DUYGU SÖNMEZ
General Manager, Crowne Plaza Istanbul Old City
Truly international, Crowne Plaza offers premium accommodation, designed for the discerning business and leisure traveler who appreciates simplified elegance combined with the practicality of the latest features, as well as value for money. The management of Crowne Plaza Old City Hotel has recently been passed over to Ata Tourism, within the Dorak Holding Group. Many deep-rooted changes have been made during this period with the sole aim of 100% customer contentment. Crowne Plaza wants to be the meetings supplier of choice for corporate customers, adding value to both stakeholders and budgets as a result of our expertise, but in particular because we make Crowne Plaza brands easy to do business with. By understanding this and the local marketplace, we will maximize direct- and third-party relationships and revenue opportunities in order to enable us to deliver our business goals. Crowne Plaza Old City is situated within the historical peninsula of Istanbul, and due to this unique location our hotel earns an important place in corporate, leisure, MICE, and congress tourism. The Old City in Istanbul is usually the first choice of our guests for their group meetings. Crowne Plaza offers high-quality service to its guests with meeting halls fully equipped with the current technology.
KHALED AL JAMAL
General Manager, JW Marriott Ankara
We are geared up toward MICE business. We have close to 4,600 sqm of meeting space in the hotel and a state-of-the-art boardroom that has the latest audio-visual technology. We have been able to attract business that has not come for Ankara, but has come for the JW Marriott brand. We have teamed up with the Congress Center to bring conferences to Ankara. However, we are trying not to be entirely dependent on MICE business. As the Marriott operates more than 3,500 hotels worldwide, we have a very strong customer database and a wide audience that can be reached. We have many clients who book events throughout the year all over the world, and they are always seeking new destinations. These are the people we are trying to reach. We have attracted three large events in this way, mainly from clients who said they would not have considered Ankara before, but were attracted by our luxurious product and the infrastructure of the city. Conference organizers first look at infrastructure and affordability, and Ankara’s airport is state of the art. Moreover, the local airport is not operating at full capacity. The city also has a wide variety and availability of rooms and brand hotels. This is where Ankara hoteliers can team up. There are day trips available to the local surroundings, and we firmly believe that Ankara is not getting its fair share of MICE tourism.
CANSU YÖRÜKOĞLU
General Manager, CANSU YÖRÜKOĞLU
We are primarily a business hotel, and MICE tourism is very important for us. The debt crisis has had a major effect on the MICE tourism industry, but we see this as an opportunity for Istanbul. MICE tourism is the heart of our business. Istanbul is one of the world’s largest cities, full of history and culture, and Turkey is increasingly becoming a favorite destination for US, European, and Middle Eastern MICE tourists. We have over 300 rooms with 500 beds, as well as 16 meeting spaces. We are expecting MICE tourism from Europe to pick up again, and the hotel has been working hard to win business back. Istanbul is in the seventh position globally in terms of holding events and conferences, but it is our goal to become number five. We are also expecting an increase in MICE tourism from the Middle East, and in the longer term we are looking to China and the Far East. Technology is also very important. Business travellers and MICE tourists expect the latest technology, so we have renovated all of our meeting rooms, and we are working with a technology company called Abiko to keep our technology up-to-date. The internet is also very important for us. For business travellers and MICE tourists, it is no longer a luxury. They expect the internet to be fast, free, and easy to use.
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