Inside Mariana Zobel de Ayala’s curious mind

Long before Mariana Zobel de Ayala had to think about tenant mixes, parking flows, lighting levels or the next big global brand to bring to the Philippines, she knew Ayala’s malls the way many Filipinos did: by the memories she made in them.

In an exclusive interview with Inquirer Property, the eighth-generation Zobel scion recalled practically growing up in Glorietta, where Glico’s was part of her childhood and where her mother was a tenant. Naturally, she spent plenty of time at her mother’s store, making the mall a familiar part of her early years.

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Today, Zobel de Ayala is looking at those complexes from a completely different vantage point. The spaces she once knew as a child are now the same spaces she studies down to the smallest details, from how people arrive and where they park to what might excite them enough to come back. As senior vice president and head of Leasing and Hospitality at Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), she is now helping steer the next chapter of a business built around a deceptively difficult question: What will make people continue to choose Ayala?

Interesting challenge

This is exactly the kind of question that continues to feed Zobel de Ayala’s curiosity.

“I find the psychology of people and the psychology of decision-making interesting. The idea of building assets—whether it’s malls, hotels, or offices, wherein you need to really consider what drives people to make decisions to choose Ayala over others—is a challenge that I find really interesting,” she told Inquirer.

And she looks almost everywhere for clues. In fact, Zobel de Ayala easily talks about Facebook and TikTok’s algorithm in the same breath as portfolio data, treating both as equally serious tools for understanding how Filipinos live, dine, shop and travel. For her, the numbers and social media chatter work best together.

“I’m a big believer of market research. But I also spend a lot of time on TikTok and Facebook because I feel it’s part of my job to understand what people are saying and thinking,” Zobel de Ayala explained.

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“I also spend a lot of time with data, so I see the sales growth in the malls. We see certain (growth of) some brands. We see trends come and go. And I think that data is really helpful. But it can’t be data alone, right? You have to also layer that with listening to people,” she said.

Multi-billion redevelopment plan

Those data and consumer insights are now feeding into some of ALI’s biggest retail and hospitality bets in years.

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For its malls alone, ALI is investing P17.5 billion to refresh eight major properties through 2028, putting its read of the Filipino consumer into action on a much bigger scale.

The first P13-billion phase covers Glorietta, Greenbelt, TriNoma and Ayala Center Cebu. TriNoma’s integration as a transit-oriented hub and upgrades at Ayala Center Cebu are largely complete, while work on Glorietta and Greenbelt continues. Greenbelt 1, meanwhile, is being rebuilt completely for a 2028 reopening. Another P4.5 billion will go to Abreeza, Cloverleaf, Fairview Terraces and MarQuee Mall, with phased reopenings continuing through 2028.

Exciting concepts

But Filipinos will not have to wait that long to see what is next.

Greenbelt 2 has already had a soft opening, with a full public launch seen by November. Above it, the former Greenbelt Townhomes are being transformed into a new nightlife cluster, which will host a playful mix of tenants including Mamacita, a Chinese mahjong bar-café, and an Irish pub, among others.

Elsewhere, TriNoma is getting an expansion and new tenants. Ayala Malls Nuvali is targeted to open by November, while Ayala Malls Gatewalk in Mandaue City follows in December, anchored by Cebu’s first IKEA store.

“We had to think long and hard about how we were going to set ourselves apart or give people a reason to come visit us. That’s why we engaged in a partnership with IKEA to bring the first IKEA to Cebu, and that to me is an example of a catalytic anchor,” she said.

By yearend, Ayala Land expects to have 40 shopping malls. The mall at the Parklinks estate along the C5 corridor is expected to open early next year, while more provincial malls are being lined up in the pipeline.

Zobel de Ayala also revealed that they are working to bring four “widely recognizable” global brands to the Philippines. This effort is part of a wider push to give Ayala Malls a more distinctive tenant mix and offer shoppers concepts they cannot easily find elsewhere.

For her, cultivating long-term relationships with global retailers has become increasingly important as competition for the Filipino consumer intensifies.

Exporting Filipino hospitality

On the hospitality front, Mandarin Oriental Manila will open to the public on Dec. 14, marking the return of the luxury hotel brand to Makati.

Zobel de Ayala described the reopening as “the return of real luxury hospitality to Makati,” bringing back another familiar name that holds many memories for longtime patrons.

She also sees strong potential to expand Ayala Land’s homegrown Seda and Huni brands across established and emerging tourism destinations in the country. Huni offers a more affordable and practical option for adventure travelers, while Seda, she added, could eventually venture overseas as well.

“Filipino hospitality is exportable and recognizable, so that would be a dream,” she said.

Feeling at home

For all the talk of data, global brands, investments, and ambitious new projects, Zobel de Ayala’s hope for every Ayala mall and hotel is surprisingly simple: she wants people to feel at home.

“At home—I would love for people to feel thought about. I always use the word thoughtful. I think it’s so important that all aspects of the experience within a mall or hotel should feel very thoughtful,” she said.

Perhaps that is what “thoughtful” ultimately means for Zobel de Ayala: creating places where people feel considered, comfortable and welcome enough to return. She grew up feeling at home in one of those places. Now, she is helping make sure the next generation can, too.