Newsmaker: McIntosh Directing Fairmont Biz Travel

Travel Industry veteran Suzanne McIntosh this summer joined Fairmont Hotels & Resorts as executive director of business transient travel from Millennium Hotels, where she was vice president of sales and marketing. In her new position, McIntosh oversees the deluxe brand's global salesforce for business travel, working closely with corporate travel managers in the process.

McIntosh acknowledged that bookings for the fourth quarter are expected to be flat year over year but expressed optimism for a brighter 2004. "Buyers tell us they are anticipating at least a 5 percent increase in their travel budgets for next year, which is welcome news," she said. Still, McIntosh realizes that buyers will remain cost-conscious even if budgets rise. "Everyone is focused on value, and rightly so," she said. "Whatever the price point hotel they are using, buyers want to feel their travelers are getting appropriate value for the money spent. At Fairmont, that translates into a high level of personal service and amenities." With this in mind, Fairmont is adding executive floors, a brand standard, to its Boston and Washington, D.C., properties. "Called Fairmont Gold, these floors offer guests an even higher level of personal attention," she said.

While McIntosh builds relationships with buyers, one advantage she has is that the 42-property Fairmont is in expansion mode. The Toronto-based hotelier during the past year acquired transient business hotels in Seattle and Washington, D.C., and resort properties for the group and incentive markets in Hawaii and California. Fairmont's portfolio is nearly equally divided between transient and group hotels.

"On the transient side, the company's objective is to have a presence in the major gateway cities," she said. "This helps us be more competitive with chainwide bids because now we can sit down with a buyer and fill more of that account's needs in the key business travel destinations."

Earlier in her career, McIntosh worked for Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts in a variety of sales and marketing positions.