Something New and Different in the Mediterranean
Contracts, Cocktails and More: The Year's Top Ten
From the Field: Silverado Hotel, Napa, California
Poll: Handling Site Inspections
Around the Industry
Krisam & GEP News

Something New and Different in the Mediterranean

There is no fog, snow, or frost here.
The average annual rainfall is 20 inches.
The sun shines about 6.5 hours on a winter day and 10 to 11 hours in summer.

These friendly numbers make this Mediterranean spot sound like a wonderful holiday gift for those experiencing the chilly beginnings of a U.S. or European winter. It’s also a new and different alternative to more visited Mediterranean sites...or a fantastic add-on. Great climate. Incredible history. Endless outdoor pursuits. Unique meeting venues. Five star hotels and a host of fine dining.

Moreover, much of the current release “Munich” was filmed here. It also served as a location for “Troy”, and “Gladiator”. So where can you walk in the footsteps of Russell Crowe, Brad Pitt, and Geoffrey Rush? Find out more about this Mediterranean gem.


 

Top Ten Stories of 2005: Cocktails, Contracts and More

Food and beverage and things involving money rose to the top of the best-read stories in the 2005 Event Insiders. Concerns about New Orleans and the Gulf Coast rated high also as readers expressed interest in how things were going in the areas hit hard by Katrina. For those who may have missed a story or two, and as a capsule of the best advice from the top ten, here’s the annotated list:

1. Cocktail Trends - top wines, hot drinks, best hors d’oeuvres, more.
2. Tipping DMCs - who to tip, when to tip, and an international guide on tipping outside the US.
3. New Orleans Future - report from Bonnie Boyd, president of New Orleans DMC on status in New Orleans.

From the Field: Silverado Hotel, Napa, California

Great golf. Close to many wineries for off-site events. Not a “cookie cutter” property. Versatile meeting space. A pleasant drive through the countryside from San Francisco. These were just a few of the things the Krisam representative found to like at the Silverado Hotel in California’s Napa Valley. Read more on this “solid 4 diamond” resort.




Question of the Month: How Do You Handle Site Inspections?

A recent story in MeetingsNet reports that event professionals are finding it more and more difficult to make time for site inspections, even though they consider them terribly important. As a result they are turning to electronic means, peer reports, and site inspection companies to help out. Are you doing the same? Take our poll and see how others are handling site inspections these days.

Last month's poll results: How Do You Stay In Touch?

Readers overwhelmingly prefer to use e-mail as a means of keeping in touch when out of the office. The ubiquitous cell phone came in second but with only 1/3 the votes of e-mail. E-mail does offer the benefit of getting messages on your schedule, not the sender’s. (No wonder business travelers are not in favor of cell phone usage while in-flight.) Complete results are below:

How do you prefer to get messages when out of the office?

• E-mail, 63%
• Cell phone, 21%
• Office phone/voice mail, 8%
• Administrative assistant, 4%
• PDA, 4%
• Wireless Text Page, 0%
• Other

Around the Industry

• Biggest Shopping Mall in Europe Opens in Istanbul Cevahir Shopping Mall, the biggest shopping mall in Europe and the second biggest in the world, opened in Istanbul in October. It has 280 shops, 34 fast food courts, 14 exclusive restaurants, and an entertainment complex with 12 saloons, an IMAX3D cinema, and a theatre saloon with 2,500 seats; the world’s largest clock with each number measuring 3 meters long, and a roller coaster that spans the mall’s interior. The number of tourists visiting Turkey in the first 8 months of the year increased by nearly 24% versus last year. The Mall should help boost increases even more in the fourth quarter. For the record, the top three malls are:
  - West Edmonton Mall (Canada): 500,000 m²
  - Cevahir Shopping Mall Istanbul (Turkey): 420,000 m²
  - Mall of America (USA): 390,000 m²
• Paris Tops International Meeting List According to the latest study from the Union of International Associations, Paris hosted more international meetings in 2004 than any other city. Though the United States ranks first among countries, no US city made the top list. Filling out the top ten were Vienna, Brussels, Geneva, Singapore, Copenhagen, Barcelona, London, Berlin, and Seoul. In general, international meetings are down, the report says, except in Asia where they increased nearly 15%.
• PCMA to Xperiment at Conference The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) will be experimenting with some new approaches at several sessions of its annual conference January 8-11, 2006 in Philadelphia. The idea behind PCMA's new initiative, "Meeting Xperiments" is to allow meeting professionals to experience the new approaches before trying them at their own functions. Some of the Meetings Xperiments involve RFID (radio frequency identification) usage, conversation pods, remote speaker session, education session room sets and aromatherapy.
• 400 Million Book Online An estimated 400 million airline passengers now book online each year, according to SITA INC (Information Networking Computing), a global air transport IT company. SITA further estimates that the move towards e-tickets by the world’s airlines is saving the industry as much as $2 billion annually. In December SITA celebrated the 10th anniversary of the world’s first airline booking engine which the company developed for a British airline.
• A Tasty Menu At the elegant, avant garde Moto restaurant in Chicago, executive chef Homaro Cantu presents tasting menus where you can often even dine on the menu. He prints the evenings offerings on edible paper using organic-based inks, all his own concoctions. The inks are compatible with his Canon pixma ip3000 printer. Depending on the incredients, the final form of the menu on the plate may range from risotto to alphabet soup.

Krisam & GEP News
Get updates on Krisam member properties & GEP partners here. For more information on any of the partners below, contact your Krisam or GEP representative directly or email us today.

Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach Cancun to reopen on January 31, 2006
Renovations to repair damage from hurricane Wilma at the Hotel Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach, Cancun, are proceeding swiftly with a target reopening date of January 31, 2006.

Thanks to its foundation and architectural design, the hotel did not suffer major structural damage. The beach is in good condition and most of the suites were not seriously affected. Nevertheless, the hotel management has proposed an ambitious remodeling plan as well as repairing the affected areas to maintain its high quality standards.

Work is underway to recondition all the pool and beach areas, the restaurants La Joya, Le Basilic and Island Contoy; the pool bars Sunset, Sunrise and Bikini; the tennis courts; and the two Presidential and Ambassador suites.

Work complete or underway includes: - Restoration of the impressive stained glass dome in main lobby
- Floor polishing in all public areas, restaurants and the main lobby
- New wood floors and a renovated ceiling in the Lobby Bar.
- Broken window replacements, general painting and furniture restoration on about 300 suites while 300 are in perfect condition now.
- Completed work on the Coral Cafe Restaurant, which opened for service December 19.
- An enlarged beach enhanced with palm trees, palapas and massage cabins.
- Landscaping in the Punta Cancun zone where the hotel is located.

For the last 12 consecutive years, the hotel has been honored with the prestigious AAA 5 Diamond Award.

Just a few weeks after the powerful hurricane hit the city, Cancun International airport, the archaeological sites, the main restaurants and the tour operators restarted their normal operations. Services such as electricity, water and gas are completely reestablished in all hotels and practically in the entire city.

Windsor Court Hotel Announces City-Rebuilding Initiatives
The Windsor Court Hotel has launched the Windsor Court Cares program, a series of initiatives to help rebuild New Orleans while also providing others an opportunity to contribute to the city’s rebirth. Part of the Orient-Express Hotels, Trains & Cruises collection, the hotel’s program includes:

Habitat for Humanity Initiatives:
- Room donations. 10 room nights a month to Habitat for Humanity to accommodate skilled labor necessary to finish homes.
- A Meetings that Matter package to corporate clients so businesses can contribute additional room nights for Habitat for Humanity by booking a meeting at the hotel. The program encourages the revitalization of the meeting and convention business. For every 100 room nights booked in March and April an additional 5 room nights will be allocated to the Habitat for Humanity room allocation.
- The Windsor Court Habitat Helpers package provides the opportunity to stay at the Windsor Court and help build a Habitat for Humanity home. Available Wednesdays through Saturdays, the package includes one night accommodation, breakfast and transportation to the work site as well as schedule coordination. Priced at $260 per night, a cash donation from the hotel will also be made to Habitat for Humanity from every room night sold.

Samaritan's Sojourn:
The Samaritan Sojourn encourages tourism with two nights luxury accommodation at the hotel, private city tour, breakfast, and an attraction pass that includes admission to a choice of three local attractions, plus dinner at the award winning New Orleans Grill on one night and at a choice of one of six iconic city restaurants on the second night. Transportation to and from the airport is also included.

Priced at $995, partial proceeds will be donated to the guest's choice of Habitat for Humanity, The Children's Hospital of New Orleans or The Salvation Army. Prices are double occupancy, tickets and meals for two including tax and gratuity)

Over 600 restaurants are open in New Orleans and 1/3 of the 40 museums and historic homes are welcoming guests, while jazz and reverie is already alive and well on Bourbon Street. For the stalwart citizens, visitors are the greatest gift. Visitors contribute to the livelihood of what was the largest industry - tourism.

Located in the New Orleans business district, the Windsor Court Hotel is within easy access of the French Quarter, Bourbon Street and the boutiques of Royal Street. The hotel, which re-opened on November 1 with 262 of its 324 rooms, has already re-employed 174 of their 402 employees. They are actively recruiting additional staff and seeking housing options for those employees that would like to return but have lost their homes.

Chateau Sonesta New Orleans Now Open
The Chateau Sonesta Hotel in New Orleans reopened its doors on December 1, 2005 with upgraded public spaces as one positive outcome of the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

Nicole Justice Rodrigue, sales manager, reports that “French Quarter cafés are serving your favorite Creole dishes and music is in the air.” She recommends visiting the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau for more information on the city’s rebirth.

GEP DMCs Plan Country Music Awards New York Party
After the awards were given out at the first ever Country Music Awards Ceremony in New York City, the winners celebrated at a party planned in part by two GEP DMCs: Destination Nashville and Empire Force Events, New York. The official post-party at the Marriott Marquis drew about 2,500 guests.

Destination Nashville was hired by the Country Music Association (CMA) to produce the event. Carol Norfleet, vice president of client services, led the project with assistance from President and CEO Rhonda Marko.

Designing the party’s overall look was Empire Force Events. Making great use of changing colors and light, Empire Force suspended a huge three-tier light sculpture over a circular bar in the ballroom that cycled through colors, while inflatable caves in the four corners were illuminated in a changing display of soft, fading colors. Silver mylar covered the dance floor where guests gathered to hear a one-hour performance by Wynnona.

Kiawah Island Properties Announce Special Winter Rates and Honors
Both the Sanctuary on Kiawah Island, and the Kiawah Island Golf Resort have announced special winter rates effective now through February 28,2006.

The Sanctuary is offering a special rate of $199 per night for groups of ten or more, a savings up to 28% off the regular rate.

The golf resort special rates on its private villas start at a $99 per night for one-bedroom villas. For groups the resort will include a complimentary one-bedroom villa for every 25 villas occupied during your stay. The villa also provides complimentary meeting and event space, all on-island transportation and complimentary access to the resort’s fitness center. The special rates are based on availability, are not applicable to confirmed groups, and do not include taxes and service charges.

The Sanctuary was recently named among the nation’s top ten resort properties by Conde Nast Traveler readers in its annual poll, a significant accomplishment for a resort open just six months when the poll was taken. The magazine readers also voted Kiawah Island, the second best island in North America to visit, trailing only Vancouver Island in Canada.

Kiawah Island Golf Resort will host two major championships on its famed Ocean Course -- the 2012 PGA Championship, just announced, and the 2007 Senior PGA Championship.

Kimpton Hotels Acquires Caleo Resort & Spa
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Group, LLC, a leader in the boutique/lifestyle hotel segment, has acquired Caleo Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Resort & Spa recently completed an extensive $7.2 million transformation, including structural renovations, room product upgrades, launch of an Indonesian-inspired spa and additional luxury enhancements.

Caleo has 204 guestrooms and suites, averaging 400 and 800 square-feet respectively, each with a private balcony or patio. Additionally, it has two expansive pools; a sand-bottom pool with a beach area and a main lagoon-like pool, separated by a quaint footbridge. The property also features approximately 14,000 square-feet of multi-use function space, including 13 meeting rooms. Last year, the resort opened a 3,500 square-foot Indonesian-inspired spa and a newly designed, signature Kimpton restaurant will also be a significant part of the project.

The Caleo will continue to operate as a full-service resort as it undergoes additional renovations and improvements to its services and amenities. It is scheduled for completion by year-end 2006.

Five Diamond Kahala Mandarin Oriental Becomes Smoke-Free
The Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Oahu, Hawaii, will ban smoking indoors and poolside effective January 1 as part of a move by its parent company, Westin Hotels & Resorts, to go smoke-free in its 77 properties in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Smokers may go to designated outdoor areas but a fee of $200 will be added to the bill of anyone who violates the indoor/pool policy

The Kahala Mandarin Oriental has recently again earned the distinction of being the only resort in Oahu to win the prestigious AAA Five Diamond Award in recognition of its world-class facilities, services and amenities. Less than one-half of one percent of the 57,000 properties evaluated each year in the U.S. earn AAA's highest honor.

Five GEP DMCs make top 25 list
The December Special Events magazine published a list of 25 Top DMCS. Five GEP partners were included in the list:

- Baskow & Associates, Las Vegas
- Bonnie Boyd & Company, New Orleans
- Destination Nashville, Nashville
- Mana, Allison & Associates, San Francisco
- Best of Boston, Boston

GEP itself was included in a short list of companies representing a network of DMCs.

Upcoming Industry Events - 2006