Foreign Company Plans Budget Hotels
By BERNIE CAHILES-MAGKILAT
July 17, 2012, 5:43pm
MANILA, Philippines — Bangkok-based Red Planet Hotels Limited, Asia’s emerging force in low- cost hotel development and operation, is investing as much as $70 million for the establishment of a total of 8 budget hotels in the Philippines to serve the demand for affordable but quality tourist accommodation facilities.
Red Planet Hotels Chief Executive Officer, Tim Hansing, told Business Bulletin over a phone interview, in time for the company’s announcement of its acquisition of 16.05 percent stake in Tune Hotels, which is owned by Tony Fernandes of the Malaysian airline Air Asia.
Its foray in the Philippines and buy-in into Tune Hotels came after Red Planet’s successful fund raising activity that generated $180 million.
According to Hansing, the $70- million investments would include the construction of four additional new hotels in the Philippines to be operational by next year. These new hotels are to be located in Cagayan de Oro, Quezon City, Ortigas and hopefully another hotel in the Mall of the Asia complex and another one in Iloilo City.
Red Planet is a major franchise holder of Tune Hotels for the Philippines and other ASEAN countries. It is owned by 66 individual shareholders, including some Filipinos and 25 percent owned by a Japanese group.
“As a franchise holder of Tune Hotels, we have the right to develop Tune Hotels in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and China,” Hansing said.
Hansing, however, refused to divulge the value of its investment in Tune Hotels only to say it is in the tens of millions of dollars. He, however, said this would give them greater foreign exposure and financial muscle given the huge reach of Tune Hotels.
There are already four Red Planet Hotels under the brand of Tune Hotels operating in the country with a total of 700 rooms and employing 60 Filipinos. These Tune Hotels located in Ermita, Cebu and in Angeles, Pampanga and Makati, which opened its 215 hotel room yesterday. These hotels have an average occupancy rate of 75 percent. It has very affordable rooms for as low as P399 a night.
Once the three more Tune Hotels come on stream by next year, the company will have a total of about 1,100 rooms for its Philippine hotels.
“We are very, very bullish for the Philippines,” Hansing said citing the booming economy and the bustling tourism sector in the country and yet there is a lack in the supply of good quality low cost hotels.
“We are a hotel company and we have great belief in the Philippines. The problem is there is not enough low cost but quality hotels, so now is the time to build additional hotels,” said Hansing.
He also urged the Philippine government to develop more infrastructure projects like airports to further boost tourism.
The Tune Group has about 24 hotels, including 12 in Malaysia, with a total of 4,000 rooms. Its expansion in six other countries including UK, Australia, Qatar, UAE and India will add 6,000 new rooms.
Tune Hotels, which is an essential investor in Air Asia, has strategically positioned its hotel chain to the growing reach of the Malaysian airline.
On its 16.05 percent stake in Tune Hotels, Hansing said the deal cements Red Planet Hotels as the third largest investor in Tune Hotels with 9,975,038 shares, providing further value to Red Planet Hotel’s shareholders.
This investment also results in Red Planet Hotels taking up a seat on the board of directors, enabling Red Planet Hotels to be actively involved in the future of one of the world’s fastest growing hospitality concerns.
While the value of the deal remains undisclosed it is a “significant multi-million dollar transaction” and the largest single corporate investment Red Planet Hotels has clinched in its two-year history.
The investment in Tune Hotels comes at a time when Red Planet Hotels’ latest round of fund raising was over subscribed and the company now has $180 million of hotel projects (containing 3,191 rooms) either operating or under construction in Asia.
Hansing, said the investment represented Red Planet Hotel’s pledge to the brand and the founding members’ vision for the Tune Hotels concept.
“This significant investment and commitment to the Tune Hotels brand is indicative of Red Planet Hotels’ well-balanced long-term development programme and provides tremendous value growth to our existing shareholders,” Hansing said.
“As we move towards becoming a major owner and operator of Tune Hotels properties, this investment and endorsement of Tune’s board and management allows Red Planet Hotels to participate and contribute constructively and meaningfully for the benefit of both companies.
“Each will reap significant rewards through our investment and I am delighted that Red Planet Hotels’ commitment to Tune Hotels has resulted in us being invited to join its board.”
Tune Hotels has quickly established itself as the leading player in the low cost hotel space just as Air Asia did in the low cost airline industry.
Established in 2007, currently there are 24Tune Hotels operating 3,859 rooms globally.
There is a confirmed additional pipeline of 38 more hotels with 10,106 rooms, including the first hotels in India, Scotland, Australia and Saudi Arabia along with additional properties in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and England.
By the end of 2012, Red Planet Hotels will have 10 operating hotels with 1,623rooms in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.
This month, it opened the first Tune Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia (168 rooms) and a fourth in the Philippines in Makati (215 rooms).
Later this year, Red Planet Hotels will open a Tune hotel in Asoke, Bangkok (130 rooms - September), Pekanbaru, Sumatra (143 rooms - December), and Patong, Phuket (150 rooms - December).
Red Planet Hotels is exploring closer levels of co-operation with Tune Hotels across various platforms in the near future in a sign of its commitment to each other’s goals in the low cost hotel sector.
Red Planet Hotels Chief Executive Officer, Tim Hansing, told Business Bulletin over a phone interview, in time for the company’s announcement of its acquisition of 16.05 percent stake in Tune Hotels, which is owned by Tony Fernandes of the Malaysian airline Air Asia.
Its foray in the Philippines and buy-in into Tune Hotels came after Red Planet’s successful fund raising activity that generated $180 million.
According to Hansing, the $70- million investments would include the construction of four additional new hotels in the Philippines to be operational by next year. These new hotels are to be located in Cagayan de Oro, Quezon City, Ortigas and hopefully another hotel in the Mall of the Asia complex and another one in Iloilo City.
Red Planet is a major franchise holder of Tune Hotels for the Philippines and other ASEAN countries. It is owned by 66 individual shareholders, including some Filipinos and 25 percent owned by a Japanese group.
“As a franchise holder of Tune Hotels, we have the right to develop Tune Hotels in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and China,” Hansing said.
Hansing, however, refused to divulge the value of its investment in Tune Hotels only to say it is in the tens of millions of dollars. He, however, said this would give them greater foreign exposure and financial muscle given the huge reach of Tune Hotels.
There are already four Red Planet Hotels under the brand of Tune Hotels operating in the country with a total of 700 rooms and employing 60 Filipinos. These Tune Hotels located in Ermita, Cebu and in Angeles, Pampanga and Makati, which opened its 215 hotel room yesterday. These hotels have an average occupancy rate of 75 percent. It has very affordable rooms for as low as P399 a night.
Once the three more Tune Hotels come on stream by next year, the company will have a total of about 1,100 rooms for its Philippine hotels.
“We are very, very bullish for the Philippines,” Hansing said citing the booming economy and the bustling tourism sector in the country and yet there is a lack in the supply of good quality low cost hotels.
“We are a hotel company and we have great belief in the Philippines. The problem is there is not enough low cost but quality hotels, so now is the time to build additional hotels,” said Hansing.
He also urged the Philippine government to develop more infrastructure projects like airports to further boost tourism.
The Tune Group has about 24 hotels, including 12 in Malaysia, with a total of 4,000 rooms. Its expansion in six other countries including UK, Australia, Qatar, UAE and India will add 6,000 new rooms.
Tune Hotels, which is an essential investor in Air Asia, has strategically positioned its hotel chain to the growing reach of the Malaysian airline.
On its 16.05 percent stake in Tune Hotels, Hansing said the deal cements Red Planet Hotels as the third largest investor in Tune Hotels with 9,975,038 shares, providing further value to Red Planet Hotel’s shareholders.
This investment also results in Red Planet Hotels taking up a seat on the board of directors, enabling Red Planet Hotels to be actively involved in the future of one of the world’s fastest growing hospitality concerns.
While the value of the deal remains undisclosed it is a “significant multi-million dollar transaction” and the largest single corporate investment Red Planet Hotels has clinched in its two-year history.
The investment in Tune Hotels comes at a time when Red Planet Hotels’ latest round of fund raising was over subscribed and the company now has $180 million of hotel projects (containing 3,191 rooms) either operating or under construction in Asia.
Hansing, said the investment represented Red Planet Hotel’s pledge to the brand and the founding members’ vision for the Tune Hotels concept.
“This significant investment and commitment to the Tune Hotels brand is indicative of Red Planet Hotels’ well-balanced long-term development programme and provides tremendous value growth to our existing shareholders,” Hansing said.
“As we move towards becoming a major owner and operator of Tune Hotels properties, this investment and endorsement of Tune’s board and management allows Red Planet Hotels to participate and contribute constructively and meaningfully for the benefit of both companies.
“Each will reap significant rewards through our investment and I am delighted that Red Planet Hotels’ commitment to Tune Hotels has resulted in us being invited to join its board.”
Tune Hotels has quickly established itself as the leading player in the low cost hotel space just as Air Asia did in the low cost airline industry.
Established in 2007, currently there are 24Tune Hotels operating 3,859 rooms globally.
There is a confirmed additional pipeline of 38 more hotels with 10,106 rooms, including the first hotels in India, Scotland, Australia and Saudi Arabia along with additional properties in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and England.
By the end of 2012, Red Planet Hotels will have 10 operating hotels with 1,623rooms in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.
This month, it opened the first Tune Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia (168 rooms) and a fourth in the Philippines in Makati (215 rooms).
Later this year, Red Planet Hotels will open a Tune hotel in Asoke, Bangkok (130 rooms - September), Pekanbaru, Sumatra (143 rooms - December), and Patong, Phuket (150 rooms - December).
Red Planet Hotels is exploring closer levels of co-operation with Tune Hotels across various platforms in the near future in a sign of its commitment to each other’s goals in the low cost hotel sector.
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