As a testament to the luxury resort’s commitment to exceptional hospitality, City of Dreams Manila bagged three awards at the recent Stelliers Asia Awards, the only accolade in the region that honors the hospitality industry’s dedicated professionals.
Stelliers Asia Awards 2024 named City of Dreams Manila Property President Geoff Andres Green & CSR Hotelier of the Year while Vice President for Human Resources Thesz Liwanag and Rooms Division Training Manager Ardie Valerio were recognized as Human Resources Hotelier of the Year, and Unsung Hero of the Year, respectively.
Three City of Dreams Manila executives honored at the Stelliers Asia 2024 Awards. Property President Geoff Andres, named Green and CSR Hotelier for the Year (not in photo), along with Vice President for Human Resources Thesz Liwanag and Rooms Division Training Manager Ardie Valerio (in photo , third and second from left) are awarded the Human Resources Hotelier of the Year, and Unsung Hero of the Year, respectively at the awards ceremony held at Four Seasons Bangkok. The Stelliers Asia Awards which honors the hospitality industry’s outstanding professionals in the region, recognized the awardees for their commitment to sustainability and CSR, colleague engagement, and exceptional hospitality. Flanking the awardees are Stelliers Managing Director Simon Hansson Yu (right) and City of Dreams Manila Director of Hotel Operations Steve Sasso.
“We are all very proud of our work in making City of Dreams a shining example of sustainability. This award recognizes the valuable work of our team whose creativity, diligence, and relentless commitment to deliver Sustainable Luxury for our guests. I am honored and fortunate to lead an extraordinary team.” Andres states, acknowledging his award.
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,” also stating that the awards aim to inspire the younger generation to pursue a career in hospitality.
The Stelliers Asia Awards 2024 ceremony held at the Four Seasons Bangkok recognizing excellence in the hospitality industry resumed after a four-year hiatus, with 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 are: 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 thewinners, guaranteeing a fair and comprehensive evaluation of excellence in the hospitality industry.
Green & CSR Hotelier of the Year
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 globally renowned 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.
He inspires a dynamic 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.
Committed to providing sustainable hospitality services to enhance the guests’ experience, he has placed the resort at the forefront of delivering sustainable hospitality services in the Philippines.
Human Resources Hotelier of the Year
Liwanag is part of City of Dreams Manila’s pre-opening team, bringing with her about 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 welfareand 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.
Under her 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.
For more information on the luxury integrated resort, visit www.cityofdreamsmanila.com and https://stelliers.com/ for Stelliers Asia 2024.
