| Santa Barbara, Calif.— February 28, 2006 - Many of the
hospitality
industry’s top players will convene on the “American Riviera" for the
Elite
Meetings Alliance, a two-day industry event beginning Sunday, April 30,
2006, in exclusive Santa Barbara, California. Stratus Performance Group
conceived the event as a way to bring together 25 luxury hoteliers and
up to 50 corporate meeting planners from western North America.
.
Participating hotels and resorts include some of the best in the world, such as: Hotel Bel-Air:, Sundance Resort & Spa: The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel; The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco; CordeValle; The Broadmoor; Ojai Valley Inn & Spa; Sonnenalp Resort of Vail; The Fairmont Chateau Whistler; and Stein Eriksen Lodge. The corporate planners signed up to attend represent such companies as: Coca-Cola; Sprint; Symantec; BAE Systems; Citibank/Citigroup; WellPoint; McKesson, Inc.; Hispanic Business; BAX Global; Itron; and E! Entertainment Network. "This event will cultivate invaluable business relationships between hoteliers and meeting and incentive planners," said the Alliance’s managing director, Ryan Buzzard. Participants will stay at the city’s newest luxury property, the Hotel Andalucía. The event will kick off with a sampling of local wines and dinner at El Cielo, the hotel’s exclusive rooftop location. Invited guests will spend the next two days in networking meetings at the hotel. Also on the agenda: a selection of local activities designed to showcase the city, sponsored by the Santa Barbara Convention and Visitors Bureau. The event will culminate in a sunset cruise aboard the 85-foot luxury Channel Cat, followed by a vintner’s dinner at an exclusive Santa Barbara location. "We’re proud to be inaugurating this event in our hometown of Santa Barbara," said Stratus Performance Group’s CEO, Kelly Foy. "And we feel extremely fortunate to work with local companies of such quality." In addition to the Santa Barbara CVB and Hotel Andalucía, other project sponsors include Incentive Destination Productions (IDP), Your Travel Center, and Motive Media. "An event of this caliber wouldn’t be possible without them," Foy adds. The Elite Meetings Alliance runs April 30-May 2, 2006. Meetings between pre-qualified corporate buyers and hoteliers will take place daily via prescheduled one-on-one meetings, followed by exciting activities showcasing Santa Barbara. Stratus Performance Group, LLC specializes in the design, development, implementation, and reconciliation of corporate meetings and events ranging in size from 20 to 1,500 attendees. Stratus Performance Group, LLC is located at 827 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. The phone number is (805) 730-1000. For more company or event information visit: www.StratusPerformanceGroup.com and www.EliteMeetingsAlliance.com. |
