Planners Stand Out at Harrah's

Meeting planners are treated like high rollers at Harrah's Entertainment's six properties in Las Vegas. "The meetings business represents over $375 million annually to Harrah's Entertainment in Las Vegas," said Michael Massari, vice president of Harrah's meeting sales and operations, Las Vegas.

During the educational conference "Las Vegas Experience," May 18-21, planners wore recognizable Meeting Diamond name badges and were given cards granting them priority service at the front desk, restaurants, clubs, business centers, and access to any of the members-only Diamond Lounges located at Bally's Las Vegas, Caesars Palace, Flamingo Las Vegas, Harrah's Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, or Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. The Meeting Diamond designation is given to planners holding an event at any of the six Harrah's Entertainment properties. The program is designed to capitalize on the success of the company's Total Rewards program, with Meeting Diamond members receiving the same rewards and benefits of a Diamond-Level Total Rewards member.

While at the conference, the 60 planner attendees learned the unique philosophies behind Harrah's Entertainment, including its in-depth customer service training program and its employee recruitment and selection processes.

In addition to receiving hours toward the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and the Certified Meeting Manager (CMM) designations, planners garnered ideas from motivational speakers: Peter Vidmar on risk, originality, and virtuosity; Dale Irvin on the healing power of laughter; Tony Alessandra's relationship strategies for building lasting rapport; and Rudy Ruettiger's insights for winning in life. The Water Coolers, a Broadway-style troupe, provided comical insights into the meetings industry. Event planning ideas included a guided sensory experience in spicy chocolate tasting, an extravagant dinner garden party straight out of The Great Gatsby, and a costumed Speakeasy event complete with roaming characters. Planners participated in a poker tournament, a Hummer tour of Lake Mead recreational area, a cooking school and competition, and a river-rafting trip through the Black Canyon. The next educational forum is scheduled to take place in November.

Las Vegas Meetings by Harrah's Entertainment covers nearly one million square feet of meeting space and 18,000 guest rooms. Visit www.LVMeetingsbyHarrahs.com for more information.

Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa Unveils Its 'Second Act' - With More to Come

On a perfect June day, Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa unveiled its $200 million expansion. Only five months after the $1.1 billion, 43-story golden monolith opened in 2003 - with 2,002 guest rooms, 70,000 square feet of meeting space, 11 gourmet restaurants, and a 50,000-square-foot spa - plans were being made for this expansion. Borgata is a Las Vegas-inspired destination resort and the largest hotel and tallest building in New Jersey and is credited with helping ignite Atlantic City's revival.

The expansion features dining creations from Bobby Flay, Wolfgang Puck, and Michael Mina, as well as 36,120 square feet of casino floor space including 36 table games, approximately 500 slot machines, an 85-table poker room, new quick dining options, and a second nightclub. Bobby Flay Steak, Wolfgang Puck American Grille, and SEABLUE join the already award-winning roster of Borgata's premier restaurants.

The second phase of Borgata's two-part expansion will include its second hotel tower, The Water Club at Borgata, scheduled to debut in the fourth quarter of 2007. The $325 million tower will have 800 guest rooms and suites, three residences, a two-story, 36,000-square-foot spa in the sky, 18,000 square feet of meeting space, and six retail shops.

NYC Javits Convention Center's 'Long Overdue' Expansion Plan Clears Hurdle

The $1.7 billion plan to upgrade, expand, and modernize the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center was passed by unanimous vote July 26. The Public Authorities Control Board approved increasing exhibition space by 45 percent.

"New York City will gain a world-class convention center that will be able to compete for the bigger and more financially lucrative shows, while creating more than 20,000 jobs, and generating tens of millions of dollars a year for New York," said Jonathan Tisch, chairman of NYC & Company. On the promise of an expanded Javits Center, NYC & Company has already secured nine new conventions representing 310,000 hotel room nights and $228 million in economic activity. Upon completion of the expansion, the Javits Center will double in size, jumping from 16th in North America to No. 8, securing New York's position in the top 10.

Come 2010, the Javits Center's long-inadequate exhibition space will expand from 760,000 to 1.1 million square feet. Meeting room space will increase from 30,000 to 210,000 square feet, and the center will house the city's largest ballroom. Plans also include a 1,500-room headquarters hotel.

"This is long overdue. Some of us in the industry have been working on this for a decade. The present Javits Center is too small to handle groups who want to meet in New York City. The new center will be a first-class facility in a first-class city," Tisch told Convene. "This sends the message that New York City wants meetings business. Groups can no longer pass over us because our facility is too small." He admits that some larger conventions will still need a bigger facility. "But we will be the finest urban convention center in the country," said Tisch. The new center will also be the shot in the arm the West Side of Manhattan so desperately needs. "Hotels, restaurants, and offices will spring up because of this," said Tisch. A tree-lined concourse along the center's 11th Avenue façade is also on the drawing board. At press time, demolition of existing buildings adjacent to the center was to begin at the end of August. Groundbreaking will begin in the fall with all work scheduled to be completed by 2010.

The Javits Center covers five blocks in Manhattan between 34th and 39th streets and 11th and 12th avenues.

HCEA Annual Meeting Sets a New Attendance Record in Fort Lauderdale

The Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association (HCEA) hit a new attendance record with 740 participants at its annual meeting, June 24-27, at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center and the Harbor Beach Marriott. Organizers said more educational workshops and a revamped exhibit hall experience helped make this year's meeting such a success.

Themed "An Ocean of Discovery," the HCEA Annual Meeting gave attendees plenty of training options for increasing their value to their organizations. Highlights of the educational program included sessions on groundbreaking research studies on the effectiveness of health care convention marketing, physician perceptions at health care exhibitions, results measurement, regulatory issues for both pharma and medical device companies, and new technologies.

Expounding on the value of HCEA and health care exhibiting, Eric Allen, HCEA executive vice president, explained, "Marketing of drugs and devices is under more scrutiny than ever - both on the regulatory front and from an economic return-on-investment standpoint. Almost assuredly the changes are not over, yet health care conventions continue to thrive, just as HCEA does. And there's a reason for that. Exhibit marketing has always been a reasonable, defensible, and productive means not only of marketing health care products to health care professionals, but also educating them."

The HCEA Exhibition featured 115 exhibiting companies and a "passport visitation" traffic-building activity. In addition, former HCEA Executive Vice President Robert Gelardi was honored with a special award.

HCEA represents nearly 700 member organizations involved in health care exhibitions and conventions. Its 2007 Annual Meeting will be held June 9-12, in Philadelphia. For more information on next year's meeting, go to www.hcea.org.

DMAI Convention Hits High Note in Austin

Austin is billed as the Live Music Capital of the World, a place where musical talent congregates. From July 19-22, Austin served as the place destination marketing professionals congregated for Destination Marketing Association International's (DMAI) 92nd Annual Convention. The event, themed "In Tune with the Future," might easily have been called "In Tune with Success." More than 1,200 attendees - from nearly 300 destinations - attended the event, surpassing last year's record of 1,121 in San Diego. Michael Gehrisch, DMAI president and CEO, attributed the healthy attendance first to the fact that "business is good, the industry is strong" and secondly to DMAI's recruitment campaign over the last year, targeting small and medium-sized destination marketing organizations. In addition, DMAI introduced two new membership categories this year: students and educators, as well as state and regional CVB associations.

DMAI currently represents 610 destination marketing organizations worldwide, up from 575 in 2005. This year's convention attracted delegates from 10 countries, and the association announced at the meeting that it is furthering its global reach by establishing a new office in Brussels, set to open in 2007.

Keynoter Tim Sanders, former chief solutions officer of Yahoo! and author of The Likeability Factor, entertained the audience with a discussion of how to increase your likeability factor to be more successful in your personal and professional life. Chris Gardner, author of The Pursuit of Happyness, served as the second general session speaker, transfixing the group with the story of his rise from homeless father to millionaire broker.

Education sessions tackled industry issues such as crisis management; partnerships with chambers, convention centers, and state tourism offices; branding; technology; leadership; and performance reporting and Internet marketing. One session, "CVBs & Convention Centers: Partnerships for Better or Worse," was particularly insightful and well attended. Look for Convene to follow up on this session in our October issue.

Its Hometown, Dallas, Does MPI Proud

Sometimes you can mine gold in your own backyard. Meeting Professionals International's (MPI) 2006 World Education Congress (WEC), held July 9-11 in Dallas (where MPI is headquartered), turned out to be the largest event in MPI's history, with more than 3,600 in attendance. MPI's previous record was 3,461 attendees in 2001 in Las Vegas. Planner to supplier ratio was 40/60 percent.

Approximately 100 professional development sessions were offered for meeting professionals with a range of experience, from beginners to experienced executives, along three tracks: strategic meetings management, strategic thinking, and entrepreneurial business skills. More than 550 exhibitors greeted attendees at WEC MeetingPlace, MPI's largest trade show. This year, the usual four-hour show was extended, open from 8:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.

Twenty-eight countries were represented. One session with an international focus was a panel discussion, "Meeting Matters in Europe," which highlighted the main differences between planning a meeting in North America compared to Europe. The session was moderated by Eric Rozenberg, CMM, CMP, president Ince & Tive and included panelists Carolyn Zusi, Rezidor SAS Hospitality; Cindy Hoddeson, Monaco Government Tourist Office; and Peter Hanley, PlanNet. Differences in contracts was one of the areas the panel covered (the topic of this issue's cover story, p. 36).

A popular session, which had a follow-up program later in the day, was "Creating Blue Ocean Strategies that Make the Competition Irrelevant," presented by Alan Weyle, president, The Management Partnership LLC. MPI worked with Weyle on its own organizational strategy and Weyle outlined the Blue Ocean methodology, based on the international bestseller, Blue Ocean Strategy, by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. The book's premise is that tomorrow's leading organizations will succeed not by battling competitors in bloody, shark-infested waters, but by creating blue oceans of uncontested market space. The session followed the book's systematic approach to making the competition irrelevant, called the six paths framework, and provided compelling examples of successful organizations - such as Cirque du Soleil, which redefined the circus model to wild success.

NSA Puts on a Gab Fest in Orlando

It's My Name, Don't Wear it out;" "Don't Be An Ostrich: Vaccinate Your Business Against Avian Flu;" "Coloring Outside the Lines - How to Look at You From Their Perspective." These were just a few of the innovative sessions featured at this year's National Speakers Association (NSA) conference held at the Orlando World Center Marriott July 22-25. More than 1,660 speakers from around the world attended, looking for that golden nugget that will help them excel in this ever-changing profession.

At the conference, Joan Eisenstodt of Eisenstodt Associates, a conference consulting, facilitation, and training company, was named 2006 Professional Meeting Partner of the Year. This award is given annually to a professional who builds strong ties within the meetings industry and fosters extraordinary relationships with professional speakers. Eisenstodt was also selected for the leadership, education, and integrity she brings to the meetings industry.

"My experience in the meetings/hospitality industry has allowed me to see how the best speakers add to the ROI for all meeting stakeholders by providing substance - information to be used immediately to improve one's performance and life - and allowing people to learn from those with experiences different than their own," Eisenstodt said. "Being honored by NSA, by colleagues who also help provide education, says we as an industry are moving toward more partnerships in education and content delivery."

Lenora Billings-Harris, CSP, was inducted as 2006-07 national president at the convention, the first African-American president in NSA's 33-year history. She has been a member of NSA since 1988.

"Through our theme for the year, Speaking with Soul and Substance, my goals are to broaden the reach of our association to a wider public; to build upon the strength of our educational experiences; and to enhance our position as the voice of the speaking profession," Billings-Harris said. One of only 517 Certified Speaking Professionals (CSP), she is an internationally recognized speaker and multicultural diversity expert and author, with more than 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors.

The International Federation for Professional Speakers (IFFPS) awarded Paul Bridle of England the prestigious International Ambassador award at the convention. Bridle, past president of IFFPS, is a leadership methodologist and professional speaker who has spent more than 17 years researching how successful leaders think and operate.

Al Walker, CSP, CPAE, was presented NSA's 2006 Master of Influence Award. The award is presented to speakers who have significantly influenced generations of speakers and whose distinguished careers have brought honor and recognition to the speaking profession. Walker is only the ninth person to be honored with this award in NSA's 33-year history.

NSA's thousands of members include experts in a variety of industries and disciplines, who reach audiences as trainers, educators, humorists, motivators, consultants, authors, and more. For more information on NSA, call (480) 968-2552 or visit www.nsaspeaker.org.