Gokongwei unit eyes 30 budget hotels in next 5 years

By Doris Dumlao Philippine Daily Inquirer Most Read GOKONGWEI-LED Robinsons Land Corp. plans to roll out a local network of 30budget hotels over the next five years, partly through franchising, as part of its target to eventually operate the biggest hotel chain in the Philippines. At the grand opening of RLC’s pilot value hotelGohotels.ph in Cybergate Plaza along Edsa in Mandaluyong City Friday, RLC president Frederick Go told reporters that franchising would play a significant role in the nationwide expansion of value hotel chain Gohotels.ph. He said one private investor, for instance, was now looking at five sites within Greater Metro Manila to fold into the new chain under a franchising arrangement. “They build the facility. We operate the facility. We provide the system. We provide the brand, management and online booking system, which is very crucial,” Go said. Gohotels.ph, which operates under the motto “A Place for Every Juan,” seeks to offer clean, affordable, secure and strategically located but no-frills hotel roomsmostly through online booking. Pricing is variable, similar to the system used by RLC’s affiliate airline Cebu Pacific, wherein the rate are cheaper the earlier a client books. Typically, the price of a room a night will range from a low of P388 to a high as P1,888. Since the soft opening of the pilot budget hotel in Mandaluyong three months ago, Go reported that even with very little advertising, the first Gohotels.ph was hitting an occupancy rate of 90 percent. The hotel is even sometimes getting fully booked and thus unable to accommodate walk-in clients, he added. “Due to the high demand for excellent accommodations, Gohotels.ph is now welcoming offers from parties who are interested to franchise or sell their land,” Gohotels.ph general manager Liz Gregorio said. A potential hotel property should have at least 100 rooms to be economically viable, Go said. Aside from those that can be added to the Gohotels.ph network through franchising, Go said RLC itself would build more hotels, mostly near its existing Robinsons malls across the country. “We now have 30 malls. Theoretically, we have at least 30 locations that we could build it on,” Go said. The target of having a 30-hotel network over five years is even a “conservative” target, given a parallel expansion strategy through franchising. “We want to be the biggest hotel operator in a few years,” Go said. By 2011, new Gohotels.ph are planned to rise in Bacolod and Dumaguete. By 2012, new sites are seen in Palawan, Iloilo, Cebu and Tacloban. By 2013, new hotels are targeted to rise in Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, Zamboanga and General Santos. The idea is to set up a local hotel wherever carrier Cebu Pacific flies to, Go said. Published in Philippine Daily Inquirer September 3, 2010.