Family continues to grow 20-year hotel business

In Cebu where accommodation establishments are scattered in almost every corner and fueled by the rich tourism industry, every player must define their niche.

One such place is Dynasty Tourist Inn which offers a personalized and homey feel to their guests, who keep coming back to them whenever they come to Cebu for over 20 years now.

Long before all the major international hotel and resort brands came to Cebu, the family of 24-year-old Melanie Guanzon was among the first few who invested in a pension house type of accommodation in 1990.

Guanzon, who is now the general manager of the family property, said the inn was their family’s second business after they were successful with their hardware chain Cebu Champion Hardware which her parents set up in the 1970s.

“The inn is like a move forward from our hardware business since my dad was already familiar with the materials needed and where to source them since we also sell them in our hardware,” said Guanzon.

Guanzon said  back in the days, her parents already anticipated the demand for accommodations especially that Cebu’s economy was fast growing.

Similar to how they started the hardware business, the family members took turns running the hotel and the hardware store.

“My dad Felix and mom Marilyn managed their time well to run both businesses,” she said.

Located at a once silent corner in Cebu City in Jasmin Street, Capitol Site, Cebu City, Dynasty Tourist Inn started with 37 rooms and about 20 people to help run it 21 years ago.

The property targeted visitors who would visit Cebu for business or leisure seeking a place to stay with affordable rates near the heart of the city.

“We have sales agents who come here and stay with us for days because they meet with clients here and we also have foreign guests who come to Cebu as tourists,” said Guanzon.

Because the property’s size is very manageable, the family was able to create a “homey” feel that the guests love.

“Some of our people here have been with us since we started and our guests have been coming back to stay with us for many years now every time they come to Cebu,” she said.

“Over the years we have come to know them and know what they like and how they like their food prepared and other very personal details which made us more their preferred place to stay.”

In 2000, three of their rooms were converted into a conference room to accommodate the demand for a function room which can accommodate up to 100 people.

They have three room classifications including deluxe at P1,200 per night, executive rooms at P1,400 per night and P1,600 for a family room good for about four people and an additional two beds.

They also have an in-house cafe called Cafe Florence which offers generally Filipino cuisine to their guests.

Seeing the success of their property and the continued demand for rooms in the accommodation sector, the family reinvested to renovate the property and added three more rooms in the property last year.

Guanzon said the family was very optimistic of Cebu’s tourism industry fueling more growth to the accommodations sector.

“We are however going to get more aggressive with promoting our brand to the tourists that is why we have partnered with other properties in other provinces like Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Leyte and Camiguin where we put in leaflets of our property in their front desks so that their guests who would be coming to Cebu can see them and stay with us,” said Guanzon.

They are also aggressively pushing for their brand through the different social media like Facebook aside from their website, where they put in information about their property and how they are different from others in the same price category.

They also tied up with tour operators to help them promote and market their inn to foreign and domestic tourists.

“We feel this is the way to do it because the competition has grown over the years. While we have won many loyal customers already, we think that we must not rely so much on walk-ins and make people know that there is Dynasty Tourist Inn,” Guanzon said.

As of now the family is not keen on setting up their brand in other areas in Cebu and outside of Cebu because they want to promote and grow the brand first.