The Cvent Destination Guide is a destination-specific, free online travel guide designed for meeting planners. The resource features 6,000 pages of in-depth research on more than 600 destinations worldwide.

“Cvent has been working closely with our destination partners to make the Cvent Destination Guide the premier resource for meeting and event planners who are researching locations for their next event,” said Eric Eden, Cvent’s Vice President of Marketing. “As we continue to develop the guide to cover over 1,000 destinations by the end of this year, the new features and content on our site will greatly benefit planners and our destination partners around the world.”

Feature additions and enhancements to the Destination Guide include:

• New destination search: Planners can now research destinations by type, like beach, mountain and golf destinations; and then further narrow down their results by using meeting-specific search criteria, such as average hotel room rates, maximum exhibit space and average daily food costs for meeting attendees.

• An enhanced tie to the Cvent Supplier Network: The Cvent Destination Guide is now more tightly linked to the world’s largest free online marketplace that connects event planners with hotels, convention and visitor bureaus (CVBs) and special event venues. This will provide meeting and event planners with the ability to seamlessly navigate between the two resources, and give suppliers additional opportunities to showcase their destinations to qualified meeting planners.

• An upgraded look and feel: The enhanced Cvent Destination Guide boasts a sleek, modernized interface with increased functionality to simplify and streamline the planning process for meeting planners, hoteliers and CVBs.

This new partnership sees the two companies seize the opportunity to offer a wider range of services to their clients and venue partners whilst taking advantage of the benefits derived from resource sharing and internal efficiencies.

Ian Martin, Managing Director, Avocado Group, embarked on a strategic review of the business in mid 2011.

“After identifying the strengths of Avocado Group, we saw a real opportunity to strategically align with a specialist in corporate catering. Together we form a formidable team and are now able to provide a complete range of catering services to the entire market.

“Today we announce the formalisation of our relationship with Amory Catering, a company we have worked closely with for many years,” said Mr Martin.

Adam Hanley is the Managing Director of the well-renowned Gold Licence caterer Amory Catering. He is on the Board of the Restaurant and Catering Association of Australia with Mr Martin who is currently the NSW President. Amory Catering was established in 1932 and has traded continually since that time.

Mr Hanley is thrilled to align the two businesses that each offer unique services to their specific markets, yet both value excellence in all they do.

“Together Avocado Group and Amory Catering form a highly successful catering conglomerate. We now have the skills, resources and capacity to deliver on a scale few of our competitors can.”

Avocado Group will continue to provide specialty high end events catering with a strong focus on venue partnerships. Amory Catering will continue to specialise in business to business corporate catering of all sizes.

For more information on the range of catering services now offered please contact Megan Bale, megan@avocadogroup.com.au.

Given its role in advising clients how to communicate effectively at events, MEA has long questioned whether speakers who read out bullet points provide a useful experience for meeting delegates.

“The bullet point model was created in the pre-digital era, when there was a shortage of expert information. It was worth flying somewhere to hear that kind of speech. Now the web is full of expert presentations you can watch in your own time and location, so meetings need to provide something beyond that,” said Linda Gaunt, Chief Executive Officer of MEA.

The aim is to deliver presentations that are simpler, more emotive and more human than delegates normally see. Presenters are encouraged to tell stories rather than read out lists. Endless studies have shown that stories are far more memorable and inspiring than the standard style of business presentation, but until now organisations have balked at enforcing speakers to break the mould.

MEA has drawn up a banned list of classic PowerPoint techniques. Bullet points, flow charts, template backgrounds, clip art, reading from the screen, and other proven yawn-inducers are all forbidden, a challenging task at an event with (65) speakers from around the world.

Presenters have been briefed to present with simpler, more involving material: photos, videos, demonstrations, old-fashioned storytelling. No image is allowed to have more than 10 words.

“As an industry, we manage everyone else’s events. It’s up to us to set an example to show that when you get people together, it doesn’t have to be a process of dull, passive one-way communication,” said Gaunt.

“We’re pushing everyone outside the comfort zone, and we think it’s going to be involving and inspiring. It’s the future of meetings.”

Early bird registration is open until 5, February 2012. To secure your place at MEA 2012 register at: www.meetingsevents.com.au/sydney/.

Kirimaya is an ideal destination and venue for corporate retreats.  This 64 room resort has a choice of luxurious spacious accommodation including four tented villas, as well as variety of rooms and suites with private terraces, spacious finely appointed interiors and majestic views of the Khao Yai National Park mountain range.  The resort includes an 18 hole par 72 championship golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, and dedicated conference facilities.

This idyllic setting is a perfect choice for meetings and incentive groups for up to 120.    The dedicated conference facilities overlook the golf course and comprise two spacious conference rooms and a large executive boardroom seating 14, with additional lounge seating and its own secretarial suite with separate entrance.

Kirimaya’s Corporate Retreat Package is available for groups with a minimum of 10 rooms, and is available Sundays – Thursdays.  The package includes:

• One nights’ accommodation in a Plantation View Room with breakfast
• The use of a meeting room from 8.30am – 5.30pm
• Two coffee breaks and one lunch
• Standard meeting facility equipment

The package is valid from 1 March to 31 October, 2012 and priced as follows:

Single Occupancy – Baht 4,567 (USD 152) net per package

Double Occupancy – Baht 5,678 (USD 189) net per package

In addition, special group rates are available for dinner; spa and golf are offered, as follows:

• Thai/Western Set Dinner at Baht 1,000 (USD 34) nett per person, including soft drink s
• Thai/International Buffet Dinner at Baht 1,000 (USD 34) nett per person including soft drinks
• BBQ Set/Buffet Dinner at THB 1,200 (USD 40) nett per person including soft drinks
• 30% discount on all a la carte spa menu treatments at Maya Spa
• One round of golf including golf car and caddy at Baht 1,500 (USD 50) nett per golfer

Activities in the vicinity of Khao Yai that can be built into conference and incentive itineraries include:

• Golf (on property)
• Visiting local Wineries – wine tastings
• Hiking in the National Park
• Night Safari
• Elephant Trekking
• Phimai Historical Park (a Khmer Archaeological site over 3000 years old
• Dan Kwian Pottery Village
• Pakchong Night Market

Reservations

Reservations can be made through the hotel’s reservations offices direct as follows:

Tel:     +66 2257 0455-7 Fax:    +66 2257 0459

Email:  reservation@kirimaya.com www.kirimaya.com

Although none of the properties suffered any damage from the floods in Bangkok, business at all the Thai hotels was nonetheless affected as visitor arrivals to Thailand fell.  Since December 2011, Starwood has organised several familiarisation trips for the media and meeting planners including a media familiarisation trip with Thai Airways International Australia to boost visitor confidence.

As part of the campaign, Starwood’s properties in Bangkok and selected hotels in Thailand’s central, northern and southern regions are offering a meeting deal that is valid until 31 March 2012 (see Annex A for a full list of participating hotels).  The offer includes a 10 per cent discount off the master bill and planners also get to choose two out of four value-adds, including:

1. Conference package upgrade
2. Double room upgrade allocation
3. Double complimentary room allocation
4. Complimentary WiFi in the meeting room

Bookings can be made at www.starwoodmeetings.com/unbeatablethailand.

Recently, four of Starwood’s properties in Bangkok, including The St. Regis Bangkok, Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok, The Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok and Four Points by Sheraton Bangkok, Sukhumvit 15 were the joint hospitality partners for the inaugural Thailand Golf Championships that took place from December 15 to 18.  The event attracted world-class golfers such as Spain’s Sergio Garcia and Thailand’s own Thongchai Jaidee, and more than 15,000 spectators, about 15 per cent of whom were foreign tourists.  The St. Regis Bangkok was also the venue for the tournament’s high profile gala dinner.

Regional Vice President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, Mr. Wayne Buckingham said “the success of the tournament, which took place soon after the floods, was testament to Thailand’s resilience as an events destination and also to Starwood’s strong support of the Thai MICE industry.”

Mr. Buckingham said: “As a key hospitality player in Thailand, Starwood is pleased to lend its support behind the first major event following the floods.  Thailand has so much to offer to meeting planners and this makes it an evergreen MICE destination.  With the crisis behind us and with the hospitality and tourism sector doing all it can to regain visitor confidence, I am positive that it will not be long before we see visitor numbers going up again.”

To step up its efforts for Bangkok, Starwood will be organizing Starwood Expos in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok on March 7, 12 and 15 respectively. The one-day Expos will feature 19 participating Starwood hotels across Thailand. In addition, Starwood Sales Organization will also be bringing a group of more than 10 top clients from Malaysia and Singapore to attend the expo that will take place in Thailand, this will be followed by site visits to Starwood hotels in Bangkok.

Seamless meetings with Starwood

The recent floods in Bangkok highlighted Starwood’s ability to move meetings seamlessly to its other properties in alternative destinations should unforeseen circumstances occur.  Some of its clients had chosen to shift their events to its hotels in Bali or elsewhere in Thailand.

Starwood Asia-Pacific, Vice-President of Sales, Ms. Alison Taylor said: “Should a situation occur, the advantage of being such a large hotel group with so many properties is that we are able to offer our MICE clients alternative accommodation and venues elsewhere in the same country, or in another country.  We can move the event seamlessly through our regional sales offices to another property, without the client having to worry about losing their deposit with us.  This is one of the assurances that clients have when they book with us.”

The hotel’s function rooms on Level 8 which include the heritage listed Blaxland Ballroom and Maple Room were given a refreshing uplift in design and concept aimed at reinforcing the hotel’s appeal as a preferred conference and event venue in the heart of the city centre; as well as to provide better overall guest experience.

Plush navy carpets with a splash of colour combine with modern, elegant furniture, contemporary wall art, a refreshing coat of paint and brand new audio visual equipment to transform the hotel’s meeting and conference space into a new city venue ideal for large-scale to medium sized and intimate events.

The renovations come with Swissôtel Sydney’s conscious effort to keep up with the increasing demand for 5-star conference and meeting facilities within the city centre. The hotel has also recently appointed AVPartners™; one of Australia’s most experienced audio visual companies as the hotel’s in-house technical partner.

“With a brand new look and feel to the hotel, we look forward to reintroducing our new meeting spaces to our guests and business clients, and we hope to see an increase of new and repeat business from our improved facilities and new attractive meeting packages” said Daniel Fueglister, General Manager of Swissôtel Sydney.

The hotel’s second stage of renovation will begin in March 2012 and will see the refurbishment of four meeting rooms on Level 9 and the complete renovation of the hotel’s two dining outlets, Jpb Restaurant and Crossroads Bar, as well as the hotel’s Swiss Executive Club Lounge.

For more information on Swissôtel Sydney’s conference and meeting packages or to arrange a site inspection, kindly call 02 9238 888 or email events.sydney@swissotel.com.

The complimentary event presents a range of quality Australian and international entertainers and speakers to an expected audience of over 1000 meetings professionals and buyers at the annual Melbourne exhibition.

Winston Broadbent, Managing Director at Saxton Speakers Bureau commented: “We are delighted to be involved in such an iconic event and have been able to secure, again, a world class line up of presenters with powerful content, all in the perfect event setting, and in just over two hours.”

“This year’s event will offer guests an opportunity to experience fantastic entertainment, bewildering illusion, extraordinary talent and genuine achievers delivering compelling business and personal messages,” he said.

A mix of Australian and international presenters make up this year’s program.

Exceptional Australians, such as prominent businessman Rod McGeoch and popular media personality Ita Buttrose, will inspire the audience with their thoughts on powerful alternative thinking and doing business better. AIME also welcomes back the always humorous John Lees as consummate master of ceremonies for the morning.

Home-grown talent does not end there: the audience will be treated to the sheer virtuosity of master drummer David Jones, mind-blowing illusion with Cosentino of Australia’s Got Talent fame, an entertaining and fascinating mathematical presentation from Lily Serna of SBS’s Letters and Numbers, the inspiration and creativity of photojournalist Michael Coyne; and the truly unique vocal talents of Mr Percival.

For 2012, the Saxton Ultimate Event Experience is presenting impressive international acts including:

• Robyn Meredith, the author of New York Times bestseller The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us and a correspondent for Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong. Meredith presents a mix of big picture trends in economics and geopolitics with views to make better business decisions;
• Kivi Bernhard, an internationally renowned keynote speaker, highly successful business entrepreneur and the author of the highly acclaimedLeopardology: The Hunt for Profit in a Tough Global Economy; and
• CrazeeHorse, a stunning acrobalance act that has been acclaimed by millions the world over, wowing UK television audiences to reach the final of Britain’s Got Talent and achieving three Guinness World Records.

The slightly earlier timeslot of 8am to 10.05am on the second day of AIME allows Hosted Buyers to attend for the first time, avoiding clashes with Pre Scheduled Appointments.

Mr Broadbent noted: “It has been designed primarily so that attendees will leave with a series of valuable and inspirational messages, at the same time experiencing firsthand the wonderful synergy between the finest in talent, producers and venue. It is this synergy that makes the Saxton Ultimate Event Experience such a feature in Australia”.

Sally de Swart, Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) Director for AIME, said the Saxton Ultimate Event Experience is always a popular part of the two-day show.

“This is an incredibly popular and unique experience, unlike any other in Australia, and we’re proud to welcome Saxton back to AIME this year as major sponsors,” Ms de Swart said.

The Saxton Ultimate Event Experience:

When: Wednesday, 22 February, 2012

Time: 7.50am for 8.00am sharp, concludes 10.05am

Where: Door 10, Plenary 3, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

How: The event is complimentary and each attendee receives a special gift and free entry to AIME!

Register online at http://www.saxton.com.au/events/saxton-ultimate-event-experience-aime-2012/

For more information about AIME 2012, visit www.aime.com.au

To mark MCI’s involvement, the initiative has been renamed the IMEX-MPI-MCI Future Leaders Forum ( www.imex-frankfurt.com/studentcasestudy.html?dm_i=UAF,OIGF,4A0MNA,1Z8E9,1 ), which invites students all over the world to contribute a piece of work as part of a new research study that commemorates the 10th anniversary of IMEX in Frankfurt. Among other things, the prize includes flights, accommodation, and attendance at the Frankfurt Future Leaders Forum in May.

The countdown to the 46th ITB Berlin, which takes place from 7 to 11 March 2012, has begun. Many of the halls at the world’s leading travel trade show are already booked up. Overall, Messe Berlin expects around 11,000 exhibiting companies and organisations from more than 180 countries to be present in the 26 halls on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds. David Ruetz, head of ITB Berlin: “Bookings are level with last year’s figures, once again confirming ITB Berlin’s role as the travel industry’s leading international platform. Furthermore, ITB Berlin 2012 is living up to its reputation as the travel industry’s driving force. The ITB Berlin Convention’s agenda features up-to-the-minute and forward-looking themes and leading experts will be taking part in the debate. Among the topics will be cruises and tourism market developments in the Arab states.”

The focus is on the partner country Egypt which will be organising the opening ceremony on the eve of ITB Berlin. During the fair all of Egypt’s local regions will be presenting their wide range of products and services to trade visitors and the general public in Hall 23a.

Newcomers and returning exhibitors mirror the changing travel market

More exhibitors from the Far East and Southeast Asia will be at ITB Berlin than ever before. Indonesia, a booming tourism region, is making its way onto the market and Vietnam will also be strongly represented. Exhibitor numbers from China and Mongolia have grown significantly too, with nearly two dozen newcomers taking part. This trend is reflected by the fact that Hall 26 is now completely booked up, as is Hall 5.2a, which will mainly feature exhibitors from Southeast Asia and Australia. India (Hall 5.2b) will be occupying additional display areas in Hall 5.2a. New hotels from Rajasthan and Kerala will be exhibiting their products and services. The number of individual exhibitors from Bhutan has risen considerably too. Exhibitor numbers from Central Asia (Hall 7.2b) are also very high, due to the return of Bangladesh, absent from ITB Berlin since 2007, and to a rise in individual exhibitors from Uzbekistan.

Halls 20 and 21, where Africa is exhibiting, will also witness newcomers and the return of several countries. For example, the Republic of Côte d´Ivoire is back at ITB Berlin, as is Chad, which will be exhibiting in Hall 21, the first time since 1999. The Democratic Republic of Congo is also back at ITB Berlin. Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Libya will all be occupying larger stands. Réunion’s is expanding by 50 per cent.

Hall 25 will see numerous new arrivals. After several years’ absence Deutsche Lufthansa will be back at the show. Among those exhibiting for first time will be cruise tour operators such as Passat Kreuzfahrten, TUI-Flussgenuss, Hapag-Loyd and Plantours. Software providers will be debuting in this section, including Tripadvisor, Unister, Mystifly, Air Fast Tickets, Expedia, Travel Guru (India), Booking Markets and z-direct.

The USA will be occupying a larger stand in Hall 2.1, as will several countries from Central America: Panama, Nicaragua and Honduras (Hall 3.1). Short-haul destinations are becoming more popular, with growth in the European halls reflecting a significant tourism trend. Among other newcomers are exhibitors representing Portugal, Greece, Italy, Spain and the Turkish Riviera.

The wellness boom continues. Hall 16 is fully booked up and on the open days for the general public a big programme of stage events hosted by Beauty 24 will be taking place here. Tour operators More Travel from Latvia and Chic Outlet Shopping, who are also newcomers to the show, will be displaying their products in Hall 18. Under the Holland Classics brand name, Keukenhof, Floriade World Expo Holland 2012 and numerous other partners will be exhibiting Dutch specialities on its stand.

The Gay & Lesbian Travel section no longer represents a niche market, a trend mirrored by the growth in products on display in Hall 2.1. For the first time Brazil will be hosting its own stand and exhibitors from Greece, Mexico and Portugal will also be debuting at the show. Inside the trade visitor area the Pink Pavilion boasts its own genuine Viennese coffee house. For the first time in its history Dertour has released a gay and lesbian travel catalogue, a reflection of the expanding market. Adventure travel and socially responsible tourism are also growth markets. Together with many newcomers from South America, as well as Geoparcs and organisations such as the Rainforest Alliance, Atmosfair, Myclimate, Ecpat, Tourism Watch, TourCert and the International Eco Tourism Society, Greenland will be promoting itself as a new destination in Hall 4.1. One of the high points at ITB Berlin 2012 will be the celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of RUF Jugendreisen.

Travel technology plays an increasingly important role

The number of exhibitors back at the show representing mobile travel and social media mirrors the continuing success of the eTravel World platform in Hall 7.1c. This section has been booked up since December, an indication of the market’s growing significance and the dynamic developments taking place here. Companies representing social review management services such as Reevoo and Review Pro will be setting new trends. Thursday and Friday will mark the high points of the programme of stage events. On Thursday and Friday international panel discussions debating travel blogs will be taking place at ITB Berlin. This is the first time simultaneous interpreting into English and German will be available at these events. On the Saturday of the show in Hall 7.1c an app marathon will be taking place that offers the general public an overview of the world of travel apps. ITB Berlin supports the Travel App Guide (published by mvolution, Alabasta Verlag) which will be re-released to coincide with ITB Berlin 2012.

Trade visitors will be able to obtain in-depth knowledge about social media not only at the eTravel World but also at the PhoCusWright@ITB Travel Technology Convention on Wednesday, 7 March and at the Marketing and Distribution Day on Friday, 9 March at the ITB Berlin Convention.

The details, products and services of all the exhibitors at the ITB Berlin can be found at the Virtual Market Place at www.virtualmarket.itb-berlin.com. The Virtual Market Place also functions as an online catalogue. Information is updated on a regular basis.

The conference was themed ‘Stronger, Faster, Higher’ and held at the Royal Garden Hotel, which provided their conference and meeting space as well as 350 of their rooms exclusively for the event.

Worldhotels’ Managing Director, Robert Hornman presented the group’s strategy for 2012, which highlights on achieving faster distribution, higher sales and stronger marketing. During the meetings and workshops, company’s leaders outlined new initiatives for the Worldhotels’ members, among them achieving higher online conversion, strengthening guest loyalty via Social Media and creating meaningful brand experiences.

Guest speakers included Olympic gold medalist Ben Hunt-Davis, brand specialist Karthik Siva, BBC presenter Rajan Datarand senior panelists from TripAdvisor, Google Travel, Frommers Unlimited and Trust.

The group also celebrated its successes in 2011, which included 70 new hotels, a 20% increase in room night production from the previous year and the implementation of several successful initiatives, such as Spider by Worldhotels, a complete package of online solutions, as well as OTA360°, an OTA management system.

Established in 1971, the Worldhotels Annual Conference has become invaluable to the group’s hotels by not only providing local and global market travel industry updates and insights into market trends, but also offering opportunities and solutions. Worldhotels currently represents almost 500 hotels in 250 destinations across 65 countries worldwide.

Written by: Kanchana Ganglani