Gwapotel
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Gwapotel is a portmanteau of gwapo, a Filipino term which means good-looking, and hotel. The word is used by Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando to a worker's inn he founded in the old refurbished 4-story building which formerly houses the National Power Corporation located along Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila.
Presently, it has been renamed as the MMDA Worker's Inn, and is in operation until August of 2017.
First Gwapotel
On September 6, 2007, Chairman Fernando said that the “Gwapotel Inn” (Overnight stay: P20 a night, P5 a bath) run by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has become a big hit with transients due to safe and decent lodgings. 40,000 transients have registered in the 4-story “hotel” on Erano Drive, Port Area, Manila, since its May 14, 2007 opening. The 710-bed inn, painted in Mr. Fernando's signature pink and blue, posted an average occupancy rate of 73%, or 519 guests daily. The overnighters share a common sleeping area with double-deck beds.[1]
Under the chairmanship of MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino, they renovated and upgraded the Gwapotel in 2015, adding more amenities, improvements, and CCTV cameras.
In 2017, Chairman Danilo Lim closed the inn, citing outdated building standards that rendered the building unsafe, and that the building was borrowed from the National Power Corporation. While they have expressed interest in rehabilitating the building to continue operations, no current plans or a timeline to reopen the inn have been announced.[2]
Second Gwapotel
On December 23, 2007, Chairman Bayani Fernando announced the building of a 2nd Gwapotel: a 3-story lodging house at Tondo, Manila, in the abandoned 2,800-sq.m. Emmanuel Hospital at Jose Abad Santos St. Renovation started in January 2008, and is expected to be completed by May 1, 2008 (coinciding with Labor Day). [3]
Unfortunately, this branch was closed down due to low occupancy, and its facilities were donated to various institutions. The area is now the agency's training barracks.
References
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4. [2]