ASIAN corporate groups are now on the target board of Australia-based hotel operator Mantra Group, which has been on a property expansion sprint in recent months.
Speaking to TTGmice e-Weekly, the company’s executive director of sales, marketing and distribution, Kent Davidson, said the group’s existing and upcoming properties are ready to cater to the corporate market.
Said Davidson: “We have 110 properties in Australia and New Zealand and two in Indonesia today. Properties under the Peppers and Mantra brands are suitable for corporate groups and travellers, and most come with meeting facilities.
“For instance, hotels and resorts under the Peppers brand, which are luxurious, built unique to the destination and offer experiences that are indulgent and experiential, can appeal to conferences and incentives.”
An example of a suitable property is Peppers Moonah Links Resort in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsular. The 83-key resort comes with two 19-hole championship golf courses, seven meeting spaces, three boardrooms and a 110-seat restaurant, among other facilities.
“We are already in touch with global PCOs but I believe we can do more to reach out to MICE buyers in Asia. We could perhaps have an office in Singapore,” he said, adding that sales missions to Asia will “diversify from leisure to corporate markets, especially in major business hubs like Singapore, Jakarta and Hong Kong”.
“We have plans to make it possible for our corporate clients to view our venues, meeting benefits and packages online and then book,” revealed Davidson.
“Buyers in Australia and New Zealand are already familiar with Mantra Group and its brands, and we want that same level of awareness in Asia. There is an obvious need to bring our properties to Asia so people in that region can see what Mantra properties are all about,” he added.
Mantra Group first expanded beyond Australia and New Zealand in late-2012 with Mantra Nusa Dua in Bali, which offers a ballroom, six meetings rooms and a boardroom. The Indonesian island will gain a second Mantra Group property with the opening of Peppers Sentosa Seminyak in March.
“We are talking to potential partners in South-east Asia for our expansion in the region, and as much as possible we will try to have properities with conference facilities,” he said.
“We have even more properties in the pipeline for Indonesia and details will be out soon. Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are next on our list, and personally I would love to have a downtown hotel in Singapore and perhaps a BreakFree (a cheap and chic label, with the first in Asia opening in Bali this October) resort on Sentosa island,” he added.
