IHG in Second Life
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IHG in Second Life
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Category: Worldwide
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2007-07-03
IHG's Strategy
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) strives to stay abreast of trends in the marketplace as it continually looks to evolve the way it engages and serves its guests. IHG recognizes its responsibility to explore emerging media and stay ahead of the innovation curve and to understand what Second Life and other emerging platforms mean for its guests and its business.
As a hotel company, IHG has a vested interest in determining how people are meeting for business and social purposes and how that's evolving. The Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts brand specifically has dedicated itself to becoming the upscale hotel of choice for small and mid-sized business meetings and continually seeks to understand what it takes to be the premier facilitator on where and how people meet. As companies are becoming increasingly interested in utilizing virtual spaces for their business needs, IHG determined there is a need for private, independent, purpose-built meeting spaces in the virtual world.
The Business Need
IHG decided to engage in Second Life since it's an emerging phenomenon for large and small group meetings, a core business of the hotel industry. As "The Place To Meet," Crowne Plaza's leading position in the real world meetings market makes it a natural fit to lead the emerging meetings market in the virtual world. Crowne Plaza's The Place to Meet Island in Second Life will enable organizations to experiment with hosting meetings in the virtual world without having to commit a significant amount of their own resources. Currently, there are no true business facilities within Second Life outside of individual companies' "private islands," so business users have had to explore less attractive (and more expensive) options to fulfill their meeting needs. As well, these meeting spaces usually lack any scheduling or reservations systems and often are not able to provide the security and privacy that a real-life meeting facility would offer.
The Community Need
Crowne Plaza continually seeks to extend its premier meetings services to new communities - no matter where they are. The brand is pleased to join the Second Life community and to offer residents the same meeting opportunities that it offers at Crowne Plaza hotels around the world. On The Place to Meet Island, residents and businesses wishing to conduct meetings within Second Life will benefit from private and secure meeting rooms and the services of a dedicated in-world Crowne Meetings Director, who will be available on weekdays from 6 a.m. - 2 p.m. PDT (Second Life time) to assist with reservations needs and provide tours of the island.
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