How to exceed world expectations


DOT Mimaropa trains Palawan’s first butlers

WORLD-CLASS SERVICE DOT Mimaropa regional director Bevienne Malateo and chief tourism operating officer Cecil Aranton being served by butler trainees

Palawan has been consistently voted as World’s Best Island by prestigious international organizations and publications. It has hosted global conferences and special events in recent years.

To keep in step with the challenges of high-end events to the hospitality industry, the Department of Tourism-Mimaropa Region recently held a butler training session in Puerto Princesa City, the first of its kind in the country.

According to the DOT assistant secretary Christopher Morales, the training is part of its Upscaling Hotel Services, which seeks to create a corps of competent butlers in Palawan, which will provide world-class service and experience to VIP guests.

The training had 26 participants from DOT-accredited hotels in Puerto Princesa, as well as luxe resorts Banwa Private Island Resort in Roxas, and Lihim Resort in El Nido.

Dubbed as the ‘Gentleman’s gentleman,’ the butler provides powerful, dynamic, and highly-personalized service, which translates to customer loyalty.

Dubbed as the “Gentleman’s gentleman,” the butler provides highly-personalized service, which is powerful, dynamic, and seeks to exceed guest expectations and translate to customer loyalty.

Resource persons included ASEAN master trainer Dr. Santos Buenvenida and Hotel Centro operations manager Art Cayanan, who once served as butler to Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah during his state visits to the Philippines.

To sustain the program’s momentum, the participants organized the butler association of Palawan, elected, and inducted its officers during the event’s closing ceremonies.

The DOT intends to replicate the butler training in the county’s top tourist destinations to further enhance the Filipino brand of service excellence in the hospitality industry to global standards.