review, Budget Execution and Budget Accountability.

In an interview with PIA, Mrs. Eleanor D. Lombendencio, Supervising Administrative Officer of the Provincial Budget Office, said that there were at least three participants for every barangay in a municipality except for the City of Borongan with five participants.

The participants are Brgy. Chairman, Brgy. Treasurer, Brgy. Secretary, Sangguniang Barangay – Chairman, Committee on Finance and Appropriations and SK Chairman.

Mrs. Lombendencio further said, that the training is in response to the need for capability enhancement to the new set of Barangay officials who assumed office last December 2010.

Meanwhile, there are still four municipalities that will conduct the said training workshop.

According to Mrs. Luz Labro, Asst. Provincial Budget Officer, the municipalities of Taft and Can-avid will be held at the Ritz Tower Hotel in Tacloban City on August 25-27, 2011 and the municipalities of Maydolong and Balangkayan will be held in Maydolong on August 31 to September 01, 2011. (SCandido/ PIA 8-E Samar)

View the original article or find out more about Hotels in Tacloban, visit Hotels Tacloban.

IC, DOF Hold Micro-insurance Orientation at Leyte Park Hotel

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Aug. 15 (PIA) – In its recognition of the need to provide appropriate risk protection to the informal and low-income sectors, the Insurance Commission (IC) together with the Department of Finance (DOF) is currently implementing various initiatives on Microinsurance.

These initiatives are being supported by some microinsurance projects which are under the Asian Development Bank-Japan Fund for Proverty Reduction which is the Developing Microinsurance Project, and the German International Cooperative which is the Microinsurance Innovations Program for Social Security.

To strongly push for a wide acceptance of Microinsurance among the informal and low income sectors, a microinsurance literacy campaign will be conducted, and part of that campaign is the conduct of a three-day Training on Microinsurance Advocacy and half-day Orientation Seminars on Microinsurance in Tacloban City.

The Training on Microinsurance Advocacy, which only has 40 slots, will be conducted on September 19-21, 2011, while the Microinsurance Orientation Seminar for local government units and regional government personnel will be held on September 22, 2011. Both activities will be held at the Leyte Park Hotel, Magsaysay, Blvd., Tacloban City.

The Training on Microinsurance Advocacy aims to develop advocate-partners in promoting microinsurance among key stakeholders while the Orientation Seminars shall provide basic information on the current initiatives on microinsurance and the roles of government, the private sector and development partners in promoting microinsurance.

For confirmation in the attendance of the Orientation and Training, one may contact Ms. Ma. Lourdes L. Ramos at Cel No. 0915-280-6838 or Ms. April Daisy A. Lopez at Cel No. 0918-200-9049 of the Public Assistance & Information Division of the Information Commission or one may call telephone number (02) 4041758 or through email at pubassist@insurance.gov.ph.

View the original article or find out more about Tacloban Accommodation, visit Hotels Tacloban.