BELLEVUE Hotels and Resorts Inc. of the Chan family plans to build a five-star hotel in Panglao, Bohol, citing success in their second hotel and, according to one of the sons, to offer options for cost-conscious, but “brainy” travellers.

Patrick Chan, general manager of The Bellevue Manila hotel, said the Bohol hotel would have 168 rooms and be completed by 2012.

“It would cater to tourists seeking a resort type of ambience,” Chan told the  BusinessMirror before the formal opening of B Hotel, their second after The Bellevue, on Friday.

His older brother Ryan, head of marketing and communications, said the family is also eyeing Cagayan de Oro “since there are no luxury hotels there.”

The Chan brothers said their expansion moves are based on their optimism of the country’s tourism industry, especially for provincial cities and locations.

“Over all, the vision is to expand the brand of the group as a national chain and expand the two brands in the provinces and other cities outside Metro Manila,” Ryan, Patrick’s older brother, said. He added the company also plans to put up a beach property on a 300-hectare lot in El Nido, Palawan.

“The definite plan within the next three years is the one in Bohol, which is now under construction. There’s no set date yet for El Nido, but we’re eyeing between 3 and 5 years.”

Nonetheless, Patrick said they also want to position themselves as a comfortable hotel for businessmen, especially expatriates. “The Bellevue was originally envisioned to be this type of hotel [B Hotel]. But clients at that time were looking for additional services, like a spa, a swimming pool, so we redesigned The Bellevue. The times were ripe to revisit that model so we put up this one.”

Patrick added that B Hotel will rely on the older Bellevue Hotel if guests want these amenities. A van provides shuttle service between the two hotels.

He said the 11-story, 152-room B Hotel, on the Madrigal Business Park in Alabang, will cater to cost-conscious travellers and businessmen seeking a no-frills service.

Most of the guests during their soft launch in the second week of August were employees of multinational companies within the business park.

Ryan told reporters in an interview that they spent P500 million for the hotel. He admitted they also experienced cancellations after the hostage-taking crisis in Manila. “There were some bookings for future months that were cancelled; just one big group, for 50-60 rooms for 2-3 nights.”

Still, Ryan said the quarter tha the crisis occurred was also seasonally low for the hotel industry in terms of occupancy.

Hence, he added that with the B Hotel, they are in a position to attract “business travellers who don’t require much facilities in their stay.”

“We chose Alabang to establish more of a management umbrella for the two hotels,” Ryan said.

A basic twin-bed room in the B Hotel goes for P4,000 a night while the 1-bedroom penthouse suite goes for P6,000, according to Patrick.

Ryan said these are P1,000 to P1,500 less than The Bellevue rates.

B Hotel has 108 deluxe-king rooms, 36 double-bed rooms and 8 penthouse rooms. It has a 100-seater restaurant and bar at the ground floor. The hotel also offers concierge, in-room dining, and daily shuttle services to nearby Alabang commercial and financial districts. Patrick said they will also put up an Internet kiosk in the lobby.

While the hotel doesn’t have a swimming pool, gym or spa, Patrick said they are also positioning to attract the vacationing family market who may need a stop over before travelling to tourist spots in Laguna, Batangas, or Tagaytay, Cavite.