An open letter to Hon. Dita Angara-Mathay, Secretary, Department of Tourism, Philippines
Why this matters
Hospitality has separated by chain scale and demand segment, with luxury and resort outperforming and select-service holding pricing power on a leaner cost base. New construction starts remain at multi-decade lows, which has supported in-place RevPAR and made conversions of soft-branded flags an increasingly active part of transaction velocity. For sponsors with operational expertise, the sector continues to offer one of the more compelling income-plus-appreciation profiles available across CRE.
Editorial analysis · Real Estate Trail Editorial
On the RET wire
- Disclosed hospitality deal value tracked in September 2026: $940.1M across 8 reported transactions. All Hospitality coverage →
Computed from Real Estate Trail’s own tracked coverage
The Philippines' DICT launched AI assistant "Kuya A" inside the eGovPH Superapp for 40-60M users, already answering tourism queries with no connection to DOT's data or accreditation registry.
External link. Real Estate Trail does not republish source content.
Related coverage — Hospitality
The Invisible Engine: Why Hotel Housekeeping Is the Hardest Job in the Hotel
Housekeeping accounts for up to 35% of hotel labor costs and is the top driver of guest satisfaction, yet remains chronically underfunded, understaffed, and undervalued by most ownership groups.
She didn't choose your hotel. She accepted it.
Google's AI Mode compresses the OTA research session that drove the billboard effect, threatening the core mechanism behind direct booking conversion and guest loyalty strategies.
AI Changes How a Hotel Learns, Decides, and Creates Demand
A strategic opinion piece arguing that AI's real value for hotels lies in surfacing hidden demand signals across the guest journey, not just automating tasks, with readiness assessed across leadership, data, team skil…
No Townies
A hospitality manager reflects on growing up beside a storied Canadian resort hotel, and how early encounters with its exclusive world sparked a four-decade career in the industry.
Building High-Performance Sales Teams in Experiential Resorts
The author argues that destination resorts should build sales teams from within, identifying guest-facing staff with commercial instinct and developing them through structured apprenticeships rather than costly, high-…
Future Hospitality Summit Honours Visionary Leadership in Shaping the Future of Tourism and Hospitality
FHS World 2026 names UAE Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri and Emirates President Sir Tim Clark as this year's FHS Leadership and Lifetime Achievement Award winners.