HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – AUGUST 2019
Brocket Hall at Christmas
HOT DEALS!!
The holidays are fast approaching, which means you only have until August 31 to book a vintage holiday celebration at one of the main venues at the 543-acre Brocket Hall Estate in the United Kingdom. There are special menus and amenities for each venue. Brocket Hall’s butlers cater to up to 150 guests in the ballroom, Billiard room and library. With this booking by August 31, the planner receives a complimentary bedroom in Brocket Hall on the night of the party. Book the Oak Room and the planner gets a complimentary bedroom in Melbourne Lodge on the night of the party. Or, join in with your group of at least 10 on “shared party nights” in The Oak Room and the organizer goes free. The evening includes a party package of Prosecco on arrival, followed by a three-course dinner and dancing. Christmas decorations, crackers and a half bottle of wine per person are also included for these dates: December 5, 6, 12, 14, 20 and 21.
01707 368 700; golfevents@brocket-hall.co.uk
Fairmont Austin lobby
There is still time to take advantage of the Fairmont Austin’s ‘You Deserve Some Credit’ package. Receive a $50 resort credit for each day you book, with a minimum of a two-night stay and a seven-day advance purchase required for the Texas property. Stays must occur by September 30. The package includes luxury accommodations at the best available rate and the $50 resort credit to use for any dining or experience at Fairmont Austin.
www.fairmont.com/austin/special-offers/hotel-offers/promotions/credit-you-deserve/
The DoubleTree Resort by Hilton, Myrtle Beach Oceanfront (SC) has a new “Pick-A-Perk” reward package for event planners based on the size of the reservations for booking stays through March 31, 2020. Depending on the number of peak room nights contracted, planners can choose one (10-74 nights), two (75-149 nights) or three (150+ nights) of perks that can include a one-hour welcome reception, 15% off F&B, 15% off PSAV rental, or a $200 Visa gift card. Many other options are available. Rooms must be booked by August 31. The resort sits on a quarter-mile stretch of the Atlantic shoreline. It has private balconies for all rooms, oceanfront dining, six pools, and an 18-hole miniature golf course.
(843) 315-7100; www.myrtlebeachresort.doubletreebyhilton.com.
Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, FL
Save 20% with an exclusive Christmas Early Bird offer at the Gaylord Palms Resort. Sale ends September 22. Make sure you use code D58 when booking.
Damn Good Hospitality Group says book your holiday event early and save big. The Lake Worth, FL group offers a variety of upgrades, depending on how much is spent (a minimum of $5,000) and as long as the booking is made by September 30. Upgrades include such options as an appetizer station, welcome cocktail, champagne toast, dessert bites, or beverage package upgrade.
Save up to 40% on small ship cruises to the Ecuadorian Amazon, Galapagos, and Antarctica with Adventure Smith Explorations if you book by the end of 2019. Discounts on the four, five, or eight-day expeditions with Anakonda Amazon Cruises can save travelers anywhere from 10-40%. The Manatee Amazon Explorer Cruise offers savings up to 40% on cruises departing from September 4 through December 20, 2019. Sea Star Journey Galapagos Cruises are five and six-day active explorations of the Galapagos aboard the 16-passenger luxury yacht, Sea Star Journey. Select departures in November and December come with complimentary local airfare and savings of up to 10%. Complimentary roundtrip air from Quito or Guayaquil to Galapagos is available on select dates. National Geographic the White Continent is a 14-day cruise aboard the 148-guest National Geographic Explorer, the 102-guest National Geographic Orion or the 126-guest National Geographic Endurance. Bookings made by December 31, 2019 on this classic itinerary to the Antarctic Peninsula offer complimentary round-trip airfare (when booking on the National Geographic Explorer or Orion), as well as a complimentary bar tab and all ships’ crew gratuities. Complimentary round-trip airfare and waived bar tab and crew gratuities are also offered on the National Geographic Antarctica, South Georgia and Falkland Islands cruise aboard these ships.
(866) 575-2875;
www.adventuresmithexplorations.com
NEW AND EXCITING…NOW AND COMING!
Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club opens.
Las Vegas, NV just got funnier! Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club at The LINQ Promenade just opened in late July in partnership with Caesars Entertainment. The Las Vegas native’s club will offer what any Vegas nightclub should: late night shows (with his featuring comedians ranging from household names to up-and-coming talent), surprise guests, and an upscale menu. Kimmel designed the two-story, 8,000 sf venue that can accommodate up to 450 people, though with a special permit, up to 480 for private buy-outs. The bar opens daily at 4, performances run Thursday-Sunday at 8 with additional shows at 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Drinks are named for people and places in Jimmy’s life, such as the bourbon-based Aunt Chippy and tequila inspired Guillermo.
It’s not easy converting the former St. Louis Outlet Mall into 160+ acre youth sports tourism destination, but Big Sports Properties has taken on the challenge in Hazelwood, MO. The $63 million POWERplex campus will host more than 180 major sports tournaments and special events per year after it opens in the Fall of 2020. The public-private partnership will include six major sports venues, 13 restaurants, hotels and more than a dozen sports-focused retail stores. Many of the venues will open early 2020, with substantial completion of all the sports complexes ready by fall 2020. More than 20 partners have signed on to support the project, including including Integrity Fitness, Rusty Wallace Racing, M4 Group/VIP Theaters, Old Town Gringo’s, Jimmy John’s, Culver’s, Wetzel’s Pretzels and A & W Rootbeer. Likely tenants and sponsors include Heartland Coca-Cola, Ameren Missouri, BJC/Christian Hospital, the St. Louis Cardinals, the city of Hazelwood, Explore St. Louis and St. Louis County. Competitive sports that will be offered are baseball, softball, volleyball, beach volleyball, pickleball, basketball, seven on seven football, hockey, dance, cheerleading, lacrosse, field hockey, ultimate Frisbee, and major wrestling events. Six sports venues are being created specifically for the needs of particular sports inside and outside the 1.5 million square foot former mall. More than a dozen local sports teams, clubs and organizations have already agreed to call the sports campus home. This campus will also include the largest indoor dome in America, spanning 750’ x 300’ feet (5.2 acres) and will soar 120’ into the air. “It will be the biggest air supported structure we’ve ever built,” said Scott Biason the Vice-President of St. Louis-based Arizon, the manufacturer of the air structure. “It’s only appropriate that our biggest dome ever is here in our hometown.” Duane Mueller, partner in Cissell Muelle, which is a commercial real estate broker, said, “An independent expert in youth sports tourism, estimates this campus will generate up to 270,000 hotel room bookings per year.”
Big Sports Properties PowerPlex
Way to celebrate the grand reopening of The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Four-time Grammy Award winner Keith Urban is bringing his acclaimed “Graffiti U World Tour” to Las Vegas, NV for the first time with back-to-back evenings on September 6 and 7. Updates to the Colosseum include several AV enhancements, design and a state-of-the-art automated lifting system for modular seating for unobstructed viewing.
www.CaesarsMeansBusiness.com; www.CaesarsForum.com; www.caesarspalace.com
Keith Urban has two concerts for reopening of The Colosseum
Springtime in the United Kingdom might bear news of the future, but at Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace it will be a time to honor and celebrate the past. Beginning April 10, Hampton Court Palace hosts an exhibition exploring the meeting of François I and Henry VIII in 1520, known as the Field of Cloth of Gold. Some items on display will be the original letter from François I to Thomas Wolsey, the organizer of the Field of Cloth of Gold. You can understand the complexity of the occasion, from spending records kept to accounts of activities undertaken, such as jousting and mass. And beginning May 15, there will be a new exhibition at Kensington Palace exploring the private life of the Royal Family through photographs by celebrated fashion photographer and husband to Princess Margaret, Antony Armstrong-Jones. Some of the photographs are the earliest portraits commissioned by Victoria and Albert.
Hampton Court Palace glamps 1520 Tudor Style
Coming by the end of 2019, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts opens the newly converted The Resort at Pedregal to become Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal. The 24-acre Mexican luxury retreat offers ocean views from each guestroom and suite, private plunge pools, and a refined, upscale design inspired by the surrounding area’s natural elements. Fusing authentic Mexican style with more contemporary designs, the rooms and suites feature neutral color palettes of beiges and browns and marble floors, as well as natural elements in wood lamps and tables. The resort has three swimming pools, including an infinity pool flowing into the horizon of the Pacific Ocean, a salt water pool, and a children’s pool. The onsite Luna y Mar Spa has received its third consecutive Forbes Travel Guide 5 Star recognition. Guests can select from a variety of organic treatments inspired by the lunar cycle, the sea and authentic Mexican folk healing. There are numerous dining options, from a pool bar to fine dining. The resort is exclusively reached by Mexico’s only privately-owned tunnel where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez on the southernmost tip of the Baja California Peninsula. Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal joins 70 other Hilton properties already established in Mexico.
Legoland Astronaut honors Apollo 11 moon landing.
You could say LEGOLAND® Florida Resort’s most recent project was out of this world! To honor the 50th anniversary of the historic landing of Apollo 11, the theme park company constructed a life-size LEGO® Astronaut model comprised of almost 66,000 LEGO bricks! The astronaut was designed after builders spent more than 450 hours erecting it. Additionally, six model builders spent more than 58 hours designing and building a moon landing-inspired mosaic background built from more than 44,000 LEGO bricks. The complex model is on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for a year. It will then move to the LEGOLAND Florida Resort.
GIFTS THAT CONTINUE TO GIVE
Daytona Lagoon raised $6,807 during a Christmas in July fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club Volusia/Flagler Counties (BGCVFC). The Boys and Girls Club received one dollar from each ticket sold at the waterpark and family entertainment center. BGCVFC provides services to more than 1400 members annually in eight Club locations (Daytona Beach, Palm Coast, DeLand, Lake Helen, Holly Hill, Deltona, New Smyrna Beach, and Edgewater.)
“We are proud to give back to the local community, thankful to everyone who purchased tickets during this fundraiser, and look forward to delivering our brand of fun to those ticket holders,” says Tyler Currie, general manager of Daytona Lagoon.
www.DaytonaLagoon.com; www.BGCVFC.org
Mobi-Mat opens up beach experiences in Pensacola
Pensacola’s beaches in Pensacola, FL just became more accessible thanks to the installation of five Mobi-Mats, funded by the Santa Rosa Island Authority and deployed by Escambia County Public Works. Mobi-Mats are a non-slip matting laid down over the sand that provides grip and easy access for wheelchairs, strollers, and pedestrians on unstable surfaces. Five beaches will get the mats: Casino Beach, by the Public Safety Building and one stationed west of The Dock Bar; Park West; Moms Beach (Quietwater Beach), near the lifeguard tower; Boardwalk Beach, east of the Quietwater Beach shell; and Baby Beach, off Avenida 18 on the sound side. Beach wheelchairs are available for rent from several vendors along Pensacola Beach.
SMART TECHNOLOGY EMHANCES TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS
RESMARK Systems’ new channel management and marketplace platform called RESMARK TrueConnect makes it possible for third parties to now see and book real-time inventory, from rafting trips to zip line tours. “We know that TrueConnect helps expand reservations because we’ve seen it work first hand” said Brandon Lake, Vice President. Earlier this year this platform was tested at Moab Adventure Center in Moab, UT… As a result, sales growth of tours and activities has been unprecedented.” This year the capabilities grew. Moab Adventure Center can now sell tours of other Moab businesses that use a free RESMARK account that allows them to tap directly into their own inventory of activities and tours and make reservations as if they were simply an extension of Moab Adventure Center. The payback is that they can earn a commission in doing so. Resmark Systems software is designed to manage all functions of the tour operator business from online reservations and marketing to finances and accounting. Resmark provides proven cost savings, comprehensive tracking and reporting, and lead conversion.
www.resmarksystems.com/; (888) 737-6275
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 fourth 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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