Hotel Ava introduces 'radical changes' for employment benefits

Its operator hopes to inspire others on how they conduct their businesses

BY Dexter Tilo 28 Jun 2022

Three branches of the Filipino motel chain Victoria Court have been reintroduced under the new name Hotel Ava - and along with the rebranding comes "radical changes" to employee benefits.

Angelina Mead King, the hotel operator of the rebranded branches, first announced the rebranding of her hotels back in June 17, just in time for Pride Month.

"I had to dare to be different to become who I am," said King, who came out as a transwoman in early 2016. "Today, I dare myself to take on a new challenge with my hotel. We're now saying good bye to Victoria Court to welcome a new brand @hotelavaph."

The branches that rebranded include the ones she manages in Pasay, Buendia, and Malate in Metro Manila in the Philippines.

"The departure from our former iconic brand is a truly difficult task but I am confident with our direction we're going to be able to make a difference," said King in a separate announcement.

In addition to a new name, King also disclosed the basic salary of her employees, which amounted to P16,808, with another P700 for rice allowance.

She also introduced various perks for employees, including maternity and paternity leave, free meals, as well as reduced workdays.

Maternity Leave. This includes additional 75 paid days on top of government-mandated 105 days for a total of six months.
Paternity Leave. This includes additional 83 days on top of government-mandated seven days, rounding it off to three months.
Reduced overall workdays to four days for back office and five days for operations.
13th-month pay mid-year in June and a 14th-month pay by November.
Free meals and coffee for all employees
Healthcare to all regular employees

King also revealed her hotels' various efforts to make the establishments environment friendly. They include the following:

Minimising the use of single-use plastics in the property and pushing suppliers to reduce as well
Investing heavily in solar panels, with the target to generate about 435KWp from the current 140Kwp production. This will produce roughly 535,000 KWh a year and will offset roughly 371 tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
Installing wall planters in all properties to help increase the thermal insulation and refresh the air in the environment
Collection of roughly 150,000 litres of rainwater to help augment our watering needs for the plants
Investing in the Tower Farm for the pesticide free vegetables and allocating earnings into our own sustainable bamboo farm

According to King, the rebranding and the new benefits were motivated by the pandemic.

"The pandemic has made me rethink how I operate my business, treat my employees, and what impact I have to the community. I didn't want to just go back to business as usual," she said in her announcement.

"I hope with these radical changes we are implementing can serve as an inspiration to other companies to try and rethink how they conduct business so that we truly make a difference on how we treat our environment and our people."

The Victoria Court is a well-known motel chain in the Philippines. Its management is divided between Angelina and her brother, Atticus King, who oversees the branches in the northern portion of Metro Manila.