INTERCONTINENTAL BARCELONA

BACKGROUND

In a city like Barcelona, visibility is everything. That was the challenge facing InterContinental Barcelona, a luxury five-star hotel in the heart of the city’s bustling Montjuïc district. Despite its elegant spaces, high-end service, and proximity to key cultural and business hubs, the hotel needed a better way to rise above the noise and capture the attention of meeting and event planners around the globe.

With 273 rooms, 2,700 square metres of flexible event space, and panoramic rooftop views, InterContinental Barcelona is designed to impress. But competing in a city as popular as Barcelona means making sure the right planners see you, choose you, and trust you to deliver.

That’s why the team turned to Cvent to boost InterContinental Barcelona’s digital presence, bring its spaces to life for planners, and streamline communication from sourcing to execution. This meant more qualified leads, faster response times, and a smarter strategy for winning high-value business.

CHALLENGE

Gaining ground in a competitive market by building trust

For InterContinental Barcelona, the biggest hurdle was getting noticed. The five-star property opened in 2021 in one of Europe’s most saturated MICE markets, and the team found themselves up against a long list of well-established competitors with decades of brand recognition. “We are in a very competitive market... we are competing with well-established hotels. We are relatively new,” said Gregory Guardia Álvarez, Director of Commercial. “So, it's still a work in progress.”

Barcelona is a top-tier destination for international meetings and events, which means planners have plenty of options. Many of them default to venues they already know and trust. For a new hotel, breaking into that consideration set isn’t easy. “The most complicated part is competing with well-established hotels,” he shared. “Getting known and building trust is the hardest part for me.”

And while guest satisfaction wasn’t an issue—“Once a group stays at my hotel, we have a very high level of repeat customers”—the real challenge was getting planners to give them that first chance. Earning that initial booking meant finding new ways to stand out and start building credibility with a global audience of event professionals.

SOLUTION

Standing out and improving the sales process with Cvent

To break through the noise and start winning more business, InterContinental Barcelona turned to Cvent. “What I like most about Cvent is its multifunctionality," said Álvarez. “Because it has so many options, not just for business search, but also on an operational level. There are so many features that help you improve and reduce the team's workload.” 

• Cvent Supplier Network Diamond Listingsincreased their presence to reach more planners searching for venues in Barcelona. 

• When things quieted down, they used paid placements like Suggested Ads  to stay front and center: “We can create campaigns and ads to be featured when there's a visibility gap.”

• Álvarez and his team proactively used Planner Navigator to identify planners and travel agents already booking in the region but not yet booking with them. “We use the Planner Navigator… to search for travel agents who bring leads,” Álvarez said. “If there are some people who are not booking with us and are booking with the competition, the proactive sales team will contact these agents… and offer our hotel.”

• Business Intelligence tools allow the team to monitor lead flow, compare pricing, and measure their performance against competitors. “We use it every day… It tells you if you are getting enough leads… if you are aligned with the market.” The insights helped them become one of the top responders in the city. 

RESULTS

More leads, satisfied planners, and a motivated team

The impact of Cvent’s tools quickly became clear. After enhancing their profile, the hotel saw a sharp rise in both the quantity and quality of inbound leads, including a 19% increase in RFPs and a 33% increase in RFP value. 

And while breaking through as a newer player in a crowded market remains a challenge, those who do book are often won over for good. “Once this lead is created and a group stays at my hotel, we have a very high level of repeat customers,” Álvarez shared. “They are very satisfied.”

Internally, the results go beyond just numbers. Having tools that highlight performance and position the hotel as a leader among its peers has been a boost to team morale as well. “It also helps to motivate the team... we are a top responder... and this helps reinforce messages to the team and keep doing well.”