jimmy-fallonIt’s no joke—comic Jimmy Fallon will have a ride named after him at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. The theme park attraction, which is expected to open in 2017, will be called “Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon.” It will follow the playful host of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on an adventure through the streets and subway tunnels of The Big Apple, passing famous landmarks along the way.

Fallon and his team are  working with Universal to develop the ride’s storyline.  Like all new offerings at the famed Universal Studios, the attraction will twist, turn and feature the latest in technology. It will replace the attraction Twister…Ride It Out, which will permanently close Nov. 2.

About Jimmy Fallon

“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” is the No. 1 late-night talk show in America. It is broadcast from an NBC studio in Rockefeller Center, in the heart of New York City. The variety show features interviews with celebrities, musical guests and comic sketches. The top-rated show has been nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards.

For a video of Jimmy Fallon breaking the news about his namesake theme park attraction, click here.

Meet at Universal Orlando Resort

Universal Orlando Resort, which is constantly upgrading its offerings, is a perennially popular place to host a meeting. It boasts two theme parks—Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure—with plenty of unique and exciting event venues. There are four (soon to be five) themed hotels onsite, as well as a dining and entertainment complex featuring award-winning catering. The resort can accommodate groups ranging from 20 to 20,000. For further information, visit www.uomeetingsandevents.com.

Smart Meetings interviewed Margie Sittion, senior VP of sales for the San Diego Tourism Authority at IMEX America who noted proudly that San Diego was recently named America’s Smart City by National Geographic. In a world-wide search, San Diego was the single city in North America to be recognized.

Sitton says her team of 13 “destination experts,” match their attendees with the best possible hotels, resorts and convention venues the booming city has to offer. She notes that San Diego, whose community naturally lends itself to health, has a renewed commitment to health and wellness. The sea-side city boasts miles of sandy beaches, great weather, exceptional outdoor space, golf courses, hiking trails and visitors can even perform yoga while paddle boarding.

The sales executive recognizes that meeting attendees are more and more interested in innovation and networking. She says San Diego’s top industries are innovation technology followed closely by tourism, and the popular community is able to fulfill attendees’ business needs, as well as meet their expectations regarding recreation.

room-rate-pricesIn August, we reported that hotel fees and surcharges are set to hit record levels in 2015. Based on consecutive-year increases over the past five years, 2016 may well see another increase. But wait, there’s more…

Beyond added fees, outlook for 2016 shows that room rates will be on the rise as well, according to a report by Bjorn Hanson, Ph.D., clinical professor at the NYU School of Professional Studies, Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism (the same source for the earlier report about 2015 surcharges).

According to the forecast, room rates will climb 6.5 to 7.5 percent next year, on average. This represents potentially the largest jump in hotel room rates since NYU has been creating these forecasts in 1987 (if the increase hits the low end of the range, it’ll just be the biggest jump since 2006).

“This is a larger increase than the approximately 6.25 percent for 2015, which was the largest increase since 2006,” Hanson says.

To put a further dent in corporate travel budgets, the increase in hotel room rates is actually higher than the forecast the forecast in some cases, as the forecast doesn’t account for changes in billing. For example, since 2010, more and more hotels are charging separately for amenities that were once included in room rates, such as internet access, use of fax machines, use of fitness centers and breakfasts.

So what does paying more for room nights (and paying more for less in some cases) mean for business travelers and corporate travel departments? One of the biggest effects could be a downgrade in accommodations. Instead of booking luxury hotels and resorts with full service, many companies may go down a tier and book upscale, limited service properties to at least stay even with 2015 budgets. (Oh, the horror!)

Some may also go outside of their portfolio of properties with negotiated rates to seek less expensive room blocks.

Corporate and contract rates make up nearly 20 percent of occupied room nights in the Unites states, and almost 30 percent of hotel revenue, so it seems 2016 should be a good year for the lodging industry, barring a snapback.

According to Hanson, “These estimates are based on selected interviews with industry executives and corporate travel executives, analysis of industry financial data, press releases, and information available on hotel and brand websites.”

grand rapidsWith heavy hitters such as Orlando, Las Vegas and Chicago hogging the spotlight in the meetings and events industry, it’s easy for planners to overlook medium-sized cities. Grand Rapids, Michigan, is one of these up-and-coming destinations that deserves a closer look from planners.

A rich sense of culture and a friendly vibe fostered by Grand Rapidians awaits in this West Michigan city. (I didn’t know that “West Michigan nice” was a thing until experiencing it firsthand during a recent visit.) Oh, and the city has a great infrastructure for meetings and events—one that’s expanding by the year. Not only are airlines such as Delta, American, United and Southwest adding direct flights to the growing city, but meeting hotels and other venues are ready for prime time.

Amway Grand Plaza Hotel completed a $14 million renovation to its glass tower, one of the eye-catching standouts of the Grand Rapids skyline. The285 modern rooms in the tower sport refreshed looks, and the hotel’s 47,000 sq. ft. of meeting space range in decor from classic with columns and multilevel spaces to contemporary column-free ballrooms. Combined with sister hotels JW Marriott Grand Rapids and Downtown Courtyard by Marriott (all managed by AHC+Hospitality), these properties can handle anything—including attendees’ appetites.

The Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck serves up more than the celebrity chef’s famed pizza concoctions (the roasted mushroom with truffled creme fraiche won my taste buds’ approval), including kung pao lettuce wraps and Szechuan flat iron steak. On the 27th floor of the glass tower, Cygnus 27 specializes in traditional South American dishes along with classic steakhouse favorites—and has a stunning view of Grand Rapids and the Grand River in town through its floor-to-ceiling windows. Over at the JW Marriott, roasted marrow bones, seared duck breast and Norwegian fjord trout, among other creative cuisines, satisfy with sophistication—and the aromas coming from the kitchen are sure to kick-start your appetite.

My visit to Grand Rapids coincided with ArtPrize, an annual art contest that puts the city’s creative culture on full display. More than 1,500 paintings, sculptures and other perspective-bending works were on display inside and outside more than 160 venues throughout downtown, from auto repair shops to the DeVos Place Convention Center. Trying to see as many works as possible turned into a tour of the city’s shops, restaurants, museums and other venues, making for a visual feast (as well as tactile and auditory for several pieces that involved touch and sound)  for more than 400,000 visitors from around the country.

Many popular works (half of the ArtPrize awards are decided by public voting) even stick around for years, leaving a lasting imprint on the city each year—the same imprint attendees are sure to feel after experiencing the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feels that Grand Rapids has to offer.

luxury-hotel-brandsIn an annual survey conducted by Business Travel News (BTN), Four Seasons was rated as the top luxury hotel brand. Other brands rounding out the Top 5 in the luxury tier category were The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Hyatt, JW Marriott and W Hotels. Mandarin Oriental, which garnered first place in BTN’s 2014 survey, did not appear in the Top 5 on BTN’s 2015 list.

Survey Methodology

BTN’s 2015 survey was based on responses from 283 readers who are corporate travel decision makers. Respondents rated six tiers of hotels (luxury, upper-upscale, upscale, upper-midprice, midprice and extended stay) on 12 different attributes (such as sales staff, meetings facilities and price/value relationship)—assigning them each a score from one to six.

This year in the luxury brand segment, Four Seasons came out on top in nearly every category, receiving an overall score of 5.44. The Ritz-Carlton, which came in second place, garnered an overall score of 5.23; Grand Hyatt scored 5.04; JW Marriott earned 4.94 and W Hotels received 4.71.

Julie Sickel of Business Travel News notes that the average overall score for the luxury tier this year topped last year’s, and that U.S. demand for luxury hotels is growing. She points out that according to statistics from STR, the leading global provider of competitive benchmarking, information services and research to the hotel industry, the luxury segment reported the largest annual increase in rooms under contract during August 2015. It also saw a 63.5 percent increase of rooms under construction.

In explaining its success, Four Seasons Senior Vice President of Global Sales Jonathan Sicroff told Sickel that the brand is “reimagining the entire guest experience, from a physical aspect, to the bathrooms, to the public space … to interacting with travelers along their journey.” Tech improvements include Four Seasons’ new mobile app and upgraded Wi-Fi designed to offer faster speed on unlimited devices. Other amenities that are pleasing Four Seasons guests include beds with interchangeable  mattress toppers and 15-minute room service for select menu items.

Results in Other Tiers

In the upper-upscale segment of BTN’s survey, The Westin brand took top honors with an overall score of 4.82. It was followed in order by Hyatt Regency, Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, InterContinental, Embassy Suites and Sheraton.

In the upscale category, Hyatt Place came in first with 4.53 points. It was followed by Aloft, Four Points by Sheraton, DoubleTree, Courtyard by Marriott, Hilton Garden Inn, Radisson and Crowne Plaza.

Best Western Plus took top honors in the upper-midprice tier with 4.70 points, while Wingate by Wyndham came out No. 1 in the midprice category, earning 4.16 points. In the extended stay tier, Homewood Suites and Candlewood Suites came out on top, with scores of 4.92 and 4.46 respectively.

Overall, Marriott International had five brands—Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites—ranking in the Top 3 in their respective tier categories. Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Hyatt Hotels each had three brands finish in the Top 3 of their tiers, while IHG and Hilton Worldwide each had two.

For results of the entire survey, click here.

Cindy Hoddeson, director of meeting and incentive sales for the Monaco Government Tourist Office, says Monaco is so much more than a jet-setter’s paradise. Monaco is the second smallest independent state in the world, second only to the Vatican, and offers exceptional value to tourists. The small state boasts a sundry of historic properties, beautiful beaches and extensive meeting space.

Hoddeson explains that the exchange rate of the Euro is bringing even greater value to Monaco and making the destination more attainable than ever. Visitors to the state will experience several new trends including a more relaxed luxury, and can enjoy a myriad of refined recreational experiences including sailing regattas, wine tasting and culinary lessons.

The Prince of Monaco is dedicated to environmental responsibility. The state is a pioneer and steadfast supporter of sustainability. The state’s public transportation system is entirely electric, hybrid or bio-fuel and the Prince has eliminated plastic bags, making the state’s carbon footprint minimal to say the least.

Whitney-Peak-Hotel-Concierge-King-Yoga-Bike-1-FinalStay Indie at the Whitney Peak Hotel – a new landmark hotel that caters to the free spirit in all of us. The hotel is Reno’s only independent full service non-gaming, non-smoking luxury boutique hotel. The hotel is centrally located just two blocks from the beautiful Truckee River Walk and adjacent to the historic Reno Arch as well as just a short 45 minute drive to Lake Tahoe.

Featuring eleven meeting rooms including the 5,400 square foot Whitney Peak Ballroom, over 20,000 sq. ft. of event space and two outdoor balconies overlooking the iconic Reno Arch, the hotel can host groups up to 400 guests and social events for up to 800 attendees.. The hotel provides industry leading wireless internet technology to ensure a flawless meeting event. Create memorable corporate events at Cargo, our 5,000 sq. ft. world-class live music venue or enjoy the 5,400 sq. ft. Whitney Peak Ballroom which is part of our 3rd Floor conference and event center which can accommodate up to 800 guests.

Meeting-Space-whitney-peak-hotelEach of the 310 guest rooms offer panoramic views of the Sierra Nevada mountains as well as either two queen beds or one king bed. Our 19 Suites boast over 600 sq. ft. and provide access to our exclusive Concierge Lounge on the 15th floor. Each guest room and suite offers our signature guest beds, a sitting area, complimentary wireless internet access, in room safes, working desk as well as complimentary bottled water, coffee and tea.

The hotel is poised to provide meeting attendees with an unparalleled meeting event with the best “team-building” venue in the industry – BaseCamp, which features the world’s tallest exterior climbing wall (16 stories tall) and a 7,000-square-foot indoor climbing bouldering park. Additional hotel features include Heritage Restaurant and Bar featuring breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch and the best Happy Hour in Reno led by James Beard nominated chef Mark Estee  and Cargo Concert Hall- Reno’s preeminent live concert venue recognized as one of the leading national concert venues for up to 1,000 attendees.

The hotel is located adjacent to the world famous Reno Arch and just three miles from Reno Tahoe International Airport. The hotel provides airport shuttle service and has both valet and self parking. Reno is a short four hour drive from all points of the San Francisco Bay Area and less than a two hour flight from all major west coast cities.

london-eye-european-meeting-citiesLondon, Barcelona and Paris are the top European meeting cities, according to a report released today by Cvent, Inc., a leading cloud-based enterprise event management platform.

“We are delighted that London has been named the number one meeting destination in Europe by Cvent,” says Tracy Halliwell MBE, director of business tourism & major events at London & Partners. “This has been a great year for the city with amazing events including the European Society of Cardiology’s congress held at London’s ExCeL, Advertising Week Europe returning to the capital for the second year running and another hugely successful London Technology Week. The meetings and events industry is constantly evolving and we are thrilled to see that our strategy to keep London at the forefront of innovation is delivering significant returns for the city.”

To determine the top European meeting cities, the report included evaluations of more than 2,500 European cities on the Cvent Supplier Network from July 2014 to June 2015. The rankings are based by the following: unique request for proposals received; total room nights requested in RFPs; awarded request for proposals; awarded room nights; percentage of qualified meeting venues; number of profile views.

Top 25 European Meeting Cities for 2015

1 London, England 14 Munich, Germany
2 Barcelona, Spain 15 Copenhagen, Denmark
3 Paris, France 16 Lisbon, Portugal
4 Amsterdam, Netherlands 17 Manchester, England
5 Berlin, Germany 18 Stockholm, Sweden
6 Frankfurt, Germany 19 Athens, Greece
7 Madrid, Spain 20 Budapest, Hungary
8 Rome, Italy 21 Milan, Italy
9 Brussels, Belgium 22 Hannover, Germany
10 Dublin, Ireland 23 Birmingham, England
11 Prague, Czech Republic 24 Zurich, Switzerland
12 Istanbul, Turkey 25 Edinburgh, Scotland
13 Vienna, Austria

“Destinations and venues are working in tandem to be more attractive to event organizers to retain and grow group business which is an important economic driver, and for venues often generates more profitable revenue,” says David Chalmers, European marketing director at Cvent.  “The strength of cities like Istanbul on the periphery of the EU and Athens in economically-challenged Greece highlight the rivalry between countries. Manchester and Birmingham are excellent examples of up-and-coming cities challenging their major domestic market.”

With more than 234,000 hotels, resorts and special event venues, the Cvent Supplier Network is one of the most reliable databases of detailed venue information for meeting planners and event specialists. It sourced more than $8 billion in meetings and events

Stefan Cattarin, sales manager for Visit Billings, says the town identifies itself as Montana’s Trailhead. The city, situated in the Southeastern part of the state, is home to 140,000 people who pride themselves on creating a true experience for visitors. They’re proud to offer a majority of the state’s top-notch dining options, breweries, lodging facilities and convention centers.

The Western frontier-meets-city-lights hubbub keeps historical connections, lining Yellowstone River, part of the infamous Lewis and Clark journey.

Cattarin adds that there is no sales tax in Montana and only a 7% lodging tax, less than half of the national average.

best airports

The results are in for travel site The Guide to Sleeping in Airports’ survey of the world’s best airports, as determined by a reader survey the site performs every year. (The airports are not judged on how comfy they are to sleep in.)

The reigning champion for nearly two decades kept its title, as Singapore Changi International Airport (SIN) made the top of the list again. The airport has an ultra-efficient design for getting passengers from their planes to the city center, luxurious layover options (including massage chairs, a sauna and a butterfly garden), and a free movie theater (and other entertainment options), to name a few of its outstanding features.

Not a single U.S. airport made the list, and the top five are all found in Asia, with South Korea’s Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN), Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND), Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) in Taiwan and Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) rounding out the top half of the list.

The report broke down best airport by region as well. U.S. facilities fared much better in the North American list (not surprisingly), but the top spot went to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in Canada—its second consecutive year as No. 1.

“Highlights at Vancouver International Airport include the giant aquarium in the international departures lounge, dozens of art and museum exhibits, plenty of local First Nation’s inspiration, self-guided tours and a peasant variety of shops and restaurants,” the site reports. Logistically-speaking, other perks include the unlimited free Wi-Fi, the good signage, the rest zones, the luggage storage and the showers. What’s more, all terminals are kept impeccably clean by a team of friendly staff, making time spent here feel, as one voter put it, far less institutional.”

Florida’s Tampa International Airport (TPA), Portland International Airport (PDX) in Oregon, Minneapolis – St. Paul International Airport (MIN) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) rounded out the five best airports in our home continent.

Going hand-in-hand with ranking the best airports, the survey also covered the worst. Worst in the world went to Port Harcourt International Airport (PHC), cited for corrupt practices, unhelpful staff and broken-down facilities.