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Joanne Ferguson-Twiste Elected President-Elect of The Contact DMC Group
Ferguson-Twiste was elected President-Elect at The Contact DMC Group’s Annual Meeting in Chicago last September. The Contact DMC Group is a consortium of destination and meeting management companies in North America dedicated to providing the highest level of quality and service in the DMC arena. Members must go through a rigorous application process before being accepted, one that goes beyond size and tenure. Staff training, service professionalism, local and national client references are all necessary requirements; additionally CONTACT members must re-qualify every year. Travel Services, Inc. has been a member of the consortium since January 2008. For more information, or to learn about some of our other member DMCs, go to www.contactdmcgroup.com.
Morgans Comes to Puerto Rico
Morgans Hotel Group Co. has assumed management of the San Juan Water and Beach Club Hotel, a 78-room beachfront hotel in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. Among other awards, San Juan Water and Beach Club Hotel has been listed on Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List as one of the “World’s Best Places To Stay” and has been number three on Condé Nast Traveler’s top ten list of Caribbean/Atlantic hotels. The owners intend to obtain development rights to build a Morgans branded hotel including a 30,000 square foot casino.
“San Juan Water and Beach Club Hotel has great potential. It’s housed in a unique art deco building and sits on a beautiful strip of beach,” said Marc Gordon, Chief Investment Office of Morgans Hotel Group. “This deal will allow Morgans to generate income immediately while the owners put together the development to convert the project into a Morgans hotel.”
San Juan Water and Beach Club Hotel will remain open and operating as an independent hotel until it ultimately becomes a Morgans Hotel Group branded property. “We are excited to have a presence in this coveted destination and to have the opportunity to impact the success of San Juan Water and Beach Club Hotel through our leadership and management expertise,” said Fred Kleisner, Chief Executive Officer of Morgans Hotel Group.
Feel the ‘Vibe’ at the Newly Branded Verdanza Hotel
At 11:59pm on December 3rd, the Holiday Inn San Juan in Isla Verde became the Verdanza Hotel, a member of the Summit Hotels & Resorts collection of Preferred Hotel Group. “The Verdanza guest will be one who wants to sense the pulse of San Juan, experience a feeling of belonging,” said Ricky Newman, general manager. With unique touches such as serving fruit-flavored Puerto Rican ices (called “limber”) upon check-in, and offering pedal cabs (think rickshaws) to beautiful Isla Verde beach right down the street, they stand out in a class of their own.
Located steps from the beach in the Isla Verde tourism district, the property has 222 rooms with 20 suites, three restaurants, a pastry shop, and more than 15,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space. The individualized design and service philosophy of the new Verdanza Hotel has earned it acceptance to Summit Hotels & Resorts, a collection of more than 150 independent properties worldwide. Like Verdanza Hotel, each property in the Summit collection, from historic urban hotels to beach resorts, articulates a genuine sense of its location.
The Destination Wedding of the Year – for Travel Services, Inc.
You may have noticed a small change in Joanne Ferguson’s name, a happy byproduct of her recent wedding in October. The ceremony, reception and dinner were all held at the beautiful Hacienda Siesta Alegre, a private horse ranch home that Travel Services has used for several years for unforgettable corporate and incentive dinner parties - and also Puerto Rico's perfect wedding venue. Stateside guests were treated royally at the nearby Wyndham Rio Mar for a weekend of fun and fellowship, including a great "getting to know you" ice breaker outing on the first day aboard the legendary Catamaran Spread Eagle II.
The St. Regis Bahía Beach Resort
Opening on October 1st, 2010, The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort will offer breathtaking views of the sparkling sea to the north and the mountainous El Yunque National Rainforest to the south. The $172 million resort will feature 139 luxurious guest rooms and suites with spectacular ocean views, 25 Residences, the iconic St. Regis Butler Service, a world-class Remèdesm Spa, oceanfront swimming pools, 120-seat restaurant by renowned Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and a recently opened 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., marking the island’s foray into the five-star-luxury market with its inauguration. Combined with the Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel & Casino which opened in November 2009, and the W Retreat & Spa- Vieques opening in February 2010, the St. Regis Bahía Beach Resort will make three new Starwood Hotels properties joining the Puerto Rico catalog of hotels and resorts.
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