By Roderick T. dela Cruz

Quezon City is beginning to emerge as a major hub for hotel guests and tourists.

From January to November, the average occupancy rate at hotels in the biggest and most populous city in Metro Manila improved to 63.09 percent in 2008 from 54.06 percent during the same period in 2007, bucking the downtrend elsewhere in the metropolis.

?One possible reason why occupancy rate in Quezon City rose is because we have many budget hotels. Tourists are beginning to become more conscious of hotel rates,? said Rosario Yara, officer-in-charge of the Cultural and Tourism Affairs Office.

She said the place is known for shopping, dining, and eco-tourism besides hosting the country?s largest shopping mall, SM North City.

The Tourism Department reckons at least 1,120 hotel rooms in Quezon City?263 deluxe, 250 first class, 448 standard and 159 economy.

According to Yara, one deluxe facility is the Crowne Plaza Galleria at Ortigas Center.

She said Sulo Hotel, Hotel Rembrandt and Great Eastern Hotel likewise draw in corporate clients and serve as venues for conferences and business meetings.

Itineraries now include Fernandina 88 Suites Hotel, Imperial Palace Suites, Robbinsdale Hotel, Garden Heights, Regalia Tower Suites, Kabayan Hotel, Contemporary Hotel, Tri-place Hotel and Apartelle, Stone House, Hotel Danarra, Camelot Hotel, Hibiscus Bed & Breakfast and Fersal Place Hotel.

Yara also noted that trends showed increasing numbers of transients and budget travelers going for value-for-money and standard accommodations.

Last year, Torre Venezia, a condominium project along Timog Avenue, assigned some of the units for a hotel.

Yara confirmed that several condominium projects were expected to follow suit to meet the overflow from the major players.

At the outset, heading the rush are Eastwood Park Hotel in Libis, and the Novotel Manila Araneta Center of the Araneta Group in Cubao.

While hotel occupancy rate in the city rose in the first 11 months of 2008, occupancy rate in other localities dipped.

In particular, average occupancy rate at the Roxas Boulevard/Manila Bay area?with 6,331 hotel rooms?slid down to 69.5 percent in 2008 from 71.9 percent in 2007.

In the Makati-Pasig-Mandaluyong flank, occupancy rate also dropped to 74.32 percent from 77.46 percent. There were 5,829 hotel rooms in these cities.

Southward Alabang-Muntinlupa with 424 hotel rooms, occupancy rate eased to 55.1 percent from 64.1 percent.

Occupancy rate at the airport area in Pasay stood at 79.5 percent in 2008, slightly down from 80.24 percent in 2007 based on a 400-hotel rooms benchmark.