BEVERAGE and airline tycoon Alfredo M. Yao has tapped Swiss upscale hotel and resorts management firm Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts for the operation of its Sol Marina Resort Boracay.
Yao told reporters that the company applied for five-star rating for Sol Marina and still waits for the Department of Tourism’s approval.
Yao, however, refused to further disclose the value of his deal with Mövenpick.
Sol Marina had a soft launching during the first half of the year in time for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in May where it opened some 100 rooms.
“We’ll formally launch Sol Marina by fourth quarter of the year,” Yao said, adding that his hotel and resort has more than 300 rooms. Sol Marina, which is under the Yao Group, will also have the same developments in Bohol and Palawan.
Sol Marina is the company’s first hotel development.
Yao Group is comprised of Zest-O Corp., Asiawide Refreshments Corp., Solmac Marketing Inc., Philippine Business Bank, Zest Airways Inc. and Pharma-Rex Inc.
Meanwhile, in the previous year, Mövenpick announced that it has five hotel developments—aside from operations management—within and outside Metro Manila amounting to $350 million.
These include two hotels in Makati City, a mixed hotel and residential in Cebu, a hotel and resort complex in Palawan, and another development in a prominent tourist destination.