Filinvest Development Corp. of the Gotianun family said it was on track to build 5,000 hotel rooms in five years following the launch of a new hotel brand Canvass and the operation of Mimosa Leisure Estate.
FDC Hotel Corp. executive vice president Francis Gotianun said in a recent interview the company had a little over 1,000 rooms and lined up several hotels under various hotel brands, namely Crimson, Quest and the recently-launched Canvass.
The company by the end of 2016 aims to build 2,000 hotel rooms with the takeover of Mimosa Leisure Estate, which includes the 303-room Holiday Inn hotel.
“With the Mimosa and the hotel projects we have in the pipeline, we have a good shot of hitting our target,” Gotianun said.
Gotianun said the company planned to build a 200-room hotel in Mactan, Cebu and another 200-room in Cubao, Quezon City under the Canvass brand.
“Canvass is for the lifestyle market, particularly for the millennials, with an average rate of P4,000 to P5,000 a night,” Gotianun said.
“Currently there is a hole in the market for something that is more young and more upscale for the millennial travellers. While we have established the five-star hotels and the budget hotels, there should also be something in the middle that is cool and affordable,” Gotianun said.
He said the hotel group planned to build a 164-room Quest hotel in Tagaytay and a 180-room Quest hotel in Dumaguete.
The Filinvest Group is also slated to open the 190-room Crimson hotel in Boracay.
Meanwhile, Filinvest Development remains interested in infrastructure that the government may bid out.
The conglomerate said it was interested in the North-South Railway and the bundled airport projects.
It is keen on the Clark Airport if the government pushes through with its privatization and the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike project, if even the state decides to break it into different components.
Last month’s bidding for the P123-billion Laguna Lakeshore was declared a failure after the three pre-qualified bidders backed out due to high risks and the complexity of the project.