A series of asset enhancements, review of operation processes and service training is underway across properties of Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR), as the global hotel company seeks to improve its support for meeting planners who increasingly prioritise experiential events.
In an interview with TTGmice, Cinn Tan, MHR’s chief commercial officer, said meeting planners no longer judge a venue as a space for their events, but as a partner that can bring their ideas to life.
To win over such meeting planners, venues need to be flexible – something that could be challenging for hotel groups that have built efficiency through standardised procedures, according to Tan.
“We recognise the change and that MHR hotels need to present more than just cookie-cutter event offerings. If our hotels are able to deliver on customisation and personalisation for business events, we have a good chance of competing strongly in the high-value MICE space,” said Tan.
MHR is presently reviewing operations to allow hotel teams to offer out-of-the-box support, such as procedures for converting outdoor spaces into a unique venue for private gatherings and the curation of flexible banquet menus with room for customisation. It is also designing staff training to enable service for unique setups.
“Additionally, we are working with our teams to bring local experiences into our event offerings, such as local dishes for the banquet menu and sustainability activities with a local touch. We hope to inject wellness elements into our programmes too. Altogether, these ideas will help meeting planners elevate their programmes hosted at MHR properties,” Tan added.
Recent and ongoing asset enhancement projects have also taken the growing expectations for venue flexibility into consideration, shared Tan.
With the Grand Copthorne Waterfront in Singapore’s massive transformation in 2024, for example, event spaces were outfitted with cutting-edge technology, including wireless video signal transmission, laser projectors, and 2K to 4K high-resolution LED video walls, to support higher intensity production should the need arise.
“The meetings segment is something that we want to focus on, so whenever we upgrade or enhance our assets, we are committed to raising the quality of the meetings spaces. We would also consider how other spaces could be made flexible so as to support private events. Such transformable spaces include the hotel lobby, restaurants, the executive lounge, and the presidential suite,” said Tan.
MHR has 10 properties undergoing asset enhancements now.
While the overall cost of events is rising, Tan said hotels could still help meeting planners fulfil their experiential objectives “with some creative thinking”. And should the budget be “really out”, Tan said MHR could recommend other MHR properties in destinations that are a better fit in terms of pricing.
With 145 hotels across 80 destinations in the MHR portfolio, Tan believes that meeting planners will find something “suitable and exciting”.
