SM Prime Holdings—the real estate arm of the billionaire Sy family’s SM Investments Corp—is spending about 10 billion pesos ($179 million) to expand its hotel footprint across the Philippines over the next five years amid a tourism boom.
Under the five-year growth plan, SM Prime said it will build seven new hotels with a total of 1,321 hotel rooms. Once the projects, which will be funded by internally-generated cash, are completed by end-2029, the group will have 17 hotels with a total of 3,923 rooms, it added.
Six of the new hotels will be branded the Park Inn by Radisson, while one will be developed under Radisson. The expansion—which is part of the 500-billion-peso investment announced by SM Prime in May—bolsters SM Hotels Convention Corp.’s position in the midscale and high-end segments while leveraging synergies with the SM Prime’s diverse portfolio of shopping malls, office buildings, hotels and convention facilities.
“This rollout reflects our belief in the long-term potential of the Philippine domestic travel and tourism market,” Peggy Angeles, executive vice president of SM Hotels, said in a statement released on Tuesday. “We are building on the strength of regional tourism while delivering quality accommodations that enhance the value of our ecosystem of malls, events spaces and mixed-use developments.”
Just like in its shopping mall and residential projects, the new hotels will be developed outside of Metro Manila as SM Prime seeks to tap into the growing middle class in the provinces. Only one of the new SM hotels will be in Metro Manila, while the rest will be in various parts of the main island Luzon as well as Cebu City in central Philippines.
“Our hotels serve as catalysts for local economic activity,” Angeles said. “We are focused on creating long-term value—through jobs, tourism flows and sustained growth that enhances SM Prime’s diversified revenue base.”
The SM group traces its roots to Henry Sy Sr., who sold overrun shoes in 1958 at a store in Manila he aptly called Shoemart. Following his death in 2019, his six children—Teresita, Elizabeth, Henry Jr, Hans, Herbert and Harley—inherited his fortune. With a net worth of $13 billion, the family is among the richest in the Philippines. Apart from its real estate portfolio, SM Investments has interests in banking, energy, retail, mining and shipping.
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