Major property developer Ayala Land Inc. plans to expand its Seda hotel brand to 3,500 rooms by 2019 to address the increasing demand brought about by tourism and corporate expansions.
AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corp. senior group general manager Andrea Mastellone said in a statement Seda Hotel rooms would more than double to 3,500 in 15 locations from the current 1,409 in seven sites.
The move to aggressively expand the Seda bran is in line with its objective to be the leading Philippine hospitality brand.
Seda Hotel is located in Bonifacio Global City, Cagayan de Oro, Davao City, Nuvali in Laguna, Iloilo City, Quezon City and Bacolod City.
“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,” Mastellone said.
Mastellone expects tourism and traditional firms on expansion mode to be Seda’s growth drivers and to fill the more than 2,000 rooms coming onstream.
Citing studies by the Department of Tourism, Mastellone said Metro Manila was expected to have a room gap of 69,185, while Cebu-Mactan is expected to have a deficit of 14,931. Seda will focus its expansion primarily in these two key cities.
Ayala Land in 2018 will launch Seda Lio in El Nido, Palawan.
New Seda hotels will be inaugurated in the next two years in Circuit Makati; Arca South, Taguig; the Cebu Business Park; Ayala North Exchange, Makati; Bay Area, Paranaque; and the Cebu IT Park.
In response to the Bonifacio Global City’s sustained expansion, an additional 342 rooms will also be added to Seda BGC in Taguig, the brand’s flagship hotel.
Melissa Carlos, group director of sales and marketing, said Seda expanded quickly from 179 rooms in 2012 to the current 1,409.
The group also started offering new formats—bigger hotels that will have at least 250 rooms from the 150 rooms of its first generation hotels, serviced apartments and resorts
“We want to be known as the hospitality chain synonymous with Filipino hospitality and the Philippines,” Carlos said.