ONCE a sleepy town in Laguna, Pagsanjan is so famous for its majestic falls that almost every tourist could refer to it as the province’s main landmark.
All throughout the year, the three-drop water fall is visited by both local and foreign travelers who want to witness its grandeur, take a plunge at its water, explore the cave behind it, or simply just marvel at the spectacular natural views.
Apart from agriculture, tourism has been its major economic driver. From travel and tour businesses to hospitality, transportation, retail and food establishments, this industry has been generating a significant income for the local government and creating livelihood and employment opportunities for the people.
Such vibrancy, however, was abruptly averted by an unprecedented health crisis. Little did every stakeholder know, the ensuing Covid-19 pandemic could be their downfall. But not for young entrepreneur Daniel Shum.
“We did what we can,” the 35-year-old businessman told the BusinessMirror, while referring to Shum’s Transient House, an accommodation facility he and his family own and operate for about a year now.
Due to lack of accommodation facilities amid the constant growth of tourism in Pagsanjan, it took almost three decades before he decided to renovate the place they own since 1990 into a transient house.
This homey place offers guests neatly kept six rooms fit for a couple (with bath tubs) or family. Its amenities and facilities include a veranda that overlooks parts of Pagsanjan, a luxurious KTV room, sauna, common dining areas, and future garden area.
It’s a five-minute walk to the terminal of the “bancas” going to the world-renown falls.
According to him, the business started to take off when his friend listed one of its rooms on Airbnb. From then on, they started to receive inquiries not only from within their locality but also in other parts of the country and even abroad.
“I had a job in a different province at the time,” Daniel recalls how hard it was to keep his day-job with a booming business on the side.
Seeing the steady occupancy plus the favorable online reviews from satisfied guests, he then decided to handle it full-time as a general manager. Delighted at the sight of visitors coming in and out of their doorsteps, however, he did not imagine that this could end in so short a time when the government started to impose mid-March of last year community quarantines in Metro Manila and nearby provinces to curb the immediate spread of the virulent disease.
“We managed to survive the first six months of lockdown because we were blessed with a long-term staying guest which lasted six months. While this was a huge help in revenue, it was not enough for us to survive. My family had to inject funds from outside the country to continue. Definitely, [it] was a loss of profit during these times,” he conceded.
Unfazed by the impact of the pandemic, however, Daniel was creative enough to venture into another business that could help generate additional income to sustain the transient house without sacrificing the plight of the people who depend on it for work.
“[I] even explored making putubumbong to sell online. I had two employees who I gave 13th month pays to during the lockdowns,” he shared.
While waiting for the tourism industry’s reopening, he and his people never failed to spruce up the transient house. They regularly disinfected everything from beds to sofas, door knobs, and remote controls of tv sets in the rooms.
Now that they have opened doors anew to visitors, health and safety measures are strictly observed. Alcohol dispensers are scattered all over the place. Likewise, they check the body temperatures of incoming patrons and have them write their contact details in log-in books for tracking purposes. He even hired recently a manager as they expect spiked bookings.
“We definitely are ready as always and will always strive to give the needs of the guests at any time,” Daniel said, while citing the important lessons he has learned from the ongoing Covid-19 crisis and how he intends to apply these in the near future.
“Just keep things basic and save money where you can.”
As the new year ushered in, he is hopeful for the continued recovery of the entire local tourism industry and their transient business as well.
“For Shum’s Transient House it will be business as usual and [this year] 2021 only better things can happen when our famous Pagsanjan Falls will resume accepting tourists,” he stressed. “We will improve our services for the convenience of our guests. We will start advertising more on social media and other platforms. And of course upgrade where we can.