Tauzia Hotel Management has placed Indira in the position of general manager of Harris-Pop! Hotels & Conventions Denpasar Bali. She has been with Tauzia since 2011.
Jean-Pierre Leclerc
Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor welcomes Leclerc as general manager. Leclerc was last general manager of Mövenpick Resorts and Spa, El Gouna.
James Ellis
FCM Travel Solutions has appointed Ellis as director of sales – North East Asia, based in Hong Kong. Ellis comes with a decade of travel industry experience.
Fabrice Collot
Collot is now general manager of Banyan Tree Macau. He joins from Wanda Vista Tianjin, China.
Diane Chen
Chen has been promoted to the position of general manager of the Shenyang New World Expo. She was previously deputy general manager, and has been with the centre since 2012.
Caroline Kerr
Kerr is now general manager of FCM Travel Solutions Hong Kong. She had worked for Flight Centre Travel Group across the Flight Centre, Corporate Traveller, Stage & Screen and FCM Travel brands in Australia and Hong Kong.
Anthony Quin
Quin is now general manager of Mövenpick Hotel Enshi in Hubei, China. He was last general manager of Mövenpick Hotel Hanoi.
Fulfilling a dream conference
Event brief
The supplier of bathroom and plumbing products, Plumbing Plus, wanted to hold its annual conference and had invited Daydream Island Resort & Spa – located in the Whitsundays island cluster in Queensland, Australia – to host it. The four-day event had 170 delegates and featured conference sessions, networking parties and dining functions which utilised multiple locations on the island.
Challenges
The resort was tasked to make the event memorable for delegates, hence organisers had to brainstorm for entertainment and activities that were one-of-a-kind.
There was also a lot of logistical planning and coordination required in order to ensure the programme ran smoothly, as meetings and activities were organised in various locations across the 1km-long Daydream Island.
The organisers also had to ensure that there were sufficient support vessels to transport all 170 delegates, and plan for them to arrive in a timely fashion so as not to disrupt the flow of activities.
Solutions
Delegates were invited to explore the resort’s stunning reef in its man-made lagoon – home to some of The Great Barrier Reef’s marine life – and the view left them with a memorable impression of the area’s natural wonders.
The resort also worked with local tourism operator Cruise Whitsundays to take all delegates, in separate batches, to the iconic Whitehaven Beach. The scenic cruise to the magnificent beach included a friendly guide who provided an informative commentary on the history of the area.
Meanwhile, the island’s variety of indoor and outdoor venues provided the flexibility required for both business meetings and leisure activities.
Jane Hermann, director of sales and marketing with Daydream Island Resort and Spa, said the compact size of Daydream Island had worked to the event’s advantage, as all locations used in the programme were within easy reach of the resort’s accommodation and conference venues.
“Hence, there was minimal disruption to the schedule,” said Hermann.
For the event to end in a spectacular style, the island called upon its specialist suppliers and on-island team. High profile performers such as Samantha Jade, Daryl Braithwaite and comedian Mikey Robins were brought in to entertain the crowd, while a pyrotechnics expert was on hand to light up the night sky with a dazzling fireworks finale.
Key takeaways
Hermann noted that “good pre-event planning and site inspections with the organiser” allowed logistical issues to be resolved before the event.
Event: Plumbing Plus Conference
Organiser: Conference In Style
Venue: Daydream Island Resort & Spa
Date: October 23-26, 2014
Number of participants: 170
Shangri-La’s Hambantota Resort & Spa
By Feizal Samath 
The latest hotel in Sri Lanka made waves in the tourism and events trade as soon as it was first announced; it was going to be the largest luxury resort in the country and the first internationally-branded high-end property to be built in Hambantota.
Now opened, Shangri-La’s Hambantota Resort & Spa is regarded as the best multipurpose facility for business events.
Location wise, Colombo is just an hour’s flight away. Daily flights available makes the hotel an easy pre/post-event product for event groups.
Rooms All 300 rooms and suites are luxurious and offer magnificent views of either the golf course, the sparkling lagoon or the Indian Ocean.
My deluxe room was spacious, with all the modern amenities one would expect of a five-star hotel. I especially appreciated the hassle-free Wi-Fi connection, which came complimentary and with instant connectivity, without troublesome password entry.
MICE facilities The hotel’s multipurpose ballroom can seat 1,200 guests and this is supported by five break-out rooms. Planners looking for an outdoor option have sprawling greens to choose from. These lush spaces are dotted with swaying king coconut trees.
Should planner desire, the hotel can help to arrange visits to the nearby Yala Wildlife Park and a bird sanctuary.
Other facilities It is home to an 18-hole golf course, three swimming pools, the signature CHI spa, four restaurants and bars, and The Village, which celebrates local arts and crafts and provides guest activities and entertainment.
This is truly my kind of a business hotel, where I get to mix business with pleasure by playing water sports and a round of golf, before ending the day with a cold beer on the beach bar after the convention is over.
Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall
By Feizal Samath
Built in 1973 to host the Non-Aligned Conference, the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) is Sri Lanka’s largest convention centre. It underwent refurbishments about 18 months ago, and has since reopened.
BMICH is a popular venue choice for major national and international conferences as well as weddings and musical concerts.
MICE application Its unique selling point is its collection of 16 different venues spread across 17 hectares.
The Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Exhibition Centre is perfect for exhibitions, conventions and seminars. Spread across 4,500m2 are two exhibition halls, a lobby, a dining room, a lounge, a kitchen and other amenities.
New to BMICH is a garden which can be spruced up for a candle-lit barbecue dinner for 20 to 30 guests.
In BMICH’s main building are two conference rooms that can accommodate 309 and 200 guests, and two smaller rooms for 50 and 30 people.
A 1,500-seat auditorium is the largest in the city.
BMICH is supported by advanced equipment including a simultaneous translation facility that can handle seven languages at one time as well as a dedicated kitchen, staffed by around 100 employees and managed by the Mount Lavinia Hotel, one of Sri Lanka’s oldest properties.
Providing much ease to event planners is BMICH’s own hotel, the 60-key Sovereign. It is, however, located a 20-minute drive away. Smaller meetings can be held at the hotel.
Service Although the management promises to offer the best, service is slow and food served at events held at BMICH isn’t extraordinary. Perhaps some training to update the service crew would help.
Reviews
Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown
A polished urban retreat designed for business travellers, Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown combines thoughtful design, seamless service, and exceptional facilities.
A versatile powerhouse
Arena @ Expo, a multipurpose concert hall at the Singapore Expo is a flexible space for high octane concerts and lifestyle events.
Amari Bangkok
The five-star property excels in backing its expansive facilities with seamless service and personalised attention, setting the benchmark for luxury in Bangkok.
