BIZ BUZZ: Hotel101 Madrid vs. Niseko race

It’s been a banner year for DoubleDragon Corp. and its cofounders, billionaires Tony Tancaktiong and Edgar “Injap” Sia II, with the company’s Hotel101 business making big strides in several of its local and foreign projects.

For starters, the towering Hotel101-Fort located along C-5 in Taguig City, just across Market Market and SM Aura in Bonifacio Global City finally opened its doors after experiencing delays during the pandemic and issues with informal settlers.

More progress is expected to be made in the first few weeks of 2024 with more retail outlets expected to open to support the hotel’s guests which will occupy a total of 606 rooms spread out on 33 stories.

But more importantly, DoubleDragon is making progress with its overseas projects, particularly Hotel101 in Niseko, Japan, and Madrid, Spain.

Biz Buzz hears that the company has tapped affluent Hong Kong clients as one of its key markets for the Niseko project, especially since Hong Kong and Mainland China citizens make up a substantial portion of tourists in the northern Japan ski resort every winter.

Instead of buying villas and chalets that will remain unoccupied for the rest of the year, DoubleDragon expects many Hong Kongers to be interested in acquiring adjoining Hotel101 units which owners can use themselves during the winter months, and have it rented out to tourists for the rest of the year (when Niseko’s scenic greenery is also an attraction).

But Biz Buzz hears that the Niseko project will be overtaken in terms of construction progress by the Madrid development, since building activities in Hokkaido have to stop for four months during the winter, while that in Europe can progress nonstop.

Nonetheless, Hotel101 in Niseko is slated for completion in time for the skiing season of 2025, we hear. Abangan! —Daxim L. Lucas  INQ