In This Issue

Getting the Most from Your Hotel Contracts
Frame Your Meetings with Friendly Technology
What's Your New Year's Wish
Around the Industry
Krisam & GEP News

Getting the Most from Your Hotel Contracts
Advice from Dee Kirby, vice president of sales, Krisam Group

"Hone in on what's really important to you before you negotiate your hotel contract and don’t ask for amenities you don't really need," advises Dee Kirby based on her 20 years experience in the hotel business. "Occupancy is going up, rates are going up, so meeting planners need to choose their battles carefully," she continues. That's not to say there isn't room to negotiate. "All contracts are negotiable," she says, but the keys to successful contracts are knowing how a hotel sets its fees, knowing what can be negotiated, timing, and a bit of diligence.

As vice president of sales for the Krisam Group, Dee has assisted clients with scores of contracts and confesses to having a "passion" for them. What can you ask for from a hotel? What words should you never allow in your agreement? What if your attrition threatens to be high? Dee offers some real concrete advice on how to get the most from your hotel contracts.

Frame Your Meetings with Friendly Technology
Advice from Alfonso Ramírez-Corzo N., Director of Accounts. Boyldone, Madrid

Before. During. And after. Useful technology can help improve attendance, increase efficiency, liven up presentations, and provide happy memories of your event. At every stage you can find a tech-tool to add more ease and success to your work.

"We believe that an event starts long before the day of the show, and only finishes when one forgets about the event," says Alfonso Ramirez-Corzo, director of accounts for Boyldone, Madrid. His company specializes in browser-based productions and IT outsourcing with a focus on the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions industry. Complete with creative samples, Ramírez-Corzo outlines how you can use technology for a memorable event.

Question of the Month: What is Your New Year's Wish?

An improving economy is a mixed blessing for event planners. Business travel is up and so should attendance at meetings. On the other hand, costs are going up too. Based on the prospect of more and bigger meetings, and higher costs, what are the top two improvements you most wish for in your job in 2005? Take the poll and let us know.

Please respond by February 2nd and we'll include the results in the next newsletter.

Last month's poll results: How do you plan to spend New Year’s Eve?

• Party at a friend's 37%
• Watching TV at midnight 25%
• Going to bed early 14%
• Out on the town 11%
• Party at my house 7%
• Out of town 3%

Around the Industry

• New team building fad. Geocaching, an adventure hunt using GPS units to find clues, is now catching on as a corporate team building activity. Learn more about geocaching to build team and leadership skills through technology and adventure.
• Scottsdale/Phoenix Is Top Meeting Site. The following destinations made The Maritz Travel Top Ten List – 2005, a yearly review of worldwide business meetings and incentives programs sold, pending and presented:
  1. Scottsdale/Phoenix
  2. Las Vegas
  3. Los Cabos
  4. Orlando
  5. San Diego
  6. Chicago
  7. Cancun
  8. New York
  9. Dallas
  10. Miami
• Bring your own blanket. For meticulous flyers, a company called PlaneWarm has created disposable blankets for use in the air. They come in packets of five and can be personalized with your logo or company colors. You also can get a Rest Easy package that includes a pillow, pillow case, headrest cover, blanket, ear bud universal headphones, and a drawstring carry bag. Get more information on this unusual traveler’s gift idea.
• Cell-phone tours. Candide Media Works now offers Talking Street cell-phone walking tours in New York City, Boston and Washington DC, with a planned expansion to at least 20 major markets in the United States by 2006. Celebrities including Sigourney Weaver, Steven Tyler and Jerry Stiller narrate the current tours, adding local color and personal anecdotes. Learn more about cell phone tours.
• Top airports. Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) ranks highest in passenger satisfaction among large airports, followed by Orlando (MCO), Denver (DEN) and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), respectively, according to a J. D. Power and Associates survey. The four top medium-sized airports in order are Singapore’s Changi International (SIN), Pittsburgh (PIT), Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky (CVG) and Portland (PDX), respectively. For small airports Calgary (YYC) and San Antonio (SAT) are tied at first followed by Austin (AUS), Boise (BOI) and Indianapolis (IND), respectively.
• Passengers shun self-check-in. The same J. D. Power and Associates survey cited above also showed that little more than one-quarter of passengers take advantage of either curbside service or self-service kiosks for check-in, even though both save time. Percentages using each option and the time it took were: 59% the main counter, 19 minutes; 18%, self check-in kiosk, 8 minutes; 10 %, curbside, 13 minutes. While many airlines now allow passengers to obtain their boarding pass through the Internet, currently only 5 % of passengers use this option. Best and worst security wait times? Washington-Dulles, Denver and Los Angeles are among the airports with the longest security wait times, while Singapore, London-Gatwick and Sydney have some of the shortest waits.
• Sidestep launches web search engine. SideStep, Inc., the traveler's search engine, has launched SideStep.com, the Web-based version of its award-winning travel search offering. More than 7.7 million people have downloaded the SideStep toolbar to help them search for flight, hotel and rental car values. With the introduction of SideStep.com, consumers can now search for travel immediately – no download required.
• Online travel bookings grow. A new study from JupiterResearch, entitled "Market Forecast Report, Travel 2004" finds that the U.S. online travel market last year accounted for 23% of travel purchased totaling $54 billion. The online market is projected to grow to $91 billion in 2009, or 33% of travel purchased. Of the 2004 online total, airline tickets for leisure travel accounted for $23.3 billion, while hotel revenue was $11.6 billion.
• Take an airport nap. Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has become the first airport facility to offer MetroNaps Pods—semi-private napping chairs. For $15 for the first 20 minutes, nappers can drift off while listening to tranquil, relaxation inducing music. A gentle vibration wakes the napper, who is then provided with a mint and fresh towelette by an attendant. Take a look at these napping pods and how you can get one for your office.

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

16 Krisam Members Win 2005 Paragon Awards
Readers of Corporate Meetings & Incentives voted for the hotels, resorts, and conference centers that did the best job of handling their meetings and incentive programs during the past year. Sixteen Krisam member properties made the list. They were:

• Atlantis, Nassau, Bahamas
• Boca Raton Resort & Club, Boca Raton, FL
• The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, CO
• Caso De Campo, Dominican Republic
• Chateau Elan, Braselton, GA
• Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach, Cancun, Mexico
• Hershey Hotel, Hershey PA
• Loews Miami Beach, FL
• Millennium Knickerbocker, Chicago, IL
• Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT
• Oak Brook Hills Resort and Conference Center, Oak Brook, IL
• PGA National Resort & Spa, Palm Beach, FL
• Saddlebrook, Tampa, FL
• Sanibel Harbour Resort, Ft. Myers, FL
• The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV
• Wyndham Anatole, Dallas, TX

• Atlanta Arrangements, Inc.
• Baskow & Associates (Las Vegas)
• Bonnie Boyd & Company (New Orleans)
• Destination Nashville
• Mana Allison & Associates (San Francisco)
• Ovation Group (Ireland)
• The Best of Boston

• Six new circular beach cabanas with wood flooring equipped with two iPod minis, champagne, L'Occitane Provence toiletries, and the services of a cabana attendant who can arrange for lunch and spa treatments (from manicures to massage) in the privacy of the cabana. The Midnight Cabana option provides for private beachfront dining, and stargazing through a telescope.
• Renovated deluxe suites with bedroom, living room, terrace and petite kitchen, and now also a rooftop terrace with plunge pool, bistro table and chairs, chaise lounges, shaded gazebo lounge, outdoor showers and the sweeping views of the ocean and beach.
• Wine cellar renovations including arched portals, stone floors, and wrought iron accents. For the 2005 season, the cellar is now available for private dining and wine tastings for up to ten people.
• A new chef and menu. Marseilles born, Eric Sala whose experience includes positions at the Savoy Hotel in London, Norman's in Coral Gables, and most recently at Sans Souci Resort & Spa in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Chef Sala's cuisine draws on his classic French training but utilizes European, Asian and traditional Caribbean flavors.