The Mole chats with Matt Young, the new GM of the Crowne Plaza Canberra

Only three weeks into the job, but having spent only 10 days actually in the hotel, Matt Young, [Pictured right] the new GM of the newly refurbished Crowne Plaza Canberra is feeling the cold of a Canberra winter, but he has his hands already firmly on the helm of this classic Canberra property, a hotel that has a loyal following, but also one that has been in need of attention for some time, with a full refurbishment about to be completed.

With Matt having worked at hotels all over Australia and also in Vanuatu, but most recently as GM of the Holiday Inn in Adelaide, he has a very good grasp of what needs to be done at the Crowne Plaza Canberra telling The Mole that the Crowne Plaza Canberra has 120 more rooms than the Holiday Inn Adelaide and the good news is that the refurbishment of the property is nearly complete with just over 90 rooms to go before the whole refurb is complete in August.

He said that as it was being completed his team would be working hard getting the product repositioned in the market place, adding, “The hotel has needed refurbishing for while and we now need to get it back in the market place not only with the new rooms, which I believe are very special, but also all the other new aspects of the hotel.”

He added, “The hotel is owned by Eureka and managed by IHG and with $6m invested in the refurb, we need to get it working again quickly for the owners and us as managers.”

He said that without doubt one of the biggest challenges he faces is labour and it always will be in Canberra, because getting people to move here was difficult and when you do, retaining them was also a challenge, in addition to getting up to the hotel’s standards. 

This also quite often meant accelerating their learning which sometimes meant they were pushed out quicker into a role quicker than he might do otherwise.

In terms of where the hotel sat in relation the star ratings and competition Matt said that the hotel is a 4.5* property and that they liked to think that the competition is the Park Hyatt, but he recognised that it is a 5*, but he also reckoned that the Novotel slotted in below the Crowne Plaza and then the Rydges Lakeside and Rydges Capital at 4*.

Matt told The Mole that what the refurbishment had consisted was a full refurbishment of all the rooms and everything within them, with the rooms being redesigned into a very innovative layout with plenty of work space for corporates and even a low level room divider creating a very efficient use of space creating a huge desk area with everything you need to do your work. 

He added, “We also left the cables for the internet connection as long as we could so that guests can work on laptops in bed if they wish!”

Matt said that the appointment of a new Director of Sales and Marketing from the UK was key with the main focus being getting the property back out there, speaking with regular travelers and business sources, keeping them up to date.

He also said that the hotel was very fortunate in being located right alongside the National Convention Centre, which the hotel also owns the lease on and manages it, as that also drives a very significant amount of conference and business travel midweek, in addition to the excellent business generated by Parliament sitting 20 weeks a year.

The redevelopment of the National Convention Centre cost the ACT Government $30m, developing and improving it, with the centre re-opening on 18 October, with conference and meeting business from associations for example with an 18 month lead in.

Weekend leisure breaks are also always a big focus for the hotel and at the moment they are very strong, because of the great ski season and school holidays having just finished, but the challenge is coming up with packages that suit and fit the market and for which there is demand.

Matt said that the quietest time is December and January because corporates are not traveling, there are no conferences and Parliament is not sitting, so if anyone wants a really great deal in Canberra then that is the best time.

In closing Matt told The Mole that if any TravelMole subscribers wanted to come along to Canberra and not only experience the fantastic range of things to do in Canberra, but also stay at the newly refurbished Crowne Plaza then he had special a highly confidential TravelMole subscribers package rate and all you have to do is email [email protected] for details.

In return all TravelMole and the Crown Plaza Canberra asks you to do if you take up this offer, is to become a TravelMole reporter during your stay and send us your report and if you can, a couple of digital photos of you in Canberra and at the Crown Plaza to [email protected], briefly telling us your story about your experience in Canberra and your Crowne Plaza Canberra experience.

A Special Canberra Report by The Mole