Meeting News - September 22, 2008 - 1

TRANSPORTATION Time for high-speed rail? p. 22 TECHNOLOGY ‘Fast’scheduling software p. 24 INCENTIVE REPORT Escaping NYC—while in NYC p. 32 CHEF TALK Bringing Justice to F&B: William Justus makes his mark at Callaway Gardens. page 8 MeetingNews w w w. M e e t i n g N e w s . c o m S e p t e m b e r 22, 2008 July 16, 2007 Thy Neighbor’s Planner Do meeting planners make it easy for attendees to celebrate their various beliefs? MeetingNews ExclusiveResearch How often have you scheduled meetings over a religious or secular holiday? Total Planners Occasionally 27.2% Sometimes 5.2% Never 67.0% Hotels & Resorts GAYLORD ENTERTAINMENT LOOKS TO RAISE IN ARIZONA Land purchase in Mesa paves way for development of a resort and convention hotel. see page 12 International COPENHAGEN BLENDS OLD WORLD FLAIR & NEW Danish capital has plenty of modern or renaissance options for incentives and meetings. see page 20 By Terri Hardin and Rayna Katz Frequently 0.6% Sometimes 3.6% Corporate Planners Never 70.5% Occasionally 25.9% Association Planners Never 63.3% 0.8% Frequently 6.2% Sometimes Occasionally 29.7% Source: 345 of MeetingNews survey respondents If you ask meeting planners (as we did) if they have ever scheduled meetings over a religious or significant secular holiday, the majority would say “never.” But does that really mean never? Or does it mean “never—if I can help it”? More than 300 of our readers weighed in on this topic, which— as America seeks consensus within diversity—is more important than ever. Two-thirds of all planners (67%) responding to MeetingNews said they have never scheduled a meeting over a religious or secular holiday, with corporate planners and planners aged 51 or more being slightly more vehement (71%). Meanwhile, 27 percent of all planners said they have “occasionally” scheduled a meeting over a religious or secular holiday, of which the largest subgroup, 42 percent, was twentysomething planners. The vast majority of meeting continued on page 26 DISNEYLAND MAKES IT EASIER FOR CUSTOMERS California theme park adds Passkey online reservations for planners and attendees. see page 12 Destination Insider SAN FRANCISCO Bently Reserve Conference Center, Cavallo Point Lodge, & Villa Florence feature high-tech, green elements; new museum funded by Gap clothing creator can’t find a home. see page 28 Convention Centers GEORGIA INT’L CENTER: HQ HOTEL IS A MARRIOTT Marriott, plus a SpringHill Suites, will give five-year-old venue on-site accommodations. see page 16 NEW ENGLAND Skybridge between Dunkin’ Donuts Center and Rhode Island Convention Center links Providence to citywide market; upscale Stowe Mountain Lodge is anything but rustic . see page 34 BOSTON’S HYNES CENTER GETS OK FOR F&B UPDATE Construction on two new restaurant areas has begun. see page 16 BERMUDA Island officials cite U.S. doublewhammy of a slogged economy and an election year as reason for meetings slide, but its two Fairmont resorts are doing well. see page 38 CVBs TAMPA BAY & COMPANY EYES 2009 OFF-SEASON Bureau wants to muscle up on June-through-August bookings. see page 19 Active Hurricane Season Clouds Destinations By Corrie Dosh Volume 32/Number 16/$10.00 Three years and three days after Hurricane Katrina overcame the levees of New Orleans, causing billions in damage and more than 1,800 deaths, Hurricane Gustav barreled into the Big Easy as a fearsome Category 3 storm on Sept. 1. The city implemented its new-and-improved disaster plan, and 1.9 million people fled in anticipation of what Mayor Ray Nagin called “the mother of all storms,” in the largest such evacuation in U.S. history. Thankfully, rebuilt levees withstood the onslaught, and the city was largely spared a repeat of the Katrina disaster. Virtually no disruption to the city’s meetings calendar is expected, and area hotels, the convention center, and the Superdome emerged with just minor damage, said the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. The evacuation “went exceptionally well and almost flawlessly followed the emercontinued on page 40

http://www.MeetingNews.com http://www.mimegasite.com/mimegasite/research/index.jsp

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - September 22, 2008

Meeting News - September 22, 2008
Contents
What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com
Inside the Meetings Industry
People Making News
Hotels & Resorts
Convention Centers
CVBs
International
Green Beat
Destination Insider
MN Webcast Report
Ad Index
Live from the Forum

Meeting News - September 22, 2008