THE entertainment industry has helped enhance the revenue stream of some hotels in Metro Manila.
In particular, “teleseryes”—long-running drama anthologies on TV—have boosted the bottom line of Southeast Asian hospitality management group RedDoorz. In an online roundtable discussion on “Streamlining Hotel Operations: The Industry’s Speed Up Solution to Battle Covid-19” on Thursday, RedDoorz Philippines country manager Miguel Capistrano III said, while cutting down on costs are part of the chain’s recovery plan, it also has pivoted to new revenue streams: “We’re looking for other ways to earn and to get business from like these [TV networks] that need a hotel for their ‘teleseryes’ for a month.”
The budget hotel chain reported an average P32-million “overall booking value” from its “pivot strategy” during this pandemic. “The main business right now are for renting space and essential stays, so we actually pivoted going into industries and tapping [those] thriving right now, such as the pharmaceuticals, the government [Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority], hospitals, BPOs [Business Process Outsourcing], even entertainment, because they now package a whole hotel for a shooting,” said Capistrano.
RedDoorz is looking to expand its properties outside of Metro Manila. Among the key locations they are eyeing are Palawan, Baguio City, Cebu, Bohol, and Davao. “[Those are] our top five destinations outside Metro Manila…so those are the areas we want to go to know now, and even after the pandemic,” he said, adding that hotel owners outside the National Capital Region (NCR) are “more open to talk to us versus in NCR Plus.” NCR Plus is where the highest concentrations of Covid-19 cases are located, and remains under modified enhanced community quarantine until May 15.
DOT accreditation
Capistrano added, ideally, their company is targeting to double its properties to 440 next year, from the present 220 establishments. But due to the pandemic, he admitted, the company is now planning on a “quarterly” basis.
“We’ve also established a new brand called ‘Sands,’ which is a notch higher—it’s a lifestyle [brand]. We’re opening the first one this week, and we plan to open more in the next quarters,” he said.
The hotel management chain opened its first property in Jakarta in 2015, and has over 1,000 establishments in three countries today. The Philippines, where it opened its doors in January 2018, is its second largest market, after Indonesia, and ahead of Singapore.
Capistrano also underscored the importance of securing an accreditation from the Department of Tourism (DOT) as the pandemic has pushed guests to not only look at rates and amenities of an establishment, but also at its health and safety protocols.
Virgilio Maguigad, DOT Director for the Tourism Standards and Regulation said during the event, “With the strong support of our tourism stakeholders, especially for RedDoorz and the rest of the hospitality sector, our seal of accreditation represents more certified quality businesses in the country and the international space. Hotels can now easily achieve this and further ensure Filipinos’ safety, comfort, and convenience even after this pandemic as we intend to institute the new digital accreditation system from here on.”
From just 10 DOT-accredited hotels in April 2020, RedDoorz now has 133 accredited hotels. “The acquisition of 130+ DOT accreditations and 150+ HygienePass certified hotels paved the way for us to keep a stable demand. It provided us up to 40-percent average occupancy rate and allowed the firm to safely serve more than 176,000 Filipinos around the Philippines,” said Capistrano. The HygienePass is a strategy implemented to ensure travelers that RedDoorz properties are not only conducive for relaxation, but are also safe and clean.
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