Marco Polo Plaza eyes conventions

Things are looking bright for the newly opened Marco Polo Plaza in Cebu, which is now hitting an average occupancy rate of 50 percent in the last five months since its opening last April.

"Opening a hotel is like a roller coaster ride. It takes a while to stabilize the business," said Marco Polo Plaza general manager Hans R. Hauri.

He said the 50 percent occupancy rate is a good indication for the hotel, considering that it has been in operation for only five months. He added that this has also been attained despite the opening of another hotel - Cebu Parklane International, which has increased the available rooms in Cebu by 53 percent.

Hotel bookings are however expected to be at a high with the ASEAN Summit this December. Bookings are once again expected to return to normal after the Sinulog celebration in January.

Hauri said that in order to maintain their pace, they are aggressively capturing the bookings of business executives.

The 24-story Marco Polo Plaza has a total of 329 rooms and is looking at penetrating the Meeting, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibition (MICE) market.

The owner of Marco Polo Plaza, Federal Land Inc., believes that Cebu is not short of hotel rooms in the city, but in the resort.

Rey Villar, president of Federal Land Inc., said the need for room accommodation for city hotels is only seasonal.

Federal Land Inc., which is the real estate development arm of Metrobank, has spent close to a billion pesos to renovate the old hotel facility, formerly known as Cebu Plaza Hotel.

According to Villar, the company is expected to get the Return of Investment (ROI) in seven to nine years of operation.

Recently, the hotel opened its Continental Club at the top floor of the hotel, dedicated to providing personalized service, high standards of executive floor accommodation and hospitality for the seasoned business travelers.

The Continental Club features superlative accommodations with a total of 101 guest rooms and suites, comprising 58 Mountain View rooms, 23 Sea View Rooms, five Executive Suites, a Honeymoon Suite, and the Marco Polo Suite and the Presidential Suite.