Northstar

38 NOV-DEC 2017 meetings & conventions • mcmag-asia.com FEATURE | HOSPITALITY Learning from millennials, shaking up the industry and focusing on regional growth are key to Centara Hotels & Resorts' recipe for success, shares Paul Wilson, vice president of sales. "Remember Richard Branson in the empty pool brainstorming with his team? I think conferences should embrace 'creative chaos'," says Paul Wilson, vice president of sales at Centara Hotels & Resorts. "For example, bring people in and serve dinner at breakfast and breakfast at dinner, or offer green events by the beach with everyone sitting on beanbags. No chairs, no presentations, no screens." Perhaps, this is partly how the group saw a 6% to 7% increase in MICE business last year across their five established brands. Of course the company's mall ownership doesn't hurt. "Centara is the biggest retail conglomerate in Thailand," says Wilson, "so we have international brands and chains we can leverage to get good MICE." Tradition meets creative chaos Words Catharine Nicol More traditionally, Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao Bangkok, adjacent to the Bangkok Convention Centre, is one of its strongest MICE properties with the number of international events hosted almost doubling since 2015. The hotel has 10,000 square metres of function rooms plus the convention centre's 2,500-square-metre hall with a capacity of 3,800 pax cocktail style. Deluxe Water Villa at Centara Ras Fushi Resort & Spa Maldives Centara Ras Fushi Resort & Spa Maldives

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