P100-M upgrade for hotel

The hotel, which used to be known as Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa, will get a new name and a P100-million budget for a brand reinvention and upgrade of the hotel property in Punta Engaño, Lapu-Lapu City.

Manuel “Manny” Osmeña, chairman of the Oikonomos International Resources Corp., announced its new partnership with the Switzerland-based Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts.

Cebu is the fourth Asian hotel site for Mövenpick, which operates hotels in 30 countries and positions itself as serving the “upscale segment” with a brand that stands for “quality, reliability and care with a personal touch.”

With the new partnership, the Mactan hotel is now called Mövenpick Resort and Spa Cebu.

Osmeña said a mutual agreement was reached to end the 15-year contract with the Hilton international hotel chain after serving five years.

None of the current 246 employees will be displaced, he said, as they remain a valuable workforce.

Describing the choice ofMövenpick as a “whirlwind love affair,” Osmeña in a press conference said that with the hotel industry getting more competitive and the entry of budget airlines, he saw that “more people are traveling.”

“Our partnership with Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts is a natural decision that came after we saw the need to offer the best services from an already-trusted brand,” Osmeña said.

He said the board recently approved a P100-million budget for upgrading the resort, which includes a new color scheme that may enhance its signature pink walls.

He introduced a Paris-based architecture color specialist, who will stay in the resort for two weeks to study the location and suggest a new palette to renew the “arrival experience” in the lobby, facilities and add “soft touches” in the rooms.

Plans also include adding more conference rooms to tap for meetings and conventions.

No timeframe was announced for the facelift, but Osmeña said he hopes renovations start within the next three months. He assured that the upgrades would be done without interrupting guests.

Helmut Gaisberger, director of operations for Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts in the Philippines, is acting general manager of the Cebu resort.

“We have to create a destination and not do something that people already know of. This is going to be a destination,” Gaisberger said.

It’s a point of pride for Cebu that Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts chose to invest here before Manila for its first Philippine hotel and only its fourth in Asia, where they are developing 10 more properties.