SM Prime to open 7 new hotels through 2029
The hospitality arm of real estate giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. will launch seven new hotels until 2029, banking on the country’s tourism potential to drive growth.
In a stock exchange filing on Tuesday, Sy family-led SM Prime said the pipeline projects of its subsidiary, SM Hotels and Convention Corp. (SMHCC), would add over 1,300 rooms to its existing inventory, representing a 50-percent jump in capacity.
This will bring SMHCC’s total room count to 3,923 across 17 hotels. According to the company, 969 rooms, or around 73 percent of the new inventory, will be completed by 2028.
“This rollout reflects our belief in the long-term potential of the Philippine domestic travel and tourism market,” SMHCC executive vice president Peggy Angeles said in a statement.
“We are building on the strength of regional tourism while delivering quality accommodations that enhance the value of our ecosystem of malls, events spaces and mixed-use developments,” Angeles added.
Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and Cebu will each have two new hotels, while Central Luzon, Laoag and Metro Manila will have one each.
SMHCC explained that these locations were selected based on “tourism potential and integration with existing SM Prime assets.”
The expansion forms part of SMHCC’s P10-billion capital expenditure program for the next five years that would be fully funded through internally generated cash flows, it said.
Current portfolio
SMHCC’s brands include luxury hotels Conrad Manila and Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu; leisure hotels Taal Vista and Pico Sands; and business hotels Park Inn by Radisson and Lanson Place Mall of Asia.
Last month, the company also announced plans to double the footprint of SMX Manila, its main convention center in Pasay City, to over 35,000 square meters via an upcoming P1.7-billion development.
This is roughly half the size of Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo, where major world trade expos and events have been held.
SMX Center for International Trade and Exhibitions is slated to have over 18,000 square meters of leasable trade hall space and two buildings capable of hosting at least 18,000 guests each.
