Oil firm implements LPG price roll back

Homegrown travel app Happy Hotels takes on Agoda, Airbnb

Filipino-owned travel booking app Happy Hotels, which was officially launched on Friday, aims to compete with global players in the tourism industry by banking on its expertise in local festivities and catering to traveler needs depending on their budgets.

With the app, local and foreign travelers can book hotels, bed and breakfast establishments and dormitels in as fast as one minute, the company said.

When asked how it differs from other apps in the market, its founder and CEO Jason Lao said the platform understands the entire ecosystem including needs of both travelers and business owners. Lao has 25-years of experience in the service industry.

To attract more foreign and local tourists, the app has a “Calendar of Events” that details upcoming fiestas and festivities all over the country to help users plan their trips.

should expect a sigh of relief in April as the prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) products are set to roll back big time.

It also has a “Near Me” section that provides information on accommodations near the users.

“We want this to be a premier app for Philippine tourism and of course, we want to compete with global players. In a way, lamang tayo because we are here in the Philippines, and we are Filipinos. We know the heart of the Filipinos,” Lao said.

“We have a feature called the calendar of events. There are so many cultural things in the Philippines, every town has a fiesta. It’s part of our culture talaga. So we created that to educate the people which part of the Philippines it’s happening and when,” he added.

Happy Hotels app was conceptualized by Lao when he witnessed how local tourism players suffered during the pandemic. He said the app is also meant to help business owners expand their reach, and provide jobs for those in the tourism industry.

In an advisory, Petron said it would implement a P9.20 per kilogram rollback in its household LPG prices, effective 12:01 a.m. on April 1.

The adjustment is equivalent to a P101.2 reduction in the price of a typical 11-kilogram LPG tank.

At the same time, Petron’s Au- toLPG prices will roll back by P5.14 per liter.

“These reflect the international contract price of LPG for the month of April,” Petron said.

As of February, household LPG prices in Metro Manila ranged from P934 to P1,118 per 11-kilogram cylinder.