AS BANGKOK enters a period of relative peace following months of political unrest and a military coup in the first half of 2014, the city’s hotels are eager to win back confidence and business in the sector by trumpeting meeting promotions.

In addition to the 14 Baht Meeting Package launched in June (TTGmice e-Weekly, June 10, 2014), in which each additional guest after the first 10 attendees is charged only 14 baht (US$0.44), Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel has also launched the Rewarding Events offer.

The deal provides a choice between a one-night stay in a Deluxe Room or 3,000 baht in credit toward F&B or spa treatments for meeting planners who spend 250,000++ baht. MICE planners with higher spend at the hotel will be entitled to even more benefits.

Said Soo Oftana, director of sales & marketing at Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel: “We are seeing a positive trend with inquiries from Singapore, Hong Kong, India and the US after the curfew was lifted but demand volume is still very low and MICE inquiry volume is 20 per cent less compared with last year.

“We launched the new MICE promotion to keep our name in the market and also to keep our offer competitive with the market,” she added.

Other hotels noted for their MICE business have also joined the fray.

The Sukosol Bangkok has introduced a Residential Meeting Package that offers full-day meeting and accommodation packages at 3,050 baht per person (twin-sharing) and 4,700 baht (single occupancy), applicable for a minimum booking of 10 rooms per night, according to the hotel’s director of sales & marketing, Hisakazu Sato.

Full-day meeting packages are priced at 1,200 baht per person per day at Pullman Bangkok King Power, 1,600 baht per person per day at Dusit Thani Bangkok, and 1,800++ baht per person per day at Okura Prestige Bangkok, based on a media release from the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau highlighting events-related deals in the capital.

Meanwhile, Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) has also created a New Trade Show at QSNCC special offer, which will shave up to 20 per cent off regular fees for professional exhibition organisers, plus other complimentary benefits.

HANGZHOU Tourism Commission (HTC) is taking steps to add a second brand – Hangzhou MICE Promotion Center, indicating it is taking on the roles of a convention and exhibition bureau (CVB) – to the Hangzhou Tourism Promotion Center to ensure the destination does not lose its number three ranking in China.

Speaking at an industry roundtable discussion last week, Roger Shu, MICE manager, HTC, said: “There were 15 international meetings in Hangzhou in 2013 and the city ranks number three in China with about 10,000 delegates. Our target is to reach 25 international meetings in three years’ time.

“With a CVB, Hangzhou will be in a stronger position to influence decision-makers to hold association meetings from Europe, and to attract more incentive business to the city.

“Hangzhou is number three in China’s MICE ranking. We do not want to lose out to Nanjing, which is also in the same position, and Chengdu, which was number three in 2012.

“Hangzhou’s needs for a CVB like Singapore, like Hong Kong, and to professionalise the industry are being highlighted to the city’s mayor, and we hope the bureau can be set up by next year.”

Hangzhou is also setting up a system to collate MICE data.

HTC’s Hangzhou Tourism Promotion Center established its MICE department in 2009, and set up China’s first MICE association with members from all sectors of the industry in 2010.

Explained Shu: “The association has more than 100 members and is a platform for them to participate in tradeshows such as AIME, EIBTM, IMEX, CIBTM, etc.”

The event was co-presented by Starwood Hotels and Resorts and TTGmice, and held at Sheraton Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort.

*This article originally stated that Hangzhou is setting up a CVB, which was incorrect and has since been amended.

THE Hyatt Regency Incheon will receive a new name and expanded meeting space with the opening of the hotel’s new West Tower in slightly over a month, in time to welcome the participants of the 17th Asian Games.

It becomes Grand Hyatt Incheon on September 1, the 41st hotel in the Grand Hyatt portfolio and second Grand Hyatt in South Korea after Grand Hyatt Seoul.

Ratnesh Verma, senior vice president, real estate and development, Asia Pacific, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, said: “The hotel, including the addition of a new tower, will further solidify our brand presence in this key gateway market.

“With its dramatic meeting facilities, large number of rooms and its proximity to the airport, the expanded hotel will offer a unique destination within Asia that will be attractive to meeting and group business. We continue to remain committed to South Korea as a strategic market with its robust economy and a renewed attraction both as a business and leisure destination.”

The 522-key hotel is minutes away from Incheon International Airport, and will offer 500 more rooms with the launch of the West Tower that connects to the East Tower via a sky bridge.

The West Tower boasts residence-style rooms with kitchens for long staying guests, a 1,250m2 Grand Ballroom and multi-dimensional event venues, an all-day dining Grand Café serving Western and Asian cuisines, the Swell Lounge, two swimming pools and a children’s play zone.

Meanwhile, extensive renovations are scheduled to take place in phases at the East Tower over the next 18 months.

REED Exhibitions is ensuring a higher level of service at the upcoming EIBTM tradeshow in Barcelona by attaching a personal customer service assistant to each stand holder.

The point of contact, assigned to each main stand holder, will lead exhibitors through different stages of EIBTM including the new self-select appointment tool, offer advice on key dates and deadlines, assist with badge orders, guide exhibitors through the operation’s manual, and help out with travel and accommodation.

Exhibitors can also ask for links to supporting marketing, PR and logistics information from the point of contact. At the same time, the EIBTM team will offer support to the main stand holder’s exhibiting partners.

Graeme Barnett, senior exhibition director, Reed Travel Exhibitions, EIBTM, said in a media statement: “We understand exhibiting at tradeshows is becoming more complex and it is up to us to take a proactive and engaged approach to helping our main stand holders not only to achieve their business goals, but to also help and assist their partners and sharers to make the most of their investment in the show.

“Reed Exhibitions has a dedicated customer service department who work alongside each show team, our sales managers, marketing and PR professionals who in tandem will work with each main stand holder to identify where they may need help and support during the show cycle.

“We will track exhibitors’ progress throughout their pre-show journey to help deliver an on-site experience that meets with their objectives,” Barnett added.

EIBTM 2014 is scheduled to run from November 18 to 20.

THEME park Universal Studios Singapore (USS) is launching its first-ever MICE packages for the annual Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) scare fest, offering themed dinners and special treats as part of the deals.

This year, HHN will run from 19.30 to 01.30 over five weekends: October 3-5, 10-11, 17-18, 22-25, 31 and November 1.

Planners can choose from three packages – A,B, and C – that include a Halloween-themed dinner, with add-on options including express passes, R.I.P Tours and extra rides.

Package A is available on all HHN event dates and include standard admission to HHN, pre-event buffet dinner, free-flow soft drinks, and a one-time Express Pass to one haunted house. The package is valid for groups of at least 50 pax, at S$120++ (US$97) per person.

Package B features standard admission to HHN, pre-dinner canapés and free-flow soft drinks, pre-event buffet dinner, a one-time Express Pass to one haunted house, a Scare Actor Meet & Greet at the dinner venue, and a Halloween souvenir for every guest. The deal is valid on all HHN event dates for a group with a minimum of 150 pax at S$170++ per person.

Package C is available on non-HHN event dates for the month of October, and the standing-only event will be held at New York City and Sci-Fi City. It offers entry to the scare zone in New York City and the haunted house at Sound Stage 28, pre-dinner canapés and free-flow soft drinks, a Halloween themed buffet dinner, and a Halloween souvenir for every guest.

Organisers may wish to top up an additional S$17 per pax to include an additional ride, available for the first two hours of the event. Package C is open to groups with at least 250 attendees, starting from S$240 per pax.

Further add-on options include Universal Express passes, R.I.P Tours, and cocktail receptions.

Central to this year’s HNN is the demonic Minister of Evil character, who is implementing a dystopian new world order at USS. HNN 2014 boasts one more haunted house over last year’s, including Singapore’s first 3-D haunted house, and one more scare zone (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 25, 2014).

PERFECT China will send a total of 4,000 of its high-performing delegates to Malaysia for an incentive-cum-conference trip next month.

The leading health and personal care direct selling company’s delegates will visit Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Penang between August 2 and 10, said Mint Leong, director of Sunflower Holidays, which is the appointed local destination management company for the event.

She said: “This group of Chinese arrivals is very important for Malaysia as it shows that the Chinese corporate sector is supporting Malaysia in light of the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on March 8, which was on its way to Beijing with 153 Chinese nationals on board.

“Perfect China has not given up on Malaysia. More than half of the delegates have booked seats on Malaysia Airlines. We hope their decision to choose Malaysia will give confidence to other business and leisure travellers from China to do the same,” Leong added.

Sunflower Holidays also handles leisure group tours from China and saw a 90 per cent drop from this market since April due to the MH370 incident.

Leong said: “At this point of time, we cannot tell what impact the MH17 air disaster will have on China. We thought we would see the market recover in October but now we are not sure.”

THE century-old Manila Hotel is vamping up its MICE facilities in order to grow MICE business from Asia in a refurbishment that will be complete by 3Q2014.

Denise Tambuatco, senior vice president, marketing, said the hotel will draw from its competitive edge of well-preserved colonial architecture, and history as the Grand Dame of the Philippine hospitality scene.

The Fiesta Pavilion will have its pillars taken down to increase capacity from 1,500 to 2,000 guests, and comes with new lighting technology for an element of drama. Meanwhile the multi-level Maynila ballroom, designed by National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin, is also being jazzed up.

Tambuatco explained: “We are mindful of how event planners and organisers look for spaces they can easily mould so they can exercise their creativity. We are integrating this concept across our MICE facilities and banquet spaces”.

She also disclosed plans “to extend the hotel to the sea as it was designed to do when it was built 102 years ago”. It is understood the expansion may take the form of more areas for entertainment and gatherings, stretching up to the hotel’s jetty port.

The hotel’s makeover further covers the upgrading of its 535 rooms and F&B outlets, and changing staff uniforms into period costumes.

Manila Hotel is also developing several technology platforms including an app that will enable guests to view a video of the hotel’s history from various points within the property.

THE 17-year-old JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok has commenced a “radical modification” of its grand ballroom and function rooms, with the facelift expected to complete by September.

The 1,521m2 event space on the third floor, which comprises the grand ballroom and nine meeting rooms, will be equipped with the latest technology, LED lighting, audiovisual arrangements and Wi-Fi connectivity.

The restyled venue will feature three separate zones. The Arrival Hall, which includes a bar, lounge seating, library shelves and an art gallery, will be ideal for pre-cocktail events and social gatherings. The Open Kitchen is an interactive platform that can be turned into a venue for cocktail receptions, coffee breaks and cooking classes. The Residential Style Ballroom and Meeting Room can accommodate up to 700 guests for cocktails and 600 guests for gala events.

Changing customer expectations and preferences are one of the key reasons driving the transformation of the hotel’s event spaces, revealed Tom S’prayoon, director of sales & marketing, JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok.

“Over time, we have witnessed a development in the way people do business – that customers are requiring more functional spaces that are unique in style, a venue for inspiration and crafted meaningful meetings. We anticipate future meetings beyond the conventional four walls and we have ensured that our design and concept for the new ballroom caters to that flexibility and dynamic,” he said.

During the renovation period, JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok is still able to host smaller-scale meetings at the Manhattan Studio on the second floor, as well as the Sukhumvit Room and three rooms at the Business Center on the fourth floor.

At the same time, the hotel will also roll out the Meetings Imagined concept as part of Marriott Hotels’ global drive to enhance the meeting experience, with the online platform MeetingsImagined.com allowing associates and organisers to “have access to a global source of inspirational setups and ideas for their events”, S’prayoon shared.