Carlson Rezidor has finally launched a signature MICE product for its event-friendly Radisson Blu hotels in Asia-Pacific, five years since the brand arrived in this region. The company’s vice president of commercial operations, Asia Pacific tells Karen Yue why the wait is necessary

What drove Carlson Rezidor to come up with this signature MICE product, Experience Meetings?

We have been ramping up Radisson Blu and the new Experience Meetings is unique to the brand. Today, Experience Meetings (see sidebar on facing page for details) is available worldwide.

It took us a while to get Experience Meetings tweaked and set and ready for the market. We took our time (researching Brain Box). We wanted something truly different. Many hotels will just repackage a meeting or menu (to attract meeting planners). Not us. We wanted to impact meeting outcomes in a scientific way.

And we wanted to make sure we were in good shape before launching Experience Meetings (in 2013 in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Africa; in August in Asia).

Did the gap between 2013 and 2015 give Carlson Rezidor a chance to see how Experience Meetings could be adapted for the Asian market? 

We typically like to jump right in and swim, but for this product we wanted to see how it fared so we sat back and watched. So yes, we did tweak it to make it perfect for the Asia-Pacific customer.

For Brain Food, for instance, we went back to the masterchef team and asked them to adapt it for Asians. For some of these delegates, you really need to provide noodles and rice – foods that don’t fall into the Brain Food bucket (they contain carbohydrates that raise blood sugar levels and bring on food coma).

We didn’t have to adapt Brain Box for the Asian market though.

Other hotel chains are also offering creative meeting solutions. What is Carlson Rezidor doing to get planners’ attention?

We have been around the globe and across this region to shout the message and to get people to touch it, taste it, experience it. We’ve done several fun launches in various Asian cities for the media and the trade.

And did these roadshows generate good business leads? 

Oh yes. We had something like 13 or 14 meetings. This is very early stages now, and not everybody has a meeting to plan right away but they will keep us in mind. It is difficult to track (the business generated directly from roadshows). Getting business is a wonderful thing, and it is the name of the game, but it wasn’t the main objective of our promotional exercise. It was all about creating awareness for Experience Meetings and planting the seed in customers’ minds.

Why is Experience Meetings limited to Radisson Blu hotels?

Radisson Blu is very forward thinking, very iconic, it is sophisticated, it is stylish, and we think that it is the right fit for the differentiated product that is Experience Meetings.

All Radisson Blu hotels have meeting facilities, some more extensive than others. An example of a Radisson Blu property in this region with extensive, convention centre-type facility is the Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai Hong Quan in China.

Radisson Blu hotels are a good place to start off for now. We will continue to evolve because the MICE sector is important to us. It touches every aspect of the hotel’s revenue. Planners and attendees spend money on rooms, meeting venues and food. They are the kind of customers we love.

And there are more Radisson Blu hotels coming into Asia, yes?

We have 44 Radisson Blu properties in Asia-Pacific and more than 280 globally in 62 countries. Those 44 were launched within the past five years that we’ve entered this region. And we have 90 hotels (across all brands) in the pipeline for Asia-Pacific, in exciting destinations like Vietnam and Cambodia.

Asia-Pacific is the focus of our company. Like most hotel companies, we’ve figured out that the opportunities for exponential growth lies here. Our plan is to double in size in Asia-Pacific – to hit 200 hotels in 2020. Focus areas are China, Indonesia and India. We are the number one hotel company in India now – 70 per cent of our footprint is in India – and India will continue to be a key area for us.

Some markets are more conservative than others when it comes to adopting funky, new ideas for solemn meetings. Which ones do you think will readily embrace Experience Meetings?

I suspect that in some areas in China we will have customers who will find our meeting concept risky.

The great thing is, there is no price difference – the customer pays the same for a traditional meeting setup and an Experience Meetings setup. There’s minimal risk for the customer, so why not give it a try?

Say your meeting is going to be held across two or three days. We can give you an Experience Meetings on day one and if your delegates are uncomfortable and things aren’t working out – I’d be surprised if that happens though! – we will just flip things around and get you back your traditional arrangements. We will get rid of all the funky, crazy stuff and furniture, no problem at all.

Experience Meetings is a concept, so how do you ensure your salespeople rightly identify an event that is suitable for it?

Interestingly, most meeting planners do
not actually know what their meeting objectives are. They know they are bringing people together, but to do what?

So we talk with our customers to find out what are they hoping to get out of their meeting and then help them get there with the varied Brain Box setup and Brain Food support.

I think it is common sense (driving salespeople’s understanding of customer’s needs), but common sense is not as common as we like it to be. That’s where our education comes in. This is also why we didn’t want to roll out Experience Meetings before everyone is ready.

We have a strong communications system in place to ensure that everybody understands the concept.

Supporting all that is the Radisson’s Yes, I Can service culture training that was created 25 years ago. Every employee, from the dishwasher to the general manager, are mandated to go through this training before they hit the floor. It is an extensive training, and it isn’t just about taking care of the guest. We want our people to think, “this may not be my area (of responsibility) but I will make sure I take care of your needs and I will get you to somebody who can fix that”.

It is also about anticipating needs. We have an element called Surprise and Delight which is about finding ways to really wow the guest. It could be something you’ve heard or picked up – it is about being a little sneaky, if you will – that would make the guest’s experience memorable.

We hire for that and we train our employees to have this mindset and attitude. I call that the heart of hospitality. This heart isn’t in everybody. There are people who are suited to our business, who like to take care of guests, and there are people who genuinely don’t like people.

You hire for that, but isn’t it tough to recruit people with the heart of hospitality here in Asia, where the service line isn’t seen as a real career?

This isn’t a problem unique to Asia. Finding good people is hard as there is a shortage, whether it is a result of culture or the impact of (higher) education that has led people to think that this isn’t the most desirable of careers.

Personally this has been a very rewarding career for the past 15 years!

But we are fortunate to have been able to attract the right people. We have different sources – we go to hospitality schools and partner with training programmes.

Radical meeting experiences

Radisson Blu’s Experience Meetings concept is a departure from traditional meeting arrangements, focusing instead on solutions that encourage creative thinking and interaction among delegates. It comprises two elements – Brain Box and Brain Food.

Brain Box was created following extensive research and relies on the room setup to support the four styles of learning: Auditory – meeting rooms are fitted with top quality sound system and planners are offered a playlist of specific sounds and tunes that create a conducive learning environment; Tactile – colourful pens and glass panels or wall canvases are provided to facilitate creative ways of illustrating the discussion; Kinesthetic – old fashioned swings and large, colourful balls provide unusual seating for attendees, which encourage them to move about during meetings; Visual – colourful setups and top quality of visual equipment are provided.

Explaining the practical purpose of the swings, Russell said: “If you are in a meeting where there are people not agreeing on a particular point, put them in the swings. We have been able to prove that when people start swinging in sync with each other while talking and negotiating, they actually come to a resolution.”

Brain Food is a culinary concept developed in consultation with nutrition experts and masterchefs to emphasise the use of fresh, locally-sourced ingredients while maintaining great taste, low fat content and reduced sugar. The result is food that helps delegates experience optimal concentration and minimal fatigue during meetings.

Experience Meetings is additionally supported by complimentary Wi-Fi, a loyalty programme for meeting planners, and a carbon offset programme.

According to Russell, the Experience Meetings concept is ideal for small-sized groups of no more than 30 pax.

How did you land this position?

Having started out as a Sales Manager (MICE) at a previous five-star hotel, I was at the right place at the right time as the Shangri-La, Hotel Singapore had newly created the role of events revenue manager and was looking for someone with experience in both MICE and revenue management. I was lucky enough to have completed my internship as a revenue management intern at Shangri-La, Pudong back in 2010 and this was the perfect opportunity for me expand my business acumen by taking on a more strategic role as it deals with forecasting, pricing and demand analysis, among the other things that I do.

What do you do on a daily basis?

My main role is to maximise the hotel’s events revenue, both in the short- and long-run. I ensure that our products are priced appropriately in relation to the demand, and how I determine the latter is via extrapolation of past data and combining it with what we have on the books. Daily, I work very closely with my director of events to ensure that she has good data to make decisions on how the department will be able to achieve its targets, and drive revenue generation the extra mile.

What do you find most exciting in this role?

The most exciting aspect is that it is still in its early stages of development, unlike revenue management for rooms. Unlike in Northern America or Europe, not many hotels here in Asia have a dedicated events revenue nanager to assist the MICE and events department so I have free-reign to apply what I have learnt in my previous positions.

What’s even more exciting is seeing the fruition of your efforts at the end of the month when the figures are extra robust and healthy. At the same time, it is also a challenge for me as I will have to set the standard and benchmarks for all of our other properties to follow.

What advice would you give to someone looking to specialise in MICE revenue management

Be meticulous with the details. The MICE specialist must be able to cover all bases and bring up points which even the organiser themselves may have overlooked. In my line of work, information is power and with it, you will be able to provide the operations team with a seamless handover to prevent mistakes. Most importantly, have fun while you’re at it. This will naturally translate to you being a happier person and being able to give your all, which in turn converts to guest satisfaction.