A Makati hotel that won't cost an arm and a leg
MANILA, Philippines - Picture this: You arrive early morning at your hotel, in a rush and so badly wanting to freshen up for a midday appointment. But the front desk tells you, sorry, your room is still being prepped up and please wait for the fixed 2 p.m. check-in time.
Or you arrive very late in the evening, your accommodation is ready and everything, but your stay is good as paid for the day, leaving you so little time to relish your room with the looming check-out time of 12 noon the next day.
For any smart traveler, both situations are a hassle and are either a waste of time or money. But it’s not out of the ordinary.
This is why the owners of 24H Apartment Hotel situated in the bustling business district of Makati came up with the ingenious concept of doing away with the customary hotel check-in and check-out time, so as to allow its guests to savor a complete 24-hour stay from the moment they check in at any time of the day. Imagine the convenience.
“It’s the first-of-its-kind concept in the country,” said chief executive officer Francis Gustilo, whose family has long been in the condominium-realty development business before their foray into the hospitality industry. “We changed everything in the operations to deliver a 24-hour stay.”
24H, which is the first hotel venture of 24H Property and Management Services Inc., used to function as a condominium for many years, then underwent transformation and renovation nearly two years ago to help meet the demand for hotel accommodation of people coming specifically to the Makati area for business and leisure.
Easily accessible by public transport, its exact location is at 1406 Vito Cruz Extension (Pablo Ocampo Sr. Extension) corner Balagtas St., Barangay La Paz, Makati City.
When 24H partnered with Enable Hospitality Inc., a dynamic hotel management company that handles independent hotel enterprises across the country, in running the hotel operations, the goal was clear: It was going to be positioned as a hotel for the thrifty travelers amid a prime location.
“It’s a hotel in Makati that won’t cost you an arm and a leg. We believe in the need to deliver value, without sacrificing or compromising the service component,” Gustilo said.
Value for money is an ever-enticing hotel promise. Hotel concepts like select service (for example, paying the room’s electricity for a limited time only) are becoming fashionable. But Gustilo said they want nothing less of a full service.
“We want to give the affordable accommodation option yet still full service,” Gustilo stressed.
24H offers a range of options from studios to full-serviced apartment residences that are spacious (as roomy as 60 to 70 square meters), cozy and comfortable, and nicely furnished for overnight or extended stays of solo travelers or big groups, without busting the budget.
Currently being offered are two types of budget packages for guests: Sulit Studios and Sulit Apartments. In Sulit Studios, you get to stay in a studio room, priced at P1,424 nett (solo), P1,624 nett (duo) and P2,024 nett (trio), with complimentary breakfast, Wi-Fi and use of the swimming pool. With Sulit Apartments, you will be booked at a one-bedroom apartment at P2,124 nett (solo), P2,224 nett (duo) and P2,624 nett (trio), which comes with living room and kitchen, free breakfast, Wi-Fi and use of the pool.
The other accommodation choices are the two-bedroom apartment, best for groups and extended families with twin queen beds, private living room, furnished kitchen and dining areas; and the 24H Suite, which is the most expansive and ideal for multiple use, with its suite room, meeting room, and private party venue.
“We price (the accommodation) so low. The price of an apartment here is a lot cheaper than an ordinary hotel room in Makati, which is priced at around P6,000,” said Gustilo.
There are no pretenses of what 24H truly is. There are no fancy lobby or room extras, which guests will most probably not need. The friendly and attentive reception staffers are casually but smartly dressed in uniform, collared shirts and slacks. With the “full service” concept in mind, however, 24H has made sure that “the important ones are not missed out.”
There’s a restaurant for your meals, Wi-Fi in the rooms, hot and cold shower, and other essentials, as well as facilities and services that really matter like the pool, key access elevator, business center, meeting room, function rooms, and chapel plus airport shuttle, housekeeping, laundry, security and 24-hour reception.
Asked how they make these possible, Gustilo said, “We just make sure our operating costs are efficiently managed to be able to provide full service.”
In addition to that, 24H foregoes the weekday and weekend rates as well as the single and twin bed rates.
Banking on word-of-mouth and referrals alone, 24H has since been hitting the 65 to 70 occupancy rate, with foreign guests and travelers from the province taking the bulk of its market.
“Regular guests are foreigners who stay a little bit longer because they are looking at how much they are paying in a hotel in the eye of Makati, and they say, they can already stay one month at 24H,” said Gustilo.
“Companies are also signing up and opening year-round special contracts for their traveling employees, including meeting arrangements,” he added.
Gustilo believes this patronage owes in part to 24H being a “simple and straightforward” hotel.
He said, “We are not everything, but in the basic, most important things, we are good at it.”
For smart travelers, however, it means everything.
* * *
24H Apartment Hotel is located at 1406 Vito Cruz Extension (Pablo Ocampo Sr. Extension) corner Balagtas St., Barangay La Paz, Makati City. For bookings or inquiries, call +63(2) 899-2424, 899-2174, 890-9891, 890-9883, 63(917)576-5158, 63(908)898-0794 or 63(922)805-2424; fax at 63(2) 890-9916; e-mail at customercare@hotel24h.com.ph or log on to www.hotel24h.com.ph.
