HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – DECEMBER 2018
Pickering House Inn in New Hampshire is ready for winter
THESE VENUES ARE GOING FOR THE FULL REDO
You won’t want to pass this off as a place for just sports fans, even if NFL legend and Hall of Famer Terrell Owens did join Caesars Entertainment CEO and President Mark Frissora for the grand opening of The Book, an Experiential & Technologically Savvy Sports Bar & Event Venue connected to The LINQ Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. So what makes this 220-seat, 11,000 sf venue so exceptional? Maybe the 87 TVs, some as large as 98 inches. Maybe it’s Vegas’ highest resolution LED video wall. Then again, maybe it’s the 12 Fan Caves, Xboxes, virtual reality headsets, or some of the technological amenities provided by Samsung and Crestron. Then we get to the 10 different wing combinations, gamified drink coasters that trigger augmented reality games like Field Goal Kicking Challenges and a self-serve beer wall with 24 taps including lagers and IPAs.
“America’s Oldest Summer Resort” now has reasons for you to bundle up, don some cross-country skis, laze in front of a roaring fire, or maybe sign up for onsite cooking classes. After a two-year renovation, new owners Peter and Patty Cooke have refashioned the 1813 Greek revival inn into a boutique hotel with the charm of a B&B. The Pickering House Inn in Wolfeboro, NH has gas fireplaces and stoves in six of the 10 guest rooms and suites, two marble fireplaces in the Library and Living Room. Culinary events with local chefs, spirits tastings by local distilleries are on the menu. Off-site winter activities include cross country skiing and snowshoeing on world-class trails. Downhill skiing is available at the community owned and operated Abenaki Ski Area. The Pickering House is a three-minute walk to downtown Wolfeboro, which is dotted with artisan shops, galleries, seasonal eateries and bookstore.
www.pickeringhousewolfeboro.com; (603)-569-6948.
Omni Las Costa Resort in CA
HOT DEALS!
Book your meeting at the Hilton San Diego Resort & Spa by December 31, 2018 with a peak Sunday arrival and look at all the gifts you receive, starting with a complimentary sundae bar at your first PM break. You receive from 5,000 to 50,000 points depending on the number of rooms booked, a 2% rebate on guest room revenue back to the master account and complimentary basic WiFi (2Mbps per device). The California Mission Bay resort has more than 25,200 sf of contiguous event space. Mention “Sundae Promo” at time of RFP. Must be new booking.
Associated Luxury Hotels International has promotional offers that include creating golf experiences to unique wine tasting in Napa Valley to reduced menu pricing. Each of their properties’ offerings are unique, such as book your March meeting at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, CA and get complimentary resort fee, custom menu pricing and custom Wi-Fi pricing. Too many offers are available to name. Check it out for yourself.
Chable Maroma on the Riviera Maya in Mexico
NEW VENUES
Open walls, tall windows, 70 suites each with a private pool and outdoor living space. Those are just some of the assets of Chable Maroma on the Riviera Maya in Mexico, tucked away on a 650-foot stretch of beach surrounded by a tropical jungle. Inspired by its environment, Chable Maroma’s décor features tropical woods, woven materials and rich textiles, and outdoor rain showers in the large bathrooms. Three restaurants prepare locally sourced ingredients. There’s a 1700-sf spa and gym.
www.journeymexico.com/hotel/chable-maroma
Lisa Vanderpump rules over her new Las Vegas event space.
This won’t be Lisa Vanderpump’s first restaurant, but it will be the reality TV star’s first Las Vegas venue when she and partner, Caesars Palace, open Vanderpump Cocktail Garden in early 2019. Influenced by some of her successful lounges and restaurants, the cocktail garden will be able to host events for up to 100. The bar will seat 25, the inside lounge 24, and patio will accommodate up to 52. Craft cocktails will include Vanderpump branded Sangria and Rosé as well as a carefully selected wine list. Vanderpump Cocktail Garden will be located in between The Colosseum and the entrance to The Forum Shops.
www. caesarspalace.com; www.CaesarsMeansBusiness.com
TECHNOLOGY DIGITALLY BOOKS RESERVATIONS
Resmark Systems has launched the beta version of its newly designed platform that integrates distribution, marketing, sales and operations tools directly into a single application. “We’re constantly addressing the challenges of conducting business in the fast-paced world of the web,” said Chip Broyles, Business Development Manager for Resmark Systems. A key feature of this ramped up platform by the Salt Lake City, UT company is called TrueConnect, which allows tour resellers to create their own network, tailoring their tour mix perfectly to their target customers within their unique region. “Our solutions provide hundreds of elements that can be customized, from dynamic inventory settings, user-defined payment requirements, customized labels and data collection fields, personalized reports, to unlimited lead forms and waiver document templates. The end result is that clients using our flexible tour booking software can run their customer-driven tour and leisure businesses as they see fit,” said Broyles.”
www.resmarksystems.com; (888) RESMARK (737.6275).
Handwashing saves lives.
HOTELS HAND-IN-HAND WITH SAVING LIVES WITH HANDWASHING HELP
Beginning in 2019, more than 670 Hilton Garden Inns and 2,230 Hampton by Hilton properties will partner with Clean the World to recycle discarded soap and bathroom amenity bottles to be converted into new bars of soap and hygiene kits. Clean the World is the world’s largest organization to recycle and distribute hygiene products to global areas in need, thereby reducing mortality rates through handwashing. The partnership between Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton with Clean the World is an extension of the pre-existing partnership between the global nonprofit organization and Hilton that has thus far resulted in over 7.1 million bars of recycled soap being delivered to people across 127 countries. With this new commitment, Hilton will more than double the number of hotels it has in the program. Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton’s alliance with Clean the World is part of Hilton’s Travel with Purpose corporate responsibility initiative. The partnership supports Hilton’s goal to send zero soap to landfills by 2030 and cut the company’s environmental footprint in half through responsible hospitality.
cr.hilton.com/toward2030/; cr.hilton.com; www.cleantheworld.org
Vagabond small group tours goes green
AN IRISH TRAVEL COMPANY TAKES GOING GREEN SERIOUSLY
There’s a reason that Vagabond Small Group Tours of Ireland last year won EcoTourism Ireland’s Gold certification, a first for an Irish tour operator, and this year won The Green Tourism & Entertainment category in Ireland’s most prestigious Green (business) Awards. Co-owners Rob and Amy Rankin, and new Sustainability Executive. Ciara Myburgh, “Want to promote sustainability both within and outside of our organization. Environmental awareness and practices here lag behind the rest of Europe,” says Rob Rankin, Managing Director. Some of Myburgh’s tasks include having staff certified as trainers for Leave No Trace Ireland and maintaining bird feeders and nesting boxes for Birdwatch Ireland. Vagabond’s focus on issues of social and economic sustainability has drawn visitors to rural Ireland for on average up to nine days and eight nights, increasing the local economy. “This approach nurtures economically sustainable tourism in areas that may be located far from headline attractions or major infrastructure. It literally makes those communities more sustainable,” adds Rankin. One itinerary developed around social and economic sustainability needs is the 6 Day Driftwood Northern Island Tour. “This is one of the most diverse, intriguing and beautiful parts of Europe, yet, it is critically under-visited and underrated,” notes Rankin. “Another concentrates on Ireland’s story of invasions and integration – Viking, Norman, Cromwellian. “Nowhere tells that tale better than Ireland’s east coast on a 6 Day Driftwood Ancient Ireland Tour.” Their Land Rover and Mercedes tour buses are maintained following green business practices and are designed to capitalize on taking small groups where larger tour buses cannot venture.
www.vagabondtoursofireland.com; toll-free in U.S (833)-230-0288; in Ireland 00353 (0) 1 5634358; info@vagabond.ie.
Karen Kuzsel is a writer-editor based in the Orlando area who specializes in the hospitality, entertainment, meetings & events industries. She is an active member of ILEA and MPI and is now serving on the 2018 – 2019 MPI Global Advisory Board for The Meeting Professional Magazine for the second consecutive year. Karen writes about food & wine, spas, destinations, venues, meetings & events. A career journalist, she has owned magazines, written for newspapers, trade publications, radio and TV. As her alter-ego, Natasha, The Psychic Lady, she is a featured entertainer for corporate and social events. karenkuzsel@earthlink.net; www.ThePsychicLady.com; @karenkuzsel; @thepsychiclady.
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