PROPERTIES under Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ The Luxury Collection portfolio are flaunting their epicurean charms to court an “increasingly sophisticated” corporate event clientele that demands quality dining experiences.
Speaking to TTGmice e-Weekly last Friday, Starwood’s director, brand management for St Regis and The Luxury Collection, F&B marketing, Yeoh Fay-Linn, said: “Corporate groups are more sophisticated these days. They want a local taste of the destination during their dining functions, and they don’t want to be limited to the usual banquet rooms.”
“True to The Luxury Collection’s new tagline (which came with a brand rejuvenation last September), Hotels that Define the Destination, our properties bring the destination’s unique flavour into corporate events,” she said.
“For instance, while the Keraton At The Plaza hotel in Jakarta has a Mexican chef to add variety (to the cuisine options), attention is also paid to providing a spread of popular local food.”
Yeoh said hotels must think out of the box when providing banqueting options today.
Yeoh said The Andaman, Langkawi, partners with The Els Club Teluk Datai golf course to deliver dining functions at a particular scenic hole, while planners desiring a corporate social responsibility element in their dining function can book the Dine in the Dark programme at Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit’s BarSu. Servers are visually-impaired individuals that are paid a regular wage and 50 baht (US$1.40) from each cover they serve goes to charity.
“Understanding that dining plays an important role in the travel and event experience, The Luxury Collection properties also have a strong culinary offering through experienced chefs,” Yeoh remarked.
The prowess of these chefs are celebrated in a series of pop-up dining events called Epicurean Journeys, with one taking place this week in Singapore.
Bindu Panicker, general manager, corporate communications with India-based ITC Hotels which has 11 properties under The Luxury Collection, said her hotels are renowned for their “dedication to culinary excellence” and that a premium dining experience delivered by various chefs from across its portfolio in a single location can be organised.
Such arrangements have been adopted by clients such as Dell, GE and Cisco Systems, shared ITC Hotels corporate chef Manjit Gill.
Panicker has also observed greater emphasis on healthy dining, sustainable sourcing and local food options at corporate events. To cater to these needs, ITC properties have rolled out Alert Meets, a menu that is locally sourced and prepared to keep participants alert and focused; SunyAqua, ITC’s signature drinking water that is sourced and bottled on premises and infused with healthy indigenous herbs; One Bite Wonders, small portions of snacks that are convenient to eat during networking events and will help delegates maintain an appetite for main meals later on; and Responsible Sourcing, a promise to provide farm to plate organic food.
