The city of London worked hard to receive the 2012 Summer Olympics bid, but once the honor was awarded in 2005, the real work began. When the games begin in July, a mix of new venues, existing facilities and temporary sites will be used.

Sustainability has been a key focus during facility construction, and new builds will serve continuing purposes after the games are done. The city is minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, waste at project sites, and the impact of the Games on wildlife in and around the sports venues. The Olympic Park, constructed along the River Lea in East London, includes roads and bridges that will meet the demands of the games and the long-term needs of the community.

The majority of the Olympic venues are divided into three zones around the city. The Olympic Zone contains the new Olympic Stadium, an 80,000-seat stadium that will host the opening and closing ceremonies. Other venues in this area include the newly built Aquatics Centre, which will showcase the swimming and diving events, and the Basketball Arena. The 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium in the Central Zone is the site of the soccer final, while the iconic Hyde Park hosts the triathlon event. The River Zone runs along the River Thames and is home to Greenwich Park, which will be converted into an equestrian center with a competition arena for the horseback-riding events and a cross-country course for the modern pentathlon.

Also in the River Zone is the city’s 5,000-seat international exhibition and convention center, ExCeL London. With more than 1 million square feet of exhibit space and 17 meeting rooms, this recently renovated facility will host events such as boxing, table tennis, wrestling and fencing during the Games, and revert back to a top meeting spot for conferences and conventions following the Olympics.

With five international airports servicing 300 destinations worldwide, London is one of the most accessible cities in the world. To prepare for the games, it added more than 13,000 new hotel rooms, which brings the city’s total to more than 1 million.

By Larry Anderson

Most of us feel claustrophobic in an airplane restroom, but consider the problem of a typical sumo wrestler. At weights up to 600 pounds, these VIPs can’t fit into airplane restrooms at all. To cope, they don’t eat or drink for half a day before flying to enable them to withstand a 10- or 11-hour flight with no restroom breaks.

Andrew Freund, founder of the California Sumo, has planned hundreds of events for sumos during the last 15 years and works to accommodate the needs of his larger-size clientele. Freund organizes the U.S. Sumo Open, an international sumo tournament involving 50 sumo competitors from 15 countries. He has also worked three different times on international events for Japanese professional sumo, each involving about 110 people, including 42 all-star elite sumos and another 70 or so coaches, referees and judges. He organized exhibition tournaments in 2005 in Las Vegas, in 2007 in Hawaii and in 2008 in Los Angeles.

One of Freund’s key objectives is to make travel as easy and comfortable as possible for sumos, especially during a long airplane ride, and to minimize travel time. Depending on the size of the sumo, ground transportation might include a taxi or a large-size van. Yamamotoyama, a 6-foot-4-inch, 600-pound Japanese sumo, recently came to the United States for several appearances. When traveling around, he sat flat on cushions on the floor of a Dodge Caravan, from which the middle seat had been removed.

When flying, two adjacent first-class seats work well for sumos, but if they’re unavailable, three economy seats in a row work as long as the arm rests fold up. First-class seats also may be too expensive, sometimes five or six times the costs, possibly beyond the budget of the organization paying for the ticket, says Freund. There are no weight limits for passengers on commercial flights, but some airlines require passengers to buy additional seats. “We’ve put guys who are 500 or 600 pounds on a plane, no problem,” he adds.

In Japan, professional sumos are well respected and enjoy high status. They expect the rock-star treatment when they travel, says Freund. For the Grand Sumo Los Angeles Tournament in 2008, Freund chose a hotel that was less than four miles from the competition venue. “For elite caliber sumos, the less they have to wait around and sit on a bus, the better,” Freund said.

Sumos certainly represent an extreme, but current trends suggest meeting planners will increasingly have to accommodate attendees of more diverse sizes in coming years. The size of the average American has increased substantially in the past two decades, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Proper medical care and adequate nutrition contribute to people getting taller, too, which presents its own challenges in travel and housing.

Luxury accommodations can often offset travel challenges for tall people, says Quartknee Kwatek, who manages heightsite.com, a website for tall people and the people who shop for them. Extra limousine legroom and luxury vans might seem opulent for standard-sized individuals, but for taller people, this additional space is a necessity. The National Basketball Association is likely the country’s largest employer of tall people, and it has the advantage of providing luxury accommodations to serve the needs of tall players. For tall people who don’t play basketball, such perks can be cost-prohibitive.

At 6-foot-4-inches, Kwatek has experienced challenges such as insufficient legroom on airplanes. His thigh bone simply doesn’t fit in the allotted space. The only possible relief is an exit-row seat behind another seat that doesn’t recline, but these seats are now being sold as premium seats that are first-come, first-serve for any traveler willing to shell out the extra cash.

In most hotel rooms, the furniture and other features are not built for tall people. “The minute I sit at a desk, I’m uncomfortable,” Kwatek said. Only a few hotels, such as several Hotel Monaco locations operated by Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group, offer “tall rooms” with features such as high ceilings and raised showerheads. Otherwise, hotel beds for tall people should be queen-size at least (on which they might sleep diagonally without having their feet hang over the edge of the bed). Better yet is a king-size bed or even a California king, which is slightly narrower than a king but four inches longer.

Ceilings and door heights can be a challenge, especially in older or smaller hotels where uncommonly low heights may be grandfathered in despite existing building standards. In most hotels, he adds, the mirrors are so low that he generally only sees his shoulders as he walks by.

Meetings can be particularly uncomfortable for tall people, Kwatek says. Chairs in a seminar environment are not designed for tall people. Long education sessions, such as a seminar that begins at 8 a.m. and doesn’t break until 12:30 p.m., can be a nightmare and put excess strain on a tall person’s legs. There are companies that manufacture taller chairs, but they aren’t commonly available at hotel venues. Many chairs also have weight limits; a standard 250-pound weight capacity is normal. And at teambuilding activities, Kwatek is always prepared to feel “weird and uncomfortable. You just try to make the best of it; there’s not much you can do as an option.”

Freund admits there are some special challenges to face when planning his sumo events. “But on the other side of the coin, sometimes concerns are exaggerated,” he says. “Generally speaking, it isn’t that difficult.” For example, concerns that a hotel bed will break are overblown, especially considering that a sumo is no heavier than the combined weights of a large couple. “A sumo might eat what two people eat, but they’re not going to take out the whole buffet. If you put some common sense into it, it isn’t that difficult. You just have to make the necessary adjustments.”

Kwatek feels similar about planning for large participants. “Tall people have been tall for a while, so they accommodate the environments,” he says. It’s nice for planners to consider a tall person’s needs, but it’s unnecessary to point out his or her special requirements in front of a large group. “As the tall person or the big person, you don’t want to always be the issue,” he adds.

In the wake of the Inspector General’s report uncovering a General Services Administration meeting that did not follow government guidelines, the meetings industry is again illuminated in an unfavorable media spotlight. These and other incidents (recall the “AIG Effect”) have put meetings management and meeting professionals under a microscope that is not always educated and fair in its assessment. However, there is a positive aspect to this investigative eye: It forces us to look at our own ethical practices.

In 1992, I started my event planning career as an intern at a North American concert promotion agency. My boss, the CEO of the company, became my first mentor in the industry, guiding me in business with tools I still use today. His first piece of advice: Always be honest in business. If you make a mistake, he said, never hide it or lie about it. Eventually I earned my stripes and began managing large-scale public events, festivals and concerts. Eight years later, after I’d begun a corporate planning career, a mentor suggested I join Meeting Professionals International. I became an MPI member and received a certificate in the mail with a poster that said, “Principles of Professionalism.” I read it and read it again. I framed it and hung it in my office. Here in part is what it said:

Maintain professional integrity.

• Honestly represent and act within one’s area of professional competency and authority without exaggeration, misrepresentation or concealment.
• Avoid actions which are or could be perceived as conflicts of interest or for individual gain.
• Offer or accept only appropriate incentives, goods and services in business transactions.

As I look at these three areas of maintaining integrity, I realize that following (or not following) an ethical path in the meetings management profession starts with the individual and fans out into the entire organization. The GSA incident provides many examples where a few individuals took an alternative path and did not adhere to the guidelines dictated by their organization.

Reports of the GSA conference detail a red carpet awards ceremony that recognized the hired musical performers rather than government employee contributions. According to reports, employees were told the event was listed as an “awards ceremony” so federal dollars could be spent on food at the event.
In another example, the conference’s main organizer, administrator Jeffrey E. Neely, hosted a party in his room the night of the closing dinner. According to the Inspector General’s report, Neely’s relative—a non-GSA employee—selected the menu for the gathering and added more food. The relative reportedly contacted the GSA event planner on Neely’s staff and knew there was money in the budget to take care of the additional food.

MPI’s Principles of Professionalism are a code of conduct for our industry. A personal ethics policy begins from within, but what happens when employees are directed by their superiors to make decisions that circumvent organizational mandates? The choice becomes take a stand or risk losing your job. Reports describe Neely as directing his staff to make the conference “over the top.” When his staff suggested that this might not be a good idea, he ignored their viewpoint.

These examples are overt instances of not adhering to guidelines. The GSA incident also reveals less apparent examples that could be seen as gray in the ethical spectrum. Federal travel rules and regulations impose cost limits (government-rated sleeping rooms, for example). The Inspector General said GSA got around these restrictions by promising the hotel additional catering revenue in return for bringing the room rate down to the government’s acceptable limit. While they weren’t breaking the rules outright, they were misrepresenting the guidelines, which, according to MPI’s principles, does not honestly represent and act within the area of professional competency.

U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow responded to the GSA incident, saying, “Unfortunately, a single instance of irresponsible decision-making has the potential to cast a negative light on the millions of men and women who work every day to make America’s meetings, conventions and events industry the best in the world.” The ripple effect of one misrepresentation can be a tsunami for an entire economic driver.

I again look at the MPI poster hanging in my office. It goes on to say, “Commitment to these principles is implicit to membership and is essential to instilling public confidence, engaging in fair and equitable practices and building professional relationships with meeting industry colleagues.” There is a footnote that clarifies the meaning of “public” as “oneself, the association, fellow members, meeting attendees, clients and customers, suppliers and planners, employers and the general public.”

At a young age, I learned through my mentors that you won’t have a career without honesty and trust. That’s the basics of ethics. It starts from within.

From hurricanes along the Gulf Coast to tornadoes in the Midwest, the United States is struck by a number of natural disasters every year. Disaster, and even the mere threat of a disaster, can have a profound impact on the meetings and convention industry, ranging from the evacuation of facilities to the cancellation of meetings.

Convention planners, facility managers and destination representatives say many in the meetings industry could significantly improve their disaster and emergency plans. Effective preparedness and planning often starts with identifying the threats and preparing for worst-case scenarios. While organizations can’t prepare for everything, experts say they can try to prepare for what could happen and use those plans as a model for how to respond in other crises. Most importantly, those plans should be designed with flexibility and continuously tested and improved.

Plan for People

One of the major challenges in dealing with a disaster or emergency during a meeting or convention is often the large number of people. John Copenhaver, founder and CEO of the Contingency Management Group, was head of FEMA for the Southeastern United States between 1997 and 2001, where he dealt with emergency management preparations for conventions. Copenhaver says plans can vary dramatically depending on the size of the meeting, what kinds of attendees will be there and where it is located. By their nature, large meetings can require more complex emergency plans and considerations because of the number of people involved.

“You’re typically going to have a lot of people in a small area and you have to be aware of all potential problems. That could be everything from an active shooter to a power outage or natural weather event,” he says.

When responding during an emergency or after one has already happened, most plans are designed to maintain order and prevent panic. Copenhaver says the keys to protecting people and property are effective communication and instructions. Meeting planners need to have multiple lines of communication open to reach attendees and deliver updated information on how to respond. He recommends using any and all means of communication including social media, text messaging, direct phone calls and announcements at facilities.

“You should figure out your response in different situations. The worst thing you can have is something happen at a convention for which you have no script or rehearsed response to,” says Copenhaver.

It’s not a far-fetched scenario that conventioneers could be asked to shelter in place during a weather event. While that might only be a few hours in most cases, it can extend much longer. Although conventioneers had been cleared from the facility before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005, more than 30,000 residents sought refuge at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Convention center President and General Manager Bob Johnson spoke at the International Disaster Conference and Expo in New Orleans in January, where he made the point that facility managers and meeting planners should be lock step in how these facilities would be used in a disaster. That could range from hosting conventioneers for an extended crisis to serving as a shelter for the local population. In any case, Johnson said meeting planners have to be aware of security and disaster plans for the facilities.

“We have to protect not just people but property as well. During a disaster we could have hundreds of millions of dollars worth of exhibitory and we have to secure it,” Johnson says.

Plan for What Could Happen

Emergencies aren’t always full-blown catastrophic natural disasters; small-scale disturbances can still cause the evacuation of thousands of guests from a facility. Facility managers usually have solid evacuation plans, but meeting planners should be prepared and have plans for dealing with such disturbances, too. Last October, hundreds of people had to be evacuated from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., during the Greater Washington National College Fair when a small group of students got into a fight. More than 1,000 people were evacuated from the Los Angeles Convention Center during the 2011Anime Expo due to a report of a suspicious package.

“Sometimes it’s the little things you have to plan for. There are so many things that could call for an evacuation,” says Joan Eisenstodt, meeting planner, trainer and founder of Eisenstodt Associates.

Eisenstodt says disaster planning often starts when selecting a destination. While hurricane season runs in the late summer along the Gulf Coast, tornado season is usually during the spring in the central part of the country. She said while all emergency and disaster plans should have some basic elements, they should also be tailored to meet the specific threats of each location.

“You have to look at the likelihood of what could happen and plan more extensively for that. You need to prepare for how you are going to handle it if [something] happens before or during a meeting,” she says.

Sometimes an emergency plan needs to have provisions for helping conventioneers react to the situation. While most people instinctually understand the need to hunker down or run for cover during a hurricane or tornado, it can be the opposite during an earthquake. During an earthquake, it’s essential to use a doorway for shelter or drop to the ground and take cover when inside. But when outside, it’s usually best to move to a clear opening and away from buildings, streetlights and utility wires.

Carol Martinez, vice president of communications for the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, said L.A.’s main natural threat is earthquakes. While they represent a serious threat, they are also fairly uncommon. More of a concern to conventions would be stormy weather or manmade disasters. Last July, for example, the 405 Freeway in L.A. was shut down for construction and was expected to create one of the world’s largest traffic jams (some called it “Carmageddon”). It had the potential to become a manmade disaster.

“There really wasn’t a crisis, but we made sure we kept people informed,” says Martinez. “We have a lot of cooperation from the public sector here in L.A., so we all work to help [meeting planners] prepare for problems.”

Learn from Experience

Mary Ghikas is no stranger to dealing with disaster. Ghikas, the assistant executive director for the American Library Association, is part of the planning team for the association’s annual conference, which was the first conference to take place in Toronto after the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the first show back to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Over the years, Ghikas has developed a set of rules and best practices to help prepare and plan for the worst.

First, Ghikas says meeting planners have to assume that something is going to happen. From adverse public policy decisions to hotel strikes or natural disasters, she anticipates that something, on some level, will affect every ALA conference. Next, she says the organization carefully goes over its insurance coverage and contracts, checking deductibles, cancellation policies and what needs to be documented and proven in the event of a disaster.

It’s also important to understand the risk tolerance of the organization and the board in postponing, relocating or canceling a convention, she says. When a disaster happens beforehand or if a hurricane is bearing down on a location days before a conference, it can be a risky call to cancel a convention for 20,000 people. Making the wrong decision could have disastrous consequences and cause a massive public relations blow to the organization. Ghikas says there needs to be a clear line of communication and scenarios to help create a decision-making model in a time of crisis.

“You do have to think about how it will position you with members,” she says. “How much reassurance do you have to build for them? Will they feel you are willfully putting them at risk for something they see as a business venture?”

It’s not just meeting planners and organizations but also city officials and emergency personnel who don’t take canceling a convention lightly. When some disasters strike, the ultimate decision on cancellations may come at the hands of authorities. Copenhaver said when he was with FEMA in 2008, a severe wildfire outbreak struck northeastern Florida. His department had to make the tough call to evacuate parts of a county that were heavily dependent on tourism and meetings.

“The No. 1 factor has to be the safety of the people, and that is the primary guiding factor that you have to use,” he says.

Knowing who to call in an emergency is also critical, says Ghikas. From insurance agents and legal counsel to the convention and visitors bureau in the affiliate city, one has to keep the information flowing. The same model for communication can work when a disaster strikes during a convention or when something happens immediately before one. Ghikas says you need to build your response structure, examine your metrics, list people and then just breathe.

“Just keep pushing out the information. Whatever you do, don’t remain silent because members will interpret silence as if you are hiding something,” she advises.

Test and Improve Plans

Sometimes, the best way to test and improve disaster preparedness plans is to actually go through a disaster (though it’s never the preferred route). During the Tennessee floods of 2010, the Cumberland River pushed more than 10 feet of water into some parts of Nashville. Major venues such as the Grand Ole Opry House and the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center took on water, suffered major damage and were shut down for months. Butch Spyridon, president of the Nashville CVB, says Opryland was able to evacuate all the guests from the 3,000-room hotel and shelter them at a local high school. The CVB helped visiting meetings get their members out of town or cancel conferences. This included the Healthcare Financial Management Association, which had to relocate its 5,000-attendee conference to Las Vegas.

“I am not sure we had a good enough plan beforehand. We did have a good enough staff that we responded instantly. I think our flexibility got us through it,” says Spyridon.

Spyridon says the CVB and the city’s other tourism venues were not prepared to go without power. The CVB office never took on water, but it still lost phone service and power for three days—at a time when it needed it the most. Spyridon says his staff “went into makeshift mode” to get the job done, but the CVB has since set up satellite locations that can be used in the event of a disaster.

“We have all that now,” he says. “You can be prepared, but you just can’t know everything to prepare for until you go through something like this.

Donna Karl, CMP, vice president of client relations for the New Orleans CVB, says the organization revised and rebuilt its entire emergency plan after Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, the city worked with FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security to create and put in place a specific plan for visitors, which includes convention attendees. It covers everything from communications to sheltering and evacuations. Karl said the plan has been updated every year and was tested during Hurricane Gustav in 2008.

“Gustav didn’t do any damage, but it gave us the opportunity to fully test the plan and tweak it even further,” said Karl. “One new addition is that every Monday, the CVB sends out a request to all of the hotels in the area to find out how many guests will be in their hotels during the next two weeks. That list is then shared with 40 different individuals in government agencies so they can know how many people are in each part of the city at any given time,” she adds.

Karl estimates that only 20 percent of organizations she deals with actually have their own emergency and disaster plans. The New Orleans CVB shares the city’s disaster plan with visiting organizations and encourages meeting planners to use it as a framework and customize it for their own use. Karl also helps organizations understand and plan around hurricanes because a lot can change between the time a hurricane develops in the Atlantic Ocean and the time it makes landfall. In some cases, that can be as long as two weeks. The CVB monitors the cone of probability and keeps meeting planners and guests continuously updated. While the city might be identified as the primary target, that could all change within a week.

“A lot of people and planners may have never dealt with hurricanes. We educate them so they’re not panicking 10 days out. A lot can change in that time,” says Karl.

Sue Gourley is vice president of conventions for the National Association of Realtors. NAR’s annual conference attracts more than 20,000 delegates and has recently been held in San Diego, Orlando and Las Vegas. In 2006, it was the first major convention to be held in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Gourley says NAR has a solid emergency plan and puts together a booklet for each conference that has critical contact numbers, maps of emergency exits and basic first aid and response information. All key staff members carry these booklets so they know how to respond and who to call in the event of an emergency. Gourley also taps into a destination’s emergency plans to rely on that expertise in dealing with local issues.

“We have meetings with security, police and emergency officials in the city as well as the hotels. We do a pre-conference so that everyone knows where they are, what to do and who to contact in the event of an emergency,” Gourley says.

There isn’t much meeting planners can do to prevent natural disasters or emergencies, but they can control how they respond and react to them. In a time of crisis, careful planning, preparation and contingencies can make the difference between success and failure.

Number of events planned each year: 3-5

Biggest annual event:
USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships

Number of attendees:
Up to 400 teams, each with 10-15 people on a roster, plus parents, spectators and staff. In total, around 14,000.

Venue requirements:
Enough space (minimum of 300,000 square feet) for up to 36 courts plus a grand stand; close proximity to housing, food and attractions; reliable local transportation or very walkable; and plenty to do in free time

What are your favorite cities? 
Minneapolis and Austin. Both are very foot-friendly, have great food and entertainment nearby, and great CVBs and staff to work with.

If money were no object, where would you want to have your next event?
Hawaii just sounds like heaven for an event. The families would love it, our staff would love it, I would love it. There would just be a lot of love.

What’s your favorite planning tool or resource?
The Internet. I handle all of our equipment RFPs so I do a lot of research and the Web is invaluable to me.

Do you belong to any professional organizations?
I am a member of the National Association of Tournament Directors, and we, as an organization, are members of the NASC.

Did you always want to be a meeting planner?
I don’t think I ever pinpointed what I wanted to do. When I was little, it was a dancer. In high school it went from writer to lawyer to doctor. In college it went from doctor to advertising to wanting to be involved with the Olympics. That’s when I started getting the bug for wanting to be involved in events, sporting events specifically.

What’s your best advice for a fellow event planner?
You can always do better. Never assume you have that event down pat. It should always evolve and better itself and yourself as a planner.

When you’re planning events, what can you not live without?
Email and the Internet. At the event, my phone.

What do you most miss?
Before the event, time. During the event, sleep.

Who are you most inspired by?
My fellow events department co-workers. We’re a tight-knit group, always coming up with ideas for each other.

Two meetings facilities in Galveston, Texas, are undergoing renovations and improvements. The Galveston Island Convention Center is debuting IT upgrades, adding more bandwidth and increasing the number of access points. The beachfront GICC, located at the San Luis Resort, can now accommodate up to 1,000 people on the system’s Wi-Fi simultaneously. The 140,000-sq.-ft. property is adjacent to 700 hotel guest rooms and within two miles of an additional 1,400 rooms.

A $20 million, three-year renovation is underway at the Moody Gardens Hotel, located in the Moody Gardens resort area. The hotel’s lobby, 428 guest rooms, meeting rooms and restaurant will be refurbished with new furniture, fixtures, carpet and paint. More than 100,000 square feet of meeting space is available at the property, including a 15,180-sq.-ft. ballroom and 60,000-sq.-ft. exhibit hall.

A $5.8 million dollar renovation at the Hyatt Regency Louisville is complete. Guests arriving to the new front entrance of the hotel are offered valet service. Changes inside the lobby include three check-in pods and an artistic glass wall designed by a local artist behind the front desk. A new fitness center is adjacent to the lobby. The hotel’s restaurant, Sway, is the centerpiece of the renovation. The seasonal menu uses ingredients from local farm, dairies and butchers, highlighting Southern flavors. The restaurant’s bar opens to the street and is a prime setting for a networking event. “This transformation has allowed us to evolve into an unparalleled meeting and convention destination, a relaxing place for our loyal business travelers to network, and a new, trendy destination for dining or lounging,” says Donna Marquez, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Louisville.

Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta, has opened in a 42-story building designed by American architect Robert A.M. Stern, which was formerly the Mansion on Peachtree. The hotel has 127 guest rooms and suites with sweeping views of the city, and the Mandarin Oriental spa offers its signature therapies and holistic spa products. More than 6,000 square feet of meeting space includes six state-of-the-art meeting rooms equipped with the latest audiovisual technology. The 25 private, luxury residences on the top floors were also rebranded and as The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta. Located in Atlanta’s Buckhead district, the hotel is 35 minutes from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and 10 minutes from the DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, which accommodates private aircraft.

Meeting planners can provide a change from traditional banquet food to attendees—food truck meals. The Hyatt Regency Atlanta, which recently completed a $65 million renovation, is offering the Food Truck Lunch program, where local cuisine from nine area food trucks is on the menu. Dishes include smoked pork arepas, sesame fries, cupcakes and gelato. The hotel provides picnic tables, chairs and umbrellas for group lunches. Planners have to book a Food Truck Lunch at least 30 days prior to the event.

IHG opened its latest boutique property in California in April. The Stratford Inn underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation and rebranding before opening as the Hotel Indigo San Diego Del Mar. Like other Hotel Indigo properties, the upgraded decor of the 94-room hotel located in downtown Del Mar reflects the local community, from the Del Mar Racetrack to the Pacific beaches. Guest rooms include new furniture, high-definition flat screen televisions, iHome stations, spa-style bathrooms and free Wi-Fi. Most rooms have private balconies with ocean views. The hotel has 850 square feet of meeting space, including the Seabiscuit Boardroom. Ideal for a corporate board meeting, the room can seat up to 30. The property also has a full-service spa and bistro-style restaurant, which features local cuisine.