RLC to open budget hotel in Iligan City this year
DAVAO CITY — Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) will open its 17th Go Hotels branch this year, located in Iligan City in the Northern Mindanao Region.
“We are gearing towards opening Go Hotels in Iligan City and it will be our third branch in Mindanao. We are hoping to open it by first half of this year, hopefully July,” Jacquelyn T. Lim, assistant marketing manager of RLC’s Robinsons Hotels and Resorts, said in an interview in Davao City on Monday.
Ms. Lim said the Iligan branch, located beside the existing Robinsons mall, will have 100 rooms and several function rooms.
“There is a need to develop a hotel there because of the lack of accommodations, especially good quality accommodations… I met the city tourism officer of Iligan and that is what they are looking for,” she said.
Next year, Ms. Lim said they will be focusing on expansion in northern Luzon, with branches in Tuguegarao City and Naga lined up for opening.
“We will expand in northern Luzon, it will be Tuguegarao and Naga,” she said, adding, “We always keep an open eye for further developments and expansion so its just a matter of looking for the right location.”
DAVAO
For the Go Hotels Lanang-Davao, Ms. Lim said they are optimistic of a good performance this year as fears over the martial law declaration in Mindanao subside.
“We are better this 2018 I think, in general, as we were pretty much affected with the martial law declaration initially, but I think this 2018, tourist arrivals increased both for corporate and FITs (free and independent travelers),” she said.
Ms. Lim cited several events in Davao City that would bring in guests, including various corporate activities and competitions such the Ironman race.
“Yes, we are ready to provide the accommodations for Ironman. In fact, we are actually fully booked already,” she said.
Go Hotels-Lanang is a joint venture between RLC and Udenna Development Corp. (UDEVCO), the company that owns Phoenix Petroleum.
As of end-September 2017, the hotel segment contributed 8% or P1.37 billion to RLC’s total revenues, up 5% from year-ago levels. This was primarily driven by a system-wide occupancy rate of 66% during the period.
RLC, meanwhile, booked an attributable profit of P4.57 billion for the nine months ending September, a 1% increase from the same period in 2016. — Maya M. Padillo
