Restaurants getting a taste for meetings
How to make meetings memorable? “At least one fabulous meal served in stunning surroundings,” answers Meetings West.
“And while a hotel banquet room may suffice, many planners are finding that restaurants, which are increasingly offering customized menus and meetings-friendly dining areas, are the way to go,” the site says.
Said Ed Christensen, director of catering and conference services at Scottsdale, Ariz.’s Westin Kierland Resort and Spa:
“Planners are always looking at how to get a point across outside the meeting or banquet room. It’s the natural thought process — something connects in the mind that, on the same day, there was a presentation, great views and great food; it wows a group so they don’t forget.”
Among restaurant companies actively pursuing meetings is Morton’s The Steakhouse. Nearly all of the chain’s 74 restaurants have recently introduced private Wi-Fi-equipped “boardrooms” where groups can dine while viewing a sophisticated presentation courtesy of a Velocity high-definition digital theater system.
The new services at Morton’s have been used for product launches, training programs and business meetings.
Restaurants are also accommodating planners who’d like to arrange social events filled with fun and games.
A recent example: Microsoft bought out Foreign Cinema, a restaurant in San Francisco, where it set up flat screens throughout the restaurant so guests could play a newly released video game while dining on hors d’oeuvres.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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