Were it not for the fact that she is a practitioner of diplomacy, I think Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Laura del Rosario would have dressed down operators of local high-end hotels for jacking up their room rates in time for the Asia-Pacific Cooperation (Apec) meetings. Some 3,000 delegates, mostly from 21 Apec member-economies, will be in Cebu between Aug. 22 and Sept. 23 to attend the meetings.
Capitol officials who were at the meeting attended by Usec del Rosario said that the DFA official was quite upset when she appealed to the management of Marco Polo Plaza, Cebu City Marriott Hotel and Radisson Blu not to jack up their rates during the Apec meetings. She cautioned that Cebu would lose its chance to host international meetings in the future if the hotels will insist on raising their room rates.
As if to emphasize that jacking up room rates for the Apec delegates smacked of exploitation, Usec del Rosario revealed that hotels in other parts of the country which will also play host to other Apec meetings lowered their rates in answer to DFA’s call to rally behind the global event.
The published room rates of the high-end hotels in the first week of August were at P4,500-plus but when Apec delegates started to make bookings, the rates zoomed to P11,000-plus, or a whopping increase of 120 percent.
DFA officials were prompted to come to Cebu to address the situation after the Foreign Office was swamped with numerous complaints from Apec delegates who were shocked by the exorbitant room rates charged by the big three.
Have the three hotels set up an interim cartel for the duration of the Apec meetings? A netizen’s reaction to the report may be a bit too harsh, but the hotel chains should know that people view the situation as “tulis sa atubangan” (plain robbery).
Usec del Rosario’s lament is relevant not only for the Apec event, but also to efforts by local tourism stakeholders to find a brand for Cebu.
To recall, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry in coordination with the Mega Cebu board enlisted the help of an international branding expert in a bid to sell Cebu as a prime tourist destination through a brand that will define the place. The so-called “place branding” has yet to produce a specific image for Cebu.
Place-branding can develop as a systematic strategy but it can also emerge from experiences of visitors and even first-hand accounts of people who merely overheard complaints about how guests are being treated by, for example, hotel chains who rob their customers blind.
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Congratulations are in order for the Oasis of Love Community which celebrated its 20th anniversary last August 8.
Headed by Nonito “Tatay Dodong” Limchua and his spouse Nanay Diane, the Oasis of Love is a pillar in the local Church in terms of organized spiritual retreats for lay groups and even members of the clergy. Tatay Dodong is also behind the Cebu Catholic Television Network Channel 47, acknowledged as the media arm of the Cebu Archdiocese.
From a Cebu-based lay movement, today the Oasis of Love has grown tremendously thanks to Tatay Dodong and members of the community who tirelessly go out in many parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.
A week prior to its 20th anniversary celebration, the Oasis of Love community was in the thick of preparations to host more than 20 members of the clergy from Romblon. Led by Bishop Narciso Abellana, they were to participate in spiritual exercises to be led not by a ranked member of the Cebu Archdiocese but by Tatay Dodong. The three-day retreat was held in the Don Bosco Retreat House in Lawaan, Talisay City.
Tatay Dodong told this corner that priests have a lot to learn from lay groups because their faith-based experiences proceed from simple faith and complete trust in God. In contrast, some priests tend to “intellectualize” their faith, which lead them to become spiritually dry. The Oasis of Love module is sanctioned by the Cebu Archdiocese.
As a member of the community, I offer my congratulations and best wishes to Tatay Dodong and Nanay Diane. May you receive the divine gift of wisdom as you continue to lead and inspire the community.