For some reason I just heard this today: Travelocity has joined forces with Groople, an online group travel booker, to grab a bigger slice of group travel:

The new arrangement creates a vehicle whereby anyone planning a large event can visit the Travelocity Web site and click on the “5+ rooms” button. Among the features now available: each room can be paid for on a separate credit card, rather than a group’s organizer having to foot the bill and divide the cost later.

From a quick skip through the site, it looks more oriented toward weddings and family vacations than businesses, but there’s no reason anyone with a smallish group couldn’t use it to save a few bucks. I hear SMERFs (social, military, educational, religious, and fraternal groups) rejoicing!

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I couldn’t believe it when I read it in the paper this morning, but the Connecticut-based giant casino/hotel/entertainment complex known as Foxwoods is expanding. This on top of this fall’s $300 million on a new casino, a Hard Rock Cafe, a shop, and two golf courses that should open in a few months.

Citing competition from the Mohegan Sun and possible gambling-related growth in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Foxwoods’ $700 million, 2 million-square-foot expansion will include a 825-room hotel, a new casino, a 5,000-seat concert theater, six nightclubs and restaurants, and a 21,000-square-foot luxury spa.

As the virally infectious jingle says, "Meet me at Foxwoods"–indeed.

If this ever makes it to the commercial market, just imagine how you could wow the most jaded meeting attendees:

Virtual butterflies that flutter about in space and react to the presence of visitors—if you touch them or try to catch them, they fly away; but if you hold your hand steady, they return and, with a little luck, alight on your outstretched hand. The “Moony” project is meant to make such a scenario possible. Its aim is to develop an intuitive interface that can be used in conjunction with smoke or steam, projections and sensors. A forerunner project has already been carried out. Water vapor serves as the projection surface for the visualizations.

(via Gizmodo)

It ain’t easy, is it? Yet so many planners are finding themselves challenged to demonstrate that the results of their meeting were worth the time and expense. There’s a good article called, The New ROI: Too Tough to Tackle in the latest issue of CMI that outlines some ways to get a handle on this slippery problem.

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It’s funny that Anne Taylor-Vaisey, my partner in crime on our other blog, Capsules, e-mailed this New York Times editorial about why it’s not a smart idea to drink and dial (it’s actually against the law in Australia in some cases, as I mentioned in this post a while back).

I just saw the movie Sideways over the weekend (great, great flick), and one of the characters does just that, making a fool of himself. While I know you all never over-imbibe while traveling, and you can’t possibly warn your attendees without sounding like a mother hen, it’s interesting that this is becoming a big enough problem to warrant laws and editorials. I blame in on the ubiquitous cell phone–if you had to come up with the coins, you might have to stop and rethink whether it’s a good idea to call the ex before sobering up.

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I just ran across a rash of weird food ideas that might inspire or might repulse you–but I had to share anyway:

Cool Japanese watermelon carvings

Hello Kitty-shaped sushi,Twinkie sushi, chocolate sushi, candy sushi

Cabbage-shaped chocolate cake

(via boingboing)

Rich at the TSMI blog found what must be the strangest concept yet in restaurants:A room-service restaurant.

The new restaurant will is named "Motel".  And it will feature a menu, which according to Zagat’s, "is inspired by (the owner’s) favorite room-service menu items."

So, you wait for an hour and get served while you’re wearing pajamas? Do you leave your dishes outside the door? And, as Rich so snarkily observes, will they automatically add an 18 percent service charge? Silly concept, but I guess no worse than the all-cereal restaurant that recently opened in Philadelphia.

Julia Rutherford Silvers, CSEP, argues in this article that the meetings and events industry needs to have some standard level of competence for those looking to get into the field. A snip:

Although this will likely generate heated opposition, my contention is that we need standards of entry into this occupation. Without such standards of entry (a degree, certification, licensing or other form of credentialing) wherein one has to demonstrate at least a certain breadth of knowledge — an awareness of the scope of responsibilities associated with these endeavors, we will not move to the status of a genuine profession that clients and consumers can trust. As long as we remain a business-card entry occupation (one only needs to have business cards printed to become a “professional”) the industry will continue to be stalled at the “trade” stage, unable to garner the respect for and value placed on the specialized knowledge and skill required to perform at a capable and accountable level.

While the Convention Industry Council has been hacking away at standardizing things like terminology and contracts, it doesn’t go this far. I tend to think Julia’s right–there aren’t too many recognized “professions” that don’t require some demonstrated level of competence for entry. Electricians and lawyers need licensure; even journalists usually (but not always) need the right degree or at least some internship experience to get a foot in the door. Julia also thinks it should be up to the industry associations to set the bar. Somehow, I can’t imagine the level of cooperation that would take to actually happen, but it’s a good idea. What say you, PCMA, MPI, ASAE, et al? If not you, who?

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While it might be buried under a couple of feet of snow at the moment, the Westin Copley Place Boston had its moment in the sun when it was presented with The Spirit Award given by the Professional Convention Management Association at their annual convention in Hawaii earlier this month. From a press release:

The Spirit Award recognizes an individual member or organization that has “significantly affected lives in a charitable or humanitarian way through the meetings and conventions industry.” The Westin was nominated for this honor based on their Mentorship Program. This program was created in 2003, where under the leadership of General Manager, Vera Manoukian, hotel managers and supervisors were teamed up with a member of the Executive Committee who, as their mentor, offered assistance with individual development and led them in various community service projects.

The eight mentor groups at The Westin worked with local organizations on such missions as serving meals to the needy at The Pine Street Inn, helping to build a house with Habitat for Humanity, planning an etiquette class for inner city teenaged girls at Mother Caroline, making hats and scarves for the homeless at Malden Mills, planning activities (including arranging a police escort from Logan Airport to the Westin) for a group of 19 youths from St. Louis in various stages of cancer who wanted to visit Boston, as well as hosting several other food, clothing, toy, and blood drives. The award was presented to Manoukian in front of the other 2500 plus industry professionals attending the annual meeting. It was one of six prestigious awards given that day.

Congratulations, and keep up the good work, guys!