Kevin Kowalski
Atlanta-based Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts,
part of the InterContinental Hotel Group, is seeking more action in
the meetings arena. M&C recently spoke with Kevin Kowalski,
Crowne’s vice president of brand management, North America, about
the effort.
M&C: What was your first move to
snag meetings?
Kowalski: We debuted The Place to Meet program,
which guarantees a two-hour response to a request for proposal, the
services of a Crowne meetings director, or CMD, and a daily on-site
meetings debriefing.
M&C: Why did you create the role
of CMD?
Kowalski: Our board told us meeting planners want
an experienced go-to person at the hotel; someone to partner with
throughout their event.
Our CMDs must have at least eight years of meetings experience and
hold CMP credentials. Today there’s a CMD at every Crowne Plaza
worldwide. In the United States, 88 CMDs have gone through our boot
camp, and 21 are CMPs. We expect the rest to be certified by the
end of the year.
M&C: What’s the purpose of the daily
debriefing?
Kowalski: It lets planners go over everything that
happened that day and how they want it billed, so when the final
invoice arrives in the mail, it is clean.
M&C: Are other initiatives in the
works?
Kowalski: We are rolling out our Sleep Advantage
program dedicated rooms with special lighting, ear plugs and clips
for the drapes.