PIPELINE : ASIA PACIFIC
Ayala Land Hotels & Resorts Corp . owns and operates
Holiday Inn & Suites Makati as well as hotels under its own brands in the Philippines .
PHILIPPINES
The Philippines is setting itself up as the next Macau , with multi-billion dollar investments in casino-resort developments in Metro Manila , only a couple of which — Genting ’ s 1,574-room Resorts World Manila and Global Gaming Asset Management ’ s 488-room Solaire Resort & Casino — are currently in operation . The latter , developed by Bloomberry Resorts Corp ., Parañaque , Philippines , is part of the Entertainment City gaming complex . “ The Philippines looks like a very good growth story ,” says Robert Hecker , managing director at Horwath HTL ’ s Singapore office . “ The gaming projects will create big jumps in arrival .”
Restrictions on foreigners owning property and a lack of transportation infrastructure has deterred large-scale investment in hotels , particularly in the leisure sector . Domestic tourism is increasing , though , and local developers are meeting that demand with both international and indigenously branded properties .
Ayala Land Hotels & Resorts Corp ., a subsidiary of the Manila-based conglomerate Ayala Corp ., owns and operates IHG-branded hotels in Manila , including the 347-room Holiday Inn & Suites Makati , which opened in April 2013 , and the 332-room InterContinental Manila . Ayala Land also runs El Nido Resorts , the portfolio of which includes three located on Palawan Island and one on Pangulasian Island , and operates three
hotels in Fort Bonifacio , Cagayan de Oro and Davao City under its urban Seda Hotels brand .
Microtel Inns & Suites ( Pilipinas ), Makati City , is the master franchisor for Wyndham Hotel Group ’ s Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham brand in the Philippines , and 11 Microtels are currently in operation with two more in the pipeline . These properties are more upscale than their U . S . counterparts , and some are in resort settings .
MYANMAR
The opening of Myanmar is stoking tourism demand as the country ’ s ministry of hotels and tourism reported Myanmar received more than one million visitors during the first eight months of this year , equaling the total amount for 2012 , and projects more than two million visitors before the year is out . Hotel companies report strong performance numbers for this year after steadily seeing big gains in RevPAR , ADR and occupancy since 2010 .
Still , Myanmar ’ s regulatory environment remains a work in progress , and there is a lack of reliable infrastructure outside the major cities . “ The laws there are challenging ,” says Duane Elledge , executive vice president and managing director , Asia Pacific , Wyndham Hotel Group . “ We would never manage there , but we might look at some francise deals if we found the right partner .”
However , that has not stemmed a tide of deals over the past year . Accor
MYANMAR HAD MORE THAN ONE MILLION VISITORS DURING THE FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF THIS YEAR , EQUALING THE TOTAL AMOUNT FOR 2012 , AND PROJECTS MORE THAN TWO MILLION VISITORS BEFORE THE YEAR IS OUT .
signed a three-hotel deal to open an MGallery hotel in Naypyidaw , Novotel Yangon Max and Novotel Mandalay . Best Western International , Phoenix , signed two hotels in Yangon and Naypyidaw . Hilton Worldwide signed one hotel in Yangon , and The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels , Hong Kong , signed one for its Peninsula Hotels brand in Yangon . Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts , Hong Kong , has operated the 407-room Traders Hotel Yangon since 1996 and plans additional hotels as well as investing US $ 100 million in a commercial project in Yangon .
66 HOTELS November 2013 www . hotelsmag . com