Citywest Hotel has been undergoing a major €13.5m capital investment programme. Commercial Director Sean Reid says the spend is paying off through increased business.

What was demand like for your meeting rooms and conference facilities through 2016?

Citywest Hotel experienced a significant uplift in enquiry levels for conferences and events in 2016. More significantly was a 20% increase in the level of enquiry from the key international conferencing segment, which has been a target area of growth for the hotel. This demand coupled with higher conversion rates (enquiry to contracted business) drove an increase in revenues from the conference segment in excess of 55%. We attribute this growth to both an increase in demand for Dublin as a conference destination but also to a return on investments that have been made in our facilities, our service standards and our people.

Have you made any improvements to your meeting rooms and conference facilities in the last year? If so, can you summarise them?

As the hotel implements its €13.5m capital expenditure programme the following enhancements have been rolled out. The upgrading of the meeting rooms includes:

• Addition of advanced, AV technology in all our breakout meeting rooms.

• Almost €1m investment in WiFi infrastructure across the facility which now delivers a future proofed 1GB connection.

•The free parking facility for over 2,000 vehicles has been overhauled with the addition of designated coach parking.

•Important upgrades to road infrastructure give enhanced HGV access routes to plenary rooms.

•Impressive upgrade of 120 bedrooms with another 150 to be completed in 2017.

•A full refurbishment has now taken place across the hotels public areas, and there is a new restaurant, The Woodlock Brasserie.

How has technology changed that businesses expect from meeting room facilities these days?

Customer expectations for in-room technologies such as smart screens, audio visual capabilities and seamless WiFi are predictably progressing in line with the technologies available. In an increasingly connected world, live stream and live sharing of content with remote participants is crucial for today’s leading conference venues.

What is the biggest mistake that corporate clients make when they set about organising meetings?

Attention to the finer details of event planning is the single biggest challenge to an event organiser. Often this is simply due to the fact that the organiser is not a professional event planner. This is why every event held in Citywest Hotel is appointed an event coordinator who will guide them through the process and ensure that the event plan is thorough and nothing is overlooked

What’s your prediction for 2017 in the corporate meeting space – what’s likely to be the biggest trend?

As the economy strengthens, companies are investing again in valuable face to face time between colleagues and customers. It has never been so important to have a strong online presence, especially with the emergence and development of online meeting room booking portals enabling organisers to book meeting rooms on a much shorter lead time.