Meetings technology company StarCite last month secured $15 million in funding from the company's current investors, including Norwest Venture Partners, Internet Capital Group and TPG Ventures. StarCite said the financing would go toward global expansion and technology enhancements. "Companies are zeroing in on value-adding technologies that improve both visibility and control over their meeting investment," Keith Forshew, chief operating officer of StarCite, said in a statement. "We are pleased to have the additional funds from this offering to help us ensure we make the investments necessary to solidify our position as the leading provider of on-demand meeting and event management solutions."
La Quinta To Provide Real-Time Meeting Space AccessLa Quinta Inns and Suites announced late last month that by late summer it will offer customers real-time access to meeting space through Worktopia, a booking engine offering meeting space in more than 1,500 hotels, conference centers and airport meeting rooms in 150 U.S. cities. Worktopia will add La Quinta meeting rooms to its inventory. Buyers can check meeting room availability and book simple meetings through La Quinta's and Worktopia's Web sites. Worktopia in March also announced an agreement to offer customers the ability to search meeting space, compare rates and book directly from online booking tool GetThere's portal for meetings of less than 100 attendees. Some properties will offer real-time booking, said Worktopia chairman and CEO John Arenas, and requests for space will be sent to those that do not. Customers booking sleeping rooms are transferred from Worktopia to site-selection firm HelmsBriscoe through the GetThere portal. Worktopia previously partnered with global distribution provider Sabre, which owns GetThere
(Meetings Today, Nov. 6, 2006).HRG Offers Green Event ServicesHRG Events & Meetings Management last month launched a green event services program. HRG Green Events includes standards to calculate the carbon dioxide emissions of an event, as well as offering suggestions to make an event as green as the client would like, said Simen Johannessen, marketing director for HRG Nordic. Suggestions include using food that is local to the area and planning activities to give back to the community. "HRG Green Events and tools such as the CO2 calculator enable us to work with clients to identify ways to amend their meetings and events programs to ensure smarter, more efficient travel, helping organizations to control costs, deliver value and reduce their carbon emissions," Christer Nordlund, HRG's director of events & meetings management, said in a statement.
Aramark Names New Operations, Sales ExecutivesAramark Harrison Lodging late last month announced it had named Bob Marshall as senior vice president of operations and Sandy Heilman as vice president of sales and marketing. Both began reporting to Aramark Harrison Lodging president Bruce Fears in March. Previously, Marshall was president and general manager of Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center and Heilman was vice president of marketing and sales for Medieval Times Entertainment.