Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts
Once again, the MICE sales team at Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has been rewarded with the top spot. 

“We sincerely thank all the readers of CEI Asia for again selecting Shangri-La as the Best MICE sales team in Asia,” says Mandy Chan, director of corporate event management. “Shangri-La puts strong emphasis on MICE development through product innovation, streamlined event processes and enhanced training programmes,” she says. “The key to sustaining our leadership position is through our strong MICE sales teams, who listen to meeting planners’ needs and deliver the service requested.”

Highlights from its business events portfolio in 2011 include Shangri-La Beijing hosting 600 delegates from Lenovo for its Emerging Markets Global Kick-off Meeting, while Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort in Penang organised a CSR project for 180 senior managers of Schott AG during its annual corporate incentive. Shangri-La Tanjung Aru welcomed 620 delegates for GroupM’s Confest to Kota Kinabalu. “In 2011, we saw a growth in the MICE segment for almost all hotels in the region. We will continue engaging our meeting planners all over the globe to organise world-class events,” says Chan.

MCI Group
The events company has grown by building geographical spread and has invested significantly in its sales teams for both corporate clients and associations in 2011.

Globally, MCI Group has won 288 big conferences and in Asia Pacific alone, it has secured 76 large-scale conferences, with 58 per cent from the healthcare sector, 40 of which will take place throughout 2012.

Says Robin Lokerman, president for Asia Pacific and Americas: “More and more associations are realising that their conference is a major opportunity for academic impact and to raise revenues. MCI Group’s track record as the largest PCO in the world speaks for itself and today we are helping more and more Asian associations to realise their objectives.”

Suntec Singapore
Ong Wee Min, director, commercial, for Suntec Singapore, says the sales team worked very hard over the past year, given the uncertain market conditions and softening global economy. “Despite that, we have come up with innovative answers to overcome the challenges and address the changing requirements of our clients.”

Suntec worked closely with its partners, especially those in the joint marketing alliance, to come up with creative one-stop solutions. Ong says: “Going forward into 2012, I am confident that we have the right team as we modernise the venue to provide a world-class infrastructure and leading-edge technology.”