Thai hotel chain expands abroad with opening of first hotel in the Philippines
Traveling in majesty used to be expensive –– not until Hop Inn came in. The Thailand-based hotel was officially launched in the Philippines through its innovating outlet along Ermita in Manila. The new hotel offers top quality accommodation for people on a tight budget.
The Philippines serves as The Erawan Group PLC’s first market overseas since they ventured into the economy category, said President Kamonwan Wipulakom.
“The country has high potential for tourism in the long term,” she said. “We believe that the Philippines will offer the fastest and highest economic growth in the Asean region and through our analysis and market research on the ground, we see very good opportunities to expand in the Philippines.”
On the 1st day of December 2016, Hop Inn in Ermita opened its door for local and foreign tourists. The management wants its visitors to experience the hospitality of Filipinos and see what Thais are expert with. Thanks to company’s 35 years of experience in developing international hotels, Hop Inn was created to give a high quality and convenient lodges to people even though it falls under the economy travel class.
“So travelers can expect a decent accommodation here at affordable prices,” the top executive noted. Unlike other similar facilities out there, she added that this new budget hotel located at the heart of the country’s capital exceeds the guests’ expectations.
Visitors can expect to see the flourishing colors of the lobby as they enter the establishment. The hotel is supplemented by the gracious and helpful staffs, who are well-trained to assist the visitors to make their stay worthy.
Hop Inn has lots of commodious and well-appointed rooms. With a total of 168 rooms, Hop Inn insures a good night’s sleep for visitors after a tiring business or leisure trip.
Take a look at what’s inside the rooms:
“We offer a very basic requirement. Our brand essence is for our rooms to be clean, convenient, comfortable, and safe,” Wipulakorn said. “We make sure that all of these are consistent to all our clients here and in our upcoming branches in the near future.”
The predominant hotel operator in Southeast Asia has allocated around 10 billion baht, or about P12 billion, for its five-year investment plan aimed at further growing its Hop Inn network in the region.
“Thirty percent of that will be for the Philippines,” the Erawan’s president said of their P3.6 billion capital expenditure to build around 20 three-star hotels in the country by 2020.
The Erawan Group currently operates 41 hotels in Thailand, with a total inventory of 6,000-rooms.
“Next year, it’s going to be 50 hotels, including two in the Philippines,” Wipulakorn stated, referring to the P200 million-worth Ermita property and the 190-room hotel in Makati. The Group’s branch in Makati now under construction in preparation for opening in September 2017.
Other plans include the ones builiding up in Asiana and Alabang which are both scheduled for premier in the first quarter of 2018. The company is also looking for potential sites for Hop Inn in Quezon City, Chinatown, and Cubao in Metro Manila, as well as Cebu and Davao in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
The Eawan’s expansion prolifiration program is expected to more direct and indirect jobs for Filipino people.
“We have created jobs with our ongoing construction already. We will set up an operation team in the next few months and the plan is to hire local staff as many as possible as they would understand customers’ requirement and respond well to market,” Wipulakorn said.
Following the official opening of the flagship branch in Manila, the Group has already identified its captive market in the Philippines.
“In Thailand, 85 percent of our guests are international. But we have a very good domestic market as well. So about 15 percent would go to domestic. But I think over here will be more domestic, maybe 85 percent. So we expect more business travellers here more than leisure guests,” the group’s president claims.
Wipulakorn revealed that they intend to double their target number of hotels in the next 10 years, as they are looking forward on thir first venture in the country.
“We also look at maybe investments into the midscale or four-star category in the Philippines,” she added. “I hope that we bring a good quality product for the Philippine market and that we get a good response. We also want to be part of the community here.”
For more information about Hop Inn Hotel, visit www.hopinnhotel.com and follow their social media pages at www.facebook.com/hopinnhotelph and @hopinnhotelph on Twitter and Instagram.
