ASTORIA Hotels & Resorts revealed on Wednesday it is investing around P3 billion for its expansion in the next three years on the back of tourism growth in the country.
Among the initiatives to be undertaken is the construction of 50 more rooms to its facility in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, bringing its total inventory to 200. The cost of this project is P600 million.
“With the tremendous growth of the city, plus the completion of the Puerto Princesa International Airport, we expect more local and international tourist arrivals into Puerto Princesa. So we feel that 150 rooms is not enough,” Astoria Hotels & Resorts President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jeffrey T. Ng told reporters at the sidelines of the Puerto Princesa City Business Forum at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Pasay City.
The hospitality firm is about to break grounds for the new accommodation units—all targeted to be finished in nine months. Then, it will add another infinity pool and expand the convention center to accommodate more of the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions or MICE market.
“We’re hitting 80 plus percent already,” he said of the current average occupancy of the hotel. “So we think with that kind of rate, it’s just but necessary for us to expand now in time for completion probably mid of next year.”
The improved business of the hotel came as a surprise for the company, following the rehabilitation of Boracay beach in April 2018, according to Ng.
“We felt that, at first, Astoria Palawan would not be as attractive a destination as our two other hotels in Boracay. But since Boracay was closed last year for six months, many more tourists have gone to Puerto Princesa,” he said.
The company is eyeing to bring the brand to Coron and Lio in El Nido in the next two to three years. The latter is still in the planning stage.
Outside of Palawan, Astoria is set to expand its hotel in Bohol with additional 250 rooms by 2020. It also plans to build one more outlet in this province.
“We have acquired a property already in Siargao,” Ng added. “Right now, we are still doing the design phase of how many rooms, what kind of rooms and the amenities.”