Radisson Blu Cebu in best hotels’ lists

TWO online travel booking sites have included the Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu as one of the 25 Best Hotels in the Philippines.

The hotel ranked fourth in the Top 25 Best Hotels in the Philippines in the 2013 Travellers Choice Awards by Trip Advisor and in the Top 12 Best Hotels in the Philippines by Agoda.com, said Rica Reyes Rellon,  Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu marketing and communications manager, during an interview yesterday.

Rellon said that the hotel’s inclusion these two major online travel booking sites showed that they were getting noticed online.

“This is the first time for Radisson Blu to be in the list and it’s a manifestation of the kind of quality we offer to our guests,” said Ann Olalo, Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu director for marketing and communications.

TREND

According to Jeff Fronda, Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu director for revenue, the trend is going towards online independent bookings which means most travellers don’t go through agency packages anymore but look at the options offered online.

“Travellers now are very intelligent. They go online and check out sites like Trip Advisor for reviews about certain hotels before they decide,” said Fronda.

The online recognition would help the hotel to become more visible to the market and would give them a competitive edge among other properties, said Fronda.

“We plan to get more from this market segment. As of today, 22 percent of our bookings are made online, that is an 8 percent growth from last year,” said Fronda.

online bookings

The hotel marketing team will focus on increasing the online bookings, which is one of the channels to getting a share of the leisure market.

Olalo said the hotel enjoyed a 63 percent occupancy rate compared to the local industry’s average occupany rate of 59 percent.

“We ended 2012 with an average of 60 percent. A high rate for a new hotel like us,” said Olalo.

With the recognition, Olalo said the hotel management would expect a positive year for the industry especially from the leisure and business travellers market and the  MICE (meetings, incentives, conference and exhibitions) segment

She said that there were expecting more MICE activities in the first quarter of the year and more Chinese guests who would be coming here starting the first week of February until March.

chinese

“They (Chinese) usually come in groups of 10 and stay at an average of two nights. They are a growing market we are looking out for,” said Olalo.

Aside from Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu, other properties in Cebu which are also in the Top 25 Best Hotels in the Philippines list include Shangri-la’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa rank fifth, and Pulchra at 6th.

Amanpulo in Palawan ranked first followed by Shangri-las’ Boracay Resort and Spa and Makati Shangri-la Manila for second and third places, respectively.

Abaca Boutique Resort ranked first in the Top 20 Small Hotels in the Philippines category with Las Flores in Camotes Island, Cebu that ranked third.

In the Top 25 Bargain Hotels in the Philippines catergory, Hotel Pier Cuatro ranked 13th while Slam’s Garden Resort in Malapascua Island ranked 24th.

TOP B&B

In the Top 25 B&B (bed and breakfast) and Inns in the Philippines, Ocean Vida Beach and Dive Resort in Malapascua ranked 10th, Mayas Native Garden in Moalboal at 16th and Mike and Diose’s Beach Cottage in Malapascua at 17th.

Rellon said the results was based on feedbacks given by travellers who booked their trips through Trip Advisor with emphasis on value, service and general guest satisfaction.

“The site gets 60 million unique visitors every year and 75 million unique reviews every month. They have been doing the awards for eight years,” said Rellon.