Resorts World Manila (RWM) is set to become home to the Philippines’ first Ritz-Carlton.
Inside Asian Gaming has learned that as a key part of RWM’s multi-million makeover, the current Maxims hotel is being converted into a Ritz-Carlton with the launch date scheduled for later this year. RWM Maxims is where the lone gunman who tragically killed 36 people when he stormed the property in June 2017 took his own life.
RWM has already converted its former Remington Hotel to Holiday Inn Express, while the 191-room Okura Hotel – another newcomer to the Philippines market – will occupy space once earmarked for the expansion of Maxims.
Manila’s first integrated resort announced last year that it would accelerate the completion of its new Phase 3 Grand Wing following the June 2017 attack and opened some new gaming space in May 2018 with the addition of 35 gaming tables and 414 slot machines. That capacity will double in early August.
RWM previously shuttered its second floor gaming area where most of the victims lost their lives last year, reducing gaming capacity by around 70 tables and 400 electronic gaming machines. That space is being converted to retail.
Speaking in the upcoming July edition of IAG, Strategic Market Advisors Managing Director Matthew Landry described the addition of the country’s first Ritz-Carlton as a “smart choice” given RWM’s proximity to Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
“Turning to international brands with an airport location is a smart choice,” Landry says. “In particular, I’d expect this to be effective with the international market. Generally speaking international tourists tend to spend more than domestic tourists and some will value the Ritz-Carlton brand.”
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