| Rising 16 floors above
the heart of downtown, the Crowne Plaza Casablanca
is situated in the city’s banking district, a
short cab ride away from the walled medina. Part of
the International Hotel Group, which also includes
the Intercontinental and Holiday Inn brands, it is
an older hotel with a definite charm. Plans are being
made to bathe the property in lighter colors, and
the rooms are quiet and spacious. With in-room internet
connections available, business travelers have found
the Crowne Plaza to be a bit of a hidden gem. The
staff, however, are the real jewels. Without fail,
each guest is greeted warmly and all requests are
handled promptly. Overseeing it all is Crowne Plaza
Casablanca General Manager Francois Bonnel.
Messier Bonnel has been with the property for four-and-a-half
years, transferring to Morocco from a management position
in his native France. During that time, he has focused
his energy on infusing his staff with the latest in
Western service standards. He related that while the
task has not been an easy one, his employees have
proven willing to learn and eager to perform to the
best of their abilities. As proof of the rationale
behind his strategy, Bonnel proudly remarked that
repeat business from business travelers makes up a
significant percentage of his bookings. The old adage,
“service with a smile” has proven to be
a key selling point for the Crowne Plaza Casablanca.
He explained that because Casablanca is the financial
and industrial capital of Morocco, with many multinationals
represented, the hotel market caters primarily to
the business traveler. This fact has allowed the Crowne
Plaza and other hotels in the city to weather the
downturn in the global hotel industry somewhat better
than their counterparts in the rest of Morocco. While
the Crown Plaza has managed to maintain an average
45-50% occupancy rate, hotels catering more to the
tourist trade have seen their rates plunge to as little
as 10-20%.
While convention business in the traditional sense
of the term is not a specialty of the Crowne Plaza,
Bonnel explained that professional associations from
the metro area regularly hold training seminars and
related meetings at the Crowne Plaza. The hotel does
its best to provide everything these guests might
need, including catered meals that include special
touches not found in every hotel conference center.
The Moroccan government’s aggressive tourism
promotion plan has the unqualified endorsement of
Bonnel, who remarked that the plan will “promote
more competition through the creation of new hotels
and force existing hotels to upgrade their quality.”
This will in turn lead to demand for more tour operators,
travel agents and associated businesses, breathing
life into the struggling industry.
The Plan Azur (Coastal Plan) had its genesis in His
Majesty King Mohammed VI’s determination to dot
the length of Morocco’s extensive coastline with
beautiful, state-of-the-art resorts. The successful
completion of this project will allow the nation to
at last claim its rightful place as a major beach
destination. Bonnel explained that in the past year
construction has begun on six major resorts, with
many more planned.
Moroccans are among the most genuine and sincere people
you will ever be lucky enough to meet, and Bonnel
wholeheartedly endorses this sentiment. The sense
of welcome a visitor receives is memorable because
of that sincerity. To hear someone say that Morocco
is the same as other Arab countries, according to
Bonnel, is to say that all European nations are the
same or that all of the United States is the same.
He closed by noting that while he has been lucky enough
to call nine countries home for a part of his life,
“I have never lived in a country more respectful
of other races and faiths than Morocco.” Enough
said. |
