JTKC Land Inc to build 6-star hotel in Makati

JTKC Land Inc., which operates and develops first-class serviced apartments that include well-known brands like the Mansion Group and Discovery, is planning to build a six-star hotel in Makati as it seeks to establish a stronger presence in the highly-competitive hotel industry.

Makati is being groomed as the “next urban tourist destination of the Philippines,” given its appeal to foreign visitors, particularly Japanese women.

Johnny Tiu, director for Corporate Planning at JTKC Land, said the company will construct next year a 140-room high-end service apartment and 86 residential unit building in Makati which would be bigger than One Roxas Triangle.

The project dubbed Discovery Primea, will rise on a 4,087 square-meter property in the heart of the Makati financial district and will have 60 floors.

Tiu did not say how much the group would spend for the development of the six-star hotel but funding would come from internally-generated cash and pre-selling of the planned residential units.

He said the group is looking at other areas outside Manila as potential site for expansion of its Discovery brand of hotels and resorts following the success of Discovery Shores Boracay.

Discovery Shores is a sprawling beachfront property that includes 88 luxurious guestrooms and a world-class spa facility located in Boracay, Caticlan.

Tiu said the group is setting its sights on Palawan and Bohol, which are both major tourist destinations. “We’re exploring sites all over the country,” he said.

According to Tiu, the group’s next big plan is to build a hotel in China, the largest country in East Asia and the most populous country in the world with a population of over 1.3 billion, roughly a fifth of the earth’s total population.

“This is something that needs to be carefully planned. We want to open a hotel in China which is growing at a very rapid pace,” Tiu said.

 Aside from Discovery Shores, the group has two other hotels, the 223-room Discovery Suites in Ortigas and Discovery Tagaytay

Tiu said the group is planning to take the Discovery brand of hotels public possibly next year to raise P3 billion to P5 billion. Proceeds will be used to fund the group’s local expansion.

On the other hand, the Mansiongroup, a pioneer in the serviced apartments industry, owns five of the finest and coziest hotels and residential suites in Manila and Makati City. Within the Manila tourist belt are the Boulevard Mansion, the Dakota Mansion and the Mabini Mansion. In the Makati commercial district are the Gilarmi Apartments and the Amorsolo Mansion.

The Tius, which used to own the International Exchange Bank (IBank) until it was acquired by Union Bank of the Philippines, has investments in various companies involved in a wide range of industries from logistics to finance, real estate, manufacturing, and hotel and resort properties.

Among them are Kent Vinyl Tiles, and iRemit Global Remittance.