‘It is a lifetime commitment’

TanHoldings CEO Jerry Tan formally announced yesterday that the company has inked a contract with InterContinental Hotel Group early this week for the hotel chain to manage the Fiesta Resort & Spa in Garapan. IHG will later rebrand the hotel as Crowne Plaza Resort in 2022. This deal was executed after the Department of Public Lands extended Fiesta’s lease for another 40 years three weeks ago.

Tan, who presided over a news briefing yesterday at the Fiesta Resort lobby with Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, said this 40-year contract with IHG will result in the birth of another international hotel brand on Saipan and is evidence of the Tan family’s commitment to be in the CNMI for many years.

“My family moved to Guam 48 years ago and in the CNMI 38 years ago. …My family and I are deeply rooted on Saipan. …I don’t consider myself just an investor. Yes, we do business here and definitely a part of the business community but this is where I raised my daughter and everything I do is really for the community,” Tan said.

“Forty years is a lifetime commitment and I hope I am still around. TanHoldings is here to stay and the Tan family will continue to be around for many years or decades so we are very happy that we are able to continue forward with operating this property. …It has been our desire to help upgrade the CNMI as a destination and we can only do that if we upgrade the standard of the hotel,” he added.

According to Tan, IHG is one of the leaders in hotel management and hotel brand. They manage 5,000 hotels in 100 countries that include the Intercon Hotel, Holiday Inn, and Voco.

“This is very important, not just for us operating the hotel but more important for the CNMI tourism industry because we would like to see more international brands come in. This is the right thing to do so we can continue to upgrade the visitor experience,” he said.

Photo shows a portion of the façade of the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan. Inset, TanHoldings CEO Jerry Tan shows Gov. Ralph DLG Torres the resort’s surroundings yesterday at the public announcement of IHG’s takeover of the management of the hotel. (KRIZEL TUAZON/BEA CABRERA)

“IHG is known for their very high standards and if you don’t keep that level of standard, you cannot keep the name. IHG has very strong presence in all of our three source markets China, Japan and Korea. They are the largest operator in China, they have very good partnership with ANA Airlines in Japan and has a big sales presence in Korea,” he added.

A total of $25 million has been allotted for the renovation of the hotel. One of the plans is to add 116 rooms by 2025 on top of the current 416 rooms.

In October last year, IHG announced that they have taken over the management of Fiesta Resort Guam, which has 318 rooms and will be rebranded to Crowne Plaza in 2021. The combined 850 room count is considered the biggest conversion signing for IHG Australia, Japan, and Pacific Island regions.

The Tan family also made a commitment to allot $3.5 million to a Community Benefit Fund that will go to projects that will benefit the CNMI. According to Alex Sablan, who is a TanHoldings executive and president of the Northern Marianas Business Alliance Corp., $500,000 will go to developing homesteads in the CNMI, $2 million will go to Garapan Revitalization Project, and additional $1 million will go to be used for the rehabilitation of all basketball courts in the CNMI.

“We feel that the central part of the community is a gathering place and that is a basketball court, whether to play sports or have a function,” he said.

Torres said that this agreement is what the CNMI needs right now as it faces many challenges. “This extension of 40 years its more than just another commitment as this is a lifetime commitment. While we are struggling with furloughs and low economic activities, here comes a family-owned company who lives here and is making a commitment,” he said. “This will set a new standard for the CNMI, that despite all challenges, this kind of commitment sets a standard for all business opportunities They have a vision here in the Marianas and this is a good example of a good business proposal that the government will support,” he added

DPL Secretary Marianne Concepcion-Teregeyo said the lease extension and IHG coming in took a year and a half to process. “As your DPL secretary, our constitutional mandates are very different from any other agency or department. Whenever we sit down to review the leases, we have to make sure that we get the highest and best use for the people of Northern Marianas descent,” she said.

“We are accountable to the people because unlike other countries, public land doesn’t belong to the government, it belongs to the Northern Marianas descent that’s why we have to make sure our fiduciary duty is upheld. …Internal studies gave us ideas what to charge the expiring leases as this is the first resort with expiring lease and coming within with 40 years extension,” she added.

Concepcion-Teregeyo said that they were pleased to hear that the Tans were bringing in a flagship. “We are excited and looking forward to the next five years . …At the end of the day, the question is, ‘Did we uphold the Constitution?’ and I firmly say, absolutely,” she added.

Also present at the launch were Lt. Gov. Arnold Palacios, Senate President Victor Hocog, House vice speaker Lorenzo Deleon Guerrero, Rep. Lee Pan Guerrero, Hotel Association of the Northern Marianas Inc. chair Gloria Cavanagh, and Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Velma Palacios.