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| Hoteliers
and Corporate Planners Give High Marks
to Inaugural Elite Meetings Alliance , Next Alliance scheduled for September 10-12, 2006, at The Club at Hammock Beach in Florida |
| Santa Barbara, Calif.� May 23, 2006 - Nearly
80 top players from the hospitality industry convened in Santa Barbara,
California, for the Elite Meetings Alliance, a three-day industry event
held at the Hotel Andalucía from April 30 through May 2. The largest
gathering of its kind on the West Coast, it was viewed by both corporate
meeting planners and hoteliers as one of the best events in the industry.
Participating hotels and resorts included some
of the best in the world, such as The Broadmoor; CordeValle, a Rosewood
Resort; The Fairmont Chateau Whistler; Hotel Bel-Air; Sundance Resort &
Spa; Ojai Valley Inn & Spa; The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel; The Ritz-Carlton,
San Francisco; Sonnenalp Resort of Vail; and Stein Eriksen Lodge. The attending
corporate planners represented such well-known companies as Aetna, Amgen,
Citibank/Citigroup, Coca-Cola, DaimlerChrysler, E! Entertainment Networks,
Econolite,
�You and your staff made this event a smash hit! I gleaned so much information from the participating hotels and resorts that I can do my job more confidently,� stated Chuck Bila, Event Communications Coordinator of Aetna. �I'm really looking forward to planning events at some of the properties represented,� he added. Keith Venable, Director of Sales & Marketing from Boulder, Colorado�s St. Julien Hotel & Spa, said, �Your staff did an outstanding job. Truly, this was organized by professionals that understand the needs of hoteliers to reach top-notch clientele. What a terrific event and so well done for a first time!� The event kicked off with a welcome address from the event�s sponsors and was highlighted by a personal visit from Santa Barbara Mayor, Marty Blum. The following two days were built around the event�s unique and successful 20-minute appointments, which were scheduled by the attending corporate planners prior to the event. According to Kelly Foy, CEO of Stratus Performance Group and founder of the Elite Meetings Alliance, �The event was a huge success! All planners did their part and were very involved in meetings throughout the Alliance, which was a key factor in the overall success of the Alliance. As a result, the hoteliers remained busy with appointments throughout the show.� Each attending hotelier averaged 14 appointments, not including introductions made during the Alliance�s off-site events, such as sailing on the 85-foot Channel Cat, fivecourse dining at Mondial Private Restaurant, or late-night partying at the Indochine nightclub. Results from the post-event survey state that all attendees expect to do business as a result of attending the Elite Meetings Alliance in Santa Barbara. Due to the success of the Elite Meetings Alliance, a second event has already been scheduled for September 10-12, 2006, at The Club at Hammock Beach in Palm Coast, Florida. The focus will be on luxury hotels and resorts located in the eastern half of the United States, including Texas, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the Caribbean. For more information or to pre-register, please contact Ryan Buzzard at 805-730-1000, [email protected], or visit www.EliteMeetingsAlliance.com. Stratus Performance Group, LLC, which formed the Elite Meetings Alliance, specializes in the design, development, implementation, and reconciliation of corporate meetings and events ranging in size from 20 to 1,500 attendees. For more company and event information visit: www.StratusPerformanceGroup.com and www.EliteMeetingsAlliance.com. |
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Ryan Buzzard
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