Crowne Plaza’s hole in one!

Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts continues to establish itself as the home of golf, announcing an agreement with Golf Australia Inc. to become the Official Hotel of Australia’s premier international tournament, the MFS Australian Open.

The exclusive three-year agreement links The Place To Meet to yet another major event on the international golf circuit, following the brand’s six-year sponsorship of the Crowne Plaza Amateur Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas – the headline event of the annual US PGA tour.

This is in addition to the sponsorship of the Crowne Plaza Open in China on the Asian Tour from 2004 to 2006 and the inaugural Crowne Plaza Invitational Asia Pacific which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in July this year.

Crowne Plaza guests and partners will have special access to the 2007 MFS Australian Open, scheduled for 13-16 December at The Australian Golf Club Sydney. Guests of the rapidly expanding network of Crowne Plaza hotels throughout Australia will have the chance to win money-can’t-buy prizes with VIP access to the tournament, while partners will have the opportunity to take advantage of exclusive client entertainment during the event.

Fans can also stay at the official hotels of players and officials during the Open, with Crowne Plaza Darling Harbour and Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach both offering Australian Open packages.

This latest sponsorship strengthens the support Crowne Plaza lends to sport internationally, adding to its official hotel status with the likes of the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and the Australian Rugby Championship (ARC) in Australia, the BMW Racing Team in Europe and its expanding global golf interests.

“Internationally, golf holds a prominent role as a sport that enables enjoyable business interactions in a relaxed environment.” “As The Place To Meet, Crowne Plaza is dedicated to enabling successful interactions for business and pleasure through our services, locations and facilities and sponsoring Golf is therefore a perfect fit for our brand strategy” said Karin Nielsen, regional director of sales and marketing for Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific of IHG, proprietor of the Crowne Plaza brand.

“Golf plays an important role in our product development and we have added two hotels located on golf courses to our brand portfolio in the last twelve months – Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley and Crowne Plaza Royal Pines Golf Resort and Spa.”

“With similar developments in the pipeline in Australia and throughout Asia Pacific, we’re delighted to increase our support for the sport.

“The MFS Australian Open is the highest-profile international tournament on the Australian golf calendar and we’re thrilled to have secured Official Hotel status with this prestigious event,” Ms Nielsen said.

Executive Chairman of the MFS Australian Opens, Paul McNamee, was equally enthused with the partnership. “IHG has clearly demonstrated its commitment to golf through its Crowne Plaza brand both here and internationally.”

“We believe it is a perfect match, both in terms of shared values and exceptional quality and are proud to have Crowne Plaza as the Official Hotel for the 2007 MFS Australian Open.”

Crowne Plaza hotels and resorts is the fastest-growing upscale hotel brand in the Asia Pacific region, with in Australia, there are currently 14 Crowne Plaza hotels with several more in the pipeline, set to add to a total of more than 280 hotels and over 70,000 rooms around the world.

For more information on Crowne Plaza’s support of golf around the world, visit www.crowneplaza.com/golf

Fore!!!!

A Report by The Mole