SMC chief to put up hotels in Batanes, Caticlan

LONDON—San Miguel Corp. president Ramon S. Ang is set to build new hotels in Batanes, Caticlan and Boracay Island in his personal capacity, expanding the hotel portfolio under his privately-held Diamond Hotel and Resort Group.

In an interview with the Inquirer, Ang said he was building a chain of hotels in these three areas alongside optimism on the tourism business. In Batanes alone, he estimated that he would invest around $10 million in line with the expansion in his personal hotel business.

Ang is also the single biggest individual stockholder of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., a key stockholder with management control of flag carrier Philippine Airlines. Ang’s personal investments in tourism-related business is thus seen complementing his interest in PAL, where he also sits as chief executive officer.

The businessman was recently here to launch PAL’s Manila-London non-stop flights, which marked the flag carrier’s return to Europe after a 15-year absence.

In Batanes, he said he was building two hotels catering to different market segments through a joint venture with a local businessman, potentially adding a total of 200 rooms. One is a 100-room family-oriented affordable hotel while the other is a 100-room upscale villa resort by the beach.

For the low-priced Batanes hotel, he said each room would have five double-deck beds that could accommodate up to 10 persons. “The target is to offer these rooms for P5,000 per night so if you divide that by 10 (maximum capacity), that’s only P500 per night and these are air-conditioned rooms,” he said.

Asked why he was keen on investing in hotels in Batanes, he said: “It’s very underdeveloped. So many people want to go but there are no accommodations and if there are, they are usually too expensive and you have to book days in advance.”

The upscale villa by the beach planned for Batanes, Ang said, would be offered for around $200 a night and possibly folded into the Diamond hotel brand.

All the new hotels he was building, Ang said, could be under the Diamond group although a separate brand could be created for those catering to the affordable segment.

He also noted that PAL Express has daily flights to Batanes, suggesting synergy with this venture into Batanes.

Batanes, the smallest province in the Philippines, is best known for its picturesque rolling hills, highlands, beautiful beaches, old Spanish churches, buildings, fortresses and pre-Hispanic settlements.

Asked how soon the new hotels would be completed, Ang said he would build them simultaneously. In the case of Batanes, he said he has acquired the land needed and the local business partner was now just awaiting to get the building permits.

“The moment I award the contract, let’s say January, they will be constructed at the same time,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ang said he would develop an eight-hectare property near the Caticlan airport, the nearest gateway to Boracay Island.

SMC is likewise the lead investor in the consortium that operates the Caticlan airport.

Ang also has a personal property on Boracay Island itself near the Shangri-La Resort and close to a separate land held by SMC’s property arm San Miguel Properties.