WORLDWIDE hospitality group Accor appears on track with its expansion in the Philippines with the recent signing of Sofitel Cebu City, slated to open in 2025.
In a news statement over the weekend, Garth Simmons, Accor’s chief executive officer for Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea, said: “We are extremely pleased to be expanding our footprint in Cebu with the signing of Sofitel Cebu City. Our partners’ commitment to a long-term partnership with Accor in these difficult times demonstrates the trust and the confidence they have in our group, the popularity of our brands across various segments, our proven track record of operational excellence and the relationship-driven approach and flexibility towards owners and investors.”
Accor’s partner in this 195-room luxury hotel is Cebu Landmasters Inc., a leading real property developer in Visayas and Mindanao. For his part, Company CEO Jose Soberano III, said, “We believe that Cebu is a destination with enormous potential. Sofitel Cebu City will ensure that we can offer both corporate and leisure travelers a luxury offering in the central business district of this prosperous port capital.”
He added, “We are confident that the hotel’s excellent array of entertainment amenities and business offerings will ensure that Sofitel Cebu City becomes a hub of hospitality in this key destination. We are very happy and proud that we can partner with Accor as top and renowned hotel operator for this exciting project.”
He expressed confidence in the “longevity of the tourism industry and its future success as the world returns to travel following this challenging period.” The company’s other hotels include Citadines in Cebu City, Radisson Red in Mandaue, Lyf Cebu City, Citadines Paragon in Davao City, and Citadines Bacolod City.
Cebu Landmasters began as an affordable housing developer in 2003 then went on to build mixed-use projects, office buildings and condominiums in the mid-2000s. It ventured out of Cebu in 2018 with its MesaVirre Garden Residences in Bacolod City.
Meanwhile, Sofitel Cebu City will include two restaurants, a lobby lounge, an executive floor lounge and a rooftop bar. It will also feature a business center, fitness center, swimming pool and spa, as well as a host of meeting rooms and ballrooms.
Located in the Cebu Business Park, the hotel will become part of the landmark mixed-use tower designed by SOM, one of the world’s leading architecture, interior design, engineering, and urban planning firms.
In an earlier interview with the BusinessMirror, Accor executives said it has a recovery plan for the Philippines “which will be focused on the domestic market and our [food and beverage] offerings in the first phase of recovery, local regional markets in Asia in the second phase, and long-haul markets in the third phase.”
Sofitel Cebu City joins a pipeline of 17 committed projects across the country which will see an extensive array of internationally renowned hospitality brands arrive for the first time, such as Banyan Tree, Angsana, MGallery, Swissôtel, and ibis Styles.
Just last December, Accor signed Pullman Manila at Primex Tower in Greenhills, San Juan, slated for completion in 2023. The 200-room hotel is a project with Primex Realty Corp.
From a current portfolio of eight hotels with 2,363 rooms, Accor will expand to 23 hotels with over 6,300 rooms by the year 2025. (See, “Accor tapping domestic travelers for initial PHL recovery plan,” in the BusinessMirror, May 4, 2020.)
Accor is one of the leading international hotel operators in the Philippines with 5,000 hotels and residences across 110 destinations. It operates five hotels in Metro Manila which welcomed over five million visitors in 2019.