Beyond Asia: Hilton Des Moines Downtown, Holiday Inn Helsinki, and Muscat International Airport

Here’s TTGmice’s weekly round up of MICE developments outside of Asia-Pacific

First hotel connected to Iowa Events Center opens for business
The Hilton Des Moines Downtown has opened its doors as the only hotel directly connected to the Iowa Events Center, which comprises a world-class convention centre and the Wells Fargo arena. Hilton Des Moines Downtown offers 1,300m² of meeting space, including a 929m² ballroom that opens onto an outdoor terrace. The property is said to be the only hotel in downtown Des Moines that features natural light in every meeting room.

In keeping with the tech-centric theme of the hotel, meeting rooms feature technology including touch-screen navigation signage, smart window lighting and Click Share technology in boardrooms. The hotel will also be home to Park Street Kitchen, a modern restaurant featuring dishes created with locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients and Des Moines’ only outdoor, patio fireplace.

Messukeskus business events hotel gets a facelift
The Holiday Inn hotel at Finland’s largest convention facility – Messukeskus Helsinki, Expo and Convention Centre – is undergoing a year-long renovation project, which will cover the entire building, including hotel rooms, service points, technology and interior. The hotel is currently closed and is scheduled to reopen at the beginning of 2019.

Muscat International Airport unveils phase one of upgrades
The first phase of expansion at Oman’s Muscat International Airport is now operational, with the addition of a 580,000m² terminal bringing the total airport land area to 21km².

This increases the gateway’s passenger capacity to 20 million, up from the previous 12 million passengers in 2017. The new terminal has a departure hall that features three entrance gates connecting to 96 flight check-in facilities. First & Business class passengers flying with Oman Air will be assisted separately at 12 check-in counters and three supervisor counters. In addition, guests in transit at the new terminal will be able to choose from 100 shopping and dining outlets. Subsequent phases of the airport upgrade are aimed to boost the number to 24, 36 and 48 million passengers per annum.