The ASEAN Hotels and Restaurants Association (AHRA) will incorporate a “learning journey” for its board members at each destination where its meetings are held.
Eugene Yap, AHRA president and general manager of Bayview Park Hotel in Manila, said: “There are many hotel and restaurant developments in the region. When visiting such projects, we can learn about the new trends in technology, and new designs in the hotel and restaurant businesses. We can also visit restaurants, both new and old, to learn what they are doing to reflect the local culture and services.”
Apart from broadening industry knowledge of AHRA members, the learning journey may provide inspiration for their business in their home countries. As such, Yap revealed that this learning journey would be made “part of the procedure now”.
Furthermore, the arrival of more international hotel brands into South-east Asia also brings along a wave of new trends that the region’s industry players can learn from, said Yap.
At the meeting, AHRA also brought up issues the sector is facing, such as the application of employment standards, and hotel safety and security, which it would bring up at the ASEANTA meeting.
“Hospitality is an evolving industry, so we need to relook the standards all the time (in order to) evolve,” he said.
