Rebound on the riviera

Simon George’s visit to the Portuguese riviera finds both the InterContinental Lisbon and InterContinental Cascais-Estoril fully committed to exploiting the post-pandemic resurgence in MICE demand Seismic shocks, by their very nature, tend to lead to fundamental change. As if perhaps to illustrate the point, from Lisbon’s exclusive Avenida da Liberdade the statue of the Marquês de Pombal gazes proudly down over the city he rebuilt after it was destroyed by a huge earthquake in 1755. Fast forward almost three centuries and the seismic shocks brought on by the pandemic and recent political and economic events have obviously affected all sectors of the global economy. Yet they have not diminished InterContinental Hotel Group’s (IHG) commitment to the MICE sector. Despite having to contend with cost inflation (e.g. power prices), last-minute booking visibility and issues with recruitment, the group is nothing if not serious about MICE.

Two very different hotels

The five-star InterContinental Lisbon and InterContinental Cascais-Estoril differ significantly in terms of size (number of rooms and event space) and style – the former is much larger and more corporate while the latter is more boutique (just 59 bedrooms) and has a beachfront location and the natural light that flows into from the sky and the Atlantic. There is a third Intercontinental hotel, in Porto, but it is very historic and has just two meeting rooms. So, in terms of MICE planning, the two hotels tend to interact with another IHG brand in Portugal’s second city, the Crowne Plaza, which is similar in terms of space. CMW checked into the InterContinental Lisbon for two days before making the short journey up the coast to Estoril.

No (inter)continental drift

Prior to the pandemic, there had been a growing focus on MICE at the InterContinental Lisbon. Since then, two more meeting rooms have been added – the hotel now has 14 event rooms with a maximum capacity of up to 450 persons in theatre style, and a ballroom with one of the highest ceilings in the capital – the foyer has been renovated, as has floor zero and the second floor, lifts have been upgraded and there has been a light refurbishment of its bedrooms. RevPar growth was on the rise before Covid and for 2022 to 2023 it is projected at 20%. The MICE approach remains steady it would seem, and the hotel is particularly popular for weddings and gala dinners. The hotel works closely with Estufa Fria (The cold greenhouse), a botanical haven in the heart of the city, a short walk away through Parque Eduardo VII. Patricia Dias, cluster sales manager (conferences & events) underlined that, “MICE is a huge part of or our business” but acknowledges that business has been hit significantly by Covid (the hotel was closed for a short time during the pandemic) and was having to contend with economic headwinds. However, since April 2022 there had been a strong rebound in demand although this business has often been very last minute. “The recovery was very fast,” she said. “Everyone was trying to book right away. And we are still getting bookings now for some events within a few weeks.” Dias did flag, though, that there are signs that the situation may be improving: “We have seen business coming through for 2025 and 2026. So although people are not in yet in a position to book, there are already people searching for those dates. So the trend may be nomalising.” InterContinental Lisbon is now firmly back to holding physical events and does not anticipate holding more hybrid events, as it had to during the pandemic, Dias emphasised. The hotel is investing in AV equipment and in terms of big events it has the Web summit, a large technology conference in November, and a pharmaceutical conference in the booking calendar. Asked how the situation might change in terms of Lisbon as a destination for event organisers, she said: “I think Lisbon is going to be in the spotlight for a couple of years. People like holding events in the city and that’s something that’s not going to change. Sometimes these things can be cyclical though.” It is notable that Lisbon has secured second place in the recently released ICCA City Rankings. Dias is confident that booking visibility will improve and that the economic headwinds facing the hotel (i.e. inflation) will ease, giving event planners more confidence in terms of advance booking. “Last-minute business will always happen. But last-minute business for large events is not normal. It is difficult to manage. Our strategy is to book large events first and then the smaller events come and fill in the gaps,” she said.

Atlantic ambition

Known as Portugal’s Hamptons, Estoril-Cascais is moneyed, exclusive and down the years has been the haunt of Portuguese royalty, spies, writers (Ian Fleming wrote Casino Royale in the Hotel Palacio), Hollywood A-listers and famous footballers (Ronaldo is building a huge house in the vicinity).

On entering the InterContinental Cascais-Estoril, you are struck immediately how different it is to its Lisbon counterpart. Close your eyes momentarily and you could be in the south of France given the light and the sense of relaxation engendered by the seaview, the hotel’s spa and two swimming pools. In terms of MICE space, the hotel has two event rooms (Monte Estoril and Cascais) with natural light and, significantly, Villa Atlântico, a separate venue next door overlooking the Atlantic, which is ideal for bespoke events such as corporate offsites and weddings. InterContinental Cascais-Estoril’s head of sales and marketing, Pedro Lopes, who previously worked at the InterContinental Lisbon, told CMW this summer’s refurbishment plan is to create a separate restaurant next to the outside swimming pool, which would be open all year round.

High demand, high pricing policy

Lopes stressed that the hotel adopts a risk-based approach to pricing: “We keep our prices rather high, helped by the very strong business demand the hotel is experiencing. “If we don’t put our prices up, in a few days our hotel will be fully booked for the whole of the summer, which is something we try to avoid.” Neverthelelss, buyouts, board meetings, weddings and car launches provide the strategic event staple of the hotel. “The ideal group size for the property is for up to 30 guests. However, recently we have seen increased interest in doing a buy-out of our property as with 59 bedrooms, clients can easily privatise the hotel. For this reason, as well as for the rates we set, we aim mostly to host company board meetings or senior management meetings.” The hotel has already held two buyouts this year, and last July it hosted a big incentive for a major US beer company. Sector wise, the hotel mainly does business with pharma, technology and banks, while car launches are also a key revenue driver, especially given the driving attractions of the region and no doubt the Estoril Grand Prix! Post pandemic, the hotel has experienced a strong recovery in demand, Lopes explained: “We have seen double-digit revenue growth, mostly from our two strongest markets, the US and the UK. Given the first two months of this year and comparing them to 2019 and the same period prior to the pandemic, we have seen overall revenue growth of 11%.” The strong local rebound in MICE demand was also borne out by André Rei, who runs shortcuts, a private Cascais-based tour operator which has been working closely with Intercontinental Hotels since 2017 and which organised our group’s visits to Palacio da Pena at nearby Sintra, our culinary skills test at Cascais Food Lab, and a sunset cruise operated through Palmayachts.