Meeting News - October 20, 2008 - (Page 17)

Edited by William Ng william.ng@nielsen.com Transportation & Services company has done so well with meetings on shipboard that it has a specialized division, Meetings on Ships, to handle cruise bookings. “The new trend is driving to ports like Seattle, Galveston, New Orleans, and those in South Florida and then meeting aboard a three-to-five day cruise,” Vaughn explained. New ports are popping up around the U.S., and existing ones are increasing their number of cruises. “In 2000, we had no cruises sailing from Seattle to Alaska,” he said. “Now, we have nine big ships cruising to Alaska. Meeting planners love the convenience of being able to drive to ports and then cruise for the rest of the meeting. And then, there is the allinclusive price aspect and the ease of logistics. The market for meetings on ships is just going to continue to grow.” Shari Wallack, president of Buy the Sea, a Plantation, FL-based firm selling cruises to incentive planners, agreed. “When was the last time you were excited about a hotel?” she said. “The new cruise ships are fascinating…there’s a mystique there. They are where the most exciting trends in travel are happening. We are sold out on group bookings for the January and February cruises of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas (the new cruise ship featuring continued on page 63 Airline Troubles Mean that the Cruise Meetings Factor Bubbles More groups are driving to new U.S. ports of call and holding 3-to-5-day meetings on ships, cruise suppliers say For most travelers, getting on a plane these days causes anxiety: cramped spaces, delays, long lines, and security procedures. The embattled airline industry has borne unexpected fruit for cruise meetings, as a result. “Meeting planners are looking for ways to avoid air travel, and cruising is a new way to do that,” said Jerry Vaughn, president and CEO of Seattle-based booking company World Voyager. The Edited by Terri Hardin terri.hardin@nielsen.com Technology what they should be doing.” Social media is one of two tracks at the conference; the other is exhibition management software. Major sponsors include general services contractor GES Exposition Services, and the computer and AV rental company SmartSource. Admission is $495 per person ($295 for a second attendee under the same registration) but $595 on site. Summit.meetingtechonline. com has more information. With its multi-user capability, Surface allows guests “to interact with each other and our hotels in a revolutionary way,” said Sheraton senior VP Hoyt H. Harper II. However, there are limitations to what guests can do. For example, they cannot print information they find through Surface or make reservations. The hotels with Surface are the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, Sheraton Boston, Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, Sheraton Seattle, and Sheraton Gateway San Francisco Airport. r —Section by Marshall Krantz MeetingNews 17 New Tech Conference Debuts A new event technology conference will debut next month in Chicago, with online social networking a major focus. MeetingTechOnline Summit 2008 will take place Nov. 5-6 at the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare. Geared mainly toward trade show managers and event marketers, the conference is produced by Advon Technologies, the Austin, TX-based event technology consultancy that operates the MeetingTechOnline website. Advon chief executive Stephen Nold said many trade show managers with whom he consults are “like a deer caught in the headlights” when it comes to social networking, also known as social media. “They are confused about www.meetingnews.com Sheraton Tries Out Microsoft Surface Sheraton Hotels & Resorts is the first major hotel chain to feature Microsoft’s Surface, the innovative computer that allows users to manipulate on-screen objects with their hands instead of a mouse. In August, Sheraton deployed Surface in the public spaces of five hotels, in what Sheraton’s parent, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, said is a pilot program that could become chainwide. Surface looks like a 30-inchdiagonal table. The machine is built from a standard Windows Vista personal computer, but inside, five cameras sense hand gestures and touch. Users can therefore move images or make them larger or smaller by sliding their fingers on the flattop surface—hence the computer’s name. At present, Sheraton is offering guests three applications free of charge: gathering information on the local destination; playing music provided by Sheraton, through the Surface’s loudspeakers; and finding information about other Sheraton properties. October 20, 2008 http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - October 20, 2008

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