By Zsarlene B. Chua
Reporter
SINGAPORE-BASED The Ascott Limited continued to expand in the Philippines with the opening of the third branch of its apartment hotel brand Citadines.
The 212-room Citadines Bay City Manila is located at the corner of Diosdado Macapagal Avenue and Coral Way in Pasay City. The new hotel adds to the company’s portfolio which includes Citadines Millennium Ortigas and Citadines Salcedo Makati.
Meant for the “smart and practical travellers” the new Citadines property has rooms and serviced apartments ranging from 35 square meters (sq.m.) to 50 sq.m. Its amenities include a fitness center, a 25-meter swimming pool, a kiddie pool, a pool bar, a running path and spa.
“This is [the company’s] first Bay Area property and is the ideal jump off point to discover or rediscover Manila,” Daniel Wee, country general manager for The Ascott Ltd. Philippines, said in his remarks during the Nov. 28 opening.
Citadines Bay City Manila is targeting short-stay guests. Rennan John Reyes, the property’s residence manager, said they expect short-stay travellers to account for 80% of its bookings.
The hotel has 146 rooms under the Studio Deluxe and Studio Deluxe Twin categories. The 32-sq.m. hotel rooms will feature either a queen-sized bed or two twin-sized beds.
There are 66 rooms under the Studio Premier and One-Bedroom Premiere categories, which are designed for longer stays since these are equipped with kitchens and washer-dryer units.
Currently, less than half of the rooms are open. According to Casey Faylona, The Ascott director of sales and marketing, the hotel is expected to be fully operational by April.
EXPANSION PLANS
In July, The Ascott announced its partnership with real estate developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. to manage a total of 1,600 units in Bacolod City, Cebu City and Davao City by 2022.
The Ascott website showed there are six more Citadines hotels in the pipeline. Citadines Cebu City, which will have 200 rooms, is set to open in the first quarter of 2019.
The company will also be opening Citadines Paragon Davao and Citadines Bacolod City in 2021. Citadines Greenhills Manila will begin operations in 2022, while Citadines Benavidez Makati and Citadines Roces Quezon City will open in 2023.
Aside from the Citadines brand, The Ascott will also open three Somerset properties in Cebu and Makati City (Salcedo Village and Valero) in 2021.
This will bring the total number of Somersets to six, joining Somerset Alabang, Millennium Makati and Olympia Makati.
Mr. Faylona also said a new Ascott brand will also be introduced to Cebu City by 2021 — the Lyf by Ascott a co-living concept with 153 “social apartments.”

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