THERE’S something fulfilling about seeing old, dilapidated developments “rebirthed” into new and welcoming spaces.
Hospitality remains to be an evolving art form. Today the different aspects that make a leisure development a lot more “social”—and, thus, more profitable—has a lot to do with how these spaces appeal to the design curiosities of today’s travelers. Here in the Philippines, there has been a significant shift among hotels and resorts toward adopting creative renovation ideas that reflect a seamless marriage of contemporary and local design.
“There are so many buildings and sites here in the Philippines that have genuine characters, but, unfortunately, have fallen into disuse,” said Rebecca Marie Abigail Lee of The Oriental Hotels and Resorts, one of the most notable leisure companies that specialize in integrating creative renovation ideas into properties within their portfolio. “The Philippines has been very good to us, and so in our business, we try to repay the country, as well, by helping conserve, reuse and generally save the buildings that would have been demolished otherwise.
The success story of The Oriental Hotels and Resorts started being written about in 1995. However, because of the Asian Financial Crisis that occurred a few years after, all plans were put on hold until, finally, the group successfully introduced The Oriental Legazpi in Bicol in 2006. “The business was created to acquire and operate hotels and resorts with a commitment to leisure, elegance, comfort and, most especially, to highlight what the Filipinos are known for: friendliness and hospitality,” Lee shared. “From the very beginning, what we wanted is to be able to offer travelers a place that is comforting and relaxing, where the people are kind, helpful, friendly and offer top-notch service.”
Creative renovation as a differentiator
For The Oriental, the idea of employing “creative renovation” as a business strategy is largely aimed at injecting a new and invigorating ambience to existing developments.
At the moment, the company manages five boutique luxury hotels in various parts of the country—The Oriental Legazpi, The Inns Bacolod, The Oriental Bataan, The Oriental Leyte and Swagman Manila in Ermita. All of these developments used to be old hotels that have been abandoned to rot, but which have been handpicked and redesigned to conform to the taste of the current market.
“We always had a love for old things, buildings included. There are buildings that just ‘speak to people,’ and these structures would have been perfect for leisure businesses, like an old theater that could make a nice boutique hotel,” Lee added. “It’s a waste of good space, buildings, and even art if we demolish and build anew, so we try, as much as we can, to find sites that still have life in them.”
The Oriental Bataan in Mariveles, for example, used to be an old, run-down hotel that ceased operation a long time ago. When the Lee family chanced upon it and saw the potential for the space, they wasted no time working with their trusted team of architects and interior designers to make their vision of a thriving leisure property come to life.
For one, creatively renovating built spaces lend a new “personality” into the end products because of the rich history that has been etched unto the walls of these structures. “Generally, old buildings are solid, well-built, and if you’re a romantic, then you can almost hear it—the soft sound of laughter, the clinking of wine glasses, maybe even a piano or a violin playing in the background,” Lee shared.
“The conservation of history is the stark difference that an old building has over the cookie-cutter buildings of the more modern structures. Nowadays, you get sleek lines and glass, but if we use another building—an old building with a storied past—we get the painstaking details that you won’t be able to get anywhere else.”
It is also the sense of nostalgia that distinguishes redesigned properties and helps create a more defined story for The Oriental Hotels as a brand. “People are always interested about our history and those of our sites and buildings. Sometimes we get people who actually knew what the buildings were before and they are happy to see that it’s still there, that it’s still standing, and that we’ve given it a new lease in life.”
A rewarding challenge
Despite being a truly satisfying endeavor, creative renovation also has its share of challenges that every developer and business owner must successfully hurdle.
“When we start repairs, we don’t know what we are going to find. We have to figure out where the pipes are, where the wirings are, or where we need to put braces on, those kinds of things,” Lee narrated. Once addressed, though, the fulfillment that they get comes back tenfold. “For one, we can adopt themes for our hotels and restaurants to revolve around certain ‘characters’ that the previous structures have been known for,” Lee added.
Beyond just aiming to be an outstanding business, leisure developers must also be conscious of the role that they play in enriching the experience travelers can associate with a particular destination.
“We want people to come in and exchange stories with us. We want The Oriental Hotels to be something more than a place to stay in,” Lee shared. “We want to be known for this uniqueness and warmth that our properties lend and our people bolster.”
Image credits: The Oriental Bataan, The Oriental Legazpi