More Davao hotels undergo facelift in preparation for 2008 Kadayawan Festival

More hotels are coming in and more facelifting are being done for old hotels in Davao to make the facilities respond to the growing demand of the industry.

Fernando Aquino, resident manager of Royal Mandaya Hotel in an interview said the hotel will be adding 14 new rooms to add to its existing 147 rooms making a total of 161 rooms available before Davao City’s celebration of Kadayawan Festival 2008.

He said about P30 million capital expense will be infused that will also include the change in equipment and renovation.

“We need to make changes in the hotel to be competitive in the market and build our own identity. If this new things will be added we can invite more clients to patronize our hotel,” he said.

He said they are also into sales blitz making a shift of their strategies to as far as Cebu, Manila, Digos, Mati, and General Santos City.

“The provincial sales blitz, he said is to entice other corporate accounts as well as maintain our existing clients to stay with us,” he said.

The Manila and Cebu blitz,he said are for those planning to hold their conventions in Davao, the city being known as the convention capital of the country.

He said they had changed their marketing strategy to find their clients outside rather than depend on their traditional walk in clients.

“We need to get out inorder to find more clients because this is the way we should do it,” he said.

Aquino also said that during last week’s Araw ng Dabaw celebration they were able to mark a 100 percent hotel occupancy.

On the average, he said their occupancy rate is within the vicinity of 86 percent.

But with the upgrading of their facilities their target this year is at 90 percent.

He disclosed that their total hotel occupancy in 2007 was about 45,500 rooms and by end of 2008 they expect to record about 52,164 hotel occupancy.