Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal

Official RNC Venues Still Waiting for Bookings

Finance and Commerce had a very interesting article yesterday about 45 Minneapolis-St. Paul venues that agreed to be “official” RNC venues almost a year ago, but have yet to see the bookings they expected. The article cites Mall of America, Solera, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Minnesota Centennial Showboat and the River Room restaurant at Macy's in downtown St. Paul as having signed contracts almost a year ago agreeing to hold space for RNC events from Aug. 30-Sept. 4. Now they have fewer events booked than they hoped for and in some cases, none booked at all.

Another interesting feature on the Finance and Commerce Web site is a map showing what venues are rented and who’s renting them. Check back for map updates.

Mall of America photo (right) and Minneapolis Institute of arts photo (left) courtesy of Meet Minneapolis.

--Marni Ginther
Assistant Editor

NY Times Does 36 Hours in Minneapolis-St. Paul

If you read the New York Times travel section you’re familiar with the snappy “36 Hours in (fill in the blank with random city)” features. I suppose the upcoming conventions in Denver and St. Paul were the reason for last week’s 36 Hours in Denver and this week’s 36 Hours in Minneapolis-St. Paul, but even without the convention, I like to think the Twin Cities deserve every word of the article.

The 12-item list of recommendations is fairly generic, (Chambers, Guthrie, the Walker) but a good starter kit for first-time Twin Cities visitors, complete with dining, lodging and entertainment suggestions. And since it’s written by our very own David Carr, (former editor of Twin Cities Reader) the article is grounded in a familiarity that only someone who’s lived here could have. (Not just any reporter flying in on assignment would discover quirky gems like the CC Club and Cedar Lake’s Hidden Beach.) The accompanying slide show offers some nice shots of the cities, like the one pictured here, by Ben Garvin for the New York Times.

—Assistant Editor
Marni Ginther

Under the Radar: the new aloft Minneapolis

Between the W opening two days ago in the Foshay tower and The Hotel Minneapolis opening about a week earlier in the Midland Bank building, the brand new aloft hotel in the Mill District has gotten a little lost in the shuffle. Opened on Aug. 8, aloft is part of the Starwood family and is being marketed as a budget kid sister to the W brand.  (“Budget” as in $169 a night versus the W’s $319.)

We got a tour this morning with Amy Phillips, director of sales and marketing and despite the price point difference, the W feel is still there. With sleek furniture and electric colors tastefully woven into the design it felt (for lack of a better word) Ikea-esque; stripped down to everything you need and nothing you don’t. The welcome desk includes self-service check in/out stations. Instead of a restaurant, there’s “re:fuel,” a cute 24-hour grab ‘n’ go nook (you can’t really call it a cafeteria) offering bagels, muffins, coffee, sandwiches, salads and the like. Instead of a swanky club there’s “w xyz,” a glowing, color-changing bar in the communal lobby area, which itself is called “re:mix.” The complimentary fitness center and modest indoor pool are dubbed “re:charge” and “splash,” respectively. (Noticing the W-like branding of the amenities?) While it doesn’t have the luxury feel of the W, it’s not supposed to. And it seems a heck of a lot more fun than other hotels in its price range. I’d stay there.

The hotel also has a decent sized conference room and a pre-function area and meeting room that can be divided in two or opened up to seat about 90 people in banquet rounds or fewer in a classroom setup.  Unfortunately some of the furniture in these spaces still hadn’t arrived and it was the same situation in the upstairs suite, so they seemed a little lackluster compared to the lobby and bar.

The aloft Minneapolis is only the first of a handful that began opening around the country in June, so it’s a pretty new brand and an interesting concept. Reminds me of when Target partnered with high-end names to bring good design to the masses. It worked for Target, so it will be interesting to see how the current and future aloft locations fare.

If anyone has already stayed at an aloft or plans to, we’d love to hear your take.

—Marni Ginther
Assistant Editor

Photos courtesy of aloft

Association Meetings Survey Says

The latest issue of Association Meetings magazine contains results from its Annual Meeting Attendance Study. Here are some of the interesting findings:

40 percent of respondents expected the attendance at their next annual meeting to increase
38 percent expected it to stay the same

For those who saw an increase in attendance in the past, 55 percent of respondents believed it had to do with choosing a more convenient or attractive location

Nearly half of respondents felt the recent economic downturn had a significant impact on attendance

Interested in giving your input on the current events of the local meetings industry? Take our survey, for planners or vendors, here.

--Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor

Sneak Peek of Hotel Minneapolis' restaurant Max

I went to a rehearsal dinner last night at restaurant Max (yes, the lower-case "r" is intentional), which opens officially this Friday, Aug. 8 inside the new Hotel Minneapolis. It's the latest in a string of high-end hotel/restaurant duos housed in historic buildings that have made their debuts downtown this spring and summer.

Both the restaurant and hotel lobby make interesting use of the historic Midland Bank building's elegant marble columns, walls and floor. Probably the most unique feature is the restaurant's light fixtures, which seem to float overhead like glowing red glass lily pads between the white marble columns. (They're much prettier than in the picture.) The bank vault now stores an extensive wine collection, from which you can choose your own flights. I ordered a 2-ounce sample of the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, fully intending to finish the flight with two more samples. But I loved the grapefruit aroma and fresh crispness of the Kim Crawford so I just ordered a full glass.

Our server was very knowledgeable and super friendly without being intrusive and answered questions about the menu and made good recommendations. We tried the mushroom tart (seasonal mushrooms with boursin cheese and garlic in a puff pastry) the lamb and the "Duck Three Ways" (roasted breast, seared foie gras and paté with three delicious dipping sauces). Desserts were tasty, but nothing super impressive. (Is everyone serving desserts in little shot glasses these days?)

With unique brands like this, the Hotel Ivy with Porter & Frye, the soon-to-open W with Manny's and the aloft hotel, staying in downtown Minneapolis hotels just keeps getting more interesting. In the current economic climate though, do you think it's bad timing for all these higher-end hotels to be opening at once? Sure the RNC will fill up rooms but what's to come after that?

(Photo from restaurant Max Web site.)

-- Marni Ginther
Assistant Editor

Airline Fees Soar

JetBlue recently announced that it will charge $7 for a pillow and blanket on flights, adding to the rising cost of flying. In response Time.com ran an article rating the stingiest airlines. Southwest came out the best, while USAirways ranked last for all its extra fees. Our own Northwest Airlines ranked 6th. The article states that Northwest "Recently increased the fee for making flight changes to $150, to go along with a $15 charge for the first checked bag ($25 for the second). Nonalcoholic drinks and blankets are still free."  Where do you draw the line? Are you willing to pay extra for a soda or pillow?

--Ellie M. Bayrd
Associate Editor

It's Survey Time!

The Fifth Annual State of the Industry Survey is now online. Please take a few minutes (about 10) to complete either the planner's survey or vendor's survey. Your options are valuable to us. We will present our research findings this January in our Winter 2009 issue of Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal.

As a token of our appreciation for your time, those who complete the entire survey will receive $10 off the admission price of our State of the Industry Event held on February 3, 2009, at the Westin Edina Galleria. Your name will also be entered into a drawing sweepstakes for a weekend getaway "up north."

--Ellie M. Bayrd
Associate Editor

Spruce Up for RNC

If you're downtown Minneapolis today between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., take a swing around the Metrodome where you'll find Mayor Rybak, Bloomington Mayor Winstead, Jeff Larson, CEO of MSP Host Committee and other CVB representatives and city leaders up to their elbows in bubbles washing taxis.

Not only an effort to promote cleanliness during the RNC (and beyond), the event promotes the taxi reciprocity program and free training sessions each city will hold in mid-August.

This taxi event is just one part of the metro-wide Spruce Up MSP campaign launched at the end of July. Our city leaders are asking that residents and businesses paint, primp and plant in preparation for our guests arriving at the end of the month. According to the press release on the MSP 2008 Web site:

“The eyes of the nation and the world will soon be upon us and it is time for all of us to do our part to
prepare to host this historic event,” said Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman. “This is a tremendous
opportunity for our cities as well as our residents, who have the opportunity to not only spruce up our area but also to participate in several events that will be held in conjunction with the Convention.”

Individuals who choose to spruce up their homes and businesses will have an opportunity to submit a photo and win a Red Carpet Convention Package that includes a pair of tickets to three of the best parties during the Convention including the media party and the delegate welcome party. To participate in the “Spruced Up” photo contest, people should submit photos of their “spruced up” spaces to photos@msp2008.com. Photos will be judged by a representative from the Host Committee and the cities of Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Bloomington.

Other events and initiatives planned for this month include: Airport clean up, volunteer clean-up day on Aug. 16, handing out of welcome mats and window decals to GoParty Card participants and Mall of America's planting, landscaping and repainting efforts.

So, how will you spruce up?

--Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor

Getting Ready for the RNC

I read this article today on Special Events magazine's Web site about Denver and the Twin Cities gearing up for their respective conventions. The magazine interviewed Charlie Feldbaum of Edina-based Apres Party and Tent Rental. I found it interesting that Apres changed up their Web site to be more welcoming of RNC party planners. Not only is there a big logo on the homepage, the company also has an emergency phone number at the ready. Plus, the company has a call out for temporary workers: people who are willing to make a few extra bucks by helping Apres out with set up, delivery, site management and more during the convention.

It sounds like Apres is taking advantage of a great opportunity, as well as preparing for what could be a long, busy weekend. Are other local vendors out there doing things like this?

--Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor

RNC Update: Watch the Xcel Center Transformation

Complete with groovy music, this time-lapse video shows the first week of the Xcel Energy Center's makeover in preparation for the RNC. Supposedly, weekly video updates will be posted on the Grand Ol' Blog, but right now the most current video they have is of last week's key-passing ceremony and the first few steps of the transformation.
--Marni Ginther
Assistant Editor