Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has expanded its partnership with Filipino-owned technology firm, Comise Solutions Inc. to digitalize the estimated 150,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs)operating in the tourism and hospitality sector in the Philippines.
Converge and Comise started helping the underserved segment of the hospitality industry in 2022 by offering cloud-based hotel applications previously available only for five star hotels. From then on, they formed their respective teams to package the solutions for MSMEs
“The Converge Workplace Hotel Management Solution gives more control and visibility of small hotels over their operations. In the past, you go to booking aggregator sites for a booking, and small hotels have to pay a commission to them to sell a room,” said Converge chief operations officer Jesus C. Romero.
“With this solution, small hotels and resorts now have the ability on their website to accept direct bookings and payments. For this to happen it means you automate the operations of the hotel,” he added.
Jojo Abundancia, president of Comise, said the solution will help hotels automate their operations and accurately monitor the inventory, pricing, and booking of guests.
Comise is a Filipino company that develops and delivers technology-enabled solutions, an authorized reseller of the eZee Hospitality IT Solutions – Cloud Based Property Management System, Channel Manager and Reservations Management System.
With the high-speed, pure connectivity of Converge and Comise’s expertise in hospitality management solutions, hotels can track their operations in a single platform, increasing their efficiency, profitability, and guest satisfaction.
This is the latest value-added service being offered by fiber broadband company Converge, under its Workplace family of products. Converge Workplace is the umbrella brand for business productivity software solutions.
“More than the quality broadband connection, Converge is all about finding technology solutions to the needs of our business customers. We aim to expand our portfolio of value-added products for the benefit of our business clients and help them succeed in their respective industries,” added Romero.
Apart from allowing hotels and resort owners to have their own booking system, they can also manage room inventory, and manage the different departments of the hotel – from housekeeping and front desk, to maintenance. One advantage of having a dedicated booking platform is eliminating the commission fee to pay to hotel booking aggregators, as hotels can accept booking themselves.
In addition, as a software turnkey product, the hotel management solution does away with the need of an IT department or install expensive hardware. The only requirement is a strong broadband connection that Converge can provide to the MSME.
According to the DTI – Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise Development 2021 Philippines MSME Statistics in Brief report, MSMEs comprise 99.6 percent of all Philippine businesses, with an employment contributor of 64.67 percent of the total workforce. Of these MSMEs, the hospitality and tourism industry accounts for 14.1 percent, employing 670,040 people.
