Meeting in Venues with a Meaningful Legacy
By Rachel Carr
While we usually think of hotels as simply guest accommodations for those who have traveled from afar, many such properties serve—and have served—a life that extends beyond hospitality. From employing people when there were few jobs to be had to housing the homeless during natural disasters, several of America’s greatest hotels have given back to its populace over the years and in doing so have carved out their own mark in history. The spirit of giving is still obvious in such venues, and meetings held there are sure to leave attendees with an impression just as positive.
In Hershey, Pennsylvania, one particular hotel stands out as a result of kindness and consideration for others during hard times. In the 1930s, when the Great Depression threatened the welfare of local construction workers, chocolate magnate Milton S. Hershey employed 800 out-of-work steelworkers, masons, carpenters and other craftsmen and laborers to build the Hotel Hershey. A year later, the result was an impressive property set on a hill overlooking the famous chocolate factory.
The original 170-room hotel was designed based on a postcard from Hershey’s Mediterranean travels, with tiled floors and fountains. Today’s guests will find the Hotel Hershey larger—it offers 230 rooms and 23,500 square feet of meeting space as well as a spa, lodge and country club—but just as grand. In fact, its history of offering a luxurious welcome to every guest is almost matched by its extensive industry recognition: The hotel has received the AAA Four-Diamond Award for 27 consecutive years.
In celebration of the hotel’s 75th anniversary this year, the hotel is honoring its philanthropic founder with a restoration project designed to return the property to its original magnificence (as well as upgrade the experience enjoyed by modern-day guests). The campaign, which is scheduled to begin this month, will start with improvements to the hotel’s grounds.
The Mayflower Park Hotel in downtown Seattle has also placed a high priority on keeping strong ties with its community—its arts community in particular. Built in 1927 and now offering 171 non-smoking guest rooms and more than 4,300 square feet of meeting space, the Mayflower Park Hotel is lauded for organizing the Art of Hospitality Showcase. Each year for the last four years, the Mayflower has displayed art works created by employees of several downtown hotels, which are then auctioned off for charity; and, to extend its reach of art appreciation, invitations each year incorporate artwork by a student from the local elementary school.
“Contributing to the community in various ways assists us in better understanding our employees, ourselves and our guests,” said Paul J. Ishii, general manager of the Mayflower. “It’s naturally become a part of our business culture to contribute and participate in our community’s efforts to continually make Seattle a better place to work, play and raise our families. We all benefit.”
Marcel Pitton, managing director of the 241-room Brown Palace Hotel & Spa in Denver places similar importance on supporting local causes. “Everyone here at The Brown shares in a century-old commitment to our community,” Pitton said, “but our desire to support local organizations and individuals through charitable events and by creating opportunity is more than a matter of tradition for us. It’s a matter of civic pride.”
The Brown, which was built in 1892 and has 13,000 square feet of event space, celebrated its 20th Annual Champagne Cascade in November. The event is both a longstanding fundraiser for local charities as well as a sparkling start to the holidays that entertains guests and neighbors alike. This year, money was donated to the Colorado Ballet, whose dancers were on hand to perform excerpts from a Christmas favorite in the hotel’s grand lobby; then, the Nutcracker himself joined Pitton in pouring champagne into a 6,000-glass pyramid from a bottle neatly severed by a master swordsman with an antique Napoleonic saber. While the dramatic celebration is free to the public, a VIP reception raised more than $6,000 for the ballet.
San Diego’s 287-room Rancho Bernardo Inn, which opened in 1963, might not boast quite such a long history, but its willingness to assist others is still notable. The hotel had the chance to help out its local community as recently as October, when thousands fled the fires in San Diego County that destroyed many local homes.
The inn—which recently completed a $25 million renovation and wasn’t damaged by the flames—extended special room rates for local people displaced by the fires and also invited local firefighters and police officers to use the property as a staging area and place to rest. Of course, normal service quickly resumed as the flames subsided, and groups can now enjoy the inn’s 40,000 square feet of meeting space, spa and legendary golf course.
When your group is hosted by a hotel that’s had a lasting impact on its local community, your attendees will enjoy a level of hospitality that has far deeper roots than an ordinary guest experience. And, while the news-grabbing drama of wildfires or similar emergencies is thankfully rare, the year-round hospitality and willingness of hotel staff to go the extra mile to help can make all the difference to a busy association meeting planner.
Posted in Meetings Management | No commentsNew Developments Make it Easy Being Green
By Rachel Carr
Many people are growing more aware of the need for environmental responsibility. Meeting planners are no different: the Greening the Hospitality Industry Conference that occurred this February in Portland, Oregon, was attended by more than 100 meeting professionals.
Because the meetings industry is now taking this issue more seriously, it’s no surprise that an increasing number of new meeting hotels and conference centers are being built with green guests in mind. The trend extends to existing facilities, too, many of which are now remodelling in order to become more ecologically sound.
While there are almost countless ways in which planners can decrease their meetings’ impact on the environment—from the earliest stages, when one considers e-mailing versus mailing meeting announcements, to recycling what’s left after attendees depart—the first step for an environmentally conscious planner is choosing a host property that was developed with green meetings in mind.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts (along with other companies such as Kimpton and Marriott) is an environmental pioneer in the hospitality industry: Its 150-page Green Partnership Guide was written as far back as 1990, and the Eco-Meet program helps meeting planners reduce waste and encourage attendees to be equally aware. Fairmont is still at the forefront of green hospitality. At its California properties—such as the recently renovated, 440-room Fairmont/Newport Beach, which offers almost 17,000 square feet of meeting space—free parking is available to guests who drive hybrid cars.
In Northern California, the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa, which opened at the end of March, quickly gained notoriety for providing guests with a copy of Al Gore’s book, “An Inconvenient Truth” in each room alongside the Bible. The 132-room property offers five meeting rooms for groups of up to 400 attendees, banquet facilities and audiovisual equipment. It lives up to its name ”Gaia,” which is Greek for “Mother Earth”: It is one of the nation’s first hotels to apply for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification.
All the materials used in the property’s construction were carefully chosen to reduce negative impact on the environment: from the types of stone and lumber to its carpets and sealants, nothing escaped notice. In addition, green touch-screen kiosks in the hotel update visitors on how much energy and water are being saved through the property’s conservation efforts.
In Orlando, the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort has taken many behind-the-scenes steps toward saving energy and resources while still providing comfortable accommodation to guests and efficient service to meeting groups. The property, which opened in September 2006 with 1,500 guest rooms and 445,000 square feet of meeting space, installed Energy Star–rated appliances and water-efficient taps, both of which are likely to go unnoticed by guests but can significantly minimize waste. Rosen Hotels & Resorts’ environmental efforts aren’t limited to the development of its latest property, either: Staff members hold monthly conservation meetings and apply their ideas to the company’s offices as well as throughout its hotels.
Many states have “green lodging” organizations that highlight the environmental efforts of properties within their regions. In Vermont, the Wyndham/Burlington is a member of the “Green Hotels in the Green Mountain State” program, which recognizes hotels using sound environmental management practices. The 257-room property, which has more than 16,000 square feet of meeting space for groups of up to 680 attendees, is currently undergoing renovations that are expected to finish in August.
While flexible meeting-space configurations, high-tech audiovisual equipment, luxurious spas, on-site golf courses and off-site entertainment venues still influence association groups’ venue choices, meeting-goers and association event planners are placing a greater emphasis on sustainable energy resources, recyclable materials and the environmental impact of their events.
As new and newly renovated hotels and conference centers compete for those association groups’ business, the development of increasingly eco-friendly properties that conserve water, offset energy use and serve locally produced food is sure to continue.
Posted in Meetings Management | No comments