Hotel101 rides on Trump victory, eyes all 50 US states

MANILA, Philippines — DoubleDragon Corp., the listed developer chaired by tycoon Edgar “Injap” Sia II,  is targeting to conquer the entire United States with its homegrown Filipino hotel chain.

Sia told The STAR that Hotel101 is envisioned to be in all 50 states in the US over the long term.

Hotel101 Global Pte. Ltd., the Singapore-headquartered subsidiary of DoubleDragon, is currently building the first Hotel101 in the US located in Los Angeles, California.

“Hotel101 Los Angles California is expected to be completed in time for the next Olympics in 2028 to be held in Los Angeles,” Sia said.

On top of its expansion, Hotel101 Global is currently in the process of its US listing, which is expected to take place this fourth quarter.

Hotel101 Global will become the first Filipino company to list in the US via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

“We are excited to make happen Hotel101 Global listing as it is set to be the first from the Philippines to list in Nasdaq and our listing team and counsels in Manila, Singapore, Hong Kong and New York are currently working on the process that we expect before the end of the year or as soon as possible,” Sia said.

Sia said the US listing of Hotel101 Global, with HBNB as its ticker symbol, is set to open new doors to tap the very deep and broad pool of capital in the US, especially for equity capital raises

“This should significantly boost DoubleDragon’s balance sheet to unprecedented level that would only be possible in a sophisticated and massive US capital markets,” he said.

According to Sia, Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections is seen providing Hotel101 Global’s upcoming US listing a boost.

“With President Trump as the new US President, we also expect Nasdaq  to become more vibrant in the next few months, the same stock exchange where DoubleDragon’s subsidiary Hotel101 Global is about to list,” Sia said.

“I believe President Donald Trump is very pro-business. In fact, President Trump has recently listed his own media company using the exact the same Nasdaq  SPAC route,” he said.

DoubleDragon has organically developed a novel asset-light concept and highly unique business model in Hotel101.

Hotel101’s asset-light concept allows the company to generate revenue and income twice, first from the pre-selling of the condotel units, then second after the project is constructed it generates long term recurring revenue from the enrolled units in operating the hotel.

“We believe the novel and asset-light PropTech concept of Hotel101 Global will thrive in global stage as the business model is unique and the business model is highly exportable and portable across multi-countries worldwide. We expect Hotel101 in the near term to become one of the major US dollar currency inflow generator to the Philippine economy,” Sia said.

Aside from the US, the first three countries for Hotel101’s expansion abroad include Japan and Spain.