Around Town – March/April 2011

(Editor’s Note: Here’s a collection of newsworthy items from our industry members and the South Florida community. HSMAInsider, Julie Wernick)

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA: Welcome! ME Productions has hired Noëlle Liger-Burton as Director of Inbound Destination Management to provide service to international clientele in the MICE market (meetings, incentives, conference and events) in South Florida as well as throughout the US. Prior to joining ME Productions, she held the position of Director of Meeting Operations at JMT Events in Miami, Florida.

Congrats! Jay H. Guttveg, owner/operator of Creative Focus Inc., has been published once again, in the prestigious Florida Connects Magazine, a Joint Publication of Meeting Professional International, Florida Chapters. Jay has been offering photographic services for social and corporate events for more than 26 years.

Welcome! The Howard Johnson Plaza in Deerfield Beach is now a Wyndham resort. The 172-room hotel recently completed a multimillion dollar renovation and modernization.

Welcome to the following “new” Broward folks: Joseph Maijala, Director of Sales, the Pelican Beach Grand Resort; Jamie Jordan, Director of Group Sales, the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa; Yvette Pallens, Marketing Manager, the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa; Susan Aichele, Director of Sales and Marketing, along with Andrew Volkmann, Sales Manager at the Atlantic Resort & Spa.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau was recognized by Coastal Communications Corporation for outstanding service from the respective subscribers of Corporate & Incentive Travel, Insurance & Financial Meetings Management and Association Conventions & Facilities.

Congrats to The Seagate Hotel & Spa (Delray Beach) on being voted “Best Beach Getaway by Southern Living Magazine’s “Best of the South Travel Awards”.

Congrats to Expo Convention Contractors! Two of their clients: FIME International Medical Expo and Jewelers International Showcase (JIS) won the Trade Show Executive Magazine’s Fastest 50 Tradeshows Award.

Congrats to The Tides – South Beach (Miami Beach) for placing at #14 in the “Top Hotels in the U.S.” part of the Travelers’ Choice 2011 Awards by TripAdvisor travelers.

The Clevelander (South Beach) has a job opening for a Director of Sales and Marketing. For more details and information, contact Karlene Palmer-Mcleod, Marketing Manager, at kpmcleo@clevelander.com

The Village at Gulfstream Park is hosting a variety of events in April. On Wednesdays (April 6, 13, 20, and 27) they will be holding a Green Market from 4pm – 9pm in Champions Plaza.

Outpacing the rest of Florida, Greater Fort Lauderdale recorded a 2.6 percent increase in total visitors in 2010, according to year-end estimates. Spending in the local economy by the 10.84 million visitors also rose from $8.47 billion to $8.69 billion.

Traffic at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport jumped 6.4 percent. Statewide, Florida saw a 2.1 percent increase in visitors. Fort Lauderdale Airport reported a 5.1 percent year-over-year increase in passengers in January. The airport had 16.3% growth in international passengers and 3.1% growth in domestic passengers.

Miami Airport report a 4.7 percent increase in January, led by a spurt in international passenger growth. The airport had 1.59 million arrivals this January, up from 1.51 million in January 2010. International arrivals were up 5.8 percent, hitting 791,553. Domestic arrivals were up 3.6 percent, to 794,601. Miami was among the top U.S. cities where demand for luxury hotels has seen an increase at five-star properties in 2010, according to a report released by Hotels.com Hotel Price Index. The year-over-year increase for Miami was 10 percent (following #1 Boston at 21% and Chicago at 20%).

Miami International had 8.03 million international passengers in 2010, up 3.4 percent, to continue its second-place ranking behind New York's JFK, which had 11.26 million passengers, according to the US Department of Transportation.

PKF Hospitality Research (PKF-HR) said it expects higher occupancy levels and room rates across South Florida this year. West Palm Beach should see: 1.2 percent increase in occupied rooms, to 62.6 percent occupancy; 4.9 percent increase in average daily room rates (ADR), to $137.54; Fort Lauderdale: 3.1 percent increase in occupied rooms, to 69.6 percent occupancy; 2 percent increase in ADR, to $115.70; and Miami: 4.4 percent increase in occupied rooms, to 72.5 percent occupancy; 2.2 percent increase in ADR, to $150.79.

SOUTHWEST Florida:

Congrats! The Business Research & Consulting Firm Frost & Sullivan presented Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) with a 2010 U.S. Air Travelers' Choice Award in the category of Most Problem-free Airport for Travelers Arriving by Surface Transportation in early January.

The Inn on Fifth (Naples) recently released its 2011 Super Summer Meetings Deal. Throughout the summer, meeting planners will receive a host of benefits including holding their meetings at the Inn on Fifth.

The Doubletree Suites by Hilton (Naples) won Hilton Hotels' top performance awards again for 2010, marking this boutique hotel as the only Doubletree in the world that has achieved more than two of Hilton's top "Connie" awards. This is the seventh "Connie" for the hotel. The hotel also received the Annual CARE Cup, a Pride Award, the Housekeeping Award of Excellence, the Hospitality Award of Excellence, and the Environmental CARE Award.

Statewide:
WORLDWIDE: Some of you, who have been in the area for awhile, may remember Bernadette Dennis when she was with the Marriott in Fort Lauderdale and active in our HSMAI chapter. After a number of years at various properties, she “returned home” to Australia. Happy to announce and offer congratulations to Bernadette who is now the Managing Director, HSMAI Asia Pacific, the newly inducted third global region in HSMAI’s worldwide network (joining Europe and the Americas). --------------------------------------

To submit items for future blog editions, please send to jwfranklin1@gmail.com Best, Julie Wernick, HSMAInsider