CEBU, Philippines - Cebu's hotel industry must bank on the rising demand for hotel rooms, as it should be an opportunity for the sector to expand, a hotelier said.
In an interview Thursday, Harolds Hotel general manager Ed Tongco said there have been a number of hotel developments in Cebu expected to deliver new supply.
He said it is projected that less than a thousand hotel units are to open in the next few years in Cebu, which should make its hotel sector "better".
Tongco, who has been in the hotel sector for 40 years, believes demand for hotel rooms in Cebu remains brisk, considering that it's becoming a destination.
"Competition is good," he noted as he expects more hotel rooms to open in the future.
He cited the ongoing development of the second terminal at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport as a factor that would bring in more visitors to Cebu, thus adding demand for hotel rooms.
He said Harolds, for instance, looks at this as an opportunity for expansion in the future, although no concrete plans have been laid out yet. He, however, cited Mactan Island and Cebu Business Park as potential areas being eyed by the hotel firm.
Tongco believes future prospects for city hotels in Cebu are positive, given the expected additional visitor traffic with Cebu's airport modernization.
The Cebu hotel also disclosed plans to build a hotel with 148 rooms and 14 floors in Quezon City set to start this year as part of its expansion plan.
He also announced that the hotel recently obtained an 8.7 or "very good" rating from travel booking site booking.com.
In a recent research, Pinnacle Real Estate Consulting Services noted that the healthy occupancy and room-rate level bode well for the Cebu hotel market.
Pinnacle estimates the Metro Cebu market has a total of approximately 9,500 hotel rooms with star-classification. This total stock as of 2016 grew from 7,800 rooms in 2015, or an increase of 22 percent.
Even with the increase, average occupancy increased to 90 percent last year, as compared to 85 percent in 2015, the property consultant said.
In terms of room rates, deluxe hotels have an average room rate of P3,800 per night. There is an increase of 9%, from P3,500 per night, even when new hotel rooms were opened to the public.
Classification and monitoring of hotels is a tricky exercise since Philippine classification does not follow the typical "star" classification in the international arena.
Pinnacle focused its research on the "deluxe" category or the hotels with "star" equivalent classification. (FREEMAN)
Source: http://www.philstar.com/cebu-business/2017/04/01/1686559/rising-demand-rooms-buoys-cebu-hotel-industry - April 1, 2017
