Successful Meetings - July 2009 - (Page 88)

GEORGIA & THE CAROLINAS > SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY SOUTHER N HOSPITALITY GEORGIA AND THE CAROLINAS—WARM AND WELCOMING By Andrea Doyle harlotte pulled out all the stops as approximately 3,100 delegates converged in the city for its first American Bus Association (ABA) Annual Marketplace. The group met at the Charlotte Convention Center this January. “It was phenomenal. It was a great marketplace held in a great city,” says Peter Pantuso, ABA’s president and CEO. “The CVB couldn’t have been any better to work with. Plus, we were greeted with such Southern hospitality.” C ABA’s attendees found that Charlotte has been transformed into a vibrant urban center with a growing roster of entertainment venues, sports teams, restaurants, and hotels—all made easily accessible through the city’s light rail system. Attendees checked out attractions in Center City, SouthPark, and SouthEnd and toured Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Another attraction, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, opens in Charlotte in 2010. It will have a new 40,000-sf ballroom that will connect to the Charlotte Convention Center. Charlotte is also gearing up to welcome its first luxury hotel, the 147room Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte at Bank of America Center, in October. Reported to be eco-friendly, it will also have a bilevel penthouse “wellness center,” and 12,000 sf of meeting space that can accommodate up to 480 for dinner. Also being added to Charlotte is W Hotel’s boutique brand, Aloft, and the all-suite Hotel Sierra. 88 I SM I July 2009 I SuccessfulMeetings.com Already a meetings hotspot, Atlanta has more than $6 billion of development in the works http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - July 2009

Successful Meetings - July 2009
Contents
Editor's Letter
News Update
Education
Mouth for Sale
Incentive Insights
Meetings Law
Management Matters
Gurus
Path to Success
Cover Story: ROI Guide
Medical & Pharmaceutical Meetings
Safety & Security
Industry Roundtable
Places + Spaces
Alabama
Georgia & the Carolinas
Hong Kong
Melbourne
Golf Meetings
Planning a golf meeting, 101
Formats, games, prizes, and the awards ceremony
The how, what, why, and win of hole-in-one insurance
How the PGA professional can help your meeting plans
A woman’s view of golf
Opinion: The (new) perception of golf resorts
In closing: Boondoggle is not part of the golf vocabulary
Hawaii
Business Unusual
Q&A with Michael Murray
The Latest and Greatest

Successful Meetings - July 2009