by Jenniffer B. Austria
[ manilastandardtoday.com ] May 10, 2011
SM Investments Corp. said Monday its wholly-owned subsidiary, SM Hotels and Conventions Corp., will build a P750-million hotel in Lanang, Davao City.
SM Investments said in a disclosure to the stock exchange that SM Hotel signed a contract with Carlson, a privately held global hospitality and travel company, to operate the Park Inn by Radisson hotel in Davao City.
The hotel will be the first of Park Inn by Radisson in the Asia-Pacific region. Park Inn by Radisson is one of the hotel brands under Carlson and is the largest mid-market brand for hotels under development in Europe.
The 200-room hotel will be located within the 175,000- square meter mixed-use complex owned and developed by SM Investment’s shopping mall subsidiary, SM Prime Holdings Inc.
Other projects to rise in the complex are an SM Supermall and a convention center.
Construction of the hotel is expected to start in the third quarter of this year and is scheduled to open by 2013.
“We believe that Davao is an ideal location for such an undertaking because of its robust economy, vibrant population, and excellent infrastructure including its international airport,” SM Hotels president Elizabeth Sy said.
“In addition, the Park Inn hotel will benefit from the busines synergies that will be created with the other upcoming SM projects within its vicinity,” she added.
The 200-room Park Inn by Radisson will feature bright, bold, and fresh room interiors coupled with fun friendly service.
“With the tagline Sleep Well, Live Well, Park Inn by Radisson hotels offer a hassle-free, clean and comfortable stay at a reasonable price,” Xerxes Meher-Homji, executive vice president and chief development officer of Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific said.
The hotel will offer other amenities such as an all-day dining restaurant, meeting rooms, an outdoor swimming pool and a gym.
SM Hotels in September last year opened the upper upscale, 400-room Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu, which is also managed by Carlson.
It recently opened the Pico Sands Hotel, a 154-room resort hotel within Pico de Loro, SM’s eco-tourism project at Hamilo Coast, Nasugbu, Batangas.
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