Getting Around Dine-Arounds
Should You Tip a DMC?
From the Field: The Willard InterContinental, Washington, DC
Poll: Staying Connected
Around the Industry
Krisam & GEP News

Getting Around Dine-Arounds
A primer and advice from those who arrange them.

Dine-Arounds rose quickly to the top of last month’s Insider survey asking meeting planners to name their toughest food and beverage challenge. DMC professionals who regularly plan Dine-Arounds agree that these restaurant evenings can be tricky. However, there are certain steps you can take to help smooth the way. And, there are alternative dining styles that may please guests as much as a dine-around but give you greater control. Take a look at what some major DMCs have to say about Dine-Arounds.

Should You Tip DMCs?
U.S. and international DMC executives provide guidelines

To tip a DMC or not to tip, that is the question. And it is a question with more than one answer depending on the country you’re in and who you are tipping. Executives from around the world and around the United States have weighed in with their thoughts. The result is a bit of a consensus that can help you decide what to do under what circumstances. See what DMCs say when asked if they accept tips.

From the Field: The Willard InterContinental Hotel, Washington, DC

"You exchange nods with governors of sovereign States, you elbow illustrious men, and tread on the toes of generals." The Willard Hotel is probably the only one in the nation that has been reviewed by Scarlet Letter novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne. He called it more the center of Washington than the Capitol or the White House. At the time, Hawthorne was covering the Civil War for The Atlantic Monthly.

History and luxury combine in this architectural gem just two blocks from the White House. For guests who love history, and might have a yen to be a lobbyist, see why The Willard is the place.

Question of the Month: How Do You Stay in Touch?

As a meeting professional, you probably spend as much time out of your office as in it. This includes, of course, many days out of town on site inspections and on-site at meetings and conferences. Keeping in touch becomes a challenge when you are a moving target, and yet it is critical to getting your job done. Modern technology has made it much easier than 10 years ago. So, what is the best way to find you when you are not at your desk? Is your cell-phone always on? Or, do you prefer to be contacted through e-mail where you can control when you pick-up the message? Take our poll and let’s see, but do feel free to send us an e-note about how you handle staying in touch.

Last month's poll results: "Dine-Arounds" was the overwhelming choice as our readers' toughest F& B challenge in last month’s poll. That prompted the story in this month’s Insider. See "Getting Around Dine-Arounds." Estimating F&B continues to be a concern, also. Here are the complete results:

My toughest F&B challenge is...

• Dine-Arounds 35%
• Estimating F&B 23%
• Cocktail Receptions 19%
• Breakfast 8%
• Lunch 8%
• Plated Dinners 4%
• Refreshment Breaks 4%
• Buffet Dinners 0%

Around the Industry

• Bermuda Offers $200 Airfare Break for Meetings. The Bermuda Tourism Office is offering a $200 airline savings per person for any new group booking of 15 or more rooms with a minimum 3-night stay. The offer is good for travel between now and March 31, 2006 and Nov. 1, 2006 and March 31, 2007. Find out more about this offer. Designed to help counteract the affect of higher airfares, the offer comes at a time when Bermuda is seeing an increase in flights from the United States and more fare competition. Currently nine airlines fly into Bermuda, seven from the U.S., one from Canada, and one from the UK. USA 3000 recently joined the list. Direct flights of less than two hours are available from Baltimore, Boston, New York, and Washington.
  
   
• Vancouver Tops Livability Ranking A new survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit assessing the "livability" of 127 cities worldwide has found Vancouver to be the most attractive destination. The survey shows cities in Canada, Australia, Austria and Switzerland as the most ideal destinations thanks to a widespread availability of goods and services, low personal risk and an effective infrastructure. The highest-ranking US cities were Cleveland and Pittsburgh, but all US cities surveyed fall into the top livability bracket.
  
   
• MPI Offers New Insurance Benefit Meeting Professionals International (MPI), in partnership with JLT Services Corporation, now offers members in the United States new event cancellation insurance, professional liability insurance, business owners' policies, special event coverage and weather insurance. Get more information.
  
   
• Association Meetings Growing Sixty-four percent of respondents in the second IMEX annual survey into trends in the association meetings market say that attendance in the last year has increased, up from 56% a year ago. Get more results.

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.

New Krisam Member Hotels & Resorts
* Worldwide Cruise Associates: Plantation, FL. Worldwide Cruise Associates will be our new cruise Member.

* Nordica Hotel: Reykjavik, Iceland. 284 rooms, 16,684 square feet of meeting space, 11 breakout rooms, high-speed internet, full service spa.

* Palace Luzern: Luzern, Switzerland. 136 rooms and suites, 8,363 total square feet of meeting space with a 2,906 square foot ballroom, full-service spa, and more.

* Victoria Jung-Frau Grand Hotel & Spa: Interlaken, the "capital" of Switzerland's Bernese Oberland territory. 212 rooms and suites, 24,790 total square feet of meeting space with a 6,780 square foot conference center in the hotel, full service spa.

Ventana Room joins AAA Five Diamond List
The Ventana Room at the Loews Ventana Canyon Ranch, Tucson, has joined the prestigious list of AAA Five Diamond Award Winning Restaurants. In the 2006 awards announced this month, Ventana Room was named to a group of only 62 restaurants in North America who have achieved AAA’s highest accolade.

Another Krisam property, the Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado, is one of only three properties to have kept their Five Diamond ratings for 30 years.

Elbow Beach Bermuda Begins New Renovation Phase
In the continuous pursuit of luxury, Mandarin Oriental Elbow Beach Resort, Bermuda has begun a new phase of renovations to upgrade its hotel guest rooms, according to Frank P. Stocek general manager. The resort will renovate 28 garden cottage rooms based on the award-winning design of the highly popular Premier rooms.

The renovation will include all the amenities of a five-star facility including LCD flat screen AV systems, limestone bathrooms, feather duvets and private sundecks. All work is expected to be complete by June 2006. The new round of renovations follows recent upgrades of its premium rooms, the addition of a spa, and a new nightclub, “The Deep.”

Exclusive Beach Access for Lodge at Torrey Pines Guests
Five Diamond service will extend all the way to the water’s edge at The Lodge at Torrey Pines during the 2006 summer months. Guests of the Lodge in San Diego will enjoy exclusive access to a secluded portion of the pristine Torrey Pines State Park Beach.

Attendants will arrange a personal beach setup in a private stretch of the shore for guests. Everything will be provided from shaded beach chairs and side table to chilled hand towels. Refreshments will be served all day and delivered at guests’ requests.

Torrey Pines State Park Beach is part of a 2000-acre protected wildland, the Torrey Pines State Reserve, an undeveloped natural environment with saltwater tide pools, chaparral canyons, pine forests, and seashore.

Micato Aids Cruise Ship Passengers Attacked by Pirates
When the cruise ship MV Seabourn Spirit was attacked by modern-day pirates off the Somali coast, little damage was done. However, an unexploded grenade remained embedded in one of its cabins. The ship then docked in the Seychelles, canceling its intended Mombassa route.

Passengers were picked up in the Seychelles by a Boeing 767 chartered by Micato Safaris. The plane took the tourists to Mombassa, their original destination. Micato Safaris are the vessel’s ground handling agents.

Salt Lake Tribune Features Hemingway’s Sun Valley Lodge Visit
Sun Valley Lodge - Suite 206 was featured prominently in an October travel story in the Salt Lake City Tribune, describing "Haunts of Hemingway." Also known as "Glamour House", the suite was assigned to Ernest Hemingway when he first visited Sun Valley in 1939. He wrote “For Whom The Bell Tolls” there. Find out more on the history of Hemingway and Sun Valley and how you can book that room.

Belgium Hosts Novel Exhibits
Four innovative and educational exhibits are enticing visitors to Belgium during the next several months, reports Christophe Delvallee of GEP partner Brussels International Travel Service. He has provided information on the exhibits for the benefit of planners who are considering holding an event in Belgium in the near future. The exhibits are:

• Europalia Russia, through February 06, a journey through the history, culture, and geography of the world’s largest country.
• Picasso in Gold and Silver: The Route of Wisdom, through May 06, a collection of objects that introduce visitors to the “mature Picasso”.
• Different Look – Einstein, through May 1, a playful, interactive exhibit describing the work and revealing the nature of the “complex and endearing” scientist.
• Jules Verne: Savoir Rever, Savoirs Reves, through March 06, a show marking the 100th anniversary of Verne’s death with a tribute to his science fiction including a chance to travel in time.