Six InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) hotels and resorts in Singapore and Batam have launched a Meet For Free package.

The package is valid with a minimum booking of 10 guestrooms per night for new bookings by August 1, 2017 and event materialisation by September 30, 2017.

It includes perks such as breakfast, lunch, complimentary Wi-Fi, a morning welcome reception, two meeting breaks with three snack items, unlimited coffee and tea for the duration of the event, and the assistance of experienced on-site event planners.

Meeting spaces will come complete with whiteboards, flip charts, markers, LCD projectors, audio-visual equipment and on-site technical support.

The participating hotels are InterContinental Singapore, Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong, Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium, Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre and Holiday Inn Resort Batam. In total, the six hotels have 50 meeting rooms and almost 2,000 guestrooms.

This offer is subject to availability of rooms and meeting space, and not valid in conjunction with other negotiated rates, offers, discounts or promotions. Second occupancy rates with or without meeting package inclusions are available.

Following the attack of a lone gunman at the Resorts World Manila (RWM) casino on June 2, Marriott Grand Ballroom (MGB) and Marriott Hotel Manila – both located within the RWM complex – initially saw some booking cancellations.

Michelle Garcia, Marriott Hotel Manila’s director of marketing communications, said while no events took place at MGB on the day of the attack, there have been “rooms cancellations from last Friday until last week”.

Marriott Hotel Manila

Currently it’s back to business as usual for the hotels, and Garcia expects the situation to improve. She is confident that MGB and Marriott Hotel Manila will still be chosen for events due to the tight security, and since the incident did not take place on those properties.

Makati-based Travelexperts’ consultant Analiza Misa said some clients heading to MGB and Marriott Hotel Manila were considering cancelling their bookings.

As a show of confidence, Misa assured clients that they would be escorted by an agency representative in Manila to all destinations.

A DMC head, who requested anonymity, believes that the Marriott properties will recover quickly, given that MGB is the most advanced venue in the country while Marriott Hotel Manila has one of the highest occupancies in the metro.

As well, Garcia pointed out that they were on top of the situation and offered regular social media updates to the public, as well as their clients, since the unfortunate event.

The Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS) has created a youth wing.

This is part of MACEOS’ succession planning, and provides a platform for younger members to network and become more engaged with the association’s happenings.

Jason Teh (extreme left) with his committee memberJason Teh, a MACEOS member since 2013, has been appointed youth president and is part of a committee of nine. Teh is the account director, exhibitions & events marketing division at Pico International in Kuala Lumpur.

Through MACEOS Youth, Teh hopes to attract young talents to join MACEOS to build a larger membership filled with people below the age of 40 for the business events industry.

He added: “It is also about finding avenues to engage with university students involved in event management courses, and to provide them with an opportunity to learn more about the industry. It is also a good way for them to network and build their contacts while still in university.”

Francis Teo, honorary secretary at MACEOS, concluded: “The youth wing is a good way of getting youths involved in activities within the organisation, and for us to impart knowledge to the next generation of leaders.”

MCI, a provider of engagement and activation solutions for the meetings and event industry, has joined forces with C2 International to bring the C2 Melbourne conference to Australia for the first time.

Melbourne will host the business conference in its first iteration outside Montreal on November 30 and December 1, 2017.

For C2 Melbourne 2017, the theme will be “Ecosystems”, and the programming will explore fields like technology, arts and design, marketing, impact and leadership.

Visit www.c2melbourne.com for news and updates, including location, key note speakers and programme.

Sofitel has announced the largest Sofitel property in the Middle East with development partner MKM Commercial Holdings.

Expected to open in late 2019, Sofitel Dubai Wafi will join the luxury brand’s growing portfolio of 14 hotels and 4,400 rooms in operation and under development in the Middle East.

Sofitel Dubai Wafi will feature 501 luxury guestrooms, inclusive of 86 suites, ranging in size from 55m² to 625m², in addition to 97 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom serviced residences to be operated on an extended-stay basis. Facilities include a 1,115m² ballroom, 10 meeting rooms, a number of dining concepts, SoSpa, gym, outdoor pools with private cabanas and a kids club.

Corporate clients will appreciate the convenient access to primary business and exhibition centres including the Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai Healthcare City and the Dubai International Conference and Exhibition Centre.

Sami Nasser, COO, Luxury Brands, AccorHotels Middle East, said “this impressive project that will undoubtedly become a future flagship for Sofitel in the region”.

He added: “The development of this property is aligned with our strategy to operate one of our leading luxury brands across strategic locations in the Middle East.

“Within the UAE, we’ve established a strong presence with four operational hotels across landmark locations including Abu Dhabi Corniche, Downtown Dubai, the Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach Residences, and now Wafi – a major shopping destination set to undergo a comprehensive retail and leisure expansion.”

Grand Hyatt Singapore has introduced a line-up of wellness activities that organisers and planners can use to help delegates feel revived and stimulated.

Designed for a variety of purposes, with different levels of difficulty, and with some incorporating a greater focus on teamwork, these activities come in bite-sized “Take Five” periods, complimentary for in-house events.

To get the blood pumping, five minutes of condensed strength training or a “Dice Dancing” team game can be integrated into the day’s programme, although planners can also opt to have participants begin the day with “Power Hours” such as morning group runs or in-house exercises.

These wellness programmes also include less physical options – for example, quick code-breaker games, or neck and shoulder massages.

“We look at the whole day meeting experience and work with meeting organisers on how we can infuse action, thought and communication to sustain memory retention and energy,” said the hotel’s spa director Karu Nanithi.

For more information about events at Grand Hyatt Singapore, please call (65) 6416 7377 or e-mail singapore.grand@hyatt.com.

The Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA) is collaborating with Tourism Malaysia offices in Delhi and Chennai to jointly organise a roadshow to Kathmandu, Delhi and Colombo.

To be held from June 12-17, 2017, this is an attempt to boost visitor numbers from the business events and medical segments from South Asia.

MATTA vice president inbound & domestic, KL Tan said: “This is the third time we are collaborating with Tourism Malaysia and conducting a roadshow to these three cities, as revenue from the business events and medical segments is three times more than the average leisure segment.”

“Kathmandu and Nepal are new markets for business events but we believe it has the potential. Delhi is more mature, and we’re also looking at other Indian cities to hold similar roadshows next year,” added MATTA’s exco member for India, Ganneesh Ramaa.

He pointed out that it was time to promote Malaysia as the government had recently introduced an e-visa facility and waived the visa fee of 1,000 rupees (US$16), and reduced the visa processing fee from 5,500 to 1,600 rupees.

Richard Vuilleumier, managing director at Panorama Holidays Malaysia, said his company was participating in the roadshow as he wanted a bigger share of the South Asian leisure and business events segments.

He elaborated: “We have a representative in Jalandhar to help us build the leisure and MICE markets in India. However, Kathmandu and Colombo are both new markets which we want to tap.”

The roadshow will involve 22 suppliers from Malaysia including 17 DMCS, the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council, and key attractions such as Resorts World Genting and Perak’s Movie Animation Parks Studio.

Spooked by massive, modern convention centres emerging in neighbouring Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Hong Kong stakeholders have urged the government to quickly expand its existing exhibition and convention space.

Speaking at the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Industry Association’s annual conference last week, Adsale Exhibition Services’ chairman, Stanley Chu, stressed: “We do not favour the idea of a third venue in the city as this will not solve the problem of trade organisers that want to hold a large-scale event under one roof.

“Instead, the government should expand existing spaces such as the AsiaWorld-Expo and Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in order to sustain growth. The city will lack about 132,000m² of space during the high season in the coming 15 years, so if we don’t expand, somebody like Shenzhen, will do it for us.”

Chu cautioned that the rapid development in the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou will gradually erode Hong Kong’s role in the tradeshow business. For instance, the 500,000m² Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Center – touted as the world’s biggest exhibition venue – will complete its first phase (400,000m²) in December 2018.

This sentiment is echoed by HKCEC (Management)’s managing director, Monica Lee-Müller, who hopes that existing venues can be expanded within the next two decades.

“The adding of infrastructure for exhibitions – to improve effectiveness and buyers’ experience – requires more government support and a clarity of vision. Visitors enjoy (Hong Kong’s) convenience, standard of facility and infrastructure, so we have to keep improving on this,” said Global Sources’ CEO, Craig Pepples.

According to HKECIA, 56 international event applications were turned down in 2013, due to a shortage of space. The combined total space of AsiaWorld-Expo and HKCEC currently stands at 136,000m².