Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts unveils its new public space design for the first time in Europe at Crowne Plaza® Paris - Republique. The transformed lobby and public spaces, called 'Plaza Workspace', are the future direction for the brand globally.

The newly launched spaces at Crowne Plaza® Paris - Republique have been designed in collaboration with leading global design studio Conran + Partners. The hotel has maintained its unique nineteenth-century architectural features, whilst re-thinking its public spaces, approach to guest service, and food and drink offering to ensure it meets the needs of today's society, who are blurring the lines between business and leisure.

Plaza Workspace is an entirely new take on the traditional hotel lobby space, offering inspiring surroundings where hotel guests and locals can feel comfortable to do some work, enjoy a coffee over a business meeting or socialise with friends. Throughout Plaza Workspace there is an abundance of access to power, wireless phone chargers integrated in the tables, and access to high-speed WiFi, designed to answer the growing trend in flexible work and life preferences, and people's desire to work from anywhere.

The modern, design-led spaces have been crafted to be suitable for solo work, team huddles or meetings with friends, as well as offering noise-reducing booths for more private meetings. The new designs also include a bookable-by-the-hour Studio which offers a more relaxed approach to meetings, moving away from the typical hotel boardroom.

Alongside the newly designed spaces, the Crowne Plaza brand has challenged the preconceptions of hotel food, and developed a new food and drink offering that fits with the preferences of today's travellers and locals. The food and drink philosophy is intended to welcome guests at any time of day, offering dishes that reflect modern lifestyles. The menu focusses on natural plant based ingredients with dishes designed to be restorative and inspirational. Power up items, such as matcha, chia and kombucha will be offered at the start of the day and sleep inducing components like Jersey Milk with valerian feature towards the end, to ensure guests start and end their day right.

Libby Escolme, Global Vice President, Crowne Plaza, commented: "I have always loved travel and staying at an inspiring hotel is often why I am excited about a business trip. Today's traveller, like me, wants to stay somewhere that inspires them, where design creates great spaces that work well. We have worked with Conran + Partners, a best-in-class design firm, and I feel genuinely excited about how our new hotel spaces will enhance a guest's stay with us. It is also critical we have the food and drinks guests expect and deserve. Personally, if I can't enjoy a great salad for dinner or a fabulous latte in the morning, I don't feel ready for the work I need to do."

Our latest research also shows a growing demand in France for flexible workspaces, but there are barriers discouraging people from exploring alternative places to work. Plaza Workspace delivers a flexible work environment, which equips people with everything they need. Whether they are a new start-up or a CEO, we look forward to welcoming locals, business and leisure travellers to experience the newly transformed Crowne Plaza Paris-Republique."

Guest service is the cornerstone of every great stay experience. Being guided or supported by hotel staff at the right moment, for example by being walked to the lifts when guests are exhausted at the end of the day, or being shown the breakfast buffet so guests don't miss half the offering, are all simple but impactful elements of great service. The Crowne Plaza partnership with The School of Life ensures that hotel teams are equipped with emotional intelligence training so that whether staff are connecting with each other or with guests, it's about ensuring the approach is mindful, intuitive and generous. This new approach to guest service is called Dare to Connect.

The completion of Plaza Workspace at Crowne Plaza Paris - Republique is the latest milestone in the brand's flagship strategy. Five other Crowne Plaza showcase hotels in the U.S., Europe and China will launch by early 2020, bringing new designs and innovations to life. These include:

• Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia (reopened in April 2019)
• Crowne Plaza Hamburg - City Alster (opening Autumn 2019)
• Crowne Plaza Wuzhen (opening late 2019)
• Crowne Plaza Shenzhen WECC (opening late 2019)
• Crowne Plaza London - Heathrow (opening early 2020)

The Crowne Plaza brand continues to grow around the world with more than 500 hotel properties currently open or in the pipeline.*

*Number as of 30 June, 2019.

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