Megaworld opens newest hotel brand

ON OCT. 8, the Andrew Tan-led Megaworld Corp. introduced the company’s newest hotel brand with the opening of its first property in Resorts World Manila in Pasay City.

The Belmont Hotel Manila is a 10-storey, 480-room business hotel designed with a “natural” theme in mind, as the lobby is a study in wood and marble, with green glass “shells” suspended from the ceiling.

Likewise, wood and glass and marble dominate the hallways and the rooms.

During the launch and the subsequent tour, Lorenzo Tang, the hotel’s general manager, told the press that the hotel — currently on its soft opening with a planned grand launch in November — will “probably” have a $100-$200 price point.

“Prices are changing based on seasonality… at the moment we’re still testing the market [as] we do not want to overcharge,” said Mr. Tang, before adding that due to their proximity to the country’s international airports, they are expecting that 40% of their customers will be foreign business travelers and that the average stay of each guests will be around one to two days.

The hotel is said to be in the four-star category and boasts of a rooftop pool which turns into a bar at night, an all-day dining restaurant which can seat 89 people, a fitness center (with saunas and steam rooms), function rooms, and a business center.

Hotel rooms are sized at around 25 square meters with room categories being based on the amenities provided and on location and not much on size.

“We are developing different room categories. The differentiation will not be on the size like a normal hotel but more on amenities,” he told ����ý during the tour of the property.

One category will be a “tranquility room,” described by Mr. Tang as “almost a spa room” because they will be scented with lavender, located in hallways with less foot traffic, and will face the atrium or a mini-patio. Corner rooms will have two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows offering almost-unobstructed views of the streets (which isn’t really very pretty at the moment what with the construction of the Skyway).

“There won’t be suites in the traditional way — so no rooms with different areas,” he said, though they will offer a category with upgraded and branded amenities.

The hotel functions using an “internal business model like a condo-tel.”

“All the hotel rooms were sold to individual investors,” Mr. Tang said, before adding that Megaworld retained ownership of at least 10% of the rooms. Each unit is said to have cost P4 million. The same business model is expected to be followed by subsequent Belmont hotels — one in Cebu and one in Boracay — ensconced in Megaworld townships.

The Belmont Manila is the fourth hotel to rise in the mega-casino-resort complex after the Remington, Marriott and Maxims, with three more hotels to open in the near future including another local brand, Savoy Hotel — which Mr. Tang said would be “bigger at 780 rooms” and is expected to open in 2017 — aside from international chains such as the Starwood-operated Sheraton and a Hilton.

Mr. Tan, according to a press release, is planning to be “the country’s biggest hotel developer in the next five years” as Megaworld, together with its subsidiary Global-Estate Resorts, Inc., and Travellers International Hotels Group, Inc., will be completing “a total of 10,000 hotel rooms in various Megaworld townships in the country,” bringing the total of hotel rooms under Mr. Tan to 12,000.

Two hotels (one under the Richmonde brand) are planned to be constructed in Iloilo, one in Tagaytay, four hotels in Boracay (including Belmont) and five in Cebu. — Zsarlene B. Chua