Crowne Plaza Galleria

A Case Study on  Keeping Customers

InterContinental Hotels Group is the largest hotel company by number of rooms and manages the world’s largest loyalty program (Priority Club Rewards) with 26 million members to date. IHG’s expansion is committed to sustained growth in the future, thus, IHG’s core strategy concentrates on the growth of its managed and franchised operations.

Around the globe, IHG has more than 3,800 owned, leased, managed and franchised hotels across over 100 countries and territories flying the Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Hotel Indigo, Candlewood Suites and Intercontinental Hotels and Resorts flags offering a variety of services, amenities and lodging experiences catering to virtually every travel occasion and guest need.

In the Philippines, IHG has four hotels under its wings which consist of InterContinental Hotel Manila, Holiday Inn Resort – Pampanga, Holiday Inn Galleria, and the recently built Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila.  Each of these hotels caters to different market segments.

Crowne Plaza hotels are marketed as “The Place to Meet”, premium accommodations designed for the discerning business and leisure traveler who appreciates simplified elegance. Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila (CP Manila), like other Crowne Plaza properties, offers personalized service and one point of contact for hassle-free meeting. In addition to the brand’s Sleep Advantage program including a sleep kit (complete with ear plugs and eye mask), quiet zones, guaranteed wake-up calls and new bedding, CP Manila boasts of spacious rooms and room amenities/facilities designed to fit the needs of a business traveler that are superior relative to other (business) hotels in the area. Moreover, CP Manila has duvet covers on every bed and a separate shower and bathtub in every bathroom.

CP Manila, the newest hotel in the Metropolitan Manila, is almost always fully booked. CP Manila shares the business facilities as well as the pool area and fitness facilities with a co-IHG brand that is renowned in the US as a budget hotel, Holiday Inn Galleria (HI Galleria). Both hotels are accessible through Robinson’s Galleria Mall and through each other. CP Manila’s standard room rate is USD145– USD155 while HI Galleria’s standard room rate is USD100 – USD120.

CP Manila has become the venue of some much talked-about celebrity gatherings or events. The list includes the extravagant birthday party of Ruffa Gutierrez’ daughter, accommodation of Manny Pacquiao before his much-sensationalized boxing match against Eric Morales, and the most recent, accommodation for Pinoy Big Brother Season 2 housemates the night before they were accommodated in Kuya’s house.

Given these information, can CP Manila’s success be attributed to the fact that it is new? Is it being positioned the way it should be? How can CP Manila sustain its customer base without eating up that of Holiday Inn?

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