THE combination of being in the second fastest growing economy in Asia and having a stable political environment is benefiting the luxury hospitality sector in the Philippines’ capital city, according to a C9 Hotelworks report.
The Manila Hotel Market Update report, released by C9 Hotelworks, noted that the country’s economy had grown 7.1 per cent last quarter, just a few points behind China.
The report pointed to an aggressive pipeline of growth and investment in the luxury sector, with 5,797 hotel rooms opening in the upper tier of the market over the next five years, representing a 37 per cent growth to existing supply. The development will include the introduction of international hotel brands such as Raffles, Fairmont, Grand Hyatt, Shangri-La, Sheraton and Westin.
The research also detailed a rise in overall average room rates of six per cent and occupancy in luxury accommodation of 72 per cent. Business visitors to Manila take up 57 per cent of total occupancy, followed by leisure travellers and the MICE segment at 21 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.
Said C9 Hotelworks managing director, Bill Barnett: “Step back in time three decades and hotel headlines would be surprisingly similar to those today – Manila Bay asserting itself as a tourism hub in Metro Manila, and a new business district flexing its muscles within the competitive hotel landscape.
“But this time around it is Manila Bay featuring the evolution of Pagcor Entertainment City and Resorts World, while the new CBD is not Makati but neighbouring Bonifacio City. This is the new storyboard of Mega Manila.”
At the end of 2011, Manila had 15,567 hotel rooms with 57 per cent of these being in the upscale tier. While luxury supply once grew at only 3.2 per cent between 2004 and 2011, there is now significant demand at the top end of the market.
