MEGAWORLD Corp. on Thursday said it is spending P8.5 billion to build a portfolio of brand hotels in the country, with the first Savoy branch located in its Boracay development in Aklan to open later this year.
The company said in a statement its new 530-room Savoy Boracay will cost about P2.2 billion to build, while it will open another branch with 684 rooms in its Newport City development in Pasay City by next year.
Savoy will be the last hotel to open in the leisure and entertainment complex popularly known for Andrew L. Tan’s gambling site, Resorts World Manila.
Megaworld is also constructing another Savoy Hotel in its 20-hectare development in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. With close access to the beach, the new hotel, set to open in 2018, will rise 18 stories high with 547 rooms.
Megaworld’s Savoy is not part of the popular global brand of hotel chains of the same name.
“Part of our goal is to make this hotel brand visible in our other townships across the country,” said Jericho Go, Megaworld senior vice president.
For its other home-grown brand called Belmont Hotel, Go said the company is spending P3.5 billion for its expansion to other locations in the country.
The first Belmont Hotel, with 480 rooms, operates in Newport City.
By 2018, Belmont Hotel will also open in Boracay with 407 rooms, and another in Cebu with 550 rooms by 2019.
“The rapid expansion of our very own hotel brands is an indication of Megaworld’s diversification as a real-estate company and, at the same time, our commitment to support the country’s tourism industry,” Go said.
At present, Megaworld’s Richmonde Hotel operates three hotels in the country with a total of 449 rooms.
It will open another 126-room hotel in its Batangas development.
By 2020, the three local hotel brands of Megaworld will have a total of 3,800 rooms, the company said.