Smart Meetings | Page 584 of 604 | Corporate Event Planning: Business Events, Meetings, Conferences

Legoland California visitors will finally be able to unleash their inner ninja. On Thursday, it was announced that the Carlsbad theme park will open a Ninjago themed land next spring. The new one-acre area located behind the Imagination Zone will offer attractions based on the popular Ninjago franchise, which includes a toy line and cartoon television series. Visitors can expect immersive experiences inspired by martial arts, including Lego building stations, games to test reflexes, an Asian eatery and a retail venue.

The centerpiece is Ninjago – The Ride, an ultimate test of participants’ physical skills, balance and agility. Fans will undergo training with a Spinjitzu Master before entering the attraction, which features cutting-edge technology and interactive design. High-tech ride manufacturer Triotech designed the attraction to include 3-D imagery and high-tech sensors. Peter Ronchetti, park general manager, said the new attraction will have some of the most advanced technology of any theme park in the world.

“I am proud and thrilled to say that this is our eleventh straight year of continuous attendance growth and we attribute much of this to our winning formula of providing our guests a family environment filled with fun, interactive experiences that create lasting memories. Ninjago –The Ride will be the ultimate experience providing interactive fun for all,” said Ronchetti.

In cars of four, riders must karate chop their way through fireball blasts, lightning, shockwaves and ice. They’ll train through dojos and collect points along the way before heading into battle against the Great Devourer. Throughout the ride, heat, smoke and wind are woven into the experience.

Earlier this year, Legoland brought a huge Death Star model to its Star Wars Miniland. Over the summer, it also opened horseback themed land Heartlake City. The park began construction on Ninjago Land in July. An identical themed land is also expected in 2016 at Legoland Billund in Denmark.

Candace Palec

InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco appointed Candace Palec as director of group sales. Palec has been with the brand for five years. During that time, she booked large high-tech and association groups and gained extensive experience in hotel sales. In her new role, Palec will ensure sales managers meet revenue goals, implement new strategies and oversee all aspects of group sales for two hotels under the brand.

Yael Rosenwald

After joining InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco four years ago, Yael Rosenwald was promoted as director of national accounts. She started as a sales manager and then became senior sales manager at the hotel group. In her previous roles, she consistently booked conference space and hotel rooms, gaining luxury hotel sales experience. Rosenwald will continue booking large association groups in the next few years as Moscone Center undergoes renovations. She will also oversee important accounts.

Solera Smith

Solera Smith was appointed as director of convention services at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins in San Francisco. Smith has served the InterContinental Hotels Group for seven years and has 16 years of hospitality experience. In her new position, she will provide management and direction to convention employees and oversee business forecasting and strategy. Solera began at the hotel group as senior catering sales manager and then became associate director of catering prior to her current role.

Rob Stirling

Rob Stirling has been hired as director of sales and marketing at Cape Rey Carlsbad, a Hilton Resort in northern San Diego County. Following the recent rebrand of the 215-room coastal property, Stirling will oversee sales, marketing, catering and conference service activities. He will also work to strengthen group sales efforts and initiatives. Stirling comes to the resort with nearly 30 years of experience. He was previously involved in the redevelopment of The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe in California and also helped The Grand Del Mar in San Diego achieve Forbes Five Star status.

“Rob has incredible knowledge of the local market and experience working with hotels and resorts of different calibers,” said Vikram Sood, general manager of Cape Rey Carlsbad. “His expertise will be invaluable as we continue to refine the Cape Rey brand and the adventure-oriented offerings for both group and leisure travelers.”

Cahal Mowery

Cahal Mowery joined JW Marriott Houston Downtown as director of group sales. He will be responsible for convention and group travel business. Formerly, he was a national account executive on the convention sales team at Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. Mowery has a degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Houston. He is also a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), Certified Travel Associate (CTA) and a certified sommelier. In 2014, he was named one of Connect Magazine’s 40 under 40.

“Cahal brings invaluable convention experience and expertise to our marketing and sales team,” said Natalie Wiseman, JW Marriott Houston Downtown director of sales and marketing. “His extensive knowledge will be a great asset as we work toward our goal of making the JW Marriott Houston Downtown the premier destination for group travelers.”

Marriott International announced intentions to enter the hotel market in South Africa, with plans to open two properties by 2018. Johannesburg Marriot Hotel Melrose Arch will include 150 guest rooms, and nearby rental property Marriot Executive Apartments Johannesburg Melrose Arch will offer 200 units in South Africa’s largest city.

Marriott plans to expand its footprint in Africa from 10 countries to 18 over the next five years, since it acquired Protea Hotels in 2014.The proposed expansion will add 38 properties across seven brands. Protea Hotels is the largest hotel operator in Africa, according to a press release.

“Africa is important to Marriott International’s growth strategy because of its rapid economic growth, growing middle class and youth population, as well as the expansion of international flights onto the continent,” says Alex Kyriakidis, president and managing director, Middle East and Africa for Marriott International. “With over 850 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, there are enormous opportunities there.”

Johannesburg Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch will carry on the brand’s latest innovations with redesigned lobbies and public spaces and mobile apps. Guests will be able to check-in, check-out and contact hotel staff through the app. The hotel will have a business center, restaurant, fitness center and outdoor pool. Conference and event spaces will accommodate up to 500. Residents from Marriott Executive Apartments Johannesburg Melrose Arch will also be able to use the facilities.

By the end of 2015, guests staying at Protea Hotels will have access to Marriott Rewards. Three Protea properties have opened in the past year: Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! in Pretoria, Protea Hotel in Cape Town and Protea Hotel Select Takoradi in Ghana.

Marriott International currently has 17 hotels in seven countries in the Middle East and Africa. The brand has plans to open 18 more properties across the region by 2020.

michael-massari You could feel the excitement and pride at a press conference today announcing the grand opening of Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Sure, the head executives at the property, Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, were buoyant, but the local community and Caesars executives were also clearly thrilled.

“This is a game-changer for Atlantic City,” said Mayor Don Guardian. “It’s exactly what we need, and will bring in visitors like never before. It’s how we will make a great city, not only now, but 20, 30 and 40 years from now.”

The new conference center expands Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City meeting space from 20,000 sq. ft. to 170,000 sq. ft. because two 50,000-square-foot ballrooms and two 25,000-square foot reception/social areas have been added.

Michael Massari, senior vice president of national meetings and events for Caesars Entertainment, was a major catalyst in getting the conference center approved.

“Our market in Atlantic City grew for 30 consecutive years, mainly by attracting leisure visitors,” he told Smart Meetings in an interview after the press conference. “But in the last four or five years, our numbers were shrinking. So, we needed to figure out what we could do to change the situation. I figured that we needed to expand our meetings facility for meetings and events.”

Rather than have Atlantic City remain basically a leisure resort destination for people from nearby areas, Massari envisioned a thriving meetings and events city attracting groups from throughout the world.

Gary Loveman, chairman of Caesars Entertainment’s board of directors, said that the idea initially faced opposition.

“It wasn’t an easy sell, and it would have been easy for us to take a pass on it,” he said. “But Michael and his team have absolutely delivered on what they said they could do.”

Perhaps the best evidence that the plan was successful is in the numbers. Last year at this time, Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City had 7,000 guest rooms booked for the next 12 months. This year, more than 97,000 rooms are booked during the next 12 months. And meetings are booked through 2019. The conference center is scheduled to host some huge events, including Meeting Professionals International’s World Education Congress next year.

“It was risky, but the least risky option,” Massari said.

Atlantic City accounts for less than 1 percent of meetings business in the New Jersey-New York-Pennsylvania region, which annually generates $16 billion. Massari thinks that the new conference center and possible additional new conference centers in Atlantic City could substantially elevate business.

“But it takes a village to do anything,” he said. “You can’t do anything great in life by yourself.”

Loveman hopes that competitors will follow Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City’s lead.

“We need to keep on building more and more conference facilities in Atlantic City–not just our own company, but our competitors, as well,” Loveman said.

Stephen Sweeney, the Senate president of New Jersey, sees this as a moment of opportunity for Atlantic City.

“We’re not dead; we’re just starting over,” he said.

Travelmath.com has dug up the dirt on the dirtiest place on an airplane, uncovering some surprises. While the common supposition is that the most germs lurk in the toilet, a microbiologist found that the dirtiest place on an airplane is actually the tray table.

Travelmath had a microbiologist take samples from four airplanes and five airports, and calculate the number of Colony Forming Units (CFUs) per square inch on various surfaces. The company, which analyzes travel data, then ranked them in terms of bacteria count.

On the planes, the ubiquitous tray table was the filthiest, beating out all other regions, including the toilet, by a landslide. The microbiologist found that the average tray table contained 2,155 germ colonies per square inch; almost 10 times more than the flush button on the plane’s toilet, which measured 265 CFU/sq. inch. This is particularly disturbing because passengers routinely lower their tray tables to eat or rest their heads.

Measuring other interior areas of the airplane, research found the overhead air vent had 285 CFU/sq. inch, while the seatbelt buckle weighed in at 230 CPU/sq. inch. These numbers are generally acceptable. As Travelmath.com points out, the average kitchen counter contains 361 CFU/sq. inch, the average home toilet seat has 172 CFUs, while the average cell phone measures 27 CFU/sq. inch.

The good news is that all 26 of the surfaces swabbed in the travelmath study tested negative for E. coli, a harmful bacteria present in fecal matter.

Dirtiest Place in the Airport

Lagging not far behind germ-ridden tray tables in travelmath’s study were airport water fountain buttons, which the microbiologist found contained a whopping 1,240 germ colonies per square inch. This is nearly 18 times more germs than could be found on airport bathroom stall locks, which were surprisingly clean with just 70 CFU/square inch.

Of course, some airports are cleaner than others. The most sanitary airports, according to the 2015 World Airport Awards, can be found in South Korea, China, Japan, Singapore, Zurich, Copenhagen and Helsinki. Incheon International Airport (ICN) in South Korea was named the cleanest airport in the world in 2015.

A Call for More Clean-Up

The trend today is for airlines to turn around flights as quickly as possible, however Travelmath suggests that cleaning crews require more time to sanitize the aircrafts in between flights. With minimal federal OSHA and FAA regulations in place as far as cleanliness is concerned, carriers set their own standards. While most flights have regular cleaning schedules for bathrooms, which may explain why they are relatively germ free, the tray tables are often sanitized just once, at the end of each day. Until this problem is addressed, Travelmath suggests that passengers may want to travel with small bottles of hand sanitizer to avoid dirtiest places on an airplane.

It looks like long-awaited renovations to the Miami Beach Convention Center are finally going to start happening. In a couple months.

The only official step remaining is for the Miami Beach City Commission to approve the cost of the upgrades, which is estimated at $500 million. If all goes as expected, groundbreaking is set for October, and phase 1 of construction would begin in December. “Our plan is to be under construction the day after Art Basel ends in early December,” said Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine.

The Miami Beach Convention Center hasn’t had a major overhaul since 1989, which makes unusually outdated technology for a city that’s typically considered to be on the forefront of innovation. The redo will bring state-of-the-art features to the facility, such as upgraded telecommunications in meeting rooms, programmable LED lighting in the ballrooms and a massive media screen in the front lobby.

In addition, they’re adding about 200,000 sq. ft. of space, including 5,000 sq. ft. of additional exhibition space and a spanking new 60,000-square-foot grand ballroom. Plans are also in place for a 20,000-square-foot junior ballroom with a glass ceiling. Architecture upgrades include a ridged, wavy design that will run the length of the building’s facade. Outside the center, plans are to turn a nearly 6-acre parking lot into a public park with space for funky art installations the city is famous for.

“This is going to be, at the end, one of the most beautiful buildings in Dade County—one of the most beautiful convention centers in the country. It’s going to be state-of-the-art and a place where no matter what type of business you’re in, you are going to want to have a meeting, a convention. You are going to want to be here,” said Maria Hernandez, project director of the Miami Beach Convention Center District.

Using Art Basel as bookends, the renovations are planned to be finished in December 2017, in time for that year’s Art Basel.

In addition, plans are also being forged to build a headquarter hotel next door to the convention center. This was originally part of the center’s expansion plan, but was removed and taken on as a separate project.

Las Vegas is increasing the number of international gates at McCarran International Airport (LAS) to accommodate what it hopes will become an Asian travel boon. The city is actively trying to attract more Asian travelers to the destination, opening a slew of new hotels specifically designed to cater to the Asian market.

Many transatlantic flights occur on wide body, double-decker Airbus A380 aircraft, which requires larger gates. Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines routinely employ this variety of aircraft on flights from Asia to the United States. At least one of the new gates at McCarran International Airport will be designed to accommodate the jumbo-sized A380 jet.

Construction to Begin Soon

The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, which is appointed by the governor, decides which travel-related projects to fund. At a recent committee meeting, McCarran International Airport Director Rosemary Vassiliadis announced that construction of seven international gates would begin by the end of this year.

The Associated Press reports that design and construction of the additional gates at McCarran International Airport is expected to cost $51 million. The project is expected to be completed by late 2016 or early 2017.

Boosting Foreign Travel

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is very interested in boosting international travel to the destination, and is especially interested in attracting Chinese travelers. Last year, it reports that foreigners accounted for 19 percent of the more than 40 million people who visited the city last year.

Currently there are no direct flights from China to Las Vegas, but it is hoped that this new airport construction project at McCarran International Airport will change that.

Carrie Kolehouse

AHC+Hospitality promoted Carrie Kolehouse to senior marketing manager for Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Peter Island Resort, Courtyard Grand Rapids Downtown and JW Marriott Grand Rapids. In addition to managing digital marketing efforts, Kolehouse will expand the presence of Solace magazine. She will also serve as the main anchor for the company’s television channel. Kolehouse has worked for the hosptiality company since 2001.

Austin Bagwell

Austin Bagwell was named group sales account director at The Walt Disney World Swan and Hotel in Orlando, Florida, where she will be responsible for the New England market. Bagwell has more than 10 years of hotel and convention sales experience. Prior to her new role, she worked for Aria Resort & Casino and The Cosmopolitan, both in Las Vegas. She also served the Orlando convention market with Hello! Florida, a destination management company.

Joel Freyberg

Gansevoort Park Avenue NYC welcomed Joel Freyberg as managing director. In his new role, he is responsible for all guest and employee satisfaction, human resources, financial performance and sales and revenue generation. The New York native previously served as general manager of The Chatwal New York, which received Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond status under his direction.

Ron Warren

Coast Wenatchee Center Hotels promoted Ron Warren as director of sales. Originally from Western Washington, Warren joined Coast Wenatchee Center Hotel as a sales manager. In his new position, he will focus on customer service and revenue opportunities for the hotel and its brand. Headquartered in Wenatchee, Washington, the management company owns and operates hotels throughout the west coast of North America.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, one of the most recognizable, refined and respected hotel brands in the world is sharpening their image. The company announced today a newly designed logo and brand voice. This marks the first-ever alterations to the lion and crown that has stood as an iconic symbol for the luxury hotels since its inception 32 years ago.

“Today we celebrate a defining moment in the legacy of The Ritz-Carlton with an updated brand logo, and a new blue” said Herve Humler, president and chief operating officer, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. and one of the brand’s founders.

The revered lion and crown looks largely the same, though has been streamlined with a cleaner, sharper look. The font in which “The Ritz-Carlton” is displayed under the image also changed, incorporating a thick, weightier feel to the letters.

The most immediately noticeable addition is the field of light blue in which the logo now rests (or becomes the color of the logo outlines and font when on a black background). Ritz-Carlton calls it “memorable” blue, and puts behind it the brand’s constant promise of quality and luxury.

The color is based on the blue windows that became a status symbol among wealthy homeowners in Boston in the 1920s, when glass imported from Europe took on a pale blue hue when exposed to the city’s air.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company’s voice promises to be more forward-thinking and help drive the brand into and through the future. “We believe as an iconic brand that it is our responsibility to provide thought-leadership to drive change in the luxury and hospitality arena,” said Humler.

Ed French, chief sales and marketing officer added, “As a brand that aims to lead the way for luxury, we didn’t wait for emphatic data to tell us there was a problem to fix. Instead, we took a leadership point of view and conducted global studies, not on where luxury has been, but where it is going – to shine a light for the others to follow.”

The new logo will soon appear on room keycards, door hangers, stationary and other items, though there’s no word on whether the iconic gold logos on the exteriors of the hotels will be changed.

Chef Masaharu Morimoto will open his highly-anticipated restaurant on Sept. 30 at Orlando’s Downtown Disney in Walt Disney World Resort as the theme park transitions into Disney Springs. Morimoto Asia is the chef’s first pan-Asian restaurant. The two-story 36-foot tall building will include lounges, dining spaces, a second-level sushi bar and an exhibition kitchen where guests can watch the culinary action.

The new restaurant, with a three-story glass corner, multi-level bar and spiraling chandelier, will open in The Landing neighborhood. The sculptural bar at Morimoto Asia is more than 270 feet tall, connecting the grand dining room on the ground floor with the upper level. Custom glass-beaded chandeliers are reflected in antique mirrors and glass mosaic artwork based on Japanese prints. The sushi bar is built from hundreds of pieces of hand-selected ash wood, backed with hammered copper. A two-story outdoor terrace with patio seating will offer expansive views of Disney Springs.

The menu is Chef Morimoto’s take on his favorite Asian cuisines. Main dishes feature moo shu pork, Peking duck, lobster chow fun, sweet and sour crispy whole fish and kung pao chicken. Dim sum will be served during brunch on weekends, and include dumplings, shumai, bao, spare ribs and more. Kid-friendly options are chicken ramen, kakuni pork bao and karaage fried chicken. Guests can also sample sushi and sashimi delicacies, such as toro, kanpachi, Japanese red snapper, uni, sea eel, hamachi, fluke and salmon.

Asian influence will also extend to alcoholic beverages. Among a selection of Asian brews, Morimoto’s signature beer, Rogue Ales, will be on draft. Collector’s edition Imperial Pilsner, Morimoto Soba Ale and Black Obi Soba will be offered by the bottle. Plus there are assorted sakes, including Morimoto’s signature line, and a wine list of varietals from around the world.

“I am excited to create a menu that allows so many of my favorite Asian flavors to come alive all in one place,” Morimoto says. “I hope the guests at Morimoto Asia have as much fun eating this food as I have creating it.”

Morimoto has several restaurants around the world. After success starring on Iron Chef and Iron Chef America, he opened his first restaurant in 2001 in Philadelphia and went on to expand in Mumbai, New Delhi, New York City, South Beach, Waikiki, Napa and Mexico City. Morimoto has received numerous awards and accolades, including the James Beard Award in 2008.