By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante, Reporter THE GOKONGWEI GROUP is banking on Cebu’s booming gaming industry and tourism with its ultra-luxury NUSTAR Hotel, set to open in December as part of a P30-billion investment package. “The P30 billion, a big chunk of that is for the construction,” Katrina Mae L.
de Jesus, assistant vice-president of resort marketing and business development and brand marketing at NUSTAR Resorts and Casino, told BusinessWorld on Saturday. The NUSTAR hotel is set to soft open by December to “start and build upon the holiday market and then carry on from there,” Roel Constantino, general manager for hotels, told reporters. This will add 223 hotel rooms and another 383 rooms from the Grand Summit Hotel, which is set to open by 2027.
These additional capacities will drive the room count to nearly a thousand, making it the biggest hotel complex in Cebu. Mr. Constantino said the upcoming NUSTAR hotel foresees the market to be more international.
The rooms are larger, starting at 52 square meters (sq.m.).
Currently, Fili Hotel has 379 rooms and houses the casino and NUSTAR Mall. Ms. De Jesus said Fili Hotel is currently at a 70-80% occupancy rate as some amenities are yet to be operational.
“It’s the grand ballroom that helped. There were lots of events. I think that’s what contributed to the occupancy,” she said.
The core conference area, called the New South Convention Center, is an aggregate of the three ballrooms and the in-between function-spa.
