Ang Magiting - The Official Web Site of Rotary Club Makati North
Emilio's Passion
THE WEEK THAT WAS
January 17, 2007 – by Dir. Bob Hecks
It was good to see Emilio Zulberti again, and we were impressed by his very professional presentation of “Direct With Hotels”, his online booking service for hotel guests. Emilio is the Founder and Chief Executive of Direct With Hotels (DWH).
The other main feature of the meeting reflected that it was the last RCMN meeting before the L.E.A.P. Leaders Congress on Friday 26 January. There was no RCMN Regular session on Wednesday 24 January, to allow more time for preparing the 4th Congress of this annual event.
Two of the corporate sponsors of the L.E.A.P. Leaders Congress were present to sign their agreement documents with Pres. Porong and Spouse Choi Reaño, President of the Inner Wheel Club of Makati North. Vivec Padmanabhan, Vice President of eTelecare (by the way, the largest and most awarded call center operation in the world) and Mr. Einstein Padua of Airlift Asia Inc. signed for their companies. Later, Mr. Padmanabhan and Mr. Padua representing Airlift Asia told us about their support for the Congress. Both speakers expressed their admiration of the aims and achievements of the L.E.A.P. Congress series in providing an interactive forum and learning experience for youth leaders.
Emilio Zulberti’s talk had two titles: “An Insight into my Missing in Action status from RCMN Activity and Venture Financing in the Philippines.” It was immediately clear that the latter is so much Emilio’s passion that there was little time left to do much about the MIA status. But action we got was enough to make up for the absences and Emilio expressed his appreciation of our warm welcome.
“Most people who are booking a hotel room go to Google and key e.g. Manila/Hotels,” said Emilio. They usually end up booking through online agencies, which take a cut. He went on to explain that people prefer to book direct with a particular hotel to get the best rate and also to establish a direct relationship with the hotel. DWH brings guests quickly to the hotel’s own website and ensures they have an efficient and informative booking experience as well as making sure the hotel offers its best rates on its own site. DWH runs a call center to back up the hotel web sites.
President's Corner
So, Happy New Year, damn it!
Before anything else, allow me to wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.
Perhaps not a few of you are tired of getting this greeting, which probably swamped your mobile phone and e-mail mailboxes. Given the challenges ahead – the global crisis, its repercussions here, the run-up to the next national elections, and others – maybe it will help to hear more well wishes.
So, happy New Year, damn it!
Seriously, the gloomy forecast suggests that this year Rotary is more relevant. Many of us are already feeling the pinch, and the others are probably bracing themselves for the worst. But in a sense, we are still the lucky ones. Imagine the hardship and anxiety of those with lesser means. No matter how difficult our situation is now, there always seems to be someone else somewhere experiencing something worse.
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