Meetings Beat - 1997-02-24
IACVB Endorses THISCO Standard
The International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus last month voted to endorse The Hotel Industry Switch Company's UltraRes as the technology standard for the transmission of convention housing reservations, said IACVB president Karen Jordan. The organization will conduct an awareness campaign to encourage its membership to adopt the solution.
UltraRes was beta tested by Hyatt Hotels Corp. and agency WorldTravel Partners late last year (Meetings Today, Dec. 16, 1996). The product enables batch scanning of reservations from the CVB to an individual property's res system, eliminating the two-step process of receiving faxes and rekeying data.
EIBTM Expects Largest Turnout
With a forecasted attendance of 7,000 visitors from 70 countries, over 2,200 exhibitors and an attendee discount of more than 50 percent, the 10th Annual European Incentive and Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition is hoping for its best-ever event. It will be held in Geneva from May 13 through 15. The program will feature a seminar on the influx of young people into the business travel field, as well as a "strategic look at Europe" from Meeting Professionals International's European bureau chief, Robin Lockerman. For information, call 44-1273-735-253.
Radisson Chicago Builds Conf. Center
The Radisson Hotel and Suites Chicago, located in the heart of the city's Gold Coast district, has built a business center and small-meetings facility called Radicenter 7, named for its seventh-floor location. The chain also is considering building Radicenters elsewhere in its system of corporate-owned and franchised properties.
The idea is to combine the comforts of a hotel with the efficiency of a conference center, according to Radisson's general manager, Steve Eckley. Aiming to please planners located throughout the Midwest, Radicenter 7 includes a presentation center, training room, boardroom and dining room. It provides video and data projection capabilities as well as 56 workstations equipped with dataport, ethernet port, 110-volt power outlet and ergonomic seating. For information on packages that include sleeping rooms and meeting facilities, call 312-440-3764.
Sony Debuts Trinicom For Smaller Groups
Sony Electronics, which rolled out a $30,000 dedicated videoconferencing system last April called Trinicom 5000, now offers a system for smaller groups at an even lower price. For $10,000, the TriniCom 3000 provides multipoint capability for up to three sites, as opposed to Trinicom 5000's four locations, and a motion-sensitive object-tracking camera that captures images of groups of three to six people. The unit also includes its more-expensive counterpart's feature of providing multipoint linkage without having to invest in an external multipoint control unit--a potential savings of up to $50,000.
Directory Lists Golf Facilities
If you have to plan a golf outing but know little about golf, don't panic--just consult the fourth edition of the "International Golf Directory" offered by Travel Publishing.
This 340-page reference book offers updated information on more than 900 resorts, and also lists golf tour operators, golf schools and state golf associations along with rates, type of rooms available and information on yardage, par, slope, rating, pro shop facilities and green fees. Call 800- 241-9299 to order the directory, which is available for $39.50 plus $3.75 shipping.
No Tourist Trapp
The Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vt., has revamped its meeting rooms this year, targeting corporate meetings, retreats and incentive groups. The Trapps, of "The Sound of Music" fame, have equipped a new 100-person boardroom with dataport phones and upgraded lighting.
The Austrian-style lodge recently hosted incentive groups from Sony, Excel and Hartford Banker's Life & Casualty, which booked half the lodge for a weekend, said assistant general manager Has van Ewes. The 93-room lodge hosts fireside gatherings in its second- and third-floor living rooms as well as in the Sun Room, Library and Salzburg Room, which seats 50.