THISTLE Hotels is to launch its branded meetings product in a bid to increase its share of the small corporate meetings market.
Called Meeting Plan, the product is designed to offer a consistent level of product and service across the group’s 59 hotels nationwide.
This will include all rooms with the same decor, ergonomically designed conference chairs, natural daylight and food packages.
The brand was due to be launched in June but Thistle has delayed the rollout until this month to fine-tune the product.
Thistle conceded that it will take three years to introduce the product across all 59 nationwide properties starting with the Thistle Haydock.
With rival hotel companies Hilton and Forte already marketing an established meetings product, Thistle said it needed to remain competitive with a consistent level of service. Hilton’s Meeting 2000 and Forte’s Academy are said to have stolen a march over Thistle in the market sector.
Thistle’s director of conference and incentive sales Alun Roberts said:”Meeting planners are a lot more demanding than they were three or four years ago.
“They are becoming more switched on, the market is becoming more competitive and we need to improve our product in response to the changing conditions,” he added.
Roberts said four hotels will be equipped with the new look by the end of the year with at least 10 coming on board during 2000.