Adrian Chan is appointed the new general manager of Sanya Marriott Hotel Dadonghai Bay and The Shanhaitian Resort Sanya, Autograph Collection.
The hospitality veteran has over 22 years of management experience in various cities – including Calgary, Beijing, Suzhou, Chengdu and Sanya – under his belt.
Born in Hong Kong, Chan first started his career at the Calgary Marriott before taking up various operational roles in other international luxury hospitality companies, including Fairmont, IHG, MGM, Swire and Rosewood.
Prior to this appointment, he was also the pre-opening hotel manager for Rosewood Sanya.
The Japanese city of Hiroshima has launched a new campaign to bring awareness to a set of new unique event venues, determined to convince planners to be a little more adventurous in their choice of a host city.
“Hiroshima is as well known as Tokyo and Osaka around the world, but only because it was the first city to be the target of an atomic bomb,” said Takayuki Kitayoshi, executive director of the Hiroshima Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Hiroshima city (pictured) has a new campaign in place aimed at attracting more business events
“We want people to know us as more than just a city of peace, so we have begun a campaign to promote a number of unique venues that we believe will appeal to people who come to Hiroshima from abroad for business events,” he said.
The new venues include the mountainside Irori Sanzoku restaurant and gardens, the Hiroshima Museum of Art, the new Hiroshima Orizuru Tower and the impressive Daisyoin Temple.
Kitayoshi: Hiroshima has so much to offer
“We are also creating a better environment in terms of our conference centre and other meeting facilities, as well as improving the ‘soft’ side through the ‘omotenashi’ (hospitality) welcome of the people of Hiroshima,” Kitayoshi told TTGmice.
The bureau is reaching out to potential groups by attending major tradeshows including those in Frankfurt and Las Vegas, enhancing its web presence, and collaborating with the Japan National Tourism Organization.
The city hosted 87 international business events in 2017, and has set a target of 100 in the year 2020, according to Yukiharu Sakaya, director of the city government’s Tourism Policy Department.
“We are a regional city that is famous for our past but we want to show off our present to the world, and we are reaching out to organisations all around the world to encourage them to come to Hiroshima,” said Sakaya.
Given the city’s size and accommodation options – Hiroshima has 15,000 hotel rooms – it is probably better suited to smaller events, although authorities here are also looking into piggy-backing cultural events and receptions on larger conferences and exhibitions in other parts of Japan.
The Rydoo Manila team settling into their new office
Travel and expense management platform, Rydoo, will be opening two more offices in Manila, the Philippines, and Lisbon, Portugal just five months after its launch.
The company’s hub in Manila will have a two-fold objective – to better serve its existing global clients operating in the Asia-Pacific region, and to support the growing local demand for a travel and expense management solution.
The Rydoo Manila team settling into their new office
Meanwhile in Europe, Lisbon will host the company’s fourth European hub, and the corp-up is targeting to bring onboard 20 new employees by January 2019.
“We have experienced an accelerated growth since the launch of Rydoo five months ago. The time is right for us to expand our presence in Asia-Pacific and open new hubs. Manila and Lisbon are great places when it comes to innovation and talent,” explained Sebastien Marchon, CEO of Rydoo.
Rydoo reinvents and simplifies business travel and expense management through the expertise of the two startups from which it emerged: Xpenditure and iAlbatros.
Headquartered in Paris, Mechelen and Warsaw, Rydoo currently operates in 63 markets and services more than 6,500 customers.
Topping the 2018 competitive rankings of the 54 cities are Paris and Washington.
An index that ranked cities – based on their competitive strength for attracting international conventions – was unveiled at the 52nd ICCA Congress, recently held in Dubai.
GainingEdge’s International Convention Destination Competitive Index uses 11 key drivers that influence the decision-making of associations in selecting venues. The first three drivers which account for 45 per cent of the total score are the “hygiene factors” or the essentials, such as convention centre capacity, hotel capacity and air access.
The next three drivers with 30 per cent weightage are “competitive advantage” factors. This includes the size of the destination’s association community, cost and destination appeal in both business and tourism. The remaining 25 per cent fall into “key differentiators”, which includes logistics, market size, economy, business environment, safety and stability.
GainingEdge’s CEO Gary Grimmer told TTGmice that the index for now ranks 54 cities in ICCA’s 2017 list – destinations that have hosted 150 or more international conventions. It will be expanded to more than 200 cities later.
Topping the 2018 competitive rankings of the 54 cities are Paris and Washington. Meanwhile in Asia, Singapore is the Asian leader both in terms of the number of meetings hosted and competitiveness, followed by Tokyo, Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Shanghai and Taipei.
Paris topped the 2018 competitive rankings of the 54 cities
Grimmer shared that while ICCA’s yearly statistics tell cities how much business they are hosting, the competitive index can be a standard resource in determining how much business they should be getting. He added that there is no direct correlation between the ICCA numbers and those in GainingEdge’s competitive index.
“Our index really has nothing to do with which are the most successful cities. And, we are also stressing that this is not a qualitative study. This is not about which cities are the best choices for international conventions. This is about which cities overall have the most competitive products.
“This is an assessment of how destinations compare in general, in terms of their product offerings, as well as other factors that are most frequently considered in destination decisions,” pointed out Grimmer.
Also part of the index is a scenario model which plots the cities based on two considerations: whether their business is growing or declining, and whether they are hosting more or fewer conventions than the competitive index suggests that they should.
The scenario model aims to help destinations gain insights into where they are and whether they should be in market share building mode, or market protection mode, Grimmer said.
GainingEdge has factored into the equation the “concept of fair share”. By factoring the competitive strength of destinations against the total business being produced in their competitive sets, the index can give them an indication of whether they are ahead or behind where they should be.
“Providing a means of calculating fair share will be very powerful for cities as they seek to align government expectations with the resources required to get the job done,” explained Grimmer.
He said the index has useful applications for CVBs and destinations including competition analysis, goal setting, performance measurement, strategic visioning, planning, resourcing and product development, as well as communications and branding.
Global travel management company Carlson Wagonlit Travel has launched CWT AnswerIQ, an AI-powered data insight, reporting and visualisation tool that has been touted to work as a “personalised search engine”.
“CWT AnswerIQ makes corporate travel reporting as easy as shopping for your next pair of shoes on the internet,” said Eric Tyree, chief data scientist, Carlson Wagonlit Travel. “You type your request in the search box, AnswerIQ goes through all your data, and gives you the answers – visualised for ease of understanding.”
A screenshot from the CWT AnswerIQ demo
By incorporating search engine capabilities on top of CWT’s data lake, CWT AnswerIQ allows clients to access all the data about their own travel programmes in a simple and intuitive way.
The tool provides visibility over three years’ worth of data, updated multiple times every day. Using AI-assisted search technology and machine learning, it adapts and improves its search capabilities, and becomes more personalised over time.
Currently available on a 60-day free trial, CWT AnswerIQ provides a variety of visualisation options. Users can design, create and share dashboards with their colleagues, improving programme effectiveness and saving clients time and money.
ICCA’s interim CEO Dennis Speet has voiced out that he is interested to fill the plum post for a longer term.
“The ICCA Board encouraged me to apply for the job as well. I’m currently considering if I should,” shared Speet with TTGmice. Speet was ICCA’s former chief value officer who accepted the offer to temporarily fill the CEO post when his predecessor, Martin Sirk, vacated the position at the end of July after 16 years in service.
Dennis Speet
Currently, there is a growing number of contenders for the position, but Speet puts forth that his edge is that he’s already familiar with ICCA’s directions and operations, having clocked 22 years with the organisation.
“We started the search process shortly before the Congress (in Dubai) and we have received over 20 applications already. We anticipate more applications as the deadline is in January 2019,” Speet said.
Brussels-based European Affairs Recruitment Specialist will assist ICCA in selecting and evaluating the next CEO, with the closing date for applications set on January 15.
“The involvement of an external recruitment agent in the selection process of a new CEO will ensure the professional, impartial and anonymous approach towards selecting the right candidate,” he explained.
The next CEO is expected to start work in April and will be offered a three-year renewable contract instead of permanent employment.
Association chiefs discuss the critical need for succession planning and a smooth leadership transition in the wake of ICCA CEO’s sudden exit. Read about it in TTGassociations January 2019.
Concept
Five of the rooms of the old brewery have been converted into event spaces that provide beautiful, practical facilities for corporate meetings or dinners parties while accentuating the original features of the building.
Hakata Hyakunengura’s courtyard
Events can be proceeded or followed by a sake tasting experience, with expertise on drinks provided by staff. Drinks include freshly brewed sake that can be drunk only at the brewery, and sparkling varieties that utilise local produce such as the Fukuoka’s famous Amaou strawberries.
The on-site shop features a dizzying array of sake options for purchase as well as cups, glasses, other sake paraphernalia, and the brewery’s own sake-infused confections.
MICE application
The Hall, which seats 110 guests, boasts high ceilings with exposed wooden eaves, original wooden beams and white-washed walls with wood paneling.
Hakata Hyakunengura Hall
The Ichibangura Room, which seats 70 guests, is similar in architecture and furnishings, with dark wood throughout. Both are equipped with projection equipment.
The theme continues in the Sankura Room, which seats 46 guests. Its white-washed walls are adorned with sake memorabilia from the early days of the brewery.
Seating 28 and 24 guests respectively, the Okunoma and Sakabayashinoma Rooms are smaller and more modern, while retaining the historic feeling of the building.
A table and two seats handmade by using traditional wooden sake cups are available for use by guests of honour.
The brewery offers a wide range of lunch and dinner set meals that can fit groups of varying budgets. Attendees can also enjoy the brewery’s own sake from its original vessels.
A pick-up service is available for groups of 50 guests or more.
Crown Melbourne has unveiled The Crown Aviary, an outdoor rooftop function venue that sits on Level 3 of the Crown Towers Hotel.
The Crown Aviary
1 of 3
The Crown Aviary boasts a space suitable for up to 550 people in a standing cocktail setting, or 400 seated and with personalised F&B packages and styling by Dann Event Hire.
The venue is a combination of a 20m x 30m of enclosed event space, and a landscaped outdoor space including lawn and decking areas. The space is full heated and air conditioned, with custom-built bathroom facilities.
IBTM, part of global exhibition organiser Reed Travel Exhibitions, has appointed David Thompson as exhibition director for IBTM World.
He brings with him an international perspective having organised exhibitions and conferences across Europe, the Middle East and the US.
Thompson has spent the last 14 years in the industry producing award-winning events for the likes of Haymarket Exhibitions, BBC, Informa, Daily Mail Group and Clarion Events.
In his previous role at Clarion, Thompson ran a portfolio of security events which each year played host to over 15,000 attendees from more than 100 countries, building strong relationships with government and industry.
IBTM World 2018 takes place from November 27-29 at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona. This year the event will welcome around 3,000 exhibiting companies from over 150 countries, over 3,500 buyers and thousands of visitors for meetings, networking and educational sessions.
The Marriott brand finally breaks into Yogyakarta, a growing city that has been attracting upscale corporate-friendly hotels.
Yogyakarta Marriott Hotel
Rooms
The 347-key hotel offers 140 twin rooms of various categories, making it a cinch for event planners to accommodate larger groups of delegates.
I love that even the Deluxe Room, the humble lead-in room category, was spacious and impressive. It measures a generous 40m2, and once the sliding walls between the bedroom and the bathroom are retracted, the room feels even more spacious.
MICE Facilities
Yogyakarta Marriott Hotel has a few things to boast about when it comes to business events offerings.
Kraton Grand Ballroom, which seats 2,500 people theatre-style or 1,650 banquet guests, is recognised as the largest venue of its kind in the city. The ballroom can be split into three smaller sections, each good for 750 pax in a theatre setup.Supporting the ballroom are seven meeting rooms that can host events with 100 to 140 guests, theatre style.
These venues are placed together in an area with a dedicated entrance, ensuring privacy for event attendees.
Large pre-function spaces allow for easier crowd control.
Another pride of the hotel is its event technology. All meeting rooms are fitted with 176-programmable pillow lights, adjustable ceiling lights which can produce 360 different colours – the first hotel in town with this feature – as well as high-steel platforms and catwalk structures.
Planners and event attendees also enjoy the support of the Marriott’s Meeting Service App, which allows service requests to be made in real time.
The hotel takes events support a step further by providing free booking tools, allowing attendees to easily reserve accommodation, as well as mobile check-in.
Other facilities
There are three F&B outlets in the hotel: The Yogyakarta Kitchen all-day dining restaurant; Taman Sari Bar & Grill, a Mediterranean casual eatery by the pool; and the Lounge.
For relaxation, there is Quan Spa, a 24-hour fitness centre, and an indoor and outdoor pool with a whirlpool that comes surrounded by tropical gardens and a sun deck.
Room count: 347 Star rating: Five Contact: Tel: (62-274) 6000888 Website: www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/jogmc-yogyakarta-marriott-hotel/
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