Arizona Losing Convention Business

San Francisco
Where East Meets West

by MARIA LENHART

· There is a place where visitors can browse through Chinese herbal shops, sample rare and fragrant blends fresh from the tea fields of Taiwan, enjoy a bowl of steaming Vietnamese pho, tuck into a platter of spicy Korean barbecued short ribs, wander through galleries of Indonesian art treasures and shop for fashions inspired by Tokyo’s pop art scene—all in the space of a few hours. And it’s not in Asia.

All of these experiences—and many others—are easily available in San Francisco, a place where nearly a third of the population is of Asian descent and where dim sum and tai chi are as much a part of the scene as cable cars and sourdough bread.

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Sponsor

Chaminade Resort & Spa

The Special Chaminade Summer Benchmark Conference Plan (BCP) has rates starting at $279*per person, per day single occupancy. The Benchmark Conference Plan is an all-inclusive, price-per-person plan tailored to your specific needs. The per-person rate includes deluxe guest accommodations, three meals per day in the Sunset Restaurant, continuous refreshment breaks, meeting space, an audiovisual equipment package and service charges.

*Subject to availability and restrictions. Valid for programs consumed between June 1–Aug. 31, 2010, and booked by May 31…so hurry!

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Happenings – San Francisco

· The 400-room San Francisco Marriott Union Square (415.398.8900) opened last year with more than 10,000 square feet of meeting space.

· The Parc 55 Hotel San Francisco (415.392.8000) was branded as a Wyndham property in late April. The new affiliation follows a recently completed $30 million renovation that included expanding the meeting facilities to 30,000 square feet.

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Sponsor

Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Get more for your meeting. Give more to your community. Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Pepsi have teamed up to provide more value for your meeting and an opportunity to give back to your community. Book by July 31, 2010 for a 4 percent credit to the master bill, a complimentary food and beverage break, bonus Starpoints^® and a chance to win one of four $50,000 charitable grants. Valid in destinations like Vancouver, British Columbia, San Francisco and Hawaii.

For more information, click here.

Site Scene

Nevada

· The Peppermill Resort Spa Casino in Reno broke ground in April on a new two-story executive boardroom that will feature individual business hubs at each of the board tables’ 26 seats and a high-tech media and projection suite. With seating for 46 in the boardroom, the first floor will also house a prefunction area. The project is scheduled to be completed this summer. For more information, call 775.826.2121 or visit www.peppermillreno.com.

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Meetings West is now available in digital format!

This month’s issue offers two tasty interviews with Shirley Fong-Torres, who operates San Francisco’s Wok Wiz, a company specializing in walking tours and culinary experiences in Chinatown. Content Director, Features Maria Lenhart chats with Fong-Torres about the history and colorful cultural diversions of Chinatown and then joins her to discuss the finer points of dim sum at a local eatery.

Click here to view our Meetings West digital edition.