Be Prepared: Contingency Planning
A New New Orleans Beckons
Hot News On Hip Spots in the East
Poll: What interruptions have you had?
Around the Industry
Krisam & GEP News

Be Prepared: Contingency Planning
Contingency planning in today’s world

Chances are even an Eagle Scout would be challenged by the predicaments an event planner faces on a routine basis. Minor snafus are to be expected and experience teaches how to handle them with aplomb. But, there’s another whole category of the unexpected where experience doesn’t exist (hopefully) so planning is essential.

Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, and the collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis are just three examples of major emergencies that planners have faced recently. How can you prepare for such a crisis when the crisis itself was unthinkable?

A New and Better New Orleans Beckons

The music is movin’ and groovin’. The renowned restaurants are as tempting as ever, along with a slew of new ones. All but two of the major hotels are back. The convention center has been rebuilt top to bottom and is looking great. Some residential areas of town are coming along slowly but there are no alligators in the streets.

Come have a good time in New Orleans again, Bonnie Boyd and Mark Wilson invite. And while you are there lift your own spirits by giving back. Here’s how.

Hot News on Hip Spots in the East

If you think you’ve been there and done that in many major U.S. cities, it’s time to think again. New construction, restorations, and creative thinking on the part of DMCs produces an ever changing canvas on which to stage your events. Here’s a quiz and a wrap-up on some new excitement along the East Coast.

1. Which city will soon boast the fourth largest convention center in the U.S?

2. Where can you find the highest concentration of celebrities in the Nation’s Capital?

3. Where would you go to check in to North America’s only “Ice Hotel”?

Get answers and some new hip, hot spots.

What interruptions have you experienced? Take our poll...
Some event interruptions are probably so common that you have had plans in place for them for ages. Other serious ones, hopefully, have been a one-time occurrence for you, but nevertheless have left you with a heightened sense of preparedness. Let’s see how common are the various major crisis events that would warrant sound contingency planning (see story this issue). Take our poll .

Last issue's poll results: Non-Alcoholic Drinks
Votes resulted in nearly a three-way tie in the poll from the last issue in which we asked “What’s your preferred non-alcoholic drink?” Regular iced tea and water tied at 22% with Coke or Diet Coke coming in a hair behind at 20%. Milk, fruit drink, and coffee barely made the list. Now the question is, are the top scorers preferred because they are most readily available. Hmmm. Complete results are below.

What's your preferred non-alcoholic drink?

• Regular iced tea - 22%
• Regular Water - 22%
• Coke or diet coke - 20%
• Flavored iced tea - 10%
• Fizzy Water - 8%
• Lemonade - 5%
• Coffee - 3%
• Fruit drink - 3%
• Milk - 3%
• Other - 2%

Around the Industry

• Holiday Parties on the Increase
  Sixty-six percent of companies surveyed last year just prior to the holidays said they planned to have a holiday party for employees, an increase of 11% from the last survey three years ago according to career publisher Vault Inc.’s (www.vault.com). When asked about how elaborate their company party will be, 17% of respondents expected their holiday parties to be “extravagant”, while 28% labeled their holiday party as “bargain basement”. Alcoholic beverages were served at a reported 70% of company parties.
  
   
• Is 15% No Longer Standard Tip?
  Liz Pulliam Weston on MSN Money reports that the standard for tipping seems to be rising everywhere from 15 to 20%. For an interesting article on tipping along with a helpful chart, check our her advice.

Krisam & GEP News
Get updates on Krisam Member Hotels & Resorts and GEP Partners here. For more information on any of these Members or Partners below, contact your Krisam or GEP representative directly or email us today.

New Krisam Member Hotels & Resorts

* Atlanta, Georgia
Emory Conference Center Hotel
196 guestrooms, 30,000 square feet

* Nashville, Tennessee
Loews Vanderbilt Hotel
338 guest rooms, 23,000 square feet

* South Carolina (Myrtle Beach)
Marina Inn at Grande Dunes
150 guestrooms, 7,500 square feet


New GEP Partner
* Adria Events Ltd., Dubrovnik, Croatia


GEP and Krisam Open Office in Raleigh-Durham Research Triangle
Global Events Partners (GEP) has opened an office in the rapidly growing Raleigh-Durham Research Triangle, in conjunction with its sister company, Krisam Group.

The GEP office is led by Rachel Elliott, senior vice president who has been part of GEP senior management since the company’s founding more than ten years ago. Tracey Lankford is the Krisam representative. Elliott and Lankford are based in the Raleigh-Durham area and will support existing clients throughout North Carolina and develop new business opportunities for GEP Partners and Krisam member hotels, respectively. Both relocated to Raleigh from the corporate office in Washington, D.C.

GEP clients in the Raleigh-Durham market include many of the Triangle’s major pharmaceutical, biotech and financial institutions.

In addition, the new GEP office will also work closely with an office recently opened by GEP Partner Atlanta Arrangements which will provide local DMC services in the Greater Raleigh-Durham market and beyond. The company will be called Carolina Arrangements.

Contact information for GEP’s Raleigh-Durham office is: Rachel Elliott, Senior Vice President, Global Events Partners 2443 Lynn Road, Suite 210, Raleigh, NC 27612, Tel: 919 -847-3340, Fax: 919-847-8160, rachel_e@globaleventspartners.com

Krisam clients in the market include RBC Centura Bank and Universal Meeting Management. Lankford can be reached at the address above, and at (919) 847-7860 or tracey_lankford@krisam.com.

GEP and Krisam Expand in Central Europe
Global Events Partners (GEP) and the Krisam Group have opened a new sales office in Central Europe, together with destex, based in Germany.

The office will become a global MICE gateway from Austria, Germany and Switzerland, and will be directed by Wolfgang Hartmann, an international destination management executive with more than thirty years in the hospitality industry. Hartmann can be reached at wh@destex.eu, or +49.7941.988660.

Wolfgang Hartmann most recently served as vice president, Travel, Tourism & Events at Gulf Dunes, the leading Destination Management Company for Dubai. He has also held executive positions with leading industry companies, Wuerth Group, Marbet, and Droste Reisen, all based in Germany, and with Icelandic Airlines and Air Bahamas. He has managed dozens of events and group tours to all major U.S. destinations, along numerous major incentives, conferences and events for up to 1,500 participants.

Micato Wins Fifth Straight Travel + Leisure World’s Best Tour Operator and Outfitter Award
Last month Travel + Leisure announced that Micato Safaris had once again won the best tour operator and outfitter award in its reader’s poll. This marks the fifth consecutive year that Micato has earned the award, a feat accomplished by no other tour operator.

“Hard work, sincerity and integrity, (with perhaps a wee bit of good luck) has had its rewards for Micato. We are both humbled and jubilant,” Dennis Pinto, managing director, commented on the unprecedented award.

Bonnie Boyd Elected to SITE Boardd
Bonnie Boyd, president of BBC Destination Management, New Orleans, has been elected to the International SITE Board of Directors. She also was selected as a "Woman of the Year", one of fifty business women chosen by CityBusiness, New Orleans' weekly business newspaper. Denise Pugh Malo, BBC's director of operations, has been inducted as the New Orleans ISES (International Special Events Society) Chapter President for 2007/2008.

Now Baskow Can Put You in the Movies
Baskow and Associates has just finalized the exclusive representation of DreamVision Studios for the corporate events market in Las Vegas. "This incredible venue with their extensive film and production elements will bring a much needed new concept to our corporate clientele" says Jennifer Patino, President of Baskow and Associates.

“We will be able to offer the studio for off-site events for up to 4,000 people, and can scale the venue for smaller groups. We also will be able to offer unique teambuilding events such as becoming a stunt person, making a movie, behind the scenes studio activities and so much more.

DreamVisions concept is aligned closely with Baskow's...if you can dream it, we can create it!” Full theatrical make-up/prosthetics, scenic/prop creation, catering, stunt actors, Panavision cameras on-site, lighting development studio, exotic animals...any concept can be created within this environment to transform the space into a memorable event.

The venue boasts over 50,000 square feet of studio space, sound stage, several large production offices, full video conferencing capabilities, concert worthy audio and lighting, staging, and all of the film industry components needed to create your next special event.

Baskow Also Gives Back to the Community
As an ongoing effort to give back to the local community Baskow and Associates and Vegas Props recently partnered with The Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada, Agassi unit, to give the art room a make-over, cleaning, painting, filling it with supplies and spending a day with the children doing art projects.

Laurie Musselman, the Baskow team-member who headed up this project said, “The most rewarding part of this experience, was seeing the smiles and excited faces of the children when they saw the art room make-over." Dani Mulhern, owner of Vegas Props, added “Re-designing and painting the facility was great. However, getting to finger paint with all of those creative kids is something I will always cherish and would do again!

Tourism Up in Turkey, Future Strongg
Tourism in Turkey has seen a 16% increase in January-July of this year, versus last year reports Hulya Aslantas, managing director, Universal Travel Services DMC. Further, now that the elections are over, the accompanying tensions are gone and the country is more relaxed, she says.

“The climate is quite positive and the world expects the ruling party to bring more reforms and liberalization of trade,” she continues. “We are receiving more and more foreign investment – stock market keeps on increasing and tourism is on the go. Hotels are full and all signals show that 2008 will also be a very busy year,” she concludes.

Become an Olympic “Pioneer” in Russia
The resort area of Sochi, Russia, sometimes called the Russian Riviera, has been chosen to host the 2014 XXII Olympic Winter Games. On the coast of the Black Sea and at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains in southern Russia, Sochi offers both winter sports and beach activity, occasionally at the same time. (You can swim in the sea from April until October, and go skiing from October through May.)

Ola Kastensson, managing director, Russkie Prostori, suggests now is the time to become an Olympic “Pioneer” by scheduling an event there prior to 2014. On a recent visit there he found excellent opportunities for corporate groups for the present and future when the Olympic facilities are in place.

He cites fantastic nature and team building activities in the Krasnaya Polyana ski area, winter or summer jeep tours, rafting, skiing or tracking, climbing or even photo hunting for the enormous wildlife in the Caucasian Mountains. He also suggests Sochi would make a great conference add on from Moscow or St. Petersburg.

If you are looking for a nostalgic and a very true Black Sea resort experience, you need to see Sochi as the Grand Lady it is now before it is too late, he cautions. Currently the beach promenade features discotheques, nights clubs, outdoor restaurants, a micro-brewery-- a mix of Soviet nostalgia with bits and pieces of top modern technology and fashion

The future for meetings, conferences, and congresses will most probably lay in the new developments east of Adler where new hotels and facilities are being built for the Olympics, Ola says.

Newtours & the ARI Group Join Forces
Newtours S.p.A. of Italy has joined forces with the ARI group (Alessandro Rossi Incentive) to build an even stronger MICE presence in Europe. The fundamental objective of the group, according to Giuseppe Lepri, president and CEO of Newtours, is to establish itself as a brand leader in the global MICE sector within two years for incentives, conventions, meetings, congresses & DMC requirements.

A key component of this new group is a management team of top professionals whose combined skills guarantee an extraordinary working force, he continued. “Newtours already strong presence in the MICE market is further strengthened by this new alliance with the ARI group and is integral to our business growth strategy,” Giuseppe says.

Fontainebleau Previews New Luxury Roomss
The rebirth of the legendary Fontainebleau Miami Beach resort is currently underway, and when complete in mid-2008, will mark the culmination of a massive $1 billion renovation/expansion plan.

The new Fontainebleau will boast 1,504 guest rooms and suites. Almost 700 rooms will be available as studio, one-bedroom or two-bedroom suites in two luxury hotel towers. The remaining guest rooms and suites, in the original Fontainebleau, will be completely renovated and represent the most contemporary accommodations in Miami Beach.

The resort will also feature a wide selection of hospitality suites. With the resort’s beachfront location, rooms will have spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean, Biscayne Bay, Downtown Miami or South Beach.

The new Fontainebleau will cater to every type of group, from executive board meetings to large-scale conventions. The resort’s 58 meeting rooms, totaling 107,000 square feet, are being designed to assure flexibility and diversity, while more than 42,000 square feet of prefunction space and 51,000 square feet of outdoor function space – including the 21,000-squarefoot Grand Lawn – offer a wide variety of venues for events.

Upcoming Industry Events - 20077