DATELINE MONDAY 24th OCTOBER 2016

Happy last week of October, greetings from London W10 I hope you are well and that you had a good weekend. OMG how lucky are we what an amazing weekend of weather we enjoyed in the south of this amazing country over the weekend, bright, dry and sunny OK OK it is getting cold but it is the end of October not unusual. This time next week we will be busy tricking and treating as it will be Halloween.

As you may know I have just come back from a very brief visit to the United States of America where Halloween is alive and extremely well. I’m sure that the shares in Hallmark Cards will be going through the roof as ghouls, witches and warlocks invade homes across America. You could not move for Halloween tatt, tosh and pumpkins very bizarre.

DMC News* MM and Company News * Destination News

IMEX Las Vegas

IMEX for me was a great trip, there were a number of clients from UK agencies attending the show as hosted buyers, I think I met up with most of them, even if it was Las Vegas airport on the way home. I achieved my objective in Las Vegas and I met up with the DMCs MM and Company represent. I had Prosecco with Heather and the team at +39 Italy, quaffed a few steins of beer with Eva Bettina and Toby of Germanyinsight, Germany, did damage to a bottle of tequila with Manuel, Isela and Susanne of The EPIC Group, Cancun, sank some serious Sake with James of The J Team, Japan, the Sangria and Rioja went down well with Carlos of TA, Spain, once sober from all of the aforementioned hooch I had amazing coffee with Hocine of Quetzal Motivo, Costa Rica & Panama

I also met up with some very good DMC friends of ours at MM and Company. I spent time with the lovely Jaki Baskow of Baskow & Associates who are our go to DMC based in Las Vegas itself. We have known and worked with Jaki for many years, she helped me get a great rate at the Westin and really took great care of me. I’m confident if you need a DMC in Las Vegas, she will do exactly the same for you and your clients and what’s more Jaki and her team are simply lovely people.

New York

On my way to Las Vegas I stopped off for two days and spent some very productive time with Beth Lockwood of Details NYC that we represent. Last time I was there I walked the length and breadth of Manhattan, this time Beth and I spent quite a bit of time in Brooklyn. BROOKLYN is without a doubt very much part of a trip to New York City, it’s calmer than Manhattan, it has lots of neighbourhoods. New hotels are opening every month and we are talking Marriott, Ritz Carlton type hotels. There is great event space becoming available, there is a brand new development called the Brooklyn Park which is definitely worth a visit. Beth has got the full details and will share them with you.

Morocco

Lina and the team at Visit Morocco have told us that a brand new Movenpick Hotel has opened in Morocco, the hotel offers 503 rooms, 6 restaurants and bars, four swimming pools including a heated pool and a Spa which is great news for groups. The hotel is only fifteen minutes from Marrakech Menara airport and has direct access to the Congress Centre so it’s a great location for conferences or incentives.

Leyla and Hannah’s twitter and witter bit of the Monday morning e mail

Whilst I was in New York and Las Vegas the girls visited aunties and cousins in Turkey. They left the same day I did except they left at 4.15 in the morning. Leyla was not at all happy, apart from the fact that it was 4 o’clock in the morning she had to get up and she doesn’t like getting up. She did suggest to me, why don’t I come with you to New York and Las Vegas? I gave her several reasons before despatching them into a taxi to Heathrow airport and onwards to Istanbul and beyond. Interestingly enough I get what Leyla was saying and I think subsequent half terms may see them going to places other than Istanbul.

Hannah as ever went with the flow, she accepted she was going to Turkey and just got on with it, although I would suggest that Hannah would like to go somewhere else next time.

That’s all, you’re up to date, nothing else going on, have a great week, take care.