As travel and tourism go full throttle, this husband-and-wife team is so ready to take on the world. But unlike their competitors, they offer something fresh and a tad different from the ordinary. And these features, which are anchored on their love for the environment, have made their hotel chain stand out.
By ALEX Y. VERGARA
Photography by MAU AGUASIN
Hair and make-up by JEROME CHANG
At the end of the day, it pays to go green. Now that travel and tourism have roared back to life after nearly three years in the doldrums, the husband-and-wife team of Don Bagatsing and Alessandra Atienza, the couple behind the Eco Hotel chain, are, like almost everyone else in the hospitality business, up on their toes catering to the needs and whims of revenge travelers.
But while not a few of their competitors are offering similar attractions and amenities, Don and Alessandra, thanks to the choices they’ve made even before the pandemic, have managed to stand out and break away from the pack by offering something relatively new, refreshing and even surprising with every property they own and manage.
And they have no less than five properties under the flagship brand Eco Hotel alone — Containers and Cabins by Eco Hotel, both in Tagaytay, Villas by Eco Hotel in Batangas, Suites by Eco Hotel in El Nido and Kaliraya Surf Kamp by Eco Hotel in Laguna. They’re also behind the growing number of Pops District, a series of commercial spaces that they’ve developed and leased out to retailers, service providers and restaurateurs in such tourist hotspots as El Nido and Abanico, both in Palawan, and Siargao.
Visually woven
All of these existing properties adhere to environment-friendly practices and standards that are woven visually into a number of bespoke and repurposed furniture, accent pieces and artworks. Alessandra, a seasoned real estate executive with the heart of an artist, chose most of these pieces, and sometimes even designs and paints them herself.
Rooms at Containers, for instance, are literally made of refurbished and reinforced shipping containers – the kind that hold cargo and are eventually piggybacked on trucks. Lights are clustered and turned into chandeliers using repurposed wine bottles, while old pieces of wood from demolished houses have found new uses, including as canvases to some of Alessandra’s masterpieces.
While both Containers and nearby Cabins put emphasis on the environment, the two properties look and feel totally different from each other. Villas in Mataas na Kahoy, Lipa, on the other hand, is composed of a series of refurbished old houses, offering the public a totally different experience. And that, the couple declares, is one of the Eco Hotel chain’s main come-ons since no two properties are alike.
“In a way, they’re statement hotels,” says Alessandra, daughter of former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza and wife Beng. “But being preachy about the environment, especially to our guests, is not our style. We don’t have a series of dos and don’ts. The most we have are little reminders in the form of artfully written notes on the walls.”
Rather than talk about the importance of taking care of the environment, the couple and, by extension, their staff “imbibe it,” adds Don, grandson of another former Manila mayor, Ramon Bagatsing.
Alessandra Atienza 
Don Bagatsing
Not the usual love story
Their love story is also a tad unusual. Coming both from unsuccessful relationships with growing children of their own – he has three and she has two (it would have been three as well, she says, but she lost one child) – they met a little over 13 years ago at a sports event where they both competed in a triathlon.
No initial sparks flew, at least, not in Alessandra’s case, but the two soon found themselves being drawn to each other day by day. Since their parents weren’t exactly keen about the relationship-partly due to the long political enmity between the Atienzas and the Bagatsings the couple persisted on seeing each other until they, in Don’s words, finally “eloped” by hying off to Siargao.
“We were too old to even have asked, but, of course, no matter how old you get, you always crave and want that blessing from your parents,” says a wistful Alessandra.
Cookie cutter it isn’t
“As you’ve said it yourself, each property is unique,” he adds, referring to our earlier observation. “We are not a cookie cutter or box-type hotel chain. And guests, especially regulars who have also tried our other properties, appreciate this. Is the entire venture profitable? Yes! But we’d like to believe that it’s profit with a purpose.”
He continues: “Our properties are very intimate and, in many ways, extensions of our own home. Their unique quality extends to guests’ dining experiences, as we try to present them dishes and ingredients that are local to the area.”
Sustainability is also woven into Eco Hotel’s practices. Long before refillable bottles became fashionable, for instance, the hotel chain had already stopped giving away plastic water bottles and amenities contained in disposable sachets to guests.
Such environmental measures go beyond mere aesthetics. So far, 10 percent of Cabins, for instance, run on solar power. A rainwater catchment collects water for watering and landscaping purposes. “Our dependence on solar power can be expanded in the coming years,” says Alessandra.
And thanks to investments they made early on, acquiring bits and pieces of property in various parts of the country – no less than 200 hectares in total – Don and Alessandra have already set their sights on building additional eco-friendly hotels and strip malls in such destinations as San Vicente in Palawan, Dolores and Candelaria, both in Quezon, and Aklan.
Their concern for the environment extends to another brand, a chain of less fancy hotels with smaller and more affordable rooms in Bonifacio Global City, Siargao and El Nido called Dormitels.
In a way, they’re statement hotels. But being preachy about the environment, especially to our guests, is not our style. We don’t have a series of dos and don’ts.
The most we have are little reminders in the form of artfully written notes on the walls.”
– Don Bagatsing
Dream project
After decades in real estate development, Alessandra decided to bow out and, together with Don, also an entrepreneur, started conceptualizing her dream project. Both were born and bred in Manila – he grew up in Sampaloc, while she was raised in San Andres, which, says Don proudly, explains why “we can easily deal with people from all walks of life.” He also attributes their hunger and fascination for the great outdoors to their big city upbringing.
“We’re both nature lovers and even back then found reasons to travel at every opportunity,” says Don, a former economics professor and the company’s president and chief financial officer. Since they spent quite a sum on hotel stays in the countryside, they eventually decided to put their respective backgrounds and experiences to good use by building their own hotel chain.
“We complement each other,” Alessandra, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer, adds. While Don is the “macro,” whose vision for the company, his wife says, has also made him its “chief future officer,” Alessandra is the “micro,” whose energy, passion and attention to detail remain unmatched.
Although both were born into politics, they each discovered while growing up that it’s not their cup of tea. Don did dabble for a while in local politics, becoming at one point a councilor of Manila, but all that is behind him now. Apart from basking in the outdoors, both enjoy sports, including recreational running, as seen in their fit bodies and glowing tans. They’re a team of two in everything they do.
“We work together and travel together,” Alessandra shares. “There’s never a night that we’re not together. Never talaga!”
They sometimes traveled together as a family when all their children were younger, but now, Don and Alessandra often travel by themselves as a couple. And when they do, they do away with the usual travel agents, tour packages and planned itineraries, choosing instead to rent a car, which they drive wherever in the world they are.
“At least, once a year for two weeks, we pack our bags, fly abroad and drive cross country. We’ve done that so far in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam,” says Don.
Thirteen years together as a couple raising a blended family, admittedly, is still a relatively short time for anyone to declare to the rest of the world that their marriage is a qualified success. But Don, a creature of habit, and Alessandra, the more adventurous of the two, have always managed to find ways to keep the union fresh and exciting – just like their properties. And doing so, they believe, will help carry them through together in the years and decades to come.
