Successful Meetings - August 2009 - (Page 6)

EDITOR’S LETTER The Authority on Meetings & Incentives Public Enemy #1: Resort Destinations P U B L I S H E R : NE L L A V E L D R A N vice president and group publisher, travel group (646) 654-7325, nella.veldran@nielsen.com F irst we had the war on drugs. Then we had the war on terror. Now we have the war on fun destinations. Don’t expect to see the FBI holding any meetings in Las Vegas. Or Orlando either. Here’s a quote from a May email the U.S. Travel Association obtained from an FBI employee: “Conferences are not to be held in cities that are vacation destinations/spa/resort/gambling. Las Vegas and Orlando are the first two on the chopping block.” The odd thing is, at the same time the Justice Department was placing Las Vegas and Orlando on its “least wanted” list, President Obama was actually in Las Vegas—attending an event of all things. Back in May, the President visited Las Vegas for a celebrity-packed fundraiser for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at Caesars Palace. Hypocrisy aside, the government’s unwritten blacklist is punishing traveldependent states, such as Nevada and Florida. Ironically, those destinations, which have tens of thousands of hotel rooms and millions of square feet of conference space, often offer great rates as well as some of the most professional event staff to be found anywhere. President Obama and his staff said as much when he was at Caesars in May. The President is reported to have told Caesars Palace GM John Unwin: “I love staying at Caesars Palace.” Additionally, the head of the President’s Secret Service detail expressed that the hotel’s flexibility and performance as a property ranks at the top of any hotel they have worked with anywhere in the world. This month’s cover story offers further proof of how important meetings held at resort destinations are to the business community. Turn to page 36 and read how Chris Brown, planner of the National Association of Broadcasters’ media show, held annually in Las Vegas, tracks the sales generated by the event—$50 billion in 2009. Not surprisingly, the help he receives from the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority plays a huge role in the success of the event. Stories like Brown’s need to be told if we’re ever going to change the misguided perception that resort destinations are not places to conduct serious business. It’s time to get these destinations on the FBI’s “most wanted” list. VINCENT ALONZO editor-in-chief, vince.alonzo@nielsen.com KINLEY LEVACK managing editor, kinley.levack@nielsen.com ANDREA DOYLE senior editor, andrea.doyle@nielsen.com LEO JAKOBSON senior editor, leo.jakobson@nielsen.com WILLIAM NG contributing editor, william.ng@nielsen.com NANCY LAZARUS research director, nancy.lazarus@nielsen.com JENNIFER RUF art director, jennifer.ruf@nielsen.com PRODUCTION (646) 654-7293, Grace Casey, production manager CUSTOM PUBLISHING (305) 884-0295 MARILYN MOORE, editorial director; Alison Golub, executive editor; Karen Gines, executive editor (performance); Sarah Veit, associate editor; Denniston Brown, creative director; Michelle Tropiano, art director; Jonathan Chan, associate art director; Tessa Sestina, associate art director INFORMATION MARKETING (646) 654-7258 Shelly Patton, manager, audience marketing, shelly.patton@nielsen.com SUBSCRIPTIONS (847) 763-9050 MARKETING (646) 654-7263 Catherine Marchese, marketing manager, travel group (646) 654-5131, catherine.marchese@nielsen.com ADVERTISING (646) 654-7327, New York office REPRINTS The YGS Group, Jenny Kintner, (800) 324-2930, successfulmeetings@theYGSgroup.com For one-time use of our content: Dana Parra, (646) 654-4696, dana.parra@nielsen.com LIST RENTAL Nikki Miller, (646) 654-7261 Editorial Offices: 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 (646) 654-7361; Fax (646) 654-7365; www.SuccessfulMeetings.com President: Greg Farrar Seni or Vice President, Human Resources: Michael Alicea Sen ior Vice President, Finance: Sloane Googin Sen io r Vice President, Marketi n g: Mark Hosbein Se ni or Vice President, Media & Entertainment: Gerry Byrne S e n i o r Vi c e P r e s i d e n t , B r a n d M e d i a a n d Corporate Development: Andrew Bilbao Se ni or Vice President, Retail: David Loechner Seni or Vice President, Building & Design: Joe Randall S en i or Vice President, Central Ser vices: Mary Kay Sustek V ice President, Licensing: Howard Appelbaum V ice President, M a n u fac t u ring & D is tri b u ti on : Jennifer Grego V ice President, A ud ie nc e M a r k e t i n g : Joanne Wheatley Re e This M cycl a ga Plea se Vincent Alonzo, Editor-in-Chief vince.alonzo@nielsen.com se rts for & Samples Be 6 I SM I August 2009 I SuccessfulMeetings.com eR ec y cling zin e e In ov Rem http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - August 2009

Successful Meetings - August 2009
Contents
Editors Letter
Planning for the World, in 5 Days
Education
Personal Success
Incentive Insights
Food & Beverage
Management Matters
Gurus
Visionaries
The Show Must Go On
What Happens in Vegas...
Rolling on the High Seas
Betting on Meetings
Meetings Hype 2.0
Places and Spaces
Midwest Meetings
Cleveland
Palm Springs Desert Resorts
Cancun
Portland
2009 Pinnacle Awards

Successful Meetings - August 2009

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