Tune Hotels operator eyes P3.2-B investment to open more branches
Company hopes to end 2014 with 10 fully furnished establishments in PH
PH more than ready to meet rise in labor demand abroad
THE PHILIPPINES is more than ready to meet the anticipated increase in demand for “temporary staff” across multiple industries worldwide, given the expected 200percent surge in the number of companies that are planning to tap temporary staffing to fill in their employment requirements.
Collabera Philippines, the local unit of USbased Collabera, said the company already developed its hire, train and deploy (HTD) program, which would scale up the local information technology (IT) pool to meet the demand for quality talents that can perform highly specialized IT tasks in various industries.
The program will allow Collabera Philippines to fill in the rising demand for temporary staff from industries, such as banking and insurance, healthcare technology, retail and manufacturing, and engineering, among others.
“The whole HTD program is in line with Collabera’s mission to develop top talents here in the Philippines, supporting the booming ITBPM industry in the country.
Through the HTD program, Collabera will be able to bring in a robust supply of quality Filipino professionals,” said Priyanshu Singh, Collabera Philippines country head.
The company explained that the HTD program is a regular high-impact employee learning and development program developed and designed to equip employees with specialized IT skills fit to the production and service demands of clients across multiple industries.
Through a combination of its global and local IT experts, the HTD program offers technical training and hands-on practice on the various aspects of being an all-round IT professional.
Collabera runs various comprehensive skills development programs in IT including, but not limited to, application development, software maintenance, computer programming and network management. Upon completion of the program, Collabera employees will have the chance to be deployed in Collabera’s extensive database of leading multinational organizations across diverse industries in the country.
Singh added that the HTD program is a strategic approach toward the fast-evolving needs and complexity of the IT landscape in the country.
“With the current boom in the IT sector in the Philippines, it is a must to develop high quality professionals who can meet the fastchanging needs of different companies in need of IT support,” Singh said. “IT is a very dynamic industry. A few years from now, what we consider as advanced technology will be obsolete. There is a great need to stay updated and get ahead of everyone else. That is why we never stop training our employees.”
Collabera currently has a staff of 450 employees, which is expected to grow to over 1,200 over the next several years to help cater to the rising demand for temporary staffing. RED PLANET Ltd., operator of Tune Hotels in the Philippines, is ramping its planned investments and expansion plans to cement its position as the largest internationally owned and operated hotel in the country.
In a briefing yesterday, Red Planet Hotels founder and senior vice president for acquisitions Ken Kerr said the company could add up to six more hotel branches, which would entail investments of up to $72 million, or about P3.2 billion.
The additional branches, which will add some 1,100 new rooms to the company’s portfolio, are expected to be put up in Ermita and Binondo, both in Manila; Cubao in Quezon City; Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City; Sta. Rosa, Laguna; and Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Kerr said.
The proposed branches, to be completed between late 2016 and early 2017, will be on top of the company’s aggressive plan to end 2014 with a total of 10 branches of about 1,720 rooms—a testament to the company's confidence and commitment to the Philippine tourism industry.
Red Planet earlier set the launch of its ninth branch yesterday—the 200-room Tune Hotel Aseana City in Parañaque City. The 10th Tune Hotel branch will open in November this year on Ayala Avenue.
“Not only are we growing in numbers, but we have received a great deal of acceptance among the traveling public for the value of money we provide,” said Red Planet country manager Sahlee Zaldiva. “The expansion will allow the company to take advantage of the 24-percent growth in tourist arrivals projected by the Department of Tourism for 2014. We are fully committed to helping expand and grow with the international and domestic travel industries in the Philippines.”
Red Planet Hotels CEO Tim Hansing in a separate statement yesterday said that the Philippines would be “perfect platform to drive the Southeast Asian expansion of Tune Hotels because of the country’s acceptance of new and inspiring brands that enable travel to the wider population.”
Also, Kerr added, the company will start by next year to look at prospective sites in the provinces, where they can build more Tune Hotels, each having at least 120 rooms. Among those being considered are Bacolod, Iloilo, and Puerto Princesa in Palawan.