Leading association management company MCI has entered into a new collaboration with the IMEX Group and MPI to support the Future Leaders Forum (FLF). The global FLF program is an initiative designed to encourage the best and brightest students to enter the meeting and incentive travel industry by offering education days, networking opportunities and internships.

To mark MCI’s involvement, the initiative has been renamed the IMEX-MPI-MCI Future Leaders Forum and will also be promoted with new branding.

The FLF consists of a series of special events hosted around the globe. In 2012, locations include Honduras, Korea, China, Australia, Poland and Thailand. Around 900 students participated in the program in 2011, and around 5,100 students have now gone through an FLF since its launch in 2003. 90 percent of them have stated they are "more likely to enter the industry as a result of attending the Future Leaders Forum."

Westin Hotels & Resorts has announced a complete refresh of the WestinWORKOUT program to "match the evolving fitness trends among guests and further enhance the brand’s goal of promoting well-being in travel."  After conducting in-depth guest research and monitoring workout trends, Westin is transforming fitness facilities at its 186 hotels around the world into highly designed fitness studios featuring new equipment, blue-light therapy and more. The new fitness studios will roll out globally throughout 2012.

Floor Space. Westin’s in-house design team studied guest behavior and found that the Westin guest desires a more well-rounded, holistic fitness experience, including more options for stretching, yoga and fitness classes. To capitalize on this trend, Westin chose to remove select pieces of equipment that guests were not using as frequently in order to provide more floor space for these types of activities. Finally, versatile pulley machines were added to smaller fitness studios to further maximize space and provide a greater range of workout options.

Customized Lighting. Westin worked with Philips to create ideal lighting for the re-designed fitness studios and is the first hotel brand to introduce ActiViva Lighting, Philips’ new energizing fluorescent lighting, into its gym facilities. This cutting-edge blue light technology positively influences well-being and will help to make guests feel more alert, awake and energized in target workout areas such as the cardio zone. Additionally, the lighting will be customized in all workout zones to coincide with the type of exercise taking place in each specific area.

Design Aesthetic. The custom-created design of Westin’s new fitness studio, a departure from the typical gym aesthetic, was also driven by the changing trends of how people work out. Instead of black rubber floors, the design team chose to use a natural, soft-tone color palette and organic materials including textural woven flooring. Inspired by nature, each fitness studio will also display a full-size art mural entitled “Step Up” – a reflective image of people running up a grassy hill, illustrating Westin’s goal of helping guests leave feeling better than when they arrived. A built-in entry millwork unit was also added in order to house guests’ essentials, such as towels and water, in one place.

Westin’s Elements of Well-Being. The global launch of the new fitness studios joins a host of well-being initiatives recently introduced by Westin Hotels & Resorts. Most recently, Westin launched a brand-wide Associate Enrichment program, introducing the brand’s “Elements of Well Being Platform” to its associates around the world through key touch points. In May 2011, the brand unveiled its groundbreaking “For a Better You” ad campaign that uses artistic imagery to depict the “Elements of Well Being” that help Westin guests leave feeling better than when they arrived. In December 2010, Westin announced an exclusive partnership with New Balance, helping hotel guests overcome the hurdles of exercising on the road by providing New Balance footwear, apparel and fitness program content to its guests to borrow. Later this year, the brand will also be expanding its in-room SuperFoodsRX menu items for breakfast to also include lunch and dinner options.

Three U.S. hospitality giants have agreed to donate $1 million each to Brand USA, which promoting the U.S. to international travelers. Marriott International, the Walt Disney Company and Best Western International have each committed to investing $1 million in cash—along with in-kind commitments. The contributions are especially significant because in FY2012 the federal government will match private sector contributions two-to-one, which means these investments will yield $21 million in new funds for Brand USA's growing marketing budget. 

The investments will be used to fund advertising, new media marketing, in-country representation, international trade show presence and other forms of marketing to international travelers. The funding will also be used to build sponsorship and cooperative marketing opportunities that will ensure a long-term source of revenue for Brand USA. After FY2012, the private sector is required by law to fund at least 50 percent of its overall budget. 

"Recently President Obama called for a national travel and tourism strategy to attract more international visitors, and Brand USA is a major pillar of that," Brand USA CEO Jim Evans said. "This is more than an investment in a marketing program—it is an investment in job creation and economic growth for hundreds of visitor destinations across America."  

The announcement follows dozens of financial commitments that have been received to date from other businesses, destinations and even individuals across the country.   

"We are well on our way to reaching and exceeding our target of $100 million in FY12," said Evans. "Brand USA already has great momentum, which will ensure a strong budget for the global marketing campaign we are preparing to launch in April."

Have you ever wondered why certain companies and organizations have success regardless of the world economic situation or leadership change, etc? Take Apple, for instance. In the past 12 months, the company has not only dealt with the loss of their beloved CEO, but have weathered the economic storm as well to sell more than 25 million iPads a year and growing.

So, what is the common thread with companies like Apple that we in the meetings and event industry can learn from?

Organization expert Lotta Wiström (pictured) of Sweden says it is vision that drives these companies to success. They focus strongly on the what, the how and, most importantly, the WHY elements of making their business successful, and they are thinking five to 10 years down the road.

"By vision I do not mean a single line or payoff note, but a true picture that we all in the company share and live by," Wiström told One+ on Tuesday at EMEC 2012. "I would say that the companies we work with are very clear about the WHAT and the HOW but are often missing the most important thing: the WHY. People, and in general the future workforce, are not interested in working with our companies if it's not announced WHY we are doing what we are doing."

Another important aspect of their success, Wiström says, is the ability of the leadership of these companies to follow core values.

"We have to understand that the leadership in these companies, in general, is based on values and not rules and regulations, and that is also a big change as we can see it. This means that as an owner, leader, boss, CEO or whatever you choose to call yourself, you have to build relations. The key is commitment and relations."

A large part of business success in the next decade will obviously come from the Gen Y sector, who are currently considered the rookies in the meeting and event industry. Wiström cautions us to take a strong look at what this group can offer any business.

"In only eight years from now they will be 50 percent of the total workforce in the world, so that is one really good reason to involve them in what we do now," she said. "They are not afraid of testing boundaries and looking for new solutions, and that is also one of the things we need to do so we stay on the edge of developing our businesses. Among those in Gen Y you will find even more loyal co-workers and colleagues than you have now! Exciting – don't you think?!"

MPI Atlantic Canada member Peter Skakum, president of Tangent Strategies and Skakum School of Selling, is leading a charge to help ease the pressure off salespeople.

Skakum recognizes the stress that members of the world’s second-oldest profession put on themselves day-in and day-out, which is why he has created the first-ever International HUG a Salesperson Month for March this year.

“In preparation for and in celebration of this event, salespeople the world over will become the targets of positive attention. An armistice between buyer and seller will pervade and used car salesmen, the dubious icons of professional selling, shall be removed,” Skakum said in a statement. “International HUG a Salesperson Month shall usher in a new era of evolved selling, globally … an era of mutual respect and admiration between buyer and seller that proudly replaces the outdated, timeworn selling stereotypes with the image of ‘trusted advisor’ in the true spirit of alliance.”

It’s easily one the simplest forms of appreciation those who benefit from salespeople can give to those on the frontlines in charge trying to keep economies and business afloat.

A new golf course and two new restaurants await visitors to the CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa.

2012 sees the Rendezvous Bay, Anguilla, property debut foodie delights Italia and Tokyo Bay. Links fans will see a new, $50 million Greg Norman-designed course.

Perfect for small groups, the resort has a handful of meeting spaces--the largest offering 2,500 and 4,000 square feet of intimate space.

Run down? Need to stretch after 2 hours crammed in economy?

Do yoga at the airport.

Yup, your next layover at the San Francisco International Airport could be much more relaxing thanks to the venu's newly unveiled yoga room, Reuters reports. Low lights, soft colors. The perfect room to decompress.

Airport Director John L. Martin called the room, which opened last week, "another leap forward in providing our travelers the opportunity and space to relax and decompress on their own terms."

Planners, can you imagine having a more perfect quiet room to allow you to slip away for 5 minutes, breathe and stretch? Hold your next event at the airport and maybe you can work private yoga room access into the deal.

Thumbnail (CC) Tom Mooring not actually at the airport :)

Guests of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts city properties will now have gratis access to a dedicated, 24-hour Fragrance Butler.

Guests can borrow from a selection of the finest perfumes and colognes, eliminating the hassle of packing yet another liquid. From the moment they check in, guests can ring the Fragrance Butler at any time, and the butler will appear at their door, carrying a silver tray with 10 luxurious fragrances for guests' use.

Embracing the company's "A Sense of Place" philosophy, reflecting the sensibilities of the destinations, each of Rosewood's city properties will feature a unique Fragrance Menu distinct to its location. From Hermes Eau des Mervailles at The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel in New York to Givenchy Dahlia Noir at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas to Tom Ford Black Orchid at Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver, the fragrance menus at each property will suit the nature of the city in which the guest is traveling.

Australia’s newest convention venue – Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) on Grey Street – has debuted a five-level, $140m boutique expansion, one year after the centre reopened for business following severe floods. 

With its first events commencing in mid-February, the BCEC on Grey Street is already holding bookings for 292 events and has confirmed conventions to date that will generate in excess of $70m in economic benefit to Brisbane and Queensland.

With the completion of the 25,000-square-metre (270,000-square-foot) development, the centre is now equal in size to Australia’s largest convention venue, and based on enquires is forecasting a minimum additional 300 events on top of the 1,000 events it hosts annually.

I've had a Rubik's Cube since I was about 12 years old. Know how many times I've solved it? Zero. It has sat in a drawer for most of its life and when I do get it out and give it one more try, I usually battle it for an hour or so and put it back in the drawer. In all of my moves around the U.S. I have always seen a need to pack it and take it with me (I guess in the back of my mind I think I'll come up with the solution one day).

So, you are asking, that's great (sad, but great) David, but what does that have to do with meetings and events? Well . . . more than you might think. I learned last night at the Opening Reception of the European Meeting and Event Conference 2012 in Budapest, Hungary (where the Rubik's Cube was born in 1974), the reason most people don't solve the cube is that they always approach the problem the same way. You have to be nimble to solve it. You have to think in innovative ways that get you to a common goal.

At last night's reception, there were two "cube experts" who could pick up a jumbled (by someone else) cube and solve it in under 20 seconds. Every single time. I stood there and watched them do it over and over and over again. It was absolutely amazing. I am sure that Ernö Rubik is more than proud that his invention has not only become a global mind-game sensation, but also has expanded the thinking patterns of the great thinkers of our age . . . and now, the meeting and event professionals who are striving to take our industry to the next level.

Photo (C) Gyula Szaffner, Budapest, Hungary