Posted by Terri Hardin under Resort ActivitiesResponses (0)

Tired of taking all the back-stabbing you encounter in the modern workplace? Why not go back to a simpler time and experience the back-stabbing of Ancient Rome?

Front-stabbing, too. At the Gladiator School of Rome (GSR), you can meet your colleagues head-on in what might be termed the ultimate team-building activity.

Normally, the gladiator course provided by Gruppo Storico Romano, a society devoted to the study and reenactment of gladiator culture, takes two months to complete. But for incentive groups staying at the five-star Rome Cavalieri Hilton, an Evelyn Woods-style rapid program (pictured) has been developed for up to eight participants who hanker to learn the basics of gladiating, using authentic gladiator-era weapons. At training's end, guests are invited to recover with the four-handed Gladiator Massage in the hotel's Grand Spa.

If it sounds grueling, well, your ears are in working order. But as a unique adventure for competitive, hands-on types, I’d have to give it a thumbs up.

Posted by Marshall Krantz under Resort ActivitiesResponses (0)

For misguided romantics, today brought sad news from the city where any indulgence seems possible, and often is.

Officials in the county where Las Vegas is located decided they will no longer issue marriage licenses round the clock on weekends and holidays. The Las Vegas Review-Journal has the details.

Continue reading "Last Call for Nuptials"

Posted by Sara Welch under Resort ActivitiesResponses (3)

Is it just me, or are dress codes getting confusing?

Sure, I probably take things too literally--like I've never really figured out what "smart casual" means (I usually picture a nerd in khakis and Coke-bottle eyeglasses). But I just got back from some site inspections where I found the clothing suggestions a bit too creative.

For instance, one hotel asked us to dress "contemporary lounge" for its evening reception. That conjured up images of attendees in pajamas, which I hadn't packed. Other attendees I spoke to were similarly bewildered, and we ended up going with business casual.

Ditto for "resort casual." To judge by resort guests these days, that means bare feet and a bathing suit. (And if it's a clothing-optional resort, that increases--or reduces--your possibilities even more.) Again, I played it safe and went with business casual.

Maybe planners should just be specific: "No jeans" or "Jeans OK." "No shorts" or "Shorts OK," and so forth.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to slip into my jammies and run to an important meeting...

Posted by Christopher Hosford under Resort ActivitiesResponses (0)

The trend for hotels to surreptitiously add various fees to guest bills got plenty of publicity recently, when TV talk-show host Regis Philbin mentioned to his audience his shock at a $9 bellman’s tip automatically added to his hotel bill. (For some of the most onerous examples of this resurgent practice, see this MeetingNews story, as well as this one, both by my colleague, Rayna Katz.)

It was the ritzy Boca Raton Resort & Club, in Florida, that fried Philbin with the hidden fee, but the trend is becoming common everywhere, as it was in the early 2000s. That was before the hotels became desperate for customers, and eliminated the surcharges to lure in any warm body and open checkbook. Now the facilities are flush again, and the gouging is back.

Following the Philbin Phlap, the Boca Resort backed away from the hidden tip trick, and instituted instead an automatic $18 resort fee that includes tips, local calls and use of the fitness center. That’s cheaper than the $20 charged by the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas, which includes one free Ritz Kids activity per day. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, these kinds of surcharges are expected to bring U.S. hotels $1.2 billion in revenue this year. The hotels say the fees eliminate the hassle of guests having to pay for all these services separately. What they really do is increase revenue without monkeying with rack rates.

Now, I’m not trying to bash our hotel partners here. They’re allowed to make a buck anyway they can. But, with the  kind of power the hotels are wielding today, one side (hotels) will generally win, and the other side (planners) will usually lose.

Unless , that is, planners embrace the consolidation of meetings spend  — with procurement departments, with other planners, with preferred vendors, with anybody —so they can adequately bargain from a position of strength. Power is the only tool many suppliers understand. It doesn’t make them evil; it’s just how they operate. When they are less powerful — during recessions, or when facing the equal strength of consolidated dickering — their onerous practices disappear as if by magic.