CEBU Landmasters Inc. (CLI) has formed a strategic alliance with The Ascott Limited (Ascott) to build more serviced-residences in the region and serve its growing tourism market.
The partnership would double CLI’s number of apartment units under Ascott’s award-winning brands from 804 to 1,600 by 2022.
“We are happy with our partnership with Ascott as we increase our hospitality portfolio and expand to key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao,” said CLI chief executive officer Jose Soberano III after the signing of memorandum of understanding at The Ascott Makati in Makati City. “Ascott’s expertise in the hospitality business is a good counterpart for our familiarity with the VisMin market.”
Kevin Goh, chief executive officer of The Ascott Limited, said, “Ascott’s alliance with CLI in the Philippines builds on the strategic partnerships we have forged around the world to accelerate Ascott’s growth globally. Leveraging Ascott’s global network and strong hospitality expertise, as well as CLI’s well established reputation in the Philippines, the partnership will allow us to gain access to a pipeline of quality projects in the country. This will fast-track our expansion and strengthen Ascott’s leadership position as the largest international hospitality player in the Philippines. Having leading industry players choose to partner with Ascott speaks volumes of the value we bring to our partners. We are confident that Ascott will exceed 80,000 units in 2018 and expand to 160,000 units worldwide by 2023.” To date CLI has a portfolio of 969 rooms.
Its serviced residence projects with The Ascott Limited include the 180-room Citadines Cebu City in Base Line Center, the 250-room Citadines Paragon Davao to be operational by 2021, the 180-room lyf Cebu City in Base Line Prestige set to open in 2021, and the newly launched 200-room Citadines Bacolod City that will open by fourth quarter of 2021. The Citadines brand caters to independent travelers who want flexible services, while its newest lyf brand is designed by millennials for millennials, with co-living, collaborative concepts.
Soberano said the sites being eyed for the new Ascott properties will include Mactan and the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo and Dumaguete.
“The tourism industry in the VisMin region is flourishing and government infrastructure projects are complementing the area’s rapid growth,” he said.
CLI and Ascott, he added, “have decided to combine our areas of expertise in order to provide properties that will address the specific needs of each market.”
Singapore-based The Ascott Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand. It is one of the leading international serviced residence owner-operators with more than 500 properties in over 130 cities spanning more than 30 countries. Its brands include Ascott, Citadines, Somerset, Quest, The Crest Collection and lyf. (PR)