Friday, August 26, 2011
MOVENPICK Resort and Spa Cebu hopes to hit 70 percent occupancy rate toward the end of the year since it assumed management of the former Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa last April.
Movenpick director of business development in the Philippines Helmut Gaisberger yesterday said the hotel’s optimism springs from its extensive marketing efforts, as well as the major renovations Movenpick will undergo until the early part of 2012.
Gaisberger admitted that since they took over the hotel’s management, the first three months were a challenge. “The hotel’s occupancy rate dropped to as low as 12 percent. But we were able to recover after the first three months since the transition,”
Gaisberger said.
Movenpick, as of this month, enjoys an 85 percent occupancy rate.
“The market’s feedback was really encouraging. In fact, the hotel is now known for its delicious food,” he added.
Movenpick Resort and Spa Cebu is managed by the Swiss-based Movenpick Hotels and Resorts, a Swiss hotel chain that has been in the business for 35 years.
To strengthen further its position in the hotel and resort industry, the firm recently embarked on a P120-million investment for the hotel renovation and upgrade, to offer foreign and local tourists the “resort feel” accommodation and service.
Yesterday, the hotel introduced to the members of the media the newest façade colors that would replace the hotel’s vibrant pink.
Gaisberger said they have consulted French architectural expert and colorist Solveig Tonning about the hotel’s new colors. He said the hotel’s pink will be replaced by earth colors.
“Each tower will have different colors that would give one an impression of a Mediterranean village,” he said. The repainting of the entire hotel is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
Expansion
Apart from the repainting, Gaisberger added the hotel has also started upgrading the 245 rooms. It will also improve the food and service of their restaurant, which is expected to give 24-hour service to its hotel guests.
The hotel will likewise expand the capacity of their conference rooms. Its ballroom currently accommodates 400 people. “For now, we are looking at areas in the hotel where we can convert to become back-up rooms for conferences that can accommodate some 30 to 40 people,” Gaisberger said.
Movenpick’s major markets are Koreans, Japanese and the locals. But the hotel will also tap other potential markets such as Australia, Russia and Europe, among others.
Movenpick’s operation in Cebu is its first in the Philippines. The hotel chain is currently in negotiations with some hotel owners located in key destinations in the country like Makati and Palawan.
“With the booming tourism industry in the Philippines, we are looking at managing two to three hotels in the country in the next three years,” Gaisberger said.
Brighter prospects in the hotels and restaurants sub-sectors were among the reasons for an increase in business confidence in the third quarter this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said yesterday.
The overall confidence index rose to 34.1 percent from 31.8 percent in the second quarter. It was the first quarter-on-quarter improvement since the last quarter of 2010, the central bank said.
Confidence about the fourth quarter surged in all sectors, but the services sector was most optimistic, followed by the construction sector. (With Isolde D. Amante)
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 27, 2011.
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