CPG ventures into hotel business

MANILA, Philippines–Property developer Century Properties Group Inc. is diversifying into the hospitality business as part of its strategy to build up its overall commercial property portfolio, from which it expects to unlock P1 billion in annual revenues by 2019.

CPG has set up a new subsidiary, Century Properties Hotels and Leisure Inc., to handle its upcoming hotel and serviced apartment business. As an initial venture, CPG signed a deal with international mid-scale hotel management firm Novotel to manage 150 rooms to be earmarked for condotel purposes in the Yosemite residential building in Acqua Residences in Mandaluyong.

Ambassador Jose Antonio, CPG founder and chair, also told reporters after the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Wednesday that the company would put up a three-star businessman’s hotel with about 150 to 200 rooms in San Fernando, Pampanga. This will be part of CPG’s upcoming Azure North mixed-use development.

“It’s our business plan for the company to diversify not only [in terms of] location but also product classes. Before, we were purely in residential, but we’re now in retail then going into hotel and hospitality business,” Antonio said. “We believe there is a very big market for hotel accommodations as can be seen by the occupancy rate of present hotels. Once we do that, it will be another leg for revenues and income for Century.”–Doris C. Dumlao