191-room Hotel Okura to open in RWM

Travellers International Hotel Group of tycoon Andrew Tan operates the Resorts World Manila casino and hotel complex in Pasay City.

Integrated gaming resort operator Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. has firmed up a deal to bring luxury Japanese hospitality chain Hotel Okura to Resorts World Manila (RWM) within this year.

Travellers, a joint venture between tycoon Andrew Tan-led Alliance Global Group Inc. and Genting group of Malaysia, signed the agreement with Hotel Okura Co., Ltd. (Okura) to open a 191-room hotel in RWM. A soft opening is targeted in the fourth quarter of this year.

Okura is thus seen to join the roster of RWM’s current portfolio of international hotel brands that include Marriott Hotel Manila, the soon-to-open Sheraton Manila Hotel and Hilton Manila. Remington Hotel, RWM’s value for money offering, will soon be rebranded as Holiday Inn Express.

“The Philippines, especially Manila, is a very promising market considering the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and population size, both of which are growing fast. The local hotel business is benefiting from these and other favorable trends,” Okura president Toshihiro Ogita said in a press statement on Friday.

“Having worked closely with Mr. Kingson Sian (Travellers president and chief executive officer), we are confident that we will receive their full support as a reliable partner to operate the hotel. We will leverage the group’s expertise in traditional Japanese hospitality to make Hotel Okura Manila a much-beloved hotel among both local and foreign visitors,” he added.

Hotel Okura is expanding its portfolio to 100 properties worldwide, with focus on Asia. Hotel Okura Macau opened in 2011, followed by the opening of The Okura Prestige Bangkok and The Okura Prestige Taipei in 2012. It is also set to open hotels in Cappadocia in 2019, Manila, Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh City and Yangon in 2020, and Taichung in 2021.

“Hotel Okura aims to strengthen the bond with promising markets including the Philippines,” Travellers said in the disclosure. Hotel Okura had made a donation of $100,000 to the Philippine Red Cross for natural disaster recovery in 2013, the disclosure added.