Northstar

Feature Cover Story 28 JAN-FEB 2020 MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS MCMAG-ASIA.COM "People want memorable experiences and experiences and stand-out venues and we now oer alternative settings for business gatherings, ranging from tropical beaches to rooftop views of the cities that leave guests with a long-lasting impression." MARK FLOWER, VICE PRESIDENT, COMMERCIAL, SOUTHEAST ASIA AND KOREA, INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL GROUP HOTEL GROUP M eeting planners are on the lookout for unique and exible venues that can host an ever- growing pool of delegates and an expanded programme line-up, and venue operators who can provide that will have an edge in the years ahead. That is the assessment by venue operators M&C Asia spoke to. "Looking ahead to 2020, MICE industry players need to nd even more ways to oer greater exibility of meeting spaces within their venues to accommodate larger delegate numbers," said Mike Lee, the vice president of sales of Marina Bay Sands. "At MBS, we are able to recongure spaces creatively to meet the demands of meeting planners. In fact, unconventional meeting spaces are a true selling point of our integrated resort. "Unique meeting spaces give event planners the exibility to design Need for more flexible and unconventional event spaces events that suit their needs and, most importantly, capture the attention of their delegates." Stand-out venues Agreed InterContinental Hotel Group's vice president, commercial, Southeast Asia and Korea, Mark Flower, who said: "People want memorable experiences and stand-out venues and we now oer alternative settings for business gatherings, ranging from tropical beaches to rooftop views of the cities that leave guests with a long-lasting impression." According to John Burke, the deputy general manager of Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, every event has a unique objective and audience, and a space must reect each event's specic personality and needs. "The right space is critical to every event and should be designed to encourage the ways that participants will engage," he said. "Clients are expecting physical spaces to be nimble and exible. You have to be able to shift and adapt, which means that if people want space to help them connect with each other, you need to be able to easily change the space throughout the programme so it's going to work for what they need, and deliver a particular experience at the same time." Mr Burke also noticed that there is less demand for larger sessions and greater requests for more breakout sessions. "It is all about increasing participant engagement during events, whether that is the audience interacting with the speaker and driving the direction of their presentation, or utilising unique room design and technology to create immersive experiences," he added. Clients expecting physical spaces to be nimble and flexible, yet deliver awesome event experience CREDIT: JULIA GARAN/GETTY IMAGES

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