Meeting News - December 3, 2007 - (Page 8)

CVBs Anaheim Puts Meetings on Common Ground Bureau trumpets Center Walk’s 1.5 million square feet of exhibition and meeting space Anaheim, CA—In a move intended to lure more corporate meetings to the city—a theme-park-rich area a short drive southeast of Los Angeles—the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau is repositioning the destination’s prominent meeting and convention area as the Anaheim Center Walk. The new entity is essentially a one-stop shop for sourcing meeting and exhibition space at its three main venues, each connected via palm-lined walkways: the Anaheim Convention Center, the Anaheim Marriott, and the Hilton Anaheim, together offering 1.5 million sf of exhibition, ballroom, meeting, prefunction, and outdoor space—not to mention 2,603 guest rooms (7,000 within walking distance). “We know that meeting planners are always on the lookout for meeting destinations that can offer versatile exhibit space, meeting rooms, and accommodations under one roof,” said Charles Ahlers, president of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau. “Only our ‘roof,’ per se, includes the sunny blue skies of Southern California.” About two blocks away will be the new Anaheim Garden Walk, a separate recreational development with an open-air, 400,000-sf dining and entertainment area. Its first six restaurants are scheduled to open their doors in January. Edited by Elizabeth West elizabeth.west@nielsen.com Walking the walk: Anaheim connects major venues. Musician Willie K strums to the beat of his hometown of Maui. Hawaii is High-Tech: YouTube Videos & Blog Honolulu—The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, recognizing that most meetings business is sourced online these days and that marketing of meetings is equally digital, has forged a deal with a California company to distribute its GoHawaii videos on the Internet. The videos showcase local stories that illustrate the islands’ diverse activities and culture. TurnHere, of Emeryville, CA, has built a YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/gohawaiitv) with seven GoHawaii videos. Also, a GoHawaii blog has been created (www.gohawaii.turnhere.com), with social media features to entice interaction. Planners with upcoming programs in Hawaii can embed the videos in their own websites or blogs. HVCB hopes the online push will extend its brand across the Web and expand its audience by tapping into popular video and travel sites.“By distributing video content on YouTube, our travel blog, and across the Web, we can engage potential visitors in new ways and illustrate Hawaii’s rich culture, history, and natural beauty,” said Kara Imai, HVCB’s senior director of online marketing. TurnHere has worked with the convention bureaus of Palm Beach County, FL; Columbus, OH; and Santa Monica, CA. H —Section by Christopher Hosford www.meetingnews.com Lauderdale Lures Meetings Fort Lauderdale, FL—With the justannounced news that Hilton Hotels will manage a headquarters hotel— a 1,000-room property adjacent to the convention center that’s anticipated to open by 2011—the city’s convention bureau is offering a promotion to get planners and their meetings to the area even sooner. Hopefully, they’ll return when the new convention center hotel is ready. Meeting planners who book groups at the Broward County Convention Center for August and September 2008, and contract a minimum of 600 peak-night hotel rooms, will receive free rentals of all floor space throughout the convention center, as well as have attrition fees waived at contracted hotels. 8 MeetingNews December 3, 2007 There’s also a new meeting planners guide, available in January; a virtual version is slated to appear on the CVB’s website, www.sunny.org. Last month, Hilton beat out Marriott International to run the 32story convention hotel. The deal extends the local hotel portfolio of Blackstone Group, which recently bought Hilton, and whose other major local facilities include Pier Sixty-Six, Bahia Mar, and the Fort Lauderdale Grande. Philadelphia Anticipates Love With ‘We The People’ Website Philadelphia—There's nothing quite like third-party endorsements to help promote a destination to planners and potential meeting goers. Recognizing this, the Philadelphia CVB has launched a website, dubbed We The People Love Philadelphia (www.philadelphiausa.travel/love). It is designed to do something very similar to Hawaii’s GoHawaii YouTube videos, but with a twist: We The People will feature convention attendees, exhibitors, and planners explaining why they love to meet in the City of Brotherly Love. “It had a soft launch last month at our annual luncheon for our local members and stakeholders, with a full launch scheduled for January,” said Danielle Cohn, vice president of marketing for the Philadelphia bureau. The site will feature 30-second videos, as well as photos and comments from the array of people who visit Philadelphia as meeting-goers. http://www.youtube.com/gohawaiitv http://www.sunny.org http://www.meetingnews.com

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