Headlines: December 2007

December 2007

Departments

Phone as Pass
Now it’s even more crucial to keep track of your cell phone or PDA. In addition to storing all your contact information and calendar of events, mobile phones can also double as a boarding pass. That’s right—when booking a flight, you can register your mobile phone number with the airline and have a bar code sent to you in a text message. Since 2005, the industry has integrated the bar-code system, which is now the basis for web check-in. The International Air Transport Association, representing more than 240 airlines worldwide, aims to implement 100-percent bar-coded boarding passes by the end of 2010, either on paper or mobile message, making travel more convenient and saving the industry more than $500 million per year. iata.org

Beachfront Meetings
If you’re looking for a place in Southern California to hold a small event, another option has surfaced in Laguna Beach. Vacation Village, which sits on 280 feet of private beach, now offers several meeting spaces among its six buildings. Substantial upgrades to several of the oceanfront suites—complete with fireplaces, kitchenettes and balconies—make for intimate gatherings of up to 15 attendees. Or, plan a corporate retreat right on the beach at Pacific Edge, the 4,000-square-foot house that transforms into unique meeting space. Elegant French doors, a private deck and panoramic views enhance small gatherings at this 103-room property. vacationvillage.com

All About F & B
Listen up, wine lovers. Woodinville Village, an upscale culinary and wine-focused community 12 miles from downtown Seattle, is set to open in 2009. The 840,000-square-foot mixed-use development includes the $45-million Hotel Verenna, featuring 7,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, an outdoor piazza and 100 guest rooms and suites. Best of all, the property will have a 50-seat culinary theater with broadcast capabilities for exhibition-style cooking demonstrations—a nice perk for the foodies in your group. Japanese deep-soaking tubs and indoor/outdoor fireplaces will treat guests to sophisticated comfort, while just outside, high-end retail shops, exquisite wineries and a 10,000-square-foot spa await. woodinvillevillage.com

Bright Lights, Big Lake
Your next event in Las Vegas can now include a one-of-kind view of the largest privately owned man-made lake in the U.S. Take a break from noisy casinos and bustling streets and hit The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas, located 17 miles southeast of The Strip. The hotel’s new (detached) 4,920-square-foot Pontevecchio Pavilion was designed based on guest feedback. Because of such high group demand, the venue debuted earlier than expected in October as a temporary event structure. Next spring, the actual permanent glass-enclosed ballroom, currently being manufactured in Europe, will open by the lake in Southern Nevada. ritzcarlton.com

Breath of Fresh Air
Now there’s more room for meetings on the west shore of California’s prized Lake Tahoe at the 74-acre Granlibakken Conference Center & Lodge. The recent expansion features new conference space and eight guest rooms at Forest Lodge—a separate building that is part of the seven-room Executive Lodge. The entire property, with free high-speed wireless connectivity, offers 16,000 sq. ft. of meeting space in a variety of structures situated among Ponderosa and Jeffrey pine trees. Incorporate the fresh mountain air into your next meeting with seasonal outdoor venues like the 80-seat Courtview, or the 3,200-square-foot pavilion. Additionally, a nearby trailhead leads to Tahoe City and the Truckee River, offering attendees an invigorating post-meeting activity. Other perks include a pool, sauna, ropes course and tennis courts. granlibakken.com

Convention Center Expansions
SoCal’s Pasadena Convention Center began a $121.6-million expansion in September 2006 that is due for completion by early 2009. The center, with 85,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, will gain a 25,000-square-foot ballroom. Groups looking to use a more historic venue can expect upgrades to the 17,000-square-foot ballroom. During construction, the East Pavilion exhibit hall and 3,000-seat Civic Auditorium are available for events. pasadenacal.com

New space in Anchorage, Alaska will be finished by September 2008. Builders broke ground on the $103-million complex in April 2006. The new Dena’ina Center will increase the city’s convention capacity by 300 percent. Connected to the William A. Egan Civic & Convention Center via heated walkways, the new building will have Wi-Fi capabilities, 133,500 sq. ft. of function space and 100-foot windows that bring Alaska’s scenic beauty inside. destinationdowntown.info

Security and Privacy
The Transportation Security Administration is trying out two new technologies that screen airline passengers. “Millimeter wave” and “backscatter” are two new scanning methods that produce highly detailed three-dimensional images of a passenger’s body. Millimeter wave machines work like this: a passenger steps into a portal (shaped like a small gazebo) and is asked to stand in two different positions while high-speed radio waves reflect off the body, creating a 3-D image. The second alternative, “backscatter,” is a technique capable of producing such realistic images showing contours of the body that it raises passenger privacy issues. Using X-rays, the backscatter machine takes several seconds to scan the passenger. TSA states that, for privacy purposes, faces will be blurred while images are reviewed by a security agent in a remote location, and no images will be saved. Both methods are currently used in Arizona’s Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport as a secondary screening alternative to the “pat down.” Los Angeles International Airport and New York’s John Fitzgerald Kennedy International Airport are on deck to implement these methods. tsa.gov

New Santa Clarita Hotel
A new hotel opened last month in Santa Clarita County, offering 156 spacious guest suites. Just north of Los Angeles, groups can meet off-site in the 500-square-foot board room at Embassy Suites Valencia, located only 30 minutes from the Burbank Airport. The new hotel also accommodates larger groups in its 4,456-square-foot Grand Ballroom. A free shuttle to corporate offices within five miles of the hotel, as well as complimentary high-speed Internet access and a 24-hour business center are available to all guests. After the meeting, they can take a break in the outdoor pool, spa or full-service restaurant, The Grove. embassysuites.hilton.com

So-Cal Fires FYI
According to the California Travel and Tourism Commission, Southern California’s visitor attractions, hotels and meeting facilities are operating as usual in the wake of the recent fires. Despite earlier evacuations, road and hotel closures, the fires were contained in the outlying areas of San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Orange counties and did not directly impact any venues or hotels. Roads have reopened in San Bernardino County, and the untouched Lake Arrowhead Conference Center is ready for the winter season. Further information can be found on the following local websites: sandiego.org; sandiegonorth.com; greaterlosangeles.com; santabarbaraca.com; anaheimoc.org; san-bernardino.org.