ROYAL Cliff Hotels Group and PEACH (Pattaya Exhibition & Convention Hall), which have undergone a one billion baht (US$32.8 million) renovation and rebranding programme, will host several major events this year.

One of these mega wins include the 600-pax Asia Golf Tourism Convention in April (TTGmice e-Weekly, December 6, 2012).

Royal Cliff Hotels Group and PEACH executive director, Vitanart Vathanakul, said the convention, coming on top of an Asia-Pacific Golf Summit it also hosted last year, would help promote Pattaya as a golf hub.

“Eighteen of the best golf courses in Asia are located in Pattaya, with one of the courses designed by Jack Niklaus. In addition, golfers will see that Pattaya city has improved its infrastructure significantly,” said Vitanart.

The convention will comprise a number of seminars conducted by sports icons and a buyers-meet-sellers programme, according to Vitanart.

Other conventions confirmed at Royal Cliff and PEACH to-date included a money expo, an Asia-Pacific cardiology congress, a world health conference and key corporate meetings such as Singha Corp and Thai Beverage Corp said Vitanart, adding the venue had been seeing more prestigious events and large-scale wedding groups since last year. This included a ministerial meeting where the Thai Prime Minister and her Cabinet addressed issues to improve the Eastern Seaboard region and a car rally organised by the Economic Reporter Association which brought more than 600 reporters in Thailand to Royal Cliff.

Vitanart said the billion-dollar baht renovation and an investment on human resource training gave Royal Cliff an edge to clinch prestigious events.

The 40-year-old Royal Cliff has repositioned the product to cover all segments and draw not just loyal customers but younger executives.

The 544-room Beach Hotel is now pitched at those who love “casual luxury”. Aside from new, modern Mini Suite Plus rooms, it has a new infinity-edge pool and a new beachside restaurant, Breezeo, which offers over 100 cocktails. Guests can also create their own cocktails, down to choosing the ice shape for their drink.

The 89-room Beach Terrace is now positioned as “boutique luxury”, and a highlight is its new rooftop sunset terrace.

The Grand Hotel targets those who want “formal luxury”. It is also made for business travellers, with features such as a large working table and high-speed Wi-Fi. For guests desiring “ultimate luxury”, the Royal Wing, with 85 rooms and presidential suites, awaits.

MARRIOTT Hotel Manila is looking to boost its MICE business with the construction of a new wing with 228 guestrooms and a convention centre within the Resorts World Manila integrated resort (IR).

The new wing and convention centre will be connected to the existing Marriott Hotel Manila by a walkway. The convention centre will house a grand ballroom that can sit 2,500 pax; two ballrooms for up to 300 people; some 50 meeting rooms; two wedding chapels; and other MICE facilities.

When these facilities are operational by 1Q2015, the hotel will boast a total of 570 guestrooms and 6,900m² of meeting space, making it the Philippines’ largest in terms of hotel facilities and services category.

The hotel sees exciting opportunities for MICE which currently contributes 13 per cent to its total room nights, according to Marriott Hotel Manila’s general manager Scott Sibley.

Sibley said the MICE segment would generate 56 per cent of the growth in total hotel revenue in the first year of operating the additional guestrooms and Marriott Convention Center.

The hotel’s increased focus on MICE comes at a time when Resorts World Manila, the country’s first IR, will be facing off with four larger competitors that will emerge in the Entertainment City in the Manila Bay area beginning this year till 2016.

In an earlier interview, Bill Barnett, managing director of asset management and hospitality consulting C9 Hotelworks, said the future augurs well for Marriott Hotel Manila, which has one of the largest occupancies in mega-Manila and 85 per cent corporate business.

Barnett said the property would not take business out of hotels in the Makati CBD, but would instead offer an edge in enhancing the MICE segment.

“(It is) a segment we haven’t seen in the Philippines,” he said.

DOMESTIC ferry operator 2GO is now marketing its Batangas-Boracay and Manila-Cebu overnight ferry trips to overseas MICE markets, offering corporate groups on option to host themed meetings and events on board its vessels.

Seminars can be conducted on vessels plying the Cebu route, with setups available for 200 pax in theatre style. Boracay-bound vessels offer converted space in the cafe and an open deck. Ships on both routes can be used for deck parties with band performances, karaoke nights and teambuilding sessions.

Stephen Rey Tagud, 2GO vice president and chief commercial officer, told TTGmice e-Weekly that free Wi-Fi would be offered from this year on, and onboard e-gaming facilities were being considered.

Corporate rates are available for groups of 10 or more.

Top local companies are being targeted, and 2GO is looking to build ties with the Philippine travel trade too.

According to Amy G Leyes, assistant vice president for passage group sales, 2GO is making headway in its MICE pursuit. The Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines chartered the Boracay ferry last May, holding its conference onboard, while the Association of Administrators of Hotel and Restaurant Management Education Institutions utilised a round trip ferry service when it had its convention at the Crown Regency in Boracay in December.

Besides targeting overseas MICE buyers, 2GO is also keen on attracting value-conscious leisure travellers. The company has been pursuing leads from India and Taiwan obtained at PATA Travel Mart in Manila last September. Tagud explained that there were a lot of Indians who wanted to travel around Asia and the Philippines with their families, but were on a budget.

Leyes added that leisure enquiries were also streaming in from Latvia, Scotland and South Korea.

Meanwhile, 2GO has secured a pink market group for 1Q2013. Some 500 to 600 participants are expected. Theme parties onboard and in Boracay will be offered in the five-day/four-night programme, as well as bundled packages that include buffet meals, airport transfers, day tours to Intramuros and Tagaytay for early morning arrivals, shuttle services from Manila to Batangas port, and land and boat transfers to Caticlan.

A cruise-fly option is also offered to travellers planning on extending their visit in Boracay or elsewhere.

Tagud said: “We’re partnering a Taiwanese party organiser (with networks in the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia) to sell Boracay as a party destination.”

KEMPINSKI Ambience Hotel Delhi has cancelled its official opening celebrations planned for January 18, citing ongoing unrest in the city as reason.

Vella Ramaswamy, general manager of the property which had soft opened last October, denies that the move was due to cancellation of bookings from leisure and business clients as a result of the anti-rape protests that have been held in the city since mid-December.

Ramaswamy told TTGmice e-Weekly: “The ‘Kempinski Ambience Delhi is located in the heart of the city and therefore has to respect the ongoing sentiment of the capital. The city is (concerned about) the safety of its citizens and we would like to contribute in our own way by not celebrating the grand opening of the hotel.”

He added: “The entire political and administrative leadership is pensive over the current situation. New Year celebrations in the city were also curtailed in most of the places.”

That said, Ramaswamy is confident of “hosting substantially big events in the first quarter of 2013”.

The hotel is still open for reservations, although no definite date has been set of the official opening.