A Journey of Discovery

In its journey to become the first homegrown Filipino hospitality brand, what is now known as Discovery Hospitality Corp. or DHC, owned by the Tiu family, can trace where it all started with its first hotel property in the then Ortigas Center in Pasig City—the Discovery Suites which opened on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 2000.

- MARIANNE GO

The now 25-year-old hotel offered a premium experience in Ortigas, providing a much-needed alternative from the then prime hotel location site of Makati.

Discovery Suites' long stay, serviced apartment concept sought to provide a temporary sanctuary, offering heartfelt hospitality for the international staff of the Asian Development Bank, the multinational financial institution that had relocated to a new and more spacious headquarters in Mandaluyong City in 1991 after outgrowing its former office complex along Roxas Blvd in Pasay City.

The success and popularity of Discovery Suites emboldened the budding group of investors led by the Tiu family to further expand their hospitality investments in another promising venture outside of Metro Manila and Luzon—this time in a hotel resort in Boracay Island—the Discovery Shores Boracay, which opened on March 20, 2007, and is now known simply as Discovery Boracay.

The gamble turned out to be a game changer in both instances, with more hotels and serviced apartments following Discovery's pioneering lead, resulting in more hospitality properties sprouting in the Ortigas Business District, and similarly in Boracay Island, attracting more upscale hotel developments such as the Shangri-La Hotels chain brand, thus bringing even more visitors to the island.