There’s something arrrfully shady happening on the hotel high seas. If no one is stationed in the crow’s nest, you might not see them coming. By then it will be too late. Overnight, your ship’s wheel will be taken over, and the next thing you know, you’re sailing toward the Attrition Strait.

I’m talking about pirates. Specifically room block pirates.

Vanessa LaClair, CMP, wrote a great blog entry titled “Case of the Room Block Pirates” for the Social Tables Blog, in which she offers a personal story of encountering pirates and how to fend them off with ease.

“Last week I was checking out the room block details for an event I plan to attend in July, when my phone rings,” wrote LaClair, immediate past president of the MPI Northeastern New York Chapter. “A representative (who I didn’t know) from a company (I didn’t recognize) was calling to tell me that the room block rate had been lowered and that they could get me all signed up—if I would just complete the form they planned to send me via email.”

LaClair says she provided her email address so that she could check out who was calling her.

“Once I received the info, I passed along this story and the form to the people directly involved with planning the event,” she wrote. “Come to find out, this so-called housing company that called me was actually a Room Block Pirate! Have you heard of this? I had seen stories floating around on Facebook recently, but this was the first I had ever been contacted by said Pirate.”

Check out her blog entry for the full story, along with her thoughts on what to consider when booking room blocks. And please let us know in the comments if you’ve ever encountered room block pirates.

And while we’re on the subject of “real” room blocks, be sure to check out the registration page

for the World Education Congress in Las Vegas. The rates at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Main Tower and THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay are now US$150 and $190, respectively.

Las Vegas is more than casinos and shows; it’s also a great place to conduct business (such as the upcoming WEC). That is why the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is working on a $2.5 billion Las Vegas Global Business District.

The LVCVA plans to roll out the district in three stages: major renovations to the Las Vegas Convention Center, leveraging the World Trade Center designation and creating transportation connectivity via a centralized hub.

Concerning the 54-year-old convention center, upgrades will include additional exhibit space, meeting rooms and general session space, as well as upgrades to technology, F&B options and more lobby space. There will be outdoor public gathering spaces, too. 

The Las Vegas Convention Center is also a designated World Trade Center, and the LVCVA plans to leverage that designation by marketing the city to international travelers by building a dedicated World Trade Center facility—in addition to the convention center.

The transportation plan will focus on improved connections in the resort corridor, and the LVCVA is working with local stakeholders on a long-term strategy. 

“I truly believe this is a transformative project,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, LVCVA president/CEO. “Las Vegas is known for defining moments that change the hospitality industry, and this project will be the next defining moment. This is more than a project, this is a vision that will launch Las Vegas forward ahead of the competition for decades to come.”

How excited are you about the upcoming business district? Please let us know in the comments.

Las Vegas—where this year's WEC is being held—welcomed a record 39.7 million visitors in 2012, approximately a half-million more visitors than the previous high of 39.2 million set in 2007. The record visitation generated more than US$40 billion in economic impact for the local economy last year.

The 2012 year-end statistics, released by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), point to continued recovery for Las Vegas tourism with increases in all of the key core indicators.

"The record visitation is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our resort partners and every employee who works in the industry," said Rossi Ralenkotter, president/CEO of the LVCVA. "Tourism is the economic leader for Southern Nevada and the entire state, so we are encouraged to see positive signs of continued growth for the industry. With more than $2 billion of reinvestment in the destination, Las Vegas is well positioned for continued growth in 2013 and on the threshold of hosting more than 40 million visitors."

Other highlights include

• Compared to 2011, visitor volume increased 2.1 percent in 2012 with approximately 800,000 more guests, allowing the destination to reach 39.7 million annual visitors.
• Gradual improvement in the meeting and convention industry with 4.9 million delegates attending a convention, trade show or meeting in 2012, reflecting a 1.6 percent increase over last year. This is the highest convention attendance in four years.
• Las Vegas hosted 21,615 meetings, tradeshows or conventions in 2012, up 13.6 percent from the 2011 total of 19,029. The 2012 total is the highest number of meetings and conventions held in Las Vegas since 2008.
• Average citywide occupancy was up 0.6 percentage points to 84.4 percent for 2012. Las Vegas’ citywide occupancy is 23 percentage points higher than the national average of 61.4 percent. With industry-leading occupancy of 84.4 percent for its 150,481 rooms, Las Vegas fills more rooms per night on average than any destination in North America. 

Another positive indicator for Southern Nevada’s tourism industry is the addition of nearly 23,000 jobs in the resort-industry since the recessionary low in November 2009. Tourism supports 370,000 jobs, or 46 percent of all the local jobs.

Additional information regarding Las Vegas 2012 visitors will be available later this spring when the LVCVA releases its annual "Visitor Profile Study," detailing visitor trends, attitudes, behaviors and spending habits while visiting the destination. 

Congratulations to 2011 winner of The Big Deal, Eli Gorin, who thrived at the official World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

Courtesy of Caesars Entertainment, Gorin earned a WSOP seat valued at $10,000, as well as hotel and travel accommodations for two, by virtue of winning the MPI Foundation’s The Big Deal poker tournament last year.

Gorin and his wife, Johanna, were escorted by a limo and a Las Vegas showgirl to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, where Gorin also had the opportunity to meet Jack Effel, the official WSOP tournament director who also calls the shots at The Big Deal.

With only 15 minutes left on the clock on the first day of the tournament, Gorin—wearing his MPI Foundation shirt, hat and hoodie and playing against competitors who started the tournament with $30,000 in chips—took his remaining $5,100 in chips and went all in, proceeding to beat his entire table and earning $17,000 in chips. He continued playing on day two of the Main Event, finally bowing out of the tournament nearly two hours into his second day.

“Not sure HOW I did it, but after 12+ hours of play I managed to survive to move on to another day,” Gorin said at the end of his first day. “I want to really thank the MPI Foundation team, Steven Van Der Molen and the amazing team at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Caesars Entertainment and Freddie Onsaga and Encore Productions for being amazingly gracious hosts and sponsors of what has been one of the greatest experiences of my life! I am looking forward to defending my Big Deal title in St. Louis, so I hope to see a lot of you there... and get ready to bring your A games!"

Click here to learn all about the 2012 edition of The Big Deal, which will be held later this month at the WEC in St. Louis.

In 1992, a plan to construct a full-scale replica Star Trek's Enterprise on the Vegas Strip was scrapped, Gary Goddard of the Goddard Group shared online, complete with artist renderings of the anticipated scene.

The US$150 million project did not take off, however. Anthony Pascale from TrekMovie.com shares some insight:

...the Enterprise would have a tour of the ship with all the key areas, plus a restaurant in the crew mess, and there were ride elements including a "high-speed travelator that would whisk you from deck to deck." They also planned to develop additional attractions as the project went on.

Discussion of the economics of the project appear sound--it just didn't make sense to invest that much in the franchise in such a permanent manner--but such a sight would surely have been a welcome addition to the skyline.

OMG! Everyone freak out! It's CES Tuesday!

For the past 45 years, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has highlighted the most innovative, must-have tech essentials while providing the mainstream a glimpse at the clear value of trade shows.

As I've eluciaded for the past few years, trade shows are having a hard time. Yet, they're not dying; they're changing fundamentally.

Consider CES, a hardy event, but this year the show is moving forward with fewer major news announcements onsite. The show is also losing some anchor exhibitors such as Microsoft (2012 will be their last CES exhibition and the company will no longer deliver the opening night keynote).

So what of this "Tech Show Loses Clout" headline over at The New York Times?

“For the larger guys, the show has become less important,” said Phil McKinney, who retired recently as the chief technology officer for the computer division at Hewlett-Packard, which stopped having a booth at the show in 2009. “The challenge for C.E.S. is when you start losing more and more of these anchor-type brands, does it cause a tipping point?”

[CES] was expecting more than 2,700 exhibitors at this week’s event, compared with 2,800 the year before, although it does not have a final number yet because it is still selling space. Attendance for the show last year was more than 149,000, but it’s too soon to tell whether this year will exceed that figure. Some companies that have stopped exhibiting on the floor still hold private meetings at the event because so many people attend it. [emphasis added]

C.E.S. has no rival in its ability to attract top-tier executives in the tech industry, media, retailers and others from the around the world. “C.E.S. is the dominant show in consumer technology by any measure,” Gary Shapiro, CES head, said.

It would be easy to declare trade shows dead, when viewing this single story through myoptic lenses. But see, in bold, the evolving trade shop is now being used as a centerpiece for related industry events.

Follow CES 2012 news on Twitter!

Image: (CC) LGEPR

It's the last day here at IMEX America. Curious how the show went for those in attendance and exhibiting? I have an answer for you in the video below.

Wednesday at IMEX America, Ceasars Entertainment Corporation announced a company-wide consolidation of meetings business that gives planners simplified access to 38 properties owned by Caesars in the U.S.

The plan changes the company's sales structure placing reps in metro areas around the country so they are closer to customers. These in-market sales managers will be decision makers who can work one-on-one with clients to understand their unique needs and objectives. That sales manager will be the planner's dedicated sales contact for every booking with Caesars, not matter which property or properties are involved.

"This is really about making the process as simple and convenient as possible for our customers," said Michael Massari, senior vice president. "We are confident these changes—particularly the unification of our sales and services teams across our properties—will lead to increased satisfaction and success for our customers."

It's also important to note that benefits originally introduced under the Las Vegas Meetings by Caesars Entertainment brand will be extended to these 38 properties as well. These benefits include the popular Meeting Diamond and Alternative Venues programs as well as the ability to mix and match properties and venues within a destination with a single contract.

Additionally, planners can still benefit from the Total Rewards Meetings & Events program—a fully-integrated extension of the company's award-winning Total Rewards loyalty program that allows meeting and event planners to earn Reward Credits for meetings held at any Caesars Entertainment property and redeem those credits for future programs or for individual rewards.

When the first edition of IMEX America opens its doors at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas on Oct.11, 2011, the trade show will be the largest this year—and the biggest U.S. hosted buyer event ever—to address the business, networking and educational needs of the U.S. meeting, incentive travel and event industry.

“We have spent almost two years communicating why the IMEX business model is different and precisely how and why it will benefit the meetings industry in the U.S. Business is at the heart of everything we do and the reason why we launched IMEX America in the first place. We believed that the U.S. needed a fresh trade show format, and I have every confidence that IMEX America will now deliver—on business volumes, buyer quality and numbers and exhibitor numbers and diversity,” said IMEX Chairman Ray Bloom. “What is more, with the help of our strategic partner and premier education provider, Meeting Professionals International, our education program is second to none. With unparalleled industry support, we’ve also been able to deliver an extraordinary 14 co-located trade association events. I’m confident that the sum of the parts is going to be greater than the whole, and I urge everyone in the meetings, events and incentive travel to come to Vegas and experience ‘the IMEX effect’ on their business goals for themselves."

Bruce MacMillan, president and CEO of MPI, says the association is excited to see IMEX come to life in Las Vegas. 

“We look forward to connecting with thousands of professionals through our innovative education programs and keynotes each day," MacMillan said. "We’re confident that attendees will find inspiring ideas they can act on at the show and throughout their careers—which is exactly the remarkable professional development MPI consistently delivers.”

There are currently more than 1,800 exhibitors representing 100 countries now affirmed and more than 90 live educational events confirmed.

A Rod Stewart show was my first concert. He performed at Starplex in Dallas, and he opened the show by leading a line of bagpipe players around the venue. He's my mom's favorite performer, and that's why I was there. I really wanted to go to the New Order show the next night, but I wasn't allowed. Rod Stewart—perfectly fine in her eyes. 

If you're a fan of this talented troubadour—and you're in Las Vegas Aug. 27-Sept. 11 or Nov. 3-20—you can see him, too. Stewart has a new Vegas residency and it starts with 18 shows at The Colosseum Caesars Palace. Called "Rod Stewart: The Hits," it will feature such classics as "Maggie May," "You Wear it Well," "Hot Legs," and "Some Guys Have All the Luck" along with rare tracks and covers. The shows will be intimate, with no fan more than 120 feet from the stage. 

Now you're probably in the mood for some Rod Stewart. We have you covered. Here's a playlist featuring 10 of his hit songs.