Megaworld to run local Marriott Hotel

BY RUBY ANNE M. RUBIO, BusinessWorld Reporter International hospitality company Marriott Hotels International B.V. (Marriott) has agreed to provide technical assistance to a hotel that will be constructed by listed property firm Megaworld Corp. In a letter to the exchange, Megaworld treasurer and corporate information officer Francisco C. Canuto said Marriott will provide Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc. (Travellers) technical services in an advisory capacity during the design and construction of the hotel to be built in Pasay City. These services include international advertising, marketing, promotion and sales programs, employee training programs and the Marriott reservation and property management systems. Megaworld majority-owned Travellers entered into a management agreement with Marriott on Tuesday following a memorandum of understanding inked between the US-based company and Megaworld in July 2005. "The hotel, which shall have approximately 356 guest rooms, shall be designed, constructed, furnished, equipped, managed and operated as a Marriott system hotel," Mr. Canuto wrote. Marriott also extended to Travellers the right and license within Manila, Philippines to use the Marriott trademarks for hotel services and other related goods and services offered in connection with the hotel which will be called Manila Marriott Hotel. The hotel will rise in Newport City, a community township being developed by Megaworld and located on 25 hectares of land at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City. The community township, which is adjacent to Villamor golf course, is expected to include medium-rise residential towers, retail and commercial areas, a business and technology park, and leisure and tourism components. John Hao, Megaworld’s investor relations officer, said Travellers is engaged in the business of hotels and other tourists-related establishments. In a telephone interview, he said P3 billion would be allotted for the development and construction of the hotel, retail and entertainment centers. Construction of the hotel is expected to start within the year and completed after three years. Newport City is targeted towards tenants and buyers where proximity to Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 is an advantage. On Tuesday, Megaworld shares closed 1.45% higher to P1.40. Last month, AB Capital Securities, Inc. recommended a "buy" on Megaworld shares after the property developer entered a joint-venture agreement with the Manila City government for the development of the two parcels of land in Binondo Chinatown. British embassy also purchased a 1.2-hectare property in its Mc-Kinley Hill township project. Mr. Hao said the embassy, which is currently in Makati City, will use the property as its new location. The British embassy, which will be located along the Circumferential 5 section of McKinley Hill, is the first embassy that Megaworld was able to sell land to in the development. AB Capital said, "This string of developments should confirm the company’s rising status as a force in the industry. From its dark times in the late 1990s, the company has proven its detractors wrong and continues to be active and visible in property developments."