DoubleDragon's Hotel 101 secures ticker symbol for Nasdaq SPAC listing

DoubleDragon Corporation’s subsidiary Hotel101 Global Pte. Ltd. has reserved the ticker symbol "HBNB" at the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, as the firm seeks to sign merger agreements with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in March for its planned listing.

In a regulatory filing, DoubleDragon said the ticker symbol indicates its position as a "uniform and consistent bed and breakfast (BNB)", having standardized 21-square meter hotel rooms with a single type in multiple countries.

DoubleDragon said Hotel101 is expected to sign the definitive SPAC Business Combination Merger Agreement with its chosen sponsor in March, to be followed by the official filing of its prospectus, subject to regulatory approvals in the United States.

"DoubleDragon expects Hotel101 Global to very soon become the very first Filipino company to list via SPAC in the US Nasdaq Stock Exchange, and seen to become one of the major brands, concept and business model export of the Philippines," the filing read.

The first three overseas Hotel101 projects will be in Niseko Hokkaido, Japan; Madrid, Spain; and Los Angeles, California in the United States, which are set to jumpstart the company's expansion to other areas.

Moving forward, Hotel101 targets to accumulate a portfolio of 1 million rooms in 101 countries before 2050.

It also seeks to expand in areas such as the United Kingdom (UK), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, Italy, Germany, France, and China.

"Eventually we see Hotel101 rooms to be just like that one iconic hamburger in a global fast-food chain, it is the same no matter where you go — yes, the price changes as costs vary from country to country, but the burger doesn’t change,” Hotel101 chief executive officer Hannah Yulo-Luccini said.

Hotel101 has an average 500 rooms per site, with the typical unit coming with prefabricated toilets and a standardized flat pack furniture with the same type of bulb used within the whole building.

It is expected to derive over 95% of its revenues outside of the Philippines, which will then be consolidated back to its ultimate parent DoubleDragon.

"The opportunity that we see globally in the hospitality space is that of standardization because we believe it brings unbeatable efficiency, especially for the mid-end segment," DoubleDragon chairman Edgar "Injap" Sia II said.

"Take for example the budget airline industry — essentially all budget airlines sell one product across the whole industry and that product is the economy seat," he added.

Hotel101 Global Pte. Ltd.'s global sales hub has also been made operational, located at the PLUS Building in Raffles Place in the Singapore Central Business District.

DoubleDragon ended the first nine months of 2023 with a P2.47-billion net income, up 0.68% as its revenues climbed by 3.01% to P6.15 billion. —KBK, GMA Integrated News