Fersal Hotel Group aims to boost market presence

CEBU, Philippines – The Fersal Hotel Group, the operator of the newly opened Hotel Elizabeth in Cebu plans to strengthen its presence in Southern Philippine market by opening more hotels in the future.

The Hotel Elizabeth in Cebu is the 8th hotel opened by the local chain and it's the largest hotel facility so far, said the company's director for operations and marketing Jean Salonga Fernando.

The dynamic tourism sector in the Philippines has prompted the Group to aggressively expand its operations nationwide, having established its presence in Luzon area for the past 30 years.

Fernando said the company is eyeing to open one more hotel in Cebu that will carry the Fersal brand that will cater to another market segment.

According to Fernando, aside from its plan to open up one more hotel in Cebu, the company is also on active mode to make a strong presence in other areas like Tacloban, Bohol and Davao.

The 131-room Hotel Elizabeth in Cebu reinforced the introduction of boutique-luxury hotel accommodations here.

The hotel's interior design done by socialite and style icon Tessa Prieto-Valdez, is one of its greatest strengths, along with personalized and home style service.

Hotel Elizabeth is seen to attract sophisticated business transients and foreign tourists in the Queen City of the South, she added.

The hotel is situated in the 1,100 square-meter area near the Cebu Business Park and it is one of the few new hotels that opened in the adjacent areas of CBP in the last few months.

The company had its soft-opening in October this year and already registered 90 percent average occupancy rate.

Fernando said the Fersal Place Hotels in Metro Manila, and its Hotel Elizabeth in Baguio City primarily attracts the domestic guests, while a growing 30 percent is shared by the foreign guests.

In Cebu, however, the chain expects to get significant number of foreign clients, although its main target market is still the domestic and business travelers.

While Cebu is a totally different market, Fernando said the company has invested a considerable amount of money to make the hotel stand out, as competition here is much stiffer.

"We wanted to present something unique and something great for Cebu," Fernando said.

The Fersal Group also operates the JB Music and Sports chain of stores in the country. Its hotel arm Fersal Hotel Group manages and owned several hotels in Metro Manila and Baguio City. (FREEMAN)