A NEW hotel in Cebu City is aligning its business to the emerging trend in tourism—medical tourism.
Edward Garcia, chief executive officer of Griffin Hotel and Suites, said their hotel can accommodate individuals who come to the city to seek quality health care.
“We cater to the medical tourism that’s happening here in Cebu aside from the usual tourists who come here,” he said.
The 11-story hotel, which has 56 rooms, began operating last August 2019. It is strategically located near big hospitals in Cebu City.
The hotel located on Gov. M. Roa St., is a a 10-minute walk from Fuente Osmeña Circle and the Cebu City Capitol. It is near hospitals like Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital and Chong Hua Hospital.
Garcia said the hotel room rates range from P1,500 to P2,000 for standard, family and deluxe accommodation.
The hotel also features a wide array of Filipino, Thai and Vietnamese cuisines served at Cafe Rose.
“We are a business hotel but we are also located near many historic sites. Customers now choose hotels where they can get the best service, the best hospitality at the lowest price,” he said.
Garcia, who is also the owner of gadget store The Cellpod Shoppe Inc., said they decided to branch out in the hotel industry to take advantage of the room backlog due to the tourist influx in Cebu. Garcia has been in the gadget retail business since 2006.
He said most of their customers are Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, Europeans, Americans and locals.
“Our service should be more than what they pay for and the prices should be lower than what they expect,” he said.
In 2018, Cebu City welcomed 1,650,762 domestic tourists and 908,980 foreign tourists.
Asked whether they are affected by competitors like Airbnb, Garcia said competition is natural especially in the hospitality industry and for Cebu which is a popular destination for both local and foreign tourists. “There’s always competition. So there’s a need to keep the price competitive but with quality service. The pie is very big to share and there’s still room (for growth),” he said. (JOB)