Now in its eighth year, the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association’s (HSMA) Virtus Awards returns to its live in-person format with the theme “Breakthrough 2022.”
“This year, HSMA is adopting “Breakthrough 2022” as the theme for its numerous projects, including the 8th Virtus Awards, that has kept us going during these tumultuous years,” said Rose Libongco, HSMA founding officer and past president and chair of the Virtus Awards.
At the launch held at Kingsford Hotel Manila, Libongco declared the 8th Virtus Awards open, inviting HSMA members to field their candidates. Nomination forms can also be downloaded from the HSMA/Virtus Awards website.
The deadline for submission of entries is on August 31. Winners will be announced during a live ceremony on October 25.
She also announced that Rosario Virginia Gaetos, assistant secretary and concurrent officer-in-charge undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry’s Trade Promotions Group, will be the keynote speaker.
“We have invited a speaker who can inspire us to break away from the hum-drum, same-same, safe monotony of the usual,” she said. “Over the years, she has kept me on my toes as I watched her perform the way she does — thoroughly professional, demonstrating exceptional standards all the way.”
The light glimmers and is seen from a distance, Libongco said. While it is not clear what the vision brings with this pinlight, “HSMA, ever the optimist, is busting free from the confines that have chained us and is taking this chance no matter how slim to snap out of the confines that has prevented our guests from fully enjoying the essence of hotels and resorts and receiving the exciting, enervating experiences that are distinctive and customer-centered,” she added.
“Folks are ready to optimize the time they have. To build happy, meaningful relationships will not be postponed,” she noted.
Libongco said to expect HSMA to explode with new offers to delight guests and allow them to be reinvigorated with new purpose, thus living to the fullest and achieving balance between work and leisure.
“Here is a turning point that is presented. We cannot afford not to take this chance to separate from the past, change the course and leap towards better and brighter,” she shared.
Benjamin Martinez, HSMA President, said that the past two years presented prolonged and intertwined obstacles that obscured the vision to advance sales and market planning.
“This year, we are starting to break barriers as we see a sustained recovery from our heavily impacted tourism sector,” the area director of sales and marketing at The Bayleaf Hotels also said.
“Our hopes are high that we are truly on the road to recovery,” he underscored as alert levels were downgraded, fully vaccinated domestic and foreign visitors in hotels and resorts across the country have accepted, guest room occupancy has been improved, booked functions were increased, and jobs restored.
The HSMA, currently chaired by Margarita Munsayac who is also the vice president of sales and marketing at Bluewater Resorts, said this year would be the light at the end of the tunnel, and 2023 may also be the country’s greatest opportunity to service and receive both international and the domestic market.
More inbound tourists are expected to visit the country by July and August 2022, and a number of chartered flights from the north Asian market flying to Boracay, Cebu, and Bohol are in the works, the association added.
