Travellers, Hotel Okura seal partnership

ANDREW TAN- led Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc., owner and operator of Resorts World Manila ( RWM), has formally inked an agreement with Japan- based Hotel Okura Co. Ltd. to operate Hotel Okura Manila as part of the country’s first integrated resort.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Travellers said Hotel Okura will offer 191 rooms and is expected to soft- open in the fourth quarter of 2018. It is set to be fully operational by 2020.

Hotel Okura Manila will join the roster of Resorts World Manila’s current portfolio of international hotel brands including Marriott Hotel Manila, along with the soon- to- open Sheraton Manila Hotel and Hilton Manila. Remington Hotel, RWM’s mid- range hotel brand, will soon be rebranded as Holiday Inn Express.

“The Philippines, especially Manila, is a very promising market considering the nation’s gross domestic product and population size, both of which are growing fast. The local hotel business is benefiting from these and other favorable trends,” Okura President Toshihiro Ogita said.

“Having wo r k e d closely with Mr. Kingson Sian, we are confident that we will receive their full support as a reliable partner to operate the hotel. We will leverage the group’s expertise in traditional Japanese hospitality to make Hotel Okura Manila a muchbeloved hotel among both local and foreign visitors,” he added.

Okura intends to expand its growing portfolio to 100 properties worldwide, with a focus on Asia. In 2011 it opened Hotel Okura Macau, followed by the opening of The Okura Prestige Bangkok and The Okura Prestige Taipei in 2012.

It is also set to open new branches in Cappadocia ( Turkey) in 2019; Manila, Phnom Penh ( Cambodia), Ho Chi Minh City ( Vietnam) and Yangon ( Myanmar) in 2020; and Taichung ( Taiwan) in 2021.