MEDIUM RARE
Jullie Y. Daza
There are only two lady GM’s on the Philippine hotel scene, and one of them is leaving us. It may be a male dominated industry, but with Vanessa Suatengco at Diamond and Linda Pecoraro at Conrad, the world needs little convincing: in their profession, a woman’s touch is absolutely an extra asset.
Every time I meet Conrad Manila’s GM Pecoraro I feel like addressing her “Your Excellency,” such is the ambassadorial vibe she exudes. She has the manners and personality of a diplomat, including a genuine interest in people who are no more and no less than strangers, individuals who as clients expect from her and her team the utmost in courtesy, service, hospitality, friendliness, and such a thing as “warmth” — or is that last word familiar only to us in a culture that she finds “exceedingly diverse,” given our history and genetic makeup?
After two years at the Conrad, a Hilton property, Linda will be taking away memories of kare-kare and seafood sinigang, bibingka and halo-halo, plus a few pieces of Filipiniana fashion and pearls, strings and ropes of them. She will remember that “the Filipina is the most beautiful in Southeast Asia” and that Filipinos love fun, family, food, and are admired for their resiliency. Spoken like a seasoned diplomat with an outgoing nature that could be explained by her Italian genes, Australian upbringing, 30 years in the industry, and her Malaysian husband.
Linda leaves next week for Kuala Lumpur to head the Hilton, a 500-room hotel with a presidential suite whose published rate is US$4,000 a night (compared to Conrad Manila’s 347 rooms and $3,000 presidential suite).
At a farewell lunch she hosted for lifestyle writers and editors at her favorite restaurant, China Blue, Linda heard the words “we will miss you” over and over again, like a refrain, at the reunion cum despedida. The pandemic may have scaled down hotel events everywhere over the last two years, but it appears that five-star hotels like the Conrad have bounced back. P.r. girl Zeny Iglesias said that two days ago, after typhoon Florita’s exit, occupancy rate was 98 percent.
To Linda we say “Mabuhay!”, one word that she knows is so very eloquent it says much more than just good luck.