Wednesday, November 01, 2006 Firm opens budget hotel in downtown Cebu
A COMPANY that operates a chain of pension houses in Leyte has ventured into Cebu’s hotel industry.
“The opportunity in Cebu is big. Although we cannot say that we will be successful just yet but experience will teach us to become better,” said Vismin GV Hotel Inc. (Vismin-GVHI) owner Flor Villegas.
Vismin GVHI launched on Oct. 20 the GV Tower Hotel, which is located in downtown Cebu City.
Villegas also revealed that the company plans to construct a 45-story apartel on a 1,500-square meter property in Basak, Mam-baling, Cebu City.
The apartel, which is expected to be completed in 2008, will house 39 units and will cater mainly to foreigners and overseas Filipino workers, she said.
The company’s GV Tower Hotel, on the other hand, sits on a 600-square meter prime property.
The first six floors of the tower hotel is occupied by Citi Appliance and Universal Lending, which is also owned by the company, while the rest of the building is allotted to the hotel and its amenities.
Business travelers
“It’s a budget hotel,” Villegas told Sun.Star Cebu.
She said it would cater to business travelers and foreign and local tourists.
“Because of the limited space, we know we cannot provide all the amenities common in most hotels,” she said.
But the GV Tower Hotel has the basics: restaurant, coffee shop and a function room that can accommodate 250 guests.
Villegas said the hotel’s ideal location —close to restaurants, malls, churches, tourists spots and hospitals, among others — is what sets it apart from competitors.
She said safety of the guests is the hotel’s main priority.
The parking area is equipped with an electric shutter that automatically closes the gates at 10 p.m. The area also has a 24-hour security scanning system.
“We provide our guests with a card that they will present to the guard for them to enter or exit,” Villegas said. (MMM)
