Hospitality is much more than visual or culinary pleasantness. On 23rd February 2017, SP Jain’s MGB students specialising in Contemporary Marketing Management visited Crowne Plaza, IHG Group to understand the function of the hospitality sector in Dubai and its influence on the country’s economy.
With over 5,000 hotels and nearly 744,000 rooms in nearly 100 countries around the world, IHG group is a global company with 12 hotel brands. The aim of the visit was to understand and expose students to the business, operations, regional challenges & opportunities of the hospitality sector with a specific case study, hotel tour & interaction with Crowne Plaza Dubai. Interacting with the Crowne Plaza’s General Manager, Mr. Nabil Hossam and various other department heads, CMM students gained insights about the business overview, marketing strategies and revenue focuses for different brands under the IHG umbrella. Discussions were facilitated allowing students to apply their class learning with regard to consumer perception, price points, cost cutting, maintaining competitive advantages as well as the importance of real time customer service & efficient process of handling complaints. Students were intrigued to think about brand extensions, brand communications and the interrelated network of decisions that are influenced by different departments in the sector.
“I found the session very helpful in understanding the hospitality industry and the HORECA sector. Moreover, the additional information provided regarding the internal operations of the IHG company was very insightful.” - Student, MGB (May 2017)