Cvent unveils top 50 meeting hotels in APAC

Meetings, events and hospitality technology provider Cvent today released its annual list of the Top 50 Meeting Hotels in Asia Pacific. The list was compiled by analysing meeting and event booking activity through the Cvent Supplier Network (CSN), a venue-sourcing platform.

More than US$16 billion and more than 42 million room nights were sourced through the CSN in 2018, including an increase of nearly 15% in sourcing volume in APAC year-on-year. Cvent’s Top Meeting Hotels list ranks venues based on MICE performance according to various criteria, including total requests for proposals (RFPs) and conversion rate.

“The venues featured on this year’s lists are elevating their MICE strategy through innovative digital marketing and quick and complete online responses to RFPs – which is exactly what event organisers want,” said Chris McAndrews, vice president of marketing for Cvent Hospitality Cloud. "Our Top Meeting Hotels lists are consistently used by event organisers to find great hotels and by hoteliers looking to set themselves apart to increase their property’s group business revenue.”

Top performers

Hyatt Regency Sydney retained its number one position as ‘Top Meeting Hotel in Asia-Pacific’, while there were five properties new to the top 10: Grand Hyatt Singapore, Grand Hyatt Seoul, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, ANA InterContinental Tokyo and Marina Bay Sands Singapore. Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott are the top three hotel chains represented on the Top 50 list.

Top 10 Hotel Properties in APAC

Both destination and property appeal contribute to the rankings according to McAndrews. In fact, Sydney and Singapore hotels occupy 23 of the top 50 spots. Hong Kong, Bangkok and Tokyo hotels also nabbed five spots, while Seoul properties notched up four.  This leaves just eight spots occupied by hotels in the rest of the region.

“From the destination perspective, it is important that there is consistent investment in infrastructure, hotel variety and entertainment offerings. These items are critical to attract event organisers and their delegates,” McAndrews told CEI. “On the hotel side, when properties can set themselves apart with their unique group amenities, elevated service levels, and exclusive onsite experiences, these enhanced offerings can provide a standout experience and entice more group business.”

New entrants

There are 17 new properties on the Top 50 list this year including JW Marriott Hong Kong, Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers, Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park, Millennium Seoul Hilton, Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour, PARKROYAL Darling Harbour, Sydney, The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali, Resorts World Sentosa Singapore and Grand Hyatt Tokyo among others.

“Organisers also frequently look for newly opened properties, or properties that have undergone recent renovations,” adds McAndrews. “For example, the Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park was closed for roughly 2.5 years to complete a major renovation of about US$157 million, and missed our list in 2018. It reopened in late 2017 and reaped the benefits of this investment throughout 2018, leading to the 11^th spot on the 2019 list. Another example is Grand Hyatt Seoul, which ranked 25^th on our 2017 list, but wasn’t in top 50 in 2018. Following an extensive renovation, the hotel is back with a stunning comeback to the #3 spot in 2019.”

Competitive environment

McAndrews says that growing interest in the region’s business events industry is driving investment from hotel chains in both new properties and major renovations; especially when it comes to event facilities.

“2018 was a year of notable investment in renovation and other upgrades across a number of hotels, which led to shifts in the rankings as competition remains fierce even in a robust market,” he says. “There is an increased focus on attracting MICE business. With last year’s report showing the events industry boosts the global GDP by US$1.5 trillion, hotels have become increasingly focused on driving more meeting and event business to their properties.

“Hotels around the world, regardless of their size, continue to advance and expand their group marketing efforts and are increasingly embracing a data-driven approach to attract qualified meetings and events and grow their revenue. For example, in our 2018 Global Planner Sourcing Report, the data showed that less than half of event planners were certain of their venue before they began sourcing, meaning there is ample opportunity for those who market and sell effectively (in a digital environment) to win business, which means new entries into rankings. The hotels that use this kind of data to drive their group strategies often see that reflected positively in their list rank.”

Some major business events properties slid down the rankings, despite high rankings last year. Many benefitted from a newness or renovation bump last year, and were outdone by newer rivals this year. Though all finished very respectably in the Top 50, Shangri-La Singapore and InterContinental Singapore each fell three places, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel dropped 15, JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach dropped 21 and The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore dropped 15, while Hilton Singapore fell eight. Shangri-La Bangkok dropped five and Millennium Hilton Bangkok 17 amid a surge of new openings in the Thai capital. Hilton Kuala Lumpur fell 13 and Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur dropped eight.

Sydney also saw favourites dropping places. Westin Sydney dropped seven, Shangri-La Sydney dropped 23 places, Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay dropped 35, while Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park dropped 21.

“Our top meeting hotels lists are extremely competitive,” says McAndrews. “Because of this, hotels cannot rest on their laurels if they want to attract more MICE business year after year. The region has seen incredible growth and development, from new properties to renovations – and for event organisers, there is a tendency to want what is new – which could have impacted the rankings for some of the more established properties. Additionally, the fluctuations in demand dynamics and sourcing trends certainly brought new destinations and properties to the list as well.”

As for any broader trends, McAndrews says leisure facilities are proving just as important as good meeting space.

“Event organisers want a hotel that can deliver on the business side while also satisfying the leisure demands of their guests,” he adds. “Providing an environment that is conducive to conducting business, while also delivering the amenities and experiences that event delegates will enjoy in their spare time is crucial to attracting meetings and events and many of the hotels on our top meeting hotels lists are checking those boxes.”

Methodology

Cvent evaluated hotel properties that generated business through the Cvent Supplier Network from January 2018 through December 2018. The properties were ranked according to criteria including total requests for proposals (RFPs), awarded RFPs, total room nights, awarded room nights, major metropolitan area (MMA) market share, conversion rate, response rate and the hotel's unique profile visits in the Cvent Supplier Network.

To address increased demand and buyer preferences, Cvent unveiled additional Top Meeting Hotel lists, which segment hotels further based on commonly searched attributes including meeting space square footage and region-specific locales. These lists include: Top 25 Meeting Hotels in Australia and Top 25 Meeting Hotels in Asia among others.

View the full list of Cvent’s ‘Top 50 Meeting Hotels in Asia-Pacific’ here.