A SWISS luxury hotel company found its new home in the Philippines; a fresh investment in the property and tourism industry.
Mövenpick
Hotel and Resorts group, an upscale European hotel management firm,
chose Cebu to host its flagship presence in the Philippines, while four
other projects within the country are in the pipeline.
Mövenpick’s pioneer
project in Cebu has inked a partnership with Oikonomos International
Resources Corp. owned by Manny O. Wines creator Manuel Osmeña.
Over
P3.0 billion was invested to develop the beachfront community now known
as Mövenpick Cebu Resort & Towers, which houses the internationally
branded Mövenpick Cebu Residences. His firm also owns SkyLogistics and
SkyKitchen, the airport services and in-flight food service provider of
Philippine Airlines, and Cebu Pacific Catering Services, the only air
caterer serving all airlines in Mactan Cebu International Airport,
partners with Cathay Pacific Airways and Macro-Asia Corp.
The
Cebu residential and resort complex located in Punta Engaño, Mactan
Island, is made up of three towers with a front-seat view facing the
Hilutungan Channel.
“Of
all places, the first Mövenpick brand in the Philippines found Cebu as
its natural choice. When you want luxury and the good life, this is the
place to be,” said Osmeña.
Osmeña
and CB Richard Ellis Chairman Rick Santos signed the ceremonial
contract recently, together with Mövenpick director for business
development Helmut Gaisberger, in time for the launch of Mövenpick Cebu
Residences’ completion of its Phase Two project.
Phase One of the project has already sold over 90 percent of its 182 units.
Phase
Two offers 66 fully fitted residences as lifestyle units, permanent
residences or as an investment where owners may opt to lease their units
in certain months of the year to be managed by Mövenpick.
This
business model has been popular among European property chains,
especially in the coastal communities of Marbella in Spain, Algarve in
Portugal and St. Tropez and Monte Carlo in France, where owners come for
the holidays and rent out their units or vacation homes for the rest of
the months in a year.
Each
unit has a floor area ranging from 52 to 113 sq m available in one- and
two-bedroom models, with balconies and seaside views. The residences
are offered at a starting price of P125,000 per sq m exclusive of
value-added tax.
The
design of the luxury beachfront community is inspired by Southern
European design, with traces of French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian
touches, set in world-class amenities.
“We’re
staying away from the predictable,” said Osmeña. “In fact, it will be
something that has never been seen before in the Philippines.”
To
do that, Mövenpick Cebu Residences tapped a team of world-renowned
Filipino designers—Manny Samson, Ivy and Cynthia Almario, and Fred and
Butch Valdez, also known as i5—to plan the upgrades and renovations of
the grand lobby, pool and recreation areas—particularly the
Ibiza-inspired Beach Club by the beachfront.
“I call it ‘barefoot elegance.’ I promise you, there’s nothing like it in the Philippines but here,” Osmeña said.
It’s more fun ‘to stay’ in the Philippines
Osmeña
highlights the role of property development in line with the new
tourism slogan “It’s more fun in the Philippines.” The man behind Manny
O. wines, which has won 72 international awards from 10 countries, said
he hopes to have his Mövenpick Cebu Residences become an example to
showcase that special touch of Filipino hospitality fused with Swiss
precision.
He emphasized that tourism development is defined by the brand of service a place can offer.
“The
Filipinos are very flexible. We are hospitable by nature,” he said.
“I’ve traveled to the best places around the world and oftentimes
service is done as a job responsibility. But here, we enjoy making other
people happy, we always find the silver lining in anything and we like
having ‘fun’ with what we do. And that translates in our service. It is
truly more fun in the Philippines.”
Within
the Philippine property circles, the Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts group
has partnered with four other investors to develop upscale hotel and
resort communities in the nation’s hottest tourist hubs.
An
island resort is set for completion later this year in Palawan, while
two other sights have been set to start construction in the Makati area. Two other resort properties are in the works and will be announced soon.
The
Mövenpick Huma Island Resort near Coron, Palawan, which is in its
finishing stage, is modeled after the resorts in the Maldives; it has 82
over-water villas.
Gaisberger said the four other properties have different developers with a completion timetable of three years.
“We have several other projects and we are very interested in places where people go to,” he said.
Asian expansion
Gaisberger said Mövenpick is expanding in Asia due to the economic boom in the region.
“We
are a little late in coming to Asia, but better late than never. We are
now very aggressive in Asia and I would say that in a few years’ time,
we will have over 20 locations,” he said.
The
Mövenpick Hotel Group was born in 1973 in Zurich, Switzerland. It
currently has 90 properties in operation and under construction in
Europe, Africa, the Middle East and now Asia.
Mövenpick
Cebu Residences and its Resort and Spa sister property is the 15th
signed Mövenpick hotel in Asia. Since 2010, Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts
has extended its Asian presence in Thailand, Vietnam, China, Malaysia,
Sri Lanka, India and Singapore.
Oikonomos
and Mövenpick tapped the services of CB Richard Ellis Philippines as
its lead broker for the internationally branded Mövenpick Cebu
Residences.
The
Philippines is becoming a well-positioned market in Asia for hotels
because of lower real-estate prices and better customer service
provided, according to Rick Santos.
“We
are seeing impressive growth in cities like Cebu and surrounding areas.
Now is a good time for the hotel and leisure sector in the Philippines.
I cannot think of a better time to enter into this partnership,” said
Santos.
In Photo:
(From left) Liz Silvestre, assistant director; Rick Santos, CB Richard
Ellis chairman; Manuel Osmeña, Oikonomos International chairman; Helmut
Gaisberger, director of business development; and Redentor Arias,
Oikonomos COO.
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