The cost of creating a �purpose-built� conference room is about twice that of building a regular banquet room, but for the Millennium Conference Center, it�s a wise investment, says Michael Littler, vice president and general manager of Millennium Broadway, which houses Manhattan�s only true hotel conference center.

�Demand for our existing conference rooms is so great, and growing so rapidly, that $1 million per room for a purpose-built conference room makes sense,� Littler says.  �We could spend half that amount per room and build very basic, functional banquet rooms, but that�s not what today�s meeting planners are seeking.  They want a room specifically designed to cater to their conference needs, one �built for business� with all the latest business-oriented technology.�

Designed exclusively for business use and built within the accreditation guidelines of the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC), each $1 million conference room will offer computerized lighting systems, ceiling-mounted television projectors, built-in rear projection screens monitored continuously by a technical services director, 24-hour ergonomically designed chairs, tackable wall surfaces, continuous refreshment service, and individual climate-control. The Millennium Conference Center expansion is expected to be completed in October 2000.

Millennium Conference Center is accredited by the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC), and meets the association�s exacting criteria.  The five-floor, 110,000-square-foot self-contained facility is within minutes of key business addresses in midtown Manhattan.  The center offers 41 dedicated meeting rooms, the largest accommodating 125 persons, and 11,000 square feet of exhibit space.  A separate bank of elevators and a grand marble staircase lead to the facility from the lobby.

Located at 145 West 44th Street, Millennium Broadway is at the hub of Midtown Manhattan�s cultural, entertainment and business centers.  

Millennium Hotels and Resorts and parent company Millennium & Copthorne Hotels PLC have 56 branded hotels in key cities throughout the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines and the United States. Millennium Hotels and Resort�s property collection includes the U.N. Plaza Hotel and Millennium Broadway (New York), the Biltmore (Los Angeles), the Knickerbocker (Chicago), the Bostonian (Boston), Regal Minneapolis, the Riverfront (St. Louis), Regal Cincinnati, the Alaskan (Anchorage), McCormick Ranch (Scottsdale), Harvest House (Boulder), Regal University (Durham) and Maxwell House (Nashville).