Filinvest's Chroma sees 12% growth amid slow market spending

Amid the apparent low spending in hotel markets this year, a high-ranking official of Chroma Hospitality Group (Chroma), the hospitality management arm of the Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corporation, sees 12 percent growth for their business in 2025.

“Despite uncertainty in the global markets and the slowdown in expenditure — maybe due to the coming elections — for us in Chroma, we still have something to be thankful for because we are still seeing a 12 percent year-on-year growth in revenue. We are slightly below budget, but it’s not below 10 percent levels, so it’s still fairly good,” said Chroma country manager Alan James Montenegro, the overseer of known hotel brands, namely Crimson Hotels and Resorts, Quest Hotels, Grafik Hotels and Resorts, and Timberland Highland Resort.

In terms of profitability, Montenegro said they are also optimistic about achieving double-digit growth in 2025.

“This is because we managed to curtail some expenses and have tighter control of costs as well. That helped us a lot, so the first quarter is fairly positive, driven by proper cost management and strong domestic business,” he said.

However, Montenegro noted that in terms of overall tourist arrivals and occupancy, the performance is almost flat, “But it is driven by our growth in our average daily rate (ADR).”

“We managed to increase our ADR by about 10 to 15 percent across our properties. And we can only attribute this to the good quality of service we provide, which is why there is no resistance to the rates we offer. Over the last few years, we have focused a lot on increasing our value proposition to customers. So even though there is a slight dip in tourism arrivals, the impact has not been as drastic as in other areas in the country because we still managed to see significant growth in ADR,” he explained.

Data from the Department of Tourism showed that in 2024, a total of 5.949 million foreign travelers visited the country — 91.42 percent (5.438 million) were foreigners, while the remaining 8.58 percent (510,383) were overseas Filipinos.

Montenegro said they anticipate double-digit growth as the economy stabilizes this year compared to 2024, when inflation and high fuel prices created volatility.

“And because of last year’s volatility in pricing and inflation, when we did our numbers for this year, it already had a certain amount of cushion, which helped us manage inflation better this year. Despite high prices of utilities, basic commodities, and rice, we still managed to increase our rates substantially, which helped offset inflationary cost increases,” he said.

New hotels
Montenegro also revealed that Chroma will unveil its Grafik Hotel in Camp John Hay, Baguio City, this year — its eighth hotel.

In addition, the company is set to begin constructing a 326-room Crimson Hotel in Clark in the third quarter of 2025, located beside their existing Quest Hotel Clark.

“If everything goes okay, maybe early next year, we should start our Grafik Hotel in Duawon, Cebu. This is apart from our Moalboal Grafik Hotel, which is already constructed under a third-party contract and is expected to open by 2027. So, footprint-wise, by the end of 2027, we should have about 12 to 15 hotels — an almost 50 percent growth of our portfolio,” he told the DAILY TRIBUNE.

Montenegro also mentioned he is currently working with the local government of Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, to develop a tourism destination and transform its image, previously associated with the organized crime syndicate Kuratong Baleleng, into a viable hospitality hub.

“The governor asked for our help to build a 300-room property in a reserve area that has access to the old Dolphin Island. It’s a swamp property. They are targeting a soft opening by November and hope to open certain villas by midyear. We’re helping them put all the infrastructure together — the design of the rooms, everything. We’re guiding them through the process to get their facility up to a certain standard. It’s up to them what brand they will use,” Montenegro explained.

To date, Chroma, which began operations in 2015, has created 2,500 hotel jobs through its diverse portfolio of hotel and restaurant brands, offering guests a journey of unparalleled experiences.

Last month, Chroma’s Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan, Quest Hotel and Conference Center Cebu, and Quest Plus Conference Center Clark were each awarded the Good Travel Seal accreditation — a globally recognized certification from Green Destinations. This milestone reflects Chroma’s commitment to sustainable tourism, community upliftment, and ethical governance.