MANILA – As the world responds with direct aid to the devastated regions of the Philippines affected by Typhoon Haiyan, hundreds of intrusive international telemarketing companies and mediocre, 3-star hotels are also reeling from the loss of personnel.
“We lost 15% of our work force, said Marty Melina, VP of Telstar Communications, a third-party telemarketing company that places thousands of phone calls daily to random US phone numbers, trying to sell magazine subscriptions and long-distance telephone services. “We’re not going to be able to operate at full capacity for months.”
Billed as the worst storm to hit the Philippines in half a century, Haiyan has left over 3,000 people dead and many hundreds of thousands more stranded and in desperate need of aid as roads and other crucial infrastructure has been destroyed in this island nation.
The devastation has sent shockwaves through the mid-market hotel live music industry worldwide, where many chains and stand-alone hotels alike have reported devastating losses to their weekday lobby bar entertainment lineup.
“We lost half our nightclub band, and the others had to rush off to help their families,” said Ryan Severnin, general manager of the Orchid Suites Resotel in Cancun, Mexico. “And from talking to other hotel managers, it sounds like all Filipinos are unavailable anywhere. It’s a catastrophe.”
“Where am I going to find talented musicians who can handle Tuesday Salsa Night and Friday’s Hip-Hop Urban Phantasy? I can’t afford Canadians.”
Although at least 25 national governments have pledged over 100 million USD in aid to the nation, so far none have specifically addressed any aid to specific industries hit hardest by the typhoon. Some analysts fear that without targeted aid, the telemarketing and hotel-band sectors might go into recession.
“It’s something we take for granted, but we shouldn’t,” said Paula Westerhead, a global business consultant at ING. “Imagine life without telemarketers calling you at dinnertime, or walking into a Radisson and not hearing ‘Hotel California’ emanating from a half-empty lounge nearby.”
“There’s more than money at stake here,” she continued. “It’s our way of life.”
