The expansion spans Palawan, Laguna, Pampanga, Bacolod and Metro Manila, pushing Megaworld’s planned hotel portfolio to 22 properties and around 9,000 rooms by 2029 — the largest in the country.
“Our goal is to have more than 20 hotels and about 9,000 hotel rooms when we reach our 40th year within the next three years. This will further help us unlock big opportunities and continue supporting tourism as a major catalyst of development and economic growth across the country,” said Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso, president and CEO of Megaworld.
Bigger tourism footprint
The largest tourism push is happening in Palawan, where Megaworld is building two beachfront hotels inside its 462-hectare Paragua Coastown township in San Vicente.
Savoy Hotel Palawan and Paragua Sands Hotel will together add more than 600 rooms overlooking both the sea and nearby mountain ranges.
Another major tourism project is The Hamptons Hotel beside Lake Caliraya in Laguna, part of a 300-hectare integrated lifestyle estate being developed by subsidiary Global-Estate Resorts Inc.
New business hubs rising
Megaworld is also using hotels to anchor emerging business districts outside Metro Manila.
In Pasig, the company is constructing the 31-story ArcoVia Hotel, which will become Megaworld’s tallest hotel property once completed.
Pampanga’s Savoy Capital Town and Bacolod’s Kingsford Hotel are likewise being positioned to capture rising business and convention demand in fast-growing provincial cities.
Tourism cushions growth
The expansion comes as property developers increasingly lean on hotels, malls and leasing income to cushion slower residential demand.
Megaworld’s hospitality business generated P1.5 billion in revenues in the first quarter, up 8 percent year-on-year.
Within the next few months, the company will also complete the transition of the 1,531-room Grand Westside Hotel into Mövenpick Manila Bay Westside Hotel, which Megaworld said will become the largest Mövenpick property in the world.
—Edited by Miguel R. Camus
