Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Double Booked


(Previously shared as: Bad Meetings Happen May 2010)

Bad Meetings Happen

…just not at Hyatt. That’s the slogan of a campaign produced by Hyatt Hotels promoting their HyattMeetings.com website. This is just one example, which Hyatt screened for us at our Annual Partner Meeting in Atlanta, May 10-14. (I laugh out loud every time I watch it!)

While in Atlanta we stayed at the remarkable Atlanta Marriott Marquis (designed by renowned Atlanta architect John Portman) with its stunning atrium lobby, 160,000 square feet of meeting space, and over 1600 recently renovated guestrooms. The Marriott is connected to the Hilton Atlanta and is across the street from the Hyatt Regency Atlanta (also designed by Portman) – although a permanent pedway is planned to connect that hotel as well.

Over 600 hotel partners were in attendance, establishing or maintaining connections, and updating ConferenceDirect associates on new developments at their properties and advising us of limited time offers that may be of interest to our clients. Educational sessions included breakouts on advanced hotel negotiations, working with convention centres, and ConferenceDirect’s latest housing and registration solutions.

Sadly we were too busy with meetings and networking to enjoy Atlanta as a destination (sound familiar?) but one night Gaylord Hotels hosted a select group of ConferenceDirect associates for dinner on Turner Field – right ON the field! The dugout became a bar. We enjoyed appetizers of mini-burgers and salted pretzels, and were treated to a live performance of the Star Spangled Banner before taking our seats for a three-course meal.

Julie

Julie Epplett, CMP
Global Account Manager
ConferenceDirect®