Hotel room inventory seen to surge

METRO Manila will see a record rise in hotel capacity this year as property developers and hospitality groups had bet on a boom in tourism and integrated gaming resorts.

The metropolis will have more than 5,300 additional hotel rooms this year—the highest increase in capacity seen in recent years—if all existing projects are completed as planned, according to estimates of property consulting firm Colliers Philippines.

Last year, 1,739 new rooms were added to the metropolis’ hotel stock with two new hotels delivered during the second half of the year. Novotel Manila opened in Araneta Manila while in Ortigas Center, Jin Jiang Hotels, one of the biggest hotel operators in China, opened its doors.

In a recent press briefing, Colliers Philippines director for research and advisory Julius Guevara said room inventory in the metropolis would rise by 48 percent between 2015 and 2018.

“Whenever we talk to hotel operators or international hotel brands, they are very bullish. They are scrambling to find sites in major CBDs (central business districts),” Guevara said, noting that the growth in office property stock in the country was expected to boost demand for hotel rooms.

As of end-2015, there were 21,112 hotel rooms in the metropolis but the number is expected to breach 30,000 by 2018 with a total count of 31,285 rooms.

From 1994 to 2014, hotel capacity in Metro Manila stood at less than 20,000 rooms.

“Room inventory growth continues to be very sharp because of developments in casino-related projects such as (Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corp.) Entertainment City and Newport City,” he said.