IHRRA prexy challenges resto owners to adapt with change
Iloilo Hotels Restaurants and Resorts Association (IHRRA) President Robert Ferrer said owners of the restaurant business need to improve their marketing strategies in order to cope with the economic crunch felt in the last quarter of this year.
Ferrer attributed the setback in the business in the increase in the prices of utilities such as power, water and the increase of the salaries of the workers.
The result of the price hike will affect the capacity of the restaurant and hotel owners to hire and maintain the present number of personnel they hire for the job. All the employers do not want to fire employees but probably they will shorten the number of working days, said Ferrer.
The association has already made a plan to counter the setback. They will help sell Iloilo to become the host of the different conventions. With the holding of the conventions, hotels and restaurants could earn rather than rely more on the daily income, holidays and festivals, said Ferrer.
Hosting conventions in the city is an alternative way of garnering income. The plan to make Iloilo as the convention destination is also concurred by the local government of Iloilo through Mayor Jerry Treñas and the Iloilo Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Ferrer explained that they (restaurant and hotels) may appear busy during this holiday, but the income that they would get does not suffice the income projected for the entire year of the operation.
Moreover, Ferrer said that the Dinagyang festival and the Chinese New Year is only a one-shot festival or short term source of income. The restaurants and hotels need a long term source of income to sustain their operation. The owners have to be resourceful to cope with the signs of the times, said Ferrer.