features: latest magazine features: Budget with attitude
Budget with attitude
The region’s limited-service hotels are punching more than their weight when it comes to service ethics and are winning meetings business – often over their top-end counterparts. meetme looks at how they are stepping up to the plate and providing five-star service at value-for-money prices. Gemma Greenwood reports
The so-called budget and mid-range accommodation brands that have bombarded the UAE market of late are starting to prove they can also play in a higher division by offering a fast, efficient and importantly, warm and friendly service more often associated with top-tier hotels.
In this age of austerity where meeting planners and corporate travellers expect value for money and are more demanding than ever, being treated as a valued guest is a top consideration.
With some luxury establishments proving pricey, these cost-conscious, service-driven buyers and travellers are realising they can get more bang for their buck if they opt for a budget brand.
After all, the good ones have all the amenities they require, particularly for a business trip, and many are offering a service that is hard to fault.
In the Middle East, brands ranging from Premier Inn, easyHotel and Ibis to Holiday Inn, City Seasons, Courtyard by Marriott and Park Inn are starting to give the five-stars a run for their money.
“The Premier Inn hotels in Dubai have proven to be extremely popular with people attending conferences and events in the city because of the value for money provided and the quality of service on offer,” confirms Premier Inn Middle East & Africa managing director Darroch Crawford.
“Three years ago there was very little realistic alternative to five-star hotels in the region, but now visitors have a choice and don’t need to pay five-star prices. The region is now able to attract a much wider range of events because it can offer affordable accommodation and the occupancy levels achieved by brands such as Premier Inn speak for themselves. And when it comes to service, Premier Inn puts its money where its mouth is by offering a ‘Good Night Guarantee’ – a self-confident, honest policy that you would be hard-pushed to find in the five-star category.
Crawford explains: “If you are dissatisfied with our service or don’t enjoy a good night’s sleep, we will refund the cost of your stay.” He also stresses that customer feedback speaks for itself: “Tripadvisor currently features 418 hotels in Dubai, of which more than 80 are classified as five-star, yet Premier Inn Dubai International Airport has been voted by its guests as the best in the city for business travellers and has rarely, if ever, featured outside the top 30 hotels in the emirate. A search of the 70-plus three-star hotels will show all three Dubai Premier Inns in the top five and more often than not they are in the top three.”
When it comes to Premier Inn’s offering, there may be no bells and whistles, but it does offer a good standard of product and service, with a few surprising extras thrown in for good measure: “A great welcome, selection of food and drink, free transportation to places of interest and major events and a good night’s sleep”, are all up for grabs, says Crawford, plus cost-conscious clients are promised “consistent value-for-money pricing, even during periods of very high demand.”
Not only that, but staff training and service delivery are taken extremely seriously, he says.
“A warm welcome and great service are part of Premier Inn’s DNA,” he continues. “We handpick our staff for their customer care skills and this shows in the very high percentage of individual guests and groups who return year after year.” Typically, limited-service brands are not known for their mega meetings facilities, but rather as affordable places to stay when attending a conference or exhibition. However, in a bid to keep pace with Abu Dhabi’s ambitious visitor targets, which place an emphasis on drawing in large volumes of meetings business over the next decade and beyond, Premier Inn’s brand new hotel at Capital Centre, next to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) and Zayed Sports City, offers four conference and meeting rooms and meeting and exhibition visitors comprise a large proportion of its guests.
Mid-range accommodation specialist and a relative market newcomer, City Seasons, notes that because budget brands tend to be smaller in size and have fewer facilities to manage, they have more time and resources to focus on getting service standards right. “I think that because we are not a large property with many facilities, we are able to provide a much more attentive service with a dedicated conference and banqueting team available to oversee all of our meetings and events to ensure they go smoothly,” explains Syed Mehdi, director of sales and marketing at City Seasons Dubai.
“A poor attitude will negatively affect business and a meeting planner will only use you once if they are dissatisfied with the service they receive. It is something that we constantly train for at our properties and it is something on which we have built our reputation. A happy and satisfied client promises repeat business.”
Service aside, Mehdi says other key reasons City Seasons properties lure meetings business is the rate elasticity they offer. “While five-star hotels have, in recent years, drastically cut rates, they still cannot compete with us on flexibility of pricing,” he says. “As well as attractive rates we also provide equipment such as LCD projectors and screens as part of the package instead of charging extra as some luxury properties do.”
Locations also make City Seasons hotels attractive to corporate clients he adds, with the chain’s properties across the UAE and Oman “strategically located close to the main business districts and the international airports making them readily accessible for travellers and residents”.
“In this era of time-poor business travellers, being able to get to and from a conference or meeting speedily is crucial,” he says. Mehdi believes the combination of location, rate advantages and a service-driven team mean that brands like City Seasons are giving the top-tier properties a run for their money.
“There is certainly tremendous scope for limitedservice brands to secure meetings business in the future and even gain more market share as organisations continue to watch their budgets carefully,” he adds.
Service breeds loyalty
But it’s not just the companies specialising in budget hotel accommodation that are blowing their own trumpets when it comes to winning meetings business as a result of providing a good quality product, and service that meets – or exceeds – customer expectations.
Even some of the bigger hotel groups that manage a wide range of brands, from budget to blowthe- budget, are witnessing an uptake in group and meetings business at their limited-service properties.
Rezidor Group global director of sales & marketing Yigit Sezgin says the company, which operates the midrange Park Inn brand, says clients are becoming a lot more “budget conscious” due to “uncertain economic conditions” and that limited service properties are winning more meetings business as a result of this–as long as they provide the necessary meetings infrastructure.
“We have a very competitive product when it comes to our mid-market Park Inn by Radisson brand, especially here in the Middle East,” he says.
“Our Park Inn properties are all new so we can combine a modern and new product with our service standards, which means the client is getting more value for money than in a five-star property. “A meeting planner is available in our Park Inn properties; they will take care of everything from AV equipment to coffee breaks to set-up. In addition, they will offer personal assistance in regards to helping the client pull-off a colourful and creative event that includes interesting coffee breaks and fun and unique activities that can take place on the premises.”
He notes that Park Inn is part of the Carlson Meeting Planner loyalty programme, “so we offer the same incentives as we do with our (more up-scale) Radisson Blu brand. This can include anything from free upgrades and reward nights to free breakout rooms”.
Sezgin acknowledges that providing good quality service is at the “very core” of the group’s business and applies to all of its brands, regardless of star rating or category.
“Sales and marketing plays a huge part in getting guests into the hotel, but it’s the service and the general experience once they are there that retains clients,” he says. “A good experience translates into positive word of mouth; this is the strongest marketing tool we have when it comes to revenue retention.”
Sezgin’s sentiments are very much echoed by Jeff Strachan, vice president – sales & marketing for Marriott International Middle East and Africa continent, which boasts a broad portfolio of properties and brands across the region, including the popular mid-range options such as Courtyard by Marriott.
He notes that corporates are increasingly looking to more value-driven hotel and venue propositions as long as the essentials such as AV facilities and internet connectivity are available in meeting rooms.
Other “basic requirements” that meetings clients require to accomplish their goals, adds Strachan, include “pillar-free meeting space, excellent food and beverage and the attentive service of happy associates”.
He says Marriott has witnessed “increased interest [in mid-range properties] from global organisations with high profiles, which you would perhaps normally associate with a hotel with a five-star rating”.
“Given the quality of hotels in the mid–tier, it is definitely acceptable for these high-profile organisations to use our hotels,” he says.
Strachan also makes it clear that the label “limited service” is a misleading term for budget or midmarket hotel brands because generally, it refers to the size of the room or is product related.
“It should not relate to ‘service’ because our customers should still expect of us a diligent and well presented response, flexibility and a thorough understanding of what they are trying to achieve and accomplish from their meeting,” he explains.
“The service comes from our excellent associates and we firmly believe that is irrespective of category of hotel. The service of our associates is first class.
“Loyalty is driven out of producing the customer’s desired results at a price point they are happy with. If we continue to deliver the level of service and the customer continues to be happy, we will achieve loyalty.”
New options emerging
Interestingly, it’s not just the budget and midrange hotels that are taking the opportunity to wow budget-conscious clients with their service ethics. So too is the region’s burgeoning serviced apartment market, as Jean-Francois Asimus, general manager of Dusit Residence Dubai Marina, explains: “We have witnessed a notable increase in demand from the meetings sector, especially from corporate accounts that have their CEOs staying in our property. This is a plus once they come to know what the property offers, other than long-term accommodation.
“Also, it boils down to the global economic crisis that is impacting all companies. They are struggling to maintain their budgets, but still want to fulfill their meeting requirements effectively, whether for their clients or staff and getting adequate service on par with a five-star hotel is key. They are looking to serviced apartments for equal standards.”
Asimus reveals that Dusit Residence Dubai Marina’s hidden credentials include two penthouses with marina views that can be “easily converted” to a meeting area or for a special/private small to medium-sized event.
“We also have a lounge area on the first floor that can be divided into three meeting areas and, for smaller groups, we have the boardroom on the ground floor,” he explains.
“Support services are available from equipment to themed coffee breaks. Our allday dining restaurant with lounge area has been used for countless birthdays, small weddings and team gathering events as well.”
It also goes without saying that service standards are taken seriously given the Dusit brand hails from Thailand – a country known for its warm hospitality.
“Giving a more personalised service and treating our clients with the utmost care breeds loyalty in return,” says Asimus. “Our edge is that we can offer the same quality service offered at a five-star hotel.”
When only the best will do?
Sezgin notes that five-star products are finding it is increasingly difficult to compete with their mid-market counterparts due to their higher running costs coupled with the fact that service standards are often on par.
“But we must remember that there are certain meeting requirements that will never change,” he says. “The incentives element means that people still want to impress their top clients and performers while entertaining them. In this respect, five-star hotels will always dominate the market for obvious reasons; put quite simply, people cannot compromise when it comes to impressing someone.”
Strachan says there is “definitely space in the meetings industry for moderate tier hotels” but that does not need to be detrimentle the five-star category. If anything, the quality offering posed by mid-market brands will expand the market rather than corner it, he says.
He also notes that regardless of star rating, providing good service is what drives a successful hotel business. Looking ahead, all hotels will have their work cut out in retaining and growing meetings business if certain uncontrollable socio-economic and political factors continue to impact business confidence and budgets, stresses Sezgin.
“There are several things that have and will further impact our region; firstly, the repercussions of the Arab Spring and secondly, the possibility of another financial crisis in Europe,” he says.
“Taking both of these elements into account, I have no doubt that we will gain market share in regards to meetings with our midmarket brand Park Inn. Once again this comes back to the budget constraints everyone is currently and will continue to experience.”
