FILARCHIPELAGO Hospitality, a joint venture between Philippine Filinvest and Indonesian Archipelago International, is being repositioned as Chroma Hospitality to underline its serious interest in being “more entrepreneurial” – not just in managing but also in getting third party owners for its four hotel brands.
Chroma country manager James Montenegro said the repositioning will include an expansion programme comprising seven more hotels across all brands over the next four years, mainly in the Visayas where Chroma’s local partner, Filinvest, has extensive landholdings and mixed-used land developments.
Chroma has Crimson Hotels & Resorts, a luxury brand; Quest Hotel brand for MICE; Azure Beach Club which is co-branded with Crimson; and to be launched in end 2015/early 2016, Canvas Hotels and Resorts, a music-driven, hip and youngish brand.
The third Crimson hotel will open in Boracay in 3Q2016, while two more Quest properties will launch by 2018 – the 162-key Quest Hotel in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental and 167-key Quest Hotel in Tagaytay with a meeting venue for up to 500 pax.
A second Azure Beach Club will open at Crimson Boracay, after the first at Crimson Mactan.
The fourth brand, Canvas Hotels and Resorts, will debut with a 228-key hotel in Cubao, Quezon City in end 2015/early 2016, followed by a 185-key beach resort in Mactan, Cebu in 2018, and a 228-key city hotel also in Mactan by 2019.
“We are very positive about the market in Mactan and already have existing properties there. Cebu in general has a good reputation as a destination for MICE or tour groups,” said Montenegro.
He added that the Quest Hotel brand is “very successful” even in Indonesia and that in the Philippines, the 427-room Quest Hotel in Mactan has a comfortable and equal mix of domestic and foreign clients.
He however underscored the need to improve Philippine airports if the country wants to become a major MICE player in the region.
Quest Hotel has “a tremendous opportunity for growth in the Philippines but we need to get our airports geared up to support its growth”, he remarked.
