Megaworld Hotels & Resorts (MHR) has announced the appointment of four women executives to strategic leadership roles across its portfolio, reinforcing the company’s commitment to diversity, operational excellence, and future-ready hospitality leadership.
The appointments include Patria “Pat” Puyat-Palanca as Group Director of Business Development; Joy Alonte as General Manager of Belmont Hotel Iloilo; Emelyn “Ems” Rosales as General Manager of Savoy Hotel Boracay; and Gwendolyn Lanceta Dela Cruz as General Manager of Mercure Mactan Cebu.
The leadership appointments coincide with International Women’s Month and reflect MHR’s strong representation of women across its organization. Women currently hold approximately 51 percent of executive leadership roles within the company, including the Managing Director position, while 42 percent of its regular workforce are women.
Patria “Pat” Puyat-Palanca returns to the Philippines after decades of hospitality leadership across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Indochina. As Group Director of Business Development, she will lead expansion strategy, strategic partnerships, and long-term asset growth initiatives for MHR’s portfolio. Her work reinforces a powerful message: Filipino leaders are not only capable of managing global brands — they can strategically elevate and grow them.
Joy Alonte assumes leadership of Belmont Hotel Iloilo, the 399-room property located within Iloilo Business Park. With more than two decades of experience in internationally branded hotels, she brings strong expertise in revenue management, operational efficiency, and team development. Alonte emphasizes one of her key responsibilities: “bridging generational differences and breaking down stereotypes that divide the workforce.”
Emelyn Rosales takes the helm as General Manager of Savoy Hotel Boracay, one of three properties within the Boracay Newcoast township. Her experience spans full hotel operations, financial stewardship, and commercial strategy. With nearly 30 years of hospitality leadership experience, she will oversee operations, commercial performance, and talent development. For Rosales, stewardship means sustaining both place and potential. She explains, “The younger generation deserves space. If we want them to believe in the future of hospitality, we must invite them into decision-making, innovation, and new ways of thinking.”
Meanwhile, Gwendolyn Lanceta Dela Cruz leads Mercure Mactan Cebu — formerly Belmont Hotel Mactan — marking MHR’s transition into an international brand partnership. She has built her career in some of the region’s most demanding hospitality environments, with roles spanning rooms leadership, resident management, and corporate oversight while working alongside senior executives managing large-scale operations. The 550-room property plays a key role in Cebu’s growing MICE and leisure market.
Gwen related that resiliency carried the industry through uncertainty, adding that reinvention keeps it relevant.
According to Managing Director Cleofe Albiso, the appointments underscore MHR’s commitment to building inclusive leadership teams that reflect the evolving hospitality landscape.
“These leaders bring depth, global perspective, and people-centered leadership that will strengthen our organization as we continue to grow,” Albiso said.
Megaworld Hotels & Resorts currently operates 15 properties under nine brands nationwide, positioning itself as the Philippines’ largest homegrown hotel management company.
