Meeting Community

  • Vancouver Convention Centre Starts 2021 on High Note

    2021/01/25

    The Vancouver Convention Centre has earned the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) Star accreditation for outbreak prevention, response and recovery, and been awarded the 2020 Clean Air Award by the National Air Filtration Association (NAFA). Administered by GBAC, a division of the worldwide cleaning industry association ISSA, GBAC Star provides third-party validation that public facilities have rigorous protocols in place for thorough response to biorisk situations. With the events venue’s achievement, all of B.C. Pavilion Corp.’s (PavCo) facilities have earned the…

  • Toronto Hotel Debuts Fresh Look after Multi-Million Dollar Renovation

    2021/01/25

    The Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport reopened its doors Jan. 11, after completing a $20 million renovation. The transformation marks a new beginning for the hotel, which looks forward to hosting conferences and meetings when the need resumes. “The hotel is one of the largest airport hotels in the market and now the most modern,” says Sukhdev Toor, president of Manga Hotels, which owns and operates the Crowne Plaza. “The renovation and undertaking of this new look and design was extensive…

  • MMBC’s New Video Series Addresses Advocacy Work and Initiatives

    2021/01/25

    Meetings Mean Business Canada (MMBC) started the year with a new video series outlining its key activities for the first quarter of 2021. The first video, featuring chair Clark Grue, addresses the coalition’s advocacy work and provincial initiatives. Grue explains MMBC will continue to advance the following messaging to all levels of government: face-to-face events bring business leaders together to create transactional opportunities that drive the economy, jobs and other growth opportunities; and the business events sector has decades of…

  • Hilton Introduces Hybrid Solutions for Meetings and Events

    2021/01/25

    Hilton has introduced a set of hybrid solutions to address the dramatic shift away from in-person meetings and events during the pandemic. The new offerings, which will continue to evolve alongside customer needs, direct event planners to Hilton’s hybrid-ready hotels while also providing them with additional resources, including an expanded ‘playbook’ with in-depth information on planning and executing small hybrid events and flexible customer offers for a more seamless contract experience. “Hilton has remained a leader in the meetings and…

  • New App Adds Real-Time Language Translation to Any Virtual Event Platform

    2021/01/25

    Interprefy has launched a desktop app that allows real-time interpreting to be added to any virtual meeting and event. “The new normal of connecting remotely offers an unprecedented opportunity for event organizers to attract a wider and more diverse audience, and to democratize access to the conversation by offering a truly multilingual experience where everybody listens and speaks in a language they’re proficient in,” says Interprefy CEO, Annett Polaszewski-Plath. Interprefy Select can be used on any live streaming platform, including…

  • Landlords of Vacant Sites Offer to Help Canadian Vaccination Efforts

    2021/01/25

    Prominent commercial landlords are offering free space in conference centres, hotels and other well-located sites across Canada to accommodate COVID-19 vaccination clinics and related support services. The newly announced initiative, coordinated through the industry association REALPAC, is an effort to replicate the United Kingdom’s uptake of commercial venues into its national network of vaccine dispensaries. “REALPAC members are keen to work with the government to repurpose their unused spaces to function as vaccination sites or storage spaces for vaccines, essential…

  • Marriott Offers COVID-19 Testing for Group Meetings

    2021/01/11

    As part of ongoing steps to help instil confidence for meeting professionals and attendees, Marriott International has introduced optional COVID-19 testing. Tests can be self-administered by guests prior to travel or administered by a third-party provider on-site at the hotel. The initiative builds upon health protocols already in place as part of the recent launch of Connect with Confidence, a program empowering meeting professionals to identify and tailor solutions that best meet the needs of their attendees. “We engaged industry-leading…

  • Canadian City Ranks First Worldwide for Best Performing Hotels

    2021/01/11

    Montreal’s hotels are the best performing at a city level in terms of their carbon footprint. This is according to the 2020 Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking (CHSB) index — the hotel industry’s largest annual benchmarking of energy, water and carbon. In contrast, Abu Dhabi ranked the highest among cities, with the average hotel emitting more than 250 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions per square metre. Overall, the average carbon footprint of a hotel stay is down 10 per cent since…

  • Collaboration and Consolidation among Top Trends for Business Events

    2021/01/11

    Strong industry-wide collaboration to raise the profile of meetings and events will continue in 2021. This is one of the predictions made by the Hotel Booking Agency Association (HBAA). Market and business recovery, the rise of virtual and hybrid events, and the importance of mental health and sustainability are among other items forecasted. The association expects recovery will begin in Q2, at the very earliest, and agencies that haven’t reduced their costs and/or failed to secure new areas of revenue…

  • Sign Association Board Votes on 2021 Show

    2021/01/11

    The Sign Association of Canada (SAC) has cancelled its 2021 expo due to fallout from COVID-19. “Acknowledging the large financial commitment required to hold and participate in SAC’s Sign Expo Canada, combined with the current restrictions on travel, the continuing pandemic and the related economic uncertainties, the board decided to cancel the 2021 show,” the association said in an official press release. “The board has opted to focus the organization’s time and resources into providing programs and services that can…

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