Travelbook.ph: Closes its ‘book’

Travel booking platform, Travel Book Philippines, Inc., has decided to cease operations after a three-year run. The Manila-based online travel agency (OTA) through its General Manager, Kevin Chandra, informed Crossroads Hostel Manila recently that it is ceasing its operations after regretfully admitting that its business is “no longer viable to sustain the company throughout the challenging period.” The challenging period mentioned was due to the increasing pressures brought about from job losses and after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

travelbook_picture
Travelbook.ph opened its doors in 2017

The tourism and hospitality industry ground to a halt after the Philippine Government declared a lockdown on 14th March first in Metro Manila then two days later, the government declared the lockdown throughout the island of Luzon. 

Travelbook first invited Crossroads Hostel Manila to join its business in November of 2017. It signed up as one of its merchants in 2018. The hostel had its page on travelbook’s website and have customers book directly to Crossroads Hostel that can stay in the property with their help.

In Travelbook’s Facebook Page, the company describes their business as a, “… booking platform for people who are looking for exciting promos on hoe accommodations, tour packages, and in-land and boat transfers, as well as discounted deals on restaurants, buffets, spas, museums, and other activities to do in the Philippines.”

Bloggers pose with Travelbook.ph booth during its campaign

Crossroads Hostel and its management is sad that this company will go but Travelbook promises to come back after its sales supervisor, Lizette Marie Cruz (linkedin), had this to say about its return in the future, “May we bounce back after this (sic) trying times a hundred times stronger, not just the tourism industry but as a country as well.”

We look forward to it and Crossroads Hostel Manila will be here, waiting.

Book your bed directly to Crossroads Hostel Manila or you can check us out in , , , , and .

In related news, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) says that the “current scenarios point to declines of 58% to 78% in international tourist arrivals for the year, depending on the speed of the containment and the duration of travel restrictions and shutdown of borders, although the outlook remains highly uncertain.” This puts the tourism industry stakeholders in a very precarious situation and one of the ways to survive this crisis is to continue to innovate and create ways to peak future travelers’ appetite in making their country, their place, their destination part of their next bucket-list.

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PH Immigration Office issues clarifications on who can enter the Philippines

Philippine News Agency

“…foreign tourists, non-immigrant visa holders…will be turned back if they land in any of our ports of entry,”

Immigraton Commissioner, Jamie Morente

BACKGROUNDER

The country’s Immigration Chief, Jaime Morente, issued a warning upon learning that immigration offices being swamped with calls and queries from netizens who got news that the Philippines has opened its doors to all foreigners.

Morente appealed to the public to stop spreading fake news as it will only sow confusion, and create unwanted chaos in our all ports of the country. Foreigners are still covered by the travel ban.

  • Additional requirements for arriving foreigners
  • For more inquiries, call +6328465-2400 and +6328524-3769
  • July 22, non-essential outbound travelers shall be allowed upon compliance with the 5 IATF-EID conditions
  • Only the following shall be allowed to enter The Philippines
  • These are the five (5) IATF-EID required of outbound travelers from the Philippines
Please follow these guidelines accordingly.

SIGN OF GOOD NEWS

Morente, on the other hand, announced that foreigners married to Filipino citizens and their dependents, as well as foreign diplomats, can come to the country as earlier announced by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF). “We are therefore advising the different airlines to take note of these latest travel guidelines so that they can accordingly inform their foreign customers who may wish to book their flights to the Philippines,” the BI official said.

In another development, the immigration bureau issued new guidelines in their Facebook page detailing updated restrictions on top of the one mentioned in this article. These are:

Allowed to Enter The Philippines are the following:

  • Filipinos, their foreign spouse and children of Filipino nationals (with documentary proof)
  • Accredited foreign government and international organization officials and their dependents
  • Foreign airline crew members and seafarers
    • (Beginning 01Aug2020, foreign nationals with long-term visas shall be allowed upon compliance with the four (4) IATF-EID conditions)
      1. Must have a valid and existing visa at the time of entry
      2. With pre-booked accredited quarantine facility;
      3. With pre-booked COVID-19 testing provider;
      4. Subject to the maximum capacity of inbound passengers as set by the National Task Force for COVID-19.

FOREIGN NATIONALS WITH THE FOLLOWING VISAS SHALL BE ALLOWED ENTRY IN THE PHILIPPINES

  • Pursuant to IATF-EID Resolution No. 56 Series of 2020 dated 16 July 2020 beginning 01 August 2020:
    1. Section 13 Series visa [sec. 13; sec 13 (a);sec 13 (b);sec 13 (c);sec 13 (d);sec 13 (e); sec 13 (g)]
    2. RA 7919 Visa
    3. EO 324 Visa
    4. Native-born Visa

TEMPORARY DEPARTURE TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

— only the following shall be allowed to exit the Philippines:

  • Foreign nationals
  • Overseas Filipino workers*
  • Permanent visa holders*
  • Students enrolled abroad and participants accepted in exchange visitor programs*
    • Note: Beginning 22July2020, non-essential outbound travelers shall be allowed upon compliance with the 5 IATF-EID conditions
      1. Submission of confirmed round-trip tickers for those traveling on a tourist visa;
      2. Adequate travel and health insurance to cover rebooking and accommodation expenses if stranded, and hospitalization in case of infection, in such as may be determined by the Department of Tourism (DOT);
      3. Allowed entry by the destination country in accordance with their travel, health and quarantine restrictions;
      4. Execution of a Declaration acknowledging the risks involved in traveling, including risk of delay in their return trip, to b provided for in the check-in counters by the airlines; and
      5. Upon return, shall follow the Guidelines of Returning Overseas Filipinos of the National Task Force for COVID-19;

More updates will be available once it has been verified.

For the meantime, book your loved ones with us, at CROSSROADS HOSTEL for quarantine purposes if you need our assistance. It’s simple, easy, and we help all our guests go through the 4-day quarantine process. We’re accredited by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) through the Tourism Department (DOT). You can also chat with us if you have questions using Viber and WhatsApp with our number: +639478957600. Talk to you soon. Facebook? Talk to us!

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GCash now accepted

GCash is now used in Crossroads Hostel Manilacrossroadshostelmanila.com

Travelers can now use GCash when making a bed bookings and reservations with this hostel.

This convenience is now more pronounced than ever during community quarantine when contactless payment is a must for businesses dealing with customers.

Crossroads Hostel GCash QR Code

Scan to pay your stay at Crossroads Hostel Manila

How does it work? Prospect guests need only to ask how they will pay their reservations from Crossroads Hostel. Once the amount is requested to hold a reservation, guests can punch the amount on their GCash app and scan the QR code found above and immediately make the transaction to book their space in the hostel. The hostel will then finalize your reservations and a confirmation will be sent to your email.

Is GCash available ONLY to Globe subscribers and pre-paid customers? The service is available to all. Globe owns GCash but even if you’re a SMART subscriber, Talk N’ Text, or Sun subscribers, the GCash subscription is available to all. All you need to do is to click this link and you should be able to register for this service for free.

Start enjoying the convenience of booking a bed in Crossroads Hostel at the convenience of this available technology today.

Call at +63286327737 or +639478957600 to check space availability today or to get more information about this hostel at the center of Metro Manila!

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Crossroads Hostel Manila ‘besieged’ by numerous inquiries but…

AFTER THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT called off the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) to a much downgraded General Community Quarantine (GCQ), a deluge of inquiries from Facebook and text messages flooded Crossroads Hostel Manila. This after the said property launched an information campaign on social media. The campaign centered on informing front liners and healthcare workers of its viability to serve as a place to stay.

The hostel’s Facebook Page is lit up with numerous inquiries but it’s not what the owner initially expected it to be.

The calls were overwhelming as inquiries poured in mostly in the morning and late at night asking for details. “At any given day, we’re receiving and answering about 40-50 messages a day,” said Kristoffer Atienza who owns and manages the 30-bed property along with his wife, Malou. “Sadly, however, 90% of those inquiring are asking for short-time or overnight stay with their significant partners,” Atienza lamented after sharing that under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) those kinds of customers are not what the place is for.

Crossroads Hostel is a backpackers’ accommodation serving travelers across the country and in the region. But that was before the lockdown happened on March 15th.

“The Administrative Order (AO 2020-002) issued by the Tourism Department to accommodation establishments bar any guests checking-in to stay leisurely,” the owner explained as he also said that even without the AO, city ordinance bars hostels to welcome individuals staying in intentionally for only short periods of time.

From commentaries to inbox messages, there are a lot of interested parties asking for space.

“I mean, I welcome the business and the interest coming our way but we have to work honorably and Crossroads Hostel’s character is nothing like that. It was built on the premise that it would help budget travelers have an affordable place to stay in a very busy and very commercial area like Ortigas Center. I mean there are either 3-5-star hotels, there are motels, nothing in-between and that’s where we come in.” the owner shared as he went on to say that Crossroads Hostel is an alternative place to stay for budget travelers both locally and internationally but trust was given to it by the Department of Tourism (DOT) to serve only what the AO has stated. “It’s easy to pretend and say we’ll abide by the AO but on the other hands receive any customers we want throughout this community quarantine period but at what cost? There are already insurmountable challenges keeping the number down as far as COVID-19 cases are concerned, so there’s no value not keeping our word to the trust that was given us by the government agency” he said.

“It was a blessing that we have our DOT accreditation since 2016 and that’s why we keep functioning because the good men and women of the tourism board acted swiftly and with care giving properties like Crossroads Hostel, the opportunity to serve the country this way.” Atienza said.

Are they as afraid as the rest about getting infected by the infectious disease? “Oh yes we are,” he said, “and that’s why we’re super strict with our registration policies that a mere hint of sniffles or sight of the person sweating without proper reason or logic would make us turndown their booking even if they paid it through online travel agencies like hostelworld, booking, traveloka, and the likes.”

So what about the 90% that continues to inquire for Crossroads’ services that continuously get turned down?

“We’ll welcome it. I mean people will contact you, they made an effort and that’s already an opportunity to share what Crossroads is and what a hostel is. The opportunity is a win-win situation because the moment you share what your accommodation-business is, it’s in their messenger inbox for life and you give them the option of contacting you back knowing you have a decent place to stay in and an affordable price to complete the package,” the owner said.

Note: Balikbayans, OFWs, Front line workers, Healthcare workers, Government personnel, stranded passengers, and employees of companies offering essential services within 2-kilometer radius of the hostel are allowed to use and stay in Crossroads as it may deem necessary.

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