BIZ BUZZ: Go for gold–or golf!

You may have already heard news of the dwindling demand for residential properties in Metro Manila, but what exactly are developers doing to draw attention back to their condominiums with hundreds of ready-for-occupancy units still without a tenant?

Well, Colliers Philippines points out that there are, actually, developers that have been employing a wise strategy.

Joey Bondoc, research director at the property investment management firm, last week said developers were launching their own golf communities, thus attracting a new—and old—generation of golfers. (You may be familiar with the phrase “golf and country club”—that’s what we’re talking about.)

“In fact, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is highlighting golf as a priority industry,” Bondoc said in a recent press briefing. “So they are now working with private sector players, developers especially, and how they can link up the foreign tourists with these golf communities being launched left and right.”

This may be the reason why developers such as Vista Land and Lifescapes, Megaworld Corp. and Santa Lucia Land have been focusing on developing their golf communities, especially with the

DOT expecting 7.7 million tourist arrivals this year alone.

But it’s not all good news.

Should more developers actually shift to building golf communities—which, arguably, attract individuals with a high net worth—this could drive up the prices of land around Metro Manila, according to Paul Ramirez, Colliers senior director and head of valuation services.

“There will be a lot of demand for big, developable land, raw land, agri-land that will be converted into golf communities,” Ramirez said.

So if the value of land suddenly increases and golf courses start sprouting, we all know the culprit. —MEG J. ADONIS

DoubleDragon to double app users to 1M

DoubleDragon Corp. is bent on doubling not just the dragons in its name, but its online market, too.

Just when the property venture of tycoons Edgar Sia II and Tony Tan Caktiong has handed out the second batch of golden visas for its investors in Spain, it has also exceeded 500,000 registered users on its Hotel101 Global app.

We’re already in November—with Christmas songs long filling the air—but DoubleDragon has already made it clear that it would double this by the end of the year.

“Eventually, our goal is for the Hotel101 Global app to have over 1 million registered users in every country where Hotel101 operates,” Sia, DoubleDragon chair, said in a statement.

But what, exactly, are you in for when you register in the app? Well, DoubleDragon says there’s self-check-in capabilities all the way to settling the bill after your vacation.

You’ll just have to choose among the Hotel101s we already have here, or one of the three overseas branches—once they’re open. Who knows, maybe we’ll soon contribute to the $471-million expected revenues. —MEG J. ADONIS

Converge eyes smart home solution

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is not resting on its laurels as it keeps on finding ways to expand its already growing digital empire.

Tech tycoon Dennis Uy, one of the founders of Converge, in fact, wants to offer a smart home solution to its subscribers by the third quarter of next year.

This solution will enable its customers to control the gates, light fixtures, air conditioning units and other appliances via a mobile application.

In short, home owners can manage their houses at the tip of their fingers without a hassle.

“It is our engineers who design this innovation,” Uy said. –– Tyrone Jasper C. Piad