29th April 2014
Crowne Plaza Reading has been unveiled as one of the shortlisted finalists at this year's esteemed Catey Awards.
Widely regarded as the hospitality industry's answer to the Oscars, the awards recognise the sector's highest flyers and strongest performers.
The four-star hotel has been nominated in the 'best marketing campaign' category following the success of its Manhattan makeover, which saw the venue transformed into New York City for three months.
Over last year's festive season guests were transported to the other side of the Atlantic as the hotel's Acqua Restaurant became Times Square, the Riversuite was turned into the 100th floor of the Empire State Building and the hotel's reception was converted into a JFK check-in desk.
As part of the Crowne Plaza Manhattan campaign, guests were also treated to a selection of American culinary delights including a specially created New York diner menu.
More than 140 industry experts helped whittle down the award category to just three stand-out campaigns, the winner of which will be announced at Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine's glittering 31st annual Catey Awards at London's Grosvenor House on Tuesday, 1 July.
Crowne Plaza Reading's innovative campaign even saw hotel staff imitate some of New York's famous faces and take to the streets to promote the Manhattan theme.
Armed with bundles of brownies and apples, Captain American, a 100 dollar bill and a big red apple approached hundreds of people to help start spreading the news that New York had arrived in Berkshire.
Daniel Loosley, general manager of Crowne Plaza Reading said: "The entire team worked exceptionally hard to make our unique Manhattan marketing campaign a huge success. A Catey Award nomination is a massive achievement in itself and testament to the wonderful team.
"The Manhattan campaign helped us to create a fun and exciting atmosphere for guests and visitors, as well as engaging our staff and significantly increasing customer satisfaction and occupancy in the hotel."