Captain Planet
THE hospitality industry was among the hardest hit globally by the coronavirus pandemic.
Hotel staff couldn't come to work. They opted to stay home to protect their families.
That was one of the major challenges hotels faced, and there was a significant shortage of manpower.
«Like many hotels, we accommodated quarantine groups,» Florent Humeau, chief executive officer of Red Planet Hotels, told The Manila Times.
«Our team operated with very limited staffing, managing high guest volumes and multitasking extensively. Thanks to their dedication, we were able to keep our hotels open and pass-through that very difficult time.»
Red Planet Hotels started 12 years ago, according to Humeau. The hotel started at the same time in Angeles, Pampanga (its first branch in the Philippines) and Indonesia. To date, it has made the Philippines as its headquarters, with 14 hotels around the country.
The headquarters of Red Planet Hotels are now located in Manila.
Advertisement«It was previously based in Bangkok [Thailand] to support our operations across Japan, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines,» informed Humeau.
«Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we had to close our hotels in Japan and Indonesia. We subsequently shifted our focus back to our core business in the Philippines.»
Red Planet Hotels currently operate 14 hotels in the Philippines and five in Thailand. It recently opened its flagship hotel in the Philippines at BGC (Bonifacio Global City) The Fort, which boasts 245 rooms.
«Our team consists of approximately 200 direct employees, supplemented by an equal number of third-party staff,» Humeau said.
Advertisement«In the hospitality industry, every day is active for both my team and me, as our commitment to serving guests means we never truly have a time off. Our hotels maintain an average occupancy rate of 75 percent daily, with no day being less busy than the other.»
One of the primary challenges of Red Planet Hotels was to regain its pre-pandemic performance levels.
«When I took over the operations in the Philippines, performance was subdued and projections were not promising,» admitted Humeau.
«However, thanks to the diligent efforts of our sales and revenue teams, and
