Heritage Manila: Country’s safest hotel

Long been known for its quality service, superb food, and excellent function rooms, the 8-yearold Heritage Hotel Manila, this time around, has decided to focus on one very important aspect of a guest’s stay – his safety.

The deluxe hotel has been doing a great job enhancing its security measures with tighter and more stricter guidelines that it earned recently the distinction of being the safest hotel in the Philippines by an industry magazine.

General manager Joseph Kong’s security program is not only reaping accolades and awards but more importantly, it is gaining the trust and confidence of more and more guests both foreign and local who prefer to stay at his hotel than anywhere else.

Kong explains that they are taking all these precautions to comfort and assure guests of their utmost safety during their stay at the hotel. He says for most foreigners particularly those who are first-time visitors to the country and whose knowledge of it have been confined only to negative write-ups by several international magazines and foreign news agencies, entering the Philippines means entering a dangerous zone that exposes them to the risks of being kidnaped or being victims of bombing etc. Though its quite unfair to think that way, he says, we cannot blame these people because these are all what they hear, see and read in the news.

Even Kong, a Singaporean hotel executive whose stint before his present post was managing the Millennium Sirih Jakarta Hotel in Indonesia, was quite fearful and uncertain of the situation in the Philippines and what lies in store for him here. Having experienced his hotel being showered by bombs and attacked by rioters in 1998, Kong was more than ready and prepared for the worse that might happen to him or his hotel here in the Philippines.

Beneath his brilliant and jolly persona lies a tough guy who underwent military training for two years in Singapore that made him courageous, security-conscious at all times and always prepared for danger.

He says that back home all Singaporeans starting from age 18 are required by the government to undergo a 2-year military training. After which, they are put into the reserve army for 12 years.

Fortunately in Manila, Kong didn’t have to face the kind of violence he witnessed in Jakarta during riotings there. He believes such situations are quite impossible to occur here as it was proven during the EDSA 2 uprising that ousted former President Joseph Estrada from office and the so-called EDSA 3 or May 1st riot in Malacañang which he thinks weren’t really scary compared to his ordeal in Indonesia. After realizing these, he lets out a sigh of relief saying, “Filipinos are less violent than Indonesians.”

Kong says he didn’t have a secure feeling of Manila until he moved in December 2000 and took over the management of the hotel, sized-up the real situation, and knew the people. “I feel kind of local already, after one and a half years of being here.”

So to help hotel guests feel the same, and just to be prepared for any eventuality, he saw the need to implement a set of stricter security measures now incorporated in a comprehensive Disaster Preparedness Manual for the Heritage. First thing he did, was to cover the 2nd floor canopy along the front length of the hotel with heavy-duty nylon nets to protect the property from missiles or grenades that may be thrown at it. These nets can also be used to protect the glass panels of the hotel frontage in the event of a severe typhoon. This measure, of course, is an offshoot of his experience in Indonesia.

Today, the hotel has a lot more well-trained security guards than in any other hotel. Kong boasts of having 100 security personnel for the entire property (40 persons guarding the hotel and additional 60 guards from the adjacent Casino Filipino). He says all public areas of the hotel are being monitored by 137 hidden or CCTV security cameras and an undisclosed number of the same for the Casino. He estimates some 300 cameras are installed all around the property. Moreover, the hotel has access to two bomb-sniffing K-9 dogs of the Casino. Also, all perimeter guards are armed with revolvers, aside from two shot guns of the hotel. The management is also working closely with some 14-15 Pasay City police and tourist police officers who are patrolling the area daily. The hotel, likewise, receives constant intelligence information regarding the vicinity/area of the hotel from the Association of Hotel Security Officers of the Philippines (AHSOP) and the Safety Organization of the Philippines (SOPI).

Upon request, the hotel management puts guests on confidential list to conceal their identities or bar incoming telephone calls and stop unexpected visitors from entering guests’ rooms.

Kong also clarifies that the K-9 dogs are not loitering around the hotel lobby, entrance or public areas. The animals are being used discreetly to avoid offending sensitive guests.

In times of emergency, the hotel staff who have been well-trained by the National Red Cross can be relied on to administer standard first aid, AR/CPR etc. on guests. In addition, all hotel employes undergo regular drills on fire and bomb threats and evacuation procedures so they are very much prepared to usher guests to safety in case of any eventuality. Meanwhile, all rooms are being installed with the necessary safety equipment and gadgets like fire extinguishers, medicine kits, lifesaving paraphernalia etc.

Kong adds that security have also been tightened in the guests and employes’ entrance and exit doors/gates. All hotel guests who are to enter and exit through one doorway only, should allow the guards to frisk them by metal detectors and should also have their bags and articles checked upon entry. Guests who are in the company of minors (individuals below 18 years old) may also be stopped for questioning as the hotel is cooperating with the government’s campaign against corruption of minors.

Suspicious-looking persons roaming around the hotel will also be questioned.

Vehicles are not allowed to park at the hotel driveway exc ept when the driver is inside and where a maximum of 10-minute waiting time is permitted. Vehicles entering the car park will be screened thoroughly by ostrich mirrors and sniffed by K-9 dogs if necessary, just to make sure they do not contain booby trap explosives.

According to Kong, the 453-guestroom deluxe hotel consistently ranks among the top three best hotels in the bay area, and registers a favorable occupancy rate of 60 percent from January to May of this year. Considered as a businessman’s hotel and a transit destination, Heritage’s market are mostly business travelers with the locals topping the guest list, followed by the Japanese, Americans and Singaporeans.

Kong says that the hotel is also popular for hosting functions and other events. Among its top clients and guests are pharmaceutical companies and airline cabin crew members.

Aside from its comprehensive security measures, complete amenities and world-class facilities, Kong says the hotel’s strategic location is its best feature. The Heritage hotel is very accessible to the domestic and international airports, and Metro Manila’s commercial, corporate and entertainment districts of Makati and Manila. It is also one of the hotels closest to the factory areas in Laguna and Cavite, where about half of its market comes from.