ALI allots P30 B for new Seda hotels

Property powerhouse Ayala Land Inc. ( ALI), through unit AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corp., plans to invest as much as P30 billion over the next five years to put up a slew of Seda hotels across the country.

The company is likewise looking to bring the Filipino brand of hospitality abroad by venturing into Seda’s maiden international expansion.

In an interview, Seda group general manager Andrea Mastellone told The STAR the group is targeting to invest between P20- to P30-billion for projects in the company’s pipeline until 2020.

“We have many, many hotels under development. Future locations will be in Bacolod, we have one in El Nido opening soon, and we have a few properties in Metro Manila,” Mastellone said.

Seda is looking to be a force to reckon with in the Philippine hospitality sector in the coming years by tapping both local and foreign tourists in most of the country’s top tourist destinations.

Over the next seven to eight years, Mastellone said the Seda hotel chain is eyeing to grow between 4,000 and 6,000 rooms from its current portfolio of less than 1,000.

The Ayala group currently has four Seda hotels located in Bonifacio Global City, Cagayan de Oro City, Davao City and Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

The group will have five Seda hotels by yearend with the scheduled opening of Seda Iloilo this September.

“The desire to offer a great quality of hospitality, the desire to build a brand that could carry the Filipino flag, the desire of increasing the number of rooms available so that tourists can be targeted more effectively,” Mastellone said when asked on the reason behind the group’s aggressive expansion plan.

As part of a large conglomerate with presence in countries outside the Philippines, Seda can also expand its foothold internationally to tap a broader range of travelers. “For now, we’re focusing on the country because that’s where the hotels are needed the most, but nothing forbids us to move abroad especially where large Filipino communities are present. And for sure in the future, we will be able to put the flag in other countries,” Mastellone said.

Seda hotels target the mid-market “lifestyle type” of clientele.

“We’re four-star by classification but we can also be five-star when it comes to service outcome and attention to our customers. From the software point of view we are definitely at par with any other five stars available in the country,” Mastellone said.

“You’ll find what is essential only to our target market and our major brand promise is the location. You can be assured that any Seda you book anywhere in the country you will be in a central location or probably in one of the best location in that town or city,” he said.