Villa Escudero eyes resort, portfolio expansion

Villa Escudero Corporation (VESCO) said it aims to expand its business portfolio and resort facilities this year to offset declining guest bookings linked to rising fuel prices. 

“Villa Escudero’s main core business is the plantation and resort,” VESCO Business Development Strategist and Head of Commercial Leasing Daniel Placido A. Escudero told BusinessWorld in an interview.

“We are significantly affected by the increase in fuel prices. At the resort, we’ve noticed a negative trend when it comes to visitors, and we attribute it to the increase in fuel costs,” he added.

Before becoming a tourist spot in Southern Luzon, Villa Escudero was known for its sugarcane plantation, founded in the 1800s. In the 1990s, the children of Don Placido Escudero and Dona Claudia Marasigan shifted into coconut crops. 

In 1981, the family officially opened its 800-hectare estate to the public, including its resort, and it became a popular destination for locals and foreigners. 

After establishing itself as a key destination in Quezon province over the years, the resort has recently seen a 30% decline in guest numbers and cites the pump price hike as the main cause. 

“Our main clientele is from the Metro Manila area, coming here, their gas prices for fuel are really high. Our guest count really went down,” Mr. Escudero said. 

Despite the decline, Villa Escudero remains committed to adding more facilities to its campsite and resort cottages and maintains optimism that it can recover from the effects of the oil crisis. 

“We still have [expansion] plans because we anticipate that this fuel crisis is temporary,” Mr. Escudero said. “And even if it does stay for a longer time, the community will adapt to a new normal on how to operate beyond the increase in fuel prices and logistics.” 

Apart from resort expansion, VESCO aims to diversify its portfolio by venturing into retail operations.

“The pandemic has shown us that we cannot just rely on tourism as our main bread and butter,” Mr. Escudero said. 

“We are opening up to land development for commercial purposes to basically diversify our portfolio and invite new businesses to operate in our land assets,” he added. 

Last week, VESCO officially launched its nine-hectare premier mixed-use commercial hub, The Central. The hub is directly adjacent to the upcoming South Luzon Expressway Toll Road Phase 4 (SLEX TR-4) interchange, and aims to drive the province’s economy. 

“Tiaong was known as a very sleepy town, but now, there are a lot of industries and commercial establishments that are being built,” Mr. Escudero said. “With the development of the SLEX TR-4, we can see that the development is going southwards.” 

The Central will undergo nine construction phases, with the first phase scheduled to finish in Q3 of 2026 and overall project completion in 2028. — Almira Louise S. Martinez