So you are wondering how to OPEN a resort in the Philippines?
Cool idea, great lifestyle, and REALLY FUN but you still need to look at the numbers first and have a beach resort business plan if you want to be successful in the Philippines.

Some Example Numbers when you plan to Open a Resort in the Philippines
Say you have 20 rooms, and for your resort business plan you are charging P2,000 per night based on double occupancy. Just for the sake of discussion let’s say you average 50% occupancy year-round. So 10 rooms every night @ P2,000. That’s P20,000 every night. WOW. Good money in a country where the minimum wage is P300/day.
BUT, In order to get that kind of traffic you need to OFFER MORE! Guests like a place that takes care of ALL their needs. (Plus you MAKE MORE MONEY)
Open a Restaurant in the Philippines
After you open a resort in the Philippines, why not build a restaurant to go along with it, two people eating twice a day will spend about P1,200 per day. Multiply this times 10 rooms and Bang, another P12,000 income. However, the reality is that maybe half the people will eat 2 meals there so cut this in half. P6,000 daily is still a nice number.

Remember, you need some staff to run the place after you build a restaurant.
A cook, a couple of waitresses, and someone to wash the dishes so probably 4 staff FOR EACH SHIFT! Year-round, 6 am till 9 pm minimum is two shifts and the bar needs to be open late so at least 8 Staff for a great restaurant setup. During the low season, no customers, and they are sitting on their butts, getting paid. Nothing you can do really. If you let them go then you will have to hire & train new ones when high season comes.
Also, someone also has to go to the market every day and major shopping in the city every week just to keep up the stock levels. Be careful, too much stock and it goes bad, too little and customers are disappointed.
Our rule is we can NEVER say ‘OUT OF STOCK “!
This restaurant setup takes up space, however, a nice area in a prime location, well decorated, maybe 40 to 50 square meters total with the kitchen hidden outback. The cost of set up with tables, chairs, appliances, cutlery, stock, etc. will be easily P600,000. Average sales, year-round, will be about P6,000 gross per day minus the stock, gas, electric, wages, etc. Your profit is about 25%.
You’ll see a positive return on your investment in about 1 year at 50% occupancy.
Pretty good numbers.
Open A Dive Shop
Ok, what happens if you set up a DIVE SHOP? Suddenly you have 2 people in a room that dive 3 times a day @ P1200/dive. That’s P7,200 EXTRA per day per ROOM! Ten rooms with two divers make P72,000 per day But again, let’s cut this in half for reality. That can still be P36,000 each day from diving.

Ok, let’s do the math on this. The floor space needed is about the same space as a restaurant but the dive shop can be tucked off to the side somewhere with a compressor room hidden outback.
Now, Staff this Operation
- The Resort reception staff can also act as a Dive Shop secretary so no need to hire.
- Your regular maintenance staff can easily learn to run the compressor, drive the boat, and maintain the gear.
- No pay for the instructor as he is on commission.
- Dive Master, almost the same thing. Small salary, and pay per head per diver. So, no divers, no expenses. This is a good thing.
Start out with 10 sets of gear, a big compressor so you can expand and a used fiberglass boat with a NEW outboard motor. This stuff is not cheap but P2,000,000 will give you a great start.
In this case, your profit is about 50% of your income. With this kind of cash flow, you will return your investment in under a year if you have the divers.
Now you also have a boat for snorkeling trips and beach BBQs. More income potential!
Now all these numbers are hypothetical but you get my meaning. Diving is a HUGE potential income resource, so don’t pass it up when you are considering opening a resort in the Philippines.
Adding a dive shop is easier and cheaper than adding more rooms. The resort does not even need to be on the beach. As long as you have dive sites close by and a place to keep your boat then this will work.
Marketing Your Dive Resort
Modify your website to attract divers. Offer to provide diving for neighboring resorts and you will make money and attract more customers for your resort.
They will certainly eat at your restaurant!
Go to the big dive shows in the US and Europe. The Philippines Department of Tourism has a great booth at all of these and you can join for cheap.
Start Renting SCOOTERS!
Your customers will want to go exploring! Make it easy and FUN. These new Automatic Scooters are Great! They’re easy to drive and cheap to buy.
I always prefer Chinese copies. Try to find one that is an exact mechanical copy of a Japanese production bike. This will make it easier to find parts.
As always, how will the numbers work?
Let’s say you pay P30,000 for a bike and rent them for P300/day. That’s only 100 days to get your money back.
Since the average guest will put less than 30km per day you will have your money back in 3,000km.
Rent them out till they reach about 9,000km, That’s 200% of your money. Then sell them and buy new ones (less maintenance).
Tips – You will need someone that is mechanically inclined to do the minor repairs & upkeep but your maintenance & dive shop guys should be able to handle this.
Have a ready list of what you will charge for damages when the guest falls down because they will!
Set Up a Spa Room
If you are in an area that has independent, reliable massage services you do not need to hire a masseuse, just provide the room. The Massage service will send the masseuse and you will get about P150 per person just for providing the room for an hour. One room with two beds, Air Conditioned, and quiet will provide your guests with a tranquil relaxing experience, and P300 pesos per hour is not bad money!
Wrapping Up
Any one of these is considered weak as an individual business but put them together and your success is limited only by your marketing.
Now you might be thinking…
“OK, these are really good tips, but what should I NOT DO?”
I’m glad you asked…
What NOT to Do
Stay away from these unless you are a specialist in these sports or want your resort to be marketed for these specific pursuits.
Anything that requires your guests to do any physical exertion. Bicycles, Kayaks, Paddle Boards, etc are expensive and will VERY rarely get rented. Everyone talks about exercising but 30 minutes in the hot sun pedaling or paddling will change their minds.
Any boat with a motor on it is a bad idea for a rental business. Jet skis and motorboats are dangerous in the hands of untrained persons. They will super abuse them and run into EVERYTHING and each other.
Everyone is fearless as the water is a soft landing. Not so good for your equipment. Leave this to someone that does this as a specialty.
Likewise, a boat with a sail on it, like windsurfers and sailboats, means you will need to rescue them. Sailing WITH the wind is cool and FUN but coming back takes skill.
Ask me how I know.
Come See Me in Puerto Galera and Learn More
If you are REALLY SERIOUS and wanting to know more how to open a resort in the Philippines, come and see me at BADLADZ. I do not mind sharing my experiences and knowledge of working with several kinds of businesses and what I’ve learned from my fellow entrepreneurs here in the Philippines. We can talk for hours and have a few laughs in the process.
Cheers,
Sean
P.S. – If you can’t make it out to Puerto Galera to have a chat and would like to know more about Business in the Philippines, consider checking out my book on Amazon – Making Pesos: Business in the Philippines – Lessons Learned, Rules to Live By and Business Opportunities in the Philippines.
Editors Note: This blog post was originally published March 27, 2015, and has been updated with revised and additional content.
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