The Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg renovated all 156 guest rooms and suites in 2008 which now feature espresso machines, flat screen HDTVs, DVD players, iPod Docking Stations, free Internet access and free video on demand. Meeting facilities at this luxurious hotel include five beautiful salons, each of which connects to an adjoining private room that can be used for breaks and receptions. The largest function room, Grosser Festsaal, accommodates 500 for a reception. Plus, the Alster Salon, which overlooks Inner Alster Lake, is available for meetings and dinner for 12 persons. Vier Jahreszeiten’s eight unique restaurants include the Haerlin, a Michelin Star restaurant that serves French cuisine. The hotel’s expert catering team will service both on-site and off-site events.

E-mail: RFP.HVJ@fairmont.com

Website: www.fairmont.com

The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) is the greenest conference center in Scotland and the center is the first purpose built congress venue to achieve a Gold Award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS). The Green Tourism Business Scheme’s auditors’ report states, “The Centre provides a quality of experience second to none in Scotland for conferencing with a strong green ethos. It is a pioneer in green meetings and if its example is followed by others, Edinburgh has great potential to become the greenest business tourism destination in the world”.

The EICC features a program called ‘Plan-It Green’, which assists conference planners in creating green events. Event space at the EICC consists of over 20 rooms of flexible space with an auditorium that accommodates 1,200 and over 1,000 sqm/10,764 sqft of exhibition space.

E-mail: sales@eicc.co.uk

Website: www.eicc.co.uk

Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ W brand will open a property in Paris in 2011. The W Paris-Opéra will occupy an elegant 1870’s Haussmann era building in the Opéra area of Paris close to famous monuments, Galleries Lafayette, designer boutiques, restaurants, nightlife and cafés.

The property will feature W’s signature amenities such as the W Living Room experience, W "Munchie Box" (the brand’s version of the hotel mini-bar) and Whatever/Whenever® concierge service.

There will be 90 guest rooms and suites decorated with custom-made furnishings. All guest rooms will be outfitted with the latest technology and the most advanced in-room entertainment systems in the industry. A full-service, 24-hour, WIRED business center and ultra-modern meeting and event space will be available.

Website: www.whotels.com

The Hotel Martinez, which is located in the ‘international cinema capital’ of Cannes, France, received the Five Star Diamond Award for the second year in a row at The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences ceremony last December. The hotel is part of the elite group of 110 luxury hotels that have won the Five Star Diamond Award. Palme d’Or, the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant, also received the Five Star Diamond Award and restaurant chef, Christian Sinicropi, received a personal award for his culinary flare. The hotel’s general manager, Richard Schilling, was also recognized as one of the top hoteliers in the industry. The property features 412 guest rooms and suites. For events, 15 luxurious salons accommodate 50 to 1,000 attendees. Event space is outfitted with sound and projection systems, plasma screens, Internet links, video- conferencing and simultaneous translation.

Website: www.hotel-martinez.com/en

Despite a strong Euro and the international economic situation, Berlin had a record number of visitors in 2008. The MICE sector reported record numbers hosting 104,600 meetings and events for about 8.15 million attendees with a total of 4.7 million overnights.

Berlin Tourism Marketing’s new CEO Burkhard Kieker said, “We are thrilled to report such positive results. While London and Paris suffered double-digit decreases, Berlin’s very competitive hotel rates and overall unbeatable value kept attracting visitors from Europe as well as overseas.”

Average hotel rates for 4 and 5-Star properties were at around 138 Euro, which is less than half of what visitors are paying on average in London or Paris.

This year, events related to the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall are expected to generate extra interest in Berlin and hopefully keep visitor numbers stable at the 2008 levels.

Websites: www.visitBerlin.de and www.visitBerlin.TV

The Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) will open in 2011. The QNCC will be located in west Doha in an area known as Education City that is home to the Qatar Science & Technology Park and six universities. The QNCC will feature a multi-purpose hall that seats 4,000 theater style, a 2,300 seated three-tier auditorium and an additional 57 flexible meeting rooms to accommodate a wide range of events. Flexible exhibition space will comprise nine halls of 40,000 sqm/430,556 sqft, which can be adapted to cater for 10,000 attendees for a conference or a banquet.

The Centre recently won the business to host the 2011 World Petroleum Congress and the 2012 Universal Postal Union Congress.

Email: sales@qatarconvention.com

Website: www.qatarconvention.com

This year, Emirates Airlines is adding 18 new aircraft to its fleet, increasing capacity by 15% to its established routes and introducing a new service to Durban, South Africa.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, said, “Emirates has prepared the best we can for the challenges we foresee, but we also see it as a time of opportunity…we will concentrate on strengthening our presence on routes where there is a greater demand from our customers..”

Dubai/Durban service begins 1 October 2009. Equipment to be used on this route will be an Airbus A330-200 configured with 278 seats in two classes of service. The carrier will begin another two A380 services this year. Dubai/Seoul A380 service begins in November and Dubai/Singapore A380 service starts in December.

Website: www.emiratesairlines.com