Conference facilities as a key factor in the competitiveness of urban hotels: A case study of Łódź (Poland)

Abstract The article aims to assess the competitiveness of hotels in Łódź on the meeting tourism (MICE) market based on an analysis of their conference facilities. The data was obtained from GUS statistics, reports on MICE tourism in Poland and as a result of own field research carried out in 2019. Exploratory data analysis was used in their development. The development of modern hotels in Łódź of higher categories with obligatory conference rooms has contributed to the diversification of the possibilities of organising MICE tourism by city hotels. The hotel’s possession of conference facilities has become an important factor in building its competitive advantage. The analysis of hotel equipment with conference facilities, using the conference service capacity (CSC) index, turned out to be a sufficiently correct measure to illustrate the diversity of hotels’ ability to compete in the MICE urban tourism market.