Property developer Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is focusing on digitalization to transform its mall and resort businesses.
Newly-installed ALI senior vice president and leasing and hospitality group head Marianna Zobel de Ayala said in a speech before the Financial Executive Institute of the Philippines that digitalization, sustainability and diversity are three areas that have been incredible catalysts for change and shape the way businesses work today.
She said digitalization can be a “transformational growth” to reimagine the group’s leasing business and reinvent the mall and hospitality experience for the changing Filipino consumer.
“The work we do at Ayala Land now requires a similar sense of reimagination, bringing our resorts and hotels up to global standards and fulfilling the promise of the Philippines as a top travel destination,” she said.
“The same goes for our flagship mall reinvention project, as we look to provide Filipino consumers with an unparalleled customer experience, staying true to who we are as builders of communities and places that people love, and leveraging digital technologies to create unforgettable experiences,” she said.
The digitalization is also needed as the group continues to expand its malls and hotel businesses over the next five years, she said.
ALI has 32 malls across the country with 2.1 million square meters (sq. m.) of gross leasable area (GLA) and another 234,000 sq. m. of GLA in the pipeline.
Zobel de Ayala said that for the hotel and resort business, the group would put up additional facilities under the Seda brand in line with its target to double room keys to 8,000 from 4,000 over the next five years.
She said while transformation could be a difficult job to undertake, this is part of Ayala’s core value that enabled the group to last 190 years.
“One of the core values of Ayala is ‘Imagine it better’ – a reminder that true to our 190-year history is a legacy of envisioning a sustainable world and making it a reality,” she said.
