Red Planet Hotels plans aggressive expansion in Asia

MANILA, Philippines – Red Planet Hotels Ltd. is looking at doubling the number of rooms it operates in Asia in the coming years, with the Philippines forming part of the company’s aggressive expansion plans.

The company recently opened the 201-room Red Planet Surawong hotel in Bangkok, its 26th hotel in Asia and fifth in Thailand.

The Philippines remains Red Planet’s largest market in Asia to date with 10 hotels in the country, followed by Indonesia with seven, Thailand with five, and Japan with four.

Red Planet Hotels chief executive officer Tim Hansing said the latest addition to the company’s portfolio has brought the number of rooms it operates in the region to 4,118.

“There is robust scope to double this number in the coming years,” he said.

In the Philippines alone, Hansing in an earlier interview said Red Planet is eyeing to double the size of its budget hotel chain over the next five years.

The group intends to invest $85 million or about P4 billion to put up 10 new hotels in the Philippines more than double its current room count of about 1,720 locally to 4,000.

“It is quite clear since we launched our new brand in July that we have given the value hotel sector the significant shake-up it needed to raise standards and service in this sector of the market. In the rush by developers to cater to the five-star end of the market this sector has, sadly, been left behind at times, and we are changing this,” Hansing said.

“In addition, we always offer a clean and well-serviced stay and have developed a best in class product for the value sector in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan,” he added.

Hansing said over 70 percent of Red Planet guests are under 30 years old and require a different experience from the traditional hotels.

“Half of our brand experience is online. We have found that the innovative In-Stay Mode of our app is particularly popular and transforms the experience of staying in our hotels,” he said.

Hansing said Red Planet would soon be making additional announcements in regards to the expansion of the brand in its existing markets and in new countries.