Condo Hotels Sweeping the Philippines

Interest in the Philippines condominium hotels sectorcentre or a resort investment foothold although we
has increased significantly in the past two yearsare now seeing more and more first time property
following many years of intermittent development andbuyers moving into the Condominium Hotel
association with other shared ownership vehicles, saysmarketplace said Collingz.
Beth Collingz in her recent report: 'CondominiumMetro Manila and Cebu are particular favorites as an
Hotels-The Philippines Latest Hotel Phenomenon'investment destination. There is room for a wider pool
Beth Collingz, Overseas Marketing Director, Investmentof institutional and real estate investors to invest in a
Sales for PLC International Marketing the leadportfolio of condominium units or the establishment of
marketing partners for Pacific Concord Properties Inc'san investor-developer partnership.
Lancaster Brand of Condotels in the PhilippinesCollingz continued that a lot of this interest is being
explained: A condominium hotel is a hotel operating unitdriven by the relatively cheap market prices in the
which is sold to individual equity investors, where eachPhilippines compared to Europe, specially UK Housing
owner acquires a room, suite or studio whilst the wholeprices, and the easy payment options available for our
enterprise is managed as a hotel operation under aCondo Hotel Developments, but there are other
single brand.factors, too. Offshore Property Investors, Foreign baby
Buyers own their units the same as regular condos.boomers as well as overseas Filipinos, are looking for
There is no time limit to ownership. All Condos comeways to maximize their return on investments as they
with freehold title deeds. The Condotel model is similarapproach retirement, and so are purchasing second
to the serviced apartment or apart hotel sector and ishomes, particularly Condo Hotel Investments where
suitable for an investor who wants to test the water inthey can use the Condo for vacations and rent it out
hotel investment.through our In-House Condotel Management when
We are seeing more and more sophisticatedthey are not using the unit thereby gaining rental
customers coming to the market and a change inincomes that on today's purchase prices, give a
demand patterns; the traditional timeshare productsprojected ROI on their investments of some 12-16%
seem past their prime. This, plus an increase independing upon the mode of payment for the unit.
investment appetite for the hospitality sector, suggestsPacific Concord Properties Inc's Lancaster - The
that the condominium market looks set to growAtrium, Shaw Boulevard, Metro Manila, Philippines is a
Collingz continued: Many international hotel brands have"Full Service" Condominium Hotel offering Studio, One,
also declared that the Philippine hotel landscape isTwo and Three Bedroom Suites for sale. To be
ready for condominium hotel developments, either incompleted and ready for turnover from December
conjunction with self-contained hotel operations, as fully2010, the Lancaster Atrium will provide unit owners
self-contained condominium plans or as a part of awith premier residential condo units with option of
mixed-use development plan such as the Lancasterenrolling their units in the Lancaster Condo Hotel Rental
Brand.Pool and earn Rental Incomes as Owner
Condominium hotels are significantly less developed inNon-Residents when not using their units through
the Philippines than in the US, in part owing to a lowCondotel Management. This makes the Lancaster
cost residential focused market as well as the lack ofBrand of Condotels, one of the Hottest Investment
development in the hotel sector since the 1997 AsianOpportunities in the Philippines.
Crisis. Alternative hotel ownership are featuring morePart of the success story for this sector will be the
and more in the hotels sector, with the rise ofeducation of a whole new investor base previously
condominium hotels and a shift in investor strategy,accustomed to buy-to-let residential plans or
thus creating a new investor profile. At the moment,conventional commercial real estate investments,
the Philippine condominium market is being targetedtogether with the emergence of a secondary market
and driven by private retail purchasers, typicallyin the Philippines to demonstrate transparency and
reasonably net worth individuals attracted by a cityliquidity said Collingz.