Industry Buzz
| Read the latest news from industry trade press articles and press releases selected by industry expert Al Rickard of Association Vision, a PR/Marketing/Publishing company in the Washington, DC area. For more about Al and his company visit www.associationvision.com. |
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The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village Offering “Beat The Recession Group Package” |
Wednesday, July 01 @ 15:28:33 CDT
 ". . . The Northeast Florida Resort Completed A $10 Million Property-Wide Renovation In July 2008
ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (July 2009) – The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village, which completed an impressive $10 million property-wide renovation in July 2008, is offering a “Beat The Recession Group Package” which provides very appealing incentives for new group bookings. Together with the adjoining St. Johns County Convention Center and the adjacent World Golf Hall of Fame, the 301-room Northeast Florida resort is the largest combination hotel and conference center between Atlanta and Orlando, with 86,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
Available to new programs booked and held by June 30, 2010, the “Beat The Recession Group Package” includes: up to 10 suite upgrades (based on availability); 10 complimentary tickets to the adjacent World Golf Hall of Fame; 25% off of Audio Visual pricing; 25% allowable slippage on contracted room block; a free guest room for every 35 paid; free meeting room rental; 5 free 30-minute video analysis at the PGA TOUR Golf Academy; Double Marriott Rewards Points; a rebate of 2% of the room revenue back to the master account; group golf (16+ players) at net wholesale rate; and a $20 Spa Credit at the PGA TOUR Spa Laterra for each attendee. Group rates start at just $89 per person, per night. The offer is based on availability, and is not valid on existing bookings or with any other offers. The offer requires 20 or more rooms per night on a minimum two-night stay.
“Our newly-renovated resort is like a brand new property,” said Scott Selvaggi, the resort’s director of sales & marketing. “Combine this with the diversity of offerings available at our resort and in the area that appeal to golfers and non-golfers alike, along with this great ‘Beat The Recession Group Package,’ and it is a wonderful opportunity for groups.”
For more information, call the resort’s Group Sales Department at (888) 740-7020 or (904) 940-8000, or visit www.WorldGolfRenaissance.com/
Recipient of the “Best Renovation of the Year Award” for a franchised property at the 2008 Marriott International National Association (MINA) conference, the resort completed the comprehensive renovation in July 2008. The $10 million renovation included the remodeling of all 301 guest rooms and suites, dramatic changes to the lobby atrium and entry area, renovation of all guest room corridors, expansion of its fitness center, the addition of new state-of-the-art fitness equipment, renovation of the billiard room, enhancements to its meeting space with new carpet and flex-back chairs, and the renovation of its business center. In addition, the resort also remodeled its restaurant and bar, which opened as a new restaurant and bar called 500 South, An American Grill.
Located within the lush 6,300-acre World Golf Village, right next to the impressive World Golf Hall of Fame, The Renaissance Resort enables guests to play on two exceptional championship golf courses (King & Bear, and Slammer & Squire), enjoy a service at the world-class PGA TOUR Spa Laterra, experience the renowned PGA TOUR Golf Academy, and explore the wonders of America’s oldest city, St. Augustine.
On-site offerings at The Renaissance Resort include a professional golf simulator, a sauna, pool, hot tub, tennis courts, and full-service concierge. Guests also are an easy walk to The World Golf Hall of Fame’s 18-hole putting course, the 132-yard Island Challenge Hole, an IMAX® Theater, and the Walk of Champions.
Guest rooms and suites now feature a contemporary design with all new furniture, soft goods, window treatments, and lighting. Guest rooms also boast new flat-panel screen LCD HDTV televisions, and the signature Marriott JackPack, which provides complete connectivity to the guests for laptops, MP3 players, digital cameras, and video game players.
When visiting the resort, guests should explore beautiful St. Augustine, the nation’s oldest city. Founded in 1565, the area is rich with Spanish architecture, with charming cobblestone streets and many fascinating historical sites. Guests can visit the historic Castillo de San Marcos fort and The Fountain of Youth.
Call (888) 740-7020 or (904) 940-8000, or visit www.WorldGolfRenaissance.com.
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PCMA and ACTE To Develop Strategic Alliance For Converging Industries |
Wednesday, July 01 @ 13:11:27 CDT
"Both Organizations to Remain Autonomous While Extending Global Brands,
Achieving Economies of Scale, Elevating Industry Education
Strategic Alliance to Add Member Value, Transform Industry
CHICAGO, IL 2009— The Boards of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) announced plans to develop a progressive and innovative Strategic Alliance. This Alliance will uniquely leverage the strengths of both organizations to benefit their respective memberships while expanding their global brands and enhancing services.
“The Association of Corporate Travel Executives has a 22-year reputation for innovation and serving as a catalyst for positive change in the industry. This Alliance allows both organizations to maintain their individual character and membership integrity, while giving each organization the flexibility to respond to more complex industry issues in a more powerful fashion,” said ACTE President Richard Crum.
“This Strategic Alliance offers our organizations the opportunity to increase the size of the pie because of the synergies that exist between us,” said Deborah Sexton, PCMA President and CEO. “The more we investigated this opportunity, the more we uncovered benefits for both memberships and our industry at large. The time has never been more opportune for the innovation that I think our industry needs.”
The PCMA and ACTE Strategic Alliance will take advantage of converging disciplines, leverage resources, offer cross-pollination opportunities, create economies of scale, share best practices, help align industry standards, cast a wider educational net, find solutions of common value and address the evolving needs of our increasingly sophisticated global industry.
PCMA and ACTE are similarly positioned in terms of membership. Both organizations enjoy executive-level members within each respective subset of meetings and corporate travel. PCMA represents top meeting professionals organizing many of the largest meetings in North America and throughout the world. ACTE represents the global business travel industry with senior travel industry executives from more than 80 countries.
Both organizations are leaders in education, offering superior and relevant content for each segment. This Strategic Alliance will expand the education exchange that has been underway for nearly a year and offer the opportunity to co-locate select events for the benefit of all members.
“There is a continuing convergence of travel professionals becoming responsible for meeting planning and meetings professionals being asked to manage travel,” said John Folks, 2009 PCMA Chairman of the Board. “In an increasingly complex and intertwined world, I only see upside to this unique Alliance for everyone. It will absolutely add member value.”
“This Strategic Alliance will open new doors for our members and industry partners by providing them with a new platform to tap into new networks. The trend among industry associations is to collaborate with convergent partners to deliver enhanced value to their stakeholders,” said Susan Gurley, ACTE’s executive director. “This will ultimately be the way that all professional associations will work together in the future.”
Members of both organizations will immediately gain value-added member access and pricing to each organizations’ member benefits, which will be shared, at regular member rates. Additionally, enhanced revenue and cost savings are expected through collaborative research and use of staff resources. Strategic Partners of both organizations will receive extended market reach into new and valuable target markets. The Alliance will also result in the ability for members’ professional networks to grow exponentially.
“Both organizations’ actively engaged Board and staff members are excited about the potential for this new Strategic Alliance. It positions both organizations’ memberships to benefit. I think this is a new way of doing business that makes a lot of sense and will keep all of our members uniquely well positioned and relevant moving forward,” shared Sexton.
For more information on PCMA: www.pcma.org
To learn more about ACTE: www.acte.org
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Starwood Hotels and Tata Communications Partner to Roll-Out TelePresence Rooms in Hotels Globally |
Wednesday, July 01 @ 13:10:05 CDT
"TelePresence provides the experience of in-person meetings with participants in locations around the world
(SINGAPORE and WHITE PLAINS, NY) July 1, 2009 – Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc (NYSE:HOT) and Tata Communications, a leading provider of the new world of communications, today announced a partnership agreement as part of an ambitious plan to roll out public Telepresence rooms worldwide.
The agreement will significantly increase Tata Communications’ network of public Cisco TelePresence rooms with 10 new facilities opening in Starwood hotels by the end of 2009. The first telepresence suites are planned for Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, Sheraton on the Park in Sydney, Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, The Westin Los Angeles Airport and W Chicago-City Center. Looking ahead, Starwood anticipates expanding the offering to hotels in key international business markets like Brussels, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. Tata Communications Telepresence Service will provide Starwood and its guests an “in person” meeting experience with participants in rooms around the world.
“We believe that public telepresence rooms are the key to increasing the accessibility of telepresence beyond major company offices to their wider ecosystem of users - customers, suppliers, remote workers and business partners. Using managed telepresence services is ‘better than being there’ and helps companies hold more productive meetings without incurring travel and time costs. More team members can participate in meetings and collaborate around the world,” said John Landau, Senior Vice President Global Managed Services from Tata Communications.
“We intend to make telepresence available to as many users as possible with our global network of public telepresence rooms and our suite of managed telepresence networks services for businesses. Our partnership with Starwood is a major step towards making this vision a reality,” added Landau.
“Starwood has made a name for itself as an innovator in the hotel industry, and it is crucial that we continue to evolve our meetings offerings to address the needs of today’s consumers,” said Christie Hicks, Senior Vice President of Global Sales for Starwood. “The partnership with Tata Communications is yet another opportunity for us to bring innovative, cutting-edge technology to our properties, and add true value for our business and conference facilities’ guests.”
"With global companies under increasing pressure to foster productivity at the least cost, the need for public telepresence rooms is greater than ever. Telepresence that is available on a per use basis enables affordable, high quality communication for the small and medium business or remote/regional office worker. Because of the decentralized nature of business today, without public room deployments, telepresence can never achieve the critical mass needed to realize the full potential of this exciting video technology. Tata Communications is aggressively investing and building public telepresence rooms to help achieve this potential and meet the needs of the global workplace," said Paul Waadevig, Senior Consultant on Unified Communications, Frost and Sullivan.
Cisco TelePresence provides life-like, high definition, conferencing facilities with superior audio, video and environmental qualities allowing participants to meet their colleagues, customers and business partners across a virtual table. The public facility offers users who do not have Telepresence rooms in their companies, access to this cutting-edge technology at an affordable per hour rental rate. Tata Communications has several operational public rooms in India (Mumbai, Bangalore (x2), Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Gurgaon), UK (London) and USA (Boston), and has recently announced an agreement to manage a public room in Manila for PLDT in the Philippines.
Tata Communications is unique in offering a comprehensive Cisco-certified TelePresence network consisting of hosted and managed service within private networks, between the world’s first public rooms and soon, across an open global telepresence exchange. Later this year, Tata Communications plans to launch its Global Meeting Exchange service that will conveniently support business-to-business sessions between any telepresence rooms (public or private) subscribed to the service, regardless of the network service provider. This pioneering global service framework pushes Telepresence from being a private intra-company experience to supporting the strong demand for open inter-company sessions. European CEO Magazine named Tata Communications the Best Managed Telepresence Service Provider of the Year.
For further information on Tata Communications Telepresence Services and Starwood, visit
www.tatacommunications.com/telepresence or www.starwoodhotels.com
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Days Inn Inner Harbor Named 2008 Hotel of the Year |
Wednesday, July 01 @ 13:08:32 CDT
"[BALTIMORE, Maryland] – The Days Inn Inner Harbor at 100 Hopkins Place announced that it has been named 2008 Hotel of the Year by the Days Inn® brand, placing it among the very best in the Days Inn system.
To be eligible for the award, which is given annually, a hotel must have contributed to leading the Days Inn brand in performance, particularly in the areas of revenue per available room (RevPAR,) quality assurance evaluations, Wyndham Rewards® member enrollments and guest satisfaction.
“The Days Inn Inner Harbor Baltimore represents every aspect of what a Days Inn hotel should be,” said Ken Greene, Days Inn brand president. “I congratulate the staff on this momentous achievement and thank them for their dedication to the brand.”
The Days Inn Inner Harbor is a 250 room full service hotel located in the heart of Downtown Baltimore, directly across from the Baltimore Convention Center and First Mariner Arena. This full-service hotel includes newly renovated guestrooms, Hopkins Bar and Grill restaurant, meeting facilities, fitness center and a new coffee shop, Jave Café, one of the first properties to present this concept.
“This is a great honor for our hotel and a direct result of the hard work of our wonderful staff,” said Dennis Dietz, Days Inn Inner Harbor general manager.
Days Inns Worldwide, a member of the Wyndham Hotel Group family of lodging brands, is a chain of economy hotels featuring complimentary high-speed Internet access, SolTerre® bath amenities and weekday newspapers. Select properties offer complimentary Daybreak® continental breakfast and restaurants, meeting rooms, banquet facilities, copy and fax services, swimming pools and fitness centers.
Reservations and information are available by calling (800) 329-7466 or by visiting www.daysinn.com. Days Inn hotels are independently owned and operated under franchise agreements with Days Inns Worldwide, a subsidiary of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN).
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Plan a Sunsational Summer at the Radisson Fort McDowell Resort and Casino |
Wednesday, July 01 @ 13:05:12 CDT
"Scottsdale, AZ- The Radisson Fort McDowell Resort and Casino announces the Sunsational Resort package, perfect for an affordable Scottsdale vacation. Bring the entire family anytime between Memorial Day and Labor Day to take advantage of this amazing deal. The Sunsational Resort package includes:
• Deluxe accommodations featuring Sleep Number Beds
• $75 resort credit that may be used at Ahnala Mesquite Room, Ahnala Lounge, In-room dining and for spa services at Amethyst Spa.
• Complimentary membership in Fort McDowell Casino's Fortune Club which includes $10 per person in casino cash credits (New Members only)
• $0.99 breakfast for kids at Ahnala!*
• Complimentary BBQ each Friday from 5 to 8pm
The Radisson Fort McDowell Resort and Casino is Perfect for a Family Getaway
When booking a Scottsdale vacation on Fridays and Saturdays guests also receive a $20 gas voucher on their Friday night check in. Enjoy fun family events by the pool on Saturdays like face painting, arts, crafts, kids cooking classes, balloon sculptures, and more. Save time for relaxation at the Amethyst Spa on your Scottsdale vacation, and receive 20% off.
Plan your Scottsdale vacation around Memorial Day or Labor Day! All guests can enjoy complimentary hot dogs poolside on Memorial Day and Labor Day from 11am to 3pm.
The luxurious Radisson Fort McDowell Resort and Casino features championship golf, casino gambling, fitness center, and outdoor heated pool. Spend your Scottsdale vacation surrounded by the beauty of the Sonoran Desert. Plan a getaway this summer with the Sunsational Resort package.
Book your room at the Radisson Fort McDowell Resort and Casino today! For more information about the Sunsational Resort package, please visit: http://www.RadissonFortMcDowellResort.com.
*Kids 12 and under, up to 4 per room, and must be accompanied by a paid adult to receive $0.99 breakfast.
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Skip the Travel Agent: Social Media Go-To Source for Staycation & Weekend Getaway Planning |
Wednesday, July 01 @ 13:02:53 CDT
"Everyone wants to take a summer vacation, but the billowing economic storm clouds - namely rising gas prices, cuts in employee perks, and thinner paychecks - are threatening. Instead of letting the season be a complete wash-out, several online resources offer an umbrella for those looking for something a little closer to home.
Research shows a growing number of Americans – including meeting planners and tour guides – are turning to social networking sites and online resources, like travel sites and the media, to help discover lesser-known, and often more affordable, opportunities in their own communities or destinations within a short drive. Tourism organizations, like Fairfax County's Visit Fairfax, have embraced social networking outlets like Facebook and Twitter to alert consumers in their own regions about upcoming events and special deals for hotels and local attractions, and they're not alone. Twitter Grader (http://twitter.grader.com/) ranks Visit Fairfax 70th among the top 300 US tourism organizations currently using the popular real-time short messaging service, a 14 place uptick in just the last month. In addition, Web sites, like fxva.com, dcdining.com and community-focused blogs, are fast becoming trusted sources for visitors and local residents alike doing their own investigation of what to do & where to go in their surrounding area.
Social media is providing consumers a new world of lesser-known locations to explore, while luring them in with special packages and great deals that fit even the tightest budgets. Visit Fairfax is in the forefront of organizations that strive to provide useful information via social media to their consumers, and we’ve only just begun!
If you aren’t doing so already, join Visit Fairfax fans on Facebook and follow along at www.twitter.com/VisitFairfax.
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MGM’s CityCenter Breaks (New) Ground |
Wednesday, July 01 @ 13:00:53 CDT
"CityCenter, MGM Mirage’s mixed-use development on the Las Vegas Strip, is unprecedented not only in its size and scope, but also in its Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED®) certification goals.
Addressing participants at Hospitality Design magazine’s Green Day, a one-day mini-conference within the 2009 Hospitality Design Exposition and Conference, Cindy Ortega from LEED and Bill Smith, who manages the design and construction of the site, agreed that good communication, planning, relationships, and staff are the keys to success.
CityCenter covers 67 acres with a 4,004-room hotel-casino, two 400-room hotels, more than 2,600 condominiums, and some 500,000 square feet of shops and entertainment venues. The company is pursuing LEED certification for all 18 million square feet of the development.
Smith’s challenges included getting all the architects to work together, meshing designs, ensuring the individual parts made sense as a whole, keeping contractors in line, managing costs, and staying on schedule. The development will save enough energy to power 8,500 homes, reduce water consumption by 80%, and recycle 95% of its construction waste.
Ortega encountered many challenges, including building consensus and support, keeping proper perspective, managing resources, blending corporate and green cultures, keeping the team motivated and agile, and managing risk.
If no best practices exist for something, “you should invent some,” she told participants. “Never let obstacles stop you.” "
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Get Ready to Ride the Wave of Wealth at Tropicana all Summer Long! |
Wednesday, July 01 @ 12:59:09 CDT
"Now through August 31, 2009
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (July 1, 2009) – Visitors to Atlantic City are no strangers to riding waves, but this summer Tropicana is giving Diamond Club members the opportunity to ride a Wave of Wealth! Tropicana Casino & Resort has announced the Wave of Wealth promotion running now through August 31, 2009.
Learning to ride a surf board may be tricky, but riding the Wave of Wealth at Tropicana is not only easy but convenient! Diamond Club members just have to play at their favorite slot machines with the club card and watch the points roll in.
There are five levels in the Wave of Wealth with a different amount of EZ Slot Dollars awarded (EZ Slot Dollar rewards increase with each level). Players' move through the levels automatically as they earn points at the slot machines. Wave of Wealth EZ Slot Dollar rewards are earned and accrued independently from players’ regular earnings. Once a player reaches the fifth level, they are able to begin earning all over again, and this cycle can be completed an unlimited number of times. Beginning September 8 through September 13, Diamond Club members will be able to cash in on their rewards.
Diamond Club cards are free and can be obtained by visiting the Promotions Booth on the casino floor. New members can receive valuable offers from our Bonus Book, including over $500 in savings to many of the Tropicana’s retailers and dining establishments and more.
For complete details on the promotion please visit the Promotions Booth. Certain restrictions apply. For all the latest casino promotions and tournaments visit www.Tropicana.net. Must be 21 or older. Bet with your head, not over it. Gambling Problem? Call 1.800.GAMBLER.
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Planners Have Chance to Win One-Carat Diamonds Twice in August |
Wednesday, June 24 @ 14:20:16 CDT
". . . ALHI Will Give Away “Peabody Orlando Diamond” at ASAE Annual,
and the “Chateau Élan Diamond” at IncentiveWorks
WASHINGTON, DC (June 2009) – Meeting professionals, association executives, and incentive specialists attending industry shows in August will have the chance to win two dazzling one-carat diamond solitaire necklaces being given away by Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI). ALHI will give away the impressive “Peabody Orlando Diamond” to one lucky planner at ASAE & The Center For Association Leadership’s Annual Meeting & Exposition August 15-18, 2009, in Toronto, Canada. ALHI also will conduct a drawing for the beautiful one-carat “Chateau Élan Diamond” at IncentiveWorks 2009, being held a week later in Toronto, Canada, from August 24-26, 2009.
Planners simply need to stop by to register for the drawing at ALHI’s “Luxury Lane” area at the tradeshow for the chance to win the dazzling one-carat diamond solitaire. Each diamond is named after a distinguished member of ALHI, which is a dedicated dues-based National Sales Organization that represents its membership of more than 125 Four- and Five-Diamond quality hotels and resorts worldwide to meeting professionals, association executives, and incentive specialists planning programs requiring from 10 to more than 5,000 rooms.
“We’re giving away these beautiful gems as a means to highlight our outstanding Four- and Five-Diamond portfolio of award-winning hotels and resorts to serve the meetings marketplace, like the exciting new Peabody Orlando and the incredible Chateau Élan,” said David Gabri, president and CEO of ALHI, which features a diverse luxury portfolio of more than 90,000 rooms and suites and over 9 million square feet of meeting space.
Not resting on its laurels, the Mobil Four-Star, AAA Four-Diamond Peabody Orlando in Orlando, Florida, is undergoing an impressive $450 million expansion and renovation. The project includes the addition of 750 new guest rooms in a new 34-story tower, which will bring the new Peabody Orlando total offerings to 1,641 guest rooms and suites. The hotel also is adding 150,000 square feet of new flexible function space, which will bring its total meeting space to 210,000 square feet, including a new 55,000-square-foot Peabody Grand Ballroom, and a new 35,000-square-foot Windermere Ballroom, in addition to the existing 27,000-square-foot Plaza International Ballroom. The comprehensive project also includes the renovation of the original hotel, a 2,100-car parking garage, and the addition of a new Spa, and more. Upon the completion of the project, slated for November 2010, The Peabody Orlando will be the largest Four-Star hotel in North America, excluding casino properties.
The Mobil Four-Star, AAA Four-Diamond Chateau Élan is an incredible 16th century-style French chateau, with a full-production working winery, lush vineyards, 275 deluxe guest rooms, and a 25,000-square-foot conference center with two grand ballrooms, 19 conference rooms, two boardrooms, and a stepped auditorium. Additional offerings at the 3,500-acre resort include the magnificent Chateau Élan Spa, the Stan Smith Tennis Center, Equestrian show center, a corporate development and teambuilding center with 50-foot challenge tower, four pools, and seven restaurants. The resort is just 50 minutes via direct high-speed interstate from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
“The Peabody Orlando Diamond” and the “Chateau Élan Diamond” will be the fifth and sixth diamonds, respectively, given away in 2009 by ALHI as part of its “2009 Diamond Tour.” The “Resort at Squaw Creek Diamond” will be given away at MPI WEC (World Education Conference) in Salt Lake City, Utah July 11-14, 2009. Previous diamonds awarded in 2009 include: the “Grand Wailea Resort Diamond,” which was awarded at ASAE & The Center’s Springtime Expo in April; the “AQUA Diamond,” which was awarded at MPI’s MeetDifferent in February; and the “Arizona Grand Diamond,” which was given away at ALHI’s Luxury Showcase in Washington, D.C. in February.
ALHI Member properties include extraordinary meeting and incentive resorts, incomparable city hotels, exclusive smaller hotels, golf resorts, historic and landmark properties, island destinations, resorts with spas, properties in international destinations, and hotels with gaming and entertainment.
Associated Luxury Hotels has 16 professionally-staffed National Sales Offices to serve, with locations in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Louisville, New York City, North Carolina, Orange County (CA), Orlando, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Diego, Toronto and Washington, DC. Go to www.alhi.com to identify the ALHI sales professional in your area.
For professional assistance and more information about Associated Luxury Hotels, and to inquire about a potential meeting at any of the ALHI member properties, contact your nearest Associated Luxury Hotels National Sales Office, call the “ALHI Group Desk” toll-free at 866-303-ALHI (2544), and visit www.alhi.com .
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PCMA and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Announce Starpoints Redemption For PCMA Membership, Events and Products |
Wednesday, June 24 @ 13:16:24 CDT
"Starwood/PCMA Program Allows Travel Award Points to Be Redeemed for Professional Development
CHICAGO, IL, June 2009 – The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) are excited to announce a timely and innovative solution to keep meetings industry professionals at the top of their game: Starwood Preferred Planner and Starwood Preferred Guest award points, or Starpoints, can now be redeemed for a wide variety of PCMA offerings.
Starpoints will be redeemable for virtually all of PCMA’s high-level education offerings,
industry-leading products and membership services, including: membership dues, registration fees to PCMA’s Convening Leaders Annual Meeting, PCMA’s CMP Online Prep Course, Webinars, PCMA Online Learning Center access and more.
“This is yet another way PCMA continues to deliver value to our members and industry by working creatively with partners like Starwood to support professional development,” said Deborah Sexton, PCMA President and CEO. “More than ever, it’s important to make professional development more widely accessible within our industry. By allowing meeting planners’ Starpoints to act like cash in a tight economy, Starwood and PCMA have truly created a win-win for both PCMA members and the entire meetings industry.”
““In the wake of the current economy, it is important to be innovative with resources and best business practices,” said Christie Hicks, Senior Vice President of Global Sales at Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “The new PCMA and Starwood redemption plan allows our Starwood Preferred Planner and Starwood Preferred Guest members to continue higher education and utilize important resources to do their part in jumpstarting business and getting their clients back in meetings.
Meetings and incentives are a critical component to economic recovery and we are proud to offer our professionals added value for their Starpoints with PCMA and show our continued support of the meetings industry and our valued partners.”
Beginning in June, PCMA will accept Starpoints gift certificates for PCMA purchases. Starwood Preferred Planner and Starwood Preferred Guest members will be allowed to redeem 2800 Starpoints for a $25 certificate and 9500 Starpoints for a $100 certificate through Starwood’s Customer Care Center by calling 888-625-4988. Later this summer, Starwood Preferred Planner and Starwood Preferred Guest members will be able to order the certificates online at www.starwoodmeetings.com. Starpoint certificates can then be applied to all or a portion of the PCMA product, service or event fee at the time of purchase by calling PCMA’s Membership Department at 1-877-827-7622. Any questions on the program can be directed to PCMA.
This innovative travel award redemption program furthers Starwood’s Premier Partner relationship with PCMA and offers a beneficial economic solution to today’s challenges. Starwood has always sought out ways to deliver leading edge business solutions to the meetings industry. Currently, Starwood makes today’s best-selling business books available to PCMA members through PCMA Executive Book Summaries by SOUNDVIEW. Starwood also partnered with PCMA to make an ROI system available to the industry through the MeetingMetrics meetings measurement system.
Learn more about all of the education, products and services offered by PCMA at pcma.org. Additional information on Starwood can be found at starwoodhotels.com.
About Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA)
The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) is the professional resource and premier educator for the meetings and convention industry. Founded in 1957, PCMA represents the interests of meeting management executives from associations, non-profit organizations, corporations, independent meeting planning companies, and multi-management firms who recognize the importance of meetings to their organization. PCMA empowers members with the tools they need to succeed as meeting professionals and to promote the value of the industry to their organizations and the general public. Headquartered in Chicago, PCMA has 16 chapters throughout the United States and Canada. For additional information, please visit the PCMA Web site at www.pcma.org.
The role of the PCMA Education Foundation is to support the mission of the PCMA through fundraising and grant giving focused on education and research that will benefit the meetings and conventions industry. Established in 1985, the Foundation supports educational programs to improve professionalism in the meetings industry and to provide a university-level meeting management curriculum. The Foundation funds educational programs for meeting managers, hotels, convention and visitors bureaus, and other members of the meetings industry. It also conducts ongoing research of industry issues and concerns. The Foundation continually funds new programs to encourage the highest levels of professionalism in the meetings industry.
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 960 properties in 97 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and Element SM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
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