Posted on January 23, 2012 11:23:06 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
ROBINSONS LAND Corp. is investing some P6 million to renovate a hotel in Quezon City in a bid to court more business clients, an official said late last week.
The refurbishment to Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria hotel will cover an events space and should be completed by the end of March, marking the facility’s first make-over since it opened its doors in 2005.
“Crowne Plaza has undertaken a refurbishment of its grand ballroom involving the total replacement of its wall and floor coverings. We have allotted P6.6 million for this,” Ricardo A. Gutierrez, Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria and Holiday Inn Manila Galleria owners representative, told BusinessWorld in a telephone interview.
“This was suggested to us by our clients. Even if our facilities are still very much usable, [the refurbishment] will give our hotel a fresher look,” said Mr. Gutierrez.
This will also boost the hotel’s occupancy rate to 80% from 72% reported last year and improve its convention business by a fifth, Mr. Gutierrez said.
Last year, Robinsons Land’s hotels division also completed a P19-million rebranding of the 285-room Holiday Inn Manila Galleria near Crowne Plaza.
This was reportedly in line with a global effort by the hotel’s parent, the multinational InterContinental Hotels Group.
The work involved adding new room amenities and revamping guest services, Mr. Gutierrez said.
Robinsons Land also recently renovated the 210 guest rooms and banquet facilities of Summit Circle Cebu, formerly known as Cebu Midtown Hotel, also in order to corner the region’s growing MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) market, said Roseann C. Villegas, Robinsons Land corporate public relations manager, in a separate telephone interview last week.
These renovations come on top of a robust outlook for Robinsons Land’s hotels division amid new launches.
“[Our] tourism outlook in the Philippines, especially in Metro Manila, seems optimistic with several hotels opening in the Makati [City], Ortigas [Center] and Fort Bonifacio central business district,” the company’s 2011 annual report stated.
In addition to Crown Plaza, Holiday Inn, and Summit Circle Cebu, Robinsons Land also operates the 223-room budget Go Hotel in Mandaluyong City and 108-room Summit Ridge Hotel in Tagaytay City.
Robinsons Land is the property arm of listed conglomerate JG Summit Holdings, Inc. It has built 29 malls, 33 residential projects, eight office buildings, and five hotels as of end-September 2011. -- Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente
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