Tokyo | Solare Hotels & Resorts Co. Ltd. (URL: www.solarehotels.com) became the first Japanese hotel chain to win an award at the “Worldwide Hospitality Awards 2007” held every year in Paris, France, in the category of “Best Customer Satisfaction Program in Midscale Hotels”. This is a first for the Japanese hotel industry, and was due to Solare Hotels & Resorts’ entry of the CHISUN BIZ brand - a packaged product supporting MICE (Meetings, Incentive, Conference and Exhibitions) business development.
The annual Worldwide Hospitality Awards, currently in their eighth year, are held by MKG Group in partnership with the international trade magazine, “Hotel, Tourism and Restaurant”, and consist of twelve separate categories that recognize and honor hotels providing excellent service and, innovation and unique products in Europe and around the world. The entries were screened by 40 judges including international personalities, journalists, and directors of major companies specialized in the tourism sector. The winners of this year’s awards were announced on November 22nd, 2007, at an award ceremony held at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe, in Paris, France.
Solare won for their entry of the CHISUN BIZ brand, through which a comprehensive conference and training plan combining the use of conference rooms, accommodation and dining is offered by ten Chisun Hotels. A unique feature of the CHISUN BIZ brand is the deployment of conference coordinators dedicated to the provision of tailored and highly specialized support for each visiting group. Support is not only provided with regard to the holding of meetings and training, but extends to provide a wide array of menus, including Japanese “Nodoshoku” meals, which are specially created for their propensity to facilitate good brain function.
Says Solare Hotels & Resorts Sr. Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Mark E. Holguin; “We are thrilled that an international hotel industry organization has recognized our work in developing our Meeting and Training product, Chisun Biz. This historic event will not only promote the services of the CHUSUN BIZ brand, but also encourage increased inbound tourism from Europe to Japan. It is a great honour for us to fly the flag for Japan in Europe in this way. This is only the start of our MICE product development, with the current development centered on our Full Service brand Loisir Hotels, being prepared for launch in December of this year. Loisir Biz will have the added feature of supporting Incentive and Exhibition business as well”
CHISUN BIZ has been offered since June 2007 and is a major pillar of Solare Hotels’ MICE business development strategy of providing uniform products and facilities, enhanced service quality through the deployment of conference coordinators, and the provision of various food and beverage options.
About Solare Hotels & Resorts Co. Ltd. | “Nationwide for all occasions”
As of November 2007, Solare Hotels & Resorts Co. Ltd. and its almost 4,800 associates operate, franchise and asset-manage 55 hotels and some 10,823 rooms throughout Japan, including Chisun brand hotels, the Okinawa Marriott Resort & Spa, Holiday Inn Kyoto, Mercure Hotel Narita, and the Kobe Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers. Solare Hotels & Resorts launched their new full-service, upscale brand, “Loisir Hotels,” in Spring 2007, and have numerous hotels committed or under construction that are due to open this year. The company’s stated goal is to more than double in size to 18,000 rooms by 2010.
URL:
http://www.solarehotels.com/english/
About the Worldwide Hospitality Awards:
Organizer
MKG Group and Hotel, Tourism and Restaurant Magazine (travel trade magazine)
MKG Group is the European leader in consulting, market research and marketing for the hospitality and tourism sectors. With a yearly revenue of over 12 million euros, 100 employees worldwide, and 4 main offices in Paris, London, Nicosia and Berlin, MKG Group is the number 1 marketing company specialized in tourism, and classed number 20 in the top 100 market research institutions (all sectors) in France, according to Marketing Magazine.
Nomination Categories
- Best Advertising Campaign
- Best Internet Site
- Best Professional Career Development Program
- Best Social Responsibility Program
- Best Innovative Concept in palaces and deluxe hotels
- Best Innovative Concept in midscale hotels
- Best Innovative Concept in economy hotels
- Best Consumer Satisfaction Program in palaces and deluxe hotels
- Best Consumer Satisfaction Program in midscale hotels
- Best Hotel General Manager
- Best Hotel Group Performance 2007
- Lifetime Achievement Award
Naoko Hashizume
