How Eco Hotels Turns Old Ways Into Innovation | Hyper-Local Design | HPC 2026 | Toni Hathaway Somala
Exclusive interview with Toni Hathaway Somala, General Manager of Eco Hotels, at the 9th Hospitality Philippines Conference (HPC 2026). Key Highlights: 1. Toni Hathaway Somala says she is excited and delighted to be part of the discussion at the conference. She was a panelist, and the panel talked about design, specifically hyper-local design. 2. She says empowering frontline teams is not only about her, it is a team effort. Eco Hotels invests in a lot of training, hires locals and gives them the training they need to be ready to do what the hotel wants. 3. On community-rooted design, she says Eco Hotels always goes back to what is native to them and tries to innovate it further. 4. For hyper-local and authentic design, she says the key is prolonging the life of the old ways into innovation. 5. On balancing a premium guest experience with environmental responsibility, she says most of their guests are very cooperative about being sustainable. 6. She says guests understand they cannot just walk into a room and expect the air conditioner to be on already. She says most guests now understand staying in a sustainable hotel. 7. Looking ahead to 2027–2028, she says being sustainable will not be just an input that hotels add on. She says most people have a better understanding and are welcoming the change to being a sustainable hotel. 8. She adds that part of this change is the innovations Eco Hotels is creating for them now. About Travel And Tour World: Travel And Tour World is a global travel media platform covering travel, tourism, hospitality, aviation, MICE, cruise, and luxury travel, with readership across 195 countries. [Toni Hathaway Somala, Eco Hotels, sustainable hotels, eco hotels, Philippines sustainable hotels, sustainable hospitality, sustainable travel, hotel sustainability, sustainable hotel design Philippines, hyper-local design, hyper-local hotel design, community-rooted hotel design, authentic sustainability hotels, native design hotels Philippines, sustainable hotel guests expectations, hotel staff training sustainability, hiring locals hotels sustainability, Filipino travellers sustainable travel, eco hotels Philippines interview, Philippine hotels circular economy local sourcing, Hospitality Philippines Conference, 9th Hospitality Philippines Conference HPC2026, HPC 2026, Travel And Tour World] #EcoHotels #SustainableHotels #SustainableTravel #SustainableHospitality #HyperLocalDesign #HotelDesign #EcoFriendlyTravel #HPC2026 #HospitalityPhilippines #PhilippinesHotels #PhilippinesTravel #HospitalityNews #TravelNews #TravelAndTourWorld