Cebu"s hotels fully booked

CITY hotels and pension houses in Cebu are full with the influx of international relief workers and foreign military personnel.

Occupancy started to peak after Cebu was designated as one of the hubs for the massive relief effort for areas badly-hit by super typhoon Yolanda.

Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) president Cenelyn Manguilimotan said in a phone interview yesterday that hotels and pension houses, particularly those in strategic locations going to the airport, have been fully booked since last week.

She said some evacuees are staying in pension houses and hotels temporarily until they can get apartments to rent.

But she said it’s difficult to quantify the guests since some of them are walk-ins with no prior reservations. These guests have also been in and out of the hotel.

Manguilimotan, general manager of Cebu Parklane International Hotel, said Parklane was at 50 percent occupancy. But starting last Wednesday, the hotel is running at 100 percent occupancy.

In a statement, Ann Olalo, director of Sales and Marketing of Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu, said the hotel is a “home to a number of foundations and foreign contingents working for relief efforts.”

She said most of the organizations staying at their hotel are Thai, British and Australian organizations.

Radisson’s occupancy currently stood at 96 percent.

Although occupancy is high, Charlene Go, public relations manager of Cebu City Marriott Hotel, said bookings are still manageable.

Private relief works

“Some 40 percent are here due to typhoon Yolanda, whether they be media or doing private relief efforts. Some are staying for as long as two weeks,” said Go.

Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino Mactan is also fully booked.

January Leron, the hotel’s Marketing Communications officer, said majority of the hotel bookings are from groups doing relief operations in Tacloban and other nearby provinces affected by the typhoon.

“We continue to receive inquiries on room accommodation and we do our best to cater to them,” said Leron.

Foreign aid keeps pouring into typhoon-stricken areas. The Mactan Cebu International Airport is used as hub for relief efforts since it can provide security and warehousing for the goods, as well as various modes of transportation to deliver goods to the affected areas, said the Department of Transportation and Communications.

Aicha Tabanera, Castle Peak’s Marketing and Communications head, likewise reported that they have some foreign volunteers from Austria, Singapore and Korea staying at their hotel.

“We were able to accommodate them all. There were no problems with reservations and we didn’t have to decline anyone of them,” she said.

Cebu Grand Hotel also logged a steady 80 percent occupancy since last week. Carlo Suarez, hotel manager said “lots of relief workers” stayed in their hotel.

Best Western Lex Cebu has been averaging 90-100 percent occupancy the past few days.

General manager Bernard Tanchan said most of their guests are international journalists and foreign relief workers such as the Taiwan Red Cross.

According to Manguilimotan, the influx of humanitarian aid volunteers and foreign military personnel in Cebu is helping the hospitality industry, which was recently affected by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

“Their coming to Cebu somehow filled-up the vacuum created by the earthquake and has offset the losses incurred by some city hotels and pension houses,” she said.

Last month, Manguilimotan reported that foreign guests postponed their travels to Cebu and Bohol after the earthquake.

Cebu"s hotels fully booked