Prime place for meetings on the fly

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Folks who’ve seen the 2004 movie, The Terminal, may find themselves recalling the comedy-drama when they check in to Bangkok’s Hyatt Regency Suvarnabhumi Airport hotel. Here’s why.

Of course there’s no similarity between this Hyatt airport and the JFK-airport-like set where the Spielberg film was shot, and where the character played by Tom Hanks was stuck in the terminal, in limbo, being unable to enter the US.

But why would you go all the way to Bangkok to stay there? friends asked. (And are still asking). The answer is that the five-star Hyatt Regency Suvarnabhumi Airport hotel is actually a convenient and very comfortable option for time-poor business and leisure travellers, as The Siteseer recently discovered.

Picture this. The usual scenario for visitors to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport is to arrive, exhausted after an early start and long-haul flight, wait interminably, feeling discombobulated and confused, to clear customs and the baggage hall, then struggle to find transport to far-off digs in sweltering heat and humidity.

This hotel is set just a five-minute walk from the airport through a safe underground tunnel. (To get to the tunnel, just follow the signs to the Skytrain station). Or if even that’s too much for a tired traveller, there’s a 24/7 complimentary hotel shuttle service at gate four outside the arrivals hall.

Visitors to the hotel are greeted by smiling staff in a cool, cavernous marble-floored atrium (above), and find all they’d expect in a five-star resort: a classy spa, a swag of restaurants, 610 comfy rooms and suites, and a splendid swimming pool and gym area in a lush courtyard. By some welcome quirk of physics, no aircraft noise is audible except occasionally when you’re in the pool.

Moreover there’s 1,400 square meters of event space, including a grand foyer which can accommodate 850 guests, and 12 flexible breakout rooms.

“Airport hotels are becoming a social and business destination on their own,” explains Christophe Geoffroy, the hotel’s general manager. “[They meet the needs of travellers in respect of] convenience, empathetic service and peace of mind.”

The hotel has a 24-hour accommodation service, which means guests can arrive and check in at their own schedule, whether they’re coming in on a late-night flight or early in the morning, then check out up to 24 hours after check-in. And breakfast is served in the main restaurant, The Market Café, from 3am.

US52 all-up

Meetings packages are obviously determined by volume and time of the year, according to Wonmi Rho, the executive assistant manager sales and marketing. But, on average, the hotel would typically quote 1,500 Thai baht per person for a full-day meeting package, including full day (9am-5pm) meeting room use along with standard set up and morning and afternoon coffee break as well as lunch. This rate is subject to a 17.7% tax and service charge, so the fee would be THB 1,765.50 (all inclusive) per participant. That’s equivalent to around USD 52.

But wait, there’s more. As part of an opening deal offer to commemorate the rebadging from a Novotel to a Hyatt, a 25% discount and 500 world of Hyatt points apply to bookings until the end of May 2025. There’s an up to 15% discount on meetings bookings from now until the end of December.

None of the property’s attributes suggest the city is inaccessible, as marketing communications manager Teerawan Sansabai (pictured above, right, with Sirirat Kerdkaew, guest relations manager) observes. The hotel’s proximity to the airport rail link station gives easy and rapid access to the post-conference attractions of downtown Bangkok. “Our entire set up is about convenience,” explains Teerawan.

Considering the quality of the venue, it represents excellent value for money, too. We know. We’ve experienced it first-hand.

More information:

Web: hyattregencybangkoksuvarnabhumiairport.com

Phone: +662 131 1234

Email: BKKAirport-Regency@hyatt.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hyattregencybkkairport

As cash flows dwindle, how can PCOs get the best rates for clients seeking to incentivise their people? Andry Kurnyawan, Director of Public Relations and Marketing for the InterContinental Bali Resort, says solutions are simple, and self-evident.

Building and maintaining relationships with hotel MICE sales managers and demonstrating loyalty can result in special rates or added perks, says Andry. Planning and booking well in advance can also lead to lower rates and better use of facilities, especially for large events, he adds.

“Bundling accommodation with other services like catering, AV equipment [supply] and conference facilities can lead to overall savings too.”

In the case of IHG Hotels and Resorts, keeping an eye on the group’s promotions and special offers is a good idea. “Being flexible with event dates allows PCOs to take advantage of off-peak times when hotels are more likely to offer discounts,” Andry explains.

“And being a member of the IHG Rewards Club or similar loyalty programs can provide access to exclusive rates and additional benefits.”

During a recent visit to the Indonesian resort island, where IHG has 14 properties ranging from Holiday Inns to the luxury Six Senses marque, The Siteseer learned that the periods just before and after the Christmas and Easter peak holiday seasons are best for accommodation and meeting space deals. In Bali, the ‘shoulder’ seasons are typically April to June and September to early November, according to Andry Kurnyawan. The low season is generally from January to March.

IHG hotels in Bali obviously offer a broad variety of facilities, from small meeting rooms to conference halls that cater to 2,000. The new, oceanfront Jimbaran Convention Center, set within the InterContinental Bali Resort (seven kilometres from the airport), has the largest MICE space in the Jimbaran area and among IHG Bali Hotels.

Frequent business travelers and corporate clients can access IHG’s loyalty programs and perks, like special offers, priority check-in and exclusive facilities, says Andry, while the group’s commitment to reducing environmental impact and supporting local communities may appeal to businesses for which corporate social responsibility is a key issue – “making it a smart choice for sustainable travel”.

In addition, the island’s ability to integrate professional and recreational experiences ensures that attendees can have a memorable and productive stay, Andry says.

The Siteseer’s home for a few days recently was the Holiday Inn Resort Baruna Bali, a red-roofed, rather atypical Holiday Inn complex set in lush tropical gardens alongside a sandy beach close to Denpasar airport.

Considering how delightful the staff and surroundings are, leisure and meetings guests get excellent value for money when making a booking here.

Full-board residential meeting packages with lunches, dinners, use of meeting rooms and the works thrown in start from around AUD 100 per person. Breakfast is included in the room rate, and exemplifies the kind of sumptuous fare so often found in good hotels in Indochina. (This scribe, in particular, appreciates the freshly cut papaya.)

Given the quality of this resort’s rooms, food and service, it’s not surprising that business is good, here and in Bali generally. In the first six months of 2024, 2,910,679 foreign tourists came to the island.

With a Holiday Inn Express – the InterContinental Hotels group’s chain offering limited services at a reasonable price – set next door to the resort property, there’s plenty of extra accommodation for delegates who need it.

The biggest of the MICE facilities on the resort property is the Cinnamon Ballroom, which can accommodate 150 banquet-style or up to 250 for receptions and conferences.

Altogether, five meeting rooms at the resort cover almost six thousand square metres. PCOs interested in organising a gala dinner in the vast gardens or on lawns adjacent to the beach can do that as well.

The room rate, as mentioned, is outstanding value given the quality of the accommodation and surrounds. The resort flanks a beach dotted with bathers and leisure craft and is just 1.5 kilometres from the airport. (Actually within walking distance of the airport, or a five-minute cab ride). It’s located in the heart of Bali’s key leisure and business districts.

Click here for more information.

With room rates starting from around AUD 250 a night, the Shangri-la hotel in the city of Makati is like an oasis in the vast Manila conurbation, and, considering its facilities, extraordinarily good value for money.

The feeling you’re going to be pampered, rested, relaxed and well-fed in five-star comfort descended on me as I walked into the hotel’s lobby to check in one warm afternoon recently. A marble lobby space extended into a cavernous lounge, with towering windows overlooking lush gardens and cascading waterfalls. A classical pianist was playing quietly, providing unobtrusive entertainment for guests having a late lunch and small groups having meetings. Immaculately dressed, smiling staff moved among the tables. Luxury!

This was a highlight of a recent trip to the Philippines, where well-heeled Makati is arguably the ritziest business and cultural hub in the country’s capital. This Shangri-la, one of more than 100 hotels and resorts owned, managed and operated by the Shangri-la Group in 78 destinations, is one of the oldest at 30 years.

“[Our hotel] has become a fixture in the community, with 696 guest rooms and suites,” says Alfonso Carlos Mendoza (pictured left), its young events executive. “And it’s an excellent venue for conferences because we’re in a heavily developed urban area with many companies, restaurants and entertainment outlets, and much business activity, in close proximity.”

Indeed Makati’s sprawling “Green Belt” shopping and dining precinct is adjacent to the hotel and much appreciated by meetings and events attendees, says Alfonso.

For meeting space, they’re spoiled for choice. The Shangri-la is home to the largest pillar-less ballroom in Makati City as well as a secondary ballroom for more intimate events. It holds the biggest inventory of guestrooms among five-star hotels in Makati City, and has eight restaurants and bars, says Alfonso.

“Corporate clients always come back,” he says. “In addition to the main ballroom which can hold up to 990 people in a round-table set up, we’ve got a big variety of smaller meeting spaces, for which, in many cases, the attendees choose to stay in the hotel.

“We had one such meeting yesterday, for example, an education group who flew in from China and were accommodated in 86 of our rooms. They came in three buses and we planned our check-in procedures very carefully, so it all went smoothly.”

Manila and the Philippines generally offer bargain prices in relation to accommodation – and food, especially, he adds. “We have many international-standard local chefs who can cater to any palate in the world and we can adjust menus to anything you’d wish for. The same applies to our MICE guests – any food or requirement, you just need to ask.”

Guests can find just about everything they need in the hotel complex, from a pool, renovated spa and gym to venues for meetings, meals and to socialise.

“Of course there are plenty of [entertainment] places outside the hotel that are very accessible, and many malls,” says Alfonso. “In Makati at weekends the roads are closed off so people can stroll and ride bikes round the town. Our international guests especially appreciate this.”

The hotel has a club offering, the Horizon, with dedicated floors for rooms and an exclusive lounge in which guests can get fed three times a day and have cocktails in the evening as part of their package. (I opted for this and it was a classy experience, made all the more so by excellent staff.)

The wood-panelled rooms have comfortable beds, air conditioning that works well, chocolates and fruit to snack on and much else. The reservations people will easily arrange car or limo airport transfers.

Venues like this may help explain why last calendar year was a huge one for the Philippine tourism industry, which welcomed almost five and a half million international visitors, recording more than PHP480 billion (AUD 13 billion) in receipts, according to the country’s Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco. The new record was around 650,000 higher than the target of 4.8 million international visitors for the year.

Meetings package from AUD 115

The Makati Shangri-la presents a variety of meetings packages. For instance one whole-day corporate option for PHP 4200 (AUD 115) per person has plated and buffet lunch options, and the inclusions you’d expect like coffee, tea, flipcharts, public address systems and so forth. Reasonably priced open-bar package options from one to three hours are also available.

For more information click here.

After a stop-start cab ride from Suvarnabhumi Airport, my arrival in the lobby of the Shangri-La hotel Bangkok, tired after a long flight, is a palpable pleasure. At last I can relax.

Inside, a smiling young woman in a turquoise traditional chut thai welcomes me, palms together, as do the people behind the reception desk. I stroll across the marble lobby and into the lobby lounge, a vast, high-ceilinged chamber with panoramic views of the fecund brown waters of the Chao Phraya River. This lamp-lit space, flanked by a bar, is furnished with silken chairs and fittings. Outside, between the hotel and the river, massed tropical gardens and outbuildings are set around a sprawling pool.

Dusk is falling as I’m ushered into my room, which looks out over the river. Dusk is falling and the lights of barges and ferries are churned into millions of points of glittering light. After two years of pandemic misery, it’s wonderful to be staying in the Shangri-La Bangkok! This is one of the world’s most iconic hotels, set in the heart of the country’s cultural, political, commercial, financial and religious epicentre known to locals as Krung Thep, City of Angels.

The Thais hope there’ll be more like me. Thailand had just 428,000 foreign arrivals in 2021, according to the Reuters news service, compared with nearly 40 million in 2019. In that year alone visitors spent about 1.91 trillion baht. (AUD77 billion).

“The pandemic definitely had a great impact on our hotel as the majority of our meeting groups or international conferences were either postponed or cancelled due to the uncertainty of the situation and the country [visitor-limiting] regulations,” says Virinya Maytheepattanachat, the hotel’s Director of Communications.

But here as elsewhere business prospects are getting better. “The situation is showing signs of gradual improvement with the easing of restrictions, especially [thanks to the confidence] of the organisers when Thailand hosted APEC 2022,” Virinya says. (In May, the Shangri-La Bangkok hosted an APEC senior officials’ meeting and related events.)

A variety of factors set this hotel apart as an events venue, Virinya adds. For a start, it’s the largest on the riverside in the city, occupying four hundred metres of water frontage, with 802 luxury guestrooms – with river or city views – in two adjacent towers, and 23 function rooms, one of which, the Grand Ballroom, can accommodate up to 1,500 guests for special events. Meanwhile a strong and experienced banqueting and events team can manage meeting sizes ranging from small groups to high-level heads-of-state gatherings.

And there’s plenty for delegates to do before or afterwards, Virinya points out. Bangkok is a diversified city with great food and an appealing culture, she says. There are new and upgraded convention centres within easy reach of the two airports via skytrain or underground trains. Many Shangri-La Bangkok events guests extend their stays to fly to the tourist island of Phuket or drive to the holiday town of Pattaya for short visits. “With direct access to the SkyTrain, public ferries and buses, the hotel is a lovely gateway.”

With conference room rates packages ranging between USD150 and 200 per night, depending on the season, the hotel represents good value for money when compared with five-star properties of similar quality in Singapore or other neighbouring countries, says Virinya. Moreover the managers consider special rates for off-peak months like April, July and August.

That’s a prime reason most of its MICE clients come from overseas, mainly the US, UK, Australia, Singapore and China, she says. They include pharmaceutical, IT, finance and medical organisations.

“Our social events including weddings, engagements, birthday parties, graduations and prom nights play an important role in our local catering [division] which is number two [in importance] after group catering.

A culinary journey awaits in the eclectic eateries, serving up traditional Thai and pan-Asian food as well as other cosmopolitan fare. There’s good street food around the hotel. The Siteseer paid 70 baht (about AUD2.80) for an excellent soup of pork, noodles and quail eggs.

More reasons for another visit.

More info:

Events team: (66 2) 236 7777

Email: events.bangkok@shangri-la.com.

www.shangri-la.com/bangkok

Where can you stay for business or leisure, an hour-and-a-half’s easy drive north of Sydney, and pay between $99 and $145 a night for outstanding, functional accommodation? Accor’s Ibis chain may provide the answer, as The Siteseer discovered.

To see first-hand what customers get for these low prices, I headed off north from Sydney for two nights: first to the basic but convenient and comfortable Ibis Budget Gosford on the New South Wales Central Coast, then to the ritzier, full-service Ibis Styles at The Entrance, 30 minutes further north.

These properties were a revelation. The Gosford property, on sale online for as low as $99 a night, and which has recently been refurbished, has 78 quiet rooms well set back from a major thoroughfare, comfortable beds and plenty of parking. Some of the rooms overlook a gorgeous green corridor separating hotel and river. Naturally there’s free wifi, USB charging points in all rooms, and block-out blinds to sustain a good night’s sleep.

Ibis Budget Gosford’s cheerful and welcoming General Manager Karen Gibson (left), who’s worked at Accor hotels in Broome, Canberra and Newcastle, is enthusiastic about her property – and the surrounding attractions of the New South Wales Central Coast. “There’s a reptile park nearby, which many guests visit. It’s fascinating and fun for all; I don’t care how old you are! And right next door we have the race course, which is also an attraction for many groups.”

Beautiful beaches, great shopping and dining variety are among the other drawcards, she adds. “An RSL club is a five-minute walk away from here, and there’s a great pub five minutes away in the other direction. You don’t come here to spend time in your room. It’s not a resort obviously. You drop your bags off, you go and explore, you go to bed, get up and go out again. It’s an ideal base for that.”

Many group visitors are from sporting and musical organisations, and the hotel is getting busier, despite covid’s omnipresent impact, Karen says. “We’re expecting a big year ahead. There’s lots happening at Gosford and the Central Coast and we’ve built up a great family of guests.”

From AUD99 a night

While Karen says the Ibis Gosford offers consistently low rates all year, at peak times they may increase because of demand.

More information, click here.

Email: H5442@accor.com

Phone: (02) 4325 7692

Meanwhile, at Ibis Styles, The Entrance, the ebullient young General Manager Aaron Ficyk (below) presides over a different kind of arrangement, and not just because Ibis Styles is an Accor “full-service” brand with more facilities than the more basic Ibis Budget.

Here the new, 52-room hotel, set on a hill overlooking the dreamy waters of Tuggerah Lakes, exists in an integrated relationship with the Diggers RSL club next door. The Diggers is a recently refurbished restaurant and conference complex whose guests typically make use of the hotel’s accommodation, and where hotel guests likewise meet and dine.

“Some people have a bit of difficulty getting their head around our integrated relationship with the Diggers club,” says Aaron. “But once they’ve had a site inspection and see the conference facilities, we find it’s very easy to seal a booking.”

The arrangement represents outstanding value for money, he says, with a $49 full-day conference package that includes room hire, morning and afternoon tea, lunch and basic AV hire.

The Diggers manages many local conferences where guests don’t need accommodation, but when people come from Sydney and elsewhere they can get the complete package, explains Aaron. “They can room-charge back to the club and get one seamless invoice at the end of their stay. Plus they can access the club from the hotel and don’t have to leave the premises. And by showing their room key they can get the members’ discounts for food and drinks. This connection with the RSL club is pretty rare in the Accor group.”

The Pavilion Events Centre at The Diggers is a big space that can comfortably seat up to 200, overlooking the lake, and there are a variety of boardrooms for smaller functions. The club is recognised as a specialist wedding reception venue, and is “perfect” for any type of celebration including weddings, anniversaries and business functions, Aaron says. An events coordinator is always on hand.

“One of the greatest advantages for conference and events organisers is the proximity to Sydney,” adds Aaron. “It’s only an hour and fifteen minutes by car, and once you’re here it’s like you’re a million miles away. This entire Central Coast area represents untapped potential.”

The Ibis Styles at The Entrance has 52 rooms, including eight family rooms that sleep four people or five with an optional rollaway bed. Some have views of the lake, and there are wheelchair-accessible rooms on every level. “People generally recognise that we represent great value, even over Christmas and Easter peak seasons when the rates are a bit higher.. We’re four-star rated and guests who come here for the first time are surprised by the quality of the property. You’re getting a beautiful view, and the rooms are modern and fresh.”

Originally from the Blue Mountains, Aaron was involved as part of the opening team for nearby Magenta Shores for Mirvac in 2017. Then he moved to Newcastle to open a Novotel at Newcastle Beach. (Earlier he’d worked as a casual at Ibis Styles.) He was offered his current role of General Manager three years ago when new owners bought the property.

From AUD 125 a night

The hotel has “some fantastic offers” in off-peak times, Aaron says. “We do a winter promotion which is room and continental breakfast for $125. In 2022 we’re doing a devonshire tea offer. People come back every year, they know the package is there.”

More information, click here.

Email: reservations@ibisstylestheentrance.com.au

Phone: +61 2 4336 0400

Where do you stay when you’re planning a road trip with an incentive group and want to take your dogs with you? More and more hotels are meeting pet-lovers’ needs, The Siteseer discovered. Here are some New South Wales suggestions.

The Grove at Clifton Grove, near Orange

Heather Dunn and her husband Terry (below), who’ve lived in Orange, four hours’ drive west of Sydney, for many years, can cater for groups of up to five at their leafy property on the outskirts of the rural New South Wales town – eight kilometres’ drive from the Orange Post Office. Not only do visitors get an effusive welcome from their little dog, Lancelot, when they arrive, they discover that their own canines are welcomed equally enthusiastically.

“Ozzie just came and had a cuddle with us,” said Heather one winter afternoon after I’d checked in to their snug B&B, The Grove, for a couple of days. “Then she came with us for a walk when we went to feed the rabbits, and has had a marvellous time.”

While the extent of their tolerance for having dogs to stay and roaming their property may be unusual, demand for such pet-friendly service is growing, says Heather. “We’re getting more and more people interested in doing so,” she says.

In addition to people holidaying with their pets, travelling to the area to sample local food and wine, many clients are temporarily in town because they’re picking up puppies or new dogs from country properties nearby, Heather adds. “Since the lockdowns began, school holidays have been really busy. I think the fact that we’re pet-friendly gives families the peace of mind that comes with having their loved dogs with them.”

Rooms here, featuring beds with electric blankets, are AUD170 per night, with breakfast included.

For more info, click here.

Email: heatherbdunn@bigpond.com

Oasis Motel, Peak Hill

The managers of this discreet property in the small town of Peak Hill, set on the main road between Dubbo and Parkes, allow dogs to be brought into some rooms, which are all ground-floor with easy access to a grassy area, barbecue facilities and swimming pool.

The rooms are small and compact with the conveniences guests need in summer or winter: aircon, microwave, toaster, fridge and so forth.

The town has several shops and cafés, and an ex-services and citizens’ club with a good Chinese restaurant, a great Australian country tradition.

Among the local attractions are walking tracks, fishing and an defunct open gold mine, legacy of a gold rush at the end of the nineteenth century.

Rooms here are AUD90 per night.

For more information, click here.

Email: oasismotelpeakhill@gmail.com

Moonraker Motor Inn, Parkes

At the edge of the pretty town of Parkes, five hours west of Sydney, the Moonraker Motor Inn welcomes dogs and is in the process of renovating its 24 rooms to do so more effectively.

“We’re half-way through the renovations,” explains General Manager Vaseem (Vas) Ahmed. “The pet-friendly rooms will be the best in the motel once we’ve completed [the work].”

The rooms here are significantly bigger than those in standard motels and have easy access to a large grassed area, security-lit at night, where hounds can exercise. The licensed restaurant, Clarinda, does a brisk trade with a traditional Aussie menu with such staples as crumbed chops and mash, steaks and salads. The property is a couple of minutes’ drive from the town centre.

A well-known local attraction for incentive groups is the giant Parkes radio telescope, 20 minutes away, which is still operating and was one of the antennae used to receive live pictures of the Apollo moon landing. The staff in the facility’s shop allow dogs to be brought onto the premises.

Also nearby, at the airport, is the Parkes Aviation Museum whose exhibits include a variety of commercial and military aircraft. Visitors can enter the planes and look around at their leisure; admission is free.

Rooms at the Moonraker start at AUD 100 per night.

For more information, click here.

Email: info@moonrakermotorinn.com.au

Bathurst Explorers Motel

With a marketing tag of ‘spend a night not a fortune,’ this double-storey property in the city of Bathurst, three hours’ west of Sydney, welcomes dogs in its ground-floor rooms and is clean and comfortable, with a number of room configurations. The dining room represents great value for money, with continental breakfasts for $5 and a full breakfast plus coffee costing me $12. Electric blankets are a welcome feature in Bathurst’s notoriously chilly winters.

Rooms at the Bathurst Explorers Motel are AUD100 per night.

For more information, click here.

Email: info@bathurstexplorersmotel.com

Like a tapered candle rising 88 storeys above the harbour, the Crown Sydney skyscraper is the city’s newest landmark. In every way, it’s an events location that towers above the ordinary.

Completed in four years and opened last December, the Crown Resorts-owned, black-glass-clad building houses 349 hotel rooms and suites and 82 private residences – each of which has a view of the water – and a variety of outstanding events venues.

Each interior space, including the bedrooms, has a unique floorplate because architects Wilkinson Eyre have forgone traditional symmetry for an unconventional building shape that resembles intertwined glass petals.

The interiors exemplify smart design and the latest in six-star hotel gee-whizzery. Rooms and meetings spaces alike are an amalgam of layered textures: custom fabrics, marble, pristine bedding; and carpets, fittings and metallic detailing whose greys and sea-blues reflect the sparkling crushed-diamond surface of the harbour below. In the bedrooms, curtains and blinds can be swept open and shut at the touch of an icon on a bedside control panel.

When a guest approaches the lavatory and bidet arrangement, the lid opens automatically – as if by legerdemain – in a whimsical welcome.

Naturally, because they’re so new, the various event spaces feature the most advanced meetings technology like wireless internet connections, data tech, webcasting and video-conferencing facilities, according to Food and Beverage Manager Events, Jodie Ringma (pictured below). “Organisers love the attributes of our venues,” says Jodie.

Strong interest

Not surprisingly, Jodie adds, despite the Covid-19 pandemic local PCOs are showing significant interest in Crown Sydney as they slowly regain confidence, especially for smaller events.

“For planners seeking a venue that has ‘more’, this is ideal,” explains Jodie, an events specialist whose experience includes several years at the Sydney Opera House.

“Crown Sydney is home to eleven restaurants and bars, a luxury Crown Towers hotel and one of the best spas in the city. That means you can create a multi-faceted event without guests ever having to leave the property.”

Many events here at present comprise weddings and, until international borders reopen, mostly Sydney corporate business, usually a combination of high-end company gatherings and product launches, says Jodie.

Because of the pandemic corporate planners are tending to book with shorter lead times and hosting smaller functions. And Jodie and her colleagues expect changes to restrictions and capacities at very short notice are likely to be an ongoing impact on their business.

“Due to the pandemic PCOs are typically saying you know what? We’ll just do something for forty and see what kind of response they have with that. They’re being mindful that they’re going to ease back into the market place. There’s also a lot of last-minute booking.”

The Crown Sydney events team has adapted to these circumstances by being extra-flexible in booking terms and conditions, offering quick turnaround times. “We’ve recently hosted a number of events for luxury brands across fashion, automobiles and electronics and private dinners for A-listers,” says Jodie.

The prime Crown Sydney meeting place is the high-ceilinged and column-free Pearl Ballroom (left). With pillowed and patterned walls, this space accommodates up to 390 guests cocktail-style or 340 seated, with an expansive pre-function area that helps create a seamless space for galas, receptions, award ceremonies and conferences.

And it can be divided into three areas for more intimate events.

A broad variety of spaces are available for smaller functions. The Opal Suite, for example, can accommodate 20 people seated or 50 cocktail-style and has been much in demand for business presentations and special events, says Jodie.

It features a private bathroom, powder alcove (popular with bridal parties), hanging closets and a private kitchen and like all the hotel’s facilities it has spectacular views over Darling Harbour.

Likewise the Pavilion can accommodate 50 in ceremony seating or cocktail-style, and is in regular use for romantic ceremonies and cocktail receptions.

Sky Deck, another private event space, is set to open soon. Located on level 66, it will take up to 25, cocktail-style, and features an external viewing platform.

From AUD112 per person

The question PCOs ask first: how much will it cost me? A daily meeting package here starts at AUD112 per person, says Jodie Ringma, which, given the quality of the property and its jaw-dropping location is arguably highly competitive.

While it’s obviously at the higher end of the pricing scale, with hotel room rack rates at around AUD869, it still represents great value considering what you get for your dollar, Jodie insists. “From the venue, views, menus, execution, service and experience point of view it’s outstanding.”

Moreover she and her team seek to ensure they offer the broadest variety of options possible; rather than stipulate a price, they consider what clients want, then design an event specifically for them. So the offer includes bespoke menus, flexibility, and a swag of options – for instance three styles of charger plates, three colours of napkins and tablecloths, silver napkin rings and coloured water glasses. “It’s those small details that our team never overlooks,” she says.

The menus can draw on the Crown Sydney restaurants including Nobu (the Japanese fusion eatery named after acclaimed Chef Nobu Matsuhisa) and Silks (Cantonese fine dining) which can really set the event experience apart, Jodie says. “I also think our central location, in the heart of Barangaroo, adds to its appeal.”

Indeed it’s this newness and location that are driving most interest. “Crown Sydney is Australia’s most exciting new event space and there’s a desire to be one of the first to hold an event here,” Jodie adds. “The venues have facilities designed not just to frame the views of Sydney Harbour’s icons, but to stand alongside them as a defining landmark of the city.”

More info, click here.

Email: events@crownsydney.com.au

In line with the zeitgeist, the City of Dreams integrated resort in the Philippines capital is demonstrating how a big, visible commitment to sustainability can help boost the bottom line.

The 6.2-hectare complex, set three kilometres from Manila’s airport and owned by Melco Resorts and Entertainment, is home to three luxury hotels, a giant casino, meetings and delegate-entertaining facilities, a shopping precinct and a range of classy restaurants. Throughout these operations, “sustainability is a really big commitment” says Charisse Chuidian (below, left), Vice President Public Relations for the complex.

With business ramping up here after the Philippines’ pandemic-induced paralysis, what does that mean in practice? And what can others emulate?

Phasing out plastic

A whole suite of initiatives are in place, explains Charisse, a well-known public-relations operator in the Philippines who’s been in her current role for eight years.

For a start it involves addressing one of the most troublesome pollution issues of our time – the use of plastics and plastic bottles. The City of Dreams is phasing the bottles out and replacing them and single-use plastic packaging with other eco-friendly options.

“We’re replacing non-biodegradable materials with alternatives like bagasse packaging for take-away boxes, paper pouches and cardboard boxes instead of acetate boxes for chocolates, and greaseproof paper for sandwiches,” says Charisse’s colleague Romina Gervacio (pictured with Charisse), Director of Public Relations.

Single-use plastic bottles in all gaming areas have already been eliminated, and small toiletry amenity bottles in the rooms of all three luxury hotels (Nüwa, Nobu and Hyatt Regency) have been replaced with reusable and refillable pump bottles. As The Siteseer discovered during a recent visit to the onsite Hyatt Regency, this represents no hardship, and we wondered why more hotel operators haven’t taken the same steps sooner.

Water recycling on site

To bolster this and other initiatives, the resort has installed an onsite water filtration plant and bottling system, which is expected to save the equivalent of more than four million single-use plastic bottles of fresh water per year. It also now recycles wastewater, with treated greywater being reused in the property’s cooling towers, saving in this way an estimated 88 Olympic-sized pools of water a year.

“We have our own herb garden on site as well,” Romina says. “And we brew and roast our own coffee purchased directly from local growers.”

City of Dreams is touted to be the first integrated resort to have installed solar power. The panels produce 1.2MWh at full capacity, able to charge around 139 million cellphones in a year, they say.

Eighty-eight percent of its food and drink supplies are sourced from small to medium-size local businesses and it uses, for example, only sustainable seafood and cage-free eggs.

The company’s sustainability strategy is led by Melco Resorts CEO Lawrence Ho, who has outlined ambitious sustainability goals for the group’s properties, including carbon-neutral and zero-waste operations by 2030. City of Dreams Manila and its Property President Geoff Andres been already been widely recognised for this work, with the 2022-2024 ASEAN Green Hotel Award having been presented to the trio of hotels on the property.

Employee welfare a priority

The City of Dreams’ commitment to sustainability extends to the way in which it treats its three thousand-plus employees. Management offers workers 24/7 buffet and unlimited meals in an employees’ dining room, sleeping lounges and bathroom facilities, free shuttle-bus services at pick-up and drop-off points, and generous discounts in the hotels and restaurants. It enrols qualified managers in eCornell courses free of charge, offers skills training and more.

During the pandemic the company gave financial assistance via paid leave to those unable to work. “We also provided in-house accommodation for those who needed to be onsite, and free vaccinations for employees and family members. The staff vaccination rate is 99.9 percent, and only vaccinated people are rostered. (The Forbes Travel Guide announced in April that the property had won the 2022 “Work Here, Work Happy” accolade.)

Unsurprisingly, like all hospitality businesses around the world, this one was devastated by the pandemic. According to one source, covid caused the Philippines’ economy to decline to its lowest level since World War II, with GDP decreasing by 9.5% in 2020, the worst drop since records began in 1947.

All the hotels and casino at the City of Dreams Manila were closed from March till May in 2020 with no dine-in business. Happily, things have since turned around since then, and new restaurants have opened in its shopping precinct, helping entice customers back.

The eateries include Italian, Thai and Korean outlets and a popular local café which complement others in the shopping boulevard, like the sensational “Red Ginger,” which specialises in a variety of Asian fare.

Occupancies up

Hotel occupancies are good again, Charisse says, with business mostly accounted for by local guests. The local MICE business on site hasn’t been far behind.

“Our family entertainment area DreamPlay [a 5,000 square-metre facility that offers a variety of activities] is up and running again. [It’s] not only for children but also used for team-building exercises,” she adds. In fact some meeting organisers have used it recently.

The CoD’s onsite ballroom can cater for up to 700 seated and is supported by a generous-sized pre-function area, two fully equipped board rooms with a capacity to seat 24, and a banqueting kitchen equipped for Filipino, Chinese, and Western fare.

From around AUD350 a day

What does it cost to stay here? A Club Deluxe Room (pictured above) with Hyatt Lounge access that includes breakfast and cocktails kicks in at around AUD360 a day. Prices on the Internet for room-only at the Hyatt Regency at time of writing were around AUD310 per night.

For inquiries and reservations, call 632 8800 8080 or e-mail guestservices@cod-manila.com.

For more information, visit www.cityofdreamsmanila.com.

You’re a hotelier. With terrifying suddenness, the Coronavirus decimates your events and leisure business. What do you do? Swiss-Belhotel International’s people did some lateral thinking.

With occupancies plunging everywhere, and recognising that any crisis can represent opportunity for those flexible enough, the General Manager of Swiss-Belhotel in South Brisbane, Patrick Laybutt (left), and colleagues sat together to put action plans in place.

“It was after the introduction of the various Covid-19 restrictions had been introduced in New Zealand,” Patrick explains. “One of our decisions was to look after clients at our Australasian properties who can’t work from home, people who need an office space, or have come back from overseas and need to stay longer.”

With 134 generously sized spaces ranging from hotel rooms to suites with galley kitchenettes at the South Brisbane hotel, for example, they realised they could adapt their apartment-style set ups to include the attributes of an office space.

The result was a “live-stay-work” package, which gives much-needed help to guests while generating revenue for the hotel to continue supporting staff and owners through a difficult time, says Patrick.

The live-stay-work campaign has targeted corporate as well as past and loyal customers seeking longer stays, who were approached via the hotel’s database. It was also aimed at expats returning home. “We worked closely with our extensive network and association connections,” says Patrick.

In South Brisbane, hotel-living package guests can choose, inter alia, a superior room with king-size bed, ensuite and walk-in shower; a river-view suite overlooking the city and Brisbane River towards South Bank, or across the Kangaroo Point cliffs to the city; or a “Swiss SuperSuite”.

“Living at Swiss-Belhotel Brisbane in South Bank is like having a permanent office with a feel of home as you experience everything luxury and have a personal haven of relaxation and comfort,” Patrick says.

That means in-room dining, breakfast deals at $17 per person from a selected menu, Uber eats delivered to rooms, in-door pool, gym, unlimited Internet access, 10% off laundry, hand sanitisers in rooms and optional daily or weekly housekeeping.

The response has been great, says Patrick. “People appreciate us being proactive and coming up with a tailored offer that meets current demand. We especially see good pick-up at our Swiss-Belsuites Victoria Park [Auckland] hotel as it’s only five minutes’ walk from a large supermarket and has spacious suites – all apartment-style with balconies.”

Meantime events are obviously on hold given the current clamp-down on gatherings. “Next to general cleanliness, social distance is currently on our mind,” says Patrick. “The health of our guests and associates is our number-one priority.”

From AUD1,950 a month

A superior room at South Brisbane is available from $90 per day, $560 per week and $1,950 per month. A “super-suite” starts from $120 per day, $805 per week and $3,300 per month.

The hotel is adjacent to the Mater private and public and Lady Cilento Children’s hospitals and the newly opened Ronald McDonald House is directly opposite. It’s ten minutes’ walk to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre and 14 minutes’ walk to The Gabba stadium. The CBD is 3.6 kilometres – eight minutes’ drive – away.

If, as Czech writer Milan Kundera observed, business has only two functions – marketing and innovation – the Swiss-Belhotel is doing both well.

More info, click here.

Email: reservations-brisbane@swiss-belhotel.com

Organise an event at Papua New Guinea’s Stanley Hotel and Suites, a towering landmark a five-minute drive from Port Moresby airport, and you can be sure of one thing: you’ll meet Niko Parman.

The Director of Conferences and Events for the “Stanley,” one of few five-star hotels in the wild, exotic territory of PNG, lives on site and puts in as many hours per day as required to keep his clients happy.

“For the client I’m invariably the one-stop-shop,” says the dapper, energetic Australian (pictured left) who’s been here for three years, since the hotel opened. “Large events represent good turnover in Port Moresby, so you have to deliver, and it’s all about inter-personal relationships and trust. They want to see the face who sold the event space executing the event. That’s where I come in.”

The space he has to offer them is, he points out, the largest and most flexible in PNG. The hotel’s centrepiece ballroom is complemented by eight smaller meeting rooms which can be set up in a myriad combinations, anywhere from 10 to a thousand people seated banquet-style. The meeting rooms are on the same level; one has an open-air balcony that can accommodate 450 people.

The vast majority of delegates and clients can be accommodated on site in 420 well-equipped rooms (all with work desks), including 80 one- and two-bedroomed apartments, and a Presidential suite which has hosted the likes of President Xi of China. The hotel is targeted very much at business, primarily comprising local and international governments from the US or elsewhere working with PNG authorities, oil and gas mining enterprises, and NGOs such as the International Monetary Fund or Asian Development Bank. “The country is still largely dependent on aid from these bodies, and markets like these are our core. The majority of our business is sourced locally but funded from overseas.”

Why hold an event here? For a start the events management at The Stanley, top-heavy with expatriate talent knows what it’s doing. Its conference-driven MICE business is “massive,” according to Niko, dwarfing food and beverage. Much of it is inbound, and people flying in have to be accommodated. The property typically hosts opening cocktails and dinners, and its F&B outlets are like satellites. Accommodation comes with breakfast, and if delegates have a free night they’ll automatically fill up the restaurants and bars, Niko says. Indeed delegates don’t have too many options about places to go outside the property other than a range of eateries in the big adjacent shopping mall.

And that’s a positive for many PCOs. “We’re in a closed environment, so we have a captive market in a sense,” says Niko. “For many conference organisers that’s a perfect business model. They want to concentrate on the business at hand, with few distractions.”

Plus it’s good value. The Stanley charges for venue hire, depending on the size of the space required, and the full day rate is 155 Papua New Guinea kina – about AUD60.

Though Port Moresby has relatively few hotels, Niko says he and his colleagues don’t take business for granted. “In these days of social media, good service or bad service goes viral. If you dazzle people you get repeat business! It works, which is why we have great occupancy rates and we’re the market leader in the city.”

The reason for that, too, he says, is consistency. You can have wonderful product but if you’re not consistent a hotelier can run into trouble, he adds.

Niko tries to help ensure that consistency extends to the F&B outlets. The café in the grand, cavernous lobby serves coffee, freshly squeezed juices, sandwiches and pastries, operating from early till 6pm. In addition to the main restaurant, also on the ground floor, the Monsoon Bar is open from 3pm till midnight and the Silverleaf fine dining eatery seats 40 people on the nineteenth floor. There’s an executive lounge, with a clubby feel and excellent canapés after five.

For pre- and post-conference events, Niko can refer clients to trusted suppliers for everything from exhibition booths to entertainers, having attracted well-known names including James Morrison and Samantha Clarke.

From AUD60 per day

The conference rate includes buffet lunch, arrival tea and coffee with pastries, and morning tea with a choice of sweet and savoury items, which more and more guests want. “I can guarantee it’s on par with what Sydney and Melbourne can offer,” says Niko.

More information, click here. Or email dce@thestanleypng.com.