“Trade shows and sales campaigns can be relatively costly, time-consuming and hard to assess in terms of the return on investment,” said Richard Barnes, Managing Director – Hotel Representation. “That’s why we decided to launch specific events that would respond to different markets and offer a high conversion rate of leads into real business, without costing a fortune.”
An event that exemplifies this approach is the two-day Meeting Forum, where member hotels hold one-to-one meetings with leading MICE buyers. “Members know they will be meeting up to 15 different buyers from the selected country per day, all of whom have a real interest in the hotel,” explained Barnes. “In response to the success we’ve had to date, we’ll be running six Meeting Forums next year.”
Other GHO events are being developed to target key markets in lucrative locations. For example, the Great Connections series provides a genuine platform for member hotels to target luxury leisure travel agents.
Meanwhile, the company’s intimate Sales Blitzes are designed to create new business in emerging markets as diverse as the UK, China, Italy, Russia and the USA. |
