IT is almost by default that an exhausted soul craves for an escape—to the beach, for fresh air, for new experiences. A growing destination that offers much-needed respite to the weary or the simply curious is Iloilo.
At the northern municipality of Concepcion, on a 90-minute drive away from Iloilo Airport, rests an underrated collection of islands with pristine beaches. Among the top attractions is the long sandbar of Bulubadiangan Island, with a streak of pulverized corals and shells cutting through the cerulean sea. Another is the laid-back lure of black rock formations against the sparkling sun-lit waters and glittering sand at Bagosipol Island.
The Western Visayas province also offers spiritual reconnection. One stop is the Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva at Miag-ao, a historic piece of architecture built in 1797. The structure was declared by Unesco as a World Heritage Site as one of the four baroque churches in the country. Meanwhile, in the neighboring municipality of San Joaquin, an otherworldly experience awaits at the Garin Farm Pilgrimage Resort, which is also famous for its refreshing verdant views.
Spirituality, nature and modernity, however, all meet at the province’s capital. Iloilo City has always been known as “The City of Love” for the warmth of its people, but is now also starting to be recognized as “The Rising Giant of the South” due to an investment influx that contributes to phenomenal economic growth. Iloilo City has an approved 2019 budget of P2.3 billion, which plays a no small part in its rise as a multilayered attraction for tourists.
But at the end of a long, action-packed day—especially in Iloilo—when fantasies of vacations have been realized and the thirst for adventure is finally quenched, what do people want next? Rest.
Established as the answer for easy stays in the province is Injap Tower Hotel Iloilo. The brand offers 194 rooms of exactly the same profile, of the same two-bed layout. The idea is to highlight the essentials of a hotel room, while promoting the warmth of familiarity in every visit.
“We offer no-frills stays,” said Lei Apostol, general manager of Injap Tower Hotel Iloilo’s controlling firm, Hotel 101 Management Corp., which is the hospitality arm of DoubleDragon Properties Corp.
The name Hotel 101 Management Corp., Apostol said, reflects the brand’s identity to present guests with the essentials of a hotel stay, to go with what they call as the pillars of convenience. This includes convenience relative to the brand location, comfort in terms of room offerings, connectivity with regards to fast Wi-Fi service and communication regarding guest feedback, where response time is set at under 30 minutes.
The concept was born with Injap Tower Hotel Iloilo, which was launched in 2013 as the tallest and first high-rise building in Western Visayas at 21 floors.
According to Apostol, the property prides itself in providing the basic provisions of a hotel stay, including the need for an in-house restaurant and the placement of a convenience store within the property.
Injap Tower Hotel Iloilo has grown together with the province in recent years. The concept of “weekend busy” has extended to weekdays, as the property welcomes families and businessmen throughout the week, including those attending conventions in Iloilo.
Apostol credited the growth to the diverse offerings of the province, where people can “expect a variety of experiences, along with the warm nature of locals.”
“Short-staying guests will not be able to cover everything,” she said, adding that touring the city and its churches alone is a full-day activity. “I think people who will come to Iloilo should stay longer and expect that they would want to come back very soon.”
Aside from Injap Tower Hotel Iloilo, the Hotel 101 Group operates another homegrown brand, the 518-room Hotel 101 Manila in the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City, along with international brand Jinjiang Inn, which is present in three locations. Jinjiang Inn Ortigas has 95 rooms, Jinjiang Inn Makati has 59, while Jinjiang Inn Boracay in Station 1 offers 10.
The group is targeting to boost their total room inventory to 5,000 by next year. On the pipeline is another Hotel 101 Manila with 1001 rooms, which stands to be the largest hotel in terms of room inventory in the country, and a Hotel 101 in Cebu, which, Apostol said, is going to be the biggest airport hotel in the region.
There are also plans to set up properties in Davao, Bohol and Palawan, as well as outside the Philippines, which would make the group the first Philippine hotel chain with properties outside the country. The international locations include Thailand, Japan and Vietnam, the room tally of which are not part of the targeted total of 5,000 by 2020.