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Hilton Shanghai Hongqiao well-placed for MICE market
By Cherry Cao |
November 21, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AS MICE business - meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions - has emerged as an increasingly important engine for hotel revenue growth, newly built properties often seem best-placed to tap into the lucrative market.
Their attractions include more spacious rooms, large and flexible meeting and banqueting areas, plus top leisure facilities that can make the hotel a destination in itself.
Situated only 15 minutes away from the city's Hongqiao International Airport, Hilton Shanghai Hongqiao, featuring 675 contemporary guest rooms in a distinctive three-tower complex, is ideally placed for MICE business.
"MICE is a very important part of our business, contributing between 25 and 30 percent to our overall revenue," says Michael Williamson, an English native who has been at the helm of the luxury hotel, the second in Shanghai under the Hilton brand, since last month.
"It is an area we will continue to concentrate on and fortunately we have very nice combination at this hotel which gives us a lot of options."
Open for two years, the hotel boasts 2,800 square meters of flexible meeting space, including the largest ballroom in the area. The 6.7-meter-high ceiling, 1,706-square-meter ballroom, with a capacity to accommodate more than 1,000 guests, offers a spectacular venue for wedding banquets, high-level business conferences and other major events. The wide corridor outside is ideal for reception cocktail parties.
A separate conference zone, which can be sealed off as an independent area, contains six meeting rooms of varying sizes, all offering wired and wireless broadband Internet access and state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment.
A soundproof boardroom with exclusive entrance provides a secure environment for top-level director meetings. The entire meeting area can also be turned into luxurious banquet rooms to treat VIP guests.
A dedicated banquet and conference services team is in place to ensure that events proceed smoothly, while the hotel's pioneering self-assistance software system makes it easier for customers to make the best possible use of the facilities.
Meeting planners can simply go online to choose the type of space required and input the number of participants and any special requests and the system will automatically generate the best seating model and display various options for the planner to select from.
The hotel's various recreation facilities, including a 24-hour fitness center, a 25-meter indoor swimming pool, a sauna/steam room, a luxurious spa, as well as rooftop tennis courts, will help MICE guests recharge physically and mentally after tiring business trips and meetings.
And for golf-lovers, the nine-hole Hongqiao Golf Course is just steps away.
"Trade and business is expanding in Shanghai and will continue to expand and we are seeing growing incoming travelers," says Williamson, who has been in the hospitality industry for 30 years, including the past 17 with Hilton.
"We still have a lot of potential to develop more business with great MICE products and a great team," he adds.
Though still spending time getting familiar with the property and its surroundings, the general manager is prepared for intense competition in the city's hotel market - particularly the upscale and luxury segment.
"There are quite some fabulous hotels in this area and that brings a lot of competition," he says. "On one hand, that makes a hotelier's job difficult but on the other hand, it's not a bad thing," says Williamson. "For me, it is really a privilege to work in the city and a hotel like this because there is a lot of potential for growth here."
Their attractions include more spacious rooms, large and flexible meeting and banqueting areas, plus top leisure facilities that can make the hotel a destination in itself.
Situated only 15 minutes away from the city's Hongqiao International Airport, Hilton Shanghai Hongqiao, featuring 675 contemporary guest rooms in a distinctive three-tower complex, is ideally placed for MICE business.
"MICE is a very important part of our business, contributing between 25 and 30 percent to our overall revenue," says Michael Williamson, an English native who has been at the helm of the luxury hotel, the second in Shanghai under the Hilton brand, since last month.
"It is an area we will continue to concentrate on and fortunately we have very nice combination at this hotel which gives us a lot of options."
Open for two years, the hotel boasts 2,800 square meters of flexible meeting space, including the largest ballroom in the area. The 6.7-meter-high ceiling, 1,706-square-meter ballroom, with a capacity to accommodate more than 1,000 guests, offers a spectacular venue for wedding banquets, high-level business conferences and other major events. The wide corridor outside is ideal for reception cocktail parties.
A separate conference zone, which can be sealed off as an independent area, contains six meeting rooms of varying sizes, all offering wired and wireless broadband Internet access and state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment.
A soundproof boardroom with exclusive entrance provides a secure environment for top-level director meetings. The entire meeting area can also be turned into luxurious banquet rooms to treat VIP guests.
A dedicated banquet and conference services team is in place to ensure that events proceed smoothly, while the hotel's pioneering self-assistance software system makes it easier for customers to make the best possible use of the facilities.
Meeting planners can simply go online to choose the type of space required and input the number of participants and any special requests and the system will automatically generate the best seating model and display various options for the planner to select from.
The hotel's various recreation facilities, including a 24-hour fitness center, a 25-meter indoor swimming pool, a sauna/steam room, a luxurious spa, as well as rooftop tennis courts, will help MICE guests recharge physically and mentally after tiring business trips and meetings.
And for golf-lovers, the nine-hole Hongqiao Golf Course is just steps away.
"Trade and business is expanding in Shanghai and will continue to expand and we are seeing growing incoming travelers," says Williamson, who has been in the hospitality industry for 30 years, including the past 17 with Hilton.
"We still have a lot of potential to develop more business with great MICE products and a great team," he adds.
Though still spending time getting familiar with the property and its surroundings, the general manager is prepared for intense competition in the city's hotel market - particularly the upscale and luxury segment.
"There are quite some fabulous hotels in this area and that brings a lot of competition," he says. "On one hand, that makes a hotelier's job difficult but on the other hand, it's not a bad thing," says Williamson. "For me, it is really a privilege to work in the city and a hotel like this because there is a lot of potential for growth here."
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