TUNE Hotels, which opened three hotels in the Philippines earlier this year, is set to unveil seven more properties in the country by the first half of 2014.
Ann Olalo, Philippines country head for Red Planet Hotels, which manages the Tune Hotels brand in the country, said the rapid expansion was being fueled by escalating demand for budget accommodation options.
The seven Tune Hotels in the pipeline include one in Manila’s Makati CBD – scheduled to open this month, three more in Manila, one each in Davao and Cagayan de Oro in the south, and another Iloilo in the Visayas.
While priced as economy hotels, Tune Hotels feature five-star beds, pressure showers and accessible locations to attract the middle class. Olalo said: “In fact, we have corporate accounts targeted at middle management.”
The three existing Tune Hotels in Ermita (Manila), Clark and Cebu boast 40 per cent walk-in guests, while nearly 60 per cent of customers make online bookings through the Tune Hotels website and Agoda.com. “We still do traditional selling with travel (experts), but that has become a minor segment,” said Olalo.
So far, Tune Hotels’ only local competitor in terms of market, pricing and product concept is Go Hotels, which is also fast expanding into secondary destinations, said Olalo.
