WATERFRONT Philippines Inc. (WPI) will infuse P800 million to fund the renovation projects of three of its five hotels next year as part of the hotels’ regular maintenance activities.

From the allocation, the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino (WCCHC) will take up more than 50 percent, at P450 million, while the Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino (WAHC) will have a budget of P200 million.

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The remaining P150 million will be spent on renovation works for the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao, said WPI chairman Renato Magadia in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu last Saturday, following the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting.

“We felt that it is also the right time to enhance our hotels with the competition coming from the new hotels,” he added.

WPI president Kenneth Gatchalian also said the planned renovation of the hotels will be done in several phases covering a period of at least one year.

It will include a facelift of hotel rooms and improvement on its facilities, he said.

WPI approved a request from the board for the parent company to extend a total aggregate amount of P2 billion not only to for the renovation efforts.

Part of the budget will also be applied to an outstanding loan that has a value of P836 million upon maturity on February 2010.

Aside from this, WPI also approved a board resolution from WCCHC to convert P600 million worth of cash advances into common shares.

During the stockholders’ meeting, Magadia reported to shareholders that 2008 was considered “one of the most challenging years of the industry.”

“The global economic crunch came rather unexpectedly and it has brought with it the obvious implications for international travel, tourist spending and leisure spending in general,” he said.

In the middle part of 2008, Magadia said the company “braced for tough times” and the outlook turned from positive to conservative.

“We have done all that is necessary to keep our business steady. We are continuously streamlining our operations, implementing necessary austerity measures and always enhancing our processes in order to serve our customers efficiently and cost-effectively,” he said.