City of Dreams Manila has won three awards at the recent Stelliers Asia Awards, with Property President Geoff Andres named Green & CSR Hotelier of the Year, Vice President for Human Resources Thesz Liwanag named Human Resources Hotelier of the Year and Rooms Division Training Manager Ardie Valerio names Unsung Hero of the Year.
The Stelliers Asia Awards aim to honor dedicated professionals of the hotel industry, facilitating the appreciation and celebration of hoteliers who are the best in their field.
“We are all very proud of our work in making City of Dreams a shining example of sustainability,” said Andres. “This award recognizes the valuable work of our team whose creativity, diligence and relentless commitment delivers sustainable luxury for our guests. I am honored and fortunate to lead an extraordinary team.”
The Stelliers awards program asserts, “As dedicated hospitality professionals from across Asia continue to raise the bar, breaking boundaries and achieving new heights, Stelliers applauds their excellence and inspiration to the wider hotelier community.”
The Stelliers Asia Awards 2024 ceremony was held at the Four Seasons Bangkok, resuming after a four-year hiatus. It featured a total of 89 finalists in 19 categories composed of outstanding hoteliers “who represent the pinnacle of excellence in their respective fields”. The finalists were nominees from 12 countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
The 19 categories were Food & Beverage, Chef, Sommelier/Mixologist, Wellness and Spa, Front Office, Concierge, Engineering, Finance, Housekeeping, Human Resources, Information Technology, Hygiene and Food Safety, Marketing and Communications, Sales, Revenue Management, Green & CSR in ESG achievements, General Manager, Hotel Manager/Resident Manager, and Unsung Hero.
A jury panel composed of some of the most respected names in the industry convened to deliberate on the winners with the goal of ensuring a fair and comprehensive evaluation of excellence in the hospitality industry.
Green & CSR Hotelier of the Year
City of Dreams Manila noted that, under Andres’ leadership, the luxury resort has received numerous awards for providing excellent standards of service, outstanding colleague engagement, and driving the operations towards Sustainable Luxury. In 2023, City of Dreams Manila was one of only three global finalists in the inaugural Responsible Hospitality Award from the Forbes Travel Guide (FTG) for its outstanding level of commitment to sustainable practices at the luxury level.
Each of the three hotels on property – Nuwa Manila, Nobu Hotel Manila, and Hyatt Regency Manila – received the ASEAN Green Hotel Award 2022-2024 from the ASEAN Tourism Standards Council. In 2023, it was among the 15 establishments in the country honored at the First Sustainability Forum organized by Manila Bulletin.
Andres leads the company’s Sustainability Committee composed of colleagues from various departments that implement and initiate sustainability projects. City of Dreams Manila continues to display significant progress to reach its sustainability goals aligned with parent company Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s “Rise To Go Above and Beyond” 2030 sustainability targets as envisioned by CEO Lawrence Ho, the company explained.
Human Resources Hotelier of the Year
Liwanag was part of City of Dreams Manila’s pre-opening team, bringing with her around three decades of expertise in the field of Human Resources. As the property’s Vice President for HR, she works closely with Andres to drive the “Employee Love” program of the company, which aims to consistently foster colleagues’ professional growth and work-life balance.
Committed to ensure and implement colleague welfare and recognition programs she leads, among others, the annual President’s Awards, Service Awards and various colleague engagement events in collaboration with Ugnayan, the property’s labor-management council.
Melco said that, under Liwanag’s stewardship, the spirit of volunteerism among colleagues remains strong. From 2023 to date, a total of 2,606 volunteers have participated in 96 CSR activities. Undertaken outside of duty hours, these CSR activities include blood donation drive with Philippine Red Cross, repacking of donated goods for the beneficiaries of the country’s government arm for social welfare, and other community works with institutions and charities for orphans and the elderly.
Unsung Hero of the Year
Valerio joined the pre-opening team of City of Dreams Manila as Training Officer in 2014 and was promoted in 2016 to Rooms Division Training Manager, a post he currently holds. The Stelliers Award for “Unsung Hero” recognizes the valuable but often overlooked contributions of staff working behind the scenes.
He won the resort’s much coveted President’s Award 2022 in the Managerial category for his exemplary performance and was a Finalist in the hospitality industry’s 2023 Mabuhay Awards organized by the Association of Human Resources Managers in the Philippines.
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