MACTAN, Cebu—Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. has entered into a 25-year contract with a rising local property developer to build the first resort and residences under the Sheraton brand in
Southeast Asia.
The project, called The Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort and The Residences, would be built at a cost of P4 billion by Apple One Mactan Inc., which now owns the exclusive franchise of Starwood’s Sheraton brand.
“Nobody else can use the Sheraton brand here in Cebu,” Apple One Mactan President and CEO Ray Go Manigsaca told reporters here.
Manigsaca said over dinner he hosted on Thursday he would also have the right of first refusal if a venture would use the other six Starwood Hotel brands, like Westin.
The one-of-a-kind mixed-use hotel and residential property development sits on a 75,000-square- meter site overlooking both Hilutungan Channel and Magellan Bay’s blue expanse.
Manigsaca, who also heads Apple One Mactan’s holding firm Apple One Property Inc., said the hotel would be finished by 2019.
“But we hope we can do it in the last quarter of 2018.”
Manigsaca said a large chunk of the P4 billion he allotted for the project would come from internally generated cash, while the rest would be financed by banks. At least three major commercial banks have
expressed interest in partnering with Apple One, he added.
Manigsaca also told reporters about P2 billion would be poured into the hotel’s development, while the other half of the investment would be for The Residences. The Residences is targeted to be finished by 2020.
According to Charlie Dang, Starwood Southeast Asia Pacific regional vice president, the company not only allows Apple One to use the Sheraton brand but also the Sheraton system.
Dang said Apple One can tap into the Starwood’s Preferred Guest (SPG) loyalty program, which currently has 21 million members.
He explained the SPG is only 3 percent of Starwood’s base, but delivers 27 percent of revenue to the Stamford, Connecticut-headquartered hotel company.
Manigsaca said he is optimistic the merger of Starwood and Marriott International Inc.—announced on November 16—would have a further positive effect on the Mactan project.
Cyndy Tan Jarabata, president of Apple One Mactan’s marketing partner Tajara Leisure and Hospitality Group, said the timetable is anchored on the expected increase in foreign and domestic tourist arrival, as the Mactan International Airport is undergoing expansion. “Based on official data, 10 percent to 13 percent of tourist arrival is from the domestic market alone, so that already gives us a good market,” Jarabata said.
Also, according to her, they are targeting overseas Filipinos who come back to the country. Likewise, Jarabata added, they are preparing for additional international flights with the expansion of the airport and the booming economy not just in Cebu but also in the region.
According to Clint Nagata, founder of Blink Design Group, 85 percent of the total units of the resort would have an ocean view, while the rest would have a view of the pool.
Ninety percent of the materials, like rattan, for the hotel and resort would be sourced locally, Nagata told reporters.
Manigsaca said they are initially placing a tag price of between P160,000 to P180,000 per sq m for the residential units, which will start at a cut of 64 sq m and up to 160 sq m.
Nagata said the hotel units would have 40 sq m of space.
The Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort will have 250 rooms and suites, and function space totalling 1,313 sq m.
The Residences at Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort will feature 186 units, consisting of one- to three-fitted bedroom apartments; resident’s lounge; meeting rooms; an amenity floor; recreation facilities, such as fitness center; yoga room and large lagoon pools; and access to resort facilities.