RISE OF THE BnBs: 95% of hotels in city already booked for Dinagyang

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

Around 95 percent of the 5,000 hotel rooms in Iloilo City have already been booked for the much-anticipated Dinagyang 2020, according to the City Tourism and Development Office (CTDO).

CTDO head Junel Ann Divinagracia said 1,500 rooms of high-end hotels in the metro are also overbooked (meaning additional bookings were made beyond the room-capacity of the hotels) while all the other hotels in the city are fully booked for Dinagyang.

“We have more than 5,000 rooms all over the city and it still increasing but as of the moment most sang mga dalagko ta nga hotels are overbooked while the rest are fully booked,” Divinagracia said in a press conference on Wednesday.

An average hotel in the city costs about P2,500 to P3,000 per room.

Due to the demand for the accommodation sector in the metro during Dinagyang, Divinagracia said they also noted a rise in condominium units being rented by tourists or Air Beds and Breakfast (Airbnb).

Airbnb is an online marketplace that lets people rent out their properties or spare rooms to guests in exchange for commissions.

“Sa subong naga-trending sa siyudad ang Airbnbs. Nakita namon iban condominium units puno na almost sa mga bisita naton,” she said.

She said they are looking for ways to monitor the increasing number of Airbnb in the city.

“Wala pa kita sang record sa Airbnb, indi naton ma-account. That’s what we want tani either ma-monitor or ma-regulate lang naton ang Airbnb kay amo gid na subong ang ga-trend,” she added.

Divinagracia said a number of Ilonggos accommodate their balikbayan relatives in their respective homes as reunions are also being held during Dinagyang week.

“Ang aton pamilya damo man reunions and most of them sa balay lang gina-accommodate and wala na sila gabook sa mga hotels,” she said.

 

The CTDO head said they are expecting to draw around 100,000 domestic and foreign tourists during the Dinagyang week.

“Last year, we recorded close to 100,000 tourist arrivals, gina­-expect namon nga malampasan ini namon this year,” she said.

As early as last week, Divinagracia said they monitored foreign tourists going around the city.

At an average, foreigners spend almost P12,000 worth of tourism receipts per day while domestic tourists spend around P3,000 to P4,000, she added.