TravelCLICK’s latest report says that Europe is selling its room nights like hotcakes, outperforming the worldwide average by 6.7 percent with a 16.2 percent GDS in the first quarter of 2004. According to the report, the hottest of the Euro hotspots, rated by GDS, are:

1. LONDON
2. PARIS
3. FRANKFURT
4. MADRID
5. AMSTERDAM
6. STOCKHOLM
7. BRUSSELS
8. MUNICH
9. BARCELONA
10. MILAN

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Talk about a sublimely stupid, yet totally amusing, mixture of all the food talk (low-carb, no-carb, fat-free) and criticism of the pharmaceutical industry: this article from The Onion Online is just, well, delicious.

A taste of the satire: “At a press conference Monday, drug giant Pfizer formally introduced Hoagizine, a pharmaceutical-grade Turkey-Bacon-Guacamole Melt so delicious, it’s only available by prescription.”

I’m feeling hungry–is there a doctor in the house?

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Twelve Marriott International employees have been honored with the J. Willard Marriott Award of Excellence, the company announced today. With more than 300 nominees, these folks should be proud.

A bloggly congratulations to the winners:
Vanessa Cohorn-Brown, Director of Resort Grounds, Camelback Inn, A JW Marriott Resort & Spa, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Arnaldo Demalas, Banquet Captain, New Orleans Marriott, New Orleans, La.; Sheila Goodwin, Human Resources Manager, Marriott Vacation Club International, Orlando, Fla.; Janet S. LaPierre-Green, Executive Secretary, Renaissance Hollywood Hotel Hollywood, Calif.; Manuel López, Bellman, JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa, Cancun, Mexico; Peggie A. McCallum, Housekeeping Lead, Greensboro-High Point Airport Marriott, Greensboro, N.C.; Raymond Merle, General Manager, Residence Inn by Marriott, Akron, Akron, Ohio; Hamdy Khalfallah, Dishwasher, Cairo Marriott Hotel & Omar Khayyam Casino, Cairo, Egypt; Ronald E. Thomas, Public Area Attendant, The Ritz-Carlton Dearborn, Dearborn, Mich.; Jennifer L. Timmins, Accounts Receivable Manager, Marriott ExecuStay, Gaithersburg, Md.; Sylvia Yvonne van Hell, Quality Service Supervisor, San Antonio Reservations Center, San Antonio, Texas; Theresa Wilson, General Manager, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, Mobile, Mobile, Ala.

That’s what we may become if some of the future hotel ideas explored in this article from Forbes become a reality—-one of the ideas is to have a “pod” hotel on stilts that can be collapsed and moved to a new location with ease. And while space hotels may still be far off in the future, Dubai already is planning the Hydropolis, an underwater hotel complex.

Very cool article—don’t miss the slideshow button at the end that gives artist renderings of the hotels talked about in the article.

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From a press release: “In a decision that could reshape the association profession, the boards of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives (GWSAE), the ASAE Foundation, and The Center for Association Leadership each voted on May 25, 2004, to approve a merger that would combine all the current activities of the four organizations into two entities: ASAE and The Center for Association Leadership.
The positive vote for the merger came after months of due diligence that followed initial approval of the merger concept by the four boards in January 2004. The four board votes are conditioned and contingent upon an affirmative vote by the association professional members (voting members) of GWSAE.”

For more, go to gwsae.org/bettertogether.

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I was at the CME Congress in Toronto last week, where there was lots of talk about core competencies for various types of physicians–the things they absolutely have to know to do their jobs. There also was a lot of discussion about what the docs think they know versus their real knowledge base, and ways docs can self-test (usually through a Web site) to determine whether or not they needed to learn what a particular activity covered (went to a very good session on this and would be glad to share–please e-mail me if you’d like particulars).

Just curious how that might translate to meeting professionals:

What would you say are the core competencies meeting professionals must have?

How would you feel if those who provide your continuing education provided voluntary, anonymous self-tests you could take to learn which of these core competencies in reality may need honing and which you’re already up to snuff on, regardless of where you think your skill levels are in each of the areas?

Just curious–does anyone have a special resources page on their meeting website for exhibitors that gives them info on how they can maximize their experience at your trade show, along with the usual logistical info? If not, I think it’d be a great value-add for them. Or how about an e-newsletter with links to interesting articles on exhibiting?

One article link you may want to include is this very interesting article from Event Marketer I just ran across on the psychology behind bumping booth traffic. There also is just tons of great stuff for exhibitors at www.boothmom.com.

Hey, with the proliferation of trade shows and exhibitions, along with a consolidation of exhibitors in many markets, every little edge you can give them just might keep them coming back to your show instead of your competitors.

Oh great, now a trip to Boston’s airport will include eying advertisements on everything from drinking fountains (that’s “bubblas” in Bostonese) to luggage carousels to seatbacks, clocks, and pedestrian bridges, according to this article from today’s Boston Globe.

Yup, the Massachusetts Port Authority is looking to sell sponsorships for just about everything it can—can’t you just envision “Gate 27, sponsored by Gatorade”? Part of the deal, says the article, is to sell sponsorships around citywide events like the upcoming Democratic National Convention: “…dozens of companies have expressed interest in sponsoring parts of the airport, either by paying to put up banners welcoming conventioneers or for the right to give away samples of their products,” says a representative of the company that is handling the sponsorship program for Massport in the Globe article.

Which leads me to a sponsorship opportunity I hope they really don’t catch onto. From an item in this week’s PromoExtra e-newsletter: “If you’re a marketer who is trying to capture a male audience is a way no one else has, urine luck. A company has developed an interactive urinal display designed to capture the attention of men when nature calls.” The company’s name, believe it or not, is Wizmark.

Do you suppose the day will come when sponsorships not just at airports, but also at shows, end up in the loo? OK, so your attendees probably don’t want urinals that talk back to them about an exhibitor’s product while they’re indisposed, but why not include sponsorship opps in the bathroom, some enterprising marketer is sure to think. After all, attendees may not visit an exhibitor’s booth, but everyone’s gotta go sometime.

As one of my wise colleagues said: Gack!

Comments?

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According to a recent forecast from PKF Consulting and the International Association of Conference Centers, North American conference centers should see continued growth in both occupancy and and revenue per available room.

“The level of booking activity for most markets in the fourth quarter of 2003 was substantially greater than in the prior year and greater than in any other quarter of the year, and early returns for 2004 indicate that this increased level of activity is being sustained,” said PKF Consulting Executive Vice President David E. Arnold, who oversaw the study, in a press release.

In the report, called IACC/PKF Consulting Trends in the Conference Center Industry, a Statistical and Financial Profile for 2003, Arnold says that this year’s occupancy rates will grow significantly, leading to increased rate growth next year. While those on the coasts are recovering quicker, centers in the central states are also seeing progress.

Arnold also reports that “most meeting planners that we have spoken with recently believe that their activity will increase this year due to both improvement in the economy and pent-up demand for training and management development meetings.”

Contact Claude Vargo (404) 842-1150 ext. 237, or claude.vargo@pkfc.com, for information on how to purchase a copy of the report.

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According to this editorial from BizBash, New Yorkers are still lighting up at private events now that the city has banned smoking. Says the article, “‘Private events spaces are not subject to the bar laws,’ said one event manager in the publishing industry. Wrong answer. In fact, it doesn’t matter if the space is public or private. What matters is whether paid employees are there. The law was implemented with their lungs in mind.”

Even tents can’t serve as ad hoc smoking lounges, it says, adding that some planners are renting out bits of adjacent parking lots as “smoking patios.” How do you handle the would-be smokers in your group?

Move over pharma: Now that so many foods are making health claims, is it any surprise that organizations like the California Walnut Commission are getting into the healthcare education game? (Walnuts are supposed to contain Omega-3 fatty acids and other “good” fats.) CWC, for example, is sponsoring a curriculum at an Alabama hospital to teach nurse practitioners about healthy fats, according to this article.

“In addition, physicians employed by food companies are presenting information at medical conferences. This month, at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists annual meeting in Philadelphia, James Greenberg, an obstetrician gynecologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, made a presentation about the benefits of cranberry juice cocktail for preventing urinary-tract infections. Dr. Greenberg is a paid consultant for Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. Ocean Spray says it has long conducted research and marketed health information to consumers, but that in the past couple of years it has refocused energies on physicians.”

With all the new regulation relating to what pharmaceutical companies can and can’t do in relation to medical meetings (go to mm.meetingsnet.com and search for PhRMA Code, OIG Guidance, AdvaMed Code, and Standards for Commercial Support for articles on the regs), it seems it would just be a matter of time before food company sponsorships and speakers will come under fire as well.

Or maybe not. According to the article, “The new approach to food marketing comes at a time when regulators are making it easier for companies to advertise health claims about their products.” While they used to only be able to advertise their products’ health benefits if the FDA agreed there was conclusive evidence, as of last year FDA began to allow “qualified health claims” for products that just have limited and preliminary scientific evidence.

“Consumer advocates say the marketing tactics are raising some of the same ethical concerns that have drawn widespread criticism in the pharmaceuticals industry. For years, drug-company sales representatives have lavished gifts upon doctors, including golf vacations, cash and expensive dinners in an effort to get doctors to prescribe specific brand-name drugs. While the food-industry marketing tactics aren’t at that level, gifts, grants and sponsorships from food companies given to doctors or medical organizations are triggering similar concerns.”

And it gets even more convoluted, says the article, with food companies working with pharma to bundle coupons for their products in with drug samples given to docs. And they’re exhibiting at medical conferences now, too.

Oy vey.

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