By Arra B. Francia, Reporter

VISTA LAND & Lifescapes, Inc. (VLL) is looking at double-digit growth every year up to 2020, as the company aims to introduce more products in order to be one of the major property players in the next three years.

VLL Chairman Manuel B. Villar, Jr. said the company is aiming to book a 12-15% growth in both net income and revenues starting 2018, to be driven by the expected positive performance of its core residential business and a 22-25% increase in its leasing business.

This will be boosted by the development of 24 master-planned communities, which will see VLL expanding not only housing projects but hotels, retail establishments, and schools as well.

“You will see the grand strategy of this, including 24 master-planned communities. Now given a piece of property, we know how to build hotels, we would know how to build malls, retail establishments. Di na namin kailangan kumuha ng tenants, schools. Lahat meron tayo, so whatever we develop, kumpleto na kami,” Mr. Villar told reporters last week.

The company is banking on its presence outside Metro Manila given that the government has been encouraging development in the provinces.

“We’re anticipating that, the reverse migration. We’re the biggest property developer outside Metro Manila, so it benefits us that government policy is moving toward the countryside… We’ve also started condominiums in the province,” Mr. Villar said.

VLL’s condominiums in the provinces will be priced from P2 million to P2.2 million, which the company says would be the acceptable price point there.

The company’s commercial assets, meanwhile, now totals 72 — with 22 malls, seven office buildings, and a mix of community malls and other retail formats. For mall operations alone, VLL looks to add 60 more in the next three years.

For its expansion into the hospitality sector, Mr. Villar said they will be building six hotels in the next three years mostly under its homegrown brand, Hotel Mella.

The company has identified Boracay, Tagaytay, Balanga in Bataan, Cebu, and its Evia Lifestyle Center in Las Piñas as locations for the hotels. VLL is looking to tap a partner to operate the planned hotel in Evia Lifestyle Center.

The VLL chairman said construction of two hotels will begin in the first quarter of 2018, with each one having 150 rooms each. The Boracay hotel will be its largest with around 300 rooms.

Alongside the master-planned communities, the Villar group will also be expanding its school network, Georgia Academy, which currently has three branches. Mr. Villar said they target to have up to 13 schools, which offers up to the Grade 12 level, by 2020

This plan comes amid the company’s vision to be recognized as one of the top property developers in the country.

“We will have become a major player by 2020. You will see a different Vista Land going forward. Kasi ngayon we’re viewed as a housing developer. By then we will be viewed the same way like Ayala (Land, Inc.), SM (Prime Holdings, Inc.), Megaworld (Corp.),” Mr. Villar said.

VLL currently has housing developments in 132 cities and municipalities, and 46 provinces. For the first nine months of 2017, the company booked a net income attributable to the parent of P6.95 billion, 11% higher than the P6.25 billion it realized in the same period in 2016. Revenues were up 11.8% to P26.86 billion for this period.

AYALALAND Hotels and Resort Corp. (AHRC) looks to meet the growing demand for hotel accommodations in Metro Manila and the Cebu-Mactan area as it continues to expand its homegrown hotel brand Seda.

Citing figures from the Department of Tourism, AHRC said Metro Manila will have a room gap of 69,185 by 2022, while the Cebu-Mactan area would be unable the demand for 14,931 more hotel rooms in the same period. This follows the surge of both foreign and local tourists in key destinations in the country.

With this, Seda hopes to bridge the gap by adding over 2,000 rooms across seven hotels until 2019, concentrated in central business districts in the metro as well as in Cebu.

The new Seda hotels will rise in El Nido, Palawan, ALI’s Circuit estate in Makati City, Arca South in Taguig, Ayala North Exchange in Makati, the Bay Area in Parañaque, Cebu Business Park, and the Cebu IT Park. The company will also be expanding its flagship branch, Seda Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, with the addition of 342 more rooms.

By 2019, the Seda hotel chain’s total capacity will reach 3,500, from its current count of 1,409. AHRC earlier announced it has committed to spend P15 billion for this expansion program.

“Being a wholly owned Filipino company, we have a deep understanding of opportunities in the market. We were the first to bridge the gap between the luxury and budget hotels by offering a modern facility with efficient service at competitive rates. Solid demand for our hotels continues to steadily grow,” AHRC Senior Group General Manager Andrea Mastellone said in a statement.

From starting with only 179 rooms in 2012, AHRC has managed to grow the Seda brand to its current capacity by offering new formats. The company noted it has started constructing bigger hotels with at least 250 rooms. Seda Vertis North in Quezon City for instance is its largest so far, with a capacity of 438.

Seda is also working on improving its services by tapping institutions such as the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute to train its managers. This complements the hotel’s in-house courses.

“Once a new employee has embraced our culture, we then proceed with the technical training to improve skills. Training and development have been key to our success and we will continue to invest resources in this area so staff are empowered to create memorable guest experiences,” Mr. Mastellone said.

Parent company Ayala Land, Inc.’s net income jumped 18% to P17.8 billion in the nine months ending September, driven by a 16% hike in revenues to P98.9 billion. — Arra B. Francia

A UNIT of Aboitiz Power Corp. has received its Integrated Management System (IMS) certification with zero non-conformance.

In a statement, AP Renewables, Inc. (APRI) said the certification includes the 2015 versions of ISO 9001 (Quality) and ISO 14001 (Environment), and the 2007 version of OSHAS 18001 (Health and Safety). APRI has been internationally certified since 2015.

TUV Rheinland Philippines, a leading global testing service organization for quality, efficiency, and safety, conducted the certification audit.

APRI President and Chief Operating Officer Felino M. Bernardo said  the certification “underscores APRI’s commitment to achieving world-class operational excellence while mitigating environmental risks.”

“The Integrated Management System guides and challenges us to always look for better ways to further the quality of our operations and services and continually satisfy our customers and stakeholders,” he was quoted as saying in a statement.

APRI, a leading producer of clean and renewable energy in the country, said 44 of its team members attended trainings designed for conducting internal surveillance audit to prepare the organization for external audit.

The Aboitiz unit generates baseload power from its Tiwi-MakBan geothermal facilities located in Tiwi, Albay, and the borders of Bay and Calauan in Laguna and Sto. Tomas, Batangas.