Couple’s promised resort puts San Remigio in tourism map

It started as a way to help San Remigio folks earn. The business, however, eventually grew and helped put the north Cebu town in the map as one of Cebu’s tourism destinations.

Mark Anthony Ynoc, general manager of San Remigio Beach Club, said his father set up the beach club in 2002 with only six rooms.

The family hired 18 people then to start the resort.

“My father made it his goal to really help the people in San Remigio through employment and tourism is the best industry to invest in to achieve that,” said Ynoc.

He said his father grew up in the town as a son of a fisherman and his mother, a farmer’s daughter.

Both his parents and the family knew how it was to be poor and promised to come back to the town and help townfolk earn once the Ynocs  would do well in life.

His father left the town 32 years ago to look for better opportunities in Cebu City.

Ynoc said his father worked as a waiter to support his schooling and then worked in a construction company as an accountant.

In 1986, he decided to set up a logistics company called Prime Movers Total Logistics.

His father grew the business and today, continues to provide major companies for their logistics needs.

Growing the first business for the Ynocs was a challenge at first, said Ynoc.

“We rented an apartment which is only 26 square meters wide, and all of us slept in one bed,” said Ynoc. At one point Ynoc, who’s the only child of the Ynoc couple, said his parents sent him back to San Remigio because they had no more food to eat in the city.

Despite the hardships, his father persisted and didn’t give up. It took him 16 years to establish the family’s logistics company in the industry.

With the logistics business doing well, the Ynoc couple then decided it was time to keep their promise to the San Remigio folk and set up the San Remigio Beach Club.

His parents at that time ran the resort themselves as well as their logistics business in the Cebu City.

Mark Anthony by then was already a Business Administration graduate but he held off from joining his parents in running the resort business at first.

Mark Anthony instead worked in a telecommunications company.

“I thought that I should first experience how it is to work for a boss before I become the boss myself,” he said.

His working stint, however, lasted only seven months because his father prevailed over him to help them run the resort.

“He was having a hard time running the two businesses so he asked me to help him with the resort,” said Ynoc.

Today, San Remegio Beach Club is a 7.5 hectares property with 5 hectares already fully developed.They have a total of 51 rooms now each costing P2,700 to P5,500 per room and 65 people helping in the operations. They also have a convention hall that can accommodate 500 people, three outdoor function areas, a dive shop, and Cafe Gloria restaurant that can seat up to 200 people.

“We are positioning the resort as a sports and leisure resort so we offer activities like kayaking, badminton, mountain trekking courses and more,” said Ynoc.

The property is also close to eight sanctuaries with the largest at 32 square hectares where they usually do their diving offers. Because of the increased number of group tours going to their property, Ynoc saw the need to setup a city property thus they opened San Remegio Pensionne Suites in 2010.

San Remegio Pensionne Suites has 13 rooms now which is run like a hotel. “Most of our guests really like it here and we offer packages that include tours in the city and an overnight stay at the pension suite before they go to the resort,” said Ynoc.

The resort’s clients are mostly Koreans and Russians.

The Ynocs are developing the remaining undeveloped 2.5 hectares in the property—the project is scheduled to be completed in 2014.

“We are now developing our wellness program because we get many clients from that market segment as well so we’ll soon have a 2-storey spa, additional 25 rooms, a coffee shop and a renovation of the main lobby,” said Ynoc.

They are also looking at growing their own vegetables and farm animals in an area about 300 meters away from the property.

“My mom comes from a family of farmers so soon we’ll be growing our vegetables there, grow pigs and chicken that we’ll use in the property,” said Ynoc.