Inside IHG’s annual AIME dinner
IHG boost “conference confidence” at AIME.
Around 100 lucky meeting planners scored a sought-after invite to the InterContinental Hotels Group annual AIME dinner, joining representatives from 20 hotels across eight countries.
IHG kicked off 2016 on a conferencing high reporting a 7.4% lift in revenue and a 10.4% increase in confirmed business, year on year in Australasia.
Speaking at the dinner, IHG Director of Commercial Australasia, Jenny Morrell attributed the positive results to continued strong partnerships with PCOs and meeting planners; the IHG Business Rewards program launched in June 2015; and the first full year trading of InterContinental Sydney Double Bay.
“We continue to forge and maintain strong partnerships with the MICE community and enjoy successful working relationships. Our Business Rewards program has been extremely well received – rewarding meetings and conference bookers and incentivising their loyalty with IHG; and a successful full trading year for the newest InterContinental hotel in our region in Double Bay has certainly driven demand and conversion – all of which adds up to a strong platform off which to launch into 2016,” Morrell said.
New hotels set to join the IHG network is also expected to add to its diverse porfolio of venues and include the completion of the largest meetings venue in South West Sydney at Holiday Inn Warwick Farm later in 2016; InterContinental Perth; Crowne Plaza Christchurch; and Crowne Plaza Hobart opening in 2017 and further down the track, Crowne Plaza Sydney Darling Harbour in 2019.
IHG is also set to launch the Holiday Inn Express brand in Australia with the first opening in Sydney’s Macquarie Park precinct in April 2016. Further hotels are slated for Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne and are part of 15-hotel agreement by 2025 with Proinvest Group.
“The Holiday Inn Express hotels are a great addition to our network and will provide an exceptional convention hotel option for conference bookers. They are all ideally located in CBDs or in business precincts where conferencing venues are situated,” Morrell said.
Main image L-R: Yvette Peverell IHG Director of Communications; Dean Jones IHG Director of Regional Sales; Jenny Morrell IHG Director of Commercial; Dimitri Karam GM Holiday Inn Warwick Farm; Annmarie Mansour IHG Director of Marketing
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