As Robinson’s Hotel and Resorts (RHR) recently-named Senior Vice President and Business Unit General Manager, Barun Jolly now oversees the upscaling and expansion of their portfolio with 30 hotels and over 5,000 keys across 19 municipalities. Following the call to “explore more in the Philippines” by founder John L. Gokongwei, Jolly has set the road map as the global hospitality company moves to greater heights.
With his 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Jolly has noted how the upper segment of Filipinos evolved as well-traveled individuals with a growing taste for adventure and luxury. With an expanded disposable income, this market segment frequently travels for business and leisure to popular destinations in the country and abroad.
“You know, Filipinos are more globally traveled than most of the population in Asia, primarily, because of the OFWs and by sheer nature, they love to travel. Having that exposure outside the country, they’ve got a global outlook of hospitality. So we ask ourselves, why should we not bring the Filipino touch of hospitality with a global footprint?”
“Today, I say this with a lot of confidence; RHR is truly a hospitality company with a global footprint. RHR has the widest footprint of brands to cater to different markets; the largest hospitality company today by number of hotels in the most widespread locations in the country. We have our upscale hotels, Grand Summit Hotel GenSan and Summit Ridge Tagaytay, and smart essential value with Go Hotel and Go Hotels Plus. For diversification, we have four international brands: Holiday Inn Manila, Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu, and The Westin Manila. We also have homegrown brands, one of which is Fili Hotel Cebu, the only Filipino five-star hotel that reflects local culture,” said Jolly.
Since the market is ready and looking for a luxury hotel experience, RHR’s commitment is to bring upscale hotels into multiple locations locally. This year marks the opening of Nustar Resort & Casino in Cebu with more projects in the pipeline.
“What we want to do is to increase the wide network of our hotels and give people the Filipino brand of service with a genuine touch of hospitality at the right price points,” said Jolly. Included in the future sites for developments are Pangasinan and Siargao, where a boutique villa hotel will soon rise in the island.
As for the rest of the portfolio assets, Jolly sits at the helm of their upgrading and maintaining efforts to enhance the guests’ experience. “One of our thrusts is to grow Grand Summit and Summit Ridge Tagaytay, which is currently undergoing renovation because we believe that people are looking for places to stay and do business and leisure,” said Jolly.
The iconic towers of Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria and Holiday Inn Manila Galleria have recently completed room renovations for a reimagined standard of comfort, style, and convenience.
Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, with 262 rooms including 63 suites, has been redesigned with contemporary elements and practical features. Its entry-level rooms have 40 sqm of living space, the largest accommodations in Ortigas. Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria boasts the largest pillarless ballroom in Ortigas, accommodating up to 1,500 guests.
At the Holiday Inn Manila Galleria, its 285 rooms have undergone a transformative restoration that combines contemporary style with soothing ambiance. The hotel also added one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites and the only two-level penthouse in the commercial district.
Go Hotels are maintained in good condition and are being upgraded with new features. Just recently, Go Hotels Plus Mandaluyong has completed its renovation.
On the heels of these physical improvements that command millions in investment comes investing in people in their service teams. “Our biggest focus is to grow local talent which translates to putting up RHR Academy for leadership training and having certified trainers in all hotels for different training programs. Our commitment is to keep growing and upscale to encourage more people to explore,” said Jolly.
This call particularly resonates with the fastest growing segment, the Millennial and Gen Z travelers who travel to explore destinations and different cultures.
Jolly recognizes that young travelers plan their travels based on the visuals presented on their digital devices so they responded with a multi-pronged approach. “When booking Millennials and Gen Z, they don’t look at locations, they don’t even look at the price. They see the visuals first so we had photo shoots across our hotels and upgraded our app and website, providing them multiple channels to book their travels. Once they open our app, there’s Pino on the chat box, where they can book on the go and receive their email confirmation in just 40 seconds. They don’t even have to wait to be checked in because our hotels have self-check-in counters. That’s how convenient it is.”
Millennials and Gen Zs also tend to explore new food finds and they can easily find authentic dishes from every Cafe Summit. “We made sure that they can appreciate Filipino cuisine under one roof. For example, we have the authentic recipe of bulalo from Tagaytay and made it standard across all Cafe Summits. So, if you’re in Naga or Tacloban, you will savor the same dish. In the same way, you can find other regional dishes in our Tagaytay branch.”
For the young travelers’ coffee fix, RHR developed a Filipino coffee brand, R Coffee, with blends catered to the typical Filipino palate.
On a personal note, Jolly is not a stranger to luxury and defines it in the combination of space, light, and personalized service. “For me, space is one part of luxury: big rooms, big lobbies, high ceilings. When you have space, daylight comes in and welcomes the outdoors. Luxury comes with personalized service. It involves understanding how to adapt your service to the guest’s needs and wants at that time. Once you’re served this way, that's luxury.” An experience he’s most familiar with at RHR.