Fili Hotel’s convention center soft launches this April

THE FILI Hotel, located within Cebu’s NUSTAR Resort and Casino, held the soft launch of its convention center this April.

“Noon, kung may budget tayo [In the past, for those with a budget], [there was only this one option] and nothing else. Nowadays, if you have the budget, why not also consider NUSTAR?,” said Jun Cordova, Fili Hotel’s director of sales and marketing.

The center has an area of 2,449 square meters with six-meter-high ceilings. It can be divided into three sections, with soundproof partitions in between, per Mr. Cordova during a March 31 media tour. The maximum capacity for a banquet setup using the entire space is 1,700, he added.

For theater seating, the capacity is 2,500.

“With the ongoing trend of wedding planners converting a ballroom into an oasis, ready na iyung ceiling and all [the ceilings and everything else are ready],” Mr. Cordova said.

“We can even have a car show here because we have car lifts,” he said, as he also noted the center’s usefulness for the MICE — or meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions — industry.

(A 2020 forecast on the Philippines’s international and MICE tourism market projected revenues worth $22.5 billion by 2026.)

The Fili Hotel is the first of three hotel towers planned within NUSTAR Resort and Casino, which was developed by Robinson Land Corp.’s hospitality arm, Robinsons Hotels and Resorts.

The plan is for NUSTAR to be an integrated resort, according to its general manager, Paolo L. Campillo.

“It’s planned to be the largest and the best integrated resort outside of Metro Manila,” he told BusinessWorld.

“Coming up is the mall, with several luxury brands moving in there. We also have a water-themed park and theater coming up,” he said. “A lot of the events happening at resorts will soon be happening here.” — Patricia B. Mirasol