Posts

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –NOVEMBER 2024

Universal Epic Universe Opens May 22 2025

Universal Orlando Resort’s fourth theme park – Universal Epic Universeofficially opens May 22, 2025. More than 50 incredible experiences, Epic Universe will present a level of theme park immersion and innovation unmatched across five themed worlds: Celestial Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk and Dark Universe. Anchoring the park is Universal Helios Grand Hotel, a Loews Hotel – a majestic 500-room property with one-of-a-kind views of the park and will feature

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –OCTOBER 2024

NO CAR, BUT HOTEL CHARGED MANDATORY VALET PARKING FEE!

No car, but parking fee charged anyway.

Robert Kraus, travel professional, event planner, and owner of Small Conferences LLC took an “expensive van service from the airport to a Florida hotel for a three-day educational conference aimed at meeting planners,” he explains. In his LinkedIn post, Kraus said the property was “near a beach that literally brags about how most of the properties there do not charge a “resort fee” and even offer free parking. The actual town I stayed in offers a surplus of complimentary parking along the main strip with no parking restrictions – welcoming guests to drive and stay there (as they are an hour away from the closest regional airport).” Along with his key and information about the complimentary breakfast

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –SEPTEMBER 2024

Gran Acuario Mazatlán (Mazatlán, Mexico) became the largest aquarium in Latin America, and the only one in the world dedicated to the Sea of Cortéz, when it opened in May, 2023. Now the tourist attraction and research institute has added snorkeling and diving experiences.  (September 4, 2024) – The recent debut of snorkeling and diving experiences at the world-class add an exciting new interactive dimension to the already popular tourist attraction and research institute. The minimum age to snorkel is 12 years old and to scuba dive, a patron must be a certified diver. The Gran Acuario Mazatlánanchors Mazatlán’s 75-acre Central Park. The facility houses some 260 marine species, including 36 species of mammals, 31 cetaceans, five of the seven global species of sea turtles as well as sharks, jellyfish, and manta rays. Overall, its exhibition tanks hold more

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –AUGUST 2024

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic is coming in 2025

I am a huge Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts fan. Excited for the Universal Epic Universe (Orlando, FL) opening in 2025. Debuting in 2025 with the new park will be The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ – Ministry of Magic™. Beyond the world’s ornate portal, guests will first journey from a Muggle park in Paris into the breathtaking spectacle of 1920’s Place Cachée, a hidden, bustling shopping district in wizarding Paris lined with  aussmannian buildings, shops, sidewalk cafés, and historic Parisian domes rising in the distance. A new ride will

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –JULY 2024

Monsters are coming to Orlando, FL and let’s just say it will be Epic! In fact, five new immersive worlds inhabited by legendary resident such as Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Bride of Frankenstein will provide an appropriate measure of screams, thrills, and chills when Universal Epic Universe debuts in 2025. Created by the award-winning Universal Creative

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –JUNE 2024

Just one of the extraordinary inflatables by Disco Designer.

Occasionally, I see event props and décor that are over-the-top incredible. I have worked functions with enormous inflatables that enhance a theme but the ones from Peter Yordanov’s Disco Designer group soar to new levels of creativity, vivid colors, imagination, and yes, size. While there are many enormous inflatables on his FaceBook and LinkedIn

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –MAY 2024

THEY SERVE UP DEALS! YOU SAVE!

Sea World Discovery Cove (Orlando, FL)

Have you swum with a dolphin or snorkeled among tropical fish? If not, this Memorial Day special may be the lure to get you into the water at Discovery Cove (Orlando, FL). If you book by May 27 for use through the rest of 2024, you will receive 20% off your reservation, plus a complimentary premium drink package (a $40 value per person). As part of the all-inclusive experience, guests also enjoy a freshly prepared breakfast and lunch, limitless snacks throughout the day, and unlimited

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –LATE APRIL 2024

It’s paws-itively impactful when Global Meetings Industry Day celebrates dogs on Amelia Island, FL photo courtesy of AmeliaIsland.com

Who let the dogs out on Amelia Island, FL? It must have been the celebration of Global Meetings Industry Day on April 11 by U.S. Travel Association, the Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Nassau County Animal Services for their Paws-itive Impact Unleashed. Tourism and hospitality workers were treated to ice cream and greeted by wagging tails and dogs up for adoption – all to showcase

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –APRIL 2024

WELLNESS WINS DURING A TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN

See the eclipse at Pueblo Bonito Mazatlán

It’s not every day that a solar eclipse passes over North America and peaks in Mexico, but it does this year on April 8. To celebrate the extraordinary event, Pueblo Bonito Resorts’ ARMONÍA Wellness Collection has created a three-day “Solar Rebirth: Eclipse and Well-Being in Mazatlán” program, running April 6 – 8. Mazatlán, which sits squarely on the path of totality, will be the best place in the world to glimpse the full glory

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –MARCH 2024

JOURNEY MEXICO LAUNCHES A RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL FEE

Hotel Matilda in San Miguel Allende.

Journey Mexico has been guiding visitors through Mexico for many years, introducing the country’s diverse cultural heritage, landscapes, gorgeous resorts and exclusive private rentals in exotic locations. They have introduced a Responsible Travel Fee (RTF) to make an additional positive impact on the people and country. Aligned with their B-corp certification, the RTF empowers guests to directly contribute to the protection and preservation of Mexico’s legacy. They assessed and selected local non-profit organizations that strive to rescue and conserve Mexico’s cultural,