Hotels, resorts report high occupancy rates
Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa is a favorite destination for locals and tourists alike, especially during Holy Week and summer. (SHANGRI-LA.COM)
City hotels rely on ‘staycations,’ events to attract guests
Most hotels and resorts on Mactan Island are now nearly or fully booked for the rest of Holy Week while hotels in Cebu City are banking on “staycations” and holding promotional events to attract the locals.
Jenny Tiu, central reservation officer of Crown Regency Hotel, said bookings for the Holy Week vary between 40 and 70 percent.
“We usually don’t expect full occupancy during the Holy Week,” she said, citing that many of the local guests would prefer to stay at hotels and resorts outside Metro Cebu.
Cebu Parklane International Hotel is also experiencing lower occupancy rates.
“Hotel occupancy is still really good but it is significantly low during Holy Week, which is expected since we are a city/business hotel,” said general manager Cenelyn Manguilimotan.
At Marco Polo Cebu, communications manager Manna Alcazar said the hotel has been “very fortunate” to post an occupancy rate in the “high 80’s” until Easter Sunday.
She said majority of guests are from the local market, followed by guests from Manila and other cities in the Philippines, and lastly, Japanese and Korean guests.
She said “staycations,” or brief vacations spent by locals in their own cities, are increasing.
To entice more guests to stay in city hotels, some hotels have been promoting Easter-themed activities, such as Easter egg hunts, and arts and crafts sessions.
Marco Polo is also doing a guided Way of the Cross on Friday, for staying and walk-in guests who still want to observe Holy Week practices during their “staycation.”
At the Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan, marketing and communications manager Mia Mae Sy said the 290-room resort is fully booked for today, Maundy Thursday, and Black Friday. The resort is also expected to be “filled to capacity” by Saturday and Sunday, she said.
“Because it’s the Holy Week, we have more domestic guests. We’re also expecting more Filipinos to stay with us over the weekend,” she said.
The resort also has several Easter-themed activities for its guests.
Another Mactan resort, Shangri-La Mactan Resort and Spa, is similarly booked.
“We are fully booked for the Holy Week with a good mix of local and domestic guests,” said the resort’s director of sales and marketing, Albert Lafuente.
The Holy Week is just the beginning of the summer peak season, which lasts until May.
Crimson is already anticipating 80 to 85-percent occupancy throughout the season, increasing again over the Labor Day weekend, or from April 28 to May 3.
In comparison, city hotels are hopeful, but not expectant, that occupancy rates will remain high during the summer months.
“Summer is a tricky time for city hotels because most people would really want to be at a beach or outside the city, but market predictability has been changing, so we’re hoping more people flock to the city hotels,” Alcaraz said.
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