MANILA, August 2026 — Megaworld is giving its growing hospitality business a new structure as it prepares for a major expansion of its hotel portfolio across the Philippines.
The property company has established Megaworld Global Hotels and Resorts (MGHR), bringing its expanding hotel portfolio under a broader organization designed to support the company’s next stage of hospitality growth.
The move comes as Megaworld targets nearly 12,000 hotel rooms by 2032, with new developments planned in emerging tourism destinations such as Palawan and Ilocos Norte, alongside continued expansion in major tourism and business centers.
Rather than placing all of its properties under a single operating group, MGHR will have two distinct businesses with different areas of focus.
Megaworld Hotels & Resorts (MHR) will oversee the company’s hotel developments in Metro Manila, Boracay, Batangas, and Cebu. Megaworld Global Hospitality (MGH) will handle properties with international brands and a growing portfolio outside these core markets, including Mövenpick Manila Bay Westside, the company’s largest hotel development, as well as its upcoming Palawan properties and three hotels in Iloilo.
The Iloilo portfolio currently comprises Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo, Richmonde Hotel Iloilo, and Belmont Hotel Iloilo.
Expansion beyond the traditional gateways
The creation of MGHR comes as Megaworld prepares for a much larger hotel footprint over the next six years.
New developments are planned in Palawan and Ilocos Norte over the next five to seven years, while the company continues to expand its presence in established tourism and business destinations.
The pipeline will include both Megaworld’s homegrown hotel brands and internationally branded properties, giving the company a broader mix as it moves into destinations beyond the country’s traditional tourism gateways.
For Megaworld President and CEO Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso, the expansion is part of the company’s broader contribution to tourism development.
“One of our biggest contributions to nation-building is to help make our tourism industry more vibrant and attractive, especially to foreign visitors,” she says.
For Kevin L. Tan, President and CEO of Alliance Global Group Inc., Megaworld’s parent company, the hotel expansion is also about the economic activity generated around each property—from employment and local businesses to tourism spending.
“We see tourism as one of the most powerful engines of sustainable economic growth,” Tan says.
Two sides of the same business
The new structure also brings together two executives with distinctly different hospitality backgrounds.
Socrates Alvaro, who has held senior roles within Megaworld Hotels & Resorts, takes the helm as Managing Director of MHR.
His hospitality career spans nearly two decades and includes experience in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, the Maldives, Thailand, and other Asian markets. He will lead the continued growth of Megaworld’s homegrown hotel portfolio.
Meanwhile, Anna Vergara becomes Managing Director of MGH, bringing more than 32 years of experience with Marriott International.
Vergara’s career has centered on hotel operations, leadership, and developing high-performing teams. Her experience with a major international hotel company gives the new group a different perspective as Megaworld expands its portfolio of internationally branded properties.
The two appointments effectively give MGHR complementary leadership: Alvaro brings extensive experience within Megaworld and international hotel operations, while Vergara brings decades of experience in global hotel management.
Hospitality becomes a bigger contributor
The restructuring comes as Megaworld’s hotel business continues to strengthen as a recurring-income segment.
For the first half of 2026, the hospitality segment generated P3.1 billion in revenues, an 11% increase from the previous year, making it the company’s fastest-growing recurring-income segment during the period.
The opening of Belmont Hotel Iloilo, with 405 rooms, contributed to that growth. The property is Megaworld’s third hotel within the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park, bringing the company’s total room inventory in Iloilo to nearly 1,000.
The Iloilo development illustrates the scale of Megaworld’s hotel strategy: rather than operating individual properties in isolation, hotels are being developed as part of larger mixed-use destinations that combine business, leisure, retail, dining, and events.
With MGHR now in place, Megaworld’s hospitality business enters its next phase with a larger development pipeline, a wider mix of homegrown and international brands, and two executives leading distinct but complementary sides of the organization.
