Sonesta Launches F1RST Meetings Collection for Business Events

Sonesta Debuts New Meeting Portfolio

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation recently unveiled its Sonesta F1RST Meetings Collection, a new offering designed specifically for business event planners. The collection, which launched on 13 October, brings together 25 properties from the company's The Royal Sonesta and Sonesta Hotels & Resorts brands.

This initiative aims to provide focused services and facilities for mid-size, multi-city meetings and corporate gatherings, addressing a specific segment of the market. The new portfolio is concentrated across key city centres, resort destinations, and convention markets, primarily within the United States and Canada, offering comprehensive solutions for various event needs.

Facilities and Capacity

Each location within the Sonesta F1RST Meetings Collection features between four and twenty-six meeting rooms, offering total event spaces ranging from 10,000 to 65,000 square feet. Collectively, the network provides a substantial 500,000 square feet of dedicated event space.

Participating hotels are equipped with accommodation capacities from 200 to 500 guestrooms, catering to various group sizes. Major markets included in the collection are Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Toronto, among others, targeting the underserved middle market for business events.

Benefits for Event Planners

Sonesta stated its objective to simplify the planning process for corporate events by acting as a unified partner across all properties in the collection. The programme includes specially designed packages and dedicated support to assist planners.

Jim Mooney, Sonesta's vice president of sales for the managed portfolio, confirmed the new initiative is structured to help planners organise meeting activities effectively. Additionally, planners booking events through the collection can earn Sonesta Travel Pass Planner Perks, receiving two points for every dollar spent.

Asian Market Considerations

While the Sonesta F1RST Meetings Collection is currently focused on North American markets, its strategy of consolidating services for mid-size corporate events could influence hotel groups in Asia.

Major Asian hospitality brands, such as those with extensive portfolios in business hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong, or Bangkok, may observe Sonesta’s approach to the underserved middle market.

The emphasis on tailored concessions and a single point of contact for multi-property bookings represents an operational model that could be adapted by Asian operators seeking to streamline their corporate events offerings and enhance competitiveness in the regional meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) sector.