Smart Meetings | Page 463 of 603 | Corporate Event Planning: Business Events, Meetings, Conferences

Photo from ALLURE Best of Beauty; photo credit: concierge.com

When publishing giant Conde Nast gets involved, you know something’s big. So what’s currently on the horizon? Event software. This week, 23 Stories, the brand’s event agency, launched their guest management platform, Concierge.com.

The product is already seeing a solid client base. Brands such as iHeartMedia, Capital One, Vogue and AMC are on the list. Not to mention, Concierge.com has a partnership with Nomadic Entertainment Group for this year’s Super Bowl. For two nights leading up to and one night following the Super Bowl LII, the platform is responsible for overseeing invites, managing registration and on-site check-in for 15,000 guests during V.I.P. events.

Concierge.com is already raising eyebrows, despite a sea of competition. So what makes it so special? And what strategies can event planners adopt? Here are pearls of wisdom to extract from this success story.

1. Go Full-Service

The new software is an expansion of concierge platform Ribyt, which was bought by Conde Nast in March 2017.

“Ribyt started as a home-grown software for managing guests attending our more complex events—events with multiple levels of invitee and variable itineraries,” Eric Murphy, senior vice president of experiences for Conde Nast, told BizBash. “While we had begun to offer Ribyt in market as a standalone SAS product, it became clear that our full-service offering was actually more popular with our clients.”

The platform is a mix of both services and features. For instance, it can design and implement management duties such as special travel accommodations, invitations, personalized itineraries and task delegation. These software services are crucial. But so is the other side of the program, which involves a team of professionals who can handle event-day staffing, branding, website design and more.

The timing has to be right, but transitioning into a full-service brand is a terrific way to grow your company. Upsizing can come in the form of adding members to your team or partnering with another service.

2. Get the Hospitality Pros Involved

Self-labeled “software with a service”, Concierge.com supplies access to a team of event AND hospitality experts. By incorporating a hospitality perspective, Concierge.com provides a line of communication to relevant hotels throughout the planning process. The necessary expertise needed to hold a big event, on both the event and hospitality levels, is seamlessly provided. This saves a lot of time, perhaps the most valuable thing to a planner.

How can this be applied to your operations? Designating a reliable hospitality contact is a good place to start. Develop relationships with the staff at specific hotels during each event. If possible, connect your client directly with this contact. It will put them at ease and make them more comfortable reaching out.

3. Branding Really is Built on Experiences

Conde Nast has dipped into the meeting and events world in the past. Last year the brand showed its flair for event planning with the Teen Vogue Summit. They have only doubled-down on offerings since then.

“Consumers, and as a consequence marketers, are valuing in-person experiences more and more,” Murphy explained to BizBash. “As such, Conde Nast is leveraging its strong heritage in creating unforgettable moments—like the Vanity Fair Oscar Party and Glamour’s Women of the Year—to create a full-service offering for clients looking to connect with consumers in powerful ways.”

With buzz about “experiential marketing” at an all-time high, getting customers involved physically is now the baseline for engagement. The good news—it’s a fantastic time to be in the events industry. The more challenging news is that finding innovative ways to make events memorable is becoming more competitive than ever. Time to turn up the creativity and embrace new tactics!

new passport fee

Planning on picking up a passport come April? You’ll be springing a bit more for it—the passport execution fee will increase by $10 starting April 2.

The @StateDept published a Final Rule on January 31, 2018, that increases the passport execution fee. The passport execution fee will be $35 starting on April 2, 2018. Individuals who apply for a passport renewal by mail will not see a fee increase. https://t.co/cxTjtAk7V6

— Department of State (@StateDept) January 31, 2018

The increase is a result of two studies conducted by the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs and the U.S. Postal Service. Both found that the current $25 execution fee needed to be raised, as the cost of the service was closer to $35.

With the changes:

Adults will now pay $145
Children 16 and younger will pay $115
Adults will now pay $65 for passport cards to cross the border and enter Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean
Children 16 and younger will pay $50.

Smart Tip: To get ahead of the curve and avoid the extra fee, make sure to have your passport renewed before the April deadline—even if you don’t know if or where you will be flying. While the execution fee is changing, the cost of renewing your passport by mail will not be affected by the updated policy. Application fees, which remain the most expensive aspect of passports, are not increasing either.

Editor’s Note: Our intern, Tess Dunn, attended the premier conference for music technology in Los Angeles at the end of January (photographed above) and came back with this special report.

It’s a busy day at NAMM–the annual convention hosted by the National Association of Music Merchants, which promotes itself as, “the only show that serves as a business crossroads for the music, sound and event technology industries.” Approximately 100,000 people attend over four days in January, wandering around the massive Anaheim Convention Center, where more than 7,000 exhibitor booths promote the latest-and-greatest music equipment and technology. It is extremely loud, as simultaneous musical performances battle with random test notes played on a sea of instruments. In the convention center lobby, away from the booths and sonic cacophony, is a small stage surrounded by chairs. This is NAMM U.

NAMM U is filled with half-hour segments, offering presentations from seasoned professionals ranging from “Proven eBay Success Tips, Secrets and Hacks” to “The Five Reasons People Don’t Buy—and What to Do About It.” The goal of NAMM U is to educate music professionals in the business on a variety of topics in order to promote whichever part of the industry they are in, whether it be producing, performing, creating or marketing. Each session is helpful, but the “class” I’m most interested in is titled “Essential Tips from Social Media Trendsetters” with Minzie Pittman, owner and director of education at the Contemporary Music Center. His talk focuses on utilizing social media to connect with millennials. As a millennial who utilizes social media, I am curious to learn what I can do to stand out.

In an interview with Pittman, he emphasized that the music industry is not so different from the event planning world. “What I share is about style and how the social medium works and who I believe the users are,” he says. Below are several examples shared by Pittman of ways event planners and companies can use social media to reach young professionals.

1. Figure out where you belong. Analyze how and where potential clients interact online, then research what your competition posts. From there, determine how you can add value.

2. Find meaningful ways to connect with millennials. Tapping in to their sense of humor is one way to draw them in, leaving a lasting impression and sense of connection that can lead to a pique of interest in your brand and events.

3. Develop a strong brand. If millennials enjoy your outlook, they are more likely to share their findings with their colleagues and friends, which can lead to a boost in visits to your social media and increased attendance at events.

4. Don’t underestimate the power of emotion. Millennials can tell if you are genuine. If they feel as though your branding may be a performance, they are less likely to respond to you and may even pull away from your business.

5. Post with intention. Random postings that don’t connect to your brand may throw people off, leaving them confused as to what your actual business is about. There’s a difference between showing a variety of talent and posting photos that don’t connect to anything else.

6. Recruit an in-house expert. If you’re having trouble getting into the millennial mindset, it might be useful to invest in bringing a young person on the team. Keep in mind, however, that the term covers a wide range of ages and attitudes so incorporating feedback from a diverse group of people is a good way to source content that will be appealing to anyone who participates in online conversations.

Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe, New Mexico, named Gabor L. Vida managing director. Vida joined Rosewood seven years ago and brings 25 years of hospitality experience to the role.

Gabor L. Vida

Jean Spaulding

Villas of Grand Cypress named Jean Spaulding director of sales and marketing for the Orlando, Florida, property. Most recently, Spaulding, who was named one of the “Most Powerful Women in Travel” by Travel Agent Magazine, served as director of sales and marketing for Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate.

Villas of Grand Cypress

Silvio Vettorello

Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Lake Como, Italy, appointed Silvio Vettorello as general manager. Vettorello previously served as an operations manager and hotel manager at the property.

Grand Hotel Tremezzo

Matthew Grauso

Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii, appointed hospitality industry veteran Matthew Grauso as general manager. Grauso’s role includes overseeing operations across the property’s 839 guest rooms and more than 20,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space.

Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach in Honolulu

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Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is in the midst of an ambitious global development plan that will include the opening of several new properties, after unveiling seven hotels and resorts last year.

Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur

The company has more than 100 hotels and resorts, scattered among some 40 countries throughout the world. One of the new properties, Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, will be located next to in 65-story Pretonas Towers. It will provide 209 guest rooms; a five-floor, 300,000-square-foot luxury retail area; and 12,199 sq. ft. of meeting space, including an 8,352-square-foot ballroom.

Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center

High atop the city’s tallest building—the 60-story Comcast Technology Center—Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center will offer 217 guest rooms, a penthouse restaurant, three meeting rooms and two ballrooms. By collaborating with Comcast, the hotel will be able to offer advanced technology throughout the property.

Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru

This summer, the company also will be opening its second hotel in India, Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru at Embassy One, located in northern Bengaluru, an area that is experiencing exceptional growth. The 230-room hotel, a short drive from Kempegowda International Airport (BLR), will have 230 guest rooms and three large dining areas that collectively can accommodate 600 people.

Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island

Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island, the company’s second resort on the island (near Madagascar), will feature 71 guest rooms, four dining options and 9 miles of beach to explore.

The 254-room Four Seasons Hotel Sao Paulo at Nacoes Unidas, Four Seasons’ first property in Brazil, is set to open in the fall. It will feature lush green spaces that overlook the Pinheiros River, seven meeting rooms and a grand ballroom.

Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens

Four Seasons and Astir Palace Vouliagmeni S.A., the Greek hospitality market leader, are renovating an existing property to create Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens, slated to debut in the spring. It will include 303 guest rooms, suites and bungalows with views of the Aegean Sea.

The company opened seven hotels and resorts last year: Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square; Four Seasons Hotel Tianjin in China; Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club in Surfside, Florida; Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya; Four Seasons Hotel Tunis in Gammarth, Tunisia; The Ocean Club, a Four Seasons Resort, Bahamas in Nassau; and Four Seasons Hotel Megeve in France.

Also in 2012, Four Seasons also announced plans to build Four Seasons Resort Jeju Island at Jeju Shinhwa World in South Korea, Four Seasons Hotel Dahlian in China, Four Seasons Hotel Makkah in Saudi Arabia and Four Seasons Hotel Hanoi at Hoan Kiem Lake in Vietnam.

Many of the new properties also feature residences. Since entering the luxury real estate business in 1985, the company has increased its Private Residences portfolio to include 38 properties in 17 countries, and the number of properties is expected to double in the next five years.

“Our company’s singular focus is on luxury lifestyle, encompassing Four Seasons hotels and resorts, and increasingly, Four Seasons Private Residences,” says J. Allen Smith, president and CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “For decades, Four Seasons has been synonymous with the highest standards of quality and service for luxury travelers, many of whom have now chosen to ultimately live at Four Seasons. We are now committing even greater resources to this priority.”

To support this growth, a new position, president of residential, has been created at Four Seasons. Paul White will serve in the role, which will report to Michael A. Crawford, president of portfolio management and owner relations.

Who’s the leader of the meeting? Y-O-U! Get your “ears” ready for the expansion at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Pixie dust is flying at the property, at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and last week, Disney Meetings released a sneak peek for planners to get a glimpse of the highly anticipated renovations.

New Tower

Rapunzel, let your hair down! A new 15-story tower is being constructed to add 545 guest rooms to the resort’s inventory. It will also feature a rooftop restaurant and lounge overlooking the lake at Coronado Springs.

Artist concept only ©Disney

Upper Lobby

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, a convention property, is stepping things up a notch with a brand-spanking-new upper lobby, where guests will enter on the second level. As seen in this rendering, it will have an open floor plan, a check-in counter and communal areas.

Artist concept only ©Disney

Lower Lobby

Downstairs, the bottom floor of the two-story lobby will be a place to mix, mingle and network from sunup to sundown. In the morning, the 16-seat lounge will have a coffee bar, and come nighttime, it will switch to a bar.

Artist concept only ©Disney

Outdoor Oasis

Over the lake and through the landscaping, to Mickey’s house we go! Guests will be able to walk to other areas of the resort property via a constellation of bridges and covered walkways.

Artist concept only ©Disney

Casitas Courtyard

Don’t want to wait until 2019? Not a problem! The recently renovated Casitas Courtyard is already set to host outdoor events for 25 to 400 guests. The private patio added overhead globe string lights to illuminate the area during twilight hours.

Photo courtesy: Disney

*Photo credit: Elizabeth Lippman/for Peter Tunney*

Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City was full of ornate décor. What came of the marquees, chandeliers, giant piano and concrete elephants when the hotel closed in October 2016? Artist Peter Tunney had a vision and created a new home for them—Miami Beach.

By turning one man’s trash into his treasure, he transformed the hotel’s artifacts into an installation called “The Sinking of the Taj Mahal,” which was on display at Faena Hotel in Miami during the Art Basel festival in December. The pieces were partially sunken in the sand.

“I’m a real dumpster diver. I love to take things out of some guy’s garbage on 80th Street and make some connection with it, and then you can turn it into something that will last for 100 years,” Tunney told Architectural Digest. “And this was the greatest pile I’ve ever walked into in my life!”

He explained to the magazine that he is friends with the property’s new owner, who hosted a liquidation sale last summer to clear out the remnants. The creative artist hit the jackpot and let his imagination run wild with the possibility of how to repurpose the furnishings and signage. Tunney has additional pieces on display at his gallery at Wynwood Walls, also in Miami, in a collection he calls “Excerpts from the Taj Mahal (The Truth Always Happens).”

“The show drew huge crowds and people really loved the show. Everyone understood the vibe,” Tunney tells Smart Meetings. “It was inspired by the Planet of the Apes. The exhibit was about shaking of the old ideas and how we conduct ourselves—and understand we need to be more mindful. This wouldn’t have been possible without the entire Faena team and vision. They are dreamers that make magic and visions. You walk into their hotel it was like Narnia and all [that] magic added to it.”

Come this summer, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City will be replacing Trump Taj Mahal on the boardwalk. The chain’s $500 million investment in the property will cover the costs of updating the facade, adding two performance venues and renovating meeting spaces. Former Trump Taj Mahal employees may get their jobs back by filling some of the 3,000 permanent positions available at Hard Rock, reports nj.com.

For the third straight year, Delta SkyMiles is the best domestic frequent flyer program, WalletHub says. The personal-finance website ranked the 10 largest U.S. airlines based on 23 key metrics, ranging from the value of a point per mile to blackout dates for rewards flights.

Other findings include the following.

The average airline rewards program gives frequent flyers 12 percent off their airline spending. And they’re all free to join.
Hawaiian Airlines offers the most rewards value to frequent flyers ($19.95 per $100 spent), with Alaska Airlines coming in a close second ($19.87 per $100 spent).
Four of the 10 largest airlines are offering more rewards in 2018 than in 2017, sweetening the pot by an average of 20 percent. They are Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and Sun Country Airlines. American Airlines’ rewards are virtually unchanged.
Five of the 10 largest airlines—Alaska Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Frontier Airlines—are offering fewer rewards in 2018.
Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways are the only two major airlines whose miles do not expire because of inactivity.
Seven out of 10 airlines do not impose blackout dates on tickets purchased with miles.
Six out of 10 airlines allow rewards-program members to earn and redeem miles with partner carriers. United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have the most partners.

U.S. airlines are expected to carry more than 600 million passengers on domestic flights this year.

Linda Menshon

Linda Menshon has been appointed director of sales and marketing at LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort in Naples, Florida. Menshon has more than 20 years of experience in hospitality sales and marketing, with expertise in the Southwest Florida market.

LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort

Julie Barajas

Hotel Zelos, San Francisco has named Julie Barajas its new director of event sales. Barajas brings with her 10 years of hospitality experience from some of San Francisco’s most renowned hotels. In her new role, she will assist with the implementation of strategic sales initiatives, as well as supervise catering and events.

Hotel Zelos

Jay Burress

The president and CEO of Visit Anaheim, Jay Burress, has been chosen as Orange County Business Journal’s 2018 Business Person of the Year in the hospitality category. Burress is a frontrunner in attracting tourism to the city of Anaheim. He also serves on the CalTravel and Visit California boards, among others.

Visit Anaheim

Kellyn Smith Kenny

Hilton has announced the appointment of Kellyn Smith Kenny as its senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Kenny, who holds an M.B.A. from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Colgate University, will oversee marketing strategy for Hilton and its portfolio of 14 brands.

Hilton

Sam Rogers

Visit Norfolk, Virginia, has named Sam Rogers its interim president and CEO. Most recently, Rogers served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Visit Baltimore.

Visit Norfolk

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Holston House, Nashville

Situated in a 1920s hotel building, this new, 191-room boutique property is rooted in Art Deco design. It features a trio of destination-inspired dining experiences and is steps away from music venues on Lower Broadway. More than 2,200 sq. ft. of meeting space includes a boardroom and a rooftop room with floor-to-ceiling windows and a balcony leading out to the rooftop pool and bar.

Kimpton La Peer Hotel, West Hollywood, California

Kimpton’s new, 105-room in the Design District features a 2,900-square-foot rooftop deck that will surely be a magnet for events. Another 8,000 sq. ft. of dining and lounge space adds tasty options for unique gatherings. Walk to winsome coffee shops, celeb-loved restaurants and hip shopping on Melrose Avenue and Robertson Boulevard.

Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch

All 910 guest rooms are shiny and new again, as is the lobby, after a multimillion-dollar refresh at this landmark downtown hotel. Asymmetrical, wavy patterns on new carpeting are inspired by the nearby Mississippi. The property offers 83,000 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor event space, including a grand ballroom with 19,758 sq. ft. and 18 conference rooms.

Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa, Hawaii

A $26.5 million refresh is transforming the 508 guest rooms and suites of Kaanapali Beach’s very first property. The historic resort, on 23 oceanfront acres at Puu Kekaa (Black Rock), celebrates its 55th anniversary on Jan. 23. Revamped guest rooms will incorporate colors, textures and artwork that play off Maui’s vibrant hues and views of neighbor islands Lanai and Molokai. The resort is part of Marriott's Convention & Resort Network.