Is AHRC dropping Marriott partnership the right strategy?
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AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corporation (AHRC) announced that its contract with Marriott International Hotels to manage Cebu City Marriott Hotel will conclude on December 31, 2017 after a fruitful partnership of 20 years. The hotel that helped spur the growth of the Cebu Business Park and the rest of the city as a global business centre will close its doors on January 1, 2018.
Al Legaspi (above) president and CEO of AHRC, expressed appreciation for Cebu City Marriott Hotel’s consistent performance, since opening in 1997. “The Cebu City Marriott Hotel helped to affirm the reputation of the Cebu Business Park in its growing years as the premier business district of the city, as well as the region.” He also expressed gratitude to the hotel employees for their dedicated service.
AHRC has appointed its wholly-owned hotel brand Seda to manage the hotel in 2018 after a full refurb of its rooms and amenities. This potentially risky move is buoyed by Seda’s huge success since opening 2012, which has seen flourish throughout the country.
Something Legaspi is keen to highlight. “Seda, which now has more than 1,400 rooms throughout the country, is ready to fill the needs of Cebu Business Park locators and visitors,” He also added that AHRC’s commitment to Cebu is further underscored by the construction of another Seda hotel at Cebu IT Park, the first Seda hotel and serviced apartments outside of Metro Manila.
So, is dropping the support of a heavyweight like Marriott the smart thing to do?
Well, with hotels in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City, Bacolod City, Cagayan de Oro City, Davao City, Iloilo City, Nuvali in Laguna, and Quezon City, you would have to say yes, on balance, this is a great time for AHRC to bring its pioneering accommodations ‘in-house’.
A move compounded by an aggressive expansion plan by the company to boost its inventory to 3,500 rooms over the next two years, with Seda in Cebu Business Park being the brand’s biggest in the Visayas island – which, as Mr Legaspi says, is only fitting given Cebu’s status as the centre of business and commerce in the area.
