November 21, 2009
All of us at iGroupNews would like to wish all of you, your family, and loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving!!!
We hope and pray that you will continue to endeavor to grow, be successful and make a difference in someone else’s life.
We are thankful for all of your support and input since the launch of iGroupNews and we will continue to strive to provide the best news and information for event professionals.
November 20, 2009
Meeting planners who need to book a meeting in North Carolina before the end of the year can earn big rewards and value-added benefits if they take advantage of Marriott’s Meetings Matter Promotion for meetings booked at the Charlotte Marriott City Center, Charlotte Marriott SouthPark, or Renaissance Charlotte SouthPark Hotel.
With the Meetings Matter Promotion structure, planners earn 3 Marriott Rewards® points for every $1 spent at the hotel. Each event or meeting that actualizes at least $16,667 in revenue will earn the maximum 150,000 Marriott Rewards points (50,000 base points + 100,000 bonus points). This means that the planner will earn 6 FREE nights at any Category 6 hotel including the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino, Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club, or Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa through this Charlotte, NC hotel meeting promotion.
Additionally, the group booked at any of the participating Marriott hotels in Charlotte benefit from the following:
• 25% allowable attrition
• One complimentary room for every 35 rooms booked
• Plus for each qualifying meeting of over 100 cumulative nights that a planner books, they will receive a 2% rebate off the master bill.
Here are the Marriott ‘Meetings Matter Promotion‘ details
November 19, 2009
Yesterday we reported in Meeting Planner Poll Gives Atlanta Mixed Review that meeting planners gave Atlanta a mixed review when responding to a ‘Metropoll’ issued by the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Today, Duffie Dixon with 11 Alive writes about the same poll results but asks the question “Would Longer Bar Hours Combat Atlanta’s ‘Boring?‘”
Atlanta’s a great city but will need more than extending bar hours to become even greater.
Your thoughts?
November 19, 2009
Hotel managers are not the only party at the negotiating table struggling to control costs and operate within the limits of austere budgets. Meeting planners have also been given the challenge of setting up effective events at the least possible cost.
In an effort to work within the framework of slashed government, corporate, and association meeting budgets, planners have continued to cut banquet menus and off-site events as they have in the past. However, now they have begun to flex their negotiating leverage and ask for aggressive room rate concessions from hoteliers. In response, it appears that hotel managers have been increasingly willing to negotiate and offer room rate discounts.
“Price of hotel rooms” was cited as the number one criteria for selecting a meeting facility. “Willingness to negotiate” was number three. Interestingly, room rates were identified by the meeting planners as the number one item hoteliers are most willing to negotiate.
The vast majority of planners (78%) have not “traded-up’ hotels due to price reductions.
“Overall Affordability” was ranked as the number one criteria for destination selection, followed by drive access, then air access. In last year’s survey, air access surpassed drive access. This indicates a preference for “drive to” destinations as a cost reduction. We did not ask about “overall affordability” last year.
See the complete PKF Survey results
November 18, 2009
Atlanta may be an easy city to reach from anywhere in the world, but don’t expect romance when you get here, according to the nation’s meeting planners.
Metropoll, an every two-year survey of meeting planner attitudes about 40 U.S. and Canadian convention cities, gave Georgia’s capital top marks for accessibility, friendliness, and hotel and dining value. But the city was below average among its peers when it comes to safety, prestige and — gasp — l’amour, the 2009 survey found.
“Atlanta continues to have a strong, albeit mixed, profile as a travel destination,” Metropoll leaders noted in their data assessment. “Atlanta fares particularly well in the logistical attributes, ranking in the ‘Top 10′ on five out of eight attributes.
“Atlanta does not fare quite as well with respect to recreational attitudes,” Metropoll said.
The results, released Tuesday by the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau — the city’s main tourism and convention organ — paints a portrait of a city that is making strides in some areas while stuck in the muck in others.
The city improved its rank as a convention stop — up three points to No. 9 – and as a vacation destination — up three to No. 33 – over 2007, the poll found. But nightlife — once a huge draw in the Buckhead Village — was below average and the city continues to be dinged on crime rate and “things to do.”
