THISTLE Hotels is launching a branded meetings package in June to give conference organisers a standard product to buy in to.
The conference concept, which will probably be called Meeting Plan, will be introduced at the group’s hotels in Bristol and Cardiff initially, but will be rolled out to up to 15 properties over two years.
Director of conference and incentive sales Alun Roberts said it will cost Thistle ú7m over the 24 months to put the package in place.
This includes the cost of refurbishing meeting rooms to offer a similar product, fitting them with state-of-the art equipment and training staff to deliver a standard product.
The exception will be Thistle’s flagship Royal Horseguards Hotel in London, which is being regraded as a five-star property next month. It will conform to the Meeting Plan standard but have its own identity.
Roberts admitted that at the moment each Thistle hotel sets its own standards so conference organisers do not know what they are buying.
The group has 500 meeting rooms – 200 of which are in London hotels – across its 60 UK properties.