Despite the trend in corporate travel towards shorter stays characterised by more meetings and increased demand for
uninterrupted connectivity, travellers are spending more time socialising in public hotel areas.
This is according to Nicholas Barenblatt, group marketing manager for Protea Hotels and African Pride, who says the
design of public spaces has become a critical point of focus for new hotels wanting to attract the attention of
corporates. “People attract people,” he comments, noting that travellers want to be able to network both during and
outside of meetings.
The demand for more people-orientated travel experiences is reflected in the success of Protea’s Fire&Ice! brand. “The
slightly left of centre offering is gaining traction,” says Nicholas, revealing that the brand’s newest addition, Protea Hotel Fire&Ice! Menlyn has already taken off, despite having launched just five months ago. He explains that Menlyn is very much a “disruptor” in the market with its cutting-edge, design-centric offering. “The brand is all about a stay experience that goes beyond the traditional bed and breakfast offering,” he adds.
Director of sales, marketing and revenue, Danny Bryer, says Protea is constantly looking at opportunities to grow its brand and, while potential opportunities to expand the Fire&Ice brand are yet to be developed, he reveals that possibilities lie with Durban and outside South Africa’s borders.
Looking at conferencing specifically, Danny says hotels need to find ways of reinventing their offerings. While more corporates are holding conferences closer to home and increasingly using their own conference rooms, venues are having to relook their value proposition in order to attract business.
Nicholas explains that one of the ways in which Protea enhances its value proposition is through tailor-made solutions at various of its properties such as the African Pride Mount Grace Country House & Spa and the Arabella Hotel & Spa. “We like to ask our clients if we can provide them with something beyond what’s available at the property and offer them an all-inclusive type of experience.”
He further comments that Marriott has developed a Meetings Imagined tool that provides meetings managers with new concepts and best practice in order to easily construct events that go beyond the norm from scratch. As part of Protea’s integration process, this will soon be available to local events planners as well.
