American Express Meetings & Events (AMEX M&E) – a division of American Express Global Business Travel – has renewed its partnership with event technology provider Doubledutch.
The agreement is an extension of an existing partnership, and will see Amex M&E use Doubledutch’s mobile attendee experience solutions for clients with “mature and robust” meetings and events programmes.
A screenshot from the Doubledutch website
Doubledutch’s event management platform creates attendee experiences to encourage networking. As part of the new deal, the technology’s engagement data is now available within Meetings Insights, Amex M&E’s centralised data platform. This results in insights and reporting around individual events as well as across an entire meetings programme.
Additionally, the new agreement allows for the integration of travel data into event apps to create a “one-stop shop” for attendees travelling to an event, as well as personalised content, safety check prompts and advanced surveys.
As a part of the Meetings Marketplace, DoubleDutch has been vetted against American Express Meetings & Events’ standards for finance, compliance and security.
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Concept
The restaurant is inviting and homely, much like its speciality shippoku cuisine, which dates from 400 years ago.
At that time, international traders flocked to Nagasaki as it was one of the few open Japanese ports. Most hailed from China, Portugal and the Netherlands, so the city developed into a melting pot. The result was shippoku, which is a fusion of ingredients, cooking methods and serving styles from each country.
Shippoku cuisine. Photo: Kathryn Wortley
Food
The cuisine typically uses fowl, fish and game meats, as well as vegetables and rice, and is served as several small dishes that comprise a full meal.
Ginza Nagasaki Shippoku Hamakatsu offers five kinds of sharing courses for groups, ranging from US$46 to US$82 per person. There are also meals for individual customers.
MICE application
The restaurant’s first and third floors offer a casual dining environment. The hall on the first floor is done up in Western-style with circular tables and banquettes, and can seat 50 pax. The third floor, meanwhile, offers Japanese-style seating on low tables complete with cushions and tatami matting, and can accommodate 30 pax.
Second floor dining area. Photo: Kathryn Wortley
On the second floor, groups can enjoy a sophisticated dining experience in modern private or semi-private rooms furnished in Japanese or Western style. Regardless of furnishing style, rooms all have Western-style chairs and together accommodate 40 pax.
Service
The staff are knowledgeable about shippoku cuisine and provide a detailed description of each item on the course menu, making a meal here particularly appealing for corporate groups with an interest in food.
Monaco: Grimaldi Forum to benefit from city extension
The Principality of Monaco has launched an offshore extension project, which will expand its territory by six hectares in 2020.
The future eco-district, which has been named Portier Cove, will comprise a one-hectare public park; a 3,000 m2 retail area; a 9,000 m2 extension for Grimaldi Forum congress and conference centre; a marina with approximately 30 moorings; and public facilities such as a 160-space car park.
The additional area will allow the Grimaldi Forum to accommodate larger-scale events and increase its exhibition capacity by 50 per cent. These extra exhibition areas and conference rooms will be easily accessible and connected to the Diaghilev Exhibition Hall on level one. The extended area will also have its own independent entrance.
Manchester: EventCity to upgrade its offerings
EventCity, the largest exhibition and events venue in the north of England, has begun a major investment into updating its event spaces, including Hall 4. The £500,000 (US$644,761) refurbishment includes refurbishing all 10 of the venue’s meeting rooms and renaming them after Manchester people both past and present such as Emmeline Pankhurst, George Stephenson and Tom Kilburn, creator of the first computer.
San Francisco: Moscone Center opens its doors
The US$551 million refurbishment of Moscone Centre – the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California – has been completed.
The construction, which was completed in phases over four years, has added 14,585m2 of usable space. In total, the Moscone Center now offers more than 46,900m2 of contiguous space and boasts a new 4,624m2 column-free ballroom. Before expansion, the largest contiguous space was about 24,150m2.
A new function and event space is set to open its doors this coming August at Victoria’s largest indoor/outdoor events and exhibition venue, Melbourne Showgrounds.
The newly expanded 2,500m2 event space will feature a pillarless 1,950m2 room, ideal for functions and exhibitions, alongside a new 600m2 glass foyer. The space will be able to accommodate up to 1,000 guests for gala dinners or 1,800 guests for cocktail or theatre-style events.
Melbourne Showgrounds
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The event space also boasts complete climate control, high ceilings and an unobstructed floor space.
Located seven kilometres from the Australian city’s CBD, Melbourne Showgrounds features onsite car parking and public transport stops within a five-minute walk. A number of new accommodation options have also risen nearby.
Claire Steele has taken over Kate Drury to become exhibition manager of Meetings, the annual business travel show organised by Conventions & Incentives New Zealand (CINZ) in Auckland.
Originally from the UK, Steele has been holding various roles in New Zealand’s hospitality and training sector for the past nine years.
In the UK, she was previously working in the corporate and contract hospitality industry.
Maxim Baile has been appointed executive chef at 137 Pillars Suites & Residences in Thailand.
He joins 137 Pillars Suites & Residences from his prior role as chef culinary instructor at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institut Paris, Bangkok.
Originally from France, Baile honed his skills in a variety of international locations including Scotland, Mauritius, Denmark, French Polynesia, and Kazakhstan, before arriving in Thailand.
His 15 years of experience include heading the World Hotel Saltanat in Almaty as executive chef; as well as work experience at Michelin-star restaurant and hotel Chateau De Noirieux in Briollay.
Rosmalia Hardman has been named the new director of revenue, sales and marketing for Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific’s managed properties across South-east Asia.
From the company’s corporate office in Singapore, Rosmalia will lead a team focusing on building strategic marketing campaigns, strengthening revenue channels and driving sales growth at Wyndham’s collection of properties in South-east Asia.
The Singaporean joins Wyndham with more than 30 years of experience driving revenue improvements and creating cross-sector partnerships in a range of industries including hospitality, business services, property development and education across Asia and the Middle East.
Prior to her appointment, Rosmalia was chief brand and marketing officer at SIS Group of Schools in Indonesia.
Previously, she developed experience in marketing and sales in the hospitality industry through senior executive roles in companies like Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Melia Hotels, Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts and Kempinski Hotels.
She also worked as the chief marketing officer at property developer, Lippo Karawaci, where she oversaw the expansion of Aryaduta Hotel Group.
How did you get started in business events?
I have always been fascinated with interacting with and understanding people from different cultures, so after I graduated with a masters degree in Social and Culture Anthropology, I chose a career that matched my interest and values.
I started off in Brussels, Belgium with a European PCO where I worked on a vast number of international conferences.
Vivian Zhang
Is work satisfying?
Although the PCO workload is heavy and complicated, there is a great sense of achievement when the conference outcome is successful.
Whenever I see intelligent people gather to promote and spread new ideas, showcase advanced technology, get consensus on industry resolutions, give newcomers a stage to shine, enhance the urban economy and increase someone’s visibility and reputation, it is very satisfying.
The more I immerse myself in the industry, the more I find myself knowing too little. So I have committed myself to absorbing new knowledge and skills during every moment of my career.
What is your main role at MCI China?
I am in charge of the overall operation and management of the PCO Division, and training is an important aspect.
How has the business events industry evolved?
There has been a big change in the overall environment. The industry is working hard to find new profit channels and breakthroughs. Competition is intense, especially in recent years. China’s strict compliance requirements have affected PCO business, and PCOs need to stay up-to-date and familiarise themselves with the changing compliance regulations across different industries and associations, as well as financial process, approval procedures, etc.
What challenges do you face at work?
The question we think about every day is how to remain competitive, and how to be an industry leader with leading innovations that other competitors strive to emulate.
PCOs are in a mature industry where many traditional practices have been used over the years, so we always strive to utilise the most advanced technology ahead of our competitors.
We introduced innovations – including face recognition technology registration, chip tracking of large data and 3D surgery live broadcast a few years ago – which are now widely used. On top of technological advances, we also constantly revamp our traditional service model to provide the best customer experience. We do not only have to learn new content, but also innovate and constantly step out of our comfort zone to explore the wider marketplace.
What motivates you?
I am an optimist. I believe that there are more solutions to be found than there are problems.
I am also thankful to MCI and my boss, Frankie Gao, for their trust and for giving me the platform and opportunity to do my best.
What do you do for fun?
I like to spend quality time with my family on my days off. I find time to travel around the world to visit new and fun places. I also do volunteer and charity work as well. As for my career, I just want to give my best in whatever I do, and see where this will take me.
An MoU recently inked between the Federation of Chinese Physicians & Acupuncturists of Malaysia (FCPAAM) and Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB) will pave the way for the former to set up its regional office in Kuching, the state capital of Sarawak.
The decision to have a regional base in Kuching is an effort on FCPAAM’s part to reach out to spinal health practitioners in Asia-Pacific and to grow the Malaysian sector.
FCPAAM’s Ng Po Kok (fourth from left) and SCB’s Amelia Roziman (third from right) and their teams
FCPAAM is the first federation to be part of the Business Events Sarawak Association Centre, an effort by the SCB to attract associations to establish regional associations in the city through incentives including a two-year complimentary office suite or a desk; complimentary Wi-Fi, and access to a welcome reception area, meeting rooms and 24-hour security.
Ng Po Kok, president of both FCPAAM and the Malaysia Spinal Health Association, of which the latter is also a member of the federation, shared in a press statement: “The alliance between the Association and SCB has positioned us well to carry out our mission, given that Sarawak is becoming a notable second-tier destination with undeniable potential in the business events sector.”
Amelia Roziman, COO at SCB, added: “Furthermore, the support from the Sarawak state government and local communities empowers the industry, so this will inspire and encourage more associations to do the same (and set up regional offices in Kuching).”
The FCPAAM office is located on Level 3 of SCB’s office at Plaza Aurora.
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