Two Minneapolis Hotels Market Jointly

<H1>Two Minneapolis Hotels Market Jointly</H1><H2>Hyatt: Hooking up with Regal</H2> <I>Minneapolis </I>- Aiming to capitalize on the lucrative group travel market in this northwestern city, two hotels have joined forces to promote and sell their properties as virtually one entity.

The campaign, "Destination: Minneapolis," is a joint marketing effort created earlier this year by the Hyatt Regency and the Regal Minneapolis. The properties both are located downtown and are connected to the Minneapolis Convention Center.

While the hotels belong to competing brands, informal arrangements had existed between the two properties before the signing of the marketing agreement in January.

"Our hotels function much more cooperatively than competitively," said Betsy Pearson, a certified meeting planner who is director of sales for the Hyatt. "Since we're both at the convention center, and connected by a climate-controlled skyway to each other and the center, we've worked closely for about the last 15 years on accommodating overflow groups."

The concept of two properties from different brands offering joint programs is not new. In San Francisco, The Fairmont, The Renaissance Stouffer Stanford Court and The Inter-Continental Mark Hopkins have collaborated in sales, and the Hyatt Regency and Westin Hotel have marketed jointly in Kansas City. In Boston, similar arrangements exist between the Marriott and Westin.

The main advantage of the program here, according to Pearson, is it enables the sales force to move market share from larger cities. "If, for example, our salespeople were working with a group that needed 600 rooms, and didn't want to meet in Chicago but wanted another city in the Midwest, this program gives them the chance to book the same group into Minneapolis, which as a second-tier Midwestern city offers groups more economical travel and meeting costs," she said.

By pooling their resources, each of the hotels' sales teams have instant additional capacity to pitch corporate meetings and conventions they ordinarily wouldn't be in a position to go after, Pearson said. The Hyatt, for example, can accommodate meeting groups from 10 to 1,500, while the Regal can accommodate groups of 10 to 700.

At the Regal Minneapolis Hotel, "Destination: Minneapolis" has made it easier for the staff at the company's three national sales offices in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles to gain business, said Regal's director of sales, Karen Madlock.

"The program has positioned us as a united front to large meeting groups, and has helped our staff define the market by allowing them to treat bookings and potential business as one group," said Madlock. To date, while the relationship has brought more business to the Regal, it hasn't been noticeably more or less costly, she pointed out.

Pearson pointed to the overflow factor in hosting groups as another reason behind the effort. "Because many meetings are so large today, groups often require more space, and they also are getting much more accustomed to overflow situations," she said.

At the same time, "we've found that the program is just as attractive to business travelers as to associations," said Pearson. At present, small corporate meetings draw 33 percent of the Hyatt's market share.

Even though groups are split between the two hotels, attendees notice no difference in how their meeting functions, Madlock said, because everything-including something as seemingly simple as using the same audiovisual vendor throughout the meeting-lends an air of continuity and convenience.

While Pearson takes credit for starting the program here, "Destination: Minneapolis" ultimately had to be approved by the legal department at Hyatt Hotels Corp. to ensure that it did not violate antitrust laws. Also, the plan relied on support from the divisional director of sales, she said.

The partnership provides a total of 858 guest rooms-533 at the Hyatt and 325 at the Regal-and more than 80,000 square feet of versatile meeting space, including the 30,000-square-foot Hyatt Exposition Center. Both properties offer restaurants and sports facilities.

Since the program was first introduced in February 1996, group bookings at the Hyatt have increased 200 percent over last year, Pearson said.

According to officials at both hotels, reservations must be booked jointly to ensure that each property has available rooms. Space can be reserved either through the Hyatt, which will act as a housing bureau and book rooms at both properties, or at each hotel individually.

What the two hotels have agreed not to share is rate information. Once a piece of business is booked, however, cooperation between the two hotels intensifies to the point where every detail is handled as if the group were staying in just one hotel, said Madlock.

That's a point well taken by Michael Nowick, executive secretary and treasurer of the St. Paul-based Minnesota Telephone Association. Nowick will be bringing 2,300 delegates to the Hyatt and Regal from March 22 through 26, 1997.

"Planning this meeting was the first time I've ever worked with two hotels," said Nowick, "but it's extremely satisfying and not at all difficult to negotiate an agreement because the people there have created a distinct team approach that extends from sales and marketing to convention services."

Splitting his business between the properties did not reduce the amount of market share incentives he receives when dealing with a single property, he added.

"Even though our group will be in two hotels-two-thirds in the Hyatt, one-third in the Regal-we still received the percentage of complimentary space we normally receive when dealing with just one hotel," Nowick said.

Pearson sees marketing alliances across brand lines as a growing trend as properties try to get the most out of existing facilities before tackling costly expansions.