New and Newer

It seems like just yesterday that the 377-room Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver opened its doors to visitors to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Bright and shiny and luxuriously modern - it's a bit suprising that a brand new hotel would be undergoing major renovations so soon.

Yet the configuration of the orginal meeting space (in particular two adjacent ballrooms - "hard walled") limited the size and scope of groups that could be accommodated. The solution: take down the wall and create one, large, more flexible space. 

The brand new Star Sapphire Ballroom measures 57.6 x 121.5 ft, providing 6,852 square feet of ballroom space, and 12,322 square feet of combined foyer and ballroom space.

Expectations Exceeded

I had the amazing good fortune to stay at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia during my recent stay in Vancouver.

The hotel opened mid-July of last year after a series of (not unusual) delays, and its much-anticipated "underground" club, Prohibition is yet to be unveiled.  Everything else is up and running - beautifully!  From the cosy 1927 Lobby Lounge to the fine dining restaurant Hawksworth - named for local chef made good, David Hawksworth -  to the saltwater lap pool, heated bathroom floors, and friendly, attentive service - my only regret was that I couldn't stay longer!

The Hotel Georgia's largest meeting room, the gorgeous 2,673 sq.ft. Spanish Ballroom accommodates 165 people classroom, or 200 in rounds.

Located across from the Vancouver Art Gallery on one side, and from the Four Seasons Vancouver and Pacific Centre Mall, the Hotel Georgia is just a short walk to the Vancouver City Centre train station where you can easily catch the Canada Line to YVR airport - or for a real indulgence, have the hotel's driver, Jim, take you where you need to go in the Bentley!

More IS More

Hyatt Hotels has made booking multi-year programs so easy, and soooo attractive!

Book two meetings or more before March 31, 2012 -  to be held by December 31, 2017 - and choose from the following great rewards:

• 100,000 Hyatt Gold Passport® bonus points per meeting and Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond status for two years (upgrade awarded to meeting planner upon signing contract for all meetings)
• 3% rebate off qualifying charges on your master bill including meeting facilities, guestrooms and catering
• Complimentary Internet access in paid guestrooms
• No attrition fees for up to 50% slippage
• One complimentary guestroom per 40 paid room nights
• Complimentary coffee break
• Audiovisual equipment and services discounts, where available
• Regency Club upgrades, where available
• Airport transfers, where available

Clients of ConferenceDirect can also take advantage of the pre-negotiated terms and conditions through our partnership with Hyatt Hotels.

Book two qualifying meetings, select two rewards. Book three qualifying meetings, select three rewards, and so on - so more really *is* more!

Just Right

I had a "Goldilocks" moment in my local Starbucks yesterday.

All the tables were taken so I headed for a spot on the big cushy leather couch. "Cushy" was right - I sunk in, and back, most uncomfortably. This would not do! So I tried the adjacent armchair - too hard.  Back to the couch where I arranged a cushion behind me and pronounced "Just Right".

And it struck me: this is what I do - with hotels! I find the "Just Right" hotel for meetings and conferences. Not too big for those smaller groups that would get lost in a large convention facility. Not too small for the association that requires a spacious tradeshow hall for face-to-face time with vendors and sponsors. Enough breakout rooms for those pharma meetings, but not too luxurious as to contravene RX and D restrictions. City centre or resort, depending on mobility and off-site programs.

And always in my cross-hairs: the budget and concessions that will make the venue "Just Right".

How Green is your Hotel?

I was at a reception last week hosted by Canopy - celebrating, among other things, the development of "second harvest" paper made from straw.  They had a live auction for the last of a special edition of Margaret Atwood's new book, In Other Worlds, printed on said paper.  Many of the guests are involved in environmental organisations, and when I said what it was that I do for a living the question was raised: What hotel (or chain) is the "greenest"?

Very good question.

My first response was that new-builds are being designed to be more environmentally responsible, and one of the hotels that came to mind was the Delta Guelph, with its green roof, and lights on timers.  I'm pretty sure that the Ritz-Carlton Toronto is part of the system of downtown office buildings being cooled by the waters of Lake Ontario.

When I got home I happened to pick up a copy of Meetings and Conventions magazine featuring an advertorial about ARIA Resort in Las Vegas.  According to the advertorial:

"...ARIA is one of the largest buildings in the United States to receive LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The property utilizes recycled wood from responsibly managed forests and advanced technology to attain a 30 percent improvement of energy efficiency. ARIA has received a five key [highest] rating from the Green Key Eco-Rating Program for its ongoing operational commitment to sustainability."

The Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) reverts to the same Green Key Eco-Rating Program, but there's also a Green Leaf rating system through the Top Canadian Hotels website, dedicated to green travel.

It's all somewhat confusing, and I'd love to know your comments. Does a the "green-ness" of a venue affect your hotel selection for a meeting or conference?  Or for personal travel?

To be continued.

Another Prime Pairing

Newer, but from same designer as Grande Lakes, the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria Orlando offer 1000 and 500 guestrooms respectively on a 482-acre resort property in the heart of Walt Disney World - practically walking distance to Downtown Disney. Total meeting space for both properties exceeds 150,000 sq.ft.. Guests of either hotel may enjoy the 22-treatment room Guerlain Spa, and Rees Jones Championship 18-hole Golf Course. 

The Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek's award-winning Italian restaurant
La Luce features chalkboard art, drawn *live* every three months.

The Waldorf Astoria Orlando pays homage to its renowned ancestor in the form of Art Deco style features, and a replica clock in the lobby.

Updated version of famed Peacock Alley

Both hotels and golf course opened October 1st, 2009 – the anniversary of the 1931 opening of the Waldorf Astoria in New York.

Booking to Exhale?

The Travel Section of this weekend's Globe and Mail featured an article ("Forget the pillow menu, what's the gym like?") about how guests' workout preferences drive their hotel choices.  The percentage of discerning and - no doubt fit - travellers (8% as estimated by the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hosptality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University) is "a substantial potential market share".

There can be a real difference between older hotels, where fitness centres were obviously accommodated as an afterthought, and new-builds which take their gyms seriously, as both an amenity and a revenue stream. In some cases hotels opt out of the fitness (and spa) biz altogether, oursourcing to experts and established brands.

 

Exhale at the Loews Atlanta Hotel