A CASINO

Definitions

A casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities.
The industry that deals in casinos is called the gaming industry. Casinos are most
commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or
other tourist attractions. There is much debate over whether the social and economic
consequences of casino gambling outweigh the initial revenue that may be
generated.[1] Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertainment events, such as
stand-up comedy, concerts, and sporting events.

Etymology and Usage

The term "casino" is a confusing linguistic false friend for translators.

Casino is of Italian origin; the root casa means a house. The term casino may mean a small
country villa, summerhouse, or social club.[2] During the 19th century, the term casinocame
to include other public buildings where pleasurable activities took place; such edifices were
usually built on the grounds of a larger Italian villa or palazzo, and were used to host civic
town functions, including dancing, gambling, music listening, and sports; examples in Italy
include Villa Farnese and Villa Giulia, and in the US the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode
Island. In modern-day Italian a casino is either a brothel (also called casa chiusa, literally
"closed house"), a mess, or a noisy environment, while a gaming house is spelt casinò, with
an accent.

Not all casinos were used for gaming. The Catalina Casino,[5] a famous landmark
overlooking Avalon Harbor on Santa Catalina Island, California, has never been used for
traditional games of chance, which were already outlawed in California by the time it was
built. The Copenhagen Casino was a theatre, known for the mass public meetings often held
in its hall during the 1848 Revolution, which made Denmark a constitutional monarchy. Until
1937, it was a well-known Danish theatre.[6] The Hanko Casino in Hanko, Finland—one of
that town's most conspicuous landmarks—was never used for gambling. Rather, it was a
banquet hall for the Russian nobility which frequented this spa resort in the late 19th century
and is now used as a restaurant.[7]

In military and non-military usage in German and Spanish, a casino or kasino is an

officers' mess.

Gambling Houses

Gambling is the wagering of money or something of value (referred to as "the stakes") on

an event with an uncertain outcome, with the primary intent of winning money or material
goods. Gambling thus requires three elements be present: consideration, risk (chance), and
a prize.[1] The outcome of the wager is often immediate, such as a single roll of dice, a spin
of a roulette wheel, or a horse crossing the finish line, but longer time frames are also

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common, allowing wagers on the outcome of a future sports contest or even an entire sports
season.
The term "gaming" in this context typically refers to instances in which the activity has been
specifically permitted by law. The two words are not mutually exclusive; i.e., a "gaming"
company offers (legal) "gambling" activities to the public[3] and may be regulated by one of
many gaming control boards, for example, the Nevada Gaming Control Board. However, this
distinction is not universally observed in the English-speaking world. For instance, in the
United Kingdom, the regulator of gambling activities is called the Gambling Commission (not
the Gaming Commission). The word gaming is used more frequently since the rise
of computer and video games to describe activities that do not necessarily involve wagering,
especially online gaming, with the new usage still not having displaced the old usage as the
primary definition in common dictionaries.
Gambling is also a major international commercial activity, with the legal gambling market
totaling an estimated $335 billion in 2009.[5] In other forms, gambling can be conducted with
materials which have a value, but are not real money. For example, players of marbles
games might wager marbles, and likewise games of Pogs or Magic: The Gathering can be
played with the collectible game pieces (respectively, small discs and trading cards) as
stakes, resulting in a meta-game regarding the value of a player's collection of pieces.

History of Gambling Houses and Casino

The precise origin of gambling is unknown. It is generally believed that gambling in some
form or another has been seen in almost every society in history. From the
Ancient Greeks and Romans to Napoleon's France and Elizabethan England, much of
history is filled with stories of entertainment based on games of chance.
The first known European gambling house, not called a casino although meeting the modern
definition, was the Ridotto, established in Venice, Italy in 1638 by the Great Council of
Venice to provide controlled gambling during the carnival season. It was closed in 1774 as
the city government felt it was impoverishing the local gentry.
In American history, early gambling establishments were known as saloons. The creation
and importance of saloons was greatly influenced by four major cities: New Orleans, St.
Louis, Chicago and San Francisco. It was in the saloons that travelers could find people to
talk to, drink with, and often gamble with. During the early 20th century in America, gambling
became outlawed and banned by state legislation and social reformers of the time. However,
in 1931, gambling was legalized throughout the state of Nevada. America's first legalized
casinos were set up in those places. In 1976 New Jersey allowed gambling in Atlantic City,
now America's second largest gambling city

Gambling in Casinos

Most jurisdictions worldwide have a minimum gambling age (16 to 21 years of age in most
countries which permit the operation of casinos).[9]
Customers gamble by playing games of chance, in some cases with an element of skill, such
as craps, roulette, baccarat, blackjack, and video poker. Most games played have
mathematically determined odds that ensure the house has at all times an overall advantage
over the players. This can be expressed more precisely by the notion of expected value,
which is uniformly negative (from the player's perspective). This advantage is called
the house edge. In games such as poker where players play against each other, the house

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takes a commission called the rake. Casinos sometimes give out complimentary items
or comps to gamblers.
Payout is the percentage of funds ("winnings") returned to players.
Casinos in the United States say that a player staking money won from the casino is playing
with the house's money.
Video Lottery Machines (slot machines) have become one of the most popular forms of
gambling in casinos. As of 2011 investigative reports have started calling into question
whether the modern-day slot-machine is addictive.

Regulations

Many jurisdictions, local as well as national, either ban gambling or heavily control it by
licensing the vendors. Such regulation generally leads to gambling tourism and illegal
gambling in the areas where it is not allowed. The involvement of governments, through
regulation and taxation, has led to a close connection between many governments and
gaming organizations, where legal gambling provides significant government revenue, such
as in Monaco or Macau, China.
There is generally legislation requiring that the odds in gaming devices be statistically
random, to prevent manufacturers from making some high-payoff results impossible. Since
these high-payoffs have very low probability, a house bias can quite easily be missed unless
the odds are checked carefully.[10]
Most jurisdictions that allow gambling require participants to be above a certain age. In some
jurisdictions, the gambling age differs depending on the type of gambling. For example, in
many American states one must be over 21 to enter a casino, but may buy a lottery ticket
after turning 18.
Insurance
Because contracts of insurance have many features in common with wagers, insurance
contracts are often distinguished under law as agreements in which either party has an
interest in the "bet-upon" outcome beyond the specific financial terms. e.g.: a "bet" with an
insurer on whether one's house will burn down is not gambling, but rather insurance – as the
homeowner has an obvious interest in the continued existence of his/her home independent
of the purely financial aspects of the "bet" (i.e., the insurance policy). Nonetheless, both
insurance and gambling contracts are typically considered aleatory contracts under most
legal systems, though they are subject to different types of regulation.
Asset recovery
Under common law, particularly English Law (English unjust enrichment), a gambling
contract may not give a casino bona fide purchaserstatus, permitting the recovery of stolen
funds in some situations. In Lipkin Gorman v Karpnale Ltd, where a solicitor used stolen
funds to gamble at a casino, the House of Lords overruled the High Court's previous verdict,
adjudicating that the casino return the stolen funds less those subject to any change of
positiondefence. U.S. Law precedents are somewhat similar.[11] For case law on recovery of
gambling losses where the loser had stolen the funds see "Rights of owner of stolen money
as against one who won it in gambling transaction from thief".[12]
An interesting wrinkle to these fact pattern is to ask what happens when the person trying to
make recovery is the gambler's spouse, and the money or property lost was either the
spouse's, or was community property. This was a minor plot point in a Perry
Mason novel, The Case of the Singing Skirt, and it cites an actual case Novo v. Hotel Del
Rio.

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Types of Casino Games

Casinos offer a variety of games, including card games, dice games, domino games, slot
machines, and gambling devices (such as the roulette wheel). Some games are banked
games, meaning that the house has a stake in the outcome of the game and bets against
the players. Banked games include blackjack, craps, keno, roulette, and traditional slot
machines. A nonbanked game is one in which the payout and the house's cut depend on the
number of players or the amount that is bet, not the outcome of the game. In percentage
games, the house collects a share of the amount wagered.

For example, in traditional poker players bank their own games. Each player puts money into
the “pot”and competes against the other players to win the pot. A portion of the pot is taken
by the house. In house-banked games the players compete against the house rather than
each other. Another type of house-banked game is one in which there is a posted payout
schedule for winning hands rather than a pot.

Gaming machines are by far the most popular type of casino activity. They are simple to
operate and can offer large payouts for small wagers. The first commercial gambling
machines, introduced in 1896, were called slot machines because the gambler inserted a
coin into a slot to begin play. Each slot machine consisted of a metal box housing three
reels, each of which was decorated all around with symbols (usually types of fruit or spades,
hearts, diamonds, and clubs). When the player moved the handle on the machine, the reels
spun randomly until they were slowed by stoppers within the machine. If a matching
sequence of symbols appeared when the reels stopped, the player won. Each reel had many
symbols, so literally thousands of outcomes were possible. Because of their construction,
ease of play, and low odds, slot machines came to be known as “one-armed bandits.”

Some casinos still offer old-fashioned slot machines, but most gaming machines in the
twenty-first century are electronic and computer controlled. They are manufactured to strict
technical specifications and use a computer programming technique called random number
generation. A computer chip in each machine determines the percentage of payout. The
machines are similar to high-tech video games, offering sophisticated graphics and sound.
Some are even designed to mimic the look and feel of reel-type machines. Patrons may
have a choice of a modern push button or an old-fashioned handle to activate play.

Electronic slot machines offer many different games (poker is one of the most popular) and
are called by a variety of names: electronic gaming devices, video gaming terminals, video
gaming devices, video poker machines, or just slots. Harrah's Entertainment explains
in Profile of the American Casino Gambler: Harrah's Survey 2006 (June
2006 http://www.harrahs.com/images/PDFs/Profile_Survey_2006.pdf) that slot machines
can be played for a variety of denominations—from a penny up to more than $5. The quarter
and fifty-cent slot machines are the most popular.

Some casinos have slot machines with progressive jackpots—in other words, the jackpot
grows with continued play. Most progressive jackpot machines are connected to others in a
computerized network. Play on any one machine within the group causes the jackpot to
increase. On March 21, 2003, a man playing a progressive slot machine at the Excalibur
Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas won $38.7 million, the largest slot machine payout in U.S.
history (as of October 2008).

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Fixed-odds betting
Fixed-odds betting and Parimutuel betting frequently occur at many types of sporting events,
and political elections. In addition many bookmakers offer fixed odds on a number of non-
sports related outcomes, for example the direction and extent of movement of
various financial indices, the winner of television competitions such as Big Brother,
and election results.[41] Interactive prediction markets also offer trading on these outcomes,
with "shares" of results trading on an open market.

Parimutuel betting
One of the most widespread forms of gambling involves betting on horse or greyhound
racing. Wagering may take place through parimutuelpools, or bookmakers may take bets
personally. Parimutuel wagers pay off at prices determined by support in the wagering pools,
while bookmakers pay off either at the odds offered at the time of accepting the bet; or at the
median odds offered by track bookmakers at the time the race started.

Sports betting

Tokyo Racecourse in Tokyo, Japan.

Betting on team sports has become an

important service industry in many countries. For
example, millions of people play the football
pools every week in the United Kingdom. In
addition to organized sports betting, both legal
and illegal, there are many side-betting games
played by casual groups of spectators, such
as NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket
Pools, Super Bowl Squares, Fantasy Sports
Leagues with monetary entry fees and winnings,
and in-person spectator games like Moundball.

Virtual sports
Based on Sports Betting, Virtual Sports are fantasy and never played sports events made by
software that can be played everytime without wondering about external things like weather
conditions.

Arbitrage betting
Arbitrage betting is a theoretically risk-free betting system in which every outcome of an
event is bet upon so that a known profit will be made by the bettor upon completion of the
event, regardless of the outcome. Arbitrage betting is a combination of the ancient art
of arbitrage trading and gambling, which has been made possible by the large numbers of
bookmakers in the marketplace, creating occasional opportunities for arbitrage.

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Other types of betting
One can also bet with another person that a statement is true or false, or that a specified
event will happen (a "back bet") or will not happen (a "lay bet") within a specified time. This
occurs in particular when two people have opposing but strongly held views on truth or
events. Not only do the parties hope to gain from the bet, they place the bet also to
demonstrate their certainty about the issue. Some means of determining the issue at stake
must exist. Sometimes the amount bet remains nominal, demonstrating the outcome as one
of principle rather than of financial importance.
Betting exchanges allow consumers to both back and lay at odds of their choice. Similar in
some ways to a stock exchange, a bettor may want to back a horse (hoping it will win) or lay
a horse (hoping it will lose, effectively acting as bookmaker).
Spread betting allows gamblers to wagering on the outcome of an event where the pay-off is
based on the accuracy of the wager, rather than a simple "win or lose" outcome. For
example, a wager can be based on the when a point is scored in the game in minutes and
each minute away from the prediction increases or reduces the payout.

Casino Designs

Casino design—regarded as a psychological exercise—is an intricate process that involves

optimising floor plan, décor and atmospherics to encourage gambling.

Factors influencing gambling tendencies include sound, odour and lighting. Natasha Dow
Schüll, an anthropologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, highlights the
decision of the audio directors at Silicon Gaming to make its slot machines resonate in "the
universally pleasant tone of C, sampling existing casino soundscapes to create a sound that
would please but not clash".

Dr Alan Hirsch, founder of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in
Chicago, studied the impact of certain scents on gamblers, discerning that a pleasant albeit
unidentifiable odour released by Las Vegas slot machines generated about 50% more in
daily revenue. He suggested that the scent acted as an aphrodisiac, causing a more
aggressive form of gambling.

Casino designer Roger Thomas is credited with implementing a successful, disruptive

design for the Las Vegas Wynn Resorts casinos in 2008. He broke casino design convention
by introducing natural sunlight and flora to appeal to women. Thomas put in skylights and
antique clocks, defying the commonplace notion that a casino should be a timeless space

The Philippine Casino Industry

MANILA, Philippines – "Sin" cities in the Philippines are in the limelight. Again.

Casinos, which belong to the same "sin bin" category as vices like tobacco and booze, are
currently facing serious business threats.

Not only are the Philippine operators facing the possibility of losing their competitive
advantage with their looming coverage under the anti-money laundering law (AMLA); the

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deadly attack at Manila's first casino-in-a-resort has also been front and center of media
attention here and elsewhere. (READ: TIMELINE: Resorts World Manila attack)

The June 2 Resorts World Manila incident has caught most of the attention: 36 died from
suffocation inside the casino complex after Jesse Carlos, a heavily indebted former
Department of Finance employee, fired gunshots and set ablaze gaming tables.

Both the legislative hearings on the AMLA amendments and the probe into the Resorts
World incident will keep this "sin" industry in the limelight for the coming months.

Here's what you need to know about the Philippine casino industry.

1. It's a P118 billion-worth business

While the Philippines is predominantly Roman Catholic, gambling in casino premises is a

legal vice. (Number games jueteng, jai-alai-related masiao, and sports-related "last two" are
considered illegal.)

Since 1976, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) has been
overseeing games of chance, particularly casino gambling. These generate funds that
augment the government's budget for infrastructure and socio-civic projects.

Aside from regulating casinos, Pagcor also operates its own Casino Filipino-branded
network nationwide. Things started to change in 2008 when the Arroyo government decided
to open up the Philippine gambling market to the world, essentially removing Pagcor's
monopoly.

That ambitious decision to compete head on with the billion dollars-worth of gambling sites in
neighboring Macau, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as in Las Vegas and Australia, led to
the rise of integrated casino-entertainment "resorts" in Manila.

Enclaves such as Newport City next to the international airport and the sprawling
Entertainment City adjacent to a reclaimed land in Manila Bay were born.

It's a decision that's paid off. In the first 9 months of 2016, the Philippine gaming industry
was worth P118 billion in terms of gross gaming revenue (GGR). It's a far cry from P56
billion GGR in 2012.

The casino-entertainment complexes in Entertainment City have been and will likely be the
main money-makers and tourist draws in the coming years.

Investment bank Credit Suisse projected that the country's gambling industry will earn
gaming revenue of $6 billion (P297.35 billion) by 2018, potentially making the Philippines
among the top 4 in the world.

2. Entertainment City is the Philippines' casino hotspot

There are several privately-operated gambling houses and casino-entertainment

destinations that operate under a Pagcor license.

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Clark, a former US military base converted into a multi-use location in Central Luzon, is host
to Fontana Resort, Royce Casino, Widus Resort, Casino Casablanca and Midori Casino.
Thunderbird Resorts Philippines has two operations in northern Luzon.

But these account for only 327 gaming tables, or less than 18% of the 1,845 total as of
September 2016. Pagcor-operated ones have a combined 565 gaming tables, or equivalent
to only 31%.

The main action happens at the gaming strip in Entertainment City.

Due to the regulatory changes in the casino industry, investors in Entertainment City were
required to spend at least $1 billion on their facilities and were required to follow a certain
ratio of gaming table to hotel room.

These "resorts" then attract not only gamblers, but also high-end tourists and visitors who
want to stay in luxurious hotels, eat in posh restaurants, and watch world-class entertaiment
shows.

They are also located close to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) so if need be,
their guests can be ferried via an expressway that helps those who are flying in to skip road
traffic.

Currently, there are 4 operational integrated casino-entertainment complexes in Manila: 3 in

Entertainment City and one in Newport.

First-mover was Resorts World Manila, which is in Newport City, a property development of
the business group of Filipino tycoon Andrew Tan. Resorts World Manila is located right
across Terminal 3 of NAIA. (READ: FAST FACTS: What you need to know about Resorts
World Manila)

The joint venture between the Tan's holding firm Alliance Global and the Hong Kong unit of
Malaysia-headquartered casino operator Genting had a 4-year headstart before the others in
Entertainment City – a few blocks away – opened their doors to the public.

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Filipinos and foreigners had the first taste of the 4 promised Las Vegas- or Macau-styled
glitzy casinos in Entertainment City when Solaire Resort & Casino was launched.

Operating it is Bloomberry Resorts Corporation, which is controlled by Filipino ports tycoon

Enrique Razon.

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Almost a year after, City of Dreams also opened to the public. The second mega casino in
Entertainment City gaming strip is operated by Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited in
collaboration with the Philippines' Belle Corporation.

Melco Crown is a major Macau casino-resort operator led by gambling tycoon Lawrence Ho
and Australian casino magnate James Packer.

Belle Corp is controlled by the Sy family, the Philippines' richest. Patriarch Henry Sy Sr is
among the world's 100 richest dollar-billionaires. His wife is a devout Catholic. (READ: Mrs
Sy is not keen on casino business)

The most recently opened is Okada Manila, which, like Solaire, is next to the bay, offering its
guests a view of the iconic Manila Bay sunset.

In March, it unveiled a crowd drawer: the "world's biggest multicolor dancing fountain."

Operating it is Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Incorporated led by Japanese

billionaire Kazuo Okada, a former part-owner at Wynn Resorts, which has several operations
in Las Vegas and Macau.

Okada's Filipino partner is businessman Tonyboy Cojuangco Jr who used to own and
operate phone giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).

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The 5th casino resort in Manila (and the last of the 4 in Entertainment City complex) is the
Resorts World Bayshore. It is slated for opening in 2020.

It will be the second integrated resort in Manila of Andrew Tan-led Travellers International,
which also operates Resorts World.

For Fitch Ratings, initial results of the first 3 casinos (Resorts World Manila, City of Dreams,
and Solaire) are encouraging, relative to the investments poured into them.

But with increased competition in the industry, earlier developments have taken a hit. "The
greater Manila market is showing signs of maturation with Resorts World Manila, the first
privately-owned resort, showing steep declines amid the ramp-up of the newer resorts," the
global debt watcher said in a report.

"We expect high single-digit gross gaming revenue in 2017 driven by the opening of the $2.4
billion Okada Manila and the continued economic growth in the Philippines," it added.

Likewise, Credit Suisse noted the decline in market share of gross gaming revenues from
Resorts World Manila.

From it's 50% share in 2012, estimates put Resorts World Manila's market share at 19% in
2017, as it shares the market with other integrated resort-casinos.

Credit Suisse predicts that Solaire will dominate with 36% of the market by end-2017.

3. VIP gamers still rule...for now

Latest data from Pagcor showed junket-sourced VIP business makes up a third of the
private casinos' gross gaming revenue.

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VIP gamblers are foreigners flown into the Philippines by independent entrepreneurs or
junket operators who arrange credit lines and luxury accommodation for their clients. These
gamblers don't play along with the general and mass market clients, but are ushered into
special rooms reserved for them.

Gaming veteran Ben Lee told Forbes that growth in the VIP segments has come mainly from
proxy betting, which is illegal in Macau. Proxy betting is a platform by which a person outside
the casino gives betting instructions to an agent inside.

Lee noted that Koreans still dominate the junket segment as far as overseas visitors are
concerned.

Competition from Macau and other gaming jurisdictions in Asia and the Pacific will restrain
the growth of private casinos in the Philippines in the longer term, stressed Fitch in a
January 27 report.

But for Pagcor-owned casinos, the electronic gaming machines (EGMs) or slot machines
segment makes up the bulk of their gross gaming revenue.

Latest data of Pagcor showed that nearly 6 out of every 10 EGMs nationwide are owned by
the gaming regulator. Pagcor operates 565 gaming tables and 10,271 EGMs at Casino
Filipino venues, as of end-September of 2016.

In the first 9 months of 2016, Pagcor-operated casinos recorded gross gaming revenue of
P23.88 billion, much lower than licensed casinos' P79.89 billion.

4. All Philippine casinos in private hands soon?

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III had said that the government would sell Pagcor-run
casinos to private bidders by 2017, as these can no longer compete with licensed casinos.

As of the 3rd quarter of 2016, Pagcor operates 11 casinos nationwide, two of which are in
Metro Manila.

Under Pagcor’s charter and relevant national laws, 5% of Pagcor’s winnings goes to the
Bureau of Internal Revenue as franchise tax; while half of the remaining 95% balance goes
to the national treasury.

Other beneficiaries of Pagcor's revenue include the Philippine Sports Commission, Board of
Claims, cities that host Pagcor casinos, as well as the social fund for projects of the Office of
the President.

Annual financial statements from Pagcor illustrate an increase in income from gaming
revenues over the year, with record earnings seen in 2015 at P43,385 billion.

Despite the Resorts World Manila attack, Pagcor Chairperson Andrea Domingo said her
office still expects to hit its 2017 total revenues target.

Domingo also said the local gaming industry’s total revenues in 2017 may still expand to
P160 billion, as casinos in the Philippines have yet to feel any impact of the recent deadly
attack. This, however, remains to be seen. – Rappler.com

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Sample Casino Floor Plans

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 A CONDOMINIUM

Definitions

Condominium refers to a large property complex divided into individual units and sold.
Ownership usually includes a nonexclusive interest in certain "common properties"
controlled by the condominium management. Condominium management is usually made
up of a board of unit owners who sees to the day-to-day operation of the complex, such as
lawn maintenance and snow removal.

A condominium, often shortened to condo, in the United States and in most Canadian
provinces, is a type of living space similar to an apartment but independently sellable and
therefore regarded as real estate. The condominium building structure is divided into several
units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned.
Similar concepts in other English-speaking countries include strata
title in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the Canadian province of British
Columbia; commonhold in the United Kingdom; and sectional title in South Africa.
Residential condominiums are frequently constructed as apartment buildings, but there has
been an increase in the number of "detached condominiums", which look like single-family
homes but in which the yards, building exteriors, and streets are jointly owned and jointly
maintained by a community association.
Unlike apartments, which are leased by their tenants, condominium units are owned outright.
Additionally, the owners of the individual units also collectively own the common areas of the
property, such as hallways, walkways, laundry rooms, etc., as well as common utilities and
amenities, such as the HVAC system, elevators, and so on. Many shopping malls are
industrial condominiums in which the individual retail and office spaces are owned by the
businesses that occupy them while the common areas of the mall are collectively owned by
all the business entities that own the individual spaces.
The common areas, amenities, and utilities are managed collectively by the owners through
their association, such as a homeowner association.
Scholars have traced the earliest known use of the condominium form of tenure to a
document from first-century Babylon. The word condominium originated in Latin.
Italy uses condominio, which is simply the modern Italian form of condominium.
Both condo and condominium are used colloquially in the Canadian province of Quebec,
where the official term is divided co-ownership. In France, however, the term is
simply copropriété ("co-property"), and the common areas of these properties are usually
managed by a Syndicat de copropriété, or "co-property union" ("union" in the sense of
"association").
Latin American nations often use the term propiedad horizontal, literally meaning "horizontal
property" but abstractly meaning that all owners of the property have equal interest. The
word condominio is also used. However, in Spain, the legal term is comunidad de
propietarios and the popular term is comunidad de vecinos.

Etymology
"Condominium" is a Latin word formed by adding the prefix con- ("together") to the
word dominium ("domain, property, ownership"). Its meaning is therefore "shared property".
Condominia (the plural of condominium in Latin) originally referred to territories over which
two or more sovereign powers shared joint dominion. This technique was frequently used to
settle border disputes when multiple claimants could not agree on how to partition the

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disputed territory. For example, from 1818 to 1846, Oregon Country was a condominium
over which both the United States and Great Britain shared joint sovereignty until the Oregon
Treaty resolved the issue by splitting the territory along the 49th parallel and each country
gaining sole sovereignty of one side.

An Overview
The difference between an "apartment" complex and condominium is purely legal. There is
no way to differentiate a condominium from an apartment simply by looking at or visiting the
building. What defines a condominium is the form of ownership. A building developed as a
condominium (and sold in individual units to different owners) could actually be built at
another location as an apartment building (the developers would retain ownership
and rent individual units to different tenants). As a practical matter, builders tend to build
condominiums to higher quality standards than apartment complexes because of the
differences between the rental and sale markets.
Technically, a condominium is a collection of individual home units and common areas along
with the land upon which they sit. Individual home ownership within a condominium is
construed as ownership of only the air space confining the boundaries of the home. The
boundaries of that space are specified by a legal document known as a Declaration, filed on
record with the local governing authority. Typically, these boundaries will include the wall
surrounding a condo, allowing the homeowner to make some interior modifications without
impacting the common area. Anything outside this boundary is held in an undivided
ownership interest by a corporation established at the time of the condominium's creation.
The corporation holds this property in trust on behalf of the homeowners as a group—it may
not have ownership itself.
Condominiums have conditions, covenants, and restrictions, and often additional rules that
govern how the individual unit owners are to share the space.
It is also possible for a condominium to consist of single-family dwellings. There are also
"detached condominiums" where homeowners do not maintain the exteriors of the dwellings,
yards, etc. and "site condominiums" where the owner has more control and possibly
ownership (as in a "whole lot" or "lot line" condominium) over the exterior appearance.
These structures are preferred by some planned neighborhoods and gated communities.

Outlook of the Philippine Real Estate Industry

The Philippine real estate industry is forecast to maintain its growth and remain resilient in
2019. This is based on research and data gathered by industry leader JLL which reported an
upward trend in the office, residential, retail, and hospitality sectors of the Philippine property
market in 2018.

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2018
Office
In 2018, an estimated 1 million square meters of office space was added to the current stock
– whereby 72% of the 9.1 million existing office space has been leased out. Average
vacancy of existing office space remained manageable at 7%. Identified as leading space
occupiers as of the 4Q 2018 are Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Online Gaming and
Flexible Workspace providers.
Office rents, meanwhile, maintained its growth backed by solid demand- despite construction
delays and headwinds brought forth by interest hikes, delayed Philippine Economic Zone
Authority (PEZA) accreditations on buildings and apprehensions on the Tax Reform for
Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) 2 law. Capital values also gained steadily due to the
sound business environment which continued to buoy investors’ interest.

Page | 15
Residential
Residential condominium supply grew in 2018 with approximately 35,000 units added to the
total existing stock. Overall, total cumulative stock last year reached 338,000 units with
majority of the stock located in Quezon City followed by Makati City and Taguig City.
Strong demand was observed for newly completed residential units and pipeline of projects
from the upper-mid to luxury segments in Makati and Bonifacio Global City (BGC).
The leasing market in Makati Central Business District (CBD) and BGC was mainly driven by
the influx of expatriate employees from BPO and online gaming firms while the sales market
was fueled by the demand from local and foreign high net worth individuals.

In terms of rents, Bay Area, which covers Pasay and Paranaque City, exhibited strong rental
growth owing to the housing requirements of China-based online gaming firms. Meanwhile,
Makati City and Taguig City continued to command the highest rates at Php1,800 and
Php1,900 per square meter per month, respectively, due to the stable leasing and sale
demand for residential units in the business hubs of Makati CBD and BGC.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ latest residential real estate price in the third quarter of 2018
showed an increase in residential condominium prices in Metro Manila, up 6.4% year-on-
year, suggesting stable demand.
Retail
An estimate of 348,900 sqm of retail space was completed in 2018 with total existing stock
reaching 6.5 million square meters. Average vacancy rates of retail shopping centers
remained low at 3.7% in the 4Q 2018, backed by healthy demand for retail spaces by foreign
and local retailers. The fashion segment led the expansion activity among foreign brands
while the F&B sector drove retail activity of local brands. This sustained entry and expansion
of brands drove positive rental growth of the retail sector.
Hospitality
Additional stock completed in 2018 added around 3,000 rooms, with majority of the new
supply found in the Bay Area due to the uptick in real estate investments in this area.
International brands such as the Grand Hyatt by the Hyatt Corporation, Citadines Bay City
Manila by the Ascott Limited, and Hilton Manila City by the Hilton Worldwide were some of
the new developments that completed last year.
The tourism sector maintained its positive trajectory. Despite the closure of Boracay for its
rehabilitation, cumulative foreign tourist arrivals from January to October 2018 posted a
growth of 7.4% year-on-year.
With the existence of the Philippines’ Bay City, which is envisioned to be the Las Vegas of
the Philippines, Paranaque City had the highest maximum room rate per night at Php18,800
per room per night due to the presence of hotel-casino brands.
OUTLOOK FOR 2019
Forecasts on the office sector remain positive for 2019. On the supply side, a large volume
of office space is anticipated to be added this year while on the demand side, office
occupancy from BPO, online gaming, and flexible workspace firms show optimistic outlook
with pre-commitments on office buildings in the pipeline. Rents are foreseen to have an
upward trajectory due to healthy leasing demand and continued investor interest will prop up
capital values of office developments.
The residential sector is predicted to thrive in 2019 due to the strong demand for upper-mid
to luxury segments with developments’ pre-sold units ranging from 80% to 100%. The
residential leasing market in Makati and BGC is also expected to benefit from the spillover
effect of healthy demand for office spaces from BPO and online gaming firms.
The sound macroeconomic environment of the Philippines is likely to support the retail
market in 2019, with retailers taking advantage of the rising disposable income of Filipinos.
The relaxation of the Trade Liberalization Act of the Philippines may increase foreign
investments coming to the Philippines because of the lower paid-up capital requirement. The
government’s discussions on the actualization of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)
law may also encourage more investment in the retail market.

Page | 16
The hospitality sector will sustain its robust performance in 2019. Foreign hotel operators are
likely to enter the Philippine market and form partnerships with local developers. The
government’s continuing support of the tourism industry evidenced by its infrastructure push
to improve the accessibility of tourist destinations is forecast to have a positive effect on
tourism in 2019 thereby enabling growth in the hospitality sector.
2019 will be a year that further showcases the emergence of new trends and opportunities in
the Philippine real estate industry. The cultural shift led by the millennial generation to a
community-based lifestyle will drive the popularity of co-working and co-living in the
Philippines. The increasing demand for co-working spaces will encourage more foreign
flexible space operators to increase their presence in 2019.
Flexible space operators like WeWork and IWG have extended their footprint in the country
and are expected to expand in 2019. More local providers of co-working and co-living
spaces are also expected to emerge, typically operating in fringe areas. The lower capital
costs these types of assets require will spark investor interest.
Logistics is another asset type that is expected to thrive in 2019. The emergence of e-
commerce firms will support the logistics sector as shipment and transportation of
merchandise will be needed. Lazada and Zalora, for example, have greatly expanded their
operations in the Philippines that will benefit the logistics sector.
Foreign and local government policies will, undoubtedly, affect the real estate industry in
2019. The US-China trade war, for example, has created a huge opportunity for the
Philippine property market as China is looking at spaces/lands in other countries because of
tariffs imposed by the US. The Build, Build, Build (BBB) policy of the Philippine government
has spurred investment activity in areas such as Clark City and the province of Pampanga
where the BBB projects like the expansion of Clark International Airport, The Subic Cargo
Railway, etc. are in the pipeline. The government’s infrastructure push also creates a
spillover effect to surrounding provinces. The TRAIN 2 (Trabaho) and the REIT law, once
implemented, will affect the property industry in 2019 as well.

JLL says the outlook for the Philippine real estate industry in 2019 remains positive. The
demand for real estate space by the BPO sector as well as increasing demand from
emerging real estate stakeholders like technology companies and flexible space operators
will continue to make significant inroads into the Philippines’ property market in 2019. This
expected growth and expansion of the industry in 2019 will hopefully encourage investments
in the next wave cities of Davao, Cebu, Clark, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, and Bacolod. As
such, 2019 is anticipated to be another solid year for the Philippine real estate industry.
Barring any hitches from the upcoming 2019 elections, apprehensions over the implications
of TRAIN 2, and the delay in PEZA accreditations on buildings, the year 2020 already looks
just as promising.

Page | 17
Standards in Developing Condominiums in the Philippines

Developing a Residential Condominium in the Philippines

Before one develops a residential condominium, there are different studies to be done.
There should be economic, policital, marketing, financial, engineering and environmental
studies to be done. Then there are other requirements that should also be studied, such as
the building standards, taxes, legal aspects, documentary requirements, traffic flow and
others that may be necessary for the project. Even with the best studies, most developers
will encounter unforseen minor and major problems in their projects especially when it
comes to the documention process.

Building Standards.

As the developer dreams of putting up a residential condominium, he has to be aware of

certain standards that are indicated in the National Building Code of the Philippines (NBC).
The NBC indicates the guidelines for the minimum requirements that the proponent has to
follow. In most cases, the chosen architect and contractor are aware of the NBC guidelines;
they will be the ones to suggest to the developer the structural details of the building. For
high-end condominium developments, the services of the international consultants are often
used by the developers involved to ensure the safety (foundation, fire systems, wall curtains,
etc.) of the structure. The following are the more important areas that the developer has to
take into consideration before drafting the blueprint for his project.

Setback Requirements. The setback requirements depend on the kind of lot, whether it
is a true lot, corner lot or inside lot. The standard setback is 3 meters on the front, 2 meters
on the back and 1 meter on the side. But the minimum setback requirements is also
dependent on the restrictions of the municipality where the building is going to be built.

Parking Slots. The mimimum size of a parking slot according to the NBC is 2.4
meters (7.87 feet) for the width by 5 meters (16.4 feet) for the length. But due to the
changing times, most developers use 2.5-meter width by 5-meter longth for the parking size.
The minimum ratio for the parking slot is 1 is to 4 condominium units or for every living space
of 100 square meters. other cities have more parking requirements than others. Just check
the ruling. To address the lack of floor level parking space, aside from using the basement
parking, if the location permits, some developers use separate multi-level podium parking in
their projects such as the Cebu Condominium Fuente Towers at
http://www.cebuinvestmentguide.com

Elevator: Elevators should be provided if the residential condo building reaches five
stories high. For four stories, the elevator is optional. For commercial buildings, elevators are
required even if they are only three stories high. Additional elevators and service elevators
are just extras. The size of the elevator depends on the occupant load, which is computed by
the mechanical engineer. There are condominiums that are five-stories high but have no
elevator since the said buildings have not reached the mandatory requirement for elevators
which are more than 15 meters high from the ground floor level to the fifth floor level (not
celing).

Hallways. The ideal wodth is 1.5 meters and above. But the width size depends on the
occupant load per floor.

Unit Size. The minimum single occupancy condo unit size is 18 square meters
accodring to the building code of the Philippines. However the Housing and Land Use
Regulatory Board (HLURB) allows a net floor area of 12 square meters, provided that the

Page | 18
project/unit is located within highly urbanized areas and intended for students, employees
and workers. The said unit shall also provide the common basic facilities and support
facilities that are explicitly indicated in the master deed or contract to sell. For many people,
the minimum area of 12 square meters is unlivable or even unbelievable, but it is a reality for
some condominium projects. One such condo project called the Pasig Royale Mansion by
fast-selling condo developer Cityland is located at the Santolan Business District, Pasig City.
The said project has about 19 units of 13 square meter units per floor. The other units per
floor range from 15 square meters to a maximum of 29 square meters. The studio and one-
bedroom units are strictly for single occupancy units. The total units per floor are
approximately 49 units. The condo building is eight stories high and the amenities are still for
future development. The minimum floor area of family condominium units shall be 22 square
meters for the medium cost condominiums (units not worth moe than P2 million) and 36
square meters for the open market condominiums (no price ceilings, units could be more
than or less than P2 million)

Room / Bathroom Size. The minimum room size is 6 square meters (3X2). With this
kind of minimum size per room, some developers are able to make and market three-
bedroom units that are as small as 38 to 39 square meters. For three rooms, the total only
amounts to 18 square meters, and the unit still has enough room for the living, dining and
bathroom areas. The said three-bedroom units are usually with two floors. But there is a
condominium project for sale with units only as small as 8 square meters. When you add the
minimum standard to the room and bathroom, it totals 7.5 square meters. The room has a
loft for the bed which is not computed in the total area. According to an HLURB official, there
are no specific sizes for the commercial, multi-purpose or storage space. He said the unit
was approved for sale because it was intended as study roomsor transit rooms for the
students or employees near the school. But there is now an 8.5 sqm studio unit for approved
sale.

Ceiling Height. For rooms that are artificially ventilated (aircon), the minimum
standard ceiling height for the ground floor is 2.4 meters or 7.87 feet. For buildings with more
than one-storey, the first floor minimum height is 2.7 meters; the second floor is 2.4 meters
and for the succeeding floors, the minimum height is 2.1 meters (6.888 feet). Since the
ceiling height for the succeeding floors is very low, some developers are adding lofts to
make the unit spaces higher. For naturally ventilated rooms (no provision for aircon), the
minimum ceiling height is 2.7 meters. One developer, SM Synergy even used the 3 meters
as a standard for its mid-cost project in Bicutan, Paranaque City. The said high ceiling units
don't even have a loft. The fast-selling "Joya", a development of Rockwell in makati City, has
units with a 9-meter high ceiling from the ground floor; the unit has a loft that can be used as
a residential or as an office space. The loft-unit concept was based on the apartments in
Soho (Small Office, Home Office"), in New York,

Veranda Railing Height. If there is a veranda, the minimum standard of the railing
height is 0.9 meters. The same requirement goes for the stair railings.

Fire Exit. The fire exits should be a vacuum, meaning it is smoke-proof. There should
be no air coming in to fan the fire.

Fire Alarm and Sprinkler System. All condominium projects would require fire-alarm
systems. Every unit should have sprinkler systems.

Generator. Every condominium building should have a stand-by generator for

emergencies or power failure.

Page | 19
Open Spaces / Amenities. Open spaces shall be provided within the project site pursuant
to the National Building Code of the Philippines and its implementing rules and regulations.
These shall include courts, yards, setbacks, light wells, uncovered driveways, access roads,
parking spaces, buffer strips, parks and playgrounds. The open space shall also allocated
for basic utilities and community facilities. Parks and Playground (exclusive of easements,
access roads, driveways, parking space) shall be required for projects with a gross saleable
area of 1,000 square meters or projects with ten or more condominium units except when
the condominium is part of the subdivision project or a public park / playground or when
other recreational facilities are located not more than 800 meters away. Other facilities such
as tennis courts, swimming pools, basketball court, etc. are optional. The minimum area for
a single park/playground shall be 50 square meters. Increments of 3 square meters for every
additional family dwelling in excess of 10 units shall be added. The trend these days is for
developers to increase the allocation of open spaces up to even more than fifty percent of
the common lot area. They just increase the price of the units to recover the lost space given
for the amenities and open spaces.

Best Condominium Developers in the Philippines

OVERALL
RANK DEVELOPER AMENITY NEIGHBORHOOD AFFORDABILITY INVESTMENT PROJECT
DEVELOPER
SCORE SCORE SCORE SCORE COUNT
SCORE

1 DMCI 8.2 8.2 5.8 8.8 7.3 62

2 Avida 8.2 7.6 6.2 8.3 8.1 47

3 Megaworld 8.1 7.8 7.4 7.4 6.7 79

4 SMDC 8.0 7.9 6.5 8.1 7.5 33

5 Robinsons Land 7.9 7.7 6.7 8.0 7.3 31

6 Federal Land Inc. 7.9 8.1 7.2 7.6 7.2 27

Cityland Development
7 7.9 6.7 7.7 8.4 7.5 25
Corporation

Filinvest Development
8 7.9 7.5 5.9 8.1 7.3 40
Corporation

9 Alveo 7.8 8.1 7.1 7.4 6.3 35

Century
10 7.8 7.5 8 7.4 6.9 19
Properties

*Data was gathered from properties listed on zipmatch.com from June 2016 until May 2017.

Page | 20
1. DMCI

Good:
Most Affordable Projects

DMCI is well-known for building quite a number of the most affordable condominiums in

Metro Manila. DMCI’s affordability score ranks the highest among the top condominium

developers at 8.8.

Best Amenities

Aside from being affordable, DMCI projects have all amenities that are found in some of the

most luxurious projects. Popular for developing resort-themed communities catered to urban

dwellers, most of their projects have amenities such as pools, gardens, and gyms. Because

of its luxury-like projects, DMCI gets a high amenities-score of 8.2.

Countrywide Presence

Based on our data, DMCI has the second most number of projects listed on our site at 62.

This means that if you’re eyeing one of their pre-selling projects, there’s a very high

probability that they will be able to deliver.

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Fair:
Good Investment Option

With an overall investment score of 7.3, most DMCI projects offer high rental income

potential. Majority of condominiums with the highest rental yields in Metro Manila come

from DMCI.

Bad:
Poor Neighborhood

Everything comes at a cost. Most of the DMCI projects are not in the best of the

neighborhoods. DMCI scores lowest on location at 5.8. The Developer seems to locate its

properties on the outlying districts of popular areas such as Makati and Bonifacio Global

City.

Overall Verdict:

DMCI has a commitment to deliver projects and gives you great bang for your buck with

condominiums that are affordable, has great amenities, and high investment potential.

Perhaps this strength could be attributed to their beginnings as a general contractor in 1954

for popular real estate developer and hotel brands such as Shangri-La Hotels, Ayala

Corporation, and SM Prime Holdings.

2. Avida

Page | 22
Good:
Affordable Projects

Avida’s strength lies on being an affordable sub-brand of Ayala Land, one of the largest real

estate firms in the country, with an 8.3 affordability score. This means that with Avida, a

budget-savvy investor can get the same quality of service and attention to detail that Ayala

brings at a much affordable price.

Great Investment

Avida has the highest investment score of 8.1 among all the top condominium developers in

the list. With the name to back it up, the developer is able to command high rental rates,

which result to rental yields as high as 9.26%.

Countrywide Presence

With a project count of 67, the third highest on our database, homeseekers will have plenty

of property options to choose from. Avida has expanded its project portfolio of condominiums

and mixed-used developments outside Metro Manila such as Sta. Rosa, Antipolo, and

Bacoor to name a few.

Fair:
Delightful Amenities

Its expansion to a wide mix of cities meant more freedom in designing family-friendly

communities with the best recreational facilities. All of which added up to an amenity score of

7.6.

Bad:
Poor Neighborhood

Among the best condominium developers, Avida’s neighborhood score of 6.2 is our 2nd

lowest. A neighborhood score takes into account certain conveniences such as malls,

restaurants, schools, banks, and the like. For a developer that’s exploring new locations

outside Metro Manila, it is only expected that these conveniences aren’t present yet.

Page | 23
Overall Verdict:

Avida proves that a quality lifestyle can easily be attainable. As a subsidiary of Ayala Land

and by being first movers in cities outside Metro Manila, Avida does a good job in bringing

high investment value for its consumers.

By looking at the developer’s track record for delivering a high volume of projects, it’s likely

that recently developed communities in unexplored locations will soon flourish. Avida Towers

Sucat in Paranaque City, Avida Towers Cebu in Cebu City and Avida Towers Alabang in

Muntinlupa City are some of Avida’s projects which have come up in developing

neighborhoods and give great rental returns.

3. Megaworld

Good:
Most Projects Built

Among the best condominium developers on our list, Megaworld has the most number of

projects on our database at 79.

Page | 24
Fair:
Vibrant Townships

Its neighborhood score of 7.4 ranks higher than our top two developers. For over two

decades, Megaworld Corporation has built a reputation for townships that come complete

with malls, commercial establishments, office buildings and residential condominiums.

Newport City, Eastwood City, McKinley Hill and McKinley West are a few examples of this.

Nice Amenities

As an added value, Megaworld has a fairly high amenity score of 7.8. Megaworld’s

Affordability Score is at 7.4, which is in the mid-range compared to the properties offered by

the other developers on our list.

Bad:
Satisfactory Investment

Megaworld scores low on investment, primarily because of it’s higher property prices. This

means that you have spend more on buying a Megaworld property and thus have to wait a

longer period to recover the investment from rental earnings . A good investment property

gives higher rental income, faster price appreciation or both.

Overall Verdict:

Megaworld clearly wins the game when it comes to convenience by building townships that

come complete with malls, office spaces and residential condominiums. Even with an

average investment score, the developer’s excellently-located projects provide much

advantage to its residents. As such, Megaworld is ideal for buying or renting especially to

those working within the township or in major business districts.

Page | 25
4. SMDC

Good:
Affordable Projects

SMDC’s strength lies in its affordability at a score of 8.1. As a subsidiary of SM Prime

Holdings, the developer carries on the value of providing affordable style, comfort, and

convenience to middle-class Filipinos.

Fair:
Enjoyable Amenities

With an average amenity score of 7.9, residents get additional value for living or renting in

any of its projects. A typical SMDC project comes with a swimming pool, gym, jogging park,

and a function area.

Bad:
Ordinary Location

Location might not be SMDC’s strongest suit, with a neighborhood score of 6.5. In its effort

to offer a budget-friendly range to its consumers, the developer chose to build most of its

condominiums in unpopular Metro Manila districts. However, it is important to note that this

Page | 26
score does not apply to all of SMDC’s projects. The developer has quite a number of

condominiums in prime areas such as the Mall of Asia Complex and Makati.

Overall Verdict:

Overall, condominiums by SMDC are great for a practical home seeker looking for an

affordable property with great lifestyle amenities. Though there are certain inconveniences in

terms of location, most if not all of SMDC’s properties have nearby transport terminals. In

addition, they usually come with the convenience of the SM’s subsidiary banks,

supermarkets and shopping malls.

5. Robinsons Land

Good
Very Affordable Price Per Square Meter

Upon looking at price per square meter of Robinsons Land condominiums in our database,

we found out that the developer offers very economical prices. Based on this data, the

developer scored 8.0 on affordability.

Page | 27
Fair:
Sound Investment

Robinsons Land is the real estate arm of JG Summit Holdings and is known for its malls,

hotels, office buildings and residential properties. With a high investment score of 7.7, there

is much potential for high returns on properties built by the brand.

Bad:
Inconvenient Neighborhood

Robinsons Land scored average in the neighborhood category at 6.7. Although they

continue to expand in progressive cities like Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro where

certain conveniences like schools, supermarkets, and commercial establishments are

already present, another major influencer to a neighborhood score’s calculation is the

distance of a project to these key locations.

Overall Verdict:

In conclusion, Robinsons Land properties are generally affordable and sound investments

with outstanding lifestyle amenities. The neighborhood score indicates that there is a mix of

projects which rank high due to their location within Metro Manila’s financial centers where

everything is conveniently within reach and projects which rank low in new neighborhoods

that we have yet to see take shape with nearby commercial and business establishments.

6. Federal Land Inc.

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Good
Hotel-Like Amenities

Federal Land wins with an amenities score of 8.1, the second highest amenities score

among the top condominium developers on our list. Its portfolio includes townships,

condominiums, serviced residences, and hotels. Don’t be surprised to find some of its

condominiums having amenities that are at par with hotel standards.

Fair:
Average Priced Projects

The developer has a decent affordability score of 7.6. By looking at the price point of Federal

Land projects, we can say that the range is wide, from low-priced to the expensive.

Good Neighborhood, Good Investment

Federal Land has chosen good locations in building its projects, with most of its projects

located in Taguig, Makati, Pasay, and Manila. In terms of neighborhood and investment, this

developer scores a fair 7.2.

Bad:
Low Presence

Based on our count, Federal Land has a total of 27 projects. This is considerably low if set

side by side our best developers. Project count is an indicator of the developer’s presence in

the Philippine real estate.

Overall Verdict:

All in all, Federal Land seems like a worthy contender in the real estate game. It’s slowly

catching up with our topmost condominium developers by bringing its focus on quality and

reasonably-priced properties.

Federal Land’s 7.9 overall score indicates that they might win in terms of the quality of its

amenities and an average price point but there are currently aren’t enough projects to rank

higher than its competitors. We anticipate this to improve as the brand continues to grow in

new townships like Cavite, Marikina and Cebu.

Page | 29
7. Cityland Development Corporation

Good
Very Affordable Projects

Cityland Development Corporation (CDC) scored a very high 8.4 on affordability. Most

middle-income earners prefer this brand for the affordability and location of its projects.

Cityland Shaw Tower for example, is an affordable option right by Shangri-La Mall and a few

steps away from the MRT station.

Fair:
Great Location

Cityland is able to build its projects on convenient and prime locations such as Makati and

Mandaluyong. The developer managed to get a fairly good neighborhood score of 7.7.

Reasonable Investment

Due to the location of its projects, Cityland is able to secure rental demand for their

condominiums. This resulted in an investment score of 7.5.

Page | 30
Bad:
Poor Amenities

Its affordability can also have its limitations. The developer scored satisfactory on its

amenities at 6.7. For some young professionals, the lack of lifestyle amenities might not be

an issue if the condominium is located near their place of employment.

Low Presence

Based on our database, the developer has a low project count of 25. This might mean that

there is little opportunity to invest or rent.

Overall Verdict

Overall, Cityland Development Corporation’s portfolio of medium to high-rise condominiums

at the central business districts of Makati, Mandaluyong, Manila and Pasig make for a

practical and affordable choice for property investors and renters. The developer’s projects

are ideal for young professionals who value a condominium’s location more than the

convenience of having game rooms, gyms, or gardens.

8. Filinvest Development Corporation

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Good:
Budget Friendly Projects

Filinvest Development Corporation is well-known for the development of Filinvest Corporate

City, a prime township in Alabang. Because of this, their affordability score of 8.1 might
come as a surprise to most people, but the brand actually had its beginnings in building
homes for middle-class Filipinos. The high affordability score is also because of the fact that
very few of its projects are located in prime locations of Makati City and Taguig City. The
average price per square meter at One Oasis Ortigas, Maui Oasis in Pasig City and Maui
Oasis in Manila is around Php 85,0000 – 90,000.

Fair:
Good Amenities

Filinvest did moderately well on its amenities score at 7.3. Most of its projects include

swimming pools, gyms, and viewing decks. Some even have mini theaters, barbecue pits,

and game rooms.

Sensible Investment

With more projects underway, there is more opportunity to invest before they appreciate in

value. It is because of this that the developer had scored 7.5.

Bad:
Inconvenient Neighborhood

Filinvest scored low in the neighborhood category at 5.9, the second lowest among our best

condominium developers. Most of the developer’s projects can be found in suburban areas

where key destinations are located at a distance compared to business districts where

almost everything is accessible.

Overall Verdict:

Overall Filinvest is a good developer choice for people wanting to buy a property for end use

or to settle down. The company has built a solid reputation of providing an affordable

townships in suburban areas. It is slowly competing in the mainstream market by building a

few projects in busier locations within Metro Manila. Its high project count of 40 is also an

indicator of this developer’s long-standing presence in the Philippines.

Page | 32
9. Alveo

Good:

Top-Notch Amenities

Alveo Land Corp ties for second place in best amenity with a score of 8.1. As a sub brand of

Ayala Land, Inc., the company is focused on delivering master-planned communities that

cater to young professionals and starting families.

Fair:
Moderately-Priced

With an affordability score of 7.4, we can say that the average price per square meter of

Alveo properties is generally in the mid to high range. Two Serendra, Taguig City and Senta,

Makati City are one of the costliest projects from this developer. The average price per

square meter in both these projects stands around PHP 170,000.

Good Neighborhood

A neighborhood score of 7.1 indicates that there is a wide mix of mainstream and underrated

locations the developer had chosen for their projects. Few of its projects in Makati City and

Taguig City are located in the best locations. Senta, The Columns Legazpi Village, The

Lerato Tower, The Columns Ayala Avenue, The Gentry Residences, Escala Salcedo, Verve

Page | 33
Residences and The Maridien are few of its properties with high neighborhood scores.

However, projects based out of Metro Manila seem to get lower neighborhood score which

we hope will improve in future.

Bad:
Slow Return on Investment

Alveo Land however, garnered a satisfactory investment score of 6.3, the lowest among the

best condominium developers on our list. There are a few factors that might affect this. One

if which is that the property prices aren’t too affordable to begin with. As such, it might take a

while for rental rates or prices per square meter in the area to increase to get a good return

on investment.

Overall Verdict:

Overall, Alveo Land is a reasonable choice for those who value a property’s neighborhood

and lifestyle amenities more than its investment potential. For Makati or Pasig renters, Alveo

Land’s low investment score can work at an advantage. It indicates that based on last year’s

data, we can say that rental rates are less likely to increase dramatically soon. Some of

Alveo’s most popular projects include Serendra, Marquee Residences and Marquee Place in

Angeles City and the up-and-coming High Street South Block in Bonifacio Global City,

Taguig.

10. Century Properties

Page | 34
Good
Best Neighborhood

Century Properties has the highest neighborhood score of 8.0. Aside from choosing top
locations for its projects, the developer has become well-recognized for Century City, its
premier Makati township.

Fair:
Mid to High End with Well-Designed Amenities

Compared to other condominium developers in the list, condo in a Century Properties project
is costlier. Because of its high price per square meter, Century Properties gets a relatively
lower Affordability Score of 7.4. The developer received a score of 7.5 on Amenities. The
company has carried the famous names of Trump, Paris Hilton, Versace, and Philippe
Starck for some of its distinctive projects

Bad:
Low Presence

The developer has 19 projects on our database, the lowest amongst our top condominium
developers but with the new projects on the way, we can see that the brand is aggressively
catching up.

A Luxury Investment
Century Properties pioneered the concept of fully-fitted and fully-furnished (FF/FF) units,
making this a standard industry practice. Some of its units are even furnished by Versace
Home and Armani. These things however, add up to the developer’s high average price per
square meter. For example, average price per square meter at The Milano Residences in
Makati City is PHP 214,000 whereas the average price per square meter at Essensa East
Forbes in Taguig City is PHP 169,000. This affects its investment score of 6.9, the 3rd
lowest investment score on our list. Simply put, high unit prices and low rental yields in
saturated locations result in relatively low investment scores.

Overall Verdict:
In conclusion, Century Properties is a solid, global brand in the making. They have set high
standards to meet the foreign market’s demands. Its low project count indicates that the
brand is slowly establishing presence in the Philippine real estate market.

As a premium developer, it attracts buyers that are investing in quality and a high end

lifestyle.

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Sample Condominium Floor Plans

Page | 36
 HOTEL

Definitions

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities

provided may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with
bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refrigerator and other kitchen facilities, upholstered
chairs, a flat screen television, and en-suite bathrooms. Small, lower-priced hotels may offer
only the most basic guest services and facilities. Larger, higher-priced hotels may provide
additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, business centre (with computers,
printers, and other office equipment), childcare, conference and event facilities, tennis or
basketball courts, gymnasium, restaurants, day spa, and social function services. Hotel
rooms are usually numbered (or named in some smaller hotels and B&Bs) to allow guests to
identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms. Some
hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In the United Kingdom, a hotel
is required by law to serve food and drinks to all guests within certain stated
hours. In Japan, capsule hotels provide a tiny room suitable only for sleeping and shared
bathroom facilities.
The precursor to the modern hotel was the inn of medieval Europe. For a period of about
200 years from the mid-17th century, coaching inns served as a place for lodging
for coach travelers. Inns began to cater to richer clients in the mid-18th century. One of the
first hotels in a modern sense was opened in Exeter in 1768. Hotels proliferated
throughout Western Europe and North America in the early 19th century, and luxury hotels
began to spring up in the later part of the 19th century.
Hotel operations vary in size, function, complexity, and cost. Most hotels and major
hospitality companies have set industry standards to classify hotel types. An upscale full-
service hotel facility offers luxury amenities, full service accommodations, an on-
site restaurant, and the highest level of personalized service, such as a concierge, room
service, and clothes pressing staff. Full service hotels often contain upscale full-service
facilities with a large number of full service accommodations, an on-site full
service restaurant, and a variety of on-site amenities. Boutique hotels are smaller
independent, non-branded hotels that often contain upscale facilities. Small to medium-sized
hotel establishments offer a limited amount of on-site amenities. Economy hotels are small
to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer basic accommodations with little to no
services. Extended stay hotels are small to medium-sized hotels that offer longer-term full
service accommodations compared to a traditional hotel.
Timeshare and destination clubs are a form of property ownership involving ownership of an
individual unit of accommodation for seasonal usage. A motel is a small-sized low-rise
lodging with direct access to individual rooms from the car park. Boutique hotels are typically
hotels with a unique environment or intimate setting. A number of hotels have entered the
public consciousness through popular culture, such as the Ritz Hotel in London. Some
hotels are built specifically as a destination in itself, for example at casinos and
holiday resorts.
Most hotel establishments are run by a General Manager who serves as the head executive
(often referred to as the "Hotel Manager"), department heads who oversee various
departments within a hotel (e.g., food service), middle managers, administrative staff, and
line-level supervisors. The organizational chart and volume of job positions and hierarchy
varies by hotel size, function and class, and is often determined by hotel ownership and
managing companies.

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Etymology
The word hotel is derived from the French hôtel (coming from the same origin as hospital),
which referred to a French version of a building seeing frequent visitors, and providing care,
rather than a place offering accommodation. In contemporary French usage, hôtel now has
the same meaning as the English term, and hôtel particulier is used for the old meaning, as
well as "hôtel" in some place names such as Hôtel-Dieu (in Paris), which has been a hospital
since the Middle Ages. The French spelling, with the circumflex, was also used in English,
but is now rare. The circumflex replaces the 's' found in the earlier hostel spelling, which over
time took on a new, but closely related meaning. Grammatically, hotels usually take
the definite article – hence "The Astoria Hotel" or simply "The Astoria."

History
Facilities offering hospitality to travellers have been a feature of the earliest civilizations.
In Greco-Roman culture and ancient Persia, hospitals for recuperation and rest were built
at thermal baths. Japan's Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, founded in 705, was officially
recognised by the Guinness World Records as the oldest hotel in the world.[1] During
the Middle Ages, various religious orders at monasteries and abbeys would offer
accommodation for travellers on the road.
The precursor to the modern hotel was the inn of medieval Europe, possibly dating back to
the rule of Ancient Rome. These would provide for the needs of travellers, including food and
lodging, stabling and fodder for the traveller's horse(s) and fresh horses for the mail coach.
Famous London examples of inns include the George and the Tabard. A typical layout of an
inn had an inner court with bedrooms on the two sides, with the kitchenand parlour at the
front and the stables at the back.
For a period of about 200 years from the mid-17th century, coaching inns served as a place
for lodging for coach travellers (in other words, a roadhouse). Coaching inns stabled teams
of horses for stagecoaches and mail coaches and replaced tired teams with fresh teams.
Traditionally they were seven miles apart, but this depended very much on the terrain.

Tremont House in Boston, United States, a luxury hotel, the first to provide indoor plumbing

Some English towns had as many as ten such inns and rivalry between them was intense,
not only for the income from the stagecoach operators but for the revenue for food and drink
supplied to the wealthy passengers. By the end of the century, coaching inns were being run
more professionally, with a regular timetable being followed and fixed menus for food.[3]

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Inns began to cater for richer clients in the mid-18th century, and consequently grew in
grandeur and the level of service provided. One of the first hotels in a modern sense
was opened in Exeter in 1768, although the idea only really caught on in the early 19th
century. In 1812 Mivart's Hotel opened its doors in London, later changing its name to
Claridge's.
Hotels proliferated throughout Western Europe and North America in the 19th century, and
luxury hotels, including the Savoy Hotel in the United Kingdom and the Ritz chain of
hotels in London and Paris and Tremont House and Astor House in the United States, began
to spring up in the later part of the century, catering to an extremely wealthy clientele.

Types of Hotels

Hotel operations vary in size, function, and cost. Most hotels and major hospitality companies
that operate hotels have set widely accepted industry standards to classify hotel types. General
categories include the following:
Luxury hotels
A luxury hotel offers high quality amenities, full service accommodations, on-site full-service
restaurants, and the highest level of personalized and professional service. Luxury hotels
are classified with at least a Five Diamond rating or Five Star hotel rating depending on the
country and local classification standards. Examples include: Grand Hyatt, Waldorf
Astoria, Conrad, InterContinental, Sofitel, Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons, The
Peninsula, Rosewood, St. Regis, JW Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton.
Lifestyle resorts
Lifestyle resorts are branded properties that appeal to a guest with specific lifestyle or
personal image. They are typically full-service and sometimes classified as luxury. A key
characteristic of lifestyle resorts are focus on providing a unique guest experience as
opposed to simply providing lodging. Normally, lifestyle resorts are classified with a Five Star
hotel rating depending on the country and local classification standards. Examples include W
Hotels, Shangri-La, Sheraton, Andaz, Jumeirah, Lotte, Aman, Taj
Hotels, Renaissance, Hoshino, Raffles, Fairmont and Banyan Tree.
Full-service
Full service hotels often provide a wide array of guest services and on-site facilities.
Commonly found amenities may include: on-site food and beverage (room service and
restaurants), meeting and conference services and facilities, fitness center, and business
center. Full-service hotels range in quality from mid-scale to luxury. This classification is
based upon the quality of facilities and amenities offered by the hotel. [8] Examples
include: Holiday Inn, Kimpton Hotels, Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt Regency brands.
Boutique
Boutique hotels are smaller independent non-branded hotels that often contain upscale
facilities of varying size in unique or intimate settings with full service accommodations.
These hotels are generally 100 rooms or fewer.
Focused or select service
Small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer a limited number of on-site amenities
that only cater and market to a specific demographic of travelers, such as the single
business traveler. Most focused or select service hotels may still offer full service
accommodations but may lack leisure amenities such as an on-site restaurant or a
swimming pool. Examples include Hyatt Place, Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn.
Economy and limited service

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Small to medium-sized hotel establishments that offer a very limited number of on-site
amenities and often only offer basic accommodations with little to no services, these facilities
normally only cater and market to a specific demographic of travelers, such as the budget-
minded traveler seeking a "no frills" accommodation. Limited service hotels often lack an on-
site restaurant but in return may offer a limited complimentary food and beverage amenity
such as on-site continental breakfast service. Examples include Ibis Budget, Hampton
Inn, Aloft, Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield Inn, Four Points by Sheraton.
Extended stay
Extended stay hotels are small to medium-sized hotels that offer longer term full service
accommodations compared to a traditional hotel. Extended stay hotels may offer non-
traditional pricing methods such as a weekly rate that caters towards travelers in need of
short-term accommodations for an extended period of time. Similar to limited and select
service hotels, on-site amenities are normally limited and most extended stay hotels lack an
on-site restaurant. Examples include Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Homewood
Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton, Residence Inn by Marriott, Element, and Extended
Stay America.
Timeshare and destination clubs
Timeshare and Destination clubs are a form of property ownership also referred to as a
vacation ownership involving the purchase and ownership of an individual unit of
accommodation for seasonal usage during a specified period of time. Timeshare resorts
often offer amenities similar that of a Full service hotel with on-site restaurant(s), swimming
pools, recreation grounds, and other leisure-oriented amenities. Destination clubs on the
other hand may offer more exclusive private accommodations such as private houses in a
neighborhood-style setting. Examples of timeshare brands include Hilton Grand
Vacations, Marriott Vacation Club International, Westgate Resorts, Disney Vacation Club,
and Holiday Inn Club Vacations.
Motel
A motel, an abbreviation for "motor hotel", is a small-sized low-rise lodging establishment
similar to a limited service, lower-cost hotel, but typically with direct access to individual
rooms from the car park. Motels were built to serve road travellers, including travellers on
road trip vacations and workers who drive for their job (travelling salespeople, truck drivers,
etc.). Common during the 1950s and 1960s, motels were often located adjacent to a major
highway, where they were built on inexpensive land at the edge of towns or along stretches
of freeway.
New motel construction is rare in the 2000s as hotel chains have been building economy-
priced, limited service franchised properties at freeway exits which compete for largely the
same clientele, largely saturating the market by the 1990s. Motels are still useful in less
populated areas for driving travelers, but the more populated an area becomes, the more
hotels move in to meet the demand for accommodation. While many motels are unbranded
and independent, many of the other motels which remain in operation joined national
franchise chains, often rebranding themselves as hotels, inns or lodges. Some examples of
chains with motels include EconoLodge, Motel 6, Super 8, and Travelodge.
Motels in some parts of the world are more often regarded as places for romantic
assignations where rooms are often rented by the hour. This is fairly common in parts
of Latin America.
Microstay
Hotels may offer rooms for microstays, a type of booking for less than 24 hours where the
customer chooses the check in time and the length of the stay. This allows the hotel
increased revenue by reselling the same room several times a day.

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Unique and Specialty Hotels

Historic inns and boutique hotels

Hotel Astoria and statue of Tsar Nicholas I in Saint
Petersburg, Russia

Boutique hotels are typically hotels with a

unique environment or intimate setting.
Some hotels have gained their renown
through tradition, by hosting significant
events or persons, such as
Schloss Cecilienhof in Potsdam, Germany,
which derives its fame from the Potsdam
Conference of the World War
II allies Winston Churchill, Harry
Truman and Joseph Stalin in
1945.[12] The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai is one of India's most famous and
historic hotels because of its association with the Indian independence movement. Some
establishments have given name to a particular meal or beverage, as is the case with
the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, United States where the Waldorf Salad was first
created or the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, Austria, home of the Sachertorte. Others have
achieved fame by association with dishes or cocktails created on their premises, such as
the Hotel de Paris where the crêpe Suzette was invented or the Raffles Hotel in Singapore,
where the Singapore Sling cocktail was devised.

Hôtel Ritz Paris in France

A number of hotels have entered the

public consciousness through popular
culture, such as the Ritz
Hotel in London, through its association
with Irving Berlin's song, 'Puttin' on the
Ritz'. The Algonquin Hotel in New York
City is famed as the meeting place of
the literary group, the Algonquin Round
Table, and Hotel Chelsea, also in New
York City, has been the subject of a
number of songs and the scene of the
stabbing of Nancy Spungen (allegedly
by her boyfriend Sid Vicious).

Resort hotels

Wynn Las Vegas, United States

Some hotels are built specifically as a

destination in itself to create a captive
trade, example at casinos, amusement
parks and holiday resorts. Though hotels
have always been built in popular
destinations, the defining characteristic of a

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resort hotel is that it exists purely to serve another attraction, the two having the same
owners.
On the Las Vegas Strip there is a tradition of one-upmanship with luxurious and extravagant
hotels in a concentrated area. This trend now has extended to other resorts worldwide, but
the concentration in Las Vegas is still the world's highest: nineteen of the world's twenty-five
largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of over 67,000 rooms.[14]
In Europe Center Parcs might be considered a chain of resort hotels, since the sites are
largely man-made (though set in natural surroundings such as country parks) with captive
trade, whereas holiday camps such as Butlins and Pontin's are probably not considered as
resort hotels, since they are set at traditional holiday destinations which existed before the
camps.

Other speciality hotels

RMS Queen Mary, Long Beach, California, United States

 The Burj al-Arab hotel in Dubai, United Arab

Emirates, built on an artificial island, is structured in
the shape of a boat's sail.
 The Library Hotel in New York City, is unique
in that each of its ten floors is assigned one category
from the Dewey Decimal System.
 The Jailhotel Löwengraben in Lucerne,
Switzerland is a converted prison now used as a
hotel.
 The Luxor, a hotel and casino on the Las
Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States is
unusual due to its pyramidal structure.
 The Liberty Hotel in Boston used to be
the Charles Street Jail.
 Hotel Kakslauttanen in Finland, a collection of
glass igloos in Lapland that allow you to watch the
Northern Lights[15]
 Built in Scotland and completed in 1936, The former ocean liner RMS Queen
Mary in Long Beach, California, United States uses its first-class staterooms as a hotel,
after retiring in 1967 from Transatlantic service.
 The Wigwam Motels used patented novelty architecture in which each motel room was a
free-standing concrete wigwam or teepee.
 Various Caboose Motel or Red Caboose Inn properties are built from decommissioned
rail cars.
 Throughout the world there are several hotels built from converted airliners.

Bunker hotels
The Null Stern Hotel in Teufen, Appenzellerland, Switzerland and the Concrete Mushrooms
in Albania[16] are former nuclear bunkers transformed into hotels.

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Cave hotels
The Cuevas Pedro Antonio de Alarcón (named after the author) in Guadix, Spain, as well as
several hotels in Cappadocia, Turkey, are notable for being built into natural cave
formations, some with rooms underground. The Desert Cave Hotel in Coober Pedy, South
Australia is built into the remains of an opal mine.

Cliff hotels
On top of the cliff, the Riosol Hotel in Mogán

Located on the coast but high above sea level,

these hotels offer unobstructed panoramic
views and a great sense of privacy without the
feeling of total isolation. Some examples from
around the globe are the Riosol Hotel in Gran
Canaria, Caruso Belvedere Hotel in Amalfi
Coast (Italy), Aman Resorts Amankila in Bali,
Birkenhead House in Hermanus (South
Africa), The Caves in Jamaica and Caesar
Augustus in Capri.

Capsule hotels

Interior of a capsule hotel in Osaka, Japan

Capsule hotels are a type of economical hotel first introduced in

Japan, where people sleep in stacks of rectangular containers.

Day room hotels

Some hotels fill daytime occupancy with day rooms, for example, Rodeway Inn and
Suites near Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Day rooms are booked in a block of
hours typically between 8 am and 5 pm, before the typical night shift. These are similar to
transit hotels in that they appeal to travelers, however, unlike transit hotels, they do not
eliminate the need to go through Customs.

Garden hotels
Garden hotels, famous for their gardens before they became hotels, include Gravetye
Manor, the home of garden designer William Robinson, and Cliveden, designed by Charles
Barry with a rose garden by Geoffrey Jellicoe.

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Ice, snow and igloo hotels

Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden

The Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, was the first ice

hotel in the world; first built in 1990, it is built each
winter and melts every spring. Other ice hotels include
the Igloo Village in Kakslauttanen, Finland, and the
Hotel de Glace in Duschenay, Canada. They can also
be included within larger ice complexes; for example,
the Mammut Snow Hotel in Finland is located within
the walls of the Kemi snow castle; and the Lainio
Snow Hotel is part of a snow village near Ylläs,
Finland.

Love hotels
A love hotel (also 'love motel', especially in Taiwan) is a type of short-stay hotel found
around the world, operated primarily for the purpose of allowing guests privacy for sexual
activities, typically for one to three hours, but with overnight as an option. Styles of premises
vary from extremely low-end to extravagantly appointed. In Japan, love hotels have a history
of over 400 years.

Referral hotel
A referral hotel is a hotel chain that offers branding to independently-operated hotels; the
chain itself is founded by or owned by the member hotels as a group. Many former referral
chains have been converted to franchises; the largest surviving member-owned chain
is Best Western.

Railway hotels
The first recorded purpose-built railway hotel was the Great Western Hotel, which opened
adjacent to Reading railway station in 1844, shortly after the Great Western Railway opened
its line from London. The building still exists, and although it has been used for other
purposes over the years, it is now again a hotel and a member of the Malmaison hotel chain.
Frequently, expanding railway companies built grand hotels at their termini, such as
the Midland Hotel, Manchester next to the former Manchester Central Station, and in London
the ones above St Pancras railway station and Charing Cross railway station. London also
has the Chiltern Court Hotel above Baker Street tube station, there are also Canada's grand
railway hotels. They are or were mostly, but not exclusively, used by those traveling by rail.

Straw bale hotels

The Maya Guesthouse in Nax Mont-Noble in the Swiss Alps, is the first hotel in Europe built
entirely with straw bales. Due to the insulation values of the walls it needs no conventional
heating or air conditioning system, although the Maya Guesthouse is built at an altitude of
1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in the Alps.

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Transit hotels
Transit hotels are short stay hotels typically used at international airports where passengers
can stay while waiting to change airplanes. The hotels are typically on the airside and do not
require a visa for a stay or re-admission through security checkpoints.

Treehouse hotels
Some hotels are built with living trees as structural elements, for example the Treehotel
near Piteå, Sweden, the Costa Rica Tree House in the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife
Refuge, Costa Rica; the Treetops Hotel in Aberdare National Park, Kenya; the Ariau
Towers near Manaus, Brazil, on the Rio Negro in the Amazon; and Bayram's Tree Houses
in Olympos, Turkey.

Underwater hotels

Ithaa, the first undersea restaurant at the Conrad Maldives Rangali

Islandresort

Some hotels have accommodation underwater, such

as Utter Inn in Lake Mälaren, Sweden. Hydropolis,
project in Dubai, would have had suites on the bottom of
the Persian Gulf, and Jules' Undersea Lodge in Key
Largo, Florida requires scuba diving to access its rooms.

Overwater hotels

An overwater bungalow on the island resort in the Maldives

A resort island is an island or an archipelago that

contains resorts, hotels, overwater bungalows,
restaurants, tourist attractions and its
amenities. Maldives has the most overwater bungalows
resorts.

Hotel Architecture, Planning and Design

Hotels and resorts are the backbone of the P280–billion tourism industry. The quality of
accommodations and services majorly affect the decision-making of tourists. A destination
could have the most exciting adventures and the grandest views to offer, but at the end of
the day, the tourist will need a place to recover and relax.

On the other hand, it is the responsibility of these establishments to protect the landscapes
and the culture because it is their source of income. In a bigger picture, the architecture and
the design of the hotels and resorts have tremendous effect to the way people will live in an
area. Sustainable design will bring more jobs, livelihood, and infrastructure needed by the
community. Irresponsible and bad design will exploit both the people and the environment.

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Let me share some basic theories in hotel architecture, planning and design.

Hotel architecture and design is divided into two major parts: the front-of-the-house and the
back-of-the-house. The front-of-the-house is the area that guests get to see and experience.
It includes the lobby, dinning spaces, rest rooms, hotel rooms, corridors, and passenger
elevators, among others. The back-of-the-house, on the other hand, is primarily concerned
with hotel personnel to achieve maximum efficiency and utmost control on circulation
patterns.

Front-of-the-house
The lobby of the hotel creates the first and most lasting impression among the guests. It sets
the mood. Upon arriving, the first person they will be talking to is the front desk. It is there
that the concierge gets to recommend places the guest should visit and what amenities the
hotel offers. After giving the keys of the room to the guest, he will set what the guest will look
forward to during his stay.

The guest rooms are the prime product that a hotel has to offer. The first consideration is
size; the more spacious a room is, the more luxurious. Rooms with twin beds, with a night
table in between are preferred by most guests and hotel operators.

The restaurant and amenities are what attract guests to stay longer in the hotel. It could be a
restaurant facing a beachfront or a swimming pool, or a restaurant that is known for its
culinary experience.

Most hotels offer transport services from the airport to hotel, or vice-versa. Some hotels also
offer transport services going to tourism areas outside the hotel. Especially for international
tourists, this is an important consideration. It gives them a worry-free access towards their
desired destinations.

Back-of-the-house
Everything that the guest expects and should get will be a result of what takes place in the
back-of-the-house, such as clean beddings, properly maintained air-conditioning units, and
supplies for the restaurants. It also includes the structure, the furniture, the interior, and the
waste management of the hotel.

The service entrance gives direct access to a street or road capable of handling truck traffic
situated out of the view of the main entrance towards the receiving dock.

The other crucial parts are the laundry facilities, housekeeping, mechanical and security, and
food services. Locally sourced products and services are preferred.

Energy-efficiency
Let’s say that a new hotel is being built in Palawan. One of the challenges is to find the
source of energy that can meet the expected consumption of the building. A standard today
in tropical design is making sure that the building has passive lighting and cooling. Not
necessarily placing a plethora of wide windows, as this is may be counter-productive
because of the heat it allows, but strategically placing enough windows for morning and
afternoon light. A good architect can light up the building naturally while keeping heat at a

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comfortable level. With passive cooling, on the other hand, the wind flows naturally
throughout the building.

Selection of Materials to be used in the Hotel - Making

The standard today is to use LED lights to conserve vast amounts of energy. Before, an
incandescent bulb used as much as 40 watts to give the same amount of light of eight watts
from LED. In short, incandescent bulbs should no longer be used. With new technology, a
hybrid solar power and grid power can also conserve at least 20 percent of energy cost
annually. Inverter air-conditioning, on the other hand, uses 30 percent to 40 percent less
energy than regular air-conditioning.

Also, instead of using fresh water to water plants and flushing for toilets, use a greywater
system. It collects and filters water for such use.

In terms of dengue prevention, especially in a tropical climate, it is recommended to fill the

surroundings of the building with tanglad/lemongrass and citronella to repel mosquitoes.

In January alone, around 500,000 tourists arrived and spent P21 billion. For the rest of the
year, the Department of Tourism is expecting six million tourists and P280 billion of spending
in tourism-related activities. We can well expect that hotels and resorts will be at the forefront
of the country’s growing tourism industry.

Condominium Design Standards

The following standards shall apply to all condominium projects citywide, including specific
plan areas, which are approved after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this
section. This section provides minimum design and development standards for
condominiums which are subject to approval of a development plan permit in compliance
with Chapter 17.42 and which shall be constructed in the following manner:
A. Density. The maximum density of the underlying zoning district may be allowed
only with demonstration that the project meets or exceeds city standards and that superior
design elements are utilized.
B. Building Setbacks.
1. Structures shall be located on the project property to meet the requirements of the
zoning district for setbacks and distances between buildings except as provided herein.
Setback requirements shall be measured from the subdivision boundaries, common area
boundaries and curb face of private streets whichever is nearest as applicable. Where
condominium structures are not located along a street, and are located behind other
structures, or where there are structures back to back, there shall be a minimum fifty-foot
separation between buildings and there shall be an unobstructed, minimum twenty-four foot
wide separation distance between buildings along the street, where it would be necessary to
bring a fire truck to a location within one-hundred sixty-five feet of any portion of the exterior
walls of any condominium structure.
2. In calculating the additional setbacks required for building heights above twenty
feet, where there is no property line from which to measure setbacks, the required
separation distances between buildings shall be increased pursuant to Section 17.20.100.
C. Site Design.

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 1. There should be an efficient and harmonious grouping of structures and space
which encourages the individuality of separate condominium dwelling units within a unifying
design concept.
2. The applicant shall utilize site planning techniques and architectural treatments to
reduce the impact of building mass. Use of varied building heights, building articulation,
landscaping, walls and fences, screening and other similar techniques may be employed to
achieve the goal of reduction of building mass impacts.
3. All condominium lots shall be situated in such a way that noise impacts will be
mitigated. Dwellings shall be sound attenuated against present and projected noise to
mitigate noise impacts on outdoor living areas and in all habitable rooms.
4. Buildings shall be placed in a manner to allow streetscape building diversity.
Clusters of condominiums shall be sited in a manner that respects the natural topography
and that avoids excessive massing. Front setbacks of structures shall be varied by
increasing some setbacks to the extent necessary to create an interesting appearance from
the street.
5. Private drives serving the clusters of single-family homes shall be curvilinear, either
following the natural contours, or in the event of a flat site, to avoid long straight-aways.
6. Condominium structures shall be offset to avoid linear arrangement of homes
between clusters and across streets.
7. The project shall establish safe, direct and convenient access to common amenity
areas.
8. Private driveways serving four or less dwelling units having no parking within the
travelway shall have a minimum paved width of twenty-four feet.
D. Structure Design.
1. Building design shall integrate and equitably distribute details on sides of proposed
structures which face private streets, common areas and public rights-of-way as follows:
a. Light and shadow achieved through openings, projections, recesses and details;
b. Avoidance of large blank façades;
c. Roof lines shall vary by use of varying roof structural configurations and slopes.
2. Rear building elevations shall incorporate design features consistent with front
building elevations.
E. Landscaping.
1. Hierarchy of the circulation system shall be reinforced by landscaping. Project plans
shall identify opportunities and techniques for the creation of focal points where appropriate.
Such opportunities may include, but shall not be limited to, use of attractive hardscape
elements, specimen trees, water features or unusual plant groupings.
2. The use of special landscape treatments and/or thematic elements shall be used to
embellish distinguishable features of the condominium project.
3. The applicant shall enhance entry view corridors. Design treatments which enhance
project entries through the use of raised medians, additional landscaping, landscape theme
and location of recreational amenities may be required.
4. It shall be demonstrated that trees will be distributed on slopes, common areas
and/or lots and along private streets so as to interrupt and soften the silhouette of structures
visible from outside the project.

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 5. The natural vegetation and topography should be preserved where such natural
features contribute to the attractiveness of the project and compatibility within the
neighborhood or district.
F. Compatibility with Surrounding Development.
1. The applicant shall design the project to create project edges which are compatible
with adjacent residential communities, which have been previously approved by the city.
Similar structure heights, comparable or more attractive perimeter walls, architectural
features and landscaping improvements shall be designed.
2. The design of the condominium structures and overall site plan should be
compatible with the physical characteristics of the site, with buildings adjacent to the site,
and with the character of the neighborhood or district. Design compatibility of buildings
includes harmonious building style, form, size, color, materials and relationship to site
topography. A compatible design plan is one which preserves the existing neighborhood
character, facilitates efficient and convenient circulation, is functionally related to the natural
topography, utilizes natural characteristics of the site, and is an asset to the community.
3. Due consideration should be given to the impact of condominium development on
the neighborhood or district in which property is located. Development should be designed to
minimize view obstruction. (Ord. 1027 § 2, 2011; Ord. 862 Exh. A, 2004)

Hotel Sample Floor Plans

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