AYALA Land, Inc. (ALI) said its hotel and resorts subsidiary is ending its two-decade old contract with Washington-based Marriott International Hotels for the management of a prime hotel in southern Philippines, the Cebu City Marriott Hotel.

Cebu City Marriott Hotel will be rebranded next year as Seda hotel, a homegrown brand of Ayala Land, according to a statement sent to journalists on Friday.

Both Seda and Cebu City Marriott are four-star hotels, Seda Hotels said in a email reply to BusinessWorld.

Marriott – a global lodging company whose portfolio includes hotel brands The Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton, Delta Hotels, Courtyard Marriott, Renaissance Hotels and Le Meridien – has been the manager of Cebu City Marriott since the latter began its operations in October 1997, according to Seda.

The contract between Marriott and AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corp. (AHRC) – which is 100% owned by ALI – lapses on Dec. 31 this year.

ALI has been building hotels and owning them, but hires global names like the InterContinental Hotels Group, Raffles, Fairmont and Marriott to be the hotels’ managers.

“AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corporation (AHRC) announced the conclusion of its contract with Marriott International Hotels to manage Cebu City Marriott Hotel by the end of 2017 and the appointment of its wholly-owned Seda brand to manage the hotel in 2018 after refurbishing the hotel’s rooms and amenities,” Seda said in a statement sent to journalists on Friday.

Cebu City Marriott Hotel “had helped spur the growth of the Cebu Business Park and the rest of Cebu City as a global business center,” the statement quoted AHRC President and Chief Executive Officer Al Legaspi as saying.

“Seda in Cebu Business Park will be our biggest hotel in the Visayas which is but fitting given Cebu City’s transformation as a global business center,” Mr. Legaspi said.

“Seda, which now has 1,255 rooms throughout the country, is ready to fill the needs of Cebu Business Park locators and visitors,” he added.

With the rebranding and a plan to build another Seda hotel within the Cebu IT Park, the Ayala Land group will have two Seda hotels in the province.

The Seda hotel brand was first launched in 2012 and has since expanded outside Bonifacio Global City to now have properties in Cagayan de Oro City, Davao City, Iloilo City, Nuvali in Laguna, and Quezon City. – M. E. I. Calderon

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