Megaworld targets nearly 12,000 hotel rooms in expansion push

Insider Spotlight

• Megaworld is targeting nearly 12,000 hotel rooms by 2032 as it expands into destinations including Palawan and Ilocos Norte
• The company has formed Megaworld Global Hotels and Resorts to oversee a portfolio spanning homegrown and international hotel brands
• Hospitality revenue climbed 11 percent to P3.1 billion in the first half of 2026, making it Megaworld’s fastest-growing recurring income segment
  
  
  

Megaworld Corp. is accelerating its hospitality expansion, targeting nearly 12,000 rooms by 2032 as the property developer builds its presence in key tourism and business destinations across the Philippines.

In a statement on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, the firm said the expansion will include new properties in Palawan and Ilocos Norte, alongside additional hotels in established markets. Both Megaworld’s homegrown brands and international hotel brands will form part of the portfolio.

Driving the news

Megaworld has established Megaworld Global Hotels and Resorts, or MGHR, to consolidate its expanding hotel portfolio under two groups.

Megaworld Hotels & Resorts will manage developments in Metro Manila, Boracay, Batangas and Cebu. Megaworld Global Hospitality will oversee Mövenpick Manila Bay Westside, new properties in Palawan, and Courtyard by Marriott, Richmonde Hotel Iloilo and Belmont Hotel Iloilo in Iloilo.

“One of our biggest contributions to nation-building is to help make our tourism industry more vibrant and attractive, especially to foreign visitors. To support this goal of helping boost our country’s tourism, we are making this bold move of expanding our hospitality organization with established veterans and innovators in the global hotels and leisure industry,” Megaworld president and CEO Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso said.

Why it matters

The restructuring comes as Megaworld seeks to capture growth in Philippine tourism while using hotel development to generate jobs and support businesses in destinations outside traditional commercial centers.

“We see tourism as one of the most powerful engines of sustainable economic growth. Every hotel we build creates jobs, supports local businesses, brings visitors to new destinations, and opens more opportunities for communities to prosper," Alliance Global Group Inc. president and CEO Kevin Tan said. 

"Through our expanding hospitality portfolio under Megaworld Global Hotels and Resorts (MGHR), we want to help continue unlocking the immense tourism potential of the Philippines and bring more of our country’s destinations, culture, and world-class Filipino hospitality to travelers from around the globe,” Tan said.  

By the numbers

Megaworld’s hospitality revenues rose 11 percent to P3.1 billion in the first half of 2026. Growth was supported by the opening of the 405-room Belmont Hotel Iloilo, its third hotel in the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park.

The opening brought Megaworld’s Iloilo hotel portfolio to nearly 1,000 rooms. The company said Belmont Hotel Iloilo is now the city’s largest hotel by room inventory.

MGHR’s two groups will be led by Socrates Alvaro as managing director of Megaworld Hotels & Resorts and Anna Vergara as managing director of Megaworld Global Hospitality. Vergara brings more than 32 years of experience with Marriott International, while Alvaro has nearly two decades of hospitality experience across international markets. —Daxim L. Lucas | Ed: Corrie S. Narisma