Meeting News - November 10, 2008 - (Page Cover1)

INSIDE THE INDUSTRY AIBTM has early effects p. 4 TECHNOLOGY Pushing telepresence further p. 21 GREEN BEAT Florida’s Green Lodging p. 24 NEWSMAKER Stephanie Linnartz, Marriott’s new VP of global sales, stays true to her industry roots. page 5 MeetingNews w w w. M e e t i n g N e w s . c o m N o v e m bJuly 16, 2007 e r 10, 2008 Green & Social Responsibility: The Year that Was in Meetings By Terri Hardin Hotels & Resorts STARWOOD HOPES E-PORTAL IS SMALL MEETINGS UTOPIA Hotelier makes its southern U.S. properties’ small meetings rooms available on Worktopia website. see page 8 International JAMAICA’S ROSE HALL AREA BLOSSOMS WITH RESORTS Iberostar plus a new challenger to Ritz-Carlton are opening properties in the enclave. see page 18 There’s buzz in the industry about incorporating social responsibility and green initia- MeetingNews ExclusiveResearch Total Planners 1 to 24% 43.0% None 29.5% 75 to 100% 8.6% 50 to 74% 7.2% 25 to 49% 11.7% What percentage of your meeting programs this year incorporated green elements? Source: 349 of MeetingNews survey respondents tives—as well as co-locating (holding similar meetings simultaneously in one venue)—into events. But are these trends driving meetings, or are we paying lip service (and printing ink) to fads that aren’t significantly impacting business? MeetingNews heard from 502 corporate, association, and independent meeting planners, who weighed in on these subjects. The result? When asked, for example, if they incorporated charity initiatives into this year’s meeting programs, only 5 percent of all responding planners said they had done so for up to 100 percent of their programming in 2008, while 51 percent of all planners said they had not done so—although the number was lower (40%) for independent planners. Only one-third of all planners said they had incorporated charity into their programs up to 24 percent of the time. Of those incorporating charity initiatives, the most popular initiatives implemented were related to health and education (both 43%). For the participants, health-related charity initiatives created the most positive continued on page 22 experiences INTERCONTINENTAL O’HARE PUTS ART AT FOREFRONT Art-centered activities can be incorporated into group events. see page 10 EIBTM PUTS TOGETHER AN AMBITIOUS PROGRAM Organizer says next month’s show will have a wide mix covering industry forces, career strategies, technology, ROI, green meetings, and more. see page 18 Convention Centers DALLAS AND PHILADELPHIA MOVE ON THEIR PROJECTS Dallas is finalizing the operator for its new convention hotel, while Philly draws closer to bed tax hike to fund its building expansion. see page 12 Destination Insider FORT LAUDERDALE City is loading up on luxury properties. see page 28 CLEVELAND Plan for the new convention center has two site proposals. see page 30 CVBs JACKSONVILLE MARKETS TO MEDICAL, CULTURAL GROUPS Bureau dubs the city “America’s Health Center” and launches microsites with medical and cultural group collateral. see page 16 Incentive Report MEXICO Acapulco’s Mundo Imperial complex debuts; planners straw poll shows Cancun and Cabo are top destinations. see page 32 Incentive Special: Recovering from AIG Mitigating the bad publicity from the insurer’s ill-timed incentive trip will take time and effort Volume 32/Number 19/$10.00 By Leo Jakobson There may be a way to obtain worse publicity for your company than treating a group to a lavish, half-million-dollar resort bash just days after accepting $85 billion worth of taxpayer money to avoid bankruptcy, but it’s hard to imagine one. Certainly the ex-leaders of insurer American International Group (AIG), who were grilled by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Saturday Night Live, and every editorial page in the country for running a $443,000 program at the St. Regis Resort, Monarch Beach in Dana Point, CA, from Sept. continued on page 38 http://www.MeetingNews.com http://www.mimegasite.com/mimegasite/research/index.jsp

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - November 10, 2008

Meeting News - November 10, 2008
MN Exclusive Research
%20%20%20%20%20Green & Social Responsibility: The Year that Was in Meetings
Incentive Special: Recovering from AIG
Perspectives
What's Up @ MeetingNews.com
Letters to the Editor
Inside the Meetings Industry
South Africa Supplement
Newsmaker Q&A
People Making News
Hotels & Resorts
%20%20%20%20%20Starwood Hopes E-Portal is Small Meeting Utopia
%20%20%20%20%20Intercontinental O'Hare Puts Art at Forefront
Convention Centers
%20%20%20%20%20Dallas and Philadelphia Move on Their Projects
CVBs
%20%20%20%20%20Jacksonville Markets to Medical, Cultural Groups
International
%20%20%20%20%20Jamaica's Rose Hall Area Blossoms with Resorts
%20%20%20%20%20EIBTM Puts Together an Ambitious Program
Transportation & Services
Meeting News South
Technology
Green Beat
Destination Insider
%20%20%20%20%20Fort Lauderdale
%20%20%20%20%20Cleveland
Incentive Report
%20%20%20%20%20Mexico
MN Webcast Report
Ad Index
Live from the Forum

Meeting News - November 10, 2008