Carlos Chan offers modern comforts at the inn

Carlos Chan has often been called Mr. Oishi. Then he became the cool J. Co guy. Now, you can call him the Jin Jiang Innkeeper..

Jin Jiang Inn was  launched in the Philippines by Carlos Chan who is one of the partners in Hotel of Asia, along with Edgar “Injap” Sia of Mang Inasal fame and Simon Paz. Hotel of Asia owns the master franchise of Jin Jiang Inn Philippines.

Why should this taipan — who famously established Oishi, the top snack food manufacturing company in China and the Philippines, and made  J. Co, Indonesia’s famous doughnut, the bestselling brand in the Philippines as well — venture into the hotel industry?

Call it vision. And the desire to help boost tourism.

“I see the need in the Philippines for more business boutique hotels that would offer value for money,” Chan explains.

“My partners and I agreed these should be reasonably priced, located in strategic places, and be full-service hotels with spacious rooms and modern comforts.” Which exactly describes Jin Jiang Inn.

First, they opened Jin Jiang Inn on San Miguel Avenue in  Ortigas in 2015 with 95 spacious rooms and suites, three meeting rooms and the Five Spice Asian bistro of the Ramada Group,  offering classic favorites from the world’s oldest Chinatown and colorful flavors of modern fusion cuisine.

Then came Jin Jiang Inn Makati on Pasay Road (right beside the Swatch & Swatch building), with 59 spacious rooms and suites with the famous Choi Garden as its franchised resto. Himself a gourmet, Chan chose restaurants which are already renowned for their good food.

Next is Jin Jiang Inn Boracay which is programmed for construction soon.

“Jin Jiang Inn  is positioned to feature a strong housekeeping brand that is mindful of guests’ convenience. Facilities are rather simple and straightforward, addressing the basic needs of the traveler,” adds Chan.

Comfort and convenience are the key words of Jin Jiang Inn which is one of the well-known brands of Jin Jiang Hotels, the leading hotel group in China, principally engaged in hotel operations, management and franchising. The group has more than 1,566 hotels in over 280 cities, providing 360,000 rooms across a wide range of full-service and select-service hotels. Included in the group are Waldorf Astoria and Peace Hotel in Shanghai.

Hotel 101 Management Corporation has secured the master franchise from Jin Jiang Hotels to operate the Jin Jiang Inn brand in the Philippines.

Jin Jiang Inn Ortigas and Makati both have business center facilities, daily housekeeping, airport shuttle service, 24-hour security, parking and meeting rooms. Each room or suite has a hot and cold shower, 46” flatscreen LED TV, minibar, safety deposit box and coffee/tea facilities. To say that the rooms and suites are spacious is an understatement. They are huge.And so are the bathrooms, which are perhaps even bigger than some five-star bathrooms in Metro Manila. “I hope our Jin Jiang Inns will help fulfill the needs of  tourists in our country,” says Chan, who is our special envoy to China.  “I also hope it will attract more tourists from China where this hotel brand is well-known.”

Promoting the Philippines in China has always been a passion of Chan. In the ads for Oishi in China, he highlighted the scenic beauty of Bohol and the Loboc Children’s Choir, as well as the Panglao white sand beaches. At the same time, he has been instrumental in strengthening Philippine-Chinese ties and in opening the eyes of Filipinos to the beauty of the Chinese countryside.

Chan long ago appreciated the often unseen rural areas of China when, in the mid 1980s, he started going to China “to study their system.” In a country where every company  was then state-owned, he looked at the possibilities open to him as a businessman. This, at a time when no one cared to go to China after the Tiananmen Square incident. 

Then in 1992, Deng Xiao Ping came to Shanghai. “The market opened. I had been waiting for that door to open,” Chan said in an interview with Philippine STAR in 2010. “Mao solved the problem of oppression, while Deng solved the problem of poverty. Deng was a pragmatist.”

In 1993, Chan started manufacturing Oishi in Shanghai under Liwayway  China Company Ltd. The rest is snack-food history. Today, Oishi is a familiar brand even in countries like Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand  and Indonesia where there are Oishi factories.

From prawn cracker man to doughnut guy to hotelier, Carlos Chan, at 74, is still a hardworking guy, even if he is already a Forbes lister (number 27 among the Philippines’ 50 richest).

When he needs to rest, there is always a comfortable room at the inn.

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Room rates start at P3,800 for Jin Jiang Inn Ortigas, and P4,000 for Jin Jiang Inn  Makati. For inquiries and reservations, call 576-8557 or 0917-6361111.

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