Booking accommodation for yourself or on behalf of someone else is a lot of work! You are often the unsung hero – working hard behind the scenes to find the right price, coordinate schedules, and secure the right location. In my role as the Director of Sales – Canada for InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), I myself am a road warrior and travel frequently across North America from my base in Montreal.
Travelling a lot for business comes with some tiring days, hopping from hotel to hotel, and meeting room to meeting room. But, there are big perks to being on the road two weeks out of the month. Firstly, by staying at hotels for more than 75 nights a year, I have managed to become a Spire Elite member as part of IHG® Rewards Club. With the points I have earned from my business travel, I am able to book personal travel for free. And you can do the same thing! Here are four must-know items for you to get the most out of meeting planning:
You deserve to be rewarded
Those hours spent comparing prices and locations don’t have to be all for naught – you would be surprised at how fast your IHG® Rewards Club points add up. After all that travel for work, a family vacation becomes easy (and cheap!) if you collect IHG Rewards Club or IHG Business Rewards points.
Introducing IHG Business Rewards
Just over a year ago, IHG Rewards Club launched IHG Business Rewards. As an IHG Rewards Club member, you can be eligible to earn Business Rewards if you are in charge of booking travel for your company, or even if you are planning one special event or meeting. In short: if you book a special event, you’re eligible for IHG Business Rewards.
Now for the good stuff
I am still surprised at how quickly my points add up. I redeem gift cards for restaurants, online shopping retailers, and movie theatres. My favourite thing to redeem, however, is Rewards Nights. I am able to make up for time spent away from my husband and two children by booking free room nights at almost any IHG hotel! There’s nothing quite so rewarding as spending some quality time on vacation with the family.
The great meeting spaces at IHG
I don’t just book all of my meetings with IHG because I work here – when it comes to meetings, IHG knows what it’s doing. With 175 hotels across Canada alone, this international company has rooms and meeting spaces all across the globe. In Canada, IHG hotels have an impressive 824 meeting rooms with a total of 745,721 square feet. All that space allows you to utilize the room in any way you need. That paired with food and beverage and audio/video support, I always have engaging and successful meetings.
Even the unsung hero deserves a chance to shine – treat the family to a night out, or even a fun getaway. You work tirelessly behind the scenes, and now you can make all of your hard work pay off. For more information, visit ihg.com/businessrewards.
– Caroline Comeau is the Director of Sales, Canada for InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). With over 20 years in the hospitality industry, and 17 in sales management, Caroline uses her natural communication abilities, creativity, and sense of humour in order to engage her team, clients, and guests on a daily basis. Caroline can be reached at: Caroline.Comeau@ihg.com.
