Hotels in the Middle East need to maintain a standard of excellence in the delivery of events ranging from large-scale conferences…
Hotels in the Middle East need to maintain a standard of excellence in the delivery of events ranging from large-scale conferences down to less formal meetings if the region is to continue increasing its hold on the growing international MICE market.
Leading the charge on setting the standards in the Middle East is the Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi. As the winner of the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award for 2005, the hotel has developed a reputation for providing top-quality standards and services.
The Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi understands the importance of providing the highest standards of personalized service and offers their customers a dedicated event manager to be able to coordinate and action all requests, provide flexible facilities and well-equipped function rooms to ensure customer satisfaction.
The Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi has a well established record of excellence in outside catering and event planning and has provided services for events of every occasion and size from private receptions to major trade exhibitions, said Walter Hall, General Manager, Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi.
At Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi we aim for the highest standards of service in meeting, conference and banqueting facilities. Every event is managed by professional, dedicated and trained staff that understands the importance of delivering on all client requests through to the smallest detail, explained Hall.
Offering a combination of 18 conference and banqueting rooms, including two ballrooms, providing capacity for up to 900 guests, the Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi has the flexibility to cater to most meeting requirements. Each meeting room has natural day light and is provided with the latest audio-visual equipment and wireless high speed internet access. These well-equipped function rooms, professional service, selection of high value banquet menus and tailor-made conference plans, guarantee every event detail is planned for success.
We regularly successfully manage residential training programs for international consultancies and specialize in online intern based training for key corporate companies in the energy sector. With the fastest high speed internet connection in the city and a reputation of consistent service delivery, we are the first choice hotel for conducting training which requires the latest facilities in internet based or video conference workshops, he said.
Located within walking distance of the commercial and shopping districts of the city center, the Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi has established a reputation as `The Place to Meet` in Abu Dhabi and it guarantees a quality experience for both event planners and delegates attending an event at the property. Just 30 minutes away from Abu Dhabi International Airport, the hotel is ideal for business, shopping and leisure, and gives access to many tourist activities, from simply lazing on golden beaches to sand-skiing and desert safaris.
The hotel has 236 luxurious rooms including 49 suites and all rooms have high speed internet access, 3 Executive Floors designed specially with the business traveler in mind and a state-of-the-art business center for secretarial and support services, 5 restaurants and bars. For unwinding, the hotel offers a Roman-style rooftop swimming pool and a fitness center.
With a wide variety and high quality selection of restaurants and bars within the hotel, Walter Hall believes the Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi is able to provide residential conference guests the flexibility and choice to suit longer stay courses where delegates may be residents for up to several weeks training. With the hotel`s partners, outside catering events and activities can be planned to the same precision, so ensuring guests may take advantage of their stay to combine their education with entertainment and the best that the capital city has to offer, he said.
Reflecting on the evolving nature of the business meeting market, Hall said that to keep ahead of the rest of the competition, it is necessary to provide a wide-range of choice to customers. At the Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi we have recognized the need for providing everything from the largest of events right down to the most intimate of meetings – the standard levels are the same though, there must always be the highest attention to detail. And thanks to the Meeting Success Program we have in place, every event is a success.
Dedicated to providing the ultimate in service, the Crowne Plaza adheres to the strictest guidelines provided in its Meeting Success Program. As such, all requests have a two-hour response time, every event is appointed a Meetings Director, a daily meeting debrief is conducted – during this the client can review service delivery and discuss schedule changes with their Crowne Meetings Director (CMD).
Additionally, all Crowne Plaza hotels participate in the Meetings Promise program, which requires that if any of the requirements specified in a meeting contract are not fulfilled, the hotel must correct the problem or not charge the customer for that item. To further ensure quality, a review of the Meeting Success product and service delivery must take place with the meeting organizer during the Daily Meeting Debrief, to monitor feedback of the service delivered during and after the event.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
