Smart Meetings | Page 312 of 602 | Corporate Event Planning: Business Events, Meetings, Conferences

There’s a place where innovation meets inspiration. And business meetings are elevated to unforgettable gatherings. Some of the world’s most influential minds come to live, work and create in Pasadena. Bring your next meeting here and image the possibilities.

There’s a reason Pasadena is the perfect choice for meetings. The weather is idyllic. Mountain views and blue skies abound. Intimate neighborhood allure is infused with modern energy and metropolitan offerings that make it a destination in itself.

Meetings and Accommodations
The state-of-the art Pasadena Convention Center features 80,000 square feet of space for meetings of all sizes, with spacious exhibit halls, an expansive ballroom and 28 meeting rooms. Scores of three- to five-star convention hotels and more than 2,500 rooms are nestled within the city, with countless more nearby.

Activities
An eclectic mix of shopping, theaters, golf, museums and gardens are all conveniently just steps away from Pasadena’s Civic Center. There’s literally something significant around every corner, whether you’re into architecture, design, high fashion, music, theatre, museums or galleries. Pasadena is the heartbeat of SoCal’s cultural side. Art Connoisseurs have a myriad of landmark museums and galleries, housing everything from European masters to early California Impressionists to modern art. Literary lovers can peruse rare books and manuscripts. Explore mile upon mile of stunning botanical gardens, top-notch arts performances and live concert venues. A tour of the town will lead to a beautiful tree-lined shopping district along South Lake Avenue, galleries and specialty shops in the Playhouse District, 19th century structures and quaint alleyways in Old Pasadena, and an open-air urban village in Paseo Colorado. Pasadena could easily be called “Foodie City,” with more than 500 restaurants – more per capita than New York City.

Getting There
Pasadena is located just ten miles from downtown Los Angeles, and is conveniently accessible from all LA area airports and freeways. The Gold Line light rail transports passengers from Pasadena to downtown Los Angeles and points in between.

Smart Facts
Pasadena Convention Center
300 E. Green Street
Pasadena, CA 91101
Phone: (626) 795-9311, (800) 307-7977
Website: www.PasadenaMeetings.com

abu-dahbi-tourism-sailboats The international tourism and meetings campaign being waged by Abu Dhabi has received two major shots in the arm this week. The capital of United Arab Emirates got some major love from TripAdvisor, which ranked Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi city as the world’s No. 4 top attraction.

Then today in Lorient, France, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing clinched the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race with one leg left in the 11-stop, 38,739-nautical mile around-the-world journey. Sailing is a significant part of Abu Dhabi’s rich heritage, and the fact that Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority backed the team reflects the lengths the DMO is going to promote the destination.

I attended a fam trip to Abu Dhabi last spring to participate in the 2014 Gulf Incentives, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM). The mosque is as spectacular as it has been portrayed and has potential to unite people of different faiths, which is part of the inspiration for the monument.

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One look at Abu Dhabi’s amazing port on the Persian Gulf and it’s easy to understand why the tourism authority decided to enter a boat in the around-the-world race. Abu Dhabi even served as one of 11 ports in the nine-month event, hosting the world’s elite sailors during Christmas and New Year’s Eve stopover.

“I can’t wait to speak to the people in Abu Dhabi,” said winning skipper Ian Walker earlier today. “They give us so much support and I bet they are going crazy about this result.”

There’s tons to be excited about right now in Abu Dhabi, which has been ranked as the third fastest-growing destination city overall between 2009 and 2015 by MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index. Sheikh-Zayed-Grand-Mosque

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque welcomed 4.3 million visitors and worshippers in 2014, making it the single-most visited tourism attraction in the emirate.

“The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is an architectural masterpiece which welcomes visitors from across the globe, and it is a remarkable feat to be recognised among the world’s most illustrious structures and historical sites,” said Sultan Al Dhaheri, acting executive director of tourism at Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. “Prospects for the future also look good, stimulated by rapid growth of the emirate’s tourism sector by travel from within the GCC, Europe, the USA and particularly from east Asia, where we hope to continue to capitalize on the strong growth in visitor numbers from the outbound travel market from China.”

On the heels of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, CVBs around the nation are forecasting big implications for the tourism industry. The change in marriage laws is likely to provide an economic boost for domestic and international travel. Reuters reports that in 2014, LGBT tourism topped $200 billion for the first time, and now, the total is expected to increase even more.

San Francisco Travel Association president and CEO Joe D’Alessandro released a statement in support of the nation’s commitment to marriage equality. He remarked on the city’s strong history as a champion of civil liberties and gay rights.

“This decision is the culmination of a struggle that began in San Francisco on Feb. 12, 2004 when then-Mayor Gavin Newsom began issuing same-sex marriages licenses at City Hall,” D’Alessandro said. “My husband and I will be celebrating this weekend with the thousands of people who will come to San Francisco to share in this historic moment.”

D’Alessandro predicts this weekend’s 45th annual Pride Celebration, which takes place along San Francisco’s Market Street in front of City Hall at Civic Center Plaza, will be even more festive than usual. The city received a record number of more than 18 million visitors last year, with an economic impact of around $10 billion.

South Florida also expects major economic impacts resulting from the legalization of same-sex marriage. In a report from the South Florida Business Journal, Bill Talbert, president and CEO of Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, stated that the ruling greatly bolsters its LGBT marketing efforts.

The article included a study from the Williams Institute of UCLA that stated same-sex marriages could benefit the federal government by $1 billion annually. The study, released last year, indicated that Florida could receive a tourism boost estimated at $182 million, including $12 million in tax revenue over the next three years.

Hawaii also predicts a big economic windfall in the wake of the ruling. According to Hawaii News Now, a study released by the University of Hawaii estimates an additional $217 million in tourism spending and $10 million in tax revenue over the next three years. The study expects the majority of spending to come from out-of-state tourism. If the new law had not passed, study authors believed that Hawaii could have lost up to $200,000 per day in the course of three years due to LGBT couples traveling elsewhere to marry.

BC Stadium Events Venue When the FIFA Women’s World Cup final takes place July 5, Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium will be forever remembered for hosting the last match of the record-breaking 2015 tournament. The championship match is expected to draw more than 53,000 fans to BC Place Stadium and will be watched on TV by millions of people from around the world.

Canada has shown lots of teamwork while hosting the largest women’s sporting event in the world. Besides Vancouver, matches also took place in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton, marking Canada’s first coast-to-coast sporting event. BC Place Stadium has already hosted eight matches, with the finale on tap for Sunday at 7 p.m. (EDT) on Fox. The U.S. women will face Japan.

This is not the first time that BC Place Stadium has been in the international spotlight. The opening and closing ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games were also held there.

BC Place Stadium Events Venue After the 24-team World Cup women’s soccer tournament concludes, meeting planners may want to consider bringing large groups to the stadium, especially due to the notoriety the venue and destination have received this month.

Here are 11 fun facts to help you decide if BC Place Stadium is the right events venue for your group:

—BC Place Stadium is the largest multipurpose events venue in British Columbia.

—It features the biggest retractable roof in the world. In other words, weather will never be an issue.

—It has the second-largest video-board in North America.

—The stadium is one of the most technologically advanced events venue in the world with 800 Wi-Fi ports and 1,100 digital screens.

—It’s located downtown.

—It has an energy-efficient LED lighting display that regularly helps bring awareness to events, charities and nonprofit causes important to communities in British Columbia. (Note to planners: Can you say branding opportunity?)

—Stadium underwent a complete renovation in 2011.

—It has a seating capacity of 54,500.

—A flexible secondary roof system between the lower and upper tiers of the stadium can be closed to create space for 22,000.

—This events venue implements many green practices, including a comprehensive recycling program, using biodegradable cleaning products and a catering department that locally sources food.

—The projected economic activity generated from hosting the nationwide tournament is $267 million.

Take a look through our slideshow for more images of BC Place Stadium:

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meetings-industry Just as the meetings industry organized to emphasize the importance of face-to-face meetings following bad publicity amid the Great Recession, travel-related companies and organizations are now urging Capitol Hill to include tax cuts on air travel and immediately improve infrastructure during the Federal Aviation Administration’s upcoming reauthorization.

U.S. Travel Association announced this week that 117 travel companies and destination management organizations have endorsed a letter that has been sent to key transportation leaders in the House and Senate. The letters’ supporters read like a who’s who list for the meetings industry, including Convention Industry Council, Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International, Inc., MGM Resorts International, Loews Hotels, Universal Parks & Resorts, and nearly 50 state and regional tourism offices. Even a handful of airports are calling on transportation leaders to take action.

Here is an excerpt from the letter:

“As diverse leaders of the travel industry from across the United States, we request your support for a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill that includes pro-traveler, pro-competition and pro-growth policies that will modernize the U.S. aviation system. To that end, the U.S. Travel Association recently proposed a National Aviation Policy, a comprehensive package of reforms to accelerate airport modernization, stabilize funding for air traffic control and enhance airline competition–all while cutting passenger ticket taxes. We urge you to include these proposals in the upcoming FAA reauthorization bill.”

Last month, U.S. Travel Association issued a proposal to reform the financing model for maintaining and upgrading the country’s air travel infrastructure. The plan calls for cuts in federal ticket taxes and a slight increase on Passenger Facility Charge to help keep revenues local for the purpose of traveler-friendly infrastructure fixes. The goal is to maintain funding for local aviation-related programs including terminal and runway expansion, resulting in a marketplace with more carriers, and thus competition, that would benefit all travelers.

Domestic and inbound flyers annually spend $409 billion in the United States, supporting 3.4 million jobs. Among the problems cited by major players in the travel and meetings industry are aging airport infrastructure, growing congestion, declining airline competition and passenger frustrations.

“Complaining about air travel is basically a national pastime at the moment, and every single one of flyers’ major gripes can be boiled down to infrastructure woes and a lack of airline competition,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of U.S. Travel Association. “These problems are not just about the comfort and convenience of travelers, they’re about the ability of travel to continue being a main engine of economic and job growth for the country.

“Congress has both the tools within reach to fix the system and the opportunity to use them with the upcoming FAA reauthorization. Our letter marshals some of the most influential voices out there to urge political leaders not to squander this moment.”

Click to read the letters sent to the House and Senate.

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If we think about memorable meetings as works of art where planners are the painters, then suppliers could be considered the canvases on which these wonderful events take form. As part of our Think Big Meetings contest, we asked suppliers to tell us about their best events and what helped make them unique—including images of the venues.

The response we got exceeded our expectations. We’ve showcased all of the submissions on our Think Big Meetings board on Pinterest, but the 3 winners below included a little something special—an extra brushstroke of inspiration, if you will.

Hotels and Properties Think Big Meetings Winners

– Hillary Smith, CMP, CSEP of Koncept Events crafted a luxurious offsite spectacle for her event “Havana Nights.”

–The Keep Memory Alive Event Center—designed by legendary architect Frank Gehry—is a work of art in its own right. In this wonderful venue, hosts for the Kerry Simon Says Fight MSA Event artfully blended the contemporary setting with classic rockers Sammy Hagar, Slash and others to create an event that nobody will soon forget.

–Steven Klein of Hollywood Beach Marriott focused his meeting on the most important subjects of all—his own staff. Couple that concept with s’mores and, well, you can see why his submission was chosen along with the others as winners in the supplier category of our Think Big Meetings contest.

Of course, we’d also like to thank everyone who participated in our contest. Sharing your pictures, stories and events helped many people become aware of fabulous event ideas and locations they might not otherwise have known about.

To discover even more great premium suppliers, exciting destinations, meeting activities and ideas, be sure to subscribe to Smart Meetings magazine so you don’t miss a thing.

In the meantime, this is not the end of Think Big Meetings. There are lots more surprises to come in the coming weeks, so keep up with the latest information by searching the #ThinkBigMeetings hashtag on Twitter.

Join 54,000 of your peers who have subscribed to Smart Meetings magazine – FREE!

Image Courtesy of Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau – Groups that meet in Cincinnati can tour Great American Ball Park, host of the 2015 All-Star Game

The 2015 MLB All-Star Game, which was played this week at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, pitched the host city into the limelight and introduced the riverfront city to planners who may have been unfamiliar with it. Media attention from the highly publicized annual contest has helped illuminate the region’s revitalization and highlights its desirability as a meetings destination.

Cincinnati, which has been undergoing a renaissance, boasts many attributes. “From the Banks Entertainment District on the riverfront to the Over-the-Rhine historic neighborhood, our urban core has been completely transformed with new hotels, restaurants and venues,” says Dan Lincoln, president and CEO of the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau. “These new developments, combined with our region’s warm hospitality and easy accessibility, make Cincinnati a world-class host for meetings and events of all sizes.”

Planners Score With Baseball-Themed Events & Venues

Cincy organized a full lineup of baseball-themed events in preparation for the All-Star Game. Planners meeting there in the near future may still be able to take in certain exhibits. Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame & Museum, adjacent to Great American Ball Park, has staged an exhibit about the Cincinnati Red Stockings, baseball’s first all-professional team. It features details about baseball’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, who spent much of his career there as both a player and coach. Particularly interesting is the “Wall of Balls,” representing each of his 4,256 hits.

Other notable exhibits include Cincinnati Art Museum, which is presenting “Up at Bat: Warhol, Rose and Baseball Cards,” through Aug. 2; the Public Library of Cincinnati, which is displaying curated memorabilia, including a scorecard from 1894; and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, which has a presentation entitled “Diversity in Baseball.” Cincinnati Museum Center also has two fascinating displays. “Queen City Baseball: Diamonds and Stars” profiles the city’s rich baseball history, while the interactive “Science of Sports” explains how pitchers can throw 104-mph fastballs, among other physical feats.

At any time of the year, Cincinnati hits it out of the park with a cluster of sports facilities that planners can buyout for special events. Great American Ball Park features pitching and fielding zones, a ballpark-themed movie theater with a wooden grandstand and a re-created broadcast booth where visitors can call plays. One hundred feet away overlooking the Ohio River is U.S. Bank Arena, where the Cyclones play minor-league hockey, and down the road is Paul Brown Stadium, home of the Cincinnati Bengals. There is also plenty of event space at regional colleges. Of particular note is University of Cincinnati’s Varsity Village, which features five sports venues including Lindner Family Tennis Center, site of the Western & Southern Open tennis championship held each August.

A Great Place to Meet

Cincinnati boasts two world-class convention centers. Duke Energy Convention Center, located in the compact, walkable downtown, recently underwent a $135 million renovation. It features more than 750,000 sq. ft. of meeting and exhibit space, including a 40,000-square-foot ballroom, and is attached via skywalk to three hotels. In the north, LEED-certified Sharonville Convention Center has a 20,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a new 14,000-square-foot ballroom, 21,900 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space and three breakout rooms.

As if two convention centers weren’t enough, one mile from downtown Cincinnati, in Covington, Kentucky, sits Northern Kentucky Convention Center. The 204,000-square-foot facility features 110,000 sq. ft. of space and is connected to two hotels.

Ohio Has Game

Planners have a lot to cheer about when it comes to holding meetings in the Buckeye State. Cincinnati in particular has a grand slam combination of modern convention centers, top quality venues, affordable accommodations and a helpful CVB that will cover all the bases in order to make your next meeting a true game changer.

Destination Marketing Organizations Spur Hotel Bookings As executives from convention and visitor bureaus gathered this week in Austin, Texas, for the annual Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) conference, there’s solid evidence that DMOs are impacting hotel bookings at a record pace.

In 2014, DMOs in the United States collectively influenced a record of 41.5 million room nights booked for future years, growing by 2.4 percent from 2013. As a result of previous year bookings, DMOs hosted a total of 41.7 million room nights in 2014.

“Nearly 300 cities and towns across the United States rely on DMO sales and marketing efforts to attract events to their destination,” said Michael Gehrisch, president and CEO of DMAI. “Just as individual DMOs know how important it is to quantify their impact locally for their stakeholders, quantifying the total DMO impact on a national level is critical to articulating destination marketing’s contribution and commitment to growing the meetings industry.”

Previous research showed that the DMO channel influenced one in five group room nights in their destinations. The share has increased by 2 percentage points over the past two years to 22.5 percent.

Spearheaded by the DMAI Sales and Marketing Committee, the study was conducted by Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company, with the collaboration of DMO customer relationship management (CRM) solution providers. The report quantifies the impact of the DMO sales and marketing channel from 2009 through 2014 based on booked room nights for future events, occurred group room nights, and the number of events booked and occurred. Smart Meetings

The analysis is based on an extensive collection of data from 155 DMOs representing 51.8 percent of DMOs with sales professionals dedicated to promoting their destinations and 77 percent of all DMO rooms booked and occurred. An econometric model was developed to project this sample to the remaining markets.

In other news, a landmark study jointly released by ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership, Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), Destination & Travel Foundation, Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Education Foundation revealed that on average, one in three group room nights in the United States are booked outside of the event contracted room blocks.

“Despite general agreement that many attendees book outside the room block, the meetings industry traditionally relies on the historical room block pick-up as one of the most important metrics to value an event,” said Christine “Shimo” Shimasaki, managing director of empowerMINT.com and Event Impact Calculator at DMAI. “This study proves that the method captures only a partial story, and is the first of its kind to quantify just how many more overnight visitors the meetings industry is continuing to drive to destinations across the United States.”

Performed by Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics Company, the study conducted ZIP code analyses for more than 170 events with over 880,000 attendee origin data provided by registration and housing companies, association management companies, destination marketing organizations, and individual meeting and exhibition organizers. Events ranged from 60 to more than 55,000 attendees, across various market segments, event locations, and destinations from 2012 to 2015. The research took a conservative approach to event room demand, estimating that only those attendees with ZIP codes more than 100 miles from the meeting locale required a guest room.

While on average 34.1 percent of rooms are being booked outside the contracted room block, study findings showed significant variation in the proportion of rooms booked outside the block, which can be explained in part by certain event characteristics.

The Philadelphia hotel market is red hot, thanks in part to its booming convention business. Three major conventions in June elevated Philadelphia Center City hotel occupancy rates to a 22-year high for the month, according to PHLCVB, Philadelphia’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. As reported on philly.com, occupancy reached 89.4 percent in June, the highest June rate since 1993, with hotels booked to nearly full capacity on some days.

The three big citywides that drove convention group traffic in June were the Government Finance Officers Association, which had an estimated attendance of 6,000; the Biotechnology Industry Organization, which hosted 15,858; and the International Society for Technology in Education, which drew 19,500 attendees and exhibitors to the city. The three citywides, in addition to several smaller conventions, combined for a total of 97,208 hotel room nights, generating an estimated economic impact of more than $121 million for the region.

“June was a great month for us and for many Center City hotels,” Bill Fitzgerald, general manager of the Hilton Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing, said in a statement published on philly.com. “When the [Pennsylvania] Convention Center is consistently filled is when we thrive.”

Philadelphia has been tracking hotel occupancy rates since 1993. “June was the strongest month in the over 20 years for which we have records, both in terms of occupancy and average room rate,” said Peter Tyson, vice president at PKF Consulting, which compiles its data from hotel research firm STR, in an article that appeared in Philadelphia Business Journal.

“This is even more impressive when you take into account that the second-strongest occupancy month over that period, October 1998 at 89.2 percent, was with only 7,100 rooms in the inventory, and the current inventory is well over 11,000 rooms,” Tyson told Philadelphia Business Journal.

Philadelphia hotel market momentum is expected to continue—the NAACP held its annual convention at Pennsylvania Convention Center in early July, generating $10.5 million in economic impact. Other huge events coming to the City of Brotherly Love include Pope Francis’ visit at the World Meeting of Families convention at the end of September, as well as next year’s Democratic National Convention.

Hotel Openings and Closings

After more than three decades in the same location, the 357-room Four Seasons on Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway closed in early June. It is expected to reopen in 2018 atop the brand new Comcast Innovation and Technology Center, which at 59 stories will become the city’s biggest skyscraper. The new hotel will have 222 rooms. It has not yet been announced which hotel brand will take over the space formerly occupied by The Four Seasons, which is currently undergoing renovation.

Other new properties scheduled to open include Roost Rittenhouse in the fall of 2015, AKA University City in the spring of 2016, The Study at University City in the fall of 2016, and an Aloft Hotel, SLS Hotel and Residences and AC Hotel by Marriott in 2017.

The community is also excited about an innovative W and Element hotel project currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2018. The dual brand hotel development is located at 15th and Chestnut Streets. Philadelphia Magazine reports that funding for the $280 million W/Element project was made possible with the help of $33 million in tax increment financing and $160 million in loans. Starwood Hotels & Resorts will manage the property.

Although they will both be housed in the same 51-story building, the two hotels will maintain their distinctive identities. W Philadelphia will have 295 guest rooms, 45,000 sq. ft. of meeting/event space, a 7,000-square-foot outdoor terrace with a pool and destination bar, and a 2,900-square-foot spa, among other amenities. LEED-certified Element Philadelphia will offer 460 guest rooms, a 1,600-square-foot fitness center and a 560-square-foot branded meeting space, among other features.

Orange County Visitors Association (OCVA) is going the extra mile for Middle Eastern tourists looking to travel during the end of the Ramadan holiday. This month, the tourism association released a free online training video that encourages its 700 members to be more culturally aware and sensitive to Middle Eastern customs. The video coincides with Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of a 30 day period of fasting and worship. Many Muslims celebrate the holiday with an equally long vacation, lasting on average between 30-45 days.

“We hope businesses use this to train staff to encourage culturally-aware hospitality for our Middle Eastern tourists,” said OCVA CEO Ed Fuller. “Making sure our friends in the Middle East feel comfortable by culturally providing for their needs will motivate them to return to Orange County year after year.”

In 2013, the U.S. welcomed more than 1 million Middle Eastern tourists, including many who traveled to Southern California. OCVA says Orange County’s high-end attractions and amenities make it a popular destination for Muslim travelers. Luxury resorts, high-end restaurants and upscale shopping complexes, in particular, are a big draw for the travel segment.

The video is targeted at Orange County business owners, community members, city officials and hospitality professionals. It cuts between iconic Orange County attractions, such as Fashion Island and Irvine Spectrum Center to the streets and cityscape of Dubai. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Cultural Understanding partnered with OCVA to educate tourism and retail communities on Muslim decorum and religious customs. In the clip, Nasif Kayed, managing director of the center, explains how hotel operators and business owners can welcome visitors and embrace their traditions.

The 30-minute training video educates viewers on the cultural pillars of Islam, proper greetings, business etiquette and cultural pitfalls to avoid. Kayed offers these suggestions:

– Families may travel in large groups of 6-12 people or more. They require longer periods of stay, adjoining rooms and privacy.
– It is customary for Muslims to pray five times a day. Middle Eastern visitors will appreciate a quiet, designated prayer room with an indication to the direction of Mecca. Wash basins for cleaning faces, hands and feet are also part of the ritual.
– Greetings depend upon the nature of the relationship and regional social practices. They can range from handshakes to multiple kisses on cheeks and heads. Asking about the family, instead of individual members directly, is considered more polite.
– Food and drink etiquette does not permit consumption of alcohol or pork. It is imperative that other foods have no contact with any parts of the meat.

OCVA also launched Arabic and English websites and social media channels specifically for Middle Eastern tourists. Digital marketing efforts fall under “The OC & ME” Middle Eastern campaign, which offers VIP personal shopping services, discounts worth thousands of dollars and more bargains at premier retail locations.