Plantation Bay signs up with Skycable for HD service

PLANTATION Bay Resort and Spa signed a deal to become the first hotel nationwide to subscribe to full high-definition (HD) television service for all its rooms.

The resort signed an agreement with Sky Cable Corp. last Monday.

Under the agreement, Skycable will provide 300 HD TV modems to the resort’s 256 rooms. Some of the rooms have two TV units.

The resort was previously subscribed to cable TV provider Unicable, which Sky cable acquired in May 2012.

The HD service will be launched next month and made available to guests in the second week.

“Elevating customer experience is the common denominator for Skycable and Plantation Bay. We made this investment to extend our market reach and at the same time provide satisfaction to both our and Plantation’s clients,” said Skycable head for corporate sales Dicky Liwanag.

Plantation Bay general manager Efren Belarmino said the HD offering will help increase visitors to the hotel.

Belarmino said about 60 percent of Plantation’s guests are foreigners, with Koreas and Japanese among the top.

“Anything that improves customer experience will (trigger) a natural reaction from the recipients. We are confident this Sky-Plantation relationship will attract a following,” Liwanag said.

Liwanag said Sky dominates the hotel industry nationwide in providing cable services.

In Cebu, it has 90 percent of the market, Liwanag said. With two hotels in Manila subscribed to Sky’s HD service but on a limited scale and with the recent project with Plantation, Liwanag said they are looking for future collaborations with other hotels.