The Ascott Limited regional general manager for the Philippines and Thailand Arthur Gindap has so much faith in the Philippine economic growth that when he was asked about the brand’s expansion in the Philippines, he said they should open 20 to 25 more properties by 2020.
This figure, he says, was challenged by his CEO. Because it’s too high? “No, he thought it was too low,” Arthur says. “I thought he’d be happy with it, but he said it wasn’t enough. He wants 50 more in the Philippines.”
Based in Singapore and with properties all over Asia, the Middle East and Europe, Ascott Limited currently has 11 properties in the Philippines with its three brands — Ascott, Somerset and Citadines, all serviced residences. Six more are under construction.
Ascott Makati in Ayala Center, right next to the entrance of Glorietta 4, has just finished renovating Tower 2 and is set to begin renovations of Tower 1 in the first quarter of 2017 for a total of 362 rooms.
The cost: a whopping P1 billion. An amount that would have allowed them “to buy another hotel.”
“We believe in our brand, we have faith in the Philippine economy, and we run the highest profits of our model in the industry,” he says.
This is the second renovation of Ascott, the first being in 2008 when they took over from Oakwood the year before. That was a soft renovation costing P250 million to differentiate it from the look and feel of Oakwood and put the Ascott mark on it.
This renovation, however, is a complete makeover — the rooms are more modern with brand-new furnishings and appliances.
I had actually seen the renovated tower weeks before the press conference. Some friends and I had a potluck dinner party for my birthday there. As anyone living in the south knows, it’s very hard to invite people to come to Parañaque or Alabang — they seem to think (as I did when I lived in Quezon City) that for anywhere beyond Magallanes, you need to have your passport because it’s just so far. Really, it’s not but, yes, traffic can be terrible.
So we often choose Makati for convenience, but a hotel room can be cramped — and where do you eat with just a bed and a sofa at most? That’s when I thought of Ascott with its convenient location attached to Glorietta 4 and all its restaurants and Rustan’s Supermarket.
Along with the renovation of the suites are a new lobby, an executive lounge and a playroom for children of long-staying guests, a fitness center, tennis courts and a new swimming pool.
Guests like me — or local ones that check in for a staycation or simply to make shopping in Glorietta more convenient during the Christmas rush — account for only 20 percent of Ascott’s clientele; the 80 percent are long-staying guests, which Arthur defines as 30 days or a month (29 days is a “short stay” in the serviced residences model).
By “guests” he means CEOs and other top officers of multinational companies such as banks and financial institutions among others, but there are also tourists and staycationers who want to do some shopping for the weekend.
As Arthur puts it, “We have all the facilities of a hotel, but our rooms are so much bigger and designed for long-staying guests. If you go to the hotel, around 10 percent of the rooms are suites. In our model, every room is a suite. Families, when they travel, instead of taking two or three connecting rooms would rather stay in our two or three-bedroom apartments.”
Indeed, this renovation is top to bottom, including new function rooms that will soon open, and a now-open brand-new swimming pool. The F&B department will be run by Myron’s, which will be the main restaurant in Ascott that’s opening next month.
Why Myron’s? “Because we successfully worked with them at Citadines. They did a concept for us called Flying Pan,” he says.
Arthur is a seasoned hotelier with over 30 years of solid experience in the hospitality and food and beverage industry. A Filipino-born Canadian, he holds a diploma in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from Sheridan College in Canada. He started his career in food and beverage, and later on moved to hotel management where he has held senior positions internationally and from reputable hotel chains, namely Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Mandarin Oriental, Swiss-Belhotel and The Mulia Group.
Today, he is based in Manila and oversees the Ascott portfolio in Thailand, which has 17 properties and eight in development, and the Philippines.
Of the three brands, Ascott is the premier or in simplified terms, five stars. The two towers in Makati have three penthouses each measuring 260 sqm. and featuring a wraparound balcony and the smallest suite is 50 sqm., typically the same size of a hotel suite (which is more expensive and doesn’t come with a kitchen like Ascott’s).
Somerset and Citadines, the latter a French company originally, are four stars. “Somerset is built for the extended-stay travelers with families, there are more units with two and three bedrooms.”
The differentiation between Ascott and its sister companies is also in the location — Ascott properties are always right smack in the middle of the business or shopping district (such as Ascott Makati and Ascott at The Fort) and Somerset or Citadines are just outside the center like Legazpi and Salcedo Villages, respectively.
“Out of 10 guests, five are long-staying and the others are tourists or locals who like to stay with us.” There is even now a market segment that Arthur calls “traveling girlfriends” or a group of friends that “get away from their husbands to do some shopping and bonding.” And there’s a male tourist version of that, too.
Arthur sees the expansion of the Ascott brand going into resort destinations in the future. Though there aren’t much long-staying guests in such places, the dynamism of the tourism industry in the Philippines makes them viable locations, too.
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For inquiries, call Ascott Makati at 729-8888, log on to www.the-ascott.com.
Visit the author’s travel blog at www.findingmyway.net and follow her on Twitter and Instagram @iamtanyalara.