Successful Meetings - May 2008 - (Page 76)

05.08 PLACES & SPACES Dolphin family at Hilton Waikoloa Village Animal Whispers Did you pet an animal today? If not, you may be putting yourself at risk. According to the 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey (sponsored by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association), the dogs and other pets found in 71.1 million households (which is 63 percent of all U.S. households) can lower blood pressure, reduce stress, prevent heart disease, lower health care costs, and > Anaheim & Orange fight depression. PAGE 81 County If they can do that for you, imagine > Upstate New York PAGE 85 what they can do for your meeting. PAGE 88 > Cincinnati For example, Catie Copley, the black PAGE 92 > Detroit Labrador whose job is K9 Ambassador at > San Diego PAGE 97 the 383-room Fairmont Copley Place in PAGE 98 > Phoenix Boston, is a surprise guest at meeting breaks about once a month, says Jim Carey, director of concierge services and Catie’s master. The breaks are elegantly done in the Grand Ballroom or the Venetian Room, with coffee service and dogboneshaped cookies for the humans. “She doesn’t approach you,” he adds. “She waits for you to take a few steps toward her.” Inside Probably her training allows her to do what she does at the hotel. “Catie was trained as a guide dog for the blind, but developed a small cataract so she’s a ‘careerchange dog,’ ” says Suzanne Wenz, regional director of public relations for Fairmont. “Many times [attendees] want to use that break to make a phone call or run to their room. They see her and they decide to stay around,” says Carey, who agrees that interacting with a canine like Catie can foster wellness. “[The attendees are] in such a rush and so busy with everything they do during the day, but when they see her, it slows their pace. Their bodies relax, and a big smile comes to their faces.” Canine ambassadors are increasingly common; several Fairmont, Loews, and Kimpton properties have them, as does the 700-room The Broadmoor, in Colorado Springs, CO, whose dog, Ruger, is in training. But animals are capable of giving much more. Last summer, financial services provider Ernst & Young had a company retreat at a Park City, UT, where, at the National Recover Center, they participated in therapeutic horseback-riding, or hippotherapy. “We’re the largest provider of adaptive recreation in the country,” says Ryan Jensen, mimegasite.com MAY 2008 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS 76 http://mimegasite.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - May 2008

Successful Meetings - May 2008
Contents
Editor's Note
Industry Trends
Destination News
Destination News
Suppliers
Destination News
Calendar
On the Record
Websites of the Month
Management Matters
Mouth for Sale
Meetings Law
Planner's Spotlight
Pre-Event
On Site
Tools of the Trade
Pre-Event
Counting Change
Giving Them the Business
The Magnificent Seven
All-American Gift Guide
Green Lights
Places & Spaces
Anaheim & Orange County
Upstate New York
Cincinnati
Detroit
San Diego
Phoenix
Gurus

Successful Meetings - May 2008