Marco Polo Plaza Cebu has set its sights on growing its corporate business segment by leveraging the expansion of the province’s airport and yet-unknown attractions.
General manager John Connelly wants to increase the segment – now mainly domestic-based and accounting for 15 per cent of the hotel’s business – to a more international audience and 30 per cent of business by 2019.
Connelly has concrete plans to increase the hotel’s corporate business
The expansion of the hotel’s market share would also make it less susceptible and more resilient to events such as the Marawi war and imposition of martial law in Mindano.
Playing a key role in improving the hotel’s corporate business is the expansion of Mactan Cebu International Airport. The airport also plans to include more destinations such as Los Angeles (Philippine Airlines), Istanbul (Turkish Airlines) and destinations in Europe (Finnair) over the next year.
“MICE participants are getting a bit tired of Thailand and they want to explore new places like Cebu,” the latter of which is now more accessible with direct flights, said Connelly on the sidelines of the first Business Matters forum organised by the three Marco Polo Hotels in the Philippines.
He pointed out that within Cebu City, there are suitable business events and teambuilding venues such as Kool Adventure Camp, Celosia Flower Farm and the Temple of Leah.
When asked what his plans were, Connelly indicated that he would participate in business events-related shows such as IT&CMA in Bangkok in September and IMEX in Las Vegas in October.
He added that Marco Polo Plaza Cebu also now has the Cvent software app which connects the hotel with a majority of meeting planners in the US.
