Reset ASEAN Summit hurts Cebu hotel industry

CEBU’S buoyant prospects of hitting another big time by hosting the 12th ASEAN Summit this week nearly hit rock bottom as the government reset the Dec. 10-14 conference to Jan. 10-13, 2007 due to typhoon Seniang’s threats.

Regarding the rescheduled event, Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said Cebu will experience a low occupancy during this time as cancelled bookings from some of the delegates and participants made up the biggest influx bulk.

"The Department of Tourism Overseas Offices and private sector have immediately contacted travel wholesalers and corporate accounts whose reservations have been on the waitlist as well as unconfirmed status due to the scheduled event," Durano said.

The ASEAN Summit was to take place at the newly built R515-million (-million) Cebu International Convention Center (CICC). A rival to Quezon City’s Araneta Center, the high-end three-storey 20,000 sq. meters structure sits on a three-hectare portion of the Mandaue Reclamation Area.

The conference would have gathered about 10,000 delegates and participants from ASEAN’s 10-member countries: Brunei; Cambodia; Indonesia; Laos; Malaysia; Myanmar; the Philippines; Singapore; Thailand and Vietnam. The annual meet’s supposed agenda is focused on the region’s major cultural and economic issues.

In a panic mode, most of Metro Cebu deluxe properties’ sales and marketing executives pushed the discount buttons offering super low rates, calling on unconfirmed and wait-listed guests and wooing back those who were turned away due to full bookings. This December is meant to be a double peak season as the holiday spell overlapped with the bumped off summit.

The DoT combined efforts with industry players for a positive turn around to lift Cebu’s occupancy levels with around 2,229 rooms at stake. Hotels in the official list include the 246-room Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa, the 560-rooms Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, the 329-rooms Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, 247-room Plantation Bay Resort & Spa, the 547-rooms Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort & Spa and the 300-rooms Cebu City Mariott Hotel.

Jose Clemente III, Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) president, said, "It’s unfortunate, but it’s the decision of the government to cancel the summit. Travel trade in Cebu is definitely affected because of the lost opportunities. It might take a while before rooms are filled up after previously scheduled bookings were cancelled. It’s not that easy, it’s like pulling a rabbit out of a hat."

Clemente, also president of the inbound/outbound pioneer Rajah Tours, noted that for the last three years, the Japanese market has been dominating influx to Cebu. There has been a slight drop, though, recently as the Korean market grows more aggressive.

Marco Protacio, general manager of Waterfront Cebu, said most of the deluxe properties’ general managers had a meeting today to initiate crucial moves and buffer the hurtful losses, especially of the official hotels hosting the summit delegates.

Waterfront Cebu is supposed to host delegates from Korea, France, East Timor, among others. About 450 out of 561 rooms were blocked for the event. With an on-going two-year R100-million renovation, Waterfront is optimistic of recouping at least 30 percent of the lost revenue in the next couple of weeks up to the summit’s hopeful resumption on Jan. 10.

Protacio said there has not yet been any movement regarding Waterfront bookings although renegotiation is set to recommence after the holidays.

Peter Pedersen, general manager of the 246-room Cebu Hilton Resort & Spa, said the property in scenic Mactan Island has lost some R100,000 in revenues from the lost opportunity due to the summit delegates’ pull-out and the substantial dip in arrivals. Some 200 delegates from Japan were booked in the hotel.

"The short-term cancellation is quite difficult to overcome. We have to clock back the whole marketing efforts, reschedule the labor force and minimize operations during the lull period," Pedersen said.

The 10-year old 247-room Plantation Bay had groups from Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand pullout due to the cancelled event. The property earns from its 55 percent leisure and 45 percent corporate segments, according to Kyra Cabaero of Plantation’s PR and marketing office.

Pedersen said, Cebu enjoys yearround chunky arrivals from countries with direct flights to the City: Seoul and Kaohsiung, Korea (Asiana); Tokyo, Japan (PAL); Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific); Singapore (Silk Air), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Malaysia Airlines); and Doha, Qatar (Thai Airways).

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