Avner On, our General Manager talks to Conference News

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SPA &WELLNESS CN
The hotel, spa and
restaurant trail
CN checks in to a London hotel and restaurant and finds the events menu is Olympian.
London Hilton Metropole says a
combination of events, including the
London Olympics and exhibitions at
London’s new International Convention
Centre are already drawing business and
leisure crowds to London and the hotel.
CN talks to hotel GM, Avner On.
How many meetings, conferences and
events do you hold a year on average?
We host up to 2,500 events and set up 5,000
function rooms each year.
What percentage of your bookings are
made up of international clients?
On the conference and events side, many of
our bookings are with UK-based companies
and on the accommodation front it’s a
similar story. However we do cater for
thousands of guests every year from all
over the world. Many of our staff speak
more than one language; our newly
refurbished West Wing rooms have inbuilt
universal power outlets, and our menus
reflect an international palate.
How do you market the hotel?
There are three elements that will never
change, no matter what the economic
climate. These are our experience, our
flexibility and the accessibility of the hotel.
These elements remain the core tenets of
our marketing activity.
What discounts do you offer for delegates?
It depends on the type of event and the
needs of the customer. Most delegates
receive a discount at our restaurants
(Nippon Tuk and Fiamma Restaurant),
sports and lounge bars, and Contrasti hair
and beauty salon.
We also reward event organisers for
booking events with us. We offer event
bonuses through our Hilton HHonors
programme. It enables event organisers to
gain points for every event they book. The
Check in, plug in, eat in
points can be redeemed for
accommodation with participating Hilton
hotels or tickets with participating airlines.
Alternatively HHonors points can be
credited towards an organiser’s next event.
How are you coping with the recession?
The recession has impacted our business
mix, however we have continued to invest in
new initiatives to provide clients with more
first-class services and facilities
throughout. This includes an investment of
£4m refurbishing the bedrooms and public
areas in the West Wing of the hotel,
refurbishing the hotel’s deluxe rooms in the
Tower building, installing flat screen LCD
TVs in all bedrooms and transforming the
lift lobby and corridor leading to the
executive lounge in the hotel’s East Wing.
This year we will invest a further £100,000
to provide extended ‘state-of-the-art’
adjacent meeting space to our Monarch and
King suites.
Are you having to be more creative to keep
business coming? How?
Yes, for example we recently held an event
where we had a futuristic themed coffee
break. Guests were treated to futuristic
taste sensations including fusion canapés
and space dust.
We once even recreated the dining
experience of London’s famous Borough
Markets in our king suite. We set up real
market stalls and brought in special trees
to create an alfresco market mood.
Our latest investments are also
testament to this.
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CN SPA & WELLNESS
Are you seeing a different client this
year than to last?
It’s too early to identify any emerging
trends towards a new type of clientele,
but we can confidently say that by
continuing the same level of quality
service we have maintained a loyal client
base during the recent challenging times.
Who is your biggest competitor?
We are well aware of who our competition
is and what sets us apart from them. Not
only do we compete against London and
UK based conference venues, but also on
a European level.
What is your main challenge for this year?
To drive customer loyalty even higher. This
year we will focus strongly on our customer
loyalty programmes, delivering more value.
What opportunities are there for the hotel
for the upcoming year?
A combination of events including the
London Olympics and exhibitions at
London’s new International Convention
Centre are already drawing business and
leisure crowds to London. Over the next
year we anticipate interest will continue to
grow, seeing an influx in both business and
leisure clients. There are obvious
The 2012 London Olympics are
already drawing in business,
says GM On
opportunities here for the Metropole to
capitalise on the influx of travellers visiting
the capital. CN
Covent Garden’s Moti Mahal has just
celebrated its 5th anniversary. CN talks
to events and marketing manager, Dona
Stoica, about how it is trying to increase
its corporate business.
How much corporate dining and event
space do you have?
Upstairs: 65 seated; 150 standing
Downstairs: 34 seated; 80 standing
How is your business split between
corporate and leisure?
20 per cent corporate business
80 per cent leisure business
How many corporate events and parties
are held at the venue yearly, and is this
number close to where you would like it
to be?
We held 142 parties in 2009, 11 per cent
were larger corporate events, a number
we would like to increase to 32 per cent in
the coming year.
Do you attract any international
corporate business?
Yes we do. We work with Visit London to
attract this business and we also attend
trade shows to get our product out to the
market. World Travel Market has been of
particular use to us, and we have also
visited Dubai and attended the Meet the
Business exhibition there.
How has your corporate business
changed in the last five years?
We are finding that we have a lot more
local business this year, from companies
based within a three mile radius of our
space. We are also part of a number of
local business networks, and hold
monthly network events to showcase our
event spaces and for local businesses to
come and sample our offering. The
recession was a tough time and business
has improved dramatically for us this
year. We had 1,000 event enquiries last
year, of which 400 were cancelled last
minute.
How do you market yourselves to the
corporate market?
Direct mailing, networks, special offers
and exhibitions.
What are your clients asking for now,
that they didn’t before?
There is more emphasis on ROI, and
entertainment is a big add on that
companies are asking us to organise,
from a magician to a disco.
Are you clients looking for quirky
venues to hold events, or just whoever
offers the cheapest deal?
I think both of these ring true. However
clients want flexibility and the
opportunity to work last minute mostly.
Where do you see the future of your
venue?
We want to increase the amount of
corporate events by 32 per cent.
44 SEPTEMBER 2010 CN CONFERENCE-NEWS.CO.UK