MANILA, Philippines - Starwood Hotels
and Resorts Worldwide Inc. has signed a deal with Resorts World Manila to open
a new hotel in Pasay City.
“We signed the letter of intent with
Resorts World for a Sheraton Hotel in their project near the airport this
morning,” Matthew Fry, Starwood Hotels and Resorts senior vice president for
acquisitions and development in Asia Pacific said in an interview yesterday.
Under the deal, Starwood Hotels and
Resorts will be the operator of the new hotel, while the other party will be
the owner and developer.
The Sheraton Hotel, which will open in
two to three years, marks the re-entry of the brand to the country as there
used to be a Sheraton Hotel in Manila.
The hotel, which will have 350 rooms,
would be constructed in the lot beside the Star Cruises building in Resorts
World Manila.
Fry declined to give details on the
amount of investment to be made citing that the funds for the construction
would come from the developer of the hotel.
Starwood Hotels and Resorts president
for Asia Pacific Stephen Ho said in the same event the new hotel would employ a
minimum of 350 employees.
“The number would depend on the number
that would be needed for food and beverage, for the restaurants,” he said.
Starwood Hotels and Resorts is moving
to establish its presence in the country, citing demand from its members for
its hotels here.
“For outbound travel to the
Philippines, many of our members are asking if we have hotels here. There are
many indicators that there is demand for our hotels that is not being met in
the market,” Frits Van Paasschen, Starwood Hotels and Resorts president and
chief executive officer said.
Given favorable economic fundamentals,
the government’s promotion of the country as a tourist destination, as well as
increasing travel to and within the country, Van Paasschen said the Philippines
is seen to present opportunities for the hotel business.
“The Philippines is the largest market
where we don’t have a presence right now and it points to opportunities here,”
he said further.
Fry said that even as work for the new
Sheraton Hotel has yet to start, the firm is looking to open hotels in other
locations such as Manila, Makati, Fort Bonifacio in Taguig and Cebu.
“We are in discussions with other
parties both here in Manila and elsewhere in the country,” he said.
“We are not yet ready to communicate
these plans... In five to six years, we could have a number of brands present
here,” Van Paasschen said.
Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ other
hotel brands are St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W, Westin, Le Méridien, Four
Points by Sheraton, Aloft, and Element.
Starwood Hotels and Resorts currently
has 1,112 properties in nearly 100 countries and has 154,000 employees.
Resorts World Manila is the first
integrated tourist hub in the country. Behind it is Travellers International
Hotel Group Inc., a joint venture between Alliance Global Inc. and Genting Hong
Kong.
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