[ANALYSIS] The listing of Hotel101 on Nasdaq and its trading fate 

Despite long in the making and carefully conceived with a strategy that was expected to work well, it seems that the fate of Hotel101, in the electronic stock exchange market in New York especially known for its technology-focused companies following its listing debut last July 1, will be like how its initial trading performance looked like: a disappointment. 

Walking back to its concept, Hotel101 Global Holdings Corporation or Hotel101 develops and manages condotels, which are structured basically like condominium projects, with individual unit owners. 

The difference is that unit owners can arrange short-term rentals of their units to paying guests, who are further accorded with full-service staff and amenities such as a check-in desk, housekeeping, and concierge services like in traditional hotels. Likewise, owners and guests are accorded access to athletic resources such as tennis courts and swimming pools.

With this business model, the sources of revenue of Hotel101 will come from room sales and from recurring income generated out of its day-to-day hotel-like regular service operations.

The unique feature of Hotel101 is that it is pioneering in building and operating condotels that has a standard room measurement of 21 square meters. And while they are sold individually to investors, it manages them as part of a larger hotel pool wherein owners earn a revenue share based on the overall performance of the pooled rooms, rather than just their individual unit’s occupancy. 

Operational status and plans

Hotel101 is headquartered in Singapore. It has presently nine properties in the Philippines in various stages of development and operation. This includes Hotel101-Manila now operating in Pasay City within SM’s Mall of Asia area and the fully sold-out Hotel101-Fort located in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) close to SM Aura and Market Market. The rest of the properties are strategically located in Boracay, Cebu, Palawan, Bohol, Libis, and Davao.

Overseas, it has also three international condotel projects under development. The first is in Niseko, Japan. The second is in Madrid, Spain, which is reportedly strategically located near the new Formula 1 circuit. The third is in Los Angeles in the US.

For its medium-term plans, Hotel101 aims to expand in 25 countries and derive 95% of its revenue from overseas.

In this regard, Hotel101 has partnered with the Horizon Group, the Saudi-based investment company led by Khaled and Abdulrahman Sharbatly and Wael Daqal, to develop up to 10,000 rooms starting 2026. The estimated project value is US$2.5 billion. The initial five project locations are in Medina, Riyadh, Jeddah, Abha, and Alula. 

The long-term vision of Hotel101 is to have one million rooms across 100 countries by 2050. 

Listing performance and analysis 

Debuting under the ticker “HBNB” through a merger with JVSPAC Acquisition Corporation (JVSA), Hotel101 became the first Filipino-owned company ever to be listed and traded on the Nasdaq.

JVSA is a Nasdaq-listed company as a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), often referred to as a “blank check” company, intentionally created with the explicit purpose of raising capital through an initial public offering (IPO) to acquire, merge with, or invest in one or more private businesses, thereby taking them public without an IPO in the traditional sense. As previously reported, too, JVSA has raised $57.5 million for the purpose.  

Nevertheless, opposite to the exciting listing idea, the shares of Hotel101 disappointingly tanked upon listing. From its IPO reference price of $10 per share that was established on the ringing of the opening bell at the Nasdaq Stock Exchange on June 27, 2025, Hotel101 or HBNB shares dropped nearly 70% lower to $3.28 at closing time on its first day of listing on July 1.  Since then, it has been lingering below its established session’s high of $4.17 per share. 

Andro Leo I. Beltran, vice president of FirstMetroSec of the Metrobank Group, shared some of the reasons what their firm believed to have led to its weak market performance.  From what they have picked up, there is a lackluster demand for SPAC mergers, particularly those in the travel and hospitality sector. Also, while JVSA was reported earlier to have a war chest of $57.5 million for the purpose, there seemed to be a high redemption rates by JVSA investors ahead of the merger, reducing available capital. In addition, they feel that this unlocking of insider shares added to the downward pressure on the stock.

Joel de la Peña, market strategist and chief trader of H.E. Bennett Securities Incorporated, found something missing in the strategy of listing successfully on the Nasdaq. DD should have strived to have its shares included in the main index of our local bourse. As such, it will become one of the potential stocks that will be included in the portfolio of big investment funds. This will also boost the market chances of Hotel101 among overseas stock hunters.

Stockbroker Rene de los Reyes and his firm, Abacus Capital & Investment Corporation, shared more pointed observations. There is certainly a disconnect perceived by investors between the published “deemed equity value” of $2.3 billion and current investor sentiment. With its 234.03 million shares, the market cap of Hotel101 is only about US$767.6 million or roughly one-third of $2.3 billion.  

In addition, given that the original stockholders of the SPAC owned 6.6 million shares prior to the merger, the attributable value of Hotel101 or HBNB to DD is $747.3 million or about P17.94 per share. This is 40% higher than the current share price of the latter but nowhere near what was previously implied and is therefore — as they concluded — unlikely to be a near term catalyst for the HBNB shares.

Moreover, while the published plans are not impossible, the market has not forgotten that the management of Hotel101 and DD had been long on promises before. In 2015, their vision was to have 100 City Malls by 2020. Not to disregard the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have only 43 branches to show to be standing and operating at the end of 2024. At such rate, it may take them more than 10 years to eventually reach the target.  

Management also disclosed in 2020 that it will have 1,200 MerryMart stores by 2030. So far, it has opened 26 branches since then. This means that they will have the daunting task of building close to 180 stores per year all the way to 2030.  

Along these lines, it is feared that the enticing plans of Hotel101 together with its one million rooms across 100 countries by 2050 may just turn out to be like its trading debut on the Nasdaq: a disappointment. – Rappler.com

(The article has been prepared for general circulation for the reading public and must not be construed as an offer, or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments whether referred to herein or otherwise.  Moreover, the public should be aware that the writer or any investing parties mentioned in the column may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of their reported or mentioned investment activity.   You may reach the writer at densomera@yahoo.com)