cim august 2014 issue

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AUG 2014

Inside AIDS 2014

Singapore’s green meetings options

Sydney reinvents itself

Grand entrance

RACV Royal Pines Resort

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www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, August 2014 3

CONTENTS

On the coverRACV Royal Pines Resort’s new look conference centre is the jewel in the crown for one of the Gold Coast’s most versatile venues for meetings and events.

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JULY 2014

Christchurch reinvents itself

Brisbane pulls together for the G20

Fresh perspective on coastal destinations

New horizon

Pan Pacific Hotels Group

CIM0714.indd 1 8/07/2014 10:55 am

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Don’t miss

Look out for these topical news-based video stories on our website, www.cimmagazine.com, and in the CIM iPad app, to delve deeper into the issues behind the print stories.

REGULARS04 Publisher’s note

06 News

08 New Zealand news

10 International news

13 Q&A Harry Whelan, Optus

34 Venue update

36 Profile Sara Flaksbard, Laissez-faire

37 Meeting people

38 PCO Association

FEATURES12 Cover story RACV Royal Pines Resort

14 Technology New apps and programs

16 Sydney Urban renewal on a grand scale

22 Melbourne Welcoming the 20th International

AIDS Conference

26 Macau Incentives with flair

28 Singapore Green meetings options

32 Event report The 105th Rotary International Convention

22

28

32

4 Convention & Incentive Marketing, August 2014 www.cimmagazine.com

I don’t know what your desk looks like but mine is covered in business cards, notebooks full of story ideas and news titbits,

marketing brochures, magazines and newspapers. On top of that I have several social media streams I follow, including Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and LinkedIn. My Tweetdeck is forever “tweeting” at me for attention. The little bing when email arrive seems to never end.

Also on my desk is a laptop, iPhone, iPad, android tablet and telephone.

In short, I am in information overload; if someone launches another useful social media platform or digital device I am going to be in some serious trouble!

I appreciate that I work in the media and it’s my job to stay on top of the industry, so I do receive a lot of information. But it occurs to me that there are probably a lot of other people out there with the same problem.

It seems to me the process of procuring information is changing somewhat. With so much information being thrown at me digitally I am finding myself going back to basics. Actually sitting down with someone to talk about a product. Picking up the telephone and talking to people. Building relationships face to face. And guess what? I’m finding this “old school” way of doing things is actually far more productive. Don’t tell my father – I am not sure I am ready to hear the “I told you so”.

Don’t get me wrong, I love all the digital gadgets and social media platforms and I will never give them up but if I really want to know something or someone, or get to the heart of a story, Google is not going to cut it. Sure, I can Google a destination or venue and look at pictures and specifications, but that’s like buying a house having only seen the ad on Domain.

Alexandra Yeomans, Publisher

Seventeen years since it was first conceived and with more than two years of intensive planning and preparation, Melbourne welcomed around 14,000 delegates in July for the highly anticipated 20th International AIDS Conference. Find out more on page 22.

THIS MONTH’S TOP STORY

PUBLISHER’S WORD

Published in Australia by Creative Head Media Pty Ltd

Suite 202, 80-84 Chandos Street, St Leonards 2065P.O. Box 189, St Leonards 1590ACN 147 436 280 ISSN 1039-1029Website: www.cimmagazine.com

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Gold Coast light rail opens for passengersThe $1 billion Gold Coast light rail system has welcomed its first paying passengers. The new “G:” light rail system runs from

the Gold Coast University Hospital and Griffith University to the commercial, retail and recreational centres of Southport, Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, passing the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Australian centre world’s best Cairns Convention Centre has been named the 2014 World’s Best Congress Centre by the International Association

of Congress Centres (AIPC). The AIPC Apex award is made bi-annually on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of centre performance based on customer satisfaction surveys. The Centre won the award previously in 2004.

Green Conferencing pilot a successMantra Group’s Green Conferencing solution has now been adopted by 10 hotels in the Group, following its launch in

March this year. The initiative pledges that a tree is planted for every delegate that attends a Green conference, with a total of 433 trees planted since the program was piloted at Mantra Mooloolaba Beach.

Cairns scores with ATE14 ratingsThis year’s Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE14) has been hailed an “outstanding success”, after receiving almost perfect feedback in a

survey of the 1800 people who attended the event, held in Cairns. Overall satisfaction reached a record high this year with 100 per cent of the Buyers and 99 per cent of Sellers expressing their satisfaction with the event.

‘Conference season’ kicks off in DarwinDarwin Convention Centre is geared up for what promises to be one of the Centre’s busiest conference season since opening in

2008, with events attracting more than 9000 delegates scheduled from now until November. The events will contribute significant economic activity to the city and the Territory, estimated at more than $33 million.

NEWS BRIEFS

The 2013-2014 financial year has seen Perth Convention Bureau (PCB) achieve record results for its 42 year history, with conferences bringing in almost $108 million to the Western Australian economy.

Conferences secured during the 12 month period will account for 201,147 delegate days and $107,976,196 million in delegate expenditure.

This has exceeded the 2013/14 financial year’s WA State Government target of securing $104 million in Direct Delegate Expenditure.

“PCB’s latest figures represent a fantastic result for the Western Australian economy,” said PCB chairman, Ian Laurance.

“These results indicate that PCB continues to ‘punch above its weight’ in the business events industry despite new infrastructure and increasing competition across Australia and around the South Eastern Asian Region.”

PCB chief executive Paul Beeson said the result is “a wonderful reflection of the professional, focused PCB Team working closely with our supportive industry”.

Perth sees record year in conferences

Health push for South Australia


GCCEC staff celebrate 10 yearsMore than 150 Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC) team members gathered last month to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Centre opening for business.

The staff party was part of a month of birthday festivities which included highlights such as the kitchen team donating their time to transform tonnes of fresh vegetables into 380 litres of hearty vegetable soup for food rescue organisation OzHarvest, and a morning tea for the unsung heroes of the Gold Coast’s tourism industry, its taxi drivers.

As part of the birthday event, 27 members of the original preopening team of 130 who have worked at the GCCEC since opening were honoured for 10 years of service, including general manager Adrienne Readings (pictured left, with apprentice chef Liam Burrows, executive chef Garry Kindred, and Raelene Barry, executive manager – HR).

An impressive 1.5m cake, featuring 23kg of icing and 13kg of chocolate ganache, was made in the shape of the convention centre itself.

“It was great to give back to the Gold Coast community and we will continue to do so,” said Readings. “They really welcomed us with open arms 10 years ago and I think the city has come to understand our pivotal role in attracting events to the region, contributing to the community and being an economic propeller for the region.”

Townsville North Queensland launches bid fund

The Adelaide Convention Bureau is increasing its push to attract conferences from the health sector in a bid to capitalise on the Government’s recent investment into health industries with two new events announced last month – The Independent Hospital Pricing Authority Conference 2015 and GE Health Conference 2015.

Adelaide Convention Bureau chief executive Damien Kitto said whilst the bureau had already been relatively successful in attracting events within the health and medical genre, this new level of investment from the State Government has enabled it to focus more strategically on this conference category.

“The opening of the SA Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), the new Royal Adelaide Hospital and other associated institutes is key to our

strategy,” he said.

“The bureau is also working closely with the State Government’s recently established HealthInSA with its focus on research and economic growth within the sector, to identify national and international conference opportunities.”

The calendar of confirmed health sector events to be hosted by Adelaide through to 2017 is looking positive with 37 events secured already.

“These events combined are expected to generate 98,800 bed nights and $97.4 million to the state economy and importantly create 808 jobs,” he added. “A further 15 conferences with a combined 12,000 delegates have already been identified with the bidding processes currently in the pipeline.”

Townsville North Queensland has established a cooperative bid fund to entice eligible events to the region and potentially attract millions of dollars in economic activity to the city.

Townsville Enterprise Convention Bureau will manage the funding pool, which has had contributions from Townsville City Council and equally matched funding by a State Government grant.

Patricia O’Callaghan, Townville Enterprise general manager tourism and events, said the bid fund will raise the region’s competitiveness in bidding and acquiring new events and conferences to the region.

“This innovative initiative is designed to drive an increase in visitation and

expenditure into the region and improve the awareness of Townsville North Queensland as a hub for events, conferences and meetings,” she said.

“Events are at the forefront of the State Government’s 2020 Strategy as a key principle to create a reason for visitation and will provide a contribution to the economy, attract visitors, enhance the profile of the destination and foster community pride.”

The fund also includes contributions from industry partners including Jupiter’s Townsville Hotel & Casino, Rydges Southbank Townsville, Mercure Townsville, Holiday Inn Townsville, and the Grand Hotel Townsville.


When choosing a location, meeting planners look for cities with a distinctive, unified story to tell – which means bureaux, venues and other providers being on the same page.

As planners, when we find a city that has a clear vision, and one that is expressed consistently by everyone we work with in that city, it’s like striking gold.

Conferences are at their most memorable when they deliver unique experiences that reflect the location. We guide our clients to select destinations that will add ‘zing’ – that elusive, unforgettable quality – to their event.

There is much talk in the business events’ world about the shift to an ‘experience economy’. While commodities are interchangeable, experiences can be truly unique. Delegates shouldn’t go home feeling that the conference could have taken place anywhere in the world. Social events, tours, excursions should all feel part of the same distinctive, location-based story.

Melbourne has its proud cricketing history; Auckland has its stunning maritime and volanic landscape. Decide what is most compelling about your destination and build your messaging and your pitches around it. Planners love it when destinations propose innovative, practical ideas that capture the spirit of a city or a region.

The development of a unified vision for your city requires conversation and collaboration between bureaux, venues, social and offsite dinner venues and experience companies. Bureaux who take the lead on this, who make the effort to ensure local suppliers are all aligned in their approach, will find they are rewarded with a significant destination advantage.

Jan Tonkin is managing director of New Zealand PCO, The Conference Company, vice-president of International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) and vice-chair of the IAPCO Training Academy.

Middle Earth campaign a winner for TNZ

Destinations, sell your story

NZ NEWS

Tourism New Zealand’s (TNZ) “100% Middle-earth, 100% Pure New Zealand” campaign has won the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Grand Award, Marketing.

The annual awards recognise tourism organisations that have made outstanding contributions to successfully promote the travel industry in Asia Pacific.

“As an international marketing body it is incredibly encouraging to receive acknowledgement of our campaign activity from fellow international tourism bodies and professionals – and we are extremely proud to receive this award,” said Kevin Bowler, TNZ chief executive.

The latest win reinforces the strength of the campaign, which has resonated strongly in key offshore markets, according to Bowler.

“Our 100% Middle-earth, 100% Pure New

Zealand campaign continues to go from strength-to-strength, and it is fantastic to receive such significant acknowledgment as we gear up to launch our activity to

leverage the third and last of The Hobbit movies – set to be released later this year,” he said.

Developed in partnership with The Hobbit moviemakers Warner Brothers and Weta Workshop, the 100% Middle-earth, 100% Pure New Zealand campaign leverages the huge media and consumer attention that The Hobbit Trilogy has and will continue to achieve, and converts that attention into travel to New Zealand.

PPP proposal for Wellington Conference Centre A public-private partnership proposal to fund a new 5-star Hilton hotel and conference centre for New Zealand’s Wellington has been given a thumbs up by Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown.

Developer Mark Dunajtschik will bear the more than NZ$100 million cost of building the 165-room venue with Wellington City Council agreeing to a 20-year lease of the convention centre, costing ratepayers NZ$2 million a year.

The conference centre, which is slated to open in 2017, is expected to bring about NZ$30 million a year in economic benefits to the city, and would be able to host up to 2500 people, making it the second largest convention centre in the country.

“The do-nothing just isn’t an option, we just won’t be able to attract those higher-spending conference and convention-goers from offshore,” Wade-Brown said.


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Rebranding for CBS Canterbury ArenaThe former CBS Canterbury Arena, in Christchurch’s Addington, has been renamed Horncastle Arena following the signing of a five-year agreement between home-building company Horncastle Homes and venue management company Vbase.

“The values of Horncastle Homes are a perfect fit with Vbase’s long-term goals and vision for the arena,” said Vbase general manager Darren Burden.

“The arena has always been a venue for local sporting, charitable and cultural organisations too, and our partnership with Horncastle Homes will help foster this.

“We see Horncastle as more than a naming rights sponsor. Together we are launching a relationship that will see the arena reach its full potential.’’

The Horncastle Arena is Christchurch’s largest purpose-built indoor sports and entertainment venue. More than 250,000 people attend around 100 events there every year.

Horncastle Arena has 4000sqm of flat floor space, concert seating capacity of almost 9000 and 18 corporate suites.

Eight hundred medical specialists will descend on Auckland in March 2018 for the Asia Pacific Congress of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology.

Auckland Convention Bureau (ACB) worked with the Interventional Radiology Department at Auckland City Hospital to secure the hosting rights, with support from Tourism New Zealand’s Conference Assistance Programme (CAP) bid fund.

The four day congress is the radiology industry’s premier conference in the Asia Pacific region and will create substantial economic benefits for Auckland.

Department of Interventional Radiology director, Associate Professor Andrew Holden, says the event is a fantastic opportunity for knowledge exchange and a legacy of research and investment.

“We are looking forward to hosting doctors, nurses, radiographers and paramedical staff involved with interventional radiology here in Auckland,” he said.

“Interventional Radiology is a rapidly

growing and developing specialty offering minimally invasive treatment to patients with many problems including vascular disease and cancer.

“There is already excitement and expectation amongst interventional radiologists around the world for experiencing all that Auckland and New Zealand can offer in 2018.”

Tourism New Zealand international business events manager Bjoern Spreitzer says this is a great example of the New Zealand conference industry coming together to secure another international conference for New Zealand.

“Tourism New Zealand has significantly increased its work in the business events sector, including the management of the CAP bid fund, with the goal of attracting more high-value international delegates to New Zealand,” he said.

“Working alongside Auckland City Hospital and ACB to secure a conference of this prestige is exactly the result we are seeking from our new activity.”

Major win for Auckland


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

IMEX America set to growOrganisers of IMEX America have confirmed that the fourth edition of the show, which will be held in Las Vegas in October, will see new exhibitors and services for buyers.

Among the 25 new booths already confirmed for IMEX America are Pan Pacific Hotel Group, Baha Mar from the Caribbean, Warner Bros Studios, Visit Pittsburgh and technology providers Eventsforce Solutions and Guidebook. A number of exhibitors including Barbados, Destination Colorado, Las Vegas, Tahiti, The Netherlands, Visit Seattle and Visit Orlando will also have an expanded presence this year.

Organisers have also confirmed that new elements successfully introduced at IMEX in Frankfurt earlier this year will also be available at IMEX America 2014. They include the show’s new enterprise app, created by Quickmobile, which was designed for exhibitor use, plus a range of added customer-led services for first time hosted buyers including early morning orientation tours, onsite concierge desks and pre-show concierge calls.

“We are very excited to be in the lead up to another IMEX America and delighted to see the support for the show growing again this year from both the supplier and buyer communities,” said IMEX Group CEO Carina Bauer. “Hosted buyers and buyer attendees will have an ever expanding wealth of top suppliers to meet with from all sectors of the industry and from all around the globe at the show this October. We are also working hard to finalise our educational and Vision program and will be announcing that line-up in the coming weeks.”

IMEX America will be held at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas from October 14-16, 2014.

More than 200 key players in Malaysia’s business events industry will descend on Kuala Lumpur from August 14-21 for the inaugural Malaysia Business Events Week, organised by the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB).

The week, which is themed “Exceeding expectations”, will create a platform for stakeholders to gather and discuss issues that impact the growth and sustainability of the local business events industry. The program will include a series of innovation workshops, seminars and discussions, covering topics ranging from bidding for international events and the A-Z of business events planning to

region-specific opportunities.

“A collaborative and united industry will strengthen Malaysia’s international profile in a highly competitive international business events market,” said Zulkefli Haji Sharif, chief executive of MyCEB.

“We hope that this inaugural initiative will promote the benefits and opportunities provided by the business events industry towards the Malaysian economy and contribute towards the country’s goal of becoming a Top 5 Asia Pacific destination for international conferences and to attract 2.9 million visitors by 2020.”

Malaysia Business Events Week launched

The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has confirmed that Thailand will host several major international business events during the second half of 2014 and 2015, which the bureau says is an indication of “the strong international confidence business communities around the globe have in Thailand”, following recent civil unrest.

“Stability is a key consideration for MICE travellers, and the confidence shown by international organisers is proof-positive that Thailand is again ready to host MICE events of any size and scale,” said Nopparat

Maythaveekulchai, president of TCEB.

“We look forward to extending our famous warm Thai hospitality and world-class MICE services to 157,930 high quality business travellers during the final quarter of the 2014 fiscal year.”

Confirmed events include the 74th FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 2014, the Unicity Global Convention and meetings and incentives expo IT&CMA.

Thailand has also recently won 15 bids to host upcoming global conventions, which

are expected to attract nearly 10,000 international visitors.

To achieve its full year goals, TCEB is working with key public and private sector partners to promote and reinvigorate the country’s positive image, reinforcing stakeholders’ understanding of Thailand’s key business events industry strengths: diverse destinations right at the heart of the fast growing Asean Economic Community region, unrivalled business opportunities, and high quality business events professionals and standards.

Thailand reports renewed confidence in sector


Fiji Airways expands capacity

Visit morefuninthephilippines.com.aufacebook.com/itsmorefuninthephilippinesPhilippinesTeam bonding. More fun in the

Fiji Airways has increased its capacity to key Australian and New Zealand markets. The airline will now fly to Melbourne daily, after adding two additional flights to the city.

It has also added two overnight services to Auckland from Nadi, and two additional early morning departures from Auckland to Nadi. Fiji Airways now flies 11 times a week between Nadi and Auckland.

“The increase in capacity to our tourist source markets is good news for us as Fiji’s National Airline Group and for Fiji’s tourism industry,” said Fiji Airways managing director and CEO Stefan Pichler.

“This was always our intention, in line with earlier announcements in our Five Year Master Plan for increased capacity to all markets. And we note with satisfaction, that the Department of Immigration has reported rising visitor numbers from our major inbound markets.”

In addition to the extra Melbourne and Auckland services, more flights to Sydney and Christchurch will be added during

peak periods (July, October, December and January). Fiji Airways currently operates flights once a week to Christchurch and 15 times a week to Sydney.

The announcement comes as official Fiji Government figures reveal an increase in visitor arrivals from Australia in April (compared to April 2013) of 9.6 per cent.


COVER STORY

The Gold Coast is a favourite destination for delegates, renowned for its ability to combine world-class meeting and event spaces with the Gold Coast’s unique entertainment options and picture perfect weather.

Nowhere is that more seamlessly combined than at the 5-star RACV Royal Pines Resort, which boasts extensive indoor facilities and two

premium outdoor lawn spaces only minutes from the glamour of Surfers Paradise and the natural beauty of the Gold Coast hinterland. This comes in addition to the Resort’s world renowned Championship Golf Course, home to both the Australian Ladies Masters Tournament and the PGA Men’s Championship, new multimillion dollar One Spa complex, dazzling culinary offering and 331 luxury accommodation rooms.

At the heart of the Resort’s 14 versatile indoor function spaces is the newly refurbished 1500sqm Royal Benowa Ballroom (pictured), which was unveiled in April. The 7.7m high, pillarless Ballroom now features a 5.5m high glass wall opening up the space to abundant natural light and views over the lush gardens and Championship Golf Course. The

Ballroom is also able to be split into three sections, each housing up to 600 people theatre-style, and features state-of-the-art audio visual equipment and an operable skylight over the centre of the room giving the space complete versatility.

Outside the Ballroom, a new sweeping grand staircase makes the perfect entrance to the Royal Benowa Foyer which connects seamlessly with the Podium Lawns and Concert Lawns, allowing for marquee and tent structures of up to 3500sqm and catering for up to 1500 delegates.

“The refurbishment for the Royal Pines Resort conference and events facilities builds on the original design philosophy to create a venue that is uniquely Gold Coast,” says general manager RACV Queensland Resorts, John Morris.

“With our range of quality dining options, championship 27-hole golf course, quality leisure and accommodation options, together with our stunning new One Spa facility and upgraded conference centre, RACV Royal Pines provides locals and visitors alike with a fantastic Gold Coast destination. It’s a sophisticated and welcoming one-stop-shop.”

Catering for eight to 1800 people from glittering balls, tradeshows and major conventions to community events and major public tournaments, RACV Royal Pines Resort has a space for every purpose and a strong track record of creating excellent functions and conferences every time.

Let there be lightRACV Royal Pines Resort’s new look

conference centre is the jewel in the crown

for one of the Gold Coast’s most versatile

venues for meetings and events.

Watch the virtual tour in the CIM iPad app.


Q&A

Q: How did you get started in the industry?

A: It all began with working on the 2007 Sydney Royal Easter Show coordinating the volunteer program. After my contract ended, I joined a small agency running a portfolio consisting predominantly of conferences and special events. After a couple of years [on the] agency side, I applied for a position at Optus as the campus event coordinator. I have now been at Optus for over five years, where I’m currently the senior event coordinator.

Q: What does your role encompass?

A: The role sits within the employee experience team and is primarily focused on delivering awesome experiences for our employees. I manage events from creative development right through to execution and post-event phase. I oversee the full scope of projects, whether that be briefing our agency partner or managing events in-house. I also manage any external parties hosting events or activations on campus (head office), and often at our other national offices.

Q: How many in your team?

A: There are eight people in the team. Sitting under human resources, we work across communications, events, transport services and place making. Each of us plays a key role in delivering a consistent, engaging national experience for our people.

Q: Do you outsource any of the logistical elements or is everything in-house?

A: The majority of our events are run in-house but for larger events like our annual Sydney Christmas party and national family fun days, we outsource to our events partners who work alongside us to deliver those projects.

Q: What is the biggest event you work on for the company?

A: One of the biggest annual events is the Sydney Christmas party. Over the years we’ve hosted this event on campus for over 5000 pax and offsite for 3200 pax. It’s the social event of the year for our people and an event that consumes the team in the lead up right to the big day.

Q: Are the events nationwide?

A: Our team delivers events for over 9000 employees across the country throughout the year.

Q: You’re across a whole range of events, from Christmas parties and product launches, to family fun days and pop up style events, how do manage the workload?

A: Through years of experience, I enjoy the challenge of managing

multiple events and competing priorities. I’m fortunate to also have a great team that I can lean on to support me, as well as an insightful manager who gives me clear direction and good autonomy. Being able to be adaptive and manage my time well is what gets me through no matter how many projects I’m juggling in the air!

Q: Can you describe some of your regular events?

A: As we have a campus site where over 6000 employees are based in Sydney, we run regular market days, live entertainment, cultural celebrations and a vast array of many other pop-up style events. Some of our events are also employee-led through our Campus Grants and Cultural Grants Program, where I work with recipients to host their event. This has proved to be very popular especially with the band/jam sessions and flash mob group within our employee community.

Q: What’s the best part of your role?

A: I’ve always been a big picture person, and I’ve been able to draw on my skills and experience over the years to mould this role into one that I love and am passionate about.

Being able to be creative and create experiences that you wouldn’t normally do in a corporate environment is something that makes my role really unique – that’s certainly the best part about it.

Q: Is there a different agenda when you are staging events for employees rather than outside stakeholders?

A: We tailor events based on their individual objectives; however, regardless of whom they are created for, all are designed to provide a positive and engaging experience.

Q: How do you measure the return on investment of the events you stage?

A: Most events have the same core objectives, delivering a “wow” factor and increasing attendance, in addition to increasing employee experience, which then leads to increased productivity and employee retention.

We measure our return on investment through tools like post implementation reviews, which enable us to celebrate successes and identify areas for improvement, and then take that forward for future events. We also use employee feedback surveys, which gives our people the opportunity to provide open and honest feedback, so we continually enhance and improve our events.

We really value our people’s feedback, so if we’re not doing something right, we learn from it and continually look for ways to improve.

Harry Whelan, senior event co-ordinator at Optus, talks to CIM about what is takes to deliver a variety of in-house events nationwide for a large corporation.

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TECHNOLOGY

Haycom ‘Ghost Host’s’ AIDS 2014Haycom used its new digital signage solution – The Ghost Host virtual presenter technology – at the recent 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014), held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) in July.

The digital signage was officially launched at the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo earlier this year, where Haycom won the Best New Stand award.

“When the City of Melbourne asked for a digital signage solution for AIDS 2014 that was compact, worked in multiple lighting conditions and instantly engaged the audience, we knew our exclusive Ghost Host virtual presenter would be the perfect fit,” said Mario Valenti, director of Haycom.

“We have designed and built a custom housing unit, matched to the conference theme, for the entrance to the Global Village at the MCEC. From here our Ghost Host will deliver daily highlights and information about the event to thousands of AIDS 2014 delegates and visitors.

“The Ghost Host has been programmed to play looped messages, with no breaks and little maintenance required. We will only be updating the custom Perspex on the unit each day, to give it a fresh new look and ensure powerful and engaging communications are delivered throughout the event.”

iVvy launches ‘game changer’ for industryEvent software firm iVvy has launched what it describes as “the world’s first real-time booking platform for the hospitality and business event industries”.

The platform will enable event organisers to connect with venues real-time to search, compare, book and pay online instantaneously.

Making the announcement following last month’s HotelsWorld Conference in Sydney, iVvy chief executive Lauren Hall said “people want more power at their fingertips”.

“Our new platform not only gives customers the power, but also sets a new direction for the industry and creates benchmark efficiencies that have never existed in the past. We are solving layers of problems by creating a system that saves millions of dollars and enhancing every customer’s event experience.”

iVvy worked with Mantra Group over the two year research period and it is the first hotel group to roll out the platform across its 94 Peppers and Mantra conferencing properties in Australia and New Zealand.

Through the platform, customers will have the ability to manage every aspect of their conferencing requirements in real-time, including securing accommodation block bookings, submission of banqueting event orders, making menu choices, managing function diaries and registrations, marketing support and supplier procurement.

The new platform also has the ability to connect multiple properties and give real-time reporting across all venues, cutting down on the turnaround time between a proposal and confirmation.

Kent Davidson, Mantra Group’s executive director of sales, marketing and distribution, said the new platform is a “real game changer for Mantra Group and for the business events industry as a whole”.

“The conference market requires a more dynamic solution to the planning and booking of both large and small scale conferences and events and iVvy provides a seamless automated solution for our team, clients and partners,” he added.

iVvy CEO Lauren Hall and Mantra Group’s

Kent Davidson.

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Cloud-based venue management software company Priava has announced that Waverley Council has upgraded to Priava Cloud to deliver its venue and event management offering.

Waverley Council, located in the inner eastern suburbs of Sydney, services 11 suburbs, from North Bondi to Bronte, and includes some of Sydney’s most famous beaches, Bondi, Tamarama and Bronte, along with over 30 parks and reserves and eight unique and historic buildings, all of which can be hired by the community for events and activities.

Andrew Best, facility co-ordinator at Waverley Council, said the council will use Priava

across its five administration departments who have responsibility for booking all venue facilities available in Waverley.

“We have some of the most popular and busiest venues in Sydney and venue hire continues to grow as we redevelop existing venues and build new ones,” he said.

Priava’s new purpose built enterprise and event management booking system will enable Waverley’s venue management teams to handle enquiries, identify available space for upcoming functions and events, research customer history and monitor ongoing operations, all in real-time and from any location.

“The deployment of Priava will enable us to utilise all our spaces and commercial facilities, cost effectively and efficiently,” Best added.

“For the first time, staff in all five administration departments following up a customer enquiry, will be able to check the hire status of all available venues in Waverley, and will be able to cross-sell venues which should lead to increased bookings and revenue for the Council. This business intelligence will in turn enable Council to identify booking trends, allowing us to put strategies in place that deliver the most efficient returns on occupancy and revenue.”

Waverley Council keeps venues in the cloud

Google’s black box brings meetings onlineGoogle’s annual Sydney showcase of its tools for business, Atmosphere, gave Sydneysiders a look at their new Chromebox for meetings package, which aims to simplify high-definition video meetings.

Chromebox brings together Google’s Google+ Hangouts and Google Apps to facilitate online video meetings for up 15 people on any device.

With no dial ups or pin codes, Chromebox utilises a high-definition camera, a combined microphone and speaker unit and a remote control, while integration with Google Apps makes it easy to invite others and add rooms to video meetings, directly from Google Calendar.

Micebook aims to share the knowledgeNew online platform Micebook aims to focus on knowledge retention and sharing amongst event organisers, and heralds a new chapter for event planners in researching destinations and suppliers, and sharing feedback, according to Chetan Shah, Micebook’s chief executive and founder.

Micebook allows users to search for suppliers, then to save specific suppliers, use the enquiry system, add notes and download information for pitches.

“All too often agency staff waste time looking for a specific contact, notes from a fam or event run by a colleague long

departed or even just imagery to complete a proposal,” said Shah.

“Micebook takes the functionality and usability of a high-end online search tool and makes it personal and shareable. From the favouriting of top suppliers to notes about the best suite in an unusual hotel, our platform makes the retention of knowledge both easy and individual as each user creates their own personal databank.

“Micebook is fundamentally about collaboration, it is the ethos on which the platform was created and how we intend to grow.”


SYDNEY

As construction work starts on the International Convention Centre Sydney the city’s planners have big ideas for the rest of the city, writes Ylla Watkins.


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Building for the future

With construction work on the new $1 billion International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), the jewel in the crown of the $2.5 billion redevelopment of Darling Harbour, finally underway, Sydney has embarked on arguably the most exciting period of urban renewal in its history.

While the redevelopment of the

Darling Harbour precinct will undoubtedly be a challenging period for many businesses in the area, the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA), which owns and manages Darling Harbour, is keen to reassure stakeholders that they have a comprehensive “activation strategy” in place for the precinct.

Speaking at the launch of

Novotel Sydney Central’s newly refurbished conference facilities last month, Debra Dawson, executive director of the Darling Harbour Transition Office, outlined details of the authority’s strategy.

“We recognised some 18 months ago the challenges that the redevelopment of Sydney convention and exhibition centre

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would pose for Darling Harbour,” she said. “In order to face those challenges we’ve put in place a world class redevelopment framework to guide the precinct through this challenging period.

“That activation strategy is designed to keep Darling Harbour open for business during the period 2013 to 2016 and importantly to deliver the new exhibition and convention centre into a thriving precinct ready to do business, not just for the state but for the nation.

“Underpinning all of that we have a media and communications strategy that continues to deliver that message of [Sydney] being open for business.

“We’re standing in one of the most exciting areas of Sydney at the moment. Just in Darling Harbour alone, with the convention centre as a catalyst for redevelopment, we have development approval for the Imax Theatre, we have the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel undertaking a major redevelopment, we have Harbourside Shopping Centre planning a major development, [and] we have Cockle Bay Wharf undertaking an upgrade.”

A key part of SHFA’s plan is the redevelopment of The Goods Line, announced in March, which will see a disused rail freight hub become a pedestrian and cycle-friendly route from Central to the waterfront, featuring public events spaces, recreational facilities and restaurants designed to bring new life into the precinct. It will link many of the city’s arts, educational and cultural institutions including the Powerhouse Museum, ABC and University of Technology Sydney with Darling Harbour.

While the project has been compared to New York’s High Line, a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side, Dawson says it “will have its own unique identity”.

“[The Goods Line] will be a place that has been developed from the ground up; a place that will recognise the heritage and cultural significance of what was Sydney’s original goods line; and a place that will drive transformation in the neighbourhood,” she said.

While work on the first stage of the project, the Goods Line North, is not expected to be

finished until November, it is already winning awards, with the Planning Institute of Australia this week awarding it the 2014 Australian Award for Urban Design.

“We see opportunities of attacking this project in a 360 degree way,” says Sascha Coles, national studio director of Aspect Studios, the principal designer of the goods line project. “Walls, edges to the space, raised areas, all of these are opportunities for us to enliven and activate the space.”

Key spaces in the north will include Business School Square, close to the new Frank Gehry designed Dr Chau Chak Wing Business School; MaryAnn Square, which will have an amphitheatre and raised seating; and the Transformer, a small public room that could be used for events such as seminars, fashion shows and cocktail parties.

The second stage of the project, the Goods Line South, will feature raised recreation and work spaces, as well as a stage-like area at Broadcast Square, outside the ABC building, which will be used for live

Green light for ICC Sydney hotelThe New South Wales Government has given planning approval for a new luxury 616 room hotel at the ICC Sydney at Darling Harbour.

The hotel “will be a spectacular addition to the new International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) precinct”, according to Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner.

“The hotel will form part of the NSW Government’s $2.5 billion transformation of Darling Harbour, eventually complementing the high standard of events taking place at the new convention, exhibition and entertainment facilities right next door,” he said.

Minister for Planning Pru Goward says the hotel “will be the finishing touch to the transformation of Darling Harbour”.

“The NSW Government is building a world-class convention centre and we’ve now approved a world-class hotel to match,” she added.

Construction of the new 35-storey hotel is expected to begin late this year.


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performances and broadcasts, according to Coles. The plan will also see a number of new cafes and restaurants open.

“One of the things we want to do here is make sure this is a vibrant night economy as well, going from at least from 7am to 11pm every day,” says Coles.

The project has been welcomed by stakeholders such as the Novotel Sydney Central, which is well positioned following its refurbishment to capitalise on its location in the heart of the precinct.

“The completion of the hotel’s refurbishment has come at a great time and complements the regeneration of the surrounding

precinct,” says general manager Sarah Connelly.

“For a long time, Haymarket has been seen as a transient suburb and is often overshadowed by Darling Harbour and Chinatown. With the public works that are currently underway such as The Goods Line, Haymarket is going to be transformed into one of the city’s most exciting precinct.”

An international summit of world leading urban renewal experts will additionally be held later this year to discuss the best ways to revitalise “The Bays Precinct”, a 5.5 kilometre stretch of waterfront land taking underutilised areas in and around Blackwattle Bay, the

Sydney Fish Market, Rozelle Bay, Rozelle Rail Yards, and the heritage-listed White Bay Power Station.

Suggestions for the land include new housing and areas for recreation, retail, tourism, commercial and maritime use, with NSW Premier Mike Baird calling it “possibly the most exciting and ambitious urban renewal and city building opportunity in the world today”.

While the new ICC Sydney is not due to be completed until late 2016, interest in the new centre is already high, according to Business Events Sydney (BESydney) with 14 events already secured.

The latest to be announced is leading financial conference Sibos 2018, which Baird believes is proof that the “NSW Government’s strategy to attract major business events to Sydney is working”.

“Sydney is home to Australia’s finance sector and we’re delighted to be hosting the world’s financial heavyweights in 2018,” he says.

“Hosting Sibos will bring 6000 delegates to Sydney and is worth an estimated $50 million to the NSW economy.

“Visitors to Sydney for Sibos 2018 will meet in the new $1.1 billion world-class convention facilities at Darling Harbour and be able

What’s in a name?Trippas White Group has launched a competition to name the event space and bar at the top of the Westfield Sydney Tower to coincide with a million dollar refurbishment which will be completed later this month.

Competition entries are open until Friday, August 22, with finalists invited to an exclusive launch party in early September where the venue’s new name will be unveiled. The winner of the competition will win a VIP cocktail party to the value of $2000.

For competition details and terms and conditions, visit trippaswhitegroup.com.au/whatsmyname.


Vivid continues to shineThe Vivid Sydney festival continues to be a major drawcard for Sydney. This year’s event, which was held from May 23 to June 9, smashed its 2013 attendance record with more than 1.43 million people attending the 18 day festival of light, music and ideas.

“Vivid Sydney attracted 79 per cent more attendees in 2014, with the total number exceeding the population of Adelaide and surpassing the total number of international tourists to Fiji last year,” said Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner.

“Vivid visitors came from across our State, throughout Australia and from around the world. There were more than 19,500 international travellers on Vivid Sydney travel packages, up 74 per cent on 2013, which is fantastic for our tourism industry during what was once a quiet winter period.”

This year’s event included the largest ever Vivid Ideas line-up of creative leaders and emerging talent, across a program of more than 200 events spanning 14 creative industries. Vivid Ideas keynote speakers include renowned scholar, historian and founder of the Big History Project,

David Christian; CEO and co-founder of EpiBone, the world’s first company growing living human bones for skeletal reconstruction, Nina Tandon; digital effects genius Hao Li; and guest speakers from Tomorrow’s Toys and Future Shock.

Also tied into Vivid Sydney were a number of business events including SPARC Design, the Good Design Australia Awards and Mumbrella360.

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to explore Sydney’s thriving new financial services district at Barangaroo – both of which are currently under construction.

“Without the new convention, exhibition and entertainment facilities we are building at Darling Harbour, Sydney would not have been able to host Sibos.”

Bidding for Sibos 2018 involved the ICC Sydney, BESydney and stakeholders from the financial services industry and government.

“Sibos is a highly sought after international event that draws the world’s banking and finance elite together and drives the future of the global industry,” says Lyn Lewis-Smith, chief executive of BESydney. “This is a major coup for Sydney and for our local sector.

“Sydney has proven itself as a global commercial and business centre, underpinned by a growing critical mass of creativity and innovation that is drawing the world’s best and brightest to our shores. We know that creativity underscores progress and cuts across sectors. Technology, science, professional services and everything in between are benefiting from our creative solutions.

“We are inventing the future here in Sydney and are attracting events such as Sibos that are also creating a better tomorrow.

“There is perhaps no event

Tyrrell’s Wines; and Dr Pia Winberg, founder and director, Venus Shell Systems and BESydney Future Leader.

“It was important to BESydney to let industry leaders tell their stories and why they believe that Sydney Shines,” says Lewis-Smith. “Sydney is a magnet for

international talent – retained and adopted – and the reasons behind this run much deeper than geography.”

As well as NSW being home to 74 per cent of Australia’s financial and insurance services and research and development, Sydney is Australia’s biggest

that better aligns with NSW’s competitive strengths and future direction than Sibos. The NSW Government has identified financial services as an area of strength and opportunity and has made a commitment to invest in developing the growth of the professional services sector, and others. BESydney is working in close partnership with the NSW Government, as part of its aligned economic development strategy, to support its plan to cultivate the state’s known competitive advantages.”

As part of its strategy to keep Sydney front of mind for planners, BESydney recently launched a new branding campaign, Sydney Shines, utilising a group of high-profile brand ambassadors to sell the message that Sydney is an exciting, innovative city that thrives on challenge.

Ambassadors include Andrew Stoner, Deputy Premier of New South Wales; Bill Bowtell, executive director, Pacific Friends of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Professor Roy Green, dean, Faculty of Business, University of Technology Sydney; Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla, director, Centre for Sustainable Materials, Research and Technology, University of New South Wales; Bruce Tyrrell,


Capturing a moment in timeA time-capsule will be buried on the site of the International Convention Centre Sydney, containing a range of artefacts and information about the history of Darling Harbour.

“As we herald in the next chapter in Darling Harbour’s story, we have been mindful to keep the history of the precinct’s continual evolution alive for future generations by

dedicating a time capsule,” said Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner (pictured right, with Premier Mike Baird), speaking at a ground breaking ceremony at the construction site.

“The time capsule contains mementos, video, imagery and information about Darling Harbour on the cusp of its biggest change in 25 years.

“From its Indigenous heritage, early colonial years, industrial use as a goods yard, railway node and port to its revival as an events and entertainment destination, Darling Harbour has always been a place for people and a centre of innovation.

“The $2.5 billion Darling Harbour Live redevelopment will build on that legacy with state-of-the-art major events venues, a new city neighbourhood, as well as new open public spaces, water features and improved pedestrian connections into this much loved part of Sydney.”

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manufacturing centre and has more multinational regional headquarters than any other city in Australia, according to Lewis-Smith. In 2013, Sydney was voted the second most innovative city in the Asia Pacific and ranked number one globally for reputation.

“Australia also has one of the highest rates of patent applications for brilliant innovations in renewable energy and biotechnology, and is home to many inventions that we take for granted,” she says. “Think the bionic ear, wi-fi, Google Maps, spray-on

skin, and the black box flight recorder to name just a few. Our people are renowned for inspired solutions.

“Sydney is evolving at a rapid pace, from Barangaroo, Darling Harbour and the sparkling new International Convention Centre Sydney, to

the University of Technology Sydney, Green Square and more. Now is the right time to showcase our strengths and why the international business community chooses to do business in Australia’s global city. It’s where people want to be.”


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The soon to open InterContinental Sydney Double Bay.

Spotlight on Double Bay With less than five months to go until the InterContinental Sydney Double Bay opens in November, the fully refurbished former Ritz Carlton Hotel is set to offer the business events market something different, a 5-star experience outside of Sydney’s CBD.

“I think the perceived distance from the CBD is the hotel’s biggest asset,” says general manager Frederic Brohez. “It’s great to be able to offer this type of luxury and level of service, with a true Sydney experience.”

Brohez believes the hotel will attract seasoned leisure and business travellers, who’ve been to Sydney before and want an “insider experience”.

While the opening date has yet to be finalised, the hotel’s sales team have been fielding plenty of enquiries regarding events at the hotel.

“The refurbishment of the hotel will see the reinstatement of key features including a pillarless Grand Ballroom for up to 360 guests (banquet style) and flexible meeting spaces as well as the creation of new spaces – the rooftop infinity pool and lounge, a destination concept bar and restaurant and the only separate kosher kitchen in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs,” says Brohez.

Double Bay itself has been going through a period of urban renewal over the last couple of years, with Woollahra Council driving a project to inject new life and energy into the commercial centre, which had been in decline for some time. The project has already seen new retailers, commercial space, and restaurants, cafes and bars open in the village, with Stage 2 kicking off last month.

“We’re leading by example and saying we think Double Bay has a strong future,” says Woollahra Council’s Justine Henderson.

“What we’re seeing now is very much a rebranding and a renewal, and that’s based around the idea of Double Bay being quite a unique village. It’s close to Sydney harbour, it’s not far from the CBD, it has a lot of history, and now it has a lot of

contemporary buildings.

“There’s a lot of renewed interest in the commercial centre and with the hotel opening we’re expecting tourists, both domestic and international, to come back to the space.”


MELBOURNE

Seventeen years after it was first conceived and with more than two

years of intensive planning and preparation, Melbourne welcomed

around 14,000 delegates in July for the highly anticipated 20th

International AIDS Conference, writes Sheridan Randall.

The 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014), the largest health and development conference ever hosted in Australia and estimated to be worth approximately $80 million to the Victorian state economy, was hosted at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) at the end of July.

AIDS 2014 was a game changer in many ways that went beyond just the immediate economic impact of the event, delivering legacies for both the related medical sectors and the city itself.

With speakers including former US President and founder of the Clinton Foundation, Bill Clinton, and musician and activist Sir Bob Geldof, the conference was always going to attract global media attention. But it was the amazing array of delegates that came to either take part in the official programme or simply enjoy the activities in the event’s public area, the Global Village, that really made an impression on Melbourne Convention Bureau chief executive Karen Bolinger, who described it as having a “great atmosphere, buzzing enormously”.

“The Global Village had a party atmosphere,

but they are all talking about serious stuff,” she says. “Coming from far flung corners of the world to talk about what is going on in their part of the world. You had people in suits in one spot and transgender people in another – it was just extraordinary.”

The Global Village was just one aspect of a diverse conference that included members of the international medical and scientific communities along with carers, patients, community organisations and activists.

“We knew that it [AIDS 2014] would be a different type of conference getting into it in the first instance but it is probably the first [of this] type of conference that has been held here,” she says.

Peter King, the MCEC’s chief executive, says that while the conference has a strong medical programme it is at its core “a social event”.

“It is such a broad group of delegates, very broad issues and lots of activism, as you saw with Bill Clinton the other day, but it is all very well managed,” he says.

Clinton’s address to the conference earned global headlines when a group of protestors briefly interrupted him at the

Long-term legacy

Left: Former US President Bill Clinton. Below: (From left) Professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi; Sir Gustav Nossal; Professor Sharon Lewin; and Peter Doherty.

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beginning of his speech. What the media did not elaborate on was that this type of activism is not just tolerated, but is an integral element of the conference.

“One of the key things about this AIDS conference is that everybody has a voice, and is allowed to have their say, nobody will stop them as long as it is appropriate,” King says.

“We went to Washington to see this [event] two years ago and I am glad we did because it is very different. All the activism is managed by the International AIDS Society so they know when people are going to conduct any form of activism and they basically help them facilitate it. In the opening ceremony Michel Sidibe [UNAIDS executive director] got up to speak and a whole lot people got up with banners. He even held up one of the banners, got his photo with them, and then they all left and he continued to speak. They promote the opportunity for everybody to have their say. It’s wonderful really.”

The MCB’s business development team identified the opportunity to bring the International AIDS Conference to Melbourne back in 1997, with the bureau partnering with the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine; Tourism Victoria; the Victorian Department of Health; the City of Melbourne; and local co-chair for AIDS 2014, Head Department of Infectious Diseases Alfred Hospital and Monash University, Co-head Centre for Biomedical

Research Burnet Institute and Club Melbourne Ambassador Professor Sharon Lewin, to mount the successful bid.

“Securing AIDS 2014 for Melbourne in 2011 was an incredible team effort – a city, state and nation-wide collaboration – just like a mini Olympic bid,” says Bolinger.

“But perhaps most significantly, the strength of Melbourne’s scientific community and expertise in HIV research lead by Professor Lewin was also a major contributing factor to the city’s success, which is the case for many international associations like the International AIDS Society.

“We have all of this intelligence [in Melbourne], we talk about our medical institutes here being like the Silicon Valley of the southern hemisphere and our scientific community is where our biggest strength is.

“We align ourselves with the State Government’s priorities and we do that because in this instance we have a strong research community down here that has been working on it [AIDS] for some time. If the government has been investing in that from a research and infrastructure capacity then it enables us to identify bids in that area that we can go off and secure.”

Of the international conferences MCB has secured for the MCEC, 69 per cent are in the health, medical and scientific sectors.

“Melbourne’s expertise in these sectors enables conference organisers to attract

preeminent speakers and create rich content, to ultimately drive delegate attendance,” she says.

“There were 17 speakers from Melbourne’s research institutes, including Club Melbourne Ambassadors Professor Lewin; Sir Gustav Nossal, Patron of the Nossal Institute for Global Health; and Peter Doherty, a Nobel Prize winner and Patron of the Peter Doherty Institute.

“They are all world-leaders in immunology and they’re right here in Melbourne,” she adds.

Another important aspect in securing the bid was Melbourne’s ability to work together and embrace the conference, with “collaboration being one of the strengths of our city”.

“When we won the bid we put together what we called the Melbourne Planning Group which consisted of ourselves, the City of Melbourne, Tourism Victoria and the Department of Health, and we talked about how to bring this conference to life and how we could make sure the city embraced it,” she says.

That planning group was really responsible for putting together a cultural programme of activities, including lighting up 40 building across the city and organising a candle vigil, with King saying that the entire city “embraced the event”.

“It has been typical of Melbourne in that it just rallies around the event,” he says. “All

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the feedback from the delegates has been that they have had a great week.”

Bolinger adds that Melbourne’s ability to accommodate an event on this scale and get global recognition “surpassed our expectations”.

“We knew it was going to be a big conference but having all those people walking around and the global coverage we had talking about the conference and the city certainly helped back up our statement when we talk about being the intellectual capital [of Australia], so we are pleased about that,” she adds.

King maintains that there are very few venues globally “that could do what we have done”.

“There was a huge build up and we spent and enormous amount of time on it,” he says. “Leading up to it we were all just looking forward to getting into it. Now we are in to it we will be really sad when it finishes. It’s just been such a great experience for everybody involved.”

With the conference now over, the long-term legacies of holding such an important event include the signing of the Melbourne Declaration, which was calls for the

eradication of discrimination against people living with or in risk of HIV and allowing them to get equal access to treatment and care. For King the legacy is a humanitarian one.

“The stuff that Clinton and Geldof are talking about is that the world needs to be more tolerant and more compassionate,” he says.

“This event has really educated the people of Melbourne and the fact that there needs to be a broad compassion, understanding and education about what all these other people are going through. It’s been an incredible experience for everyone.”

Melbourne Showgrounds scores doubleMelbourne Showgrounds will host the Caravan, Camping and Touring Supershow and the inaugural Australian Motoring Festival in 2015. The Caravan, Camping and Touring Supershow is shifting its event to Melbourne Showgrounds to expand in size to accommodate more exhibitors and increase visitor capacity, while the Australian

Motoring Festival chose the venue for its flexible function spaces that will cater to its major industry conference, aftermarket exhibits, awards’ presentations and family entertainment.

New boutique hotel for CBDMelbourne is set to welcome boutique 4-star property Brady Hotels on October 1, 2014. Located at Little Latrobe Street, between Melbourne Central and RMIT University, Brady Hotels is a 16-floor property with 146 rooms. Business travellers will also have access to a business centre, while two fully equipped conference venues can be combined into a larger venue accommodating up to 80 people.


MACAU

Macau recently hosted 3500 delegates from across the globe for Flight Centre Travel Group’s annual Global Gathering. Organised by event management firm cievents, the eight-day program is designed to reward and educate their for performers.

Macau ticked all the right boxes, with the group needing to be accommodated in one spot, in this case the Sheraton Macau, Cotai Strip, and requiring a range of meeting venues able to cope with everything from senior leader meetings, product updates and team building sessions to a gala dinner and awards night.

The event is as much about having fun as it is educational, with Macau’s reputation as an entertainment hotspot integral to the meeting’s success. The Welcome event, held at the Cotai Arena at the Venetian, featured Will.i.am as the guest DJ, while the final night closed with a spectacular Gala Awards dinner and after party featuring UK singer Jessie J and Aussie talent DJ Havana Brown.

It wasn’t only Flight Centre’s high achievers that got to witness what Macau can offer with the Macau Government Tourist Office (Australia and New Zealand) recently staging a spectacular event overlooking Sydney Harbour to showcase the importance Macau placed on entertainment to Australian event organisers.

Macau Fringe – Celebration of Entertainment, held at Sydney’s Luna Park in June, literally put the spotlight on the many faces of Macau with an impressive lightshow as well as a sumptuous gala dinner showcasing the unique flavours of Macanese cuisine.

“The response was overwhelming, particularly in relationship to the 3D show, which was shown for the first time outside of China and Macau,” says Helen Wong, managing director of the Macau Government Tourist Office (Australia and New Zealand).

“The aim with events like this is to provide a higher awareness of Macau and what it has to offer.”

Describing Macau as a “compelling destination”, with its 500 year history, 25 UNESCO World Heritage listed sites and contemporary infrastructure and venues, Wong says it is “a city on the move with much change taking place in shaping its modern appeal”.

“Construction continues on the 29.5km Hong Kong-Zuhai-Macau bridge, to open at the end of 2016, while ground has been broken in a number of hot spots on the Cotai Strip, reclaimed land linking the islands of Taipa and Coloane and home to large entertainment precincts as the City of Dreams, Sands (The Venetian) and the Galaxy,” she says.

“Such is the building boom in Macau that the landscape is covered in towering construction cranes completing such projects as the Parisians, to feature a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower, complete with observation deck and 200-seat restaurant due to open next year.”

This comes in addition to the $4.5 billion Lisboa Palace, with three hotels to be completed by 2017, a new 780-room hotel tower in The City of Dreams, the addition of 1600 hotel rooms by 2016 with MGM’s new Cotai development, and Wynn Resorts new 1700-room entertainment and hotel complex also expected in the same year.

This sort of huge investment only occurs with the numbers to back it up. In the first quarter of 2014, Macau posted a 50 per cent increase in the number of delegates compared with same period in 2013, at 304,272. The number of events hosted in the same period also increased from 230 in 2013 to 276 this year. Over 1000 conventions and exhibitions were held in Macau in 2013, including 60 mega conferences, which hosted a total of 2.03 million participants.

Macau is a destination on the rise, and with the ongoing investment in infrastructure is set to make its presence felt on an even larger scale in the coming few years.

Macau is carving itself a reputation as a destination for those that want to reward their staff in style, with Flight Centre sending its high performers there in July for their annual celebration, writes Sheridan Randall.

Celebration central

Traveller tick of approvalThe Venetian Macao and Sands Macao have each received a Certificate of Excellence award from TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site.

Two other hotels at Sands China properties at Cotai Strip Resorts Macao also hold a Certificate of Excellence: Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central; and Holiday Inn Macao Cotai Central.

Left: Andrew Clarke, Hong Kong Tourist Board, with Helen Wong and Stan Tartakovski of CWT Meetings and Events in the background at the Macau Fringe event. Inset: Sheraton Macau, Cotai Strip.


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SINGAPORE

A long-time favourite for business events of all sizes, Singapore is

reinventing itself as Asia’s green meetings city,

discovers Ylla Watkins.

With its strong international appeal, strategic location and access to key Asian markets, it’s little wonder that Singapore continues to be a popular destination for business events.

In June the city-state was named the Top International Meeting Country for the third year running and Top International Meeting City for a seventh consecutive year in the Union of International Associations (UIA) 2013 Global Rankings. In 2013, 994 of the meetings hosted in Singapore met UIA’s stipulated qualifying criteria – a 4.4 per cent increase from 952 in 2012. Singapore was also named Asia’s Top Convention City by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) for the 12th consecutive year. Singapore’s record of 175 eligible events in 2013 was a 16.7 per cent increase from 150 in 2012, the strongest year-on-year growth since 2005.

Australians too continue to flock

to Singapore with 1,125,000 travellers making the journey in 2013, a 7 per cent increase on the previous year. Australia has for some time been the city-state’s fourth biggest market, following

Indonesia, China and Malaysia.

Despite the numbers, Singapore isn’t prepared to rest on its laurels, according to Sharon Lam, area director Oceania of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

“We’re glad that Singapore continues to earn the confidence and trust of meeting planners and delegates,” she says.

“Building on Singapore’s strength as an international meeting destination, we want to continue encouraging Australian

business visitors to explore all that Singapore has to offer outside of the meeting room.”

In February the board, in conjunction with Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Changi Airport

Group (CAG), launched the Singapore MICE Advantage Program, to encourage more groups to consider Singapore for their next event.

“What the program does is enhance the overall destination experience,”

says Lam. “There are benefits such as financial grants of up to 50 per cent of qualifying costs, discounts on advertising space within the airport, preferential delegate airfares on Singapore airlines including additional baggage for delegates, and recommendations and assistance with social activities and venues to ensure clients have a different type of meeting experience here in Singapore.”

With the city constantly reinventing its tourism and

Garden city

“We want to reinforce our reputation as a ‘City

in a Garden’.”


Ships ahoy at Resorts World SentosaTall ship the Royal Albatross is now berthed at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS). A first for Singapore, the ship will be the only luxury tall ship for charter in Asia, with charters set to begin by the end of the year. The ship will also be available for dockside events.

The sky’s the limitCity Developments Limited has entered the Guinness World Records with the largest vertical garden in the world, the 24-story 2,289sqm vertical garden at the Tree House development. The garden reduces the building’s carbon footprint and reduces heat absorption.

In the nick of timeSentosa has just launched a new permanent multimedia entertainment show, Wings of Time, for all island guests. Staged on a structure built in the sea off the island’s Siloso Beach, the spectacle includes 3D projections, coloured lasers and water fountains.

Grand Hyatt Singapore event spaceGrand Hyatt Singapore has recently launched its newly renovated residential-styled Level 2 event space. Spaces include the Drawing Room, Loft Kitchen and 515sqm Grand Salon, which is equipped with a show kitchen featuring a customised cooking island.

business events offerings, a core part of STB’s strategy for promoting Singapore in recent years has been stressing the many different experiences available for independent travellers and groups alike. In 2012, STB launched its “Get lost and find the real Singapore” campaign, challenging people’s perceptions of the city and encouraging them to discover some of the unexpected and bespoke experiences available.

“We find that many Australians think they can tick Singapore off their bucket list once they have enjoyed a Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel, chilli crab or a shopping adventure down Orchard Road,” says Lam.

“The reality is that whether you are staying for a few hours or a few days, there is really so much more you can discover.”

One of Singapore’s more surprising points of difference is its strong green credentials.

While many of the city’s venues and other suppliers have been actively working on

becoming more sustainable for some time, in November last year STB launched a set of Sustainability Guidelines to serve as a reference guide for business events industry organisers and suppliers in Singapore.

The Sustainability Guidelines, cover seven industry categories from across the business events ecosystem, including hotels, venues, event organisers and meeting planners, transportation, food and beverage, as well as audio-visual set-up. Areas covered under the guidelines include advice on waste management and the efficient use of water and energy, as well as initiatives that encourage employees to develop a commitment to sustainable practices.

“We thought that it was timely to reflect upon and expand some of the initiatives already in place in Singapore to meetings planners and groups,” says Lam. “And we want to reinforce our reputation as a ‘City in a Garden’.”

Amongst the Singapore venues that are particularly

sustainably aware is Marina Bay Sands, home to more than 2500 rooms and the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, which features more than 120,00sqm of flexible space, including six purpose-built exhibition halls, 250 meetings room and South East Asia’s largest ballroom.

The integrated resort was earlier this year the first business events venue in South East Asia to obtain the ISO 20121 Sustainable Events Management System certification. Created by the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO), the world’s largest developer of voluntary international standards, the ISO 20121 standard is designed to address the management of improved sustainability throughout the entire event management cycle.

“Achieving the ISO 20121 Sustainable Events Management System certification and being the first venue in Singapore to do so is a significant milestone for Marina Bay Sands,” says George Tanasijevich, president and chief

executive of Marina Bay Sands.

“Our organisation is committed to integrating our business operations with sustainable practices, and this certification helps strengthen our position in both the meeting industry as well as the community we operate in. We hope that our efforts in environmental protection will inspire our clients, partners and stakeholders to adopt responsible environmental and social practices as well as drive the industry in that direction in the future.”

To achieve the certification, Marina Bay Sands integrated the event management system into its daily operations, taking into consideration social, environmental and economic aspects. A strong monitoring and reporting system was also put in place.

Marina Bay Sands is also the single largest building in Singapore to be conferred the Green Mark Gold Award by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the first

Singapore’s stunning skyline. Opposite page: The Supertrees at Gardens by the Bay.


Giving back to the communityFollowing an increase in enquiries regarding corporate social responsibility activities in Singapore, STB has recently taken the time to collate all the available options in one handy resource.

“We were getting a lot of enquiries, particularly from Australian event organisers, so we thought it was time we compiled the options and shared them with event organisers as and when it was relevant,” says Lam. “I think there is a growing awareness of social issues and desire to give back to the community. When groups want to do something different and immerse themselves in the destination, this is something they can do that’s also meaningful.”

Options range from Dining Behind Bars, which sees guests sample the culinary talents of local prisoners, to sustainable farming initiatives and spending time interacting with underprivileged children or seniors.

venue outside of the US to receive the Apex/ASTM Level 1 certification for sustainable meetings. It also has EarthCheck Silver Certification for its commitment to adopting best practice in sustainable operations and responsible event planning.

The resort also has a Sands ECO360° program, designed to create a customised sustainable meetings experience for planners, with options including a “Green Harvest Menu”, featuring ingredients sourced locally to reduce food miles, carbon offsets, the donation of unused conference materials to local charities after the event, and the creation of a Event Impact Statement post-event.

Gardens by the Bay, which recently welcomed its 10-millionth visitor a week ahead of its second anniversary on June 29, is a 101 hectare park less than a five minute walk from Marina Bay that is home to more than 250 thousand rare plants as well as the spectacular “Supertrees”, 25 to 50 metre high vertical gardens. It offers

a number of indoor and outdoor venues for off-site dinners and other events.

Sustainability was a key design driver for the Gardens by the Bay project, from the energy efficient cooled conservatories to the Supertrees themselves, which collect rainwater, generate solar power and act as venting ducts for the park’s conservatories.

“The environmental sustainability of Gardens by the Bay encompasses more than just greenery and includes the sustainable use of energy and water,” says Darren Oh, director, business development.

“The cooled conservatories apply cutting-edge technologies that provide energy-efficient solutions in cooling, while the Supertrees harvest solar energy for their lighting at night. The lake system not only functions as a natural water filtration system and provides for the Gardens’ irrigation system, but also serves as an aquatic habitat for biodiversity.

“To date, we have received

several awards and accolades for our sustainable features, including the ‘President’s Design Award 2013’ in Singapore, the Royal Institute of British Architect’s ‘Lubetkin Prize’ for best new international building of 2013, and the ‘World Building of the Year’ at the World Architecture Festival in 2012.”

Sentosa Island, a tropical island situated just 15 minutes from Singapore’s CBD, is another popular option for groups, providing a relaxed beach setting for meetings and incentives, while still having infrastructure capable of supporting events for up to 10,000 attendees.

Integrated resort complex Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) is home to five different hotels, as well as a casino, Universal Studios Singapore and one of the world’s largest aquariums, S.E.A Aquarium. For meetings and events it has Asia’s largest column-free ballroom, with capacity for 6500 people, as well as 37 function rooms and 20 event venues.

The resort is a strong proponent of green practices, adopted across different aspects of its operations, while a resort-wide sustainability initiative – Planet RWS – encourages guests’ participation.

For business events, meetings planners are encouraged to adopt sustainable measures, including eliminating disposable cutlery, the reduction of paper waste through electronic contracts, paperless check-in and check-out for delegates, and using on-site accommodation reducing transportation needs.

The 367-room Parkroyal on Pickering is also making waves for its innovative sustainable design. An oasis of green in Singapore’s heart, the hotel has won 29,

mostly architectural, awards in its first year in operation, according to director of business development Jeremy Baker.

Green features includes the use of recycled materials; energy and water conservation measures; the collection of solar power; rainwater harvesting; and light, motion and rain sensors to regulate the use of resources.

“Parkroyal on Pickering cost four times as much to build, around $800,000 per room, because of the materials used, and sustainability features, but we believe we will make that back in the next five to 10 years through power and water savings,” says Baker.

“Generally we’re trying to be as sustainable as possible [as a company] because in the long term it’s going to help us financially.”

At the Grand Hyatt Singapore, meeting planners have the opportunity to save 5 per cent of their total costs by signing up for its “Meet and Be Green” Package. To take advantage of the scheme, planners simply have to provide the hotel events team with all meeting information and event orders 10 days in advance to reduce the use of last minute resources; commit to selecting from the hotel’s sustainable menu options and locally sourced products; placing all meeting materials in a central location so meeting attendees can only take what they need; setting meeting rooms at an agreed-upon temperature and keeping it there; and replacing bottle water with filtered water stations.

With sustainable meetings options available for events of all sizes, it seems that Asia’s most popular business events destination may also be one of its greenest.

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More than 19,000 Rotarians from more than 140

countries travelled to Sydney Olympic Park for the

event. Delegates made use of facilities including

Allphones Arena, Sydney Showground and

Cathy Freeman Park.

A global affairSydney exceeded all expectations for the 105th Rotary International Convention, drawing more international delegates than expected and attracting global attention for the association’s key cause, the worldwide eradication of polio.

Attracting participants from 148 countries, the event saw 19,653 attendees descend on Sydney for the annual meeting, well above the 17,000 projected by Rotary International, a result that 2014 Sydney Convention Committee Chair Mark Daniel

Maloney puts down to Sydney’s “bucket list” appeal.

“I’ve never used the word iconic so much as I’ve used it here in Sydney, but the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge are ... very much an attraction to bring people here,” he says.

Originally scheduled to be held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Business Events Sydney (BESydney) resubmitted its bid in 2012 with the Sydney Olympic Park precinct as the main convention hub,

after it was decided to upgrade facilities at Darling Harbour.

The bureau also worked with the NSW Government to provide dedicated train services for delegates from Sydney’s CBD to Sydney Olympic Park.

“At the time we were concerned about the distance of Sydney Olympic Park from the major hotels in the CBD,” says Maloney. “But the support of the Government in providing the dedicated rail service certainly eliminated any concerns we had

in that regard.”

The size of Sydney Olympic Park and variety of facilities allowed Rotary to hold the majority of its activities in the one location including a three kilometre End Polio Now Walk; a Great Aussie BBQ Lunch in Cathy Freeman Park; packing meals for Rotary’s Stop Hunger Now campaign; and its Billabong House of Friendship exhibition, which included the construction of a book maze from donated books that will be sent to 59 primary schools to benefit Aboriginal children.

One of the world’s largest annual meetings, the 105th Rotary International Convention attracted the attention of the world with its world-record breaking fundraising idea, writes Ylla Watkins.

The 105th Rotary International Convention, June 1-4, 2014

EVENT REPORTP

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The Rotary End Polio Now harbour bridge climb attracted

global media coverage.


A Welcome to Country formed part of the opening ceremony at Allphones Arena. Other activities included a three kilometre End Polio Now walk, a Great Aussie BBQ Lunch, and the construction of a book maze from donated books that will be sent to 59 primary schools.

More than 19,000 Rotarians from more than 140

countries travelled to Sydney Olympic Park for the

event. Delegates made use of facilities including

Allphones Arena, Sydney Showground and

Cathy Freeman Park.

Crucial to the overall success of the event was “whole of city” support for the event, which included customised welcome signage throughout the airport, Darling Harbour and Sydney Olympic Park and a dedicated light installation as part of the city’s annual festival of light, music and ideas, Vivid Sydney.

Destination NSW worked with Rotary to light up the facade of the heritage-listed building at 88 George Street, in The Rocks, to help promote Rotary’s mission of protecting children against the paralysing effects of polio.

Delegates also enjoyed an evening cruise on chartered tall ships, taking in the spectacular views of Vivid Sydney’s iconic lightshow from the water.

“The whole of Sydney supported us absolutely brilliantly,” says local organising committee chair Barry Thompson. “We had the smallest committee that has ever run an international

convention for Rotary. I think it worked better of us. Part of that is the Australian spirit and also knowing we had backing from Business Events Sydney and the NSW Government.”

A highlight of the convention was the Rotary End Polio Now harbour bridge climb, which raised $120,000 for the global eradication of polio, with the support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Sydney Harbour BridgeClimb, which donated 50 per cent of the cost of the delegates’ tickets to Rotary. The money will be used to buy polio vaccine for 240,000 children.

The bridge climb also broke two world records: for the most number of people on the bridge at the one time with 340 people, beating Oprah Winfrey’s previous record of 315, set during her visit to Australia in 2010, and for the most number of flags flying on any bridge in

the world at the one time, with 278 flags. The climb attracted worldwide media attention for the cause, making it one of Rotary’s most successful media events ever.

Speaking at the opening of the convention, Prime Minister Tony Abbott also pledged $100 million over the next five years to assist Rotary in its End Polio Now campaign.

Dubbed “the best Rotary convention ever” by organisers, Thompson says, “The Sydney Convention has opened up for a lot of delegates, particularly local Australians, an understanding of the Rotary world internationally”.

“I think the emphasis on Polio in the convention was absolutely a wonderful highlight,” he says. “It is still an important issue to us and we are dedicating a lot of resources to doing it because it will be only the second disease in the world to be eradicated.”

Poolside events by the beach have just become better...

For bookings or enquiries please call 07 5577 0036 or email [email protected]

We are delighted to announce the refurbishment of our Oasis Swimming Pool and immediate surrounding areas incorporating environmental best practices and anenhanced appearance. Be the first to experience the newpool area with our Special Celebration Offer.

Select 2 from the following list of value adds:

*Must be booked by 30 September 2014. Group bookings must be a minimum 20 room nights. Valid only for new bookings that stay and conference before 24 December 2014. Subject to availability and cannot be combined with other offers.

• High-Speed Internet Access in Guest Rooms • Double Starpoints • Double Complimentary Room Allocation • Double Upgrade Allocation

Rotary International president Ron D Burton said his expectations for the Sydney Convention were exceeded, both in the city’s ability to attract larger than expected delegate numbers and the whole-of-city support for the convention.

Prime Minister

Tony Abbott,

who attended the

official opening

of the convention

along with NSW

Premier Mike

Baird, pledged

more than

$100 million to

support Rotary

International’s

“End Polio

now” awareness

campaign.


News in brief

VENUE UPDATE

Under control Esplanade Hotel Fremantle – By Rydges in Western Australia has introduced an innovative wireless approach for its

meeting faculties. AVPartners has installed Apple TV consoles in each of the hotel’s nine meeting rooms, allowing delegates to stream presentations, videos and images from a range of wireless devices to the room’s projectors and screens.

Peppers opens in CanberraPeppers Hotels have opened their first CBD based hotel, Peppers Gallery

Hotel Canberra, in the heart of the capital’s New Acton precinct. The Smith Murdoch Room, named after the hotel’s architect; and the Ngunnawal Room, acknowledging the Indigenous people of the area, each offer boardroom-style capacity for 14 people or cocktail-style for 36 people and include wi-fi internet access.

Fresh look for Grand Hyatt Taipei Grand Hyatt Taipei is in the process of completing a US$100 million

renovation and reinvention of their guest rooms and public conference and meeting spaces. The renovation is set to be completed later this year in the lead up to the hotel’s 25th anniversary.

Crown Lanta Resort & Spa is now offering land/sea transfers from Thailand's Krabi International Airport to the hotel for groups of conference and incentive guests, which will cut travelling time in half. It will be available from now until October when it

will be reviewed subject to demand. The resort’s main meeting room is 150sqm, equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and can seat 100 people theatre-style or 60 in a U-shape and dining configurations.

Time-saving transfers


Ballroom upgradeStaging Connections has announced the completion of a major upgrade of

the Hilton Brisbane Grand Ballroom’s audio visual systems. The new audio visual infrastructure complements the recently installed full high definition projectors and 16:9 motorised screens. The Grand Ballroom is one of the largest event spaces in Brisbane’s CBD, accommodating up to 600 guests for banquets.

Brady Hotels launchesBrady Hotels will open in Melbourne on October 1. A new 4-star property Brady Hotel has 146

rooms, and two fully equipped conference venues, which can be combined into a larger venue accommodating up to 80 people if required. In-house catering can be arranged to suit guests’ needs. The conference rooms offer large LED display, teleconferencing, video conferencing, as well as wireless broadband internet access.

New look, same views Famous for its Remarkables and lake views, the Skyline Queenstown

restaurant will unveil new decor, a fresh menu and new name this month, following an extensive renovation project. Skyline Queenstown is available for exclusive dining events across its five private venues, all with spectacular views, catering for 10 up to 380 people.

Real-time requestsSurfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa has announced the release of a new Meeting Services App, an online easy-to-book meeting space system and the latest in-room meeting technology. Workspace on Demand, powered by LiquidSpace, makes it simple to find flexible work and meeting spaces in the hotel, for an hour or a day, and instantly reserve spaces where you can work or meet. Meeting planners can also make requests without leaving the meeting room with the “Red Coat Direct” App, which lets you make real-time requests for coffee refills, room temperature changes, and almost anything else you might need. The App is customised for each event and available on all internet-enabled devices.

New hotel for BrisbaneFrasers Hospitality has announced the arrival of their fourth property in Australia, Capri by Fraser Brisbane, which is set to open in the heart of the Brisbane CBD in 2015. Construction work has already begun on the new hotel residences, transforming the building from an office tower to a sleek new apartment hotel, featuring 239 rooms, a street-level restaurant and café, a Club Lounge providing breakfast, afternoon tea as well as evening drinks and canapés, an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, and elegant meeting room facilities.


PROFILE

Having carved out a reputation as one of Sydney’s top venue caterers over its 25 years in business, Laissez-faire general manager Sara Flaksbard explains what it takes to constantly exceed people’s culinary expectations.

Appetite for success

Laissez-faire general manager Sara Flaksbard has always had a passion for hospitality, working in some of Sydney’s most iconic restaurants and opening her own café at the tender age of 24.

Joining Laissez-faire as the café manager at Sydney’s Australian Technology Park she moved into an event sales and operations role in the head office, before landing the role of general manager. She is now also a director and part shareholder of Laissez-faire.

The company has been operating for 25 years, with client expectations changing dramatically over that time, according to Flaksbard.

“The economy has changed immensely over our time in business and so too has the expectations of event catering from

all event stakeholders,” she says. “Events bring time poor society together, so at each event, our clients want to ensure their menus are innovative, attractive to the eye and of course healthy, so they appeal to all the senses and lastly provide a talking point bringing everyone together.”

The company has also grown over that time, with 14 full-time staff and more than 100 casuals on the books.

“Two years ago marked a huge milestone in our capability as a company to cater for large scale events and we have just been growing from strength to strength,” she says.

“In 2012, we catered for a three-day 4000 guest conference, with gala dinners each evening. We had to set up a Laissez-faire team camp on site at the venue, and no one went home for three days! Last year saw Laissez-faire catering for back to back gala dinners with over 1600 guests and earlier this year, The Sydney International Woman’s Day Breakfast attracted over 2000 guests.”

As a supplier to many clients and Sydney venues, Laissez-faire caters for over 1000 people every day.

“The most challenging aspect of this is not the quantity but the diversity in menus, with the smallest jobs being the most challenging,” she says.

“Reality cooking television shows have created a new culture of food critics and this has definitely added pressure

by increasing consumer expectations of event food. In saying this we know that our expert chefs and staff can manage any competition and they continue to exceed our stakeholder expectations at all our events.

“As event caterers, you need to be aware of the latest catering trends and what’s hot in the world of food. Just like fashion, food needs to be on trend and there is always something new and in vogue. Providing the best most memorable food means you need to appeal to all the senses and healthy wholesome food has always been a large part of this.”

The company was recently awarded a place on the Entertainment Quarter catering panel, taking out one of three coveted spots.

“The process to secure a place on this panel was indeed competitive, as there are a handful of amazing Sydney caters producing fantastic food,” she says. “The winning result can be attributed to our fantastic goodwill in the industry, all elements of our offering and an amazing final tasting.”

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MEETING PEOPLE

Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef has welcomed Briohny Mutimer to the role of business development executive and Kimberley Roberts-Salee as marketing coordinator. Mutimer has a strong background in business events, while Roberts-Salee has a background in events and communications.

The Langham, Auckland has announced the appointment of Michael Shah to the role of director of sales and marketing. Shah has held both sales and marketing, and operational roles in Auckland. Most recently he held the role of general manager at the award winning Qualia Resort, Hamilton Island.

Verve Creative Events has announced the appointment of experienced event manager and marketing professional Rowena Bale. Most recently, Bale was the events and marketing manager for a global manufacturer.

Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa has appointed Kelli Vettoretto director of sales and marketing. Vettoretto brings 25 years of experience in various sales and marketing roles, including 18 years with Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Christchurch & Canterbury Convention Tourism has appointed Claire Hector-Taylor to the role of convention bureau

executive. She replaces Courtney King while she is on maternity leave. Hector-Taylor previously worked for Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism as the Aoraki Mt Cook Mackenzie District marketing executive.

Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB) in Malaysia has named Dr Caroline Hong as their Australian representative. She will assist

with business development, sales promotions, media relations and marketing programmes in Australia and New Zealand.

Wyndham has promoted Angela Simons to the role of resort manager of Ramada Resort Shoal Bay, from her previous

position as a rooms division manager. Before joining the resort Simons was an assistant manager at Corinna Wilderness Experience in Tasmania. She brings with her extensive experience in the hospitality industry.

Sofitel Luxury Hotels has appointed Tracy Martin to the position of director of sales and marketing for Sofitel New Zealand.

Based at Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour, she will be responsible for the overall sales and marketing leadership for the Sofitel brand in New Zealand, including the upcoming openings of the Sofitel Wellington and Sofitel So Auckland.

Marcus Longinotti has been appointed creative director of the Gastronomy events team. Previously the event manager

for British fashion e-tailer boohoo.com in both the UK and Australia, Longinotti governed the creative direction of events and international projects for The Walt Disney Company in London.

Tourism Tasmania has appointed Guy Taylor as their new executive director of marketing. Taylor brings more than 20 years of

experience in the area of marketing communications and organisational strategy to the role. He previously contributed to the achievements of brands, including Blundstone footwear and James Boags Premium beer.

Sunshine Coast Destination Ltd has appointed Susan Maynard as tourism development manager. She

has extensive experience in both the tourism and training environments, and was most recently an integral part of the Digital Ready Program for Tourism and Events Queensland.

AEG Ogden has appointed Samantha Taranto communications director for the International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney).

Taranto brings 14 years of experience in communications consulting and in-house corporate affairs with companies including AMP Capital, The GPT Group and Weber Shandwick.

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) has announced the appointments of Shaun Mitchell (pictured) as

director of sales – events, corporate & exhibitions and Alison Gardiner into the role of director of sales – conventions.


PCO ASSOCIATION

There has never been a more important time for incentive and conference organisations to define their value to their clients. If we can’t talk the client’s language in terms of measureable returns and validated expenditure, the door for opportunity quickly closes. It’s not enough to source amazing experiences, create incredible events or deliver seamless programs. We will continue to provide these, however, successful MICE members need to also show the ongoing value they create – in the short and medium term – on a number of dimensions, ranging from beyond budget revenue achievement, to reinforcement of core values and employee morale generating staff retention.

We feel it’s getting tougher to do business and so do our clients, but as they say “When the going gets tough…”

In the last 10 years, we’ve all seen the effects of the global financial crisis and company rationalisations which have led to fewer clients with often overseas-based decision caveats and increased demand for simultaneous cost efficiency and increased productivity gains. However, these present great opportunities for us as an industry to support our clients and enhance their competitive sustainability. We have to provide them with the “reasons to invest”, as well as the excitement of the experience.

Positively incentivised staff will work harder, stay with a company longer and dynamically advocate their brand. Our role is to create experiences that at one level make high performers feel acknowledged and on a higher level are commercially connected to the organisation’s decision making processes.

Great companies are great for a reason: they invest in positive, emotional experiences for their staff, meaningfully connecting employee performance with a company’s success. A 2012 Business Events Council Australia (BECA) report saw a 70 per cent increase in incentive spend per participant from 2008

to 2012 despite a decrease in the number of incentive programs conducted.

It’s important to get smart about who we’re talking to. There are chief executives who prune and there are chief executives who grow, and by researching what these companies are doing, we PCOs can be talking to the right people. These companies understand the importance of keeping their valuable and experienced teams together, and the impact of company performance on staff morale.

In 90 per cent of business cases, the most valuable assets of a company lie within the talents of their people and the way staff utilise information to deliver solutions for their customers. Great PCO-run events enable clients to create amazing forums to deliver these messages. It takes years to build the knowledge and clever chief executives openly acknowledge this and strategically aim to retain these people. Conversely, high performers know this and expect to be rewarded for their capability. If they aren’t rewarded and don’t feel appreciated, they will move on.

In the BECA report, up to 50 per cent of staff said they were ready to make a move if given the opportunity within 12 months. Up to 80 per cent of employees are unhappy in their jobs. And 40 per cent are underperforming at work. Typically, the cost of replacing someone is 150 per cent of their annual salary.

Think about these statistics for a moment: Company A has 50 per cent of its staff thinking of leaving and it costs 150 per cent of annual salary to replace them. Company A’s 100 staff earning an average of $80,000 equates to a potential cost of $6 million in replacement costs alone, annually.

You now have a formula to create a cost validation discussion with your client – what is their desired employee turnover and what have they spent per head to retain them relative to the replacement cost?

That does not take into account the cost of management time, massive drain on staff morale, lost productivity and huge stress on leadership. Oh yes, and someone still has to win clients and service the company’s business through all this turmoil. The solution? An incentive program.

As our workforce remains highly mobile with low unemployment and positive growth, people who don’t feel valued are pretty confident that they will find another job working for a company that makes them feel appreciated.

Incentive events build teams, create opportunities for bonding and, above all, connect staff members with the company’s core values and like-minded, successful peers. The dollar value of a cash bonus would have to be significantly higher than the cost of the incentive experience for it to have the same impact on loyalty and staff retention, especially when you consider the taxes paid on the bonus, infrastructure and administration costs, management decision time and allocation expectations.

The companies who invest in their people really do see that value. They have increased their per-capita spend considerably. Companies which have disposable funds for incentive programs must be making money. The kind of companies that make money tend to be well run and well run businesses measure the effectiveness of their investments. For the spend to have increased as much as it has indicates to me that the years of experience we now have in delivering these programs is having a real impact on our clients’ businesses – and that has to be good for us all. We just have to create the right “value” lens for them to feel compelled to agree.

Michelle O'Donahoo is director sales and marketing at Sane Event Group and a consultant to the PCO Association.

It’s not enough to source amazing incentive experiences, you also have to show clients the value of rewarding their staff, writes Michelle O'Donahoo.

Revealing the value of incentives


If there is anything certain in business, it's that if you are highly profitable others will soon follow. Competitors come in and eventually dilute the market to a point where it's not worth your while continuing. This has happened in all but a few special cases.

The first convenience stores were immensely profitable with just a few in city centres servicing the many people moving to inner city high-rise apartments. Look now and you will see a convenience store every few hundred metres. The golden days of obscene profits are long gone. So too are some of the shops which are now closing as competitors, all selling virtually identical products, have saturated the market.

The same is happening to petrol stations, with many closing down and the real estate being put to other uses. Coffee shops, once a bit of a rarity, are possibly now the most common business on any shopping strip. Internet service providers will also soon suffer that same fate as they all have an identical offering; their only competitive advantage often being price, and if price is your only advantage, your days are surely numbered as you race your competition to the bottom.

So, what’s the solution? There are only three possible ways to mitigate the risk of extinction by saturation. The first is government regulations that make open competition near impossible. Banks, which are enormously profitable, are a protected species but they are among the few.

The second option is to seek monopoly protection using patents, trademarks and copyright. This is a very effective means of eliminating competition so long as you have

The four certainties – life, death, taxes and …?

PCO ASSOCIATION NEWSNixon to headline PCO Association ConferenceThe former chief commissioner of Victoria Police, Christine Nixon, will be a keynote speaker at the seventh annual PCO Association Conference and Exhibition, to be held in Canberra from November 30 to December 2, 2014.

Nixon was appointed the 19th chief commissioner of Victoria Police in 2001, the first woman to become a police commissioner in Australia. She led 14,000 staff, operating across more than 500

locations, and oversaw an annual budget of $1.7 billion. At the time she was believed to be in charge of the third-largest police force in the world.

Her rise to the top and her unique view on women in law enforcement and the workplace makes Nixon one of the most interesting and inspirational public speakers in the country. Her presentations focus on women in business succeeding in a male-dominated profession, and how to build both leadership and teamwork skills.

For more information visit www.pco.asn.au.

When competition is killing your business, the best way to survive is to innovate, writes Roger La Salle.

both the financial means and the courage to defend your intellectual property rights. It is also worth noting here that patents can be just as successfully applied to services and business models, as to tangible or physical products.

The final, and best, way to retain your golden goose is to embark on a course of continuous innovation. Keep moving your products, processes, services and customers to an ever better place and leave your competition trailing in your wake. This is the strategy of many successful entrepreneurs and one that can be done very effectively with the right management mindset, the right processes

and an embedded culture that encourages and rewards innovative.

Innovation (as distinct from creativity, which is an abstract term perhaps more appropriate for the performing arts, film and literature) is a reliable process that properly applied never fails to deliver results.

Embark on a journey of innovation and the new emerging paradigm of "opportunity capture" and you can rest easy, the competition will be left standing and asking, "What just happened?”

Roger La Salle is the creator of the Matrix Thinking technique and a consultant to the PCO Association.

NOVOTEL SYDNEY CENTRAL NEWLY REFURBISHEDORGANISE AN EXCLUSIVE VIEWING WITH OUR DEDICATED EVENTS TEAM

Accorconferences.com.au | Novotelsydneycentral.com.au/meetings

J OI N OU R G LOBAL LOYALTY PROG RAM AT ACCORHOTELS.COM

Novotel Sydney Central169-179 Thomas Street, Sydney NSW 2000. T: +61 2 9281 6888 - E: [email protected]

cim august 2014 issue

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