Affinia hotels have been working hard this summer to beef up their customer service skills in an unusual way – with body language training.

USA Today reports that staff members at these hotels learned to better ‘sense’ guests needs without having to ask!

For example, a guest frequently touching their face may be anxious from traveling or work.  The staff member can then provide a higher level of service by offering the guest an extra pillow or a yoga treatment.

Affinia staffers were also instructed to pay attention to where a guest’s eyes are focusing and the tempo and level of excitement in their speech.  It is important to match the level of excitement in a person’s speech to make them most comfortable.  If the individual is avoiding eye contact, they may be too busy to engage.

These are helpful tips for all of us to remember when communicating with others!

Have you stayed with Affinia lately?  Did you notice a higher level of customer care?  What does good customer service mean to you as a guest?

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This gorgeous photograph was sent to us by our friend (and CP member) Julie Dodds with the Anchorage CVB:

The Northern Lights shown over Anchorage at the end of September  around midnight.  Can you imagine seeing such a sight in person?

This would surely make for a memorable meeting setting!

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Room rates are creeping back up – or are they?

Smith Travel Research data from January shows that urban hotels at 66% occupancy while suburban hotels are at 58%.

As a result, urban hotels are offering fewer discounts for rooms – but suburban property rates are still lower than 2009 levels…which is shifting the demand.

Are you booking more meetings in the suburbs to secure lower rates? Have you experienced higher rates in urban areas?

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With the New Year underway and the holidays behind us, we return to our normal routines (and perhaps also to the gym) and start planning meetings!

Many ConventionPlanit.com member facilities and destinations offer special meeting discounts for meeting planners.

Here are a few of the best early 2011 deals:

Bay Point Marriott Resort & Spa – Panama City Beach, FL

“Perk” up your meeting at the only Marriott Resort in NW Florida.

Sign up for 100 room nights or more by January 31, 2011 for meetings held on or before December 31, 2011 and choose from the following:

100– 199 total room nights: Choose ONE perk
200– 299 total room nights: Choose TWO perks
300+ total room nights: Choose THREE perks

Perks Include:
•1 hour welcome reception (chef’s choice) 15% savings on banquet pricing
•A one year Marriott Platinum membership for meeting planner or designee
•3 complimentary room upgrades to Bay view rooms or one bedroom Golf Villas
•1 complimentary foursome on the Meadows or Nicklaus Design Course
•1/35 comp policy
•10% savings on individual spa services
•25% allowable attrition
•Complimentary continental breakfast on opening day of scheduled event
•Complimentary use of the fitness center at Serenity Spa

Hilton Minneapolis St. Paul Airport Mall of America – Bloomington, MN

Events booked to take place between now and March 31, 2011 receive special rewards:

10-50 room nights: pick one
51-100 room nights: pick two
100-200 room nights: pick three

Rewards Include:
•Complimentary Wireless internet in guest rooms and meeting space
•Complimentary 1 hour Cocktail Reception
•25% off Audio Visual
•500 Hilton Honors Points per guestroom utilized
•Complimentary Company Logo Waterfall Display
•Complimentary Afternoon Refreshment Specialty Break
•Fast Track to Gold or Diamond Hilton HHonors Status

Sheraton Bucks County Hotel – Langhorne, PA

Meetings that book and are consumed in January – February 2011 will be eligible for the following:

Book $50k: 42″ Flat Screen TV
Book $25K: Apple iPad
Book $15K: Welcome Reception
Book $5K: $250 Amex Gift Card

Some minimum requirements and apply for the above offers. To learn more about these special offerings and other great deals visit Divine Deals on ConventionPlanit.com!

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ConventionPlanit.com  now offers Marriott International’s 60 Innovention Network properties on ConventionPlanit.com.

The Innovention Network is a collection of world-class, integrated J.W. Marriott, Autograph Collection, Renaissance, and Marriott hotels and resorts dedicated to providing the ultimate meeting experience. Together, these properties offer the largest collection of meeting space in any hotel chain (4.7 million square feet), employ more than 150 Certified Meeting Professionals, offer more efficient group billing options, and use standardized post-convention reporters to ensure the transfer of knowledge and best practices from one property to another.

“We created the Innovention Network to save customers time and money and give them the best meeting experience possible,” says Luis Lamar, Marriott’s vice president of convention and resort hotels in the Americas.

“Partnering with ConventionPlanit.com advances these goals, because their search engine is easy to use, charges no commissions, and is highly focused on service through its RFP Valet® program and other features that deliver results for meeting professionals.”

Each of the Innovention Network properties has a Sapphire listing on ConventionPlanit.com, which includes a property description, meeting room specifications, photographs, links to the property website, RFP template, and more.

“In the eight years since ConventionPlanit.com was designed by a group of visionary meeting professionals, we have continually reinvented ourselves with new and better ways to serve the meetings industry,” says ConventionPlanit.com Co-Founder and Principal Katherine Markham, CHME.

“We see Marriott doing the same thing through the Innovention Network. So we are just delighted to partner with them to give these properties the additional exposure they deserve.”

Each Innovention Network property will also be listed on VenueDirectory.com in Europe through a partnership that ConventionPlanit.com has with that online search directory.

For more information, visit ConventionPlanit.com!

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According to Christine Shimasaki, Managing director of empowerMINT.com, DMAI and Loren Gold, Executive vice President of the Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau…it can!

Whether a planner is arranging a meeting for 10 or 10,000 attendees, responsibility for finding the right hotel or venue can be complicated if you are not familiar with the destination.  Tapping into the local knowledge of an expert from the CVB can save both time and money.  In addition, CVB’s maintain important post-event information which can assist planners in negotiating future meetings.

Highlights of working with CVBs:

• Ability to research all options- they are the “eyes and ears” of the planner
• Relationships with CVB experts help diffuse potential problems
• Obvious substitution for an onsite inspection
• One stop shop for rates/dates/space availability

CVB’s are non-profit organizations which are funded through various municipal taxes. Therefore, there is no charge for their services.  After determining your key objectives, they can consolidate your specifications and source these RFP’s to the proper service provider.

Another important service (and one that cannot be duplicated elsewhere) would be the Post-Event Reports.  The pick-up history of your conference is important information that will aid you in engaging the interest and cooperation of your next destination.   The PER will aid in the negotiations by helping that city measure total revenues associated with your business and thus the economic input for the community.  And, having information regarding the history of a meeting can help get the planner the best deal possible!

Several “Myths” surrounding CVBs:

• Do CVBs send your leads to all hotel members? No, best practices recently instituted for DMAI members ensure that the leads go only to the appropriate facilities.
• Are CVBs only interested in large meetings? No, most CVBs even have Small Group Specialists to handle meetings with 100 rooms or less.

CVBs exist solely to direct business to their destinations. They are in business to provide planners with local advice and expertise.  Let them simplify your life by simplifying your job!

The above information was adapted from a presentation by Christine Shimasaki, Managing director of empowerMINT.com, DMAI and Loren Gold, Executive vice President of the Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureauat HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings National.

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This comes under the category of “better late than never”… we want to recognize two ConventionPlanit.com supplier members who were winners of the booth contests at ASAE’s Annual Meeting.

The Anchorage CVB came in third and the Memphis CVB won an honorable mention…both for inline booths. Nice to see that the judges appreciated the efforts of Anchorage and Memphis to attract and focus planners on their destinations.

To see how they continue their marketing efforts to meeting professionals after the trade show is over, look up their listings on www.conventionplanit.com!

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The new fiscal year per diem rates were announced yesterday by the General Services Administration (GSA):

Rates Start: October 1, 2010
Rates End: September 30, 2011

The standard Continental United States (CONUS) per diem rate increased to $77 per night.

GSA reported the average daily rate (ADR) for hotel rooms is down 5.73% from fiscal year 2010.

There are several non-standard area lodging rate changes that have been reduced, making them more affordable to visit:

• New York City (Manhattan) fall high season: reduced to $269 from FY2010 $340
• Colorado Springs: reduced to $84 from FY2010 $88
• Las Vegas: three seasons reduced to one, rates down from FY2010 high of $118 to $93
• Miami, Fla., for the Miami-Dade area mid-season: down to $151 from FY2010 $152
• Chicago, Ill., early summer area high season: reduced to $166 from FY2010 $211
• Charleston, SC: down to $132 from FY2010 $142
• Los Angeles, Calif.: reduced to $123 from FY10 $135
• Kansas City, Mo: down to $99 from FY2010 $107
• Cincinnati, Ohio: unchanged from FY2010 at $115
• Seattle, Wash: reduced to $139 from FY2010 $159

How these rate changes affect your planning this fall?

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Here’s a fun summertime offer from our good friends at Kimpton:

Get uncorked at Kimpton Restaurants and byow (bring your own wine)!

There’s no doubt that you’re stashing some stellar bottles of wine at home. So now through Labor Day, feel free to bring a bottle of wine, or two, to share with friends at any Kimpton Restaurant. Corkage is complimentary all summer long.

Learn more about planing a meeting at a Kimpton hotel or restaurant.

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Most of us expect to pay top dollar when it’s last minute. Yet, you can find special offers for any season you choose on ConventionPlanit.com — It’s simple!

Hotels and convention centers needing to fill certain timeframes are extending great deals for your meeting – a virtual win-win! Check out some Divine Deal samplings below with special offerings for this summer:

Swissotel Chicago, Illinois