Crowne Plaza captures strong market gains in meetings sector

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts sees strong gains in meetings demand, with a 44% increase in enrolled accounts for its IHG Business Edge, a tool that allows businesses an easier way to book hotels, said Joff Romoff, Vice President, Commercial, South East Asia & Korea, IHG Hotels & Resorts. He added that it has yielded impressive market share gains in 2021.

“Additionally, we have recently launched a few new enhancements to spur MICE growth, and that includes changes to IHG Rewards, our loyalty programme that allows clients to earn more points faster and use them in more ways than ever before,” said Romoff.

Alongside these positive developments, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts is also gearing up its expansion in Asia Pacific, tapping on the pent-up demand for the meetings sector in key cities. Following on the heels of newly opened Crowne Plaza Phu Quoc Starbay are the upcoming openings for Crowne Plaza Vinh Yen City Centre in Vietnam, Thailand’s Crowne Plaza Bangkok Grand Sukhumvit, and Crowne Plaza Melbourne Carlton in Australia, among others. 

These follow other launches for Crowne Plaza Shanghai Hongqiao, the 100th property for the brand in China, and four Crowne Plaza openings in Australia, making their appearances in Sydney, Adelaide and Tasmania. 

Romoff expressed his enthusiasm for the “positive signs in the return of discretionary business travel and group bookings”. “In our region, we are beginning to see demand in markets which have eased travel restrictions such as Singapore and Thailand, and it is great news that borders will reopen in markets like Vietnam and Malaysia soon.”

The Crowne Plaza brand DNA lends itself to the needs of Asia Pacific’s modern business traveller by offering a purposeful design that blends flexible spaces to work, meet and relax. As a result, Crowne Plaza has received wide-ranging interest from owners, according to Serena Lim, Vice President, Development, South East Asia and Korea, IHG Hotels & Resorts. Its signature Plaza Workspace, which made its debut in Crowne Plaza Phu Quoc Starbay has proved to be popular with its open flexible spaces catering for co-working, dining and brainstorming needs. 

Crowne Plaza’s main MICE focus is on small- and medium-sized meetings, said Romoff, and the brand has received interest from corporate groups requesting for meetings catering for 50 pax or less. He shared that IHG’s Meet with Confidence programme provides creative and flexible solutions that planners are looking for, backed by the assurance of its IHG Clean Promise.

Globally, there are more than 400 open Crowne Plaza hotels, and over 90 in the pipeline. Across Asia Pacific, there are more than 160 open Crowne Plaza hotels, and over 75 in the pipeline.