CHROMA Hospitality Inc., a unit of the Gotianun-led Filinvest Hospitality Corp., is aggressively expanding its footprint in the Philippines, with more hotels opening beginning next year under its Grafik brand.
Speaking to the BusinessMirror on the sidelines of the recent MOPC Grand Tourism Awards, Chroma Hospitality country manager James Montenegro said, “We have a lot of expansions. We’re opening [Grafik] Baguio in 2024, so that’s almost a 300-room hotel. And then we have the (Quest Plus) Clark expansion, which is going to break ground this year. And then our Crimson [Resort and Spa] Mactan expansion, and then a second hotel in Mactan, which is called the Grafik Mactan, which all break ground this year.”
He describes Grafik Mactan “as art and experiential estate-driven. In Mactan, it will focus on the beach design, island hopping and all of that stuff. So our activities are geared towards that, while the one in Baguio will really be focused on health and wellness, and we have one that’s planned for Dumaguete and that’s for diving.”
Grafik Baguio is the second partnership with the Bases Conversion and Development (BCDA), after the 306-Quest Plus at the Mimosa Leisure Estate in the Clark special economic zone, Pampanga. Despite tight conditions in Baguio with about 50 hospitality accommodation across 49 square kilometers in the city, there is still room for their property, according to Montenegro.
Why Baguio?
“I think number one, there hasn’t been a real good hotel in the last [few years]…. And Baguio is still close to everybody’s heart for a short holiday break. It’s a nice place to go to, right? It’s got lovely culture, great food, great experience. And we have a beautiful property there overlooking the golf course and on top of a hill, with a beautiful 360-degree view of Camp John Hay,” he explained.
The lease contract for the Baguio property, he said, was “signed, designed, and started construction in the pandemic.” Despite the Covid uncertainty, Montenegro said, “I think at that time, Mrs. [Josephine Gotianun] Yap was very positive about the tourism business. And we signed it with [then BCDA chair] Vince Dizon. And I think there was a lot of trust in there, right? Because of the pandemic, drives to destinations are more popular now. It’s a shorter trip and people are willing to pay more because it’s a shorter trip.”
Revenue-positive properties
Chroma Hospitality also hopes to reopen the 290-room Crimson Mactan “by July,” and Montenegro admits it has taken a bit longer due to to reconstruct after Cebu was ravaged by Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) in December 2021.
Meanwhile, he expressed optimism about the company’s rebound, with revenues now back in prepandemic levels.
“The resorts picked up faster to the city hotels. But now it’s shifting a little bit. City hotels are starting to pick up more. [Despite the closure of Crimson Mactan], if I look at the revenues of all of the hotels, they’re almost at pre-pandemic level. My expectation is by the end of this year, we will be about prepandemic [revenue] level, and next year we’ll be past pre-pandemic [level]. And after 2024, maybe income positive.”
With more international flights coming from South Korea, Japan, and the Middle East, Montenegro hopes more foreign travelers will book their hotels. He acknowledged that because of the “robust domestic travel business,” their properties are doing well, with the 192-room Crimson Resort and Spa Boracay, for example, averaging almost 80-plus percent in terms of hotel occupancy. Crimson Boracay won Best Resort for 2023 at the recent MOPC Grand Tourism Awards.
Chroma Hospitality currently operates seven properties: Crimson Boracay, Crimson Mactan, Crimson Filiberto’s City (345 rooms), Quest Plus Clark, Quest Tagaytay (165 rooms), Quest Hotel Cebu (427 rooms), and Timber Highlands (72 rooms).