HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – LATE APRIL 2019

GRAND OPENINGS

One of the oldest neighborhoods in the Palma area of Mallorca will be getting awakening jolt of modern sophistication when El Llorenç Parc de la Mar opens this July. The 33-room boutique hotel will have a three-tiered rooftop terrace providing 360-degree views of the city, as well as two restaurants, a lobby bar, and a wellness center called Natura Bissé. Renowned island chef Santi Taura’s culinary offerings will reflect traditional cuisine, with ingredients sourced locally, such as signature black pork from an island producer. El Llorenç Parc de la Mar is located within the ancient quarter known as La Calatrava, an area once inhabited by Jews, Muslims and Christians. Highlights include the Arab baths, the Church of Santa Fe and the Church of Monti-Sion and the Convent of Santa Clara, where the nuns of the Order have lived and prayed for more than 750 years. The quarter is located just a short distance from some of the city’s major landmarks, including the Palma Cathedral, Almudaina Palace, Cort Square or the S’Hort del Rei Gardens. Swedish designer, Magnus Ehrland. Incorporates geometric motifs reflective of the local history and Moorish influence on the island.
www.elllorenc.com; info@elllorenc.com;  +34 971 67 77 70

Nothing says summer’s coming in Central Florida than new waterpark attractions opening. Daytona Lagoon in Daytona Beach, FL: Shaka Halfpipe and Kraken’s Revenge. Shaka Halfpipe is a pendulum-style ride designed for adrenaline lovers. The one or two-person, over-the-edge inner tube experience propels riders straight up then backwards over a 50-foot half pipe.  Kraken’s Revenge replaces and upgrades Kraken’s Quest, which was damaged by Hurricane Irma.  The 50+ feet tall, multi-colored four lane, forward face racing slide slushes riders through a high-speed time warp tunnel while competing against each other.  The sky-light rings used to create the tunnel effect are the first of its kind for Central Florida. The two slides are part of a $1.5 million collection of off-season park improvements, which includes a bigger-is-better wave maker for the popular Treasure Lagoon Wave Pool, new arcade games, and an expanded and remodeled retail and redemption store, along with upgraded food options.
www.daytonalagoon.com

HOT DEALS!
Book your meeting at the Fontainbleau Miami Beach, Miami Beach, FL by April 30 and use by December 30 to take advantage of lower rates and perks such as complimentary meeting space and complimentary valet parking for up to five vehicles per day. Other perk options can include upgrades for every 35 paid room nights, beverages and snacks for office staff, a 20% discount on PSAV equipment rental, 15% off F&B published menu prices and a hosted one-hour reception with beer, wine, soft drinks and chef’s choice of appetizers.
www.fontainebleau.com

Think of this as two fabulous venues rolled into one large meeting space in the heart of Napa Valley’s California wine country. The Meritage Resort and Spa has a new sister property and with the addition of Vista Collina Resort, groups now have access to 80,000 sf of function space, which includes the Vineyard Deck, rooftop terrace, Tasting Village and the underground Estate Cave. Between the two resorts, there are now 467 guest rooms, suites and luxury retreats, as well as 44 unique venues, nine-acre vineyard with event deck, and the Crush Lounge with its six bowling lanes for team building or just relaxing. The Village has tasting rooms, Fivetown Grocery and a professional cooking school. And if you book your 2019 meeting at one or both of these properties, you can receive a 30% discount on Food Truck, chef fees or bartender fees; 15% reduction on standard F&B minimum; 30% site fee reduction on the Estate Wine Cave, Vintner’s Room, Vineyard Deck and Vintner’s Rooftop ; 1/25 suite upgrade with amenity based on availability; Complimentary 1/10 50-minute spa treatment when booked as a group in Spa Terra; and a Complimentary sparkling wine or non-alcoholic welcome beverage on arrival day
www.ALHI.com; (866) 303-2544
Las Vegas, NV introduces The Mirage this November. It will have 170,000 sf of elaborate convention space, anchored by the 90,000 sf pillar-less Mirage Events Center. Book your group using 10 rooms or more on peak November nights of 2019 dates from the 10-30^th by June 30 and you can receive 10% credit to your master account for rooms and catering.
www.ALHI.com; (866) 303-2544

ALHI has more luxury properties with big incentives for meetings held by the end of this year than I can name. I’ll provide the names. You check out all the incentives. Loews Hollywood Hotel |  Los Angeles, CA; Royal Sonesta New Orleans, New Orleans, LA; The Resort at Pelican Hill, Newport Beach, CA; Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando, FL; El San Juan Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico; The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club, Naples, FL; and the Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa, Houston, TX.
www.ALHI.com; (866) 303-2544

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) has partnered with HotStats to manage the Global Hospitality Accounting Common Practices (GHACP) database, a searchable database of detailed operating financial reporting practices. The new agreement moves the site hosting to HotStats with complimentary access to HFTP members. HotStats will expand the database by incorporating its chart of accounts, alongside the current editions of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) and the Uniform System of Financial Reporting for Clubs (USFRC). The aim is to continually update the financial date for the ever-changing hospitality industry. The resource was created with the intention that it would be continuously developed to follow the ever-changing hospitality industry. The new partnership will facilitate this aim with access to up-to-date financial data from HotStats, a profit and loss benchmarking service. “GHACP database is a global effort to provide an accessible online source of resources and guidance for hospitality industry accounting practices,” said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe, CAE. The GHACP allows users to learn and compare their financial reporting practices to current hospitality industry standards for both the lodging and club segments of the industry. Detailed operating financial reporting practices included are from the United States, Netherlands, United Kingdom, France, Hong Kong and Shanghai, China; as well as from the USALI, 10th and 11th editions and the Uniform System of Reporting for Clubs, 7th edition. HotStats provides a unique profit and loss benchmarking service to hoteliers from across the globe, which enables monthly comparison of hotels’ performance against competitors. It provides in excess of 100 performance metric comparisons covering 70 areas of hotel revenue, cost, profit and statistics providing far deeper insight into the hotel operation than any other tool. The HotStats database currently totals over a million hotel rooms worldwide. HFTP is a global nonprofit hospitality association, headquartered in Austin, Texas. HFTP produces the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference. The April conference in Palma, Mallorca, Spain presented topics such as “The Next Industry Threat.” Expanding on industry innovation, HITEC Europe also offered attendees the chance to witness HFTP’s thrilling Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) innovation competition for hospitality startups, sponsored this year by Datavision Technologies. HITEC Europe was the first of three HITECs that HFTP will produce this year. Next up, the larger HITEC Minneapolis is slated for June 17-20 at the Minneapolis Convention Centre in Minneapolis, MN.
www.hftp.org
MEETING PROFESSIONALS INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS HONORED
Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI) awarded five exemplary meeting and event professionals with a $1,000 scholarship towards their Certified Meeting Professional certification in Boston, MA in honor of Global Meetings Industry Day, April 4. The CMP is a globally recognized meeting professional certification that represents the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) industry’s standard for excellence in meetings management. ALHI invited its clients to nominate individuals who demonstrate passion and commitment for meeting and event planning and who would further enhance the industry by upholding the CMP standards and ethics. One winner was selected from each of ALHI’s five North American regions: the Midwest, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, West and South. This year’s recipients are as follows: Kimberly J. Condon, Lacie Lee Coburn, Ashley Halloran, Aline Whitman and Chiquita Braxton.
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 2019 – 2020 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.