Hotels pump up the volume with meeting themes

Some full-service chains are in the vanguard of a growing trend in which the hotels are creating a customized environment that uses sound, food, scent, decor, toys and gadgets to create moods that match the meetings' objectives.

Kimpton Hotels began its Signature Meetings initiative last year. Omni launched a similar campaign - dubbed Sensational Meetings - earlier this year. The W and Westin also customize meetings.

Kimpton executive Christine Lawson says meeting organizers can't expect good results when participants are thrown into a drab room with bad air and eat nothing but sugar and carbohydrates. "We're telling customers not to be afraid to infuse creativity."

Meetings are a major part of a big hotel's revenue, typically accounting for about half of the total. But apart from standard decorations, coffee urns and, occasionally, candy bowls at tables, little has been done for years to improve the hotels' products, says Omni executive Stephen Rosenstock. "A large portion of hotel revenue stems from meetings," he says. "It's a very competitive part of the business, but, frankly, little has been changed in a long time. Unfortunately, meeting attendees find them dull, dreary and unproductive."

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Source - USATODAY


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