A PROPOSED BUSINESS HOTEL

IN CEBU BUSINESS PARK, CEBU CITY

A Research Paper

Presented to the

Architecture Department, School of Architecture, Fine Arts and Design

University of San Carlos

Cebu City

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Course

AR3200-Architectural

Design 6

By: VIOS, VERA LYNN.

Academic Year 2020-2021 Second Semester

 Chapter 1

Introduction

Located in the center of Cebu City's business park, a group of hotel investors plans to

build a Business Hotel. Since the hotel industry is a competitive one, the group had

envisioned that the building's form would play a significant role in the hotel's design. The

hotel will also cater to the city's social functions because it is located just next to Ayala

Center. Cebu is becoming a hub for commerce in the region, with a large number of people

going to the city to do business for a short period of time.

Rationale

As global tourist arrival numbers continue increasing, demand and supply trends in

regard to sustainable business practices are shifting. Individual travelers, organizations and

banking consortia are changing perceptions about requirements for the future and the

responsibilities that hotels carry regarding that future (Bader, 2005). Hotel owners and

operators must adapt to these shifts in order to meet demand, remain appealing to investors,

and remain operationally viable and profitable.

Hotels that are environmentally friendly or "green" - a potential business. Hotel

revenue can be increased by making an active shift to environmentally sound measures that

include a protective attitude toward natural resources, the use of renewable energy sources,

and recycling. Hotel social responsibility will result in not only financial savings and less

environmental impact, but also increased consumer demand for eco-hotels from those willing

to pay more. (Aleksandrovna, et al., 2021)

Business travelers and families would also like a hotel that offers them other pleasure

needs such as well designed spaces, interesting high-end amenities, and other features that
would be enjoyable for the users. This research provides a cursory assessment of the

advantages of sustainable business practices, particularly in terms of economics, as well as

sustainability trends in demand and supply. The research will tackle different aspects in

designing efficiently a business hotel that is marketable and feasible.

Statement of the Problem

The aim of this research is to study the design determinants of a business hotel

development in Cebu Business Park, Cebu City, and its effects on the users.

The aim of this research is to

· Study the different design considerations for a business hotel from aesthetics to

technical.

· Study and analyze past and current well-known hotels in order to apply it to the

design

· Study the attainable approaches to achieve a marketable sustainable business hotel

Significance of the study

The beneficiaries of the study are the following

1) The client

The client will gain further understanding of what are the trends to focus and

design problems to be solved, and will eventually become profitable for them.

2) The Cebu City government

 The local government will benefit from this study as they gain information on the

demands for sustainable hotels and other developments

3) The Cebu Business Park

The business park will benefit from this study as they will gain more knowledge

on creating more marketable business opportunities in the area

Scope and Limitations

The study shall tackle architectural approaches for space configurations for the hotel

amenities. The study will look into non-load bearing construction methods that are

sustainable and give a unique style to the design.

The study cannot define every sustainable practices for hotel architecture, but rather

to propose a possible and attainable approach. The study will be a mere analysis and a

coalition of ideas that is attainable for the time being. The study cannot offer design ‘green’

solutions in terms of structural design, but rather what is attainable within architectural design

in concept.
 Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

1.a. National Building Code: Group B Division B-1 Standards

Group B-1: Hotels

Parking

One (1) car parking slot for every three (3) rooms or a fraction thereof for highly

urbanized areas and one (1) car parking slot for every seven (7) rooms or a fraction thereof

for all other areas: and two (2) tourist bus parking slots for each hotel: provide at least one (1)

loading slot for articulated truck or vehicle

One (1) car parking slot for every three (3) rooms or a fraction thereof for highly

urbanized areas and one (1) car parking slot for every seven (7) rooms or a fraction thereof

for all other areas: and two (2) tourist bus parking slots for each hotel: provide at least one (1)

loading slot for articulated truck or vehicle

Exits

a. Number of Exits. Every building or usable portion thereof shall have at least one

(1) exit. In all occupancies, floors above the first storey having an occupant load of

more than ten (10) shall not have less than two (2) exits. Each mezzanine floor used

for other than storage purposes, it greater in area than 185 sq. meters or more than

18.00 meters in any dimension, shall have at least two (2) stairways to an adjacent

floor. Every storey or portion thereof, having an occupant load of 500 to 999 shall

have at least three (3) exits. Every storey or portion thereof having an occupant load

of one thousand (1000) or more shall have at least four (4) exits. The number of exits

required from any storey of a building shall be determined by using the occupant
loads of floors which exit through the level under consideration as follows: 50% of

the occupant load in the first adjacent storey above and the first adjacent storey below,

when a storey below exits through the level under consideration) and 25% of the

occupant load in the storey immediately beyond the first adjacent storey. The

maximum number of exits required for any storey shall be maintained until egress is

provided from the structures. For purposes of this Section basement or cellars and

occupied roots shall be provided with exits as required for storeys. Floors above the

second storey, basements and cellars used for other than service of the building shall

have not less than two (2) exits.

b. Width. The total width of exits in meters shall not be less than the total occupant

load served divided by one hundred sixty five (165). Such width of exits shall be

divided approximately equally among the separate exits. The total exit width required

from any storey of a building shall be determined by using the occupant load of that

storey plus the percentage of the occupant loads of floors which exits through the

level under consideration as follows: 50% of the occupant load in the first adjacent

storey above and the first adjacent storey below when a storey below exits through the

level under consideration) and 25% of the occupant load in the storey immediately

beyond the first adjacent storey. The maximum exit width from any storey of a

building shall be maintained.

c. Arrangement of Exits. If only two (2) exits are required, they shall be placed a

distance apart to not less than one-fifth (1/5) of the perimeter of the area served

measured in a straight line between exits. Where three (3) or more exits are required,

they shall be arranged a reasonable distance apart so that if one becomes blocked, the

others will be available.

 d. Distance to Exits. No point in a building without a sprinkler system shall be more

than 45.00 meters from an exterior exit door, a horizontal exit, exit passageway, or an

enclosed stairway, measured along the line of travel. In a building equipped with a

complete automatic fire extinguishing system, the distance from exits may be

increased to 60.00 meters

1.b. Time-saver Standard for Building Types: Hotels

BASIC THEORIES OF HOTEL PLANNING

Hotels are designed and built so that the client, owner, or operator of the hotel

will get a satisfactory financial return on his investment . In order to achieve the

greatest return for each dollar invested, we again face a dual problem . In the first

instance . the guest must feel completely comfortable and at ease from the moment lie

steps through the entrance doorway, checks in, goes to his room, avails himself of the

food and beverages available, spends a comfortable night in a well-appointed,

scrupulously clean room, and returns the next day to a room which is as fresh and

inviting as it was the moment he first entered it after checking in .

Everything for the guests creature comforts should be carefully considered,

whether it be the ease of finding the registration desk, the cashier, the bars and dining

rooms, the elevators that will take a hint up to his room, and finally the room itself .

The service at the registration desk, in the bars and dining rooms, in the guest room

itself as well as in the corridors must be such that the guest finds his every want

courteously and efficiently taken care of. The physical environment becomes an

important part of the guest's creature comfort .

These factors include color and decor, lighting, proper air temperature,

comfortable furnishings and, above all, a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere .

 Everything that the guest expects and should get will be a result of what takes place at

the back of the house . It is only in this area that everything that will keep a guest

content during his stay is arranged for and so ordered that everything the guest is

seeking is accomplished unobtrusively and, what is most important, economically .

BACK OF THE HOUSE Though rarely seen by a guest, the back of the house is the

most crucial part of the plan . It must be laid out with two paramount objectives : control and

efficiency . Foodstuffs, housekeeping supplies, and a great many other items must be

received out of sight of the hotel guests . Such receiving is usually done at a loading dock,

which should be covered so that deliveries can be made regardless of the weather . An

operating hotel, even a small one, will have deliveries going on throughout the day . The

receiving of shipments as well as the checking of whatever comes into the hotel and, finally,

sending the various items received to their proper destination must be under tight control .

This is usually the function of a receiving department that should be located directly on or

adjacent to the loading dock . Tight control must be exercised in two directions. In one

direction, it is not uncommon for material to be delivered and, within a short time of its

having been left on the dock unchecked, for the management to find that this material has

disappeared or that some parts of the shipment have gone astray . The second part of the

control is to make sure that, once these shipments have arrived, they go directly to their

destination without a chance- of becoming lost on the way .

 For convenience, a trash chute (Fig . 2), going from every typical floor service area,

should be located next to the linen chute. This will force an arrangement where the trash

room is close or adjacent to the soiled linen room and both of these are near the service

entrance for ease in pickup .

 MECHANICAL SPACES Another area that should be considered in designing the

back-of-the-house spaces will be the boiler or mechanical room . In this area will be found

the various pieces of equipment for heating and cooling as well as all the tanks and pumps to

keep all the mechanical systems in operation. Each mechanical room will be of a size and

shape that will satisfy the requirements for all the creature comforts that a modern hotel has

to offer. In this area will also be found all central switchgear that controls electric current for

every purpose in the hotel complex.

FRONT OF THE HOUSE We have now established the activity which controls the

plan of a hotel as far as the back of the house is concerned. We will now examine what

happens in the so-called "front of the house"-that area which concerns itself with the guest as

distinct from that area which concerns itself with the smooth functioning of the hotel. It must

be borne in mind that a hotel, like Janus, wears two faces. The guest or the paying customer

sees only the front of the house, and this must be all that he desires-a wish fulfillment, an ego

builder, a status symbol, and above all else a pleasant and satisfying place in which he will

spend a night, a week, or a month.

The front of the house comprises every area that the guest will see; lobbies, dining

spaces, rest rooms, passenger elevators, corridors, hotel rooms, etc. These spaces must be
handled and planned with one thought in mind : the convenience and continued approbation

of the guests . Let us now accompany our arriving guest from the time his car or taxi pulls up

to the main entrance . As the guest enters the main entrance (and there should be only one

main entrance), he should be overcome with a feeling of serenity, welcome, end definitely a

complete absence of confusion . The registration desk and the elevators should and must be

immediately apparent . The registration area consists of a front desk, behind which is a

registration clerk, behind whom is the key and mail rack, and behind that the various

administration spaces .

Layouts
1.c Ernst Neufert Architects Data: Hotel Layouts and Diagrams
2.a Sustaible Practices for Business Hotels

2.a.a Energy Conservation Measures Energy reduction has been recognized as one of

the most significant areas of environmental management in the hotel industry.

Generally, hotels consume huge amounts of fossil fuel energy and electricity in

different operational areas. Based on the literature reviewed, different energy

conservation measures in the hotel industry have been adopted.These measures

include implementing renewable energy programs (i.e., solar and wind power),

installing energy-efficient appliances and equipment, controlling guest room energy

consumption by using digital thermostats, use of energy star-qualified products,

installation of motion sensors that automatically turn lights off in low-traffic areas,

installation of reflective glass or triple-glazed windows, using energy-efficient light

bulbs (LED) and depending on daylight rather than artificial light when cleaning

vacant dirty rooms.

2.a.b Water Conservation Measures Water conservation management has been used

widely as an important green management strategy in the hotel sector. Hotels

consume intensive amounts of water on daily operation. Water consumption in the

hotel industry depends on the hotel’s size and capacity, occupancy percentage, type

and standard of services and facilities provided. Water conservation measures adopted

by the hotel sector include installing water-efficient devices and appliances (e.g.,

using low-flow toilets and showerheads and installing infrared-activated faucets),

implementing towel/bed linen reuse programs, fixing leaks in toilets and baths

regularly, watering grass and plants early in the morning and late at night to limit

evaporation, recycling the gray water (water from washing vegetables and fruits) for

grass irrigation and monitoring the water consumption in each department to track

usage.
2.a.c Waste Management Measures The hotel industry is regarded as a major

contributor to greenhouse gas emissions by generating a huge amount of wet waste

(e.g., garden waste, food waste and cooking oil waste) and dry waste (e.g., cardboard,

plastics, cans/metal, linen, paper and other garbage) that is transferred into landfills.

Consequently, hotel operators began adopting various practices that aim at reducing

hotel wastes as follows: separating hotel wastes by using clearly labeled containers

and colored bins for collecting recyclables, purchasing products containing recycled

content, collecting organic kitchen wastes separately for soil composting, purchasing

food items and cleaning chemicals in bulk, adopting a donation program (donating

food leftovers and linens to charity) and grinding the remaining guest soaps to use as

laundry detergent.. According to Baynova, the practical aspects of achieving

sustainability in the hospitality industry are extremely complex. On the one hand,

there is the issue of reevaluating every process that supports the hotel business, from

amenities to distribution, while also seeking means of creating sustainable luxuries.

On the other hand, the cost of this process is a major issue.

The conceptual framework presented in Figure 2 was developed to illustrate the link

between green hotel practices and environment-related SDGs and associated targets

that will be investigated in terms of environmental management representatives’

perceptions in order to identify to what extent green hotel practices, implemented in

certified four and five Green Star hotels, contribute to achieving sustainable

development goals, especially those related to environmental sustainability.

 Theoretical Framework

Architecture approaches

Self-sufficient strategies. In future, a high priority will be placed on self-sufficient buildings

and lifestyles (Ali et al., 2012; Greer, 2009; Priday, 2020). In addition to all the

energy-efficient strategies with heating and cooling systems, architects might inspire

additional methods of thinking concerning water supply and food production.

Refocusing on green spaces. We require physical interaction with living plants for our

mental health (Constable, 2020; Makhno, 2020). Consequently, planting our gardens,

terraces, and implementing green roof systems have multiple advantages for sustainability

(Hui, 2011; Specht et al., 2014; Thomaier et al., 2015) and can create a better environment for

users

Better air quality. Improving health through strategies such as greater natural light,

improved ventilation, fewer toxic substances, and incorporating plants and other natural

materials is necessary (Constable, 2020; Lubell, 2020). In this context, it is critical to design

buildings with skylights, large windows, rooftop terraces, balconies, and courtyards to avoid

sick-building syndrome and enhance air quality (Guy & Farmer, 2001; Roaf, Crichton, &

Nicol, 2010)
References

Bader, E. Sustainable hotel business practices. J Retail Leisure Property 5, 70–77 (2005).

https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.rlp.5090008

De, C. J., & Crosbie, M. J. (2001). Time-saver standards for building types. New York:

McGraw-Hill.

Philippines. National Building Code of the Philippines. Metro-Manila, Philippines : Dept. of

Public Works, Transportation and Communications, 1977

Neufert, E., Neufert, P., Baiche, B., & Walliman, N. (2000). Architects' data. Oxford:

Blackwell Science.

Aleksandrovna, Troyanskaya Marija; Nazhmidenovna, Dugalova Gulnar; Mizamgalievna,

Adietova Elmira; Rysty, Berstembayeva; Gulmira, Bekmagambetova; et al.Academy

of Strategic Management Journal, suppl. Special Issue 2; Arden Vol. 20, (2021):

1-16.