Tremendous Convention and Exhibition Business Opportunities Hotel Industry Encounters Keen Competition
At the end of last year (2011), Taiwan had a number of successful applications for hosting large international conventions and exhibitions, including the Annual World Congress of the 2013 International Real Estate Federation, the 2017 World Federation of Ultrasound for Medicine and Biology, and the 2017 World University Games.
These present tremendous business opportunities for the hotel industry, so it has been investing heavily in expanded facilities. For instance, the Okura Prestige Taipei will open this year (2012); the Howard Plaza Hotel Taipei invested NT$60 million to upgrade its banquet hall; Regent Taipei Hotel has launched a convention accommodation plan through which guests will receive any five of eight listed privileges. Estimated to open in 2015, the Marriot will also join the competition for international convention and exhibition business opportunities. The various activities being held in Taiwan and the investment from peripheral industries demonstrate that the Bureau of Foreign Trade’s MEET TAIWAN project has brought Taiwan tremendous business opportunities.
The hotel industry is preparing to grasp business opportunities
The Lobby at the Okura Hotel , Taiwan
The Okura Prestige Taipei slated to open later this year will have 18 stories above ground and seven stories underground, 208 guest rooms, and one banquet room that will accommodate 24 tables and 240 people. The hotel is world-famous for its exquisite Japanese-style service and Japanese cuisine, and it will offer Chinese and Western cuisine as well. In terms of location, it will be only two minutes’ walk from the nearest MRT station, a five minute ride from Taipei Railway Station, a ten minute ride from Taipei Song Shan Airport, and 40 minutes from Taoyuan International Airport.
The Regent Taipei, also in Zhongshan District, is known for its exquisite and personalized services as well as its comprehensive facilities, and it is favored by international convention organizers. This year it is launching a “2012 convention project” that incorporates a private “convention butler service” to take care of miscellaneous details for organizers and a special service in which guests may “choose any five of eight privileges.” These include enjoying dining or spa discounts, room upgrades, free Wi-Fi, and so on, This arrangement comprehensively improves the level of service for business professionals participating in conventions and exhibitions in Taipei.
The Grand Hotel Taiwan
Howard Plaza Hotel, with its longstanding involvement in the convention and exhibition business, recently invested NT$60 million to create a multi-media “Active Banquet Hall” and to upgrade its hard and soft facilities. The new banquet hall features an 80-meter surround projection screen. It can display films with special specifications and combined with state-of-the-art “melding” techniques. It also offers surround serial-motion effects on par with the effects in movie theaters. Thus Howard Plaza will be the first in Taiwan with advanced multimedia equipment of this kind that can be used for presenting new business products. It also offers an electronic cloud system that can broadcast international conventions live. Finally, the eyecatching adjustable-height main light, adorned with 70,000 pieces of Austrian crystal, gives the space an incomparable grandeur.
