Washington, D.C. – Park Hyatt Washington will open in June 2006 following a $24 million renovation and redesign by celebrated designer Tony Chi. With its Tea Cellar offering rare and vintage tea selections, spa-inspired bathrooms, and a signature fragrance designed for the hotel by artisan perfumer Blaise Mautin, Park Hyatt Washington will offer guests a unique experience in the nation’s capital. The newest and most innovative luxury hotel in the area combines dynamic modernism with classic American style that pays homage to the city’s cultural and natural attributes. A new restaurant, the Blue Duck Tavern, invites guests and area residents to gather and celebrate in good taste by offering a welcoming atmosphere and menu selections focusing on the freshest ingredients available.Lobby
The hotel entrance of Park Hyatt Washington will celebrate Washington’s famous blossoming cherry trees with impressive glass sculptures etched with images of their flowers and branches. The persimmon colored burlap wall behind the reception area hints at the red stripes of the American flag while classic American Windsor style chairs and rocking chairs will dot the hotel’s interior to further enhance the modern Americana aesthetic.

The entrance to the Lounge will be bordered by large easels of limed oak and off-white lacquer for the display of modern paintings. Seating surrounds the “Capitol Hill” glass-enclosed booths that will flank a highly designed marble and glass bar. A unique, lounge-style power breakfast will be served in this area.

Tea Cellar
Park Hyatt Washington’s new Tea Cellar will feature rare and limited production, single-estate teas from remote regions of China, Japan, Sri Lanka and the Himalayas. The Tea Cellar’s sophisticated tea offerings, some of which are at the level of flavor and complexity of fine wines, will not only introduce guests to the highest quality of tea, but also to the significance of water temperature and steeping time each tea requires.

Unique in the United States both for its menu and offerings, the Tea Cellar will feature a glass tea humidor and a lit display of tea blossoms that flower when steeped in water.

Blue Duck Tavern
The Blue Duck Tavern’s open kitchen with a central focus on its wood-burning oven welcomes both travelers and locals alike to gather and celebrate in good taste. The menu of the Blue Duck Tavern will intelligently showcase the best of the season and Chef Brian McBride will bring sharply focused and bold flavors to the table through simple and traditional cooking methods. Slow-roasting in wood embers, braising, preserving and smoking techniques will bring the true flavors of America’s great, simple and wholesome foods to the Blue Duck Tavern’s patrons.

With an open staff pantry and kitchen, a glass-enclosed wine cellar, private tasting room seating ten and Washington’s first commercial Molteni range, custom designed in blue lacquer, guests will experience an innovative and dramatic setting by internationally renowned New York designer Tony Chi.

Guest Rooms
The hotel’s 215 guest rooms combine modern style with classic American materials such as warm limed oak, gray limestone and black walnut. Park Deluxe rooms, the largest in the city at 618 sq. ft or 57 m2 feature generous spa inspired bathrooms with dark gray limestone rain showers and deep soaking tubs. Guest rooms offer work desks with wired and wireless broadband Internet connections, flat screen televisions, DVD and CD players. Room accents include antique gameboards and a selection of hardcover books highlighting American crafts and heritage.

A custom fragrance, bathroom amenities, and candles have been designed exclusively for Park Hyatt Washington by Parisian artisan perfumer Blaise Mautin, who was inspired by time spent in Washington where he absorbed the sense of the city, its soul and spirit.

Location
Originally opened in 1986, Park Hyatt Washington has been a preferred choice among the city’s elite and sophisticated travelers. It is ideally situated a few blocks from historic Georgetown in downtown DC, near the Smithsonian Museums, Embassy Row, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, national monuments, and boutique shopping, art galleries, and restaurants.

Event and Meeting Space
Park Hyatt Washington offers flexible meeting and event space as well as five private boardrooms ideal for smaller functions. The cuisine for meetings and events held at Park Hyatt Washington will be catered with recipes and dishes from Chef Brian McBride.

About tonychi and associates Tony Chi’s concept for Park Hyatt Washington was “to bring together a dynamic and attractive modernism with classic American style. Modern for today’s sophisticated traveler, classic American in deference to the fashionable and historic area in which it is located.” He adds, “a brand new hotel is poised to cater to lobbyists, senators and other politicians, business travelers, and highend tourists in a warm, friendly and relaxed setting.”

Tony Chi and associates is a global design practice with hundreds of projects to its credit in the world’s major capital cities and exclusive travel destinations. Based in New York, the firm was founded in 1984 by Tony Chi, a true modernist with a passion for impeccable style and design innovation. In the past two decades tonychi and associates have completed projects for the Hyatt Group in Osaka, Tokyo, Chicago, Taipei, Bangkok and Sydney with Hyatt projects in the pipeline in Bangkok, Taipei and
Beijing.

About Park Hyatt Hotels
Intimate and residential in style, Park Hyatt Hotels promise elegant and gracious service on a personal scale and are further distinguished by prime locations and exceptional interior design. Hyatt International Corporation and its subsidiaries operate 24 Park Hyatt brand hotels in 15 countries, with an additional ten hotels under development. There are seven Park Hyatt hotels in the United States and Canada.

There are 216 Hyatt hotels and resorts (over 90,000 rooms) in 44 countries around the world, operating under the Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Grand Hyatt® and Park Hyatt® brands. Currently, there are an additional 32 Hyatt hotels and resorts under development, including 12 new hotels in China. Hyatt Corporation (domestic U.S., Canada and Caribbean hotels) and Hyatt International Corporation (international properties) are subsidiaries of Chicago-based Global Hyatt Corporation. Global Hyatt
Corporation is also the owner of Hyatt Vacation Ownership, Inc. (timeshare), Hyatt Equities, L.L.C. (hotel ownership), and U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc. (which franchises Hawthorn Suites, Microtel and America’s Best Inns).

In January 2005, Global Hyatt Corporation also added an additional 143 U.S. properties to its growing portfolio with the acquisition of the upscale, limited service AmeriSuites hotel chain. These properties will be renovated and repositioned under the new Hyatt Place select service brand in 2006.

From the U.S. and Canada reservations for any Hyatt hotel worldwide may be obtained by calling 1-800-233-1234 or logging onto www.hyatt.com.

The Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation (WCTC) is launching a $1.4 million summer tourism campaign, its largest paid media campaign to date since the September 11 recovery efforts in the first quarter of 2002.The Washington, DC tourism industry is inviting visitors to get a dose of creativity this summer as Washington, DC Celebrates American Originals. From Memorial Day through Labor Day 2006, museums, theatres, attractions, restaurants and hotels in the Capital Region are celebrating all things uniquely American and uniquely Washington. Headlining the promotion is the July 1 opening of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery, along with a major exhibition at the National Archives and DC’s First Capital Fringe Festival and 50 other special events and exhibitions. American Originals is produced by the Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation with support from Cultural Tourism DC.

The $1.4 million campaign was built through investment by WCTC, the Washington Convention Center Authority and by leveraging partnerships and media placement. WCTC sparked the effort with an initial investment of $500,000 in media and the Washington Convention Center Authority matched that investment with another $500,000. WCTC also secured partnerships and sponsorships leveraging an additional $400,000 in advertising and promotions. For example:

• Metro is a major sponsor of American Originals, providing exposure with Metro rail cards, bus cards, dioramas, posters and brochure distribution throughout the system and promotional space on the exterior of buses.
• Guest Services, Inc. is a supporting sponsor providing funding for additional promotion such as street banners and additional brochures.
• American Express is supporting the summer campaign by including American Originals hotel and restaurant offers in a direct mail campaign to 50,000 card members in DC’s top feeder markets including New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Richmond.
• WCTC leveraged its advertising buy with The New York Times, representing Washington, DC’s top feeder market, to include additional exposure through email campaigns and additional print advertisements.

The paid media schedule includes a mix of travel and arts magazines, newspaper and online media that target Washington, DC’s top feeder markets: New York, Philadelphia, Raleigh, Richmond and Atlanta.

The paid media schedule includes:

• Condé Nast Traveler, Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel, National Geographic Travel, Art Bulletin, Art Journal and Smithsonian magazines
• The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Raleigh News & Observer and the Richmond Times Dispatch
• Online and email campaigns with nytimes.com, nationalgeographic.com, philly.com, Sherman’s Travel, Trip Advisor and other outlets.

Washington, DC Celebrates American Originals has already generated more than $500,000 in publicity through articles in media outlets across the country.

A full convention calendar will draw delegates to the nation’s capital in June in numbers exceeding 60,000, a figure that will saturate the city’s hotels with more than 106,000 room nights and generate more than $63 million in revenue.The Renaissance Washington, DC will host more than 15,000 scientists, physicians and other health care professionals as part of the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) Annual Meeting and Scientific Session. This meeting is significant in that it is being held in conjunction with ADA’s Call to Congress on June 8, a one-day event giving hundreds of diabetes advocates a chance to meet with and petition elected officials for more federal involvement in the fight against a disease which carries an annual price tag of $132 billion. A schedule of seminars and panel discussions will keep medical professionals up to date on the latest research, treatment recommendations and advances toward a cure for diabetes, which claims more than 220,000 lives per year in the U.S. www.diabetes.org

The 2006 Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is expected to attract more than 15,000 human resource professionals to one of the industry’s most respected professional development programs. Heading a distinguished roster of speakers is former secretary of state Gen. Colin Powell, scheduled to deliver the keynote speech for the Conference’s Opening General Session. Other speakers will include David McCollough, author of the best-selling book 1776, and Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., former CEO of IBM. For the 12th year in a row, SHRM will give attendees the chance to attend senior-level educational programs led by world-renowned management experts as part of its Masters Series. Instructors will include Sigal Barsade, professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; Tamara J. Erickson, award-winning author and director of the Concours Group’s Human Capital Practice; and Jennifer James, a writer, lecturer, commentator and cultural anthropologist. Attendees will also benefit from the HRM Marketplace® Exposition. www.shrm.org

Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) will partner with the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) Associates Council to present its 11th annual conference at the Grand Hyatt Washington. More than 300 public relations professionals will address topics like blogging, shifting reader demographics and the growing genre of lifestyle publications.Notable speakers will include Joe Sharkey, business travel columnist for the New York Times; Wendy Perrin, consumer interest news editor for Condé Nast Traveler; Melissa Biggs Bradley, features editor for Town & Country; and John Mariani, food correspondent for Esquire. Mid-Atlantic-based journalists in attendance will be invited to attend the Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation’s (WCTC) Capital Media Day on June 20, featuring panel discussions with editors from national outlets along with first-hand experiences of Washington, DC through visits to attractions and tours of neighborhoods and other points of interest. www.washington.org/prsa

June will also bring the 15th Annual International Franchise Expo to the Washington Convention Center, along with more than 9,000 attendees. Representatives exhibiting hundreds of franchise concepts will be present, and potential investors can attend free seminars on topics like financing options and choosing the right franchise. And nodding to the growing number of veterans as franchisors, veterans will be admitted to the Expo free of charge, and nearly 50 representatives of franchises offering financial incentives to veterans will be on hand. Endorsed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, The International Franchise Expo is sponsored by the International Franchise Association (IFA), one of the world’s largest and oldest trade associations representing franchisors, franchisees and suppliers. www.franchise.org

Below are details about the top four conventions taking place in June, sorted by attendance. Room nights are calculated by multiplying the number of hotel rooms by the number of nights those rooms are used during a given meeting or convention. Delegate spending is based on an estimated $1,049 per attendee, according to Destination Marketing Association International’s (DMAI) ExPact 2004 Study.

Organization: American Diabetes Association
Event: Annual Meeting & Scientific Session
Date: June 9-13
Location: Washington Convention Center
Attendance: 18,000
Room Nights: 41,000
Delegate Spending: $18,882,000

Organization: Society for Human Resource Management Event: Annual Conference & Exposition
Date: June 25-28
Location: Washington Convention Center
Attendance: 15,000
Room Nights: 41,700
Delegate Spending: $15,735,000

Organization: Association for the Advancement of Medical Instruments
Event: Annual Conference & Expo
Date: June 3-5
Location: Marriott Wardman Park
Attendance: 2,000
Room Nights: 700
Delegate Spending: $2,098,000

Organization: National Alliance for the Mental Ill
Event: Annual Meeting
Date: June 27 – July 1
Location: Hilton Washington
Attendance: 1,000
Room Nights: 852
Delegate Spending: $1,049,000

Totals
Attendance: 36,000
Room Nights: 84,252
Delegate Spending: $37,764,000

You’ve got a great business plan, a phenomenal product or service, and the energy and drive to promote your business. There’s only one problem. You’re running your entire company out of a corner of your living room, or your garage; or you’ve rented a hole in the wall office furnished with ancient office furniture scrounged from anyplace you could find it, and you’re not really comfortable inviting high power prospective clients to your location. Your regional meeting and conference center may have the perfect answer. These centers are springing up all over the country, and offer a range of options for meetings, conferences, and conventions. Designed to project a modern, professional corporate image, they allow even small start ups to make a dynamic impact on potential clients and management personnel. Whether you need to schedule a ten o’clock meeting with a few representatives from a major corporation you’re targeting for business, or you need to rent a room for an entire day to interview a series of potential management hires, an attractive, functional meeting room will reflect your company’s professionalism.

When you’re choosing a meeting and conference center, be sure to research the availability of communications technology; the best centers will offer the latest high tech media equipment, so that if you have to project a Powerpoint display, a CD-Rom, or a DVD presentation, you have access to the equipment you need. A competently operated business center will also provide high speed Internet access and dial-up, as well as a number of business services including secretarial and clerical support, photocopying services, and faxing capability. If you’re going to be holding a lengthy meeting, you also need to make arrangements for your clients to have lunch or morning or afternoon food breaks, depending on the timing of the meeting. If you hold annual meetings for your employees, your partners or stockholders, or your board of directors, you may want to splurge on an informational meeting which includes a sumptuous catered meal.

If you’re expecting potential clients or vendors to travel to meet with you from out of town, you may want to pay special attention to the meeting center’s ease of access, both from Interstate highways and from regional airports. Business people who travel frequently want to get to a meeting quickly, have a productive experience, and then get back on the road, to the airport, or to their hotel room with as little fuss as possible. Choosing your meeting’s location to facilitate this will make a positive impact on those you’re meeting; putting them in a position of getting snarled in city traffic will definitely not.

Of course, the best meeting and conference center in the world is only as impressive as the presentation you make. Make sure you’re prepared, and have all the documentation you need at the meeting, polished and organized. If you have a media presentation to make, be sure it says what you want it to say, and then communicate with the tech experts at the meeting center to be absolutely certain you know how to operate the equipment. If possible, troubleshoot the equipment, and practice the presentation, well before your meeting so that you can make a smooth, polished performance.

Even if you’re operating a start-up company on a shoestring, creative use of your regional meeting and conference center will allow you to project a professional, successful image to your business associates; and nothing sells like success. http://www.forefrontcenter.com/audiovisuals.htm

Before you charter a bus, be familiar with terms, conditions and these slang terms and abbreviations.Qty. Quantity of this type of bus the company owns.Seats. The number of seats available for your group.

BusType. There are 8 types of buses. Visit the Bus Types section of BusRates.com for descriptions and approximate rates.

Deluxe Motorcoach
School Bus
Executive Coach/Day Coach
/Limo Bus
Double Decker
Minibus
Entertainer/Sleeper/Tour Bus
Trolley
Van

Year. The year of the bus model, frequently displayed as a range from oldest to newest.

OTR. Is the company willing to take this bus “Over The Road” which is usually defined by traveling long distances out of state and overnight.

Rstrm. Restroom on board.

VCR. There are usually 5 to 6 TV monitors on board full-sized deluxe motor coaches with a VCR. Most buses do not receive any channels unless equipped with satellite, which is uncommon.

DVD. There are usually 5 to 6 TV monitors on board full-sized deluxe motor coaches with a DVD player. Most buses do not receive any channels unless equipped with satellite, which is uncommon.

CD. CD player on board.

PA. Public address system on board to help make announcements to the group.
ADA. Wheelchair elevator on board.

Alch. Alcohol is allowed on board.

Trnsfr. Any pick-up and drop-off typically from a hotel to an airport around 15 miles of travel (excluding 10% gratuity).

5 hrs. 5 hour rates posted on BusRates.com are based on 5 hours of local use, low miles (excluding 10% gratuity). Bus companies most commonly have a 5 hour minimum of use with the exception of transfers.

Day. Day rates posted on BusRates.com are based on 10 hours of local use, low miles (excluding 10% gratuity.)

Mile. The rate per mile of travel. Quotes are calculated per mile or per day whichever is greater. Trips averaging over 300 miles per day are usually priced per mile and not per day.

Hours of use: Local travel is most commonly based on hours of use. The national average rate per hour for a full size deluxe motor coach in 2004 was $83.08.* Almost all companies have a 3, 4, 5, or 6-hour minimum charge-5-hours being the most common across the U.S.

Gratuity: The standard bus operator gratuity for chartering a bus is 10%. About a third of operator’s pay comes from the gratuity as an incentive to provide good service. The average wage earned by bus operators in 2004 was $11.25 per hour*.

Sales Tax: There is no sales tax when chartering a bus in most states.

Over the Road Charters

Mileage: buses traveling out of the local area and overnight are quoted based on miles. The average charge per mile across the nation in 2004 was $2.66 with the company’s day rate as a minimum charge per day*.

Day Rate: The minimum charge per day if the per-mile charge is not more than the combined day rates. The average day rate in 2004 was $769*.

Driver Change: for every 10 hours of driving, or 15 hours of stand-by time, law requires 10 consecutive hours of rest. If you plan on driving over 10 hours, an operater change has to be made. Bus Operator changes range from $200 to $900 depending on how far from the departure city the change has to be made.

Local Travel: The amount of local mileage allowed per day once the bus reaches the destination city.

Driver Hotel: Usually the customer books and pays for the driver’s hotel room, but most hotels will comp the operator’s room at no charge when you book several rooms for your group. Ask for someone in group sales at the hotel to ensure the operator’s room is complimentary.

Gratuity: The standard gratuity for trips over the road is 10%.

Sales Tax: There is no sales tax when chartering a bus in most states

Courtesy of www.BusRates.com

1. Does the company have its own maintenance program?2. Does the quote include parking and tolls?

3. For trips over the road: How many local miles are allowed per day after reaching your destination? What is the charge for exceeding them?

4. Does the company own the bus you will use, or will it be brokered out?

5. What is their cancellation policy?

6. Is the bus available for inspection before chartering?

7. What affiliations are they members of?/How involved in the industry are they?

8. Can they provide a insurance certificate showing they have the state required $5 million in coverage?

9. Does the bus operator have a cell phone and the company, a 24 hour phone line in case of a breakdown?

10. Who pays for the driver’s hotel room?

Courtesy of www.BusRates.com

It is now possible to charter, rent or lease an aircraft for less than ever before and it has also become easier. Why charter an aircraft? Here are some good reasons:· The increased security and hassle of commercial airline boarding.

· There are fewer airlines around.

· Fewer airlines are flying to fewer cities

· Because of economy restraints there are fewer seats for more passengers.

· It is now easier to charter, lease or rent a plane because there are more companies entering the aircraft leasing business.

· Also, a new generation of small jets is being produced as we speak, the so-called air taxis seating between 4 to 6 passengers for a total airplane cost of as low as 1 million dollars.

· These small jets are being produced in a so-called cookie-cutter design, 100 at a time and are also being purchased 100 at a time.

Real Air Taxis will soon be on their way into major cities,” says London based AVCEN. Avcen is to bring its innovative Jetpod aircraft design off the drawing board and into proof-of-concept build and flight trials. The Jetpod is a unique, lightweight, Very Quiet Short Take-Off and Landing (VQSTOL), 6-seat, twin-jet powered aircraft.

The Jetpod cruises at 350 mph and uses an unbelievable 410 feet of landing space. This is achieved through a combination of horizontal and vertical thrust management as developed by Avcen.

No runways are required so you can take off from a private parking lot or your neighbor’s driveway. There are similar small jets being manufactured in the US as well.

Aircraft Charter companies provide the following 4 functions in a variety of innovative ways:

1) Renting (sometimes selling) aircraft for private use, performing aircraft maintenance, providing fuel, and aircraft management.

2) The best way of finding an aircraft charter company is on line. You can also contact an aircraft charter broker who will sort of act as your airplane travel agent.

3) They will handle all of your flight arrangements, including price comparisons, they will determine the correct aircraft for your trip, they will locate the correct charter company, make sure insurance is in place, and obtain copies of FAA flight certificates.

4) There are also aircraft charter auctions available on the Web.

Using a unique online auction, your trip itinerary is instantly sent to a network of pre-approved jet operators who are invited to bid on your trip. This increases competition and ultimately drives the price down. You can view this bidding action live, online.

Fleet Membership allows you to buy occupied flight time in your preferred category of business jet in blocks of whatever flight hours you want with guaranteed availability. You enjoy the freedom and convenience of business jet travel without the costs or commitment of aircraft ownership.

One Ways and Empty Leg Flights When a one way aircraft charter flight is booked, many times the aircraft has to return to it’s original airport. In a case like this, the plane will be flying empty. This is known as an empty leg. Because the aircraft charter operators like to make money if possible, they offer these empty legs for much less than a typical charter would cost.

Flying in a Private Jet has become a Status Symbol.

One of the perks most valued to CEO’s and lawmakers today is to have the use of a Private Jet. This is another reason why the Charter Aircraft business is at present growing at an astonishing rate which will increase even more as the air taxis costing one million dollars or so will enter service.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com. Frank Hague likes private aircraft.

The advantages of private flights over regular commercial crafts are many. Not the least of which, of course, is the privacy they offer.
Commercial airlines are great for getting from one point to another going by another’s schedule. But, when time is of the essence or added comfort and privacy is a must, charter flights can be the way to go. The advantages of private flights over regular commercial crafts are many. Not the least of which, of course, is the privacy they offer. For businesses, charter flights come with these perks:

* No set time schedule. Charter flights can often be booked any time of the day or night. This means travel on the red eye isn’t a must to ensure arriving at a meeting or vacation destination on time. Flights can be booked to meet a customer’s schedule rather than the customer having to meet the airline’s set agenda.

* Can offer a cost savings over commercial flights. Depending on the number of passengers, a charter flight just might offer some cost savings over commercial flights overall. This of course will depend on the type of charter, the length of the trip and the number of passengers, but it’s not out of the question to save money on a charter flight.

* Flexibility in airports. Charter flights can land in a whole host of smaller airports that larger commercial liners cannot. So if you’re meeting or family reunion is in a smaller berg, there many me a direct charter flight there. This kind of convenience is incredible for families, business travelers and more and can save hours of drive time once the plane’s landed or even before it has taken off.

* Privacy. There’s no way around it, commercial flights are generally packed with people. Even in first class, there are interruptions, distractions and unwanted conversations to be overheard. By flying charter, families can enjoy some quiet time and businesspeople can plan for upcoming meetings, seminars and so on before the big engagement.

* Fun. There’s no denying it. Taking a commercial flight isn’t as much fun as having a whole plane for your family, party or business meeting. The other perks make this guilty pleasure a little less guilty.

No matter where you’re looking for charter flights, the internet is a great place to turn. Here you’ll find a whole host of companies that offer flights out of large, commercial airports and even much smaller ones. Direct flights on a set schedules, personalized itineraries and more can all be found.

When looking for private charter flights it’s important to know what you’re looking for. Do you want a charter that’s booked solely for you and your passengers or are you willing to share accommodations? What is the desired timeframe for the flight? Will a return flight be needed? Is there a plane size in particular you’re interested in?

Charter flights might seem like a luxury, but for many this is a viable option for business and personal travel that takes some of the hassles of a large airport off the table. With flexible schedules and private accommodations available, charter flights can be a great way to go. Do check out flight companies before booking and make sure the planes meet your personal specifications.

Article Source: http://www.Article-Search.eu/.

For more information visit http://www.charterairsearch.com

This has always been the guiding principle of real estate, but it could also be the first critical step in making your meeting a rousing success or a complete disappointment. Certainly we know that education and networking are the two main attractions for most convention attendees, but all of the terrific sessions and social functions in the world won’t mean a thing (and your organization won’t make nearly as much revenue) if you can’t get them there first. Consider the following factors when selecting your meeting site. Rotation

A smart organization will rotate its annual convention across the map. This strategy not only allows you to meet in all regions where your membership is based, but it also benefits membership growth and recruitment in addition to keeping the meeting fresh in terms of climate, attractions, time zones, and cost of attending.

Member Input

Ask your members — both actively attending members as well as those who don’t attend often — where they’d like the convention to be held. They may bring to your attention destinations that you haven’t considered. Be sure, however, to give more weight to sites recommended by actively attending members since their attendance is the foundation of your meeting’s success.

First Tier vs. Second Tier vs. Third Tier

While many organizations will always meet in first-tier destinations, many others should be looking more closely at second- and third-tier cities, where they can enjoy being the big fish in the pond and receiving added attention. There’s an abundance of great smaller destinations — with first-rate convention facilities — that might be a better fit for your organization. However, if your group has a history of maximizing attendance and revenues while convening in first-tier markets, you should probably stay where you can sustain or continue this growth.

Lift

If you anticipate an attendance of 10,000, it’s probably not in your best interest to select a meeting site whose airport can’t handle the large number of daily arrivals and departures that your group will need. Simply put, if people can’t get there, you’re in trouble. Make certain you obtain information on the total number of daily nonstop flights, seats, and feeder cities prior to finalizing a destination with questionable lift. In addition, be cautious of cities where one carrier dominates the lift some of these cities can be very expensive to fly into.

Climate

Do your delegates expect warm weather? Is high humidity a problem? How about rain or snow? Don’t make the mistake of meeting in the wrong destination at the wrong time of year. Find out the average daily high and low temperatures for each of the cities you’re considering. Also obtain the average number of days with .01″ or more of rain in the month you’re thinking about. This information is available in 40-year averages and is collected by most airport authorities. If outdoor activities aren’t on the agenda, however, then weather becomes less of a deciding factor.

Competition

Too often, organizations wear rose-colored glasses and assume that their meeting is the only one of its kind that their members will be interested in attending. But that’s not always the case. If there are organizations in a field similar to yours, or you simply have a number of true competitors, take the time to check when and where their meetings are scheduled. Sometimes delegates and exhibitors have to draw the line as to how many meetings they can afford or take the time to attend in a given year. And if your convention conflicts by date or location with a competing convention, you’re running the unnecessary risk of losing your attendees and exhibitors to another event.

Keep Options Open

Your chances of orchestrating a successful site selection can usually be improved substantially by creating competition in the marketplace. Whenever possible, strive to find two to three facilities or destinations that you’re willing to contract with and that want your business. (Groups often make the mistake of deciding on one particular facility or destination and then trying to negotiate.) It’s also very important to show date and room block pattern flexibility wherever possible.

As you can see, selecting a meeting site isn’t as simple as throwing a dart at a map. But it can be quite an enjoyable and educational experience. By doing your homework, you will put yourself in the best situation to select the destination that will help give you record attendance, revenues, and reviews.

Jeff Sacks is Vice President, Midwest Region at Conferon Global Services, Inc. in St. Louis. Visit us at http://www.conferon.com.

Some meeting managers love to negotiate others hate it. Regardless of whether you fall into the former or latter category, negotiating is something that you have to do … and do well in order to be effective in your job.Meeting planners who negotiate successfully all have one thing in common: They know the value of their meeting from the hotel’s perspective. All too often, planners make the mistake of assuming that because their annual convention is valuable to their organization, it must be valuable to the property. But that’s not always the case.

Remember that a piece of business is only valuable to a hotel if it provides profit — maximum profit, if possible. (The value of your meeting drops, for example, if any other group wants the same dates and is willing to pay a higher room rate or provide more food and beverage revenue.) So be sure to thoroughly analyze every aspect of your event — just the way a hotel sales manager would. The result will be power and confidence at the negotiating table. Here are seven major areas to consider in your analysis:

1. Corporate or Association Influence

Corporate meetings can be more attractive to hotels than association meetings for several reasons. For starters, they’re typically short-term and yield a higher average daily rate. Corporations also usually spend more on food and beverage than associations and are much better at estimating their room pickup since attendance is often mandatory.

On the other hand, corporations tend to cancel their meetings more frequently. Associations rarely cancel because their bylaws generally require them to convene once a year and their annual meetings are, more often than not, their biggest revenue-generating events of the year. In addition, association meetings are often booked many years out, allowing hotels to forecast future years much better. An association’s annual meeting also can offer more guest room nights — a hotel’s largest profit area.

2. Number of Room Nights

You may think that the more room nights you can offer a hotel, the stronger your negotiating leverage will be. But that’s not necessarily a given. More important than the number of room nights is how those room nights fit into the business mix of the hotel. The transient market has been on the rise for the past several years, resulting in an overall drop in the number of rooms committable for the group market. So, in certain instances, a large meeting may actually be too large for a particular property’s group block allotment.

Fortunately, the number and variety of mid-range hotels geared toward the transient market (Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inns, Hilton Garden Inn, etc.) is also on the rise, which means group room blocks are slowly inching their way back up again.

3. Season

Most properties have three seasons. During high season, hotels typically have occupancy rates of 90 percent or better and, as a result, have little incentive to be flexible and make rate concessions. During shoulder season, occupancy rates usually fall between 70 percent and 89 percent, giving you a bit more negotiating power. You have the most bargaining leverage in low season, when occupancy dips below 70 percent and properties are pretty much willing to “do whatever it takes” to book the business. (Low season conditions also can occur when a hotel is hit with a short-term cancellation and needs to fill the hole quickly.)

A hotel’s seasons most often correspond with the seasons of the year. In Florida, for example, winter is high season and summer (especially August) is low season. But a hotel’s “seasons” also correspond with the days of the week. At most downtown and airport hotels, for instance, high season is Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off season is Friday and Saturday and shoulder season is Sunday and Monday.

At resorts, high season is generally dictated by the weather and its relationship to the resort’s recreation focus. May through September could be high season at a Midwestern resort, low season at a desert resort, and shoulder season at a ski resort. (In gaming destinations like Las Vegas, weekends are high season and weekdays are shoulder season.) And if you meet over a holiday, you are definitely in low season at most hotels.

4. Food and Beverage

Food and beverage has gone from being a break-even line item for hotels in the ’70s and early ’80s to their second-largest profit center. So the more F&B revenue you can offer a property, the more valuable your piece of business becomes. Using post-convention reports, calculate exactly how much your meeting is worth to the hotel in terms of food and beverage dollars. Don’t forget to include “hidden” revenues from affiliated groups, hospitality suites, exhibit floor concessions, and other trackable revenues that a hotel may be able to provide. After tallying up these miscellaneous sources of revenue, you may discover that you have more negotiating clout than you initially thought.

5. Space Requirements

Ideally, the amount of meeting space you need to book should be proportionate to the number of rooms you need to block. If you’re blocking 100 rooms in a 500-room hotel, but require all of the function space, for example, your event is not going to be perceived as valuable because it leaves the property with no space to sell to another group. If you find yourself in this position, look for ways to reduce your space requirements. Perhaps you can use your general session room for lunch. Or maybe you really don’t need 16 concurrent breakout sessions.

6. Pattern
Your arrival/departure pattern should fit into the group pattern of the hotel — historically Sunday to Wednesday or Wednesday to Sunday. If your convention falls into one of these time frames, its value automatically increases. If you want to arrive on Tuesday and depart on Saturday, however, its value significantly decreases since the property would most likely have to break apart a standard date pattern before and after your meeting.

7. Opportunities for Ancillary Revenues

The more opportunities you create for your attendees to spend money, the greater the value of your business to a hotel. Properties in gaming destinations love to see open afternoons and evenings. Resorts want your attendees to utilize their spa, golf course, and other extras. If your program runs from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., the hotel knows those facilities will not be utilized. Other areas to consider are in-house service providers such as a destination management company or audio-visual company, which typically give a portion of their revenues to the property.

Once you have a handle on the true value of your meeting to the hotel, you are ready to negotiate. Begin by compiling two lists: one of your needs (items that are not negotiable) and one of your wants (items that you would like to augment your event). An example of “needs” might be a specific number of guest rooms, a rate no higher than $140 a night, a general session room that seats 1,500 people, and 12 breakout rooms accommodating 200 people each theater-style. Your “wants” might include a complimentary breakfast for your board of directors, limo transportation for your keynote speaker, and six suite upgrades. Always negotiate your needs first. If the hotel can’t meet these basic requirements, move on to the next property on your list. When negotiating your wants, remember that the hotel has to turn a profit. Your “wish list” should be reasonable, based on the value of your meeting, and not so extensive that the hotel decides to take another piece of business over yours. Also keep in mind the three main factors that come into play when negotiating with a hotel or any other supplier:

1) time, 2) information, and 3) power.

Time
Recognize time as an investment. Don’t expect to select the site for your next meeting in a day. (There may be times when your meeting fits well into the first destination you call, but don’t expect this to happen often.) Expect to invest a significant amount of time researching various destinations and properties as well as analyzing the value of your meeting. Only then will you be able to negotiate successfully. Listen for key indicators to get the upper hand. Every salesperson has performance goals. So if a hotel sales manager indicates a sense of urgency by saying, “I could really use the contract back by the end of the week” or “What is it going to take to get this done by the 26th?,” it most likely means that he needs your piece of business to meet a quota or secure his performance bonus. As a result, those few remaining contract points or concessions that you still haven’t obtained may be in reach if you can address the hotel’s need to close the deal quickly.

Remember, this works in reverse too. If you are behind schedule in selecting a site for your annual convention and tell the sales manager that you need to sign a contract by the end of the week, don’t expect to close the conversation and be successful with: “And by the way, can I have three more dollars off the rate and six limo transfers?”

You set the clock. Don’t allow time to become your enemy. Never begin the process of negotiations or allow someone else to force you into a scenario where, due to lack of time, you agree to unfavorable terms just to get it done. At the same time, don’t draw the process out once you have a fair agreement.

Concessions are made when time is running out. A sales manager has no added incentive to make concessions at the start of the negotiation process when he knows you are looking at seven cities and 21 hotels. He does have incentive, however, when he is one of three finalists and this is the last shot at earning your business…and if he thinks you may walk away from the negotiating table if your requests aren’t met. Very few hotels, after all, are willing to lose an important piece of business based on two suite upgrades or not wanting to provide a complimentary newspaper delivery.

Information

Know their business. Before you can sell the hotel on the value of your meeting, you need to know how the hotel makes its money and what its “hot buttons” are. (Did you know, for example, that the profit margin on hotel rooms can be 70 percent or more, food can be in the low 20-percent area, and beverages are over 70 percent?) Only then can you show the strengths of your meeting and how it fills the hotel’s needs. Ultimately, only meeting planners who provide the best historical data on their events that address the overall value of their meeting to the hotel get the best deals. Know your meeting. A sales manager who has been in the industry for six months may not be familiar with your organization or understand the significance of your piece of business. As a result, it’s up to you to continually prove the worth of your meeting.

Power

Volume. The more business you can give the hotel, the more negotiating power you have. If you can book two meetings — the annual convention and perhaps a board of directors meeting, for example — you will have more leverage than a planner looking at the same dates who can only offer the property one event. If you know you have or can influence multi-year bookings or multiple meetings, bring these to the negotiating table.

Competition. If a sales manager thinks there’s no competition, there’s no reason to offer you the best possible rate or make any other concessions. On the other hand, if a hotel knows it’s competing against two or three properties, it will be much more likely to sharpen its pencil to offer you the best deal possible. If too many hotels are in the final running, however, a property will be less likely to compete aggressively.

Flexibility. The ability to be flexible automatically puts you in a position of power. If you can change your dates slightly, add another food and beverage function, live without 24-hour holds on all meeting space, or switch from classroom to theater-style seating, you may very well boost the value of your piece of business.

The ability to walk away. Even when both parties have done everything they can to attempt to create a win/win situation, you may still find yourself short of your negotiation goals. You must be willing to walk away. Remember, every hotel has a “walk-away rate” as well.

Mike Burns is Vice President, Mid Central Region at Conferon Global Services, Inc. in Twinsburg, Ohio. Visit us at http://www.conferon.com.