One of the best in bountiful Bali

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As I step into the lobby of the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel in Bali (pictured above), the sound of traffic becomes muted and I find myself in a tranquil oasis, offering sudden respite from the island’s humidity. Smiling staff bustle about the airy space, which abuts a green-lawned courtyard.

A turtle dove is cooing somewhere and a female crooner is singing moodily over the PA system as Stuart Bolwell steps up to greet me, hand extended in welcome. The 47-year-old expatriate New Zealander has been with this hotel for 11 years, and GM for the past three years, and the focus and continuity he’s brought to the role helps explain why ratings for this property continue to head north.

Two-and-a-half years ago, the user-generated website TripAdvisor ranked the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel thirty-fifth in Bali’s busy coastal strip of Sanur on the southeast of the island. Now it’s sixteenth, says Stuart, and the good results are reflected in guests’ comments. Its sister property nearby, the Sanur Paradise Plaza Suites, is now ranked the second-best family accommodation in the country.

The largest four-star hotel in Bali focusing on meetings and events, the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel is half an hour’s drive from Denpasar airport and the busy tourist precinct of Kuta, and a few minutes away from good shopping and its own beach enclave.

One of nine properties strategically located throughout Indonesia and managed by Prime Plaza Hotels and Resorts, the hotel is set next to a verdant nine-hole golf course. It is quintessentially Balinese: everywhere, from the gardens surrounding the 110-metre-long pool to the private courtyards adjoining many of the 329 rooms, foliage sprouts in lush profusion.

Stuart Bolwell, pictured below, is a high-energy manager, as I can attest as I try to keep up with him on a brisk walking tour of the hotel and its 18 meetings and functions spaces, which include a ballroom, the ‘Griya Agung’. When all venues are full, the resort can accommodate 2,000 MICE guests, he says.

People expect more

“People’s expectations are much higher now,” says Stuart. “Those heading off for events or leisure are educated in travelling, and in what they want and expect. That’s why you’ve got to make sure you invest more in resources and energy to maintain standards and service these days. I keep reminding my teams of this.”

The strategy is working, as the hotel has a growing reputation for providing value for money and robust occupancies, he says. This dovetails with Stuart’s philosophy ‘to under-promise and over-deliver’.

“We don’t gouge in our pricing structure, so you’re never charged more than what you’d expect,” he says.

From USD85 per night

The rate for guest rooms, most of which have just been renovated, is USD85 per night for two people, including breakfast and wifi. Conference day rates are equally good value: USD35 per delegate, including lunch and two coffee breaks as well as the latest in AV and other necessary gear. A point-of-contact person is assigned to each event to take care of every request.

Roughly half of the resort’s events business is domestic, and the rest is mostly from Australia and Europe, says Stuart. “Our distinct advantage over competitors is that we’ve been here a long time and do what we do very well. Our staff are incredibly dedicated and we have long-established relationships with local companies and third-party contractors who supply us with their services.”

Recent events hosted here include those of international teachers’ and doctors’ groups and an Indian telco. For a recent Lions club conference, the hotel welcomed delegates from 33 countries. It lasted a week and many guests either arrived beforehand or extended their stay apres-meetings to explore the island, going on day tours to the central upland town of Ubud and to the ancient Tanah Lot temple, located on the coast, which has been part of Balinese mythology for centuries.

The ballroom, which can cater for 1,100 theatre style or 750 in banquet arrangements, is a spacious pillarless 950 square metres in area, together with its pre-function area. It has dedicated vehicle access and a 122 square-metre permanent stage.

The Siteseer was not a guest of the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel.

For more information, email stuart@sanur.pphotels.com or visit www.sanurparadise.com.

Asia’s a better deal than ever. It’s the only region in the world where the prices of hotel rooms dropped for Australian travellers in 2014. Admittedly, some of the falls can likely be attributed to the weakening of the Aussie dollar, which has hit a six-year low, but the results will doubtless be of interest to most organisers seeking to run an event offshore – and not just Australians.

The latest hotels.com index, which compares Asian prices, shows that they were in fact only slightly higher than they were 10 years ago, and fell for a second consecutive year.

In Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka prices paid for hotel accommodation in cities like Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Chiang Mai, Ho Chi Minh and Bangkok all fell – some quite substantially – in 2014. These ranked among the best-value cities in the world for hotel stays. The only exceptions to the slump were China, Hong Kong and Japan, where prices rose modestly last year.

Conversely, says Regional Director for hotels.com, Katherine Cole, hotel rooms in Rio, Honolulu, San Francisco, London, Dublin, Berlin, Madrid, Milan and Paris were all subject to double-digit price rises. Prices rose by 15% in New Zealand, 12% in Fiji and 11% in New Caledonia. The city where Australian travellers paid the most for a hotel room in 2014 was New York, where the average price was $317.

In Australia prices increased on average by only 1% in the past year. They rose slightly in Sydney (1%), Brisbane (2%) and Melbourne (1%). They fell in Darwin (-4%) and Perth (-3%).

Best-value hotel destinations for Australian travellers in 2014:

Destination	Average price paid in 2014 (AUD)
Cambodia	$73
Vietnam	$91
Thailand	$113
Poland	$116
Egypt	$117

Countries where hotel prices fell the most for Australians:

Destination	Average price paid in 2014 (AUD)
Oman	-18%
Russia	-7%
Sri Lanka	-5%
Croatia	-5%
Taiwan	-4%

Top five international destinations where Australian travellers paid the most for hotels in 2014:

Destination	Average price paid in 2014 (AUD)	% change on 2013
New York	$317	7%
Rio de Janeiro	$299	14%
Cancun/Riviera Maya	$282	19%
Honolulu	$281	10%
Boston	$272	10%

Top five international destinations with the highest growth in hotel prices for Australian travellers in 2014:

Destination	Average price paid in 2014 (AUD)	% change on 2013
Morocco	$169	41%
Mauritius	$277	25%
Greece	$196	18%
Qatar	$197	17%
New Zealand	$162	15%

Change in Australian hotel prices for domestic travellers in 2014:

Destination	Average price paid in 2014(AUD)	% change on 2013
Hobart	$176	6%
Adelaide	$153	6%
Canberra	$185	4%
Brisbane	$172	2%
Sydney	$200	1%
Melbourne	$177	1%
Perth	$184	-3%
Darwin	$200	-4%

It’s a tough, competitive but rewarding business, says Ian Stuart, a 35-year Australian industry veteran. And when you get knocked back, there’s only one thing to do. Try again.

Siteseer: What are the main business-events trends this year?

Ian Stuart: Keeping programs engaging. Coming up with something fresh and interactive that works for attendees and the objectives of the host. It will involve tinkering with formats, using more interactivity, more open space to engage people and departing further from the traditional, didactic plenary classroom format.

It’ll be about recognising that attention spans are short and that you can learn a lot more if you’re taken out of your comfort zone a bit. That way, ultimately, you absorb much more content than might otherwise have been the case.

Another trend will be the drive to attract younger attendees – people who want to engage in different ways. I’m thinking more of the association market when I say this, but these are people who don’t necessarily share the same set of values as the older generation about the need to associate, and who may prefer to get their content in different ways, perhaps pre- or post-event.

The industry must communicate with them that there’s value in coming to events, that we’re changing; come along, experiment, explore and give us a go! It’s facing a cynical younger generation with short attention spans. They believe they can get all the information they need off the Internet and social media, and don’t believe they need to be lectured to. That’s a challenge.

SS: What are events organisers’ top priorities and what are they most interested in?

IS: A major one is obviously to maximise revenue. Another is to stay abreast of new technology and apps, legislation and software. If you’re an in-house meeting manager, you’ll want to prioritise costs and meet your budget and, importantly, keep content fresh. So it’s all about grappling with money, technology and content.

And as a host or organiser you do have a responsibility to ensure that your community is safe. That’s a plus for Australia. Walk through central Sydney and you don’t need to worry too much about being mugged. That’s not the case in many other cities around the world.

SS: What are Australia’s main strengths?

IS: We have qualified independent meeting planners and experienced in-house meeting people, and we do it in a fiscally responsible manner, delivering a high-quality experience. We have conference organisers and professional bodies like Meetings and Events Australia and the Professional Conference Organisers Association, with high standards. We have a range of accommodation from six-star to backpacker. For events coming into capital cities with many thousands of attendees, you can put them up, particularly if they’re paying for themselves, in accommodation to suit all pockets.

Our infrastructure is good, though it must be said that sometimes the attitudes of the people who work in those places could be sharpened. Some of it has to do with the fact that in Asia where they also have good buildings and infrastructure, they can afford more staff. There’s a correlation there.

The touring possibilities in Australia are special. You can say that about Europe or Asia too, but often it’s the opportunity to come to a conference in Australia that’s the springboard. Right now the dollar’s dropping, which is an appealing factor to inbound groups considering Australia.

Our proximity to Asia is important. If you’re an international association seeking to build membership in China or another Asian country and you run your event in Australia, it means you stand a better chance of pulling delegates from those areas – which you can’t say about Europe or the US.

We have a successful track record in this country of hosting prestigious events outside the business world, like the G20, the Olympics and APEC. Every time you have one of those it’s splashed all over the world and it’s great publicity.

SS: What can be done about the service difficulties you mentioned?

IS: It’s incumbent on the properties’ GMs to understand what service needs to be provided and really drill it down to all levels. GMs strive to do that, obviously, but sometimes economic pressures force them to overwork people and compromise.

SS: What kind of additional support for the industry in Australia would you like to see?

IS: A few months ago [Minister for Trade] Andrew Robb said the government would, at federal level, provide more support to the sector. It came about because the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux was lobbying federal departments to point out that the events they host in Australia are significant drivers of business, impacting the economy and the knowledge economy. To win these events is challenging and competitive, and whenever and wherever they happen, they’re good for the country. So instead of relying only on our state systems to support these gigs, we suggested Canberra should be lending more support. Andrew Robb agreed.

SS: Hasn’t the industry been pushing this line for years?

IS: Yes but it needed to get its act together and systematically tabulate the impact, which has started to happen. Many millions of dollars are at stake. If Australia fails to win a big bid, it’s the same as a $50 million export order going off to another country.

So the government has indicated it will get more actively involved. At state level, others are getting to grips with aligning their state’s investment priorities with meetings that support them. For example, if you’re strong in advanced manufacturing or mining technology, you’ll sniff out more business-event opportunities that align with those goals. It’ll give you a stronger case when you pitch and try to get the government involved. We do this in New South Wales quite well.

SS: There’s still endless talk in the business about CSR. What are the opportunities here, do you think?

IS: Business events have a responsibility to conduct their events in ways that minimise their footprint. But the way delegates engage with local communities is equally important and has the potential to leave a lasting legacy. It could be as simple as raising money to support a local need, like buying wheelchairs or supplying sports equipment and teaching local kids the basics of AFL, with executives actually visiting and helping the kids to learn.

It doesn’t cost much, but neither the recipients nor the participants ever forget it. By actively getting involved we all learn and remember more.

SS: Are you seeing more of that?

IS: Yes. At the 2014 international Rotary convention in Sydney, for instance, delegates raised $120,000 for their End Polio Now campaign. Three hundred and forty people gathered on Sydney harbour bridge and with 278 flags broke the world record for the biggest number of flags flying on a bridge at one time. A silly thing but it hit the media. The delegates paid to do the bridge climb, and the bridge climb company also gave a percentage of the fees to the cause. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matched the money raised. It was fun, with a nice CSR spin-off, and the money raised was used to buy polio vaccine for 240,000 children.

SS: What in your view are the other vital issues facing the events and meetings industry?

IS: Gaining recognition for the role meetings and events play in building knowledge, the morale of delegates, and international cooperation. Meetings can be used strategically for example to bring both sides together in the event of a merger, to explain what’s happening, break down barriers.

Other issues include, internationally, the impact of health scares like ebola, SARS, avian flu and so on, and threats of terrorism – think of the mammoth cost of security at G20 – as well as air travel after the AirAsia and Malaysian Airlines disasters.

SS: What will the most successful operators be doing differently in future?

IS: Getting to grips with what their members, audiences, delegates and event owners really want and finding effective ways to communicate with them.

SS: Australian venues are often perceived to be expensive. How do they counter that?

IS: If you’re running a big international convention using one of the convention centres, the rental cost is obviously a significant part of the budget. But increasingly there’s evidence that the city fathers in some places or landlords or operators of venues are willing to forgo the rental, or some of it, in exchange for the economic impact the event will have on the city.

It’s one way to make the Australian proposition more competitive and palatable. As you know accommodation is seasonal. Right now you’d be struggling to get a five-star room in some capital cities; at other times of the year it’s different. But we have initiatives to fill those gaps. Think of the festivals put on by cities to help fill accommodation. Room prices don’t go down if you’re hosting a cricket world cup or arts festival.

SS: If I’m an events organiser and want to find out where city fathers are offering support, where should I seek help?

IS: Contact the convention visitors’ bureau in that city. Every serious city has an agency whose job is to promote its business-events capabilities and credentials as they have the key relationships with the city fathers. You go to them and say you have an inbound group of a certain composition with hundreds, or thousands, of people. It’s economically important, and therefore you strongly recommend they look at the support that can be given. If you can’t put up a good case, save it for another time.

But it’s important to remember price is only a barrier at the initial, decision-making stage, provided you get good value and quality. When you buy expensive leather shoes and they fit like a glove, you tend to forget you paid 400 bucks for them. I’m not saying we’re in the 400-dollar leather-shoe category in Australia, but we do give memorable experiences, professional event management, good variety and a generally hospitable outlook. We hear it all the time. When we’re at trade shows internationally, people say: “I’ve always wanted to go to Australia, tell me more”.

SS: What lessons have you learned in your long and illustrious career?!

IS: Never give up. If you’re representing a convention bureau, don’t give up if you get knocked back, try again. If you’ve got a product you want to sell to an event organiser, keep chipping away. In the association world if you get knocked back by an association executive, remember his or her tenure may be fragile and short-lived! Sometimes your corporate memory outlasts their time in the role, or you know stuff about history that current incumbents don’t. You’ve gained by simply being around.

For me the actual delivery of a business event has a lot to do with theatre. It calls on the same resources as a theatre production. You need to come up with a story, script, cast of actors, set, director, venue, marketing and to weigh up the financial risk. There’s enormous satisfaction when you get it all right and you get the curtain call at the end. It’s often called business theatre for that reason.

That’s part of the deal from my point of view, having been closely involved in so many events and seen it all coming together like a well-cast show. It’s not just creative in an artistic or theatrical sense, it’s creative in a financial way, doing more with less or looking for new sources of income around the product. Exposing the opportunity to people who’ve never been to Australia before. Realising that if I take my people off to a luxury resort I’m creating an uncluttered mini marketplace where I might be able to get some of my expenses defrayed by my key suppliers. Or a supplier might like to shout us dinner . . . but tread carefully if you are in pharmaceuticals or medical devices!

None of this is easy. It’s very competitive, particularly the right to be the host venue destination or country. Competition around the world realises it of course and is sharpening its act. You have to fend off attacks all over the place. Event-management companies come up with keen and creative responses to briefs and the pitches burn up a colossal amount of man hours. It’s frustrating when you don’t make the cut.

You love what you do though?

I’ve been in the business events industry in one form or another for 35 years and I still get a buzz out of it, whether it’s trying to come up with the creative pitch to win the business, or seeing an event unfold successfully, and the smiles of the attendees and the host body afterwards. Especially when they say, “bloody good, you really shone.”

IAN INSIGHTS

Born in England, Ian Stuart came to Australia in 1974. He has more than 35 years’ experience in the management and production of major conferences, exhibitions and special events, giving him special insights into the demands of the industry as well as the challenges of winning bids and bringing events to a successful conclusion.

Since 2006 he’s consulted with Business Events Sydney promoting the city and New South Wales as an international meeting and conference destination.

Previously Ian was Joint Managing Director/owner of ICMS Australasia where he oversaw business development and provided hands-on management for high-profile conferences, some with turnovers exceeding $8 million. In 2012 he received the prestigious Outstanding Contribution Award from Meetings Events Australia acknowledging his many years of honorary service to the industry and in May 2014 he chaired the business program for the MEA national conference held in Kuala Lumpur.

Crystal Liu, communications manager at the Mandarin Oriental in Macau, is a bit like the hotel, and the former Portuguese colony, itself: energetic, welcoming and engaging.

“Macau is a beautiful experience,” says Crystal, whose enthusiasm for the city and hotel is matched by that of her colleagues. “It’s older than Hong Kong, and really easy to get around. It’s also foreigner-friendly; I know because I was born and raised in Taiwan and love it here.”

The smallness of Macau, one of two “special administrative areas” of the People’s Republic of China, is an asset, she says. The exotic city is just 29.5 kilometres in area, so you can easily see the main attractions in two or three days – and that helps events organisers focus on the activities they’d like business visitors to embrace while they’re there, and absorb everything the place has to offer.

With 213 rooms and suites, the four-year-old, five-star Mandarin Oriental is also tiny by the standards of the city, some of whose massive casino hotels have 3,000 to 4,000 rooms. (Five of the world’s 10 largest casino resorts are here). Classy, luxurious and understated, it’s more like a hostelry you’d expect to find in Europe. “If you have thousands of rooms it’s difficult to provide personal service,” says Crystal. “We differentiate ourselves by being small, and handling smaller MICE groups of up to 200, so we can provide personal service which makes guests’ experience more pleasant.”

This includes the best attentions of a team of smiling, obliging staff, in-room check-ins, treatments at a spa that’s won a “Grand Jury” award in one of China’s top spa recognition programs, and meals at a splendid French restaurant (Vida Rica). The latter is a place of shimmering glass and elegant furnishings and design that’s rated as the number-one eatery in Macau on TripAdvisor, and recently won a top service award from the Macau Government Tourist Office.

At lunch at the Vida Rica one day, I tantalised my tongue with one of French chef Dominique Bugnand’s signature dishes – onion soup (below) – and fresh rolls baked on site, along with lobster-, caviar- and truffle-filled dim sims. It was sensationally good. His signature dishes include “spider crab wrapped in lobster jelly, avocado and mango sauce with Sturia caviar” (above) and “carrot mashed with orange dust and grilled shallot banana”.

An epicurean sensation

The breakfast buffets, also served here, are an epicurean sensation, an eclectic fusion of East and West, with fabulous fresh fruit – all imported – and omelettes to order jostling with noodles prepared at a buffet, sticky rice, fresh sole fillets, dim sim, salads, delicate sausage tarts, quiches, and much else.

Guests can choose to sit in the main dining area or in one of the four semi-private rooms, useful for gatherings of up to 16. For those requiring yet more intimacy, the chef’s table provides a fully private option.

As you’d expect from a marque like the Mandarin Oriental’s, the food is just one highlight of a stay at the property, set in a narrow, black glass structure at the end of a point of reclaimed land, and linked to a swish shopping mall and MGM casino. My sprawling room is serene, spacious and comfortable with cream wallpaper and blonde wood panelling. I have my own coffee machine, the bedding is of goosedown and there’s a twice-daily housekeeping service. The window gives a panoramic view of a slice of the continental coastline and South China Sea, where ships of all sizes chug to and fro.

From the hotel it’s a ten-minute walk to the centre of town, with a swag of World Heritage Sites like the A-Ma Temple, a Taoist shrine built in 1488, the Dom Pedro V, one of the first Western-style theatres in China, and St Augustine’s Church, built in 1591. Macau became a Portuguese colony in 1557 and was eventually handed back to China in 1999. But the Portuguese influence remains widely evident – in the multilingual signage and street names (like “Avenida da Ponte da Amizade”), and smatterings of the language you hear being spoken by passers-by.

Macau International Airport and the China border are 10 minutes away by car, and the Hong Kong-Macau ferry terminal is a five-minute drive. You can directly access Hong Kong airport by ferry in 45 minutes and central Hong Kong in an hour. Cost: about AUD25.

Gambling hiatus

“Macau is the only place in the world where you get a mix of Portuguese and Chinese style,” says Crystal Liu, pictured above. “Around 70% of our visitors are from mainland China. We also get visitors from Australia, a key target market, the US, Europe and Taiwan, which is one hour and twenty minutes’ flying time away.”

Many visitors obviously come to Macau to gamble. Interestingly, the gambling sector’s winning run came to an abrupt halt recently when growth in its annual, USD44 billion earnings fell as a result of the Chinese government’s drive to cut corruption and over-the-top spending by public-sector employees. But this hiatus is widely expected to last a year at most.

In many ways Macau is a “weekend city”, says Crystal, with a huge influx of visitors coming across the border from the mainland and from Hong Kong on Fridays. A road link to Hong Kong in a year or two will make access easier still.

That’s why, she adds, if your schedule allows it’s better to organise conferences and events at the Mandarin Oriental during the week: you get a better rate. There’s also less traffic and the attractions like the temples and churches have fewer visitors.

“The number of hotels here is growing all the time, and with more new properties coming on stream and more competition, it can only be good for visitors.”

When to go

In addition to considering weekdays to get the best deals, some events planners may want to avoid September, when people crowd into the city for fireworks displays, and November when the Formula 1 grand prix is happening and rates are higher. But at any time there’s plenty to do, from bungy jumping to museum visits. “The cultural scene is very enjoyable, but it’s more than that,” says Crystal. “It’s a unique place; there’s nothing else quite like it.”

As the only non-gaming five-star hotel on the Macau Peninsula, the Mandarin Oriental Macau promotes itself as a useful venue for quiet, focused meetings and conferences. It has four dedicated event spaces including a 320-square-metre ballroom which can be separated into two smaller function rooms. These have large sea-view windows and a spacious pre-function area.

From HKD 2,288 (AUD 370) year-round, based on availability

The hotel’s website advertises “the best and most flexible rates” along with complimentary transfers for guests booking a suite, and a variety of other special deals. The “Ultimate Spa Escape Package,” for example, starts from around USD570 and includes a night’s accommodation in a guestroom or suite, buffet breakfast for two, a two-hour signature treatment for two at the spa and more. Another “Macau Cultural Discovery Package” deal offers tours of the city.

To find out more email momac-reservations@mohg.com.

The Siteseer was a guest of Mandarin Oriental Macau.

Industry planners seeking to organise engaging MICE events that come in under budget will have new options from November 2015. That’s when P&O Cruises Australia adds two ships with dedicated conference space to its existing fleet.

Events afloat, especially incentives, have been around as an option for decades now. But interest in meetings on cruise ships has surged in recent months since P&O began work on a new offer – with the theme of “leave earth for your next conference”.

It’s based on a key factor that appeals to events organisers, explains Rebecca Mutanen (below, left), Senior Sales Manager for P&O Cruises Australia: shorter cruises. Over 40% of the company’s business now consists of two- to four-night itineraries.

And it expects growth to accelerate when its new ships arrive, because the former Holland America vessels now re-named Pacific Aria (whose atrium is pictured, below) and Pacific Eden (immediately below) have dedicated conference facilities capable of handling up to 200.

P&O Cruises has catered for meetings of hundreds of people already on its existing ships by being flexible with the use of space on board and breaking up sessions to run sequentially, Rebecca says. “However we’ve knocked back a lot of business because of that, with organisers saying they actually need at least two full days of conference. With the new ships we’ll have formal conference space as well as plenty of room for break-outs so we can really knock their socks off.”

Staterooms, venue hire, main meals, entertainment and so on are all included in the price, she says. Other than beverages there’s no added cost, or any daily delegate charges on top.

Changing perceptions

P&O’s own research indicates that many organisers still don’t understand the conferences-afloat concept – or they think it’s hugely expensive – which is why its now focusing on combating the perception a conference on a ship is frivolous, or “not serious enough,” as Rebecca puts it.

One company that needed little convincing is an equipment manufacturer that took 350 delegates along with 150 partners and kids for a conference on Pacific Dawn in June. On this seven-night voyage to the Pacific Islands, the organisers arranged a product launch on board, and it also served as an incentive trip for suppliers. For such events, or for any group of more than 150, a head-office staffer from P&O sails with delegates to troubleshoot.

P&O has hosted technology, finance and pharmaceutical companies as well as associations in this way. Some organisations have tougher internal regulations for getting such events across the line than others, Rebecca observes, but as awareness grows, more and more are in favour.

Three- and four-nighters

From November most of the three-nighters on the two new ships will be from Sydney and Brisbane. They’re round trips, so the vessel itself is the destination, though some offer a port call. That includes a cruise from Melbourne which goes to Burnie in Tasmania and sailings from Brisbane to Moreton Island.

Some four-night cruises from Sydney also head for Moreton Island, with a full day at the resort township of Tangalooma where there are plenty of opportunities for team building, like sand tobogganing rides and dolphin-feeding. Other four-night options from Sydney include calls at the Mornington Peninsula, the Hunter and Sunshine Coast.

Whatever floats your boat

For the rest of the time, après-conference guests have the whole ship to enjoy, Rebecca says. “Go in the bars, or do any of over 60 activities a day; you can catch a show or just hang out with colleagues on deck. There’s a lot of added benefit in networking from having your delegates all in one spot, and the event planners don’t have to organise anything.”

In many cases where delegates want their partners to accompany them, organisers will choose a cruise that includes a weekend.

Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden will be in dry dock and undergoing refurbishment before arriving in Australia. P&O’s three existing ships, Pacific Pearl, Pacific Jewel (whose main theatre is pictured, left) and Pacific Dawn – which has just been refurbished – will continue to operate in Australian waters.

Less than $300 per day

P&O has done a breakdown of conference costs on board for a three-night conference/incentive cruise compared with a city four-star hotel. Given that, inter alia, function space is complimentary and there are no additional transport or logistical costs, the ballpark cost per delegate per day is $290 compared with $347 for the hotel.

“That’s being quite generous [to the hotel],” says Rebecca Mutanen. “You have all your main meals including a gala dinner for which we section off a part of the restaurant, venue space, state-of-the-art AV, technicians on hand and so on. There’s no better time in the MICE market to be offering such an experience that allows planners to come in under budget.”

Email:

Rebecca.Mutanen@pocruises.com.au

mice@pocruises.com.au

Watch the video below for more exciting images:

By Luke Heilbuth

The air is warm and humid, and the sky over Ha My Beach, Hoi An, is turning purple. I’m sipping chilled South Australian pinot noir as the sun falls from view, and our exuberant Vietnamese waiter says, “Happy merry Christmas!”

We’re at the bar of the Nam Hai, the most luxurious oceanfront resort in Vietnam. It’s among the top ten resorts in Asia, according to the latest edition of Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards survey. The seven-year-old beach retreat, ranked twelfth in the 2013 version, climbed two spots this year, marking its highest ranking to date.

For my wife and me, it’s easy to see why. Sixty one-bedroom villas and 40 pool villas occupy 35 hectares of landscaped gardens. The staff are as friendly as any in the world, and our room is like a piece of heaven with its en-suite bath, enormous bed and deep mahogany finish. Best of all, there’s unobstructed views across the East Sea.

The pinot noir continues to go down easily as we enjoy an Indian-inspired meal at the resort’s excellent main restaurant. Walking back to our villa, the sky is black and filled with stars. A large gentleman ambles alongside, his face red with good cheer. He turns to enter his villa and in a rich Scottish baritone booms, to no-one in particular, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.” Happy Christmas indeed.

It’s not for organisers who prioritise rock-bottom rates above everything else. But in my, and many others’, opinion, the five-star Nam Hai, Hoi An, is an exceptional destination. And if breathtaking luxury and marvellous food are prime reasons for seeking a really special venue for a meeting, wedding or other event, to celebrate a major corporate success or special occasion, for example, it’s worth considering.

Located on a 35-hectare section of Ha My Beach 30 kilometres south of Da Nang, with its own beautiful stretch of pristine white sand, it features 60 villas and 40 pool villas, each occupying its own section of landscaped gardens and with views of the sea and the nearby Cham Islands.There’s a 75-square-metre meetings facility, The Boardroom, which can be set up for meetings of 14 to 40 people. The 90-square-metre “Open Lounge” can accommodate groups of 30 to 66, or up to 100 at a reception. With brides in mind, it also offers wedding packages.

Like one of the spectacular dishes served at the main eatery (“The Restaurant”), Hoi An – a town of 88,000 in Central Vietnam – was shaped by the fusion of Asian and European influences. In the 16^th and 17^th centuries, Faifo, as it was then known, played host to Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese and French settlements vying for a piece of Vietnam’s lucrative silk and spice trade. All left their cultural mark. In 1999, UNESCO listed Hoi An’s “Ancient Town”as World Heritage due to its “outstanding material manifestation of the fusion of cultures over time”.

On one of our days spent here, among many other distractions – which include golf, tennis, badminton, basketball, swimming, gym, shopping, massage and so on – I have a full day’s class at the Red Bridge Cooking School to distract me, a Christmas gift from a friend.

The class, which costs USD45++ (shared) or USD55 (private) for a half-day guided tourand cooking session, begins with a walk through an organic herb garden. Soonwe reach the outdoor kitchen to prepare our food. Vietnamese cuisine is practically fat-free, relying on fresh herbs and vegetables, as well as dousings of nuoc mam, a sauce distilled from the carcasses of fermented fish. It sounds hellish but tastes heavenly.

Over the course of several hours, the guide teaches us how to make clay pot fish with fresh dill, grilled chicken and banana flower salad, and the national dish – a delicious beef and noodle soup,pho bo.

And Hoi An is a fashion-lover’s delight: hundreds of shops sell fitted wool and cashmere suits, skirts, shirts and dresses, as well as shoes, at scarcely-to-be-believed prices. It’s couture carnage as we scuttle from tailor to tailor. Two suits, three jackets, six shirts, two pants and six pairs of underpants later we’re exhausted and looking forward to returning to the haven of the resort.

“In the hotel business, it’s difficult to maintain an edge, let alone get better with age,” says Anthony Gill, the Nam Hai’s General Manager, referring to its latest award. “But it’s possible with passion. This accolade is testament to that. It speaks volumes about our team, owners and management company who collectively always seek ways to improve the guest experience.”

From USD600++ per night (low season) and USD670++ per night (high season)

Organisers reserving a minimum of three consecutive nights can save up to 25% on the best available rate, says a resort spokesperson. “You’ll enjoy two set meals, an indulgent Vietnamese massage that’ll leave you relaxed and other benefits to create the perfect extended stay.” Other special offers can be viewed on the website.

Email: reservations@thenamhai.com.

Resort microsite: www.thenamhaihoian.com.

Luke Heilbuth was a paying guest of the Nam Hai.

In the Ratchaprasong shopping district of the Thai capital, my wife and I once stopped to cross a busy intersection when she felt someone rummaging in her handbag. “Hey!” She swung round to confront the thief.

She found herself facing an elephant, accompanied by its human handler, digging its trunk into her bag, looking for something to eat.

On my most recent visit I realised there’s usually something in Bangkok that surprises or confronts, and it’s not always the traffic. But the residents are used to it. Every day its 14.5 million people do battle with serious urban overcrowding, not to mention pockets of shouty, occasionally violent demonstrators – who for the time being are kept quiet by the imposition of martial law.

Yet with a smile and a shrug, the vast majority carry on working, making a buck, eating, drinking and having fun. To the Thais the country’s cultural, political, diplomatic, commercial, financial and religious epicentre is known as Krung Thep, City of Angels. It welcomed more visitors (16 million) in 2013 than any other city in the world, according to Time magazine.

The Ratchaprasong district lies in the hyperactive heart of the city. One of the buzziest shopping, entertainment and restaurant precincts, it’s also home to a clutch of beautiful hotels. When you consider the quality of the accommodation, meetings facilities, service, food and entertainment on offer, these are ridiculously cheap.

For me one of the most remarkable is the Marriott-owned Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong, with 322 rooms and suites, where local glitterati are routinely photographed at functions, and which has nearly 20,000 square feet of meeting and events facilities – as well as a special car lift to carry automobiles up to exhibition space on the first floor.

The five-year-old hotel is a balm for the senses. The lobby is a spectacular place of shimmering marble and glass-and-chrome fittings, with muted lighting and dark teak alternating with pink to create a welcoming, unusual space. As you’d expect in a five-star property, there’s a fine spa, a state-of-the-art gym, full-service business centre and bunch of dining options, including high-end Italian and Chinese. If you choose you can laze in the indoor pool high up in the hotel, overlooking the city.

The ballroom can accommodate 600 and there are dedicated event planners onsite. It’s close to the Chit Lom Skytrain station (the super-efficient transit system) and upscale shopping at Gaysorn, Zen, Central World, Siam Paragon and the new futuristic Central Embassy mall. “The location is perfect,” says Wanpen Chanthariyab (pictured, left), Director of Marketing Communications.

“In many hotels you have to get a cab to get anywhere; here everything’s where you want it.” And importantly for Bangkok, there are four parking levels on site, according to Soo Oftana (pictured, centre), Director of Sales and Marketing.

From USD108 per night

How much will a room set you back here? An online check reveals Internet specials starting from 3,500 baht (USD108, AUD120) per night, a terrific deal considering what’s on offer. “The rooms were outstanding . . . the location is great . . . the staff is very friendly . . . and the best thing was [the] price,” writes one online reviewer. “Excellent value for money. I’ll certainly be back.”

The marketing folks are reluctant to publicise meeting or conference rates, saying they’re subject to negotiation. But one of the best times for good events deals is the last two weeks of December, holiday season in Thailand, according to Sukhum Trongcharoen (above, right), Director of Sales.

Email: wanpen.c@renaissancehotels.com

“Just press the icon on this little screen if you need me, sir,” says Maico, the young butler. “We’re on call 24 hours and can sort everything out for you.” He ushers me into an ornate, sprawling suite that looks like a gambler’s den on a Mississippi steamboat.

The pile carpets are rich burgundy and the sofas, chairs and covers on the bed are deep ruby red. The lamplit walls are yellow and ochre, offset by brown drapes and side tables in dark wood.

The gambling-themed décor is appropriate for the 172-suite Maxims Hotel at Resorts World, Manila. A short drive from Manila’s main airport, Maxims is part of a complex that includes a 30,000-square-metre casino as well as two other giant hotels – a 342-room Marriott and a 712-room budget property, the Remington.

Throw in a four-level shopping mall, theatre, ballroom, conference and meeting rooms, restaurants and cinemas and you have a facility that’s so enormous it seems like it’d take all day to explore. (I walked round a great deal, and never got to see it all).

Yet my “deluxe” suite at Maxims, at 72 square metres – bigger than most one-bedroomed apartments – is the smallest accommodation on offer here. The biggest is a 652-square-metre villa, The Mansion.

“Maxims is the first all-suite luxury hotel and Resorts World is the first integrated resort in the country,” explains John Hagamann (pictured, right, with colleagues), International Travel and Trade Sales Officer for the complex.

Each room is assigned a butler to attend to guests’ wants and whims, from their travel itineraries to spa bookings or finding them a dentist in an emergency. And it has the latest in high-tech hotel technology. For instance the big flat-screen TV can convert into a PC monitor that you can operate remotely while lounging in bed.

“Casino visitors are a vital part of our business but we cater for everyone, from MICE visitors to leisure travellers and others en-route to somewhere else looking to spend a night at a really attractive, reasonably priced hotel near the airport,” says John.

The Resorts World complex, jointly owned by Alliance Global Group and Genting Hong Kong, is set to expand further to maximise the use of its 14-hectare property that flanks Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The expansion will take in a three-storey convention centre that can accommodate up to 2,500 people at any time, and two more hotels, a Hilton and a Sheraton, while both Maxims and Marriott here will add more luxury suites.

Suites from $335 a night

The rack rate for deluxe suites starts at PhP14,800++ (USD335) a night, and they can accommodate up to four people. But travel agents and casino guests can expect to pay less than that, says John Hagamann. Rooms at the Remington Hotel next door, part of the same complex, start from as low as PhP1,000 ($25) a night.

Contact Maxims at reservation@rwmanila.com.

The Siteseer was a guest of Maxims Resorts World, Manila.

The Kalima Resort and Spa is an imposing multi-level complex that sprawls over a jungly hillside on the Thai island of Phuket. From inside the lofty foyer – and most of the 190 rooms – visitors look out over the sparkling blue waters of Patong Bay.

When I arrived at the two-year-old property on a warm day recently, I sat in the lobby for a moment to catch my breath and mop my brow. Seconds later, a smiling staff member brought me a scented refresher towel and chilled glass of lemon-grass cordial. I’d be happy to spend a few days here, just unwinding, I thought.

Plenty of events organisers are thinking the same thing, according to the Kalima resort’s marketers, with delegates in the past year from countries including Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, the US, Singapore and Australia. One of the main attractions is the flexible, hi-tech conference hall, which has a maximum capacity of 220, theatre-style, (130 classroom-style and 80 for banquets) and can be used for any kind of gathering, big or small. Its plug-in-and-play laptop facilities and high-tech gadgetry make it useful for video conferencing, seminars and other events that require folks attending to be connected.

But as an old mentor of mine once observed, most people remember the fun they had at conferences and nothing else, and the apres-conference facilities here are very appealing. Some rooms have their own private infinity pools, and the main swimming pool area is a vast space with panoramic views of the sea. The hotel has its own nine-hole mini-golf course and a private “beach,” an exclusive, elevated stretch of sand, and plenty of dining options. It has its own luxury spa and is a short drive from the big tourist hub of Patong with its bustling nightlife.

Meeting and accommodation rates are flexible and depend on the season, according to Senior Sales Manager Minako Koreeda. The time for the best rates is April through to October.

From AUD105

Daily accommodation rates vary according to the season and room types, but start from just over 3,000 baht, which is about AUD105. The full-day meeting package, including lunch, two coffee breaks, organising support and all the usual technological bells and whistles (and floral arrangements) is USD66 a day per person. The half-day rate is USD55. Yet more evidence that Thailand is terrific value for money.

The sky over El Nido is overcast, scoured by the tail end of a typhoon that’s passed and headed north. I’m the only passenger in the Filipino trigger boat, whose bamboo outriggers scud over a smooth, slate-coloured sea.

Having left a wharf near a small airfield, the boat chugs through a chain of extraordinary islands sculpted into strange, alien shapes. Towering limestone cliffs shoot dramatically from the ocean, their crowns covered in foliage, their bases fringed by white sand beaches and palm trees.

“That’s Lagen Island,” says Jake Lindo, the young boat guide, pointing ahead to a string of cabins in the distance, suspended over the turquoise waters of a small lagoon.

This resort on Lagen, one of 45 islands and islets in the environmentally protected area of El Nido, will be my sanctuary for the next two nights, and I find myself delighted at the prospect. For decades I’ve wanted to visit this place, widely acknowledged to be one of the most beautiful destinations in the Philippines and, finally, I’m going to experience it.

As I step ashore, a group of the resort staff are lined up to sing me a welcome and a cool drink is thrust into my hand. “Please, leave only your footprints here and take away only memories,” says one who shows me to my room. It’s a timber-lined, air-conditioned space set against an old-growth rainforest whose trees, vines and leaves loom over the roof. My balcony overlooks the resort’s big freshwater pool and al-fresco dining area, beyond which the lagoon, lined with more bungalows and fringed with mangroves, shimmers in the evening light.

This tropical resort in the north of the big Philippine island of Palawan is every bit as good as I’d hoped it would be. It’s not just the other-worldliness of the environment here that makes it outstanding; the genuine warmth and obligingness of the Filipino staff is a tonic for anyone seeking a break from workaday routine – as I discovered.

In recognition of the value of its ecosystem, the Philippine government declared El Nido to be a protected area in 1998. But, interestingly, it only became internationally renowned as a tourist destination around 1979, when a dive boat broke down one night, forcing the crew to drop anchor in an inlet.

The next day the divers woke to find themselves surrounded by sparkling sea, white beaches “and a series of magnificently sculpted jade islands,” according to one story. Since then it’s gained further recognition thanks to movies and TV shows.

The final scene of the film “Bourne Legacy” was shot here. (Watch the great scene at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWt-pPn5rS0.)

Lagen’s is one of three island resort facilities operated in El Nido by one company, El Nido Resorts. The other two are set on nearby islands Miniloc and Pangulasian.

The food, usually served in buffets in the main restaurant or, on special days, at poolside, is adequate and plentiful, and there’s a terrific spa, with massage services starting at around AUD30. A plethora of activities from scuba diving to kayaking and guided eco-tours are available. For me though, one of the most agreeable was sitting at the poolside bar at dusk, ice cold San Miguel beer in hand, watching the sun sink into the ocean.

From USD250 per person sharing

Like its sister resorts on Miniloc and Pangulasian, Lagen caters for weddings, meetings, team-building and other corporate events, with a minimum two nights’ stay required. The offer starts with the use of the accommodation for two at PhP 22,000.00 (about USD500; ie $250 per person) per night. That includes breakfast, boat transfers and use of the resort’s recreational facilities. For groups, there’s a meetings supplement of PhP 1,200 (about USD30.00) per person, which includes a snack, half-day use of the conference room, coffee and tea and the usual meetings set-up and pads and pencils.

“Room rates are negotiable depending on the size of the group and the travel period,” says Bambi Samson, Director of Sales, “so the supplement may change according to the requirements of the group. Rates are higher from November to May, and promos and special rates are usually offered from June through to October.”

The ideal season for team building, when staff can set up a private beach club” as a corporate playground, is February to May. An ideal size for a group is about 40, adds Bambi, but the resorts can handle more, or facilitate a “buy-out” of each property in its entirety.

The usual direct method of getting to the islands is from Manila on Island Transvoyager Inc (ITI), with El Nido Resorts handling the bookings. It’s a 55-minute flight on a 50-seater ATR aircraft, followed by a boat trip of about an hour to get to the islands. Cost of the travel from Manila: about $100 each way.

Undeniably it takes some effort to get there from abroad and it’s priced at a premium, but El Nido is worth every cent.

For more information, email holiday@elnidoresorts.com or visit www.elnidoresorts.com.

The Siteseer was a paying guest at Lagen Island.