Meetings Africa

I've arrived yesterday morning in Johannesburg, after an excellen flight (in small seats...) with Swiss.

After 2 hours of waiting at the airport, we were brought to our hotel, The Radisson Johannesburg. The Hotel just opened last week, so many of my colleagues arriving after a long journey had to wait until their room was ready... (I was one of them).

I must admit, the guest rooms are really great. I have a standard room but the bed is one of the most confortable beds I've ever stayed in. The design of the room is very nice and practical (modern) as the target hotel guests are Business travellers.

This morning was the opening of the Conference. The key speaker was allright, but honestly only some nice words and pictures are not enough. But right after this keynote speaker came the absolut highlight (and not only for me):

Lebo (her full name is Lebogang Mashile). Above you see her picture.

Wow, her presentation was one of the most touching ones I have ever seen! I simplz can't describe the way she not only told us one of her poems, but also how she lived it at the very moment and celebrated every single word. Check out her poems.

The exhibition was a mixture nice surprises and boredom. As it was my first time in Africa I must admit, some ideas for Incentives and Meetings are extraordinary. And some other exhibitors still don't understand how to sell. In response to my question "Why should my client select your Hotel/DMC?" I've received astonishing answers, many of them are just to forget and a wast of time.

But over all, it was a great and instructive event where I had the chance to meet some very special people!

Thank you Meetings Africa, I hope to be back!

Cool idea for a hotel bed

Browsing through the internet, I found a cool website with great ideas for Hotel beds.

Designed by the studio of invention Décadrages and marketed under the brand name BedUP, the bed that falls from the ceiling is an innovation that will save 4 m² in your hotel room, or for someone who lives in a small space ..

4 m² of space is pure gold. By day, the bed is stored on the ceiling, the under-surface becomes ceiling with the possibility of integrating lighting. At night, the bed can come down in the manner of an elevator and stops at the height previously requested, thus avoiding moving furniture that would have been placed underneath it. Now besides being functional, this bed has a clean design that is discreet and elegant.

Business tourism one of best drivers of destination brand building, says international expert

Teamwork at a destination is often what makes or breaks an international conference. While a destination might have a state-of-the-art conference venue or an enormously modern airport to receive delegates from across the world, it is the spirit in which a destination’s tourism industry works together to ensure that a conference runs smoothly that the event is often evaluated on.

This was one of the key messages at the recent Back2Business event, celebrating the beginning of Business Tourism Year in Cape Town and the Western Cape. More than 300 professional conference organisers, venue and hotel operators, destination management companies, government representatives and others in tourism gathered at NH The Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West last week for this special occasion.

Giving a global picture of the business tourism industry and its challenges, guest speaker Steen Jakobsen, Director of the Copenhagen Convention Bureau and Member of ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) Board of Directors, said that “besides creating jobs and generating tourism income, meetings and conferences are one of the best drivers of brand building - provided that it is supported by a combined effort.”

A destination’s convention bureau plays a critical role in facilitating the hosting of a conference - from selling the destination at international shows, arranging site visits and familiarisation trips for interested parties, to liaising between conference planners, and local government and industry role-players; compiling bids; and helping ensure that the maximum number of delegates attend a secured conference. “A convention bureau needs to be a destination expert; a one-stop-shop for conference planners; and provide a networking platform for local industry role-players, similar to Back2Business,” said Jakobsen.

Read more here