What’s New in the Paris MICE Market 2005 (Incentives and Meetings International)

Originally published in 2005

By Bob Andelman

The City of Lights is ever twinkling, ever changing with regard to the MICE market, and 2005 continues the evolution.

Among the newest developments in Paris are: Purple Beam visits to the back stages of the Theater of the Varieties, the National Opera of Paris and the Eiffel Tower; Ecole Art de Vivre’s flower courses, wine tastings and jewellery courses; the new 570-seat Disney Village IMAX Theater Gaumont; and the teaming of Disneyland Resort Paris and Manchester United Football Club to create an exclusive teambuilding activity based on soccer.

For the latter, the two-hour Disney/Man U sessions take the form of exclusive private lessons on a fully equipped football pitch just a stone’s throw from the Paris Disney theme parks and hotels. Participants are advised on techniques and tactics by professional Manchester United coaches.


Another interesting new incentive at Disneyland Resort Paris involves three treasure hunts set in the theme parks for corporate meeting attendees. They are two-hour team-building activities that are suitable for groups of 20 to 500 and are based on three themes: “Mysteries of the Caribbean,” “Ali Baba’s Cave” and “Film Treasures.” Each team – comprising five to 10 delegates – is given an adventure kit with a camera, a list of riddles to solve (which can be customized to suit the company or the theme of the event), a map and tools. Treasure hunts are generally organized as half-day events.

In the hospitality trade, Hilton Arc de Triomphe opened in May 2004 with a 512-room Art Deco-style hotel with 18,000 square feet of conference facilities distributed around a roofless Andalusian Patio. The newly renovated Hotel Daniel is a boutique with 17 rooms and 9 suites, each individually decorated, all with state of the art amenities such as LCD televisions, marble bathrooms and Internet access. And the Hotel de Sers, which opened in mid-2004 in the Champs Elysees area, is in a turn of the century building remodeled for modern comfort. It offers 52 rooms, four suites, two panoramic suites and an apartment.

As for meeting space, the 1,200-room Concorde Lafayette can host major events with 21,500 square feet of high tech meeting space (Wi-Fi Internet access and plasma screen TVs) that can accommodate up to 4,000 attendees. Rooms for prestige meetings and more meeting space are being added in 2005. And the Meridien Etoile has 1,025 rooms with 17 suites and a 2,500-square-meter, modernized conference center.

Finally, the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau has published a new meeting planner guide as well as pocket information guides.

“We do our best to provide the same information to all the MICE markets in Europe, Asia and the United States,” says Corine Bernadou, US and UK market manager for the Bureau. “We also feel we need to cooperate with other major destinations in Europe. That’s why we organized a major event with Visit London and invited 50 American meeting planners to rediscover Europe in 2005. We all remain optimistic that the American business will come back.”

Case Study: MPI Adjusts Monaco Conference (Incentives and Meetings International Magazine)

Originally published in 2005

By Bob Andelman

Not many meeting planners have encountered the dilemma faced by Meeting Professionals International in April.

After 18 months of planning, the organization’s 2005 Professional Education Conference-Europe, scheduled for April 10-12 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, was rocked by dual tragedies. First, Pope John Paul II died. That cast a somber mood overly the largely Roman Catholic nation. And six days later, Monaco’s own Prince Rainier III also succumbed to illness, pushing the country further into mourning.

The 2005 PEC-Europe was all set to welcome 515 attendees from 30 countries, surpassing last year’s highest-ever attendance of 502 delegates. Total sponsorship exceeded $1.1 million, also a record.

“We heard the terrible news of Prince Rainier’s death three days before the beginning of the PEC,” says Laurence Garino, director of sales for Grimaldi Forum Monaco. “We had the instruction to go on, as Prince Rainier would not have appreciated the cancellation of this event.”

With its conference just says away, what was MPI to do?

Because the Prince had been ailing for some time, no one was caught unawares.

“We had plans in place for what if this happened,” says MPI’s Director of Communications, Kelly Schulz. “We wanted to be able to move forward a in a respectful way.”

“We had people on our Monaco Host Committee directly in touch with the Palace who were already helping us monitor the situation when we first saw the reports of Prince Rainier’s failing health and knew it was something to be aware of,” says MPI President and CEO Colin Rorrie, Jr. “We had staff on site from our European office as well as some U.S. staff that arrived there on the Wednesday morning when he died. Things were pretty well shut that day, but we immediately started working with government officials. We had great confidence in our partners in Monaco that they wanted to show a large group of meeting planners that they could execute in spite of this situation. We recognized here that we would have to make some adjustments.”

Monaco, despite its turmoil, did not want to lose an opportunity to showcase its destination before an impressive assemblage of meeting professionals and travel decision makers. And MPI knew that rescheduling such a meeting was a no-win proposition for its busy attendees.

So the event went on, although the excitement and festivity was dampened and most of the entertainment planned was cancelled. So as not to offend residents, for example, a leadership reception that was to be held outdoors at the headquarters hotel, Le Meridien, was moved indoors and toned down.

“There was entertainment,” Schulz says. “But instead of it being high energy music, they brought in a trio of opera singers. I don’t want to say it was somber, but it was not a party or festive atmosphere. It was calm. Some Monaco officials were supposed to be our guests at that dinner. They joined us for a short time and then left. Government officials, by decree, could not be seen socializing at public events for the official three-month mourning period.”

“You could read the sadness on the citizens’ faces,” recalls Agnes Canonica, senior projects director for Krugman Group International in St. Petersburg, Fla. “Lots of shops were closed. Hardly anyone was walking around that wasn’t a guest. Most government employees involved with our event could not be involved. They could only go as far as the entrances but could not go in as a result of the Prince’s death. But it was handled extremely well, especially knowing the attachment they have to their royalty.”

One of the biggest changes was that Prince Rainier’s son – and heir apparent – was scheduled to welcome MPI delegates during the opening general session. Prince Albert was unable to attend, obviously, because he was busy preparing for his father’s state funeral that would begin the day after the MPI conference concluded.


During the opening session there was also supposed to be a high energy, Riverdance-style performance. In its place, the opera singers from the night before performed. There was also moment of silence during which everyone stood to remember Prince Rainier.

When the general session ended, the Monaco Host Committee received a standing ovation.

“Out of respect, festive elements had to be modified,” Garino says. “For instance: a big party during the welcome evening was planned in the Prince’s Car Museum. We had to cancel the entertainment and fireworks but we were allowed to stay in the Prince’s museum. The MPI Foundation Europe Rendez-vous Party should have taken place in one of the best nightclubs of Monaco, The Karément, in the Grimaldi Forum. But this nightclub – like the others in Monaco – had to close during the mourning period.”

With the formal party cancelled, MPI made a 5,000 EUR donation to the Princess Grace Foundation to ensure the organization left a legacy in Monaco. Rendez-vous sponsors Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre also converted their sponsorships into a donation.

“In lieu of the party,” Rorrie says, “people went out to dinner in smaller groups and it was a great networking opportunity.”

The entire entertainment program for the gala dinner was also cancelled. “I was personally very anxious about that before the beginning of the gala evening,” Garino says. “I was afraid people could get bored very quickly… then it went on smoothly. The atmosphere was great… even if we could not dance and drink champagne! It seems people had a great time networking. MPI delegates left the Salle des Etoiles quite late into the night and thanked us so much … I think they really appreciated this special evening.”

Another casualty of the Prince’s passing was a planned birthday party for the Grimaldi Forum Monaco itself.

“The MPI PEC was expected to be a wonderful opportunity for the GFM to celebrate its fifth anniversary,” Garino says, “but due to the sad circumstances, we had to cancel all the festivities planned for it.”

Until the Prince’s death, the entire principality was to be festooned with special MPI PEC signage: in the main entrances of the country, in the main streets, on public buses, and so on, with a special welcome message to delegates.

But meeting planners are nothing if not emergency problem solvers and the Monaco Host Committee put its own grief on hold to set up a new social program for MPI and accommodate their unusual situation as invited guests with unfortunate timing.

“Understanding, professionalism and respect from each side towards the other were the keys of this extraordinary situation,” Garino says.

So, taking into account the extraordinary circumstances, how was the conference?

“The Monaco Host Committee did an outstanding job,” Rorrie says. “The delegates didn’t find anything different from what they expected.”

Lisanne Bourassa, president of Montreal-based Consensus Meeting Planning, agrees. “I didn’t hear any bad comments,” she says. “Obviously there was disappointment, but people understood.”

“We all made the best of it,” says Tony Berardo, vice president of Washington, DC-based Leading Authorities Inc., a sponsor of PEC. “No one complained. Under the circumstances – the king died! – I think we made a best of it. It was a beautiful place to visit. Our program was about education more than anything. And we got what we came for.”

Education session highlights included an executive track on ROI and working with procurement. “Those are always popular because we’re trying to elevate meeting planners in the business world,” Schulz says.

And what did attendees learn about disaster planning?

“Force majeur clauses come to mind!” Canonica says.

Destination Germany (Incentives and Meetings International Magazine)

Originally published in 2005

By Bob Andelman

Germany has gone through a multitude of changes and upgrades in recent years, from luxury properties in Berlin to a 25 million euros upgrade for the Congress Center Hamburg– but unfortunately, not many Americans know about them, as the slowdown in international travel has kept many away from this popular destination.

Even some Germans think they need to do a better job of communicating the “new” Germany to potential American visitors.

“For the last couple of years, we have not had business from the US. And we have not done anything against this trend,” says Werner A. Dresel of Frankfurt-based INCOMA GmbH, an incentive, congress and marketing consultancy. “Whenever I talk with people from the US, I feel a quite misplaced image about our country. Not with all but with a reasonable part of them.”

Dresel says this may be a carryover from impressions that were true long ago: Germany means beer, Oktoberfest and oompah bands. “But we all need to fight against this picture and form the new face of a country that can offer a wide range of very different possibilities,” he notes, adding that much of the country’s recent marketing focus has been on Germany and the rest of Europe. “From our point of view, it was, in the end, more expensive to get business from the US instead of working within European neighborhood.”

But make no mistake: Germans want their American friends to return and bring their business events with them.

“Germans think of Americans as partners and friends,” says Richard Rheindorf, regional director, USA & Canada, for the German Convention Bureau in New York. “America was the nation that saved Germany after World War II. President Reagan helped bring the Berlin Wall down. Germans remember! During the time of 9-11, our people gathered on the streets saying ‘Ich bin New Yorker’ and holding candles.”

Americans may be starting to get the message. “After three years of slow business, we have seen an increase in demand and bookings,” Rheindorf says. “Incentive travel is still very slow. We see more meetings coming to Germany but the groups are smaller than before 9/11.” Martin Kotzur, director of the Frankfurt-based international sales office for Hilton International, also sees the uptick in US groups. “Since 9/11, business fared slowly from the US but it picked up in 2004 and we have a positive outlook for the years 2005 and 2006,” he says.

The return of US business may be aided in part by a hosted buyer program the GCB held in conjunction with this year’s IMEX in April. The bureau also offers study tours and it participates at major trade shows and association events in the US.

“We have all types of groups traveling to Germany,” Rheindorf says. “Throughout the last couple of years we saw more meeting than incentive business to Germany but incentive travel just started to pick up again. The association business had been more stable. Planners who went on study tours with us were always surprised about how friendly and polite Germans are.”

So much has changed in the past four years that business travelers will find many new wonders await them.

Berlin: affordable luxury

A wealth of new discoveries await those who make the trip, especially in Berlin. “Berlin is the new/old capital of Germany,” Rheindorf says. “It’s an ever-changing city.” Among many recent additions, last year brought the opening of the Ritz-Carlton and the Marriott at Pottsdamer Platz, and the largest convention hotel in Europe, Estrel Hotel, is found there as well.

And unlike many other top European cities, high-end properties don’t come with high-end price tags. In 2003, according to the German Convention Bureau, the average room rate in a four- or five-star Berlin hotel was Euro 130 per night, compared to rooms of similar quality priced at Euro 300 in London, Euro 212 in Paris, Euro 201 in Rome, and Euro 159 in Amsterdam.

After unification, the government invested huge amounts in the city. An I.M. Pei-designed building has just been added to the German Historical Museum, and the new Holocaust Museum was unveiled in May.

Designated as a central place for remembrance, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is located near Brandenburg Gate in the very center of Berlin. The Peter Eisenman designed memorial consists of 2,751 concrete blocks of different sizes, set in a wave-like pattern on a five-acre field. Visitors enter the memorial from any side, walking through the narrow paths between the blocks. The design is intended to create a sensation of walking on uneven ground, signifying the sense of being lost and disoriented. The memorial is complemented by an underground information center, supplying biographical details and information about the individual victims and their families. The opening coincided with the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, on May 8, 1945.

To call attention to all that the city has to offer, Berlin Tourism Marketing (BTM), in conjunction with the BTM Partner Hotels and the BTM Preferred Agencies, launched “Meeting Place Berlin,” the first ever, three-day industry event designed to spotlight the German capital as a dynamic convention metropolis. From June 30 until July 2, 2005, about 300 MICE organizers from international associations, political organizations, corporations, and professional agencies were invited to visit Berlin to partake in workshops, meet with local service providers, and engage in extensive site inspections.

“Even with such impressive growth in recent years, Berlin’s meetings market still shows significant potential for expansion,” says Hanns Peter Nerger, President/CEO of Berlin Tourism Marketing. “Our 2005 marketing strategies, therefore, will place a special focus on international associations in North America and the EU countries.

Berlin isn’t the only city seeing growth – and increasing interest from US meeting groups. While Berlin is benefiting from new Delta Airlines nonstop service out of New York’s JFK, and on Continental out of Newark, NJ, Lufthansa added a new flight out of Washington Dulles to Munich. Altogether there are 423 direct flights from the US to Germany weekly with a seat capacity of 126,000.

Smaller cities are also gearing up for more meetings business. "Often smaller cities ... stand out for their historical city centres, their location in beautiful landscapes and short routes between convention centres, hotels and cultural attractions“, says GCB managing director Lutz P. Vogt. He is also convinced that "the personal atmosphere allows people to relax more before or after the meeting."

Other benefits include a normally excellent value for money and an infrastructure that is comparable to that of big cities. In addition, the destinations are very service-orientated and both guests and meeting planners receive personal support. Virtually all cities can handle events with up to 2,000 people in their convention centres and other venues without any problems and have a well-balanced range of hotels of all categories.

Jane Aukes, a purchasing specialist for Minneapolis-based MotivAction, LLC is learning this firsthand. She is in the process of firming up plans to bring an American client to Germany in March 2006 for a 150-person, three-day incentive meeting. At press time, her client was finalizing its choice of cities between Muenster, Bonn and Cologne.

“My client started by looking for a destination in Europe,” Aukes says. “They started with a broad vision of Europe, then narrowed it down to Germany. Then they drilled it down to cities where they had an office.”

From there, GCB’s Rheindorf visited Aukes to offer his assistance. “He became our right-hand man in site selection, because it’s hard to find some smaller towns, even with the Internet, because much of their information is only available in German,” Aukes says. “He was awesome in giving me hotel contacts and ideas for gala events in a timely manner. ... I would ask his opinion of the pros and cons of different cities and properties and he always gave me an honest assessment.”

Any of those cities would be a good choice: Münster in Westphalia won the 2004 LivCom-Award of the United Nations for being the world's most liveable city plus awards for being Germany's most cyclist and child-friendly city. A history of 1,200 years lends Münster its unique flair and Halle Münsterland congress centre offers space for events with up to 4,000 people. And with experience hosting UN treaty state conferences, Bonn boasts an optimum infrastructure and a maximum of security for participants. "Meetings in Parliament“ – unique world-wide – can be held at the International Congress Centre Bundeshaus Bonn (IKBB) – the former HQ of German Parliament. By 2008 a hall for 3,500 people and a 5-star hotel will be added to the IKBB.

Cologne Fair expects to complete four new halls by late 2005. The new site will comprise an open-air space of 75,000 square metres and around 80,000 square metres of gross exhibition space.

Alliances have also been formed in Germany to put together combined packages and achieve more effective activities in the market. For example, the Congress Center Hamburg is a member of a marketing venture launched by Germany’s seven largest convention centers, known as SevenCenters. The other members are Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Cologne and Berlin. The seven congress centres are distributed evenly across individual regions throughout Germany, providing opportunities to get to know many of the country’s regional features. They are similar in size, each with access to large exhibition grounds nearby and their high joint standard of technical facilities meets the requirements of even the most demanding events.

Frankfurt, which hosts about 57,000 meetings, seminars, events and congresses per year. captures all facets of modern and traditional Germany, from trade and culture to hustle and tranquility. As one of the most important hubs of commerce, transportation and tourism in Central Europe, it is a gateway city with the largest airport on the continent, the busiest train station and a super modern highway system that is the crossroads of the German Autobahn.

The multifunctional Congress Center, the floodlit Forum and the Festhalle - a historic hall from 1908 - offer flexible and nultiple room programs for all types and sizes of events on the Frankfurt fairgrounds, close to downtown.

Munich is Germany´s top city for international tourism and a leading destination for congresses and incentive trips. The new ICM congress and media centre provides facilities for large-scale events. With some 8,000 sqm of exhibition space and 19 meeting rooms for 20 to 3000 people, the ICM is designed for flexible use.

Standing in quaint contrast to high tech centres, the old breweries of Munich can be booked for special off-site events hosting to 2,700 people. Numerous facilities and professional service companies in Munich guarantee customized and successful congresses, conventions, incentives and other events.

Of course, the rest of the world has already found its way back to Germany. For example, 32 years after the last soccer World Cup was held in Germany, the 2006 FIFA World Cup is headed back to the country for the first time since the reunification of the German states. International soccer fans and others will have an opportunity to see and experience Heidelberg, which owes its special flair both to its geographical location (romantic Neckar valley) and the presence of international institutions from the fields of science, medicine, research and global business.

Infrastructure and Precision

There are many benefits for meeting planners who choose Germany, including an excellent transportation infrastructure (Germany’s railroads and autobahns are justifiably famous) and high-tech communication system for example, are enhanced by the country’s world-renowned emphasis on technology, efficiency, punctuality and precision.

“Germany being a high-tech country, you find more modern hotels all over the country,”says Rheindorf. “If you travel in the east, no hotel will be older than 10 years because the whole infrastructure was redone after the Berlin Wall fell.”

What Americans will also immediately notice will be the friendliness of the German people, the efficiency with which tasks are executed and the country’s cultural heritage, which gained greater emphasis with reunification of East and West.

Of course, not everyone has already been to Germany. What awaits the newcomer?

Centrally located in Europe, the country has an extensive, convenient transportation network highlighted by the continent’s second largest airport in Frankfurt. The high standards and technological expertise of its hospitality industry are evident in its 11,000 convention venues, 10,000 hotels, and 1,500 special event venues such as castles, museums, vineyards, spas, and railway stations.

A variety of landscapes and regions—alpine mountains, forests, lakes, rivers, beaches, rocky coastlines, university towns, and modern cities—offer planners a choice of itineraries. Planners and attendees will appreciate Germany’s 5,000 castles and palaces, 10,000 cultural and culinary festivals and fairs such as Hamburg’s Harbour Anniversary, and the Rhineland Karneval; famous shopping thoroughfares such as Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm or the Königsallee in Düsseldorf; museums and theaters housing priceless cultural treasures and fine performing arts companies, not to mention 300 Michelin-rated restaurants.


The major cities for hosting meetings include Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Duesseldorf, Dresden, Leipzig and Stuttgart.

“The German hotel market is very price sensitive and offers US meeting planners attractive prices for meetings and overnights, competitive with other European cities such as Paris or London,” says Saniye Yildirim, banquet coordinator for the Crowne Plaza Hamburg.

Distances from German convention cities to other major European cities are short by American standards. For example, it is not far from Hamburg to Copenhagen or to Amsterdam. Direct flights have recently been introduced between Hamburg and New York. From Hamburg Airport it only takes 15 or 20 minutes by car to the Congress Center Hamburg (CCH). And the CCH is just a few steps away from Dammtor main line rail station.

“Germany offers meeting planners a high value for money, a great infrastructure, and a beautiful landscape where you can find everything from mountains to beaches,” says Dirk Führer, director of sales for Hilton International in Germany and Switzerland.

Germany is generally considered a safe destination and it is easy to get around by train. “The only time and place I would advise meeting planners to avoid would be Munich during the time of Oktoberfest,” Rheindorf says. Oktoberfest is the largest folk festival in the world with more than 6,000,000 visitors; there are no other Oktoberfest celebrations in Germany except for Munich.

“Most Germans speak English, so there are no language barriers,” according to Sieglinde Willig, director of business development for Hilton Berlin. “Furthermore the Germans are very open minded and internationally interested. ”

Fast Facts

Currency: Euro

Language: German

Price Note: German hotel prices lists typically include service and the value-added tax, or V.A.T.

The German Convention Bureau Web site—www.germany-meetings.com—targets the specific needs of planners looking for an international meeting and incentive site. Its online search engine allows planners to research and contact more than 200 leading meeting hotels, convention centers, destinations, professional congress organizers, and other providers in Germany.

In its new 50-page English-language Incentive and Event Guide to Germany, the German Convention Bureau provides details about infrastructure, historical sites, culture, cities, sports offerings, spas, events, cuisine and hospitality. A list of numerous hotels, individual convention bureaus, event centers and agencies is also provided. It can be ordered free of charge on the GCB website www.germany-meetings.com in "The GCB Brochures“ section.

German Convention Bureau

122 East 42nd Street, Suite 2000

New York, NY 10168-0072

Tel.: (212) 661 4582

Fax: (212) 661 6192

www.germany-meetings.com

Newswire

In 2005 even more hotels will open their doors in Berlin. These include the 311-room, five-star Concorde Hotel near Kurfürstendamm, scheduled to open in the Spring of 2005, and the four-star Maritim Congress Hotel, featuring 505 guest rooms and meeting space for up to 5,500 (opening in August 2005)… Much anticipated is the opening of the Grand Hotel Rome in the spring of 2006. Belonging to the Rocco Forte group, the five-star property will be located in the heart of historic Berlin on the Bebelplatz and will feature 146 large bedrooms, six conference suites and one banquet hall… Various new top quality hotels already joined the city’s luxury category in 2004, such as the Radisson SAS Hotel with a globally unique AquaDom in the lobby, the Marriott Hotel in the Beisheim Center in Potsdamer Platz, as well as the neighbouring Ritz-Carlton, the first Ritz Hotel opened in a European capital for about 100 years. Nineteen five-star and five-star-plus hotels now compete for the favour of visitors to Berlin… A hall for mega events, which can be transformed from an ice hockey stadium to an elegant concert hall in just a few hours, is being planned for the Berlin Ostbahnhof. The Anschutz Entertainment Group will invest in the ambitious Arena at the Ostbahnhof on the site of the former Ostgüterbahnhof (freight railway station). With a seating capacity of up to 16,900, the new hall will be a venue for music, entertainment and sporting events of all kinds. 89 private suites with 1,436 seats and up to 1,340 separate business seats will cater for business and private events. The grand opening is planned for 2007. The Anschutz Arena will be an ideal addition to the capacity offered by the Velodrom (max. 12,000 visitors), the Max Schmeling Hall (max. 11,950) and the newly renovated Olympia Stadium (max. 75,000)… Bonn, Germany’s capital until 1990, boasts an optimum infrastructure and a maximum of security for participants. The former parliament of the German government houses the International Congress Centre Bundeshaus Bonn (IKBB) a unique venue that offers "Meetings in Parliament.” By 2008, a hall for 3,500 people and a 5-star hotel will be added to the IKBB… Romantic Heidelberg is planning a whole range of programs to tie in with the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, which are ideal for incentives and events... Muenster in Westphalia successfully combines the new and the historic. In 2004 Muenster won the LivComp Award of the United Nations for being the world’s most liveable city, plus awards for being Germany’s most cyclist- and child-friendly city. The Muensterland congress center has space for events accommodating up to 4,000 people ... The new center at Wolfsburg, home of the Volkswagen, has hosted more than ten million visitors since its completion four years ago. The car theme park named Autostadt, operated by the Volkswagen group, offers a unique experience complete with special presentations for meetings and events audiences... The International Congress Centre Bundeshaus Bonn (IKBB) will add a 3,500-sqm multi-purpose convention centre in 2005, offering space for up to 3,500 people (in rows), plus a 5-star hotel with 200 rooms. The project is slated for completion by 2008… The AWD Dome Bremen has been renovated for 47.5 million euros, raising its total capacities by 3,500 to 14,000 seats – including additional VIP boxes with 20 seats each. The inauguration took place in December 2004… Düsseldorf Congress will start building its 7th location in April 05 – a multi-purpose arena in Rath (capacities: 11,500 seats). Additionally, a new lighting concept has been implemented at CCD. South, to enhance the visitors' well being… Over the next two years Congress Center Hamburg will invest a total of 25 million euros in a cutting-edge infrastructural expansion of its meetings area – adding, above all, a new 7,000 square-metre multi-purpose exhibition hall… EXPO XXI Cologne will open on 30 April 2005 and plans to add a 1,400-sqm Event Loft that can be used for various events. The Event Loft will be a unique addition to the almost 8,500-sqm large, private event centre in the heart of metropolis Cologne… In a record 15 months Cologne Fair wants to complete four new halls by late 2005. The new site will comprise an open-air space of 75,000 square metres and around 80,000 square metres of gross exhibition space… Congress Centre Mainz will add a 1,800-sqm hall and a foyer with 1,700 sqm of exhibition space to Rheingoldhalle. The Gutenberg Hall offers space for 1,340 people in theatre seating. In total, the centre will provide 3,200 sqm more of gross space. The expansion will be finished by autumn 2006… m:con Congress Center Rosengarten Mannheim will add 8,000 square metres up to 2007 for an investment of 50 million euros, enlarging the exhibition space in its existing foyers by 3,000 to 5,000 square metres. Ten new conference rooms and three new congress halls are to be added, the largest with 1,500 square metres of space. Above all, this capacity expansion is to improve facilities for large conventions in Mannheim… In April 2005, Nuremberg's CCN Congress Center opened a new meeting centre: CCN Ost. The 60-million-euro construction in the eastern part of Nuremberg's exhibition site offers space for 3,200 delegates and is tailor-made for mid-sized conventions… With the new ICS - International Congress Centre Stuttgart – to be opened in autumn 2007 - a convention center will be created together with Stuttgart's new fair that will be among the biggest and most modern facilities of its kind in Germany. The ICS will offer space for up to 9,300 people. Stuttgart's new fair will have 100,000 square metres of exhibition space in 9 halls… The new InterContinental Resort Berchtesgaden opened in March. Conference guests can book 138 rooms with panorama views – including 12 suites (some with two storeys) – in various categories. The modern conference area has two ballrooms (with natural lighting and views of the mountains) for up to 200 delegates… Comprehensive renovation work started in early 2005 on the Estrel Hotel & Convention Center Berlin. All rooms and suites in wing 4 will be restructured according to a new, modern but timeless design. Also the Orangerie of the 2,800-sqm atrium with its glass roof will be renovated and refurbished… In summer 2005 Maritim Hotel Berlin will open in Berlin-Mitte as the largest four-star superior meeting hotel with 505 hotel rooms and suites. Two function rooms, 15 further conference rooms and separate meeting rooms will offer capacities for over 5,500 people on approx. 8,200 square metres of event space… Up to February 2005 the Hotel Palace Berlin modernised the 106 rooms of its western wing. Only in March 2004 the hotel had expanded its event area to a total of 2,400 sqm. 19 multi-purpose rooms with natural lighting are available for events of all kinds with up to 800 people… Park Inn Berlin-Alexanderplatz has completed its modernisation and now features 700 strikingly exclusive rooms with elegant furniture and excellent amenities. From May 2005 the four-star superior hotel will boast a new mirror glass-facade worth 2.8 million euros… The lobby of the five-star Steigenberger Hotel Berlin was completely renovated in 2004. The hotel spent around 1 million euros on this modernisation. Further investments are planned for 2005… Maritim Hotel Düsseldorf is slated for completion by late 2007. The hotel will have over 533 rooms including 30 suites. With event capacities for up to 3,500 people it will be the city's biggest conference hotel. Its biggest hall will offer space for up to 2,400 people and a smaller hall for up to 1,100 people. Nine further meeting rooms (120 – 390 sqm) offer space for 50 to 360 people… The 10-million-euro renovation on the 301 rooms and suites, conference area and reception hall of Hotel Nikko Düsseldorf has been completed. Conferences and meetings for up to 350 people can be held in the four conference rooms that are 34 to 410 square metres large… The new Radisson SAS Hotel Frankfurt is slated to open at the Opel roundabout near the exhibition centre in autumn 2005. The futuristic building will be visible from a long distance thanks to its height of 20 floors. It will offer 420 rooms and suites with modern amenities and nine flexibly partitionable meeting rooms with space for up to 500 people… The Sheraton Frankfurt Hotel & Towers Conference Center, Europe's biggest airport hotel, completed its large-scale modernization and refurbishment program at a cost of 70 million euros. One of the highlights is the newly created “TowersFloor”, where a separate luxury area has been opened… By spring 2006 construction work on the new Grand Elysée Hotel in Hamburg will be completed. The expansion cost 100 million euros. The hotel will then boast 215 new rooms and a banqueting and meeting hall with a capacity for more than 1,000 people… The Kempinski Grand Hotel Heiligendamm offers ten conference rooms and a historical ballroom for meetings with up to 200 people. A conference centre will be added in 2007, just in time for the G8 summit meeting in Heiligendamm… Munich's Marriott Hotel finished renovating all its 13 meeting rooms in January 2005. And its 14 suites will also return to their former splendor in late March 2005… On 1 July Yachthafenresidenz Hohe Düne will open in Rostock-Warnemünde, as a very special kind of hotel. Next door to a marina with 750 berths and white sandy beaches, the meeting-goer can choose between 22 conference rooms with space for up to 780 people – overlooking the Baltic Sea. The hotel with 368 rooms and suites also has a spa area of over 4,200 square metres… ArabellaSheraton Hotelmanagement GmbH will take over the management of the hotel tower in Schweinfurter Straße in Würzburg, which is slated to open in the first quarter of 2006. The future 58-metre hotel tower with 150 rooms and suites on 17 floors is being marketed as the ArabellaSheraton Hotel Würzburg… The InterContinental Group of Hotels will add eight new hotels to its portfolio in 2005: Express by Holiday Inn Berlin Anhalter Bahnhof, Holiday Inn Nuremberg, InterContinental Berchtesgaden, InterContinental Düsseldorf, Holiday Inn Kaiserslautern, Express by Holiday Inn Neunkirchen, Express by Holiday Inn Hamburg Altona and the Holiday Inn Frankfurt on Main Westhafen… Seminaris -Hotels & Meeting Resorts in Lüneburg and Bad Honnef have completely refurbished their rooms and meeting areas and equipped them with WLAN. Now, all seven Seminaris Hotels & Meeting Resorts offer modern interiors and a professional meeting and conference centre according to DIN 19506 plus a great culinary experience “all in one location” … The Congress Center Hamburg is growing, with the addition of a multifunction exhibition hall to give total exhibition space of 12,000 square meters. This expansion ensures that the convention center will meet all international needs, and makes it possible to hold conferences and exhibitions under one roof, at ground level. CCH is keeping everything close together, and enhancing its position as a leading international convention center… There are major changes in progress at the adjoining Hamburg fair site. The New Hamburg Fair is under construction, just a few meters from the CCH. The concept for construction of the New Hamburg Fair comprises a 30% increase in hall space, to about 84,000 square meters. The new fair halls feature modern design and flexible use – with sliding partition walls for individual division of the halls, versatile functional spaces, and four separate entrance areas, in order to ensure optimal use of the New Hamburg Fair… The ten historically themed Suites have long been considered to be the secret of the Berlin luxury hotel, The Westin Grand, by guests from home and abroad. Newly refurbished and with all kinds of up-to-date extras, the ten historically-themed suites of the Berlin Westin Grand nevertheless kept their individual charm and still afford an exciting trip into the past… The International Congress Center Berlin (ICC Berlin) was named “World’s Leading Conference & Convention Centre 2004” in balloting by more than 230,000 tourism experts from travel agencies, hotels, airlines, tourism centres and other organisations around the world cast their vote. The award was presented by the London-based media organisation World Travel Awards Ltd. (A year earlier, the ICC Berlin took second place.)… The interior of the Dom Hotel in Cologne was refurbished at the end of 2003. Plasma flat-screens and high-speed-internet access are standard as well as the finishing of the bathrooms in black Italian marble and Persian travertine. The hotel also added 6 new conference rooms on the mezzanine floor.

Case Study: Genworth Financial Visits Italy (Incentives and Meetings International Magazine)

Originally published in 2005

By Bob Andelman

When Genworth Financial threw a costume party in Venice for some of its top producers, sheets with holes cut in them or George H.W. Bush masks just wouldn’t do. So the company rented period costumes – dressing attendees up as anything from a pope to a harlot.

“Everyone looked incredible,” says Barry Wolpa, vice president of meetings and incentive trips for the $10 billion Richmond, Va.-based insurance and financial services company (formerly GE Financial). “It was one of the most extravagant costume parties I’ve ever done.”

While the party was just a small part of a five-day trip to Italy to recognize its long-term care insurance division’s top 100 “Diamond Producers,” it took lots of organization. Pre-ordering medieval costumes for 240 people – 140 couples – was certainly challenging, but Wolpa sent a special questionnaire to all the participants, along with a measuring tape. Beyond that, no one got to choose what they were wearing: Wolpa gave the costume company the sizes and told them who the VIPs were. “That got me off the hook,” he says.

Not entirely, though. While all but a handful of the men were happy with their medieval togs, the women were a tougher crowd to please.

“There were at least 50 unhappy women,” Wolpa says. Why? “Because they lied about their measurements! But they started exchanging pieces among themselves. It was pretty funny – ‘Who wants this? I’ll trade this for that!’”

Once everyone had found something that fit, it began an unforgettable evening. Revelers had a parade from the lobby of their host hotel, the Excelsior on Lido, which is 20 minutes by boat from the center of Venice, to the Sala Visconte at nearby (CK) Hotel Les Bains.

Costumes were not the only expansive item on the trip: from start to finish, the purely incentive trip (with the exception of a three-hour morning business meeting) was luxurious with a capital “L.”

“Venice had everything we needed to truly exceed expectations,” Wolpa says of choosing the city. “Everything was a highlight!” for its top 100 independent long-term care insurance agents and their spouses or significant others, as well as 40 sales leaders and home office senior leaders and their guests. “We always include spouses and significant others on our incentive trips – they are very clearly a part of every successful agent's success,” Wolpa says.

Wolpa says the company had done a trip to Florence about 10 years before, using Newtours destination management company, and it was very successful. “For this trip,” Wolpa recalls, We chose it for the entire five-day trip because of the art, architecture, culture, food and amazing choice and availability of venues.” It didn’t hurt that Wolpa had confidence that Giuseppe Lepri, the president and CEO of Sesto Fiorentino-based Newtours, “could make all my dreams come true.”

In a switch from the colorful medieval costume party, attendees were also treated to a gala black tie dinner in the courtyard of the Doges Palace, whisked to the museum in private water taxis. Cocktails were served on the terrace overlooking St. Mark's Square and Genworth’s guests enjoyed private access to the palace museums during the cocktail hour. Dinner in the courtyard was enhanced with special lighting effects playing on the courtyard walls. All the tables were dressed in Italian linens with special flower arrangements atop tall candelabras. As this was outdoors, ivory pashminas were provided for all the women. And a band played for after-dinner dancing.


Attendees got a different view of St. Mark Square – from the ground, looking up at the palace—on another night, when they enjoyed cocktails preceding a dine-around Venice that began with a cocktail party on St. Mark Square, followed by splitting into groups of about 20 visiting small, typical restaurants for dinner. The final night featured a three tenors concert in the upstairs hall of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, renowned for the paintings by Tintoretto that cover the entire interior --walls and ceilings. “The singers were amazing--better than the better-known Three Tenors!” Wolpa says. The concert was about 45 minutes, after which everyone descended the grand stairway to have a buffet dinner in the main hall.

Wolpa worked closely with Lepri and the group at Newtours from the start. “We made together several site inspections to select the right product,” Lepri says. For him the most impressive event was a dinner at the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, a 14th century medieval castle that opened to the public in 1992 following the largest restoration project undertaken in Europe to that point. The group traveled by boat to the property, which was opened for the first time for Genworth’s guests, and were greeted by its owner. “It [is] spectacular when no one is there,” Lepri says. “The whole atmosphere [is] completely different.” Guests enjoyed a candlelit dinner in the courtyard, special entertainment and dancing.

Wolpa really wanted to use the Doges Palace and the Scuola Grande (which are a joint facility), but the caretakers were reluctant to let them use these very special locations for dinners, concerts and dancing. “Mr. Lepri negotiated long and hard to get the necessary permissions,” Wolpa recalls. “At the end of each of these events, the caretakers were in tears because everything was so beautiful.”

Here’s the Genworth menu for the group’s dinner at the Palazzo Ducale”

Home made pasta with porcini mushrooms

Home made pasta with prawns and asparagus

Rocket salad

Beef fillet in Barolo wine sauce

Crepes with strawberry flavored with Grand Marnier

Coffee

Wines:

Chardonnay Ronco dei Longobardi Az Agr. Benincasa 2000

Merlot Collio Az Agr Russiz superiore 1999

Where the nights were spectacular and structured, the days were far less planned for the Genworth group. They received a guided walking tour of Venice one day, enjoyed a late afternoon cocktail party in a café facing St. Mark Square another and took a full day tour of three islands – Murano, Burano and Torcello – the third day. Their final full day was left open for optional tours and lunch at the attendees’ leisure.

There were challenges in putting together the trip, but Wolpa says that working with someone he knew and trusted smoothed over even the roughest preparations.

“Working with the Italians is not always easy,” Wolpa says, “but that is why I work with Giuseppe Lepri.”

Of course, the budget at Wolpa’s disposal helped, according to Lepri. “It was enough to realize something absolutely special, unique and unforgettable,” he says, adding, “With Barry, everything must be unique. His incentives are spectacular so the producers are very motivated to attend his events.”

Genworth’s winners are a tough group to impress: most of the Diamond Producers are veteran, experienced travelers who tend to qualify year after year. Since 1990, they have visited French Polynesia twice on cruise ships; Nevis; Monte Carlo; the Big Island of Hawaii; Santa Fe, NM; Florence; Paris; Costa Rica; Prague; Greece and Turkey on another cruise; a Caribbean cruise; Australia; and a cruise of the Amalfi Coast.

Genworth doesn’t formally measure ROI on its incentive trips, but it does send out a post-trip survey for which it received extremely positive results about both Venice and the execution of the incentive, which reflected well on the performance of Newtours.

“The trip not only met, but exceeded objectives,” Wolpa says. “Everyone loved the trip. Italy is romantic, exciting and interesting. There is so much to see and do. I can do a five-night program there and let people do their own thing for pre- and post-trip travel and the participants like that. (Newtours helped individual attendees plan extended visits.) And, I find that in Italy, I know exactly what I'm getting. It's a win/win destination for everyone. Because this trip was for our very top producers, my singular goal was to truly knock their socks off as often as I could and, yes, I did meet my goals. (Of course, the other was to do this while staying within the budget--and we met that goal, too.)”

Still, Wolpa wouldn’t think of doing Italy without the help of his man there.

“I always give everyone thinking of doing an incentive in Italy the same advice: Call Giuseppe Lepri of Newtours,” he says. “Giuseppe and his team truly understand the needs and requirements of the American market. They do everything necessary and possible to make every aspect of the trip as wonderful as it can be. They go the extra mile and it shows.”

“I don’t repeat,” Wolpa says. “The majority of the group, a good half of them, stays the same. I’ve done Italy three times in ten years but I would always go to a different place. After a certain point in time you start thinking, ‘Where can I go now?’ Our trips tend to be very upscale. When you’ve done Prague, Australia, London and Paris, where do you go? But it’s a big world out there.”