Fairmont, ALI mull 2 more projects

MANILA, Philippines - Fresh from the opening of its flagship hotel in the country, global hotel chain Fairmont Hotels and Resorts is eyeing the development of resort hotels in the Philippines.

The hotel giant is looking at partnering anew with property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) for at least two more hotels in the country, executives said.

“For the Philippines, I think we can probably do two resort hotels but it can be more. The Philippines has always been a great place for tourism,” Jennifer Fox, president of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, said in an interview.

“There are resort opportunities like in Cebu. The Philippines is more than Manila because it has beautiful islands, beaches and natural resources,” Peter French, president of Raffles Hotel and Resorts, said in a separate interview.

Fox and French said expansion plans in the Philippines will focus on resort hotels.

Fairmont, the parent firm of Raffles, can have more partnerships with ALI, Fox said.

The grand opening of Raffles and Fairmont Makati, a project done in partnership with ALI, was held last Thursday.

The 30-story Fairmont Makati offers 280 deluxe rooms and suites. It also houses the Raffles Makati with 237 serviced-living units.

For ALI, partnering with international chains will help grow the property firm’s premium hotels portfolio in the Philippines, ALI president Antonino T. Aquino said.

“That is obviously very welcome. We would like to have good quality products in the Philippines,” Aquino said.

To date, the portfolio of Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts Corp. is composed of Intercontinental Manila, Cebu Marriott, Raffles and Fairmont Makati, El Nido Resorts and own brand Seda Hotels.

ALI targets to have have 4,000 rooms under construction or ready for occupancy in the next two years.

Aquino said the 4,000 rooms will ideally be divided into three segments: resort hotels, premium hotels and the Seda brand.

The grand opening of Raffles and Fairmont Makati is seen to boost tourism in the country, officials said.

“We have hotels across the world and we do cross marketing. Our hotels in the Middle East, Europe and Americas will now cross market this hotel,” French said.

“We will be sending developers and investors here show what we can really do in this part of the world,” Fox said.