Hotel group to invest $200 million in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Concept hotel developer H20 Ventures, Inc. plans to invest up to $200 million over the next few years to develop five new hotels in the country.

First rise along Kalayaan Avenue and Makati City in the second half of 2014 is a P2 billion modern five-star hotel developed by H20 Ventures Inc. and global hotel concept developer WorldHotels, the first of a series of concept hotels to be developed by the two firms in the next five years.

H20 Ventures is the developer of the Ocean Park Manila and the marine-themed H2O Hotel within the park, while Germany-based World Hotels is the developer of 500 concept hotels in 265 destinations and 65 countries.

WorldHotel and Residences Makati is a 40-story development with 401 rooms. It is a 30-minute drive from the Makati business district and from the airport.It will have an alfresco dining and ground floor café and a roof deck bar. It will likewise has a function hall that can accommodate 400 guests.

The hotel is being designed by Suying Design, a Singapore-based interior and architecture firm, that has designed condominiums and commercial complexes in Hong Kong, India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore.

During the launch of the hotel yesterday, H2o Ventures president Lim Chee Yong also announced that the joint venture would be developing five concept hotels in the next decade and that they are already scouting for locations in Busuanga, Coron, Boracay and Cebu.

Aside from the new hotel in Makati, another WorldHotel property would be developed in Metro Manila.  

Lim said the construction and management of the new Makati hotel would be borne by H20 Venture Inc., while the branding side would be taken cared of by WorldHotels.

The new hotel, like Hotel H20, would employ around 500 staffers.

“The partnership between Hotel H20 and WorldHotels has proven to be a mutually beneficial collaboration. WorldHotels branded hotel solutions offers one of the most flexible hotel models in the world for upscale independent properties and hotel groups,” he said.

“Adopting the WorldHotel brand enables quality independent hotel groups to position themselves internationally in the face of competition from global hospitality brands,” he added. 

WorldHotels vice president for Asia-Pacific Roland Jegge said that with the government’s commitment to increase public spending for infrastructure and development of the tourism sector, the hotel business has great potential.

“Manila needs more hip hotels. The hotels that we have here were built a generation ago,” said Jegge.

He said WorldHotels also welcomes other property developers in the country who want to develop concept hotels that target the young market.

“We are fast to embrace other partners who want to develop their own hoteals. We allow owners to develop their own concept. No cookie cutter hotels,” he said.

WorldHotels provide partnerships with airlines, credit card firms, car rentals and travel firms.

It also provides marketing and branding services to its development projects.