Turning Doughnuts into Do-Nots
November 2007
Did you Know
The Term “Theme” is a Risky Word for Planners
Themed restaurants can pull families with small children right off the freeway, but might keep more discerning restaurant diners at bay. Themed cocktail parties are a major hit if planned right, but if done wrong can be cheesy and even annoying.
It is hard to go wrong with themed meeting breaks, however, as breaks are designed to refresh the mind and body, and the standard fare of coffee and pastries can quickly bore attendees rather than revitalize them.
Even the simplest themes can add at least some amusement to the basic idea of taking a breather. Caesars Palace in Las Vegas recently began offering planners a number of different options to chose from, such as the DaVinci Break, with biscotti, tiramisu and small Italian pastries. A more American theme is the Ballpark Break, with hot dogs, soft pretzels, peanuts and all the other sinfully delicious foods found in stadiums throughout the nation. If you’re of the chocolate persuasion, it’s a no-brainer to pick the Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Break, which features, well, you can probably figure it out.
While Vegas is certainly the place for getting all your sinning needs taken care of (we’re talking about the food here), other venues are going in the opposite direction, offering healthy-themed breaks. Omni Hotels, for example, incorporates short yoga and massage sessions into its themed meeting breaks, with equally healthy snacks like wheat grass shots, rice cakes and tea, so your attendees’ eyes don’t glaze over after 20 minutes when their sugar highs collapse.
Kimpton Hotels also knows the value of out-of-the-ordinary meeting breaks. It allows planners to select from a menu of items and services to customize breaks, with such invigorating options as fruit smoothies, 15-minute guided power walks and short aromatherapy sessions. Kimpton also knows your group might be better served by burning off extra energy rather than restoring it, and offers such options as Nerf balls, wax lips and surf or reggae music. And, if your attendees really seem to enjoy letting out their inner 10-year-olds, take it a step further with foods like Lucky Charms cereal, macaroni and cheese and games like Checkers and Pictionary, which give their minds a momentary respite from the 3rd-quarter budget.
As more and more hotels incorporate their own themed breaks, the choices will become limitless; experience will help you hone in on what type of break serves your attendees the best. But what is clear is that the days of Styrofoam cups of coffee, canned conversations, glazed doughnuts and glazed-over eyes are quickly fading away into yesteryear.
