Upping the service in Oslob

He is from Pampanga, she is from Brooke’s Point, Palawan. An unlikely couple who settled even more unexpectedly, in a small town some 130 kilometers south of Cebu city.

Photo borrowed from agoda.com

Renato and Eva Malonzo are the owners of Oslob Malonzo 
Pension House, a six-bedroom affair that has been voted 2014 Travelers’ Choice in the bed and breakfast category, based on reviews and ratings by real travelers via Trip Advisor, a popular travel website.

The travelers’ seal of approval is proudly displayed on the premises and rightly so, since it is well earned.


Their level of service is unexpected in such a rural setting. I was born and raised in Cebu City and spent the early years of my life shuttling, then later driving to and from Samboan, where we had land. I remember Oslob then as nothing more than yet another town, where we sometimes stopped to buy bread and other provisions at the public market or on rare occasions, to enjoy the cuartel, an unfinished building made of coral blocks resembling a Spanish-era barracks stand.

Nothing in those visits prepared me for the quality of service that the Malonzos provided.

We arrived close to midnight because of a series of flight delays that left the group tired and stressed out.  Hence, it was great to find the owners still up and waiting for us. Rene and his son JR quickly and efficiently led staff in leading us to our rooms, handling our bags and accommodating requests.

Triple-sharing room: Squeaky clean and cool
with one double bed and one single bed 

We were relieved to find the rooms and their bathrooms squeaky clean, quite spacious and cool. I had stayed in more expensive accommodations in Boljoon the last time I did the whale shark encounter and Malonzo’s was far, far better.

When I raised the question of breakfast, I was guided through their honor system, which simply had me filling up a sheet of paper with our room number on it re our breakfast requests, or any of the items which we took out of the nearby fridge or their store, which was left unlocked and unmanned.

I did feel a bit uneasy when I woke up close to dawn dehydrated and took out a bottle of mineral water from the fridge in the darkness, but I also realized that the level of trust they displayed in their clients, probably had all their visitors ensuring that the trust was well earned by listing everything they took. I certainly did.

We were up early to find the owners and their staff already up, ready to attend to our needs. We wanted coffee before we left for the whale shark encounter, which we got quickly since Renato knew how the lines could get long with tourists wanting to swim with the butandings.

He was very pleasant and accommodating, suggesting and offering services without being intrusive and generally on hand to answer questions and attend to requests.

Rene worked in sales for a soda and bottling company, which meant traveling to different parts of the country including Palawan, where he met Eva and Cebu, where he eventually decided to buy land.

Why Oslob? Rene says the town is quite close to Cebu City with all its services yet far enough to be restful. Land certainly was a lot more affordable in Oslob, he says and he saw the potential of the lot, which is quite close to the road for public transportation, to the public market and eateries for food and other necessities, and to the church and cuartel, which are also now getting their fair share of tourists.

Owners Renato and Eva Malonzo
with their son JR.

He and Eva took a chance on settling down in Oslob in 2004, he says. They started with a small room for their visitors. Even then, their level of service elicited return guests, so they started expanding on the original structure to accommodate more paying visitors, who learned of their pension house through word of mouth.

But it wasn’t until the butandings came in 2011 that the income from the pension house became quite stable. More and more visitors just kept coming, and they all needed a place to stay. One of their foreign guests, impressed with their service and hospitality set them up on Agoda so that more tourists could have access to them online, says Eva.

This is why they continue to attract visitors, most of them outside Cebu and the country, despite not having a beachfront and being some distance away from the whale shark encounter. Their very reasonable rates, clean and comfortable rooms and the good reviews attract those who are not familiar with the area.

Renato and Eva know that as long as they continue to care for their visitors, anticipate their needs and keep improving where they can, they can live off their pension house. Their son JR, a Hotel and Restaurant Management graduate from the University of Cebu, is already thinking of expanding their menu outside of breakfast to include lunch and dinner for the convenience of guests.

They do make sure everything is convenient. We came back from our whale shark encounter to find breakfast ready and waiting. More ketchup, some suka (vinegar), more coffee, water – we just had to open our mouths and we got everything we needed.

We were getting ready to go when I saw Renato helping a couple with their suitcases out of the gate. He was going to accompany them to the national road, wait with them and help them onto a bus just to make sure that they got on the correct one back to the city. 

That kind of service is quite hard to find, especially in a small town where I remember getting pursed lips pointed in a general direction when I once asked where I could buy bread.