DAY meeting packages are now on offer at the Oriental Residence Bangkok, a 145-key luxurious property with four function rooms.

Priced from 1,300 baht (US$41), excluding surcharge and taxes, the meeting package includes breakfast for one, two coffee breaks, lunch, use of an LCD projector, Wi-Fi Internet access and shuttle service to BTS Chidlom station.

Event planners who confirm their events can also enjoy one of the following perks: a complimentary one-bedroom suite for two nights during the meeting, two complimentary upgrades to a one-bedroom suite, a one-way airport transfer in a Jaguar, free flow of soft drinks during lunch and welcome morning reception with assorted Danish pastries.

Special accommodation rates are available too. A Grand Deluxe Room goes for 4,100 baht per room per day, excluding surcharge and taxes.

The promotion is valid from now until March 31 next year.

Contact Nannaphat Jiemrugeekul, associate director of sales, at (66-0) 2125-9012 or Nannaphat.j@oriental-residence.com.

JW MARRIOTT Hotel Bangkok is offering a stay-and-meet package that features its Manhattan Studio meeting room and suites.

Priced from 7,500 baht (US$235), the package includes single occupancy in a suite, meeting package for Manhattan Studio, international breakfast and happy hours at the Executive Lounge, and Internet connectivity.

Events must be booked and held by January 31, 2014 to qualify for this offer.

Conditions apply.

Contact on-anong.k@marriott.com for more details.

CLUB floor guests can now look forward to a different experiential activity daily at the newly renovated The Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore.

A new introduction to the Club Lounge, which is accessible only to club floor guests, the experiential activities include wine tastings with a sommelier, bespoke cocktail mixing, chocolate afternoon tea, live music, caricature paintings by a resident caricaturist, handcrafted a la minute authentic Singaporean cuisine presentations and Sunday champagne brunches.

Furthermore, guests who want to bring home a physical reminder of the splendid view of the Marina Bay and Kallang River offered at the Club Lounge, may retreat to The Drawing Room and sketch away using complimentary easel stands, paper and pencils provided.

These unique experiences are complemented by the refreshed interior of The Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge. Designed by Burega Farnell, the venue features luxurious details including custom-tailored furniture, wood feature panels, hand-woven carpets and a floor of Indonesian teak wood and Italian marble.

Peter Mainguy, general manager of the hotel, described the new Club Lounge as a “quintessentially luxurious vantage point for travellers” and explained that it was “tailored to be inspirational and experiential”.

The Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge is open from 07.00 to 23.00 daily and seats up to 75 guests. It is also equipped with a boardroom that can seat up to 10 guests.

HRG has promoted Yates Fei to the position of general manager of HRG China, effective October 1.

Fei, currently director of sales and account management, will succeed Harald Weber-Liel who will return to HRG Germany to take up a key position within the senior management team.

He will report to Greg Treasure, managing director of HRG Asia-Pacific and president of HRG North America.

Fei has been with HRG for the past eight years.

Commenting on Fei’s new appointment, Treasure said: “Yates has demonstrated a solid track record of significant achievements including playing a key role in winning a number of lucrative accounts for HRG China. He has also successfully migrated over 60 per cent of HRG China’s clients onto a card platform as well as implementing our online strategy for a number of large accounts.”

SINGAPORE Exhibition Services will debut two trade exhibitions in Yangon, Myanmar next year.

To be held at the Myanmar Convention Centre from October 15 to 17, the biennial Oil & Gas Myanmar 2014 (OGM 2014) will be a comprehensive showcase for petroleum geosciences, exploration and production and refining products and services. The event will bring together industry professionals and experts from independent, international and national oil and gas companies to share with visitors the issues and challenges facing the industry, the latest technologies and solutions available, as well as present opportunities to enhance business networks and collaboration.

Singapore Exhibition Services will also launch the first Manufacturing Myanmar 2014 next year, a trade event dedicated to manufacturing machinery, equipment, materials and services. It will run from October 2 to 4 at the same venue.

SHANGHAI UBM Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co (UBM Sinoexpo) has entered into an agreement yesterday with the Guzhen Town Government of Zhongshan City, Guangdong to establish a joint venture company that will manage the operations of the China (Guzhen) International Lighting Fair.

Launched in 1999 and organised by the Government of Zhongshan City, China Association of Lighting Industry and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the exhibition is regarded as one of the driving forces behind the rapid development of the lighting industry in Guzhen, which has come to be known as China’s lighting capital.

To be held from October 18 to 21 at the new Lighting Capital (Guzhen) Conference & Exhibition Center, the event this year is expected to see 1,000 exhibitors.

Last year’s show featured more than 600 exhibiting companies and drew 64,000 professional visitors from 103 countries.

Wei Hongrui, the town’s mayor, said the joint venture would see the creation of “a professional management committee to coordinate the functions of the various government departments, lighting markets and representatives of mainstream companies…to build the fair into a one-million square metre event”.

“Guzhen is the world’s largest lighting market and we hope that by working with UBM Sinoexpo, the fair will become the world’s largest and most influential trade exhibition and Guzhen will become a global lighting industry hub,” added Wei.

Wang Mingliang, founder and director of UBM Sinoexpo, said: “We have successful experience in working with industry associations to take their events to the next level. Take Furniture China as an example. We have been working closely with the China National Furniture Association for over 20 years on Furniture China, and it has grown from a 3,000m² show into a mega exhibition of 350,000m². This model will also work successfully for Guzhen’s lighting fair.”

MALAYSIA Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) has launched the Association Development Programme (ADP) to support the development of the country’s associations and encourage the hosting of international conventions.

Under the new programme, member associations are entitled to a variety of strategic initiatives such as financial and non-financial bid support and international engagements. A series of association management and conference planning seminars will provide training for association officers.

Commenting on MyCEB’s latest initiative, Yap Sook Ling, director of AOS Conventions & Events Malaysia, said: “ADP is good as it will help associations to better understand the bidding process, which in turn will make it easier for PCOs and DMCs to work with them. It will also help associations understand that there are many opportunities available for them to bid for world and regional meetings.

“Many associations still think that the job of DMCs merely involves booking of hotels and ballrooms. ADP will dispel that notion and create a better awareness of what is involved in making an international conference successful and the tools that are available, such as specialised software that can be used for the entire event, from registration to session booking to delegate payment.”

FOOD & Hotel Malaysia (FHM) will see its largest ever gathering this year, with a 30 per cent increase in floor space and a 40 per cent growth in participating companies.

To be held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from September 17 to 20, FHM 2013 is expected to draw 1,400 exhibitors from 50 nations and an estimated 20,000 visitors, according to organiser Alun Jones.

It will be held alongside the biennial Culinaire Malaysia event, which will see more than 1,000 culinary professionals from hotels and restaurants in attendance as well as international teams from 10 countries vying for 17 individual and team awards.

Culinaire Malaysia is jointly organised by the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), Chefs Association of Malaysia and Malaysian Food & Beverage Executive Association, and endorsed by the World Association of Cooks Societies and Ministry of Tourism & Culture Malaysia.

MAH vice president, Shaheen Shah, said: “It has always been our hope to encourage and upgrade the culinary standards of Malaysia and at the same time provide an opportunity for Malaysian and international chefs to showcase their global flavour.”

MAH will also be organising and hosting the ASEAN Hotel & Restaurant Association Conference on September 19. President of AHRA, Surapong Techaruvichit, will deliver the keynote address.

AEG Ogden has appointed Janet Hamilton general manager of the Darwin Convention Centre.

Hamilton replaces Malu Barrios who was recently appointed general manager of the Sydney Exhibition Centre at Glebe Island, a facility that is also managed by AEG Ogden.

Hamilton joins the Darwin venue from Energy Resources of Australia, where she was manager of external relations for four years.

Prior to moving to the Northern Territory, Hamilton had extensive major event and project management experience with the Sydney Olympic Organising Committee, the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority and Melbourne’s Docklands precinct.

In 2008, she was key project manager for the National Australia Banks’ 150th anniversary project, delivering a 12-month national programme of events and marketing initiatives.

AN EXCLUSIVE package for business travellers is now on offer at Dusit Thani Bangkok until October 31.

Priced from 4,500 baht (US$140) per room night, the package includes complimentary one-way transportation to or from the airport, late check-out until 16.00 and a range of other benefits.

The 517-room hotel is conveniently located in Bangkok’s business district, mere steps from train stations. Its club rooms and executive suites are designed for business travellers, while its Dusit Club Lounge includes a business centre and boardroom.

Contact dtbkrsvn@dusit.com for reservations.