Incentive - April 2008 - (Page 36)

SAN DIEGO TRAVEL Skyline view of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, opening this fall Gourmet cuisine by celebrity chef Damon Gordon for Ivy Hotel’s Quarter Kitchen Planners Get Turned On to Gaslamp lanners are already familiar with the clement weather and scenic location of San Diego, Southern California’s city by the bay. Home of Sea World, The San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, Balboa Park, Petco Park Stadium and the new Diamond View Tower overlooking the ballpark, the city offers visitors a cornucopia of fun sights and activities. But there’s a recently emerging chic side to San Diego, one that’s attracting attention from incentive groups and jet-set companies like Virgin Atlantic, Rolls-Royce and Jaguar. It’s the downtown San Diego area known as the Gaslamp Quarter—the only two words a planner needs to know about this suddenly hip U.S. destination. By Anne Marie D. Lee San Diego’s historic downtown area becomes a trendy hotspot P “In recent years, we have seen such a regeneration in the area,” says Geraldine Hayes, general manager, TBA Global, a destination management company in San Diego, “from the high-rise buildings, to the city growing, to young people moving in. And that has transcended through to our events. And the convention center is downtown too, so if people are at a convention, they usually stay in one of the hotels right next to it, and a lot of their evening events are going to be in the Gaslamp.” An historic area, the Gaslamp district itself is not new, but has recently emerged with a panoply of cafes, galleries, restaurants and furtive nightlife. One increasingly trendy event idea, according to Hayes, is for groups to take over a nightclub. For a recent incentive and meeting group of 150 distributors and guests for a Canadian company called OK Tire, TBA put together a diverse lineup of events and activities that included, on the second night of the four-night trip, a private event at nightclub Belo (pronounced “below”). Described by Hayes as a great bar and lounge, Belo also has a stage for a band and dancers, and can accommodate 600 seated and 1,200 for a reception. For OK Tire, the club was set up with various food stations throughout its five different rooms. Says Hayes, “We had a band playing; we had go-go dancers. People could move around, they could sit leisurely, or they could listen to music; and we had really interesting food stations, great cocktails. It was really fun.” 36 | Incentive | April 2008 | incentivemag.com http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - April 2008

Incentive - April 2008
Contents
Editor’s Note: Publicity-Shy Pharmaceuticals
In The News
Cover Story: AstraZeneca on Incentives and Giving Back
Incentive Interview: Hotelier Stephanie Sonnabend
Case Study: U.S. Cellular Celebrates Coming of Age
De-Stressing the Workplace
Incentive Primer: Social Networking On the Job
Original Research: Incentive Merchandise IQ Report
Travel News
San Diego’s Gaslamp District Gets Hotter
Voluptuous Vienna
potentials Here and Now
Make A Splash With Water Sports Awards
Zoom In On Digital Cameras
Gift Cards: Resellers Add More Than Choice
Advertiser Index
Off The Cuff: Secrets of the Mayflower Spa
Special Supplement-Las Vegas Incentive Planners Guide

Incentive - April 2008