Programs & Packages
- Florida’s Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa is inviting groups to celebrate the upcoming holidays with a variety of full-service offerings and incentives. Groups can organize customizable holiday parties with options of festive decor, a 10 percent discount on themed menus and signature cocktails, and a complimentary raffle prize valued at $500. Planners booking a party of 40 or more will receive their choice of a complimentary night stay or a champagne toast. For more information, call 850.267.9600 or visit www.hiltonsandestinbeach.com.
- Four Points by Sheraton is offering its most popular amenities free of charge. The new Four For Free promotion bundles together the most in-demand amenities for groups. Available at participating hotels in North America for booking now through Dec. 31, the Four For Free offer includes complimentary Wi-Fi in guest rooms, one full American breakfast per night, one appetizer per room and free bottled water. For more information, visit www.fourpoints.com/fourfree.
- Virginia’s Lansdowne Resort added a Re-Tee for Free golf deal to its golf and spa package menu, running through November. The resort’s 45 holes of championship golf are now available as an all-you-can play golf package, allowing attendees unlimited play during their stay, while saving 50 percent. The package also includes the use of a golf cart and clubs, if requested. For more information, call 877.509.8400 or visit lansdowneresort.com.
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport launched a program integrating the Foursquare and Facebook Places location-based mobile applications with the airport’s concessions offerings. Customers who check in via social networking at any of DFW’s five passenger terminals will have access to special concessions deals and discounts offered within a few yards of their location. DFW passengers can redeem offers at 85 different concessions locations. The program works on any smartphone platform supported by Foursquare and Facebook, including Apple iOS, Blackberry, Android and Palm. For more information, call 972.973.8888 or visit www.dfwairport.com.
Destination Dispatch
- Galveston, Texas, has many sites that are considered haunted, but this year it introduced a new attraction housed in an 1867 building that served as a morgue after the deadly 1900 Storm that killed an estimated 8,000 Galveston residents. Haunted Mayfield Manor, which opened in late September, will be a year-round haunted house, embracing the spooky history of the building’s past. Groups can visit the site or take an organized ghost tour with the Galveston Historical Foundation, which manages many of the island’s historical sites and Victorian mansions. For more information, call 409.765.7834 or visit http://galvestonhistory.org.
- Tennessee recently introduced its Pie in the Sky Trail, the seventh of 16 self-guided driving tours in the Discover Tennessee Trails & Byways program. The trail spans 363 miles throughout east and portions of central Tennessee and leads travelers to iconic destinations such as Lookout Mountain, the Cumberland Plateau in Monteagle and to Fall Creek Falls State Park and the Sequatchie Valley. Although the trail officially begins at the Chattanooga Visitors Center, visitors can choose to begin their journey at any site along the path. Attendees can visit three Tennessee state parks and more than 30 Civil War sites along the trail, as well as 129 cultural sites. For more information, call 800.462.8366 or visit www.tntrailsandbyways.com.
New Releases
- Saving Green by Going Green, an industry workbook for planning sustainable meetings, was recently released. Published by MeetGreen and authored by Meetings Focus columnist Nancy J. Zavada, Amy Spatrisano and Shawna McKinley, the workbook guides planners on how to save time, money and keep in line with sustainability practices. The book includes forms, checklists and vendor requests to assist planners in making and measuring sustainable choices while simultaneously cutting costs. For more information, call 503.252.5458 or visit www.meetgreen.com.
- For groups looking for a bocce ball experience without being near a court, BocceNation.com offers full-service and self-service event options for corporate functions. Game formats are chosen to highlight networking, team building, competitions or leisure play. Typical formats involve timed rounds of 20 to 30 minutes. BocceNation.com provides the portable bocce courts and equipment along with formats, staffing, organization and awards. For more information, call 561.983.6990 or visit www.boccenation.com.