Hyatt Hotels Corp. in recent months has worked to boost its group activity through new offerings for planners, including an enhanced version of its electronic request for proposals tool.

"We want to get people back meeting again, and we want to get people back in hotels," said Gus Vonderheide, Hyatt's vice president of group sales. "I see this as a corporate statement allowing hotels to do what it takes to make a good deal."

Hyatt tweaked its RFP tool to improve navigation capabilities and make it more user friendly, he said. The tool also allows the RFP to appear immediately in Hyatt's booking tool and in property management systems, he said.

"We've always done well with the product," Vonderheide said, "but the usage is continued and increasing, and response time has never been greater."

Hyatt also introduced the Meeting Promise, a guarantee of flawless event execution, he said. The policy states that Hyatt will resolve any problem as quickly as possible, and if not, it will offer a refund for that portion of the meeting in the form of credit for future use.

"We're saying if, for whatever reason, you're not pleased with any aspect, bring it to our attention," Vonderheide said. "We're putting our product and service on the line."

Hyatt is interested in boosting group activity as it adds several properties to its portfolio. The company last year opened more than 30 properties across all of its brands and is opening a few more this year. Up to this point, group activity has shown promise, Vonderheide said.

"We're seeing the light at this point," he said. "Meetings are happening. They're shorter in duration and lead time, but the activities are happening."

Originally published April 12, 2010 This page is protected by Copyright laws. Do Not Copy