MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Last August 31, 2023, Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. and Comise Solutions, Inc., together with adobo Magazine, hosted an online roundtable showcasing the power of Converge as a platform and partner. Titled “Into the Cloud: Converge Boosts the Hospitality Industry with New Hotel Management Solution,” it introduced tools to support businesses in the local tourism industry in light of its recent rise. This specifically pertains to Workplace Solutions, a value added offering that empowers businesses through technology and accessibility.
While this suite provides varied applications for every business-running requirement, Converge’s latest roundtable zeroed in on Workplace Hotel Management Solution — a cloud-based hotel management system that can be used by small and large-scale hotel establishments for all their business management needs. This tool provides the following to support hotel operations:
- Automation: This function automates bookings, check-ins and check-outs, room rate adjustments, promo implementation, and more. It streamlines all hotel transactions and eliminates the inefficiencies and errors of manual coding, minimizing instances of over-booking and losing potential customers.
- Integration: For ease of use and transition, Converge’s solution is already equipped to seamlessly work with the systems hotels typically already have in place. It’s geared with the full suite of eZee Hotel Solutions: eZee Absolute as a Property Management Solution, eZee Reservation as an Online Booking Engine, and eZee Centrix as a Channel Manager. The application also works in conjunction with the likes of Booking.com and Agoda.
- Expansion: The application is also geared towards acquiring new business through social media marketing and direct marketing, and new channels such as affiliate marketing. This could significantly produce higher profits for the hotel, improve guest engagement through the support of multiple languages and currencies, and help businesses expand their reach across global markets.
To further dive into the collaboration between travel, tech, and telecom, the event gathered industry leaders to discuss the current landscape of tourism and hospitality, how technology comes into play, and the role that Converge’s Workplace Hotel Management Solution can offer each player in the field.
The first speaker was Elpidio “Boy” Beloso Jr., General Manager of Holiday Inn Express Manila Newport City and IHG Hotel, and concurrently the Senior Director for Hotel Operations of Newport World Resorts Manila. Boy has seen firsthand the stark difference in tourism pre- and post-pandemic, most notably the “high touch” to “no touch” change in guest experiences. Since hospitality is an essential field, he underlined that it must also evolve with the demands of time and circumstances, such as Covid-induced restrictions. But post-pandemic, Boy shared that the tourism industry has experienced a surge that helped the hospitality sector bounce back quite quickly. This led to hotels adopting new ways of working through technology, such as contact-less interactions with guests, shifting to digital check-in and check-out platforms, and billing through online payments. He underlined: “With the co-existence of modern innovation and personal connection, hospitality service must elevate higher, leading to our goal: guest satisfaction.”
The next speaker was Blue Aldridge, National Head of Small and Medium Enterprises and Regional Enterprise of Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. Blue explained that the pandemic has sparked a rise in the need for digital mobility, access, and fluency across all industries as consumers have adopted a nomadic lifestyle that allows them to work from anywhere. To address this change, Converge has quickly progressed into building nationwide presence, including boosting connectivity in the Philippines’ top tourist spots in the span of two years. He also confirmed that one of the first things guests inquire at hotels is what internet provider they use, emphasizing that consumers today place great importance on a hotel’s internet provider for their remote work and streaming needs, and their provider of choice is Converge. As Blue put it, hotels can easily attract more guests by reassuring them: “We have a stable, fast, and reliable internet service powered by Converge.”
Blue’s points gave way to the last part of the discussion, presented by Manuel Jojo Abundancia, Managing Director and Co-founder of Comise Solutions, Inc. To help hotels take advantage of this opportune time in tourism and hospitality, Comise has created an array of applications and solutions to manage businesses. This was done in partnership with Converge to build the cloud-based hotel management system that is Workplace Hotel Management Solution.
Jojo highlighted that this system was designed to cater to the needs and requirements of both the hotel business and its guests. For hotels, it is easily accessible through mobile devices, while providing seamless synchronization and data processing without the need for hardware and software investment. For guests, Comise has developed the Swiftin Contactless Self Service Guest Portal where they can access the room service menu, see activities and offers, request for hotel services, and provide feedback. He wrapped up the discussion with, “Having a stable platform is a requirement for cloud-based applications. The partnership of Converge and Comise will deliver to you the best-in-class hotel application for your property.”
After these presentations, the speakers were engaged by the online viewers with queries of their own on the changes in consumer behavior when planning trips online, the increase of new hotels in tourist destinations, and how easily Workplace Hotel Management Solution can be used — resulting in a truly enriching discussion across industries.
The session concluded with Converge and Comise reassuring that Workplace Hotel Management Solution will help hotels take advantage of the current tourism boom. Moreover, Converge emphasized its commitment to connecting individuals, communities, and businesses together through technology. With this, we can expect a prolonged flourishing time for the industries of tourism, tech, and telecom as they work hand in hand for the evolution of travel and hospitality.
Watch the full discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/adobomagazine/videos/811315693973680
To learn more about Workplace, visit www.convergeict.com/workplace-hotel-management. You may also follow Converge on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
