Kokotel Hotel brand enters PH hospitality market
Singapore-based Koko Global Hospitality (KGH), one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing hotel operators, has debuted its flagship Kokotel brand in the Philippines with the opening of a 42-room hotel property in central Cebu.
KGH announced the opening of its eight-story Kokotel Cebu Adira, a partnership with Arianzo Realty & Development Corp., a local group with interests in advertising and multimedia businesses.
This is the first three-star brand footprint in the Philippines of KGH, a Singapore-based company that operates more than 2,500 rooms in Thailand, Japan and the Philippines.
The Cebu property offers rooms with sizes ranging from 15 to 35 square meters and a rooftop cafe.
Derived from the Japanese word “kokoro” (heart), the brand Kokotel symbolizes “a blend of Thai heartwarming service and Japanese quality.” The brand aims to welcome guests with the concept of “Kokotel as entertainment,” pitching “services and experiences that blend fun for guests visiting with friends and family.”
“Kokotel brand mascot is a sheep, associated with good sleep and we created a lot of things that children would find fun, such as placing a giant sheep figure in the lobby and installing a slide in some of our Kokotel,” says Rei Matsuda, founder and CEO of KGH.
“The main target is families and groups, with approximately 30 percent of the rooms accommodating three to four people,” he adds.
Third PH hotel
KGH now has 44 properties in Thailand, Japan and the Philippines in management and partnership, including 19 under the Kokotel brand. The Cebu property is the third local hotel under the KGH network, but the first that uses its proprietary brand.
“This Kokotel flagship in Cebu, Philippines reflects my vision to spread ‘wow’ and ‘kaizen’ all over the world. It is in the same price range (around 1,500 baht per night) in Thailand that we want to elevate the level of service,” Matsuda says.
In local currency, room per night at the Cebu hotel ranges from P1,200 to P3,000.
“With our centralized operation concept and level of customer satisfaction emphasis, we hope we could bring more value not only for hotel guests but also to hotel owners,” Matsuda adds.
KGH has established a domestic subsidiary corporation since 2023. Its focus is to run three- to four-star hotels, each with 50 to 200 rooms—seen to be too small for a global operator and too large for a family business.
The group aims to operate 100 properties by 2026 with its four brands: Kokotel bed & café, VIVTEL, by Koko and Owners’ brand.
