HILTON is to target larger companies to promote its hotels for weekend conferences after identifying it as a future growth market.
Research by the hotel chain found pressure of work on senior executives is forcing them to hold conferences outside the working week.
Hilton director of conference and business travel marketing, Ursuline Edwards Sutton, said: “We expected weekend conferences to appeal to the self-employed and small businesses who cannot really afford to take time out of the business week.
“While our survey supported this premise, it also showed that the most significant area of growth for weekend conferences lies with larger companies.
“Time and disruption to the working week are quoted as the main reasons for choosing weekends and 61%agreed that the ability to break free from the corporate mould was also an important factor.”
The survey found that weekend conferences were not perceived as “jollies” as 81% of organisers said their companies or clients preferred city-centre hotels or close to motorways, rather than country houses or holiday parks (see Clipboard, page 79).