Incentive - September 2011

TRAVEL

By Matt Alderton Thousands of hosted buyers and more than a dozen colocated industry events are building anticipation for next month’s show All Eyes on IMEX America The organizer of IMEX America is expecting 1,500 exhibitors, over 2,000 hosted buyers, and thousands of non-hosted attendees at the travel trade show in Las Vegas Oct. 11-13.

Hawaii, Canada, Colorado, San Francisco,
Atlantic City, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami,
San Diego, New York City, New Orleans,
and Washington, DC. Latin American
destination exhibitors will include Mexico,
Argentina, Panama, and Costa Rica, and
exhibitors from Europe will include Austria,
Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, France,
Greece, Ireland, London, Spain,
Switzerland, and Turkey. From
the Asia-Pacific region, Japan,
New Zealand, China, Korea,
Hong Kong, the Philippines, and
Malaysia will exhibit.
Additionally, almost 50 hotel
companies have contracted
out exhibit space at the show,
including InterContinental,
Starwood, Marriott, Carlson,
Shangri-La, Ritz-Carlton, and
Mandarin Oriental.

“The U.S. meetings and events market is the biggest in the world,” says Bloom. “We all know that it has gone through some tough times in recent years, but data from MPI’s Business Barometer confirms a solid recovery has been under way for over a year, with [meetings] attendance and spending surging during that time,” he says. “This is why exhibitors want to come to IMEX America. They want a slice of this incredibly powerful market. The efficiency and reputation of IMEX’s approach and our ability to present large numbers of new and established destinations and suppliers from all over the world make us an extremely strong attraction for buyers.” ■

Ritz-Carlton Is Top Luxe Brand In J.D. Power’s Hotel Survey

The hotel company ranks first in guest satisfaction in areas like rooms and F&B

T he Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. took top honors in the luxury segment of J.D. Power and Associates’ 2011 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, ranking first in every feedback category.

Four Seasons Hotels
and Resorts ranked
second in the luxury seg-
ment, followed by
Broadly, the annual
survey found greater
guest satisfaction levels
with costs and fees. But
there were declines in
other areas of the guest
experience, notably facili-
ties and services.

The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay in California

W Hotels and JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts.

The J.D. Power survey rated hotel companies in eight areas: overall satisfaction, reservations, check-in/check-out, guest rooms, food and beverage, hotel services, facilities, and costs and fees.