Property & Infrastructure
Cebu tourism banks on Marco Polo hotel
For Cebu, the closure of the Cebu Plaza Hotel in 2003 was a big blow to the province’s tourism program.The hotel, one of the biggest and most popular in Cebu City, was closed after its previous owner, Pathfinder Holdings Philippines Inc., defaulted on a P900-million obligation to Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank).
The bank foreclosed the property and later transferred the hotel to asset management company Asia Recovery Corp.
This year, the hotel will again be in Cebu’s tourism landscape, albeit under a different name, owner and management group.
Still standing on a five-hectare property in the upscale Nivel Hills district, the structure is now owned by Asia Pacific Management Corp., a joint venture between the Ty family’s Federal Land, Inc. and some Hong Kong investors. The Tys also own Metrobank.
The company purchased the property from Asia Recovery for P1.2 billion. Another Metrobank subsidiary, publicly listed investment company First Metro Investment Corp., is also part owner of the hotel.
The new owners tapped the Hong Kong-based Marco Polo group to manage the new hotel under a revenue sharing scheme.
With the marriage between the subsidiaries of the country’s strongest bank and one of Asia’s strongest hotel brand, the Cebu Plaza Hotel was renamed Marco Polo Plaza Cebu.
In a speech delivered at the signing of the memorandum of agreement between the Marco Polo group and the Metrobank group, Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said the reopening of the hotel was a welcome development for Cebu, as it would help accommodate the increasing number of tourists in the island.
"Cebu continues to be the number one tourist spot in the country," said the secretary who also hails from the province.
Citing government statistics, Mr. Durano said that of the 2.2 million tourists in 2004, half went to Central Visayas and 80% of which went to Cebu.
He noted that for the first half of this year, tourist arrivals in the island-province have increased by 12.7%.
When it opens in the first quarter of 2006, the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu will provide 335 guest rooms and will also have 2,400 square meters of space for meeting, conferences and events.
The hotel, which is 25 minutes away from the Mactan International Airport and five minutes away from the central business district, will also be marketed as an urban resort.
Asia Pacific is now in the final stages of discussion with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. for the operations of a casino within the hotel premises.
GROWTH INDUSTRY
First Metro President Francisco Sebastian said that the Metrobank group forayed into the hotel business because it is a "growth industry."
"It’s great for foreign exchange. It’s great for employment, it generates business. It’s a particular niche in which we want to be involved. It’s one investment in which we hope we can do well and do more in the future," he said.
He added that the Metrobank group first wants to see how the venture does before further expanding in the hospitality industry.
Jeffrey Flowers, president of the Marco Polo group, said that the location of the hotel is ideal for attracting Asians.
Besides being nestled on a hillside that overlooks the city, the hotel is also situated in a place that would be attractive to people from temperate countries, he said
"It’s a wonderful warm weather destination. There is very easy access to Cebu from Hong Kong, from Taiwan, from Singapore. Regionally, it will do very well."
Mr. Flowers said Cebu’s tourism industry has an edge over others; for instance, Cebu accepts 88 international flights a month, while Davao, where Marco Polo operates its only other hotel in the country, only has one or two international flights a week.
"This will generate operating ratios that are some of the best in Asia. I think that it will be stronger than Manila in terms of operating ratios," he said, as he projected hotel occupancy to be at 80%.
With such high expectations, the hotel owners have not been scrimping in preparing the hotel for operations.
Federal Land President Alfred Ty said that the company has allocated P500 million for refurbishing the old hotel.
The renovation includes the upgrading of fire safety systems, electrical wiring and plumbing systems to international standards.
It also includes installation of the latest communication and audio-visual systems as well as the enhancement of all public and guest room areas.
The management also said that the air-conditioning units are being rehabilitated to become fully centralized.
"It is the intent of Federal Land and Marco Polo to position this as the leading hotel in Cebu," Mr. Flowers said.
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