Meeting Planner Guide

SUPPLEMENT TO CORPORATE & INCENTIVE TRAVEL, INSURANCE & FINANCIAL MEETINGS MANAGEMENT, ASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIES Las Vegas 2013MEETING PLANNER GUIDE Rossi Ralenkotter President and CEO Las Vegas Convention Photos courtesy of Las Vegas News Bureau News Vegas courtesyPhotos of Las & Visitors Authority heartof theStrip LAS VEGAS If you’ve ever EXPERIENCED Like No Other SERVICE Place in the World By John Buchanan THIS GOOD, f all the major destinations that were severely im- Treasure Island — TI Hotel & Casino. Opacted by the unprecedented meeting industry Welcome Back. downturn of 2008-09, none was hit harder than Las Vegas. Phelps Hope, CMP, vice president, meetings and In fact, Time magazine published the official obituary expositions, at Kellen Meetings, a division of Atlanta- that declared the city’s fabled convention industry dead. based association management organization The Kellen However, what the editors of the magazine overlooked Company, has used Las Vegas regularly for many years. was the fact that for decades Las Vegas had maintained an What the naysayers who dismissed the city during the uncanny ability to survive recessions, reinvent itself and worst of the recession failed to understand is that the come back stronger than ever. city only exists for one purpose: meetings and tourism. And that is exactly what has happened over the last “The city is built for entertainment and meetings,” Hope several years. says. “That’s the reason it’s there. It is literally designed In April, Trade Show News Network — a publication that for conventions. And that is not just true of the infra- knows quite a bit more about the meeting and convention structure. It’s also true of the service. Every service pro- industry than Time — named Las Vegas the No. 1 trade show vider — every restaurant, every retailer, every entertain- destination in the U.S. for 2012 for the 19th consecutive year. In retrospect, despite the dire assessments made of Las Vegas’ future at the low point of the recession, it was pre- “One of the things we learned cisely the city’s long experience and fierce resilience that again in going through the brought it back to life and once again earned it the distinc- recession is that the meeting tion of top dog among major destinations. “One of the things we learned again in going through industry really comes down to the recession is that the meeting industry really comes relationships.” down to relationships,” says Rossi Ralenkotter, long-time president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Rossi Ralenkotter, President and CEO Authority (LVCVA). “And one of the strengths Las Vegas had Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, Las Vegas, NV developed over the years was the strong relationships we had with the many corporate and association clients that ment venue — is in business because of conventions. regularly hold meetings, conferences and conventions So they understand that business more than any other here. And since the recession, we have worked very hard to destination on the planet.” make sure those relationships are stronger and more pro- Jerry Janove, vice president of sales at Cherry Hill, NJ- ductive than ever before. And that is one of the things that based independent meeting and event planning firm helped us survive the downturn that impacted the meet- Resort Meetings Consortium, agrees with that assessment Redesigned Rooms and suites | oveR 602,000 squaRe feet of flexible meeting space | WoRld-class dining and enteRtainment ing industry and every destination out there.” and adds a companion point. unpaRalleled seRvice fRom ouR ceRtified meeting pRofessionals | sustainable business pRactices Last year, Ralenkotter notes proudly, Las Vegas hosted “Just the mention of the name ‘Las Vegas’ creates excite- For more reasons to choose MGM Grand, call 1-800-929-1112 | [email protected] nearly 22,000 meetings that drew 4.9 million attendees ment when it comes to meetings and events,” Janove says. and generated $6.7 billion in revenue for the local econo- “Attendees know what Las Vegas is all about as a destina- my, which supports nearly 57,000 hospitality industry jobs. tion, and most people don’t get there very often in their mgmgrand.com/meetings www.TheMeetingMagazines.com LAS VEGAS 2013 130386_LV_MTG_PlannersGuide Bleed: 8.375"x11.125" Insert Date: July 2013 Publication: Las Vegas Meeting Planner Guide Trim: 8.125"x10.875" Page Size: FP Headline: If you've ever experienced service this good, Welcome Back. Live: 7.125"x9.875" Release: PDFx4a via [email protected] Color: 4c # Proofs: 0 Date: May 10, 2013 10:10 AM Other: heartof theStrip LAS VEGAS “But the other aspect is that for everyone, no matter where Photo courtesy of Las Vegas News Bureau McCarran International Airport’s new Terminal 3. they’re from, it’s Vegas. And people want to go there. It’s an Phenomenal Airlift exciting place.” One enduring aspect of the appeal of Las Vegas to both meeting planners and attendees is its formidable airlift. It’s Chris Brown, Executive Vice President, Conventions and Business easy for attendees from across the country and around the Operations, National Association of Broadcasters, Washington, DC world to get there easily and affordably. “To use a one-word description, the airlift into Las Vegas personal lives. And because of that, there will never come a is phenomenal,” Abram says. time when Las Vegas is not still a top meeting and conven- Jennifer Borth, CCTE, director of travel services at char- tion destination. It will always be that simply because of ter school operator Edison Learning in Knoxville, TN, sec- the kind of destination it is.” onds that opinion. “It’s just a very easy destination to get In addition, says Dick Abram, vice president, corpo- to,” she says. “And it’s also very easy for attendees to get rate relationships at Dallas-based meeting planning firm from the airport to the hotels. So it is very convenient for EventLink International, another longtime regular user them. And our attendees like that.” of Las Vegas, there is an even more clear-cut reason why Sherri Lindenberg, senior vice president of marketing Las Vegas maintains its heavyweight championship status at Roseland, NJ-based Crump Life Insurance Services, an- year after year, decade after decade: other loyal longtime user of Las Vegas, lists airlift as “one of Almost invariably, Las Vegas delivers a spike in attendance. the most important reasons we like Las Vegas so much. It’s “In our experience, organizations typically find that their attendance for a voluntary meeting will grow THE NEW GOLD STANDARD IN VEGAS MEETINGS. by 10–15 percent if the meeting is held in Las Vegas,” “And it’s also very easy for Abram says. “And that is a huge benefit, whether attendees to get from the they’re a corporate or association client. When you airport to the hotels. So it is have a destination that people really want to go to, the success of your meeting is greater. Your return on very convenient for them. And investment is greater. And that is also true of incentive our attendees like that.” programs, as well.” Chris Brown, executive vice president, conventions Jennifer Borth, CCTE, Director of Travel Services and business operations at the Washington, DC-based Edison Learning, Knoxville, TN National Association of Broadcasters, oversees one of the biggest trade shows in history. The NAB Show, held each very simple to get there, and pretty much all of our attend- April for three decades and which drew more than 93,000 ees can get direct flights. We also like the convenience with attendees this year, also clearly benefits from the power- which our attendees can get from the airport to the hotels.” Book a meeting at ARIA Resort & Casino and experience innovation upon arrival. As a resort with ful lure of Las Vegas as a destination. “And for us,” Brown In addition to also citing the city’s airlift as a key reason LEED® Gold certification, ARIA allows your group to enjoy clean air and beautiful natural lighting says, “that’s true from two perspectives. From an industry she likes the destination so much, Pattie Lanktree, manag- perspective, we draw large numbers of exhibitors and at- er, conference planning, global events, at IT service man- throughout three levels of flexible convention space. In addition, an enticing array of acclaimed dining, tendees from Los Angeles, because it is a hub of the TV and agement company Pink Elephant in Burlington, Ontario, shopping and entertainment options is trumped only by an unrivaled commitment to individually movie industries. But the other aspect is that for everyone, Canada, praises McCarran International Airport. “It’s just a tailored service and the utmost personal attention. Ensure your meeting is an absolute success at no matter where they’re from, it’s Vegas. And people want beautiful facility,” she says, “especially the new internation- this AAA Five Diamond destination. to go there. It’s an exciting place.” al terminal that recently opened.” Aside from being exciting for attendees, however, Las The new Terminal 3 is a state-of-the-art facility that Vegas delivers a long and comprehensive list of practical makes the process of entering the country and clearing benefits for planners. U.S. Customs faster and easier than it has ever been — Contact us at 866.718.2489 or [email protected]. LAS VEGAS 2013 www.TheMeetingMagazines.com heartof theStrip LAS VEGAS “Billions of dollars have been spent renovating all of our The balcony at MGM Grand’s new Skyline Terrace Suite. major meeting hotels and and popular meeting hotels, such as MGM Grand and creating new restaurants and Mandalay Bay, announced a new strategic alliance with other kinds of new facilities.” Southwest Airlines that leverages their loyalty rewards programs to earn free flights and special perks at qualifying Chris Meyer, CMP, CEM, Vice President of Sales MGM Resorts properties.

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