Fodor's Top 100 Hotels of 2012 Announced

Fodor’s, the world’s largest English language travel and tourism publisher, released its second annual top 100 hotels list on Wednesday.  41 countries around the world are represented with nearly 25% located in the US.

Fodor’s Travel executive editorial director, Arabella Bowen, explains, "We look for properties with great amenities and stellar service that offer a unique experience to guests.  Every traveler will find a dream hotel on this list, no matter what their travel personality happens to be."

To fit the multitude travel personalities, the list showcases today’s hottest hotel trends broken down into 9 categories: New & Noteworthy, Global Icon, Trendsetter, Trip of a Lifetime, Local Experience, City Chic, Royal Pedigree, Best All-Inclusive and Fun for All Ages. 

Check out the list for yourself here: http://www.fodors.com/hotel-awards/2012/.  You can sort by category or use the interactive map feature to find your next meeting, vacation or adventure destination.

Merry Christmas from Meeting Sites Pro!

The team here at Meeting Sites Pro would like to wish all of our readers a happy holiday season as well as a wonderful Christmas Day! We hope that you are surrounded by your loved ones. Thank you for all of your support and hope that you will continue to support us in 2013.

Tasty Thursdays: White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Can you believe it? Christmas is next week! The time has passed by so quickly and it is hard to believe that 2012 is almost over and the New Year is approaching so quickly. During the holidays, I love spending time with my family and getting to see old friends that I haven’t seen in a while. However, it only gets better when you’re sharing a delicious dessert together. One dessert that I have made over the years and continue to get many compliments on is the White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake that I make.

I have found many variations of this same cheesecake at places like Cheesecake Factory, various hotels, and bakeries. However, I still find this recipe to be the best one yet. It adds a nice pop of color to the holiday spread at my house and you really can’t go wrong if you follow the directions.

Go here for the full recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/white-chocolate-raspberry-cheesecake/

Travel Destinations: End of the World Packages

We are hoping the world doesn’t end this Friday, December 21^st but it has been predicted that it will by the Mayans. While some of you may see this as a predicament, many hoteliers are seeing this as a great time to offer some end of the world packages.

If you are staying local for this highly publicized event and want to spend your last hours on Earth with some decadence, go on over to The Keating hotel in downtown San Diego. They are offering an “End of the World” package at rates starting from $666. This deal runs until the 21^st and includes a 2 night stay in a Stanza Vista room with a fitness boot camp class to train you how to outrun zombies. It comes with a last supper as well as various other amenities including a spa treatment.

 

If you would rather go out of town for the end of the world, the Rosewood Mayakoba is offering guests a package at $79,000 per couple labeled “The Ultimate New Beginning”. Guests will start their vacation on Thursday with a personal airport welcome by the resort and stay in the 6,272 square-foot Presidential Oceanfront Suite. Amenities will include private helicopter to Mayan ruins as well as a cleansing Mayan massage. You will get to enjoy live entertainment and welcome in the end of the world in style.

For more information about these packages be sure to visit each of their websites.

Travel Tuesdays: San Francisco

People come from all over the world to visit the city of San Francisco and for good reason. There is an endless amount of places to visit catering to every personality. Oh, you like science? You might like to visit the California Academy of Sciences where almost every exhibit is interactive. The living 4-story rainforest exhibit is a must see. It serves as an oasis inside the museum that you won’t want to miss.

Maybe, you are craving a sourdough bread bowl filled to the brim with fresh clam chowder to enjoy while you take in the views of the ocean? Fisherman’s Wharf provides a wide selection of places you can indulge in seafood at so don’t stop at the first restaurant you see! Give yourself time to wander and pick the place with the best smelling soup. There are several places to eat outside and perhaps watch the sea lions.

 After picking out your favorite bowl of soup go ahead and wander over to visit the Bush Man. If you are looking for a good laugh the Bush Man will do the trick. He literally disguises himself behind a bush in the middle of the sidewalk which doesn’t sound very subtle but surprisingly enough it scares people almost every time. Just make sure to be a member of the audience and not be the one being the next Bush Man’s visitor J

For More Information Please Visit:

• http://www.calacademy.org/science/biomes/rainforestst
• http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-bush-man-san-francisco
• http://www.fishermanswharf.org/

4 Lenses Personality Test

Have you ever had a coworker or colleague who you just didn’t get along with because they had odd behavior that did not mesh well with your own? Most of us will all have had some experience with this. Most of us will also have dismissed the behavior and just went on thinking about how we didn’t like something or understand it. However, assessing the personalities and attributing a color from 4 Lenses Personality Test to your coworkers may provide a more productive and conducive workplace because we will know how to better interact with others who are a different color than we are.

There are four different colors in the 4 Lenses test: orange, gold, blue, and green. Here are some words that are generally associated with each color.

Oranges: bold, entrepreneur, generous, witty, trouble-shooter, spontaneous, enthusiastic, competitor, performer, optimistic, charming, courageous, independent, fearless, adaptable, easy-going, mechanical, persuasive, wild, fun, and crazy.

Golds: punctual, practical, sensible, organized, stable, thorough, dependable, conservative, detailed, hard-working, solid, orderly, consistent, structured, positive, and reliable.

Blues: caring, humane, artistic, spiritual, subjective, sympathetic, insightful, compassionate, personal, peaceful, sincere, empathetic, romantic, poetic, sensitive, accepting, patient, giving, and true.

Greens: scientific, curious, complex, abstract, independent, ingenious, intellectual, inventive, fact-oriented, logical, cool, calm, collected, and theoretical.

By finding out what color you are and also assessing your colleagues around you, you may be able to create a more productive work environment by being able to understand how to better work with those around you.

Find out more information about the 4 Lenses Personality Test at http://www.shipleycommunication.com/assessments/4_lenses/

Travel Tuesdays: Monte Carlo, Monaco

Planning your next international meeting for that C-level group? Consider Monaco as your preferred location. Anyone who has the seen Casino Royale has seen the extravagance that Monaco has to offer and the decadence that awaits you there.

The principality of Monaco lies in between the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea, bound by the French Riviera to the west and the Italian Riviera to the east. This is the second smallest independent state in the world and is almost entirely urban. The country is divided into four areas: Monaco-Ville (the old-city), the Condamine (port quarter), Monte-Carlo (business and recreation), and Fontvieille (recreation and light industry).  The country is exploited for its exquisite location and climate, the principality is a resort for tourists and a tax haven for businesses.

Monaco boasts some of the most extravagant hotels in the region perfect for your meetings. Here are a few hotels ready to accommodate to your groups. The Hotel de Paris on Casino Square is considered the top property in Monaco. This 182 room five star hotel offers 7 meeting rooms to accommodate to your groups. Built in 1864, this hotel symbolizes the very same excellence in the art of hospitality. Not to mention it is only a few steps away from the legendary Casino de Monte-Carlo!

The Hotel Hermitage is but a block away from the aforementioned Hotel de Paris. The 280 room five star hotel offers 8 meeting rooms and over 6,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. Centralized in the heart of Monte Carlo, it offers great views of the city and accessibility to the sparkling life of Monaco and unforgettable sunsets over the sea.

Last but not least, the Fairmont Monte Carlo offers more of a modern feel to your stay. With over 600 sleeping rooms and over 40,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, the Fairmont Monte Carlo offers great luxury for your group. Also situated in the Principality of Monaco in between the Mediterranean Sea and the legendary Casino of Monte Carlo, the Fairmont reflects exclusive and sophisticated locale through the hotel’s exceptional meeting facilities.
 

Of course luxury hotels are not the only items Monaco has to offer. Aside from the extravagant style of living, Monaco offers incredible music, art, and exploration.

Your group will have plenty of activities to keep them busy.

For more information visit: http://www.successfulmeetings.com/Destinations/Meetings-International/Articles/Feeding-the-Body-and-Soul-in-Monaco/

Tasty Thursdays: Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies

It is officially the holiday season and that means all the cups from Starbucks are bright red in holiday cheer and people are putting up lights on their houses in the shape of snowmen and reindeer. Lights are not the only thing shaped like reindeer however. If you like to bake, you will enjoy this cookie recipe that brings in the cheer of the holidays while making it fun for your guests to eat as well. These reindeer cookies are really simple to make and are great treats for a holiday party or if you just want to have some fun making them with your family.

 

For the full recipe please visit: http://buddingbaketress.blogspot.com/2010/12/peanut-butter-reindeer-cookies.html

Social Media Precautions

Social media has changed everything about the way we communicate with clients, coworkers, and the world in general. It has had huge advantages to companies in terms of branding and marketing; however, it also introduces legal complications to beware of. As you market your company and its events, steer clear of these issues:

Copyright/trademark infringement:  Be careful to grab photos/materials off the Internet and post them without permission. Pictures of exhibitor booths, speakers, etc. can lead to copyright infringements. Posting a picture that is seen by millions of users almost instantly can exacerbate the problem quickly. Don’t assume anything is automatically reusable. Look for copyright-free materials. Creative Commons is a nonprofit that allows images, songs and videos to be shared at no charge. Use this same care with logos.

Defamation: Defamation is defined as anything resulting in harm of a person or organization. Because it is so easy to post anything on social media platforms, it introduces a liability and responsibility to make sure that everything posted is truthful and respectful. Even negatively reviewing suppliers can be a liability if you don’t stick to completely factual information, or unnecessarily reflects others in a bad light. Make sure you also have a review system in place on your company/conference social media sites, so harmful posts by attendees/staff/etc. can be monitored

Privacy Issues: If you are posting pictures of attendees at a conference, make sure you have their explicit permission via a consent form. A lot of times this isn’t a major issue, but it avoids liability and any stress that could come up because of someone. If you are going to publish close-up shots of anyone, let them know. Also be cautious of posting anything that could be considered trade secrets/ private information.

Anti-trust violations: Don’t post anything that restrains fair trade, such as discouraging booking at a certain hotel. Be careful when negatively reviewing a service not to create a call for action for readers, as it could result in backlash from the service and their company.

For more tips, check out this article.

Travel Tuesdays: Dublin, Ireland

Ireland sets itself apart from the rest of Europe with its culture and overwhelmingly welcoming community, creating a more casual and refreshing change of pace in business from the more deliberate business practices around the world. It’s a great place for leisure and business, especially if you have people coming from all places and cultures

Business in Ireland

Expect extensive and social conversation amidst your business transactions in Ireland. Dublin is about relationships and networking; business agreements are done once a friendship is established. Expect business to be coupled with dinner, golf, and other social events.

Dubliners are also much more casual, and don’t have as much concern for process and procedure as they do for working together and problem solving. So let your guard down, get to know your business companions and trust each other when solving issues and creating solutions.

Play in Ireland

Dublin has continued to hold onto its small-town community feel, so you will quickly get a feel for the people and places. Check out their famous pubs, theaters, or anywhere with live music! Feel free to explore on foot and browse libraries, the Dublin Castle, or museums while you are there. And of course, say hello to everyone you meet!

For more information on places to stay, eat, and visit check out this article!