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In at the deep end

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Kalvero Oberg was one of the first writers to identify five distinct stages of culture shock. He found that all human beings experience the same feelings when they travel to or live in a different country or culture. He also found that culture shock is almost like a disease: it has a cause, symptoms, and a cure.

Psychologists tell us that there are five distinct phases of culture shock. It is important to understand that culture shock happens to all people who travel abroad, but some people have much stronger reactions than others. During the first few days of a person’s stay in a new country, everything usually goes fairly smoothly. The newcomer is excited about being in a new place where there are new sights and sounds, new smells and tastes. The newcomer may have some problems, but usually accepts them as just part of the newness. They may find themselves staying in hotels or with a home-stay family that is excited to meet the foreign stranger. The newcomer may find that “the red carpet” has been rolled out and they may be taken to restaurants, movies and tours of the sights.

The new acquaintances may want to take the newcomer out to many places and “show them off.” This first stage of culture shock is called the “honeymoon phase.” Unfortunately, this honeymoon phase often comes to an end fairly soon. The newcomer has to deal with transportation problems (buses that don’t come on time), shopping problems (can’t buy their favourite foods) or communication issues. It may start to seem like people no longer care about your problems. They may help, but they don’t seem to understand your concern over what they see as small problems. You might even start to think that the people in the host country don’t like foreigners.

This may lead to the second stage of culture shock, known as the “rejection phase.” The newcomer may begin to feel aggressive and start to complain about the host culture/country. It is important to recognise that these feelings are real and can become serious. This phase is a kind of crisis in the ‘disease’ of culture shock. It is called the “rejection” phase because it is at this point that the newcomer starts to reject the host country, complaining about and noticing only the bad things that bother them. At this stage the newcomer either gets stronger and stays, or gets weaker and goes home (physically, mentally or both).

If you don’t survive stage two successfully, you may find yourself moving into stage three: the “regression phase.”

The word “regression” means moving backward, and in this phase of culture shock, you spend much of your time speaking your own language, watching videos from your home country, eating food from home. You may also notice that you are moving around town with a group of colleagues who speak your own language. You may spend most of this time complaining about the host country or its unfamiliar culture.

Also in the regression phase, you may only remember the good things about your home country. Your homeland may suddenly seem marvellously wonderful; all the difficulties that you had there are forgotten and you may find yourself wondering why you ever left. You may now only remember your home country as a wonderful place in which nothing ever went wrong for you. Of course, this is not true, but an illusion created by your culture shock ‘disease.’ 

If you survive the third stage successfully (or miss it completely) you will move into the fourth stage of culture shock called the “recovery phase” or the “at-ease-at-last phase.” In this stage you become more comfortable with the language and you also feel more comfortable with the customs of the host country. You can now move around without a feeling of anxiety. You still have problems with some of the social cues and you may still not understand everything people say (especially idioms). However, you are now 90 percent adjusted to the new culture and you start to realise that no country is that much better than another – just different lifestyles and ways to deal with the problems of life.

With this complete adjustment, you accept the food, drinks, habits and customs of the host country, and you may even find yourself preferring some things in the host country to things at home. You have now understood that there are different ways to live your life and that no way is really better than another, just different. Finally, you have become comfortable in the new place. 

Much later, you may find yourself returning to your homeland and – guess what? – find yourself entering the fifth phase of culture shock. This is called “reverse culture shock” or “return culture shock” and occurs when you return home. You have been away for a long time, becoming comfortable with the habits and customs of a new lifestyle and you may find that you are no longer completely comfortable in your home country.

Reverse culture shock can be very difficult and there is a risk of sickness or emotional problems. Remember to be kind to yourself all the time that you are overseas, and when you get home. Give yourself time to adjust. Be your own best friend. If you do these things you will be a much stronger person and become a true citizen of the world.

Great moments are better when shared

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The resort is located in one of the most beautiful landscapes of the South of Tenerife: Costa Adeje. This exclusive area of the island is blessed with mild temperatures of 23oC all year long.

The hotel is set on the coast amidst splendid gardens and features three swimming pools, six restaurants and bars, spa facilities, as well as numerous meeting facilities which will allow you to tailor-make your event to your needs.

Your business requirements will be met in any of the 10 meeting and banquet rooms, as well as a multifunctional meeting room located by the pool, offering a total of 37,670 square feet.

From a spectacular reception by the pool village, a cocktail on the roof terrace or an exceptional buffet banquet for up to 500 people overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, the hotel will turn your event into an unforgettable experience.

In order to ensure the success of any event, a dedicated team led by the Groups & Events Manager will support you all the way through from the initial planning, to the actual day of the event, taking care of all the details required in order to guarantee the smooth running of a meeting, gala dinner or event celebration.

The resort is also fully equipped with high-speed wireless internet access to make it easy for you to connect. Guests can access the internet with their wireless laptops from any location within the resort area. Furthermore, they are able to access internet at the Link@Sheraton experienced with Microsoft from various workstations.

Facilities
Make the most of the group offer at Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa in planning for success.  Enjoy special room rates from €125 including buffet breakfast, as well as the following added value facilities.
– Complimentary use of main meeting room
– One complimentary coffee break
– One complimentary room for every 25 paid rooms / night
– Complimentary internet access in meeting rooms and guest rooms

Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa
Calle La Enramada, 9
38670 La Caleta – Adeje
Tenerife, Spain
E-mail: marta.fuente@sheraton.com
Tel: +34 922 162 000
www.sheraton.com/lacaleta

Boot camp never felt so good

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Bovey Castle has it all – from fishing the estate’s rivers and kales, to discovering cider pressing and bee keeping. If you are looking for something more adventurous, you can go deer stalking, and abseiling in the surrounding Devon countryside, ride out across the moor from one of the nearby stables, take on the 4×4 off-road driving course, shoot rifles, try archery, or even take a hot air balloon ride. In addition, Elemis treatments are available in the hotel’s critically acclaimed spa, as well as world-class golf on Bovey’s ‘Top 10’ 18-hole championship course.

From January 2011, there is even more of a reason to visit this multi-award winning resort, with the launch of the Bovey Castle Weight Loss Academy. With weekly academies planned for January (23rd to 28th), February (13th to 18th) and March (13th to 18th) this is much more than a weight loss retreat or boot-camp. It’s a luxury confidence boosting experience intended to give guests the power to overcome weight loss struggles; be it for a baby weight blitz, pre-wedding preparation or simply a post Christmas kick-start. Based in 400 acres of the dramatically beautiful Dartmoor National Park, its unique approach is aimed to permanently fix the broken cogs that have kept the body and mind from running at optimum levels. Seducing the body into giving up unwanted fat and helping guests to become increasingly motivated and healthy every day of the programme, it will essentially kick-start a new routine and support each guest until it becomes second nature – all in the most luxurious surroundings.

Inspirational figures
The co-founder, personal trainer and healthy eating author Simon Lovell has created the academy with expert dietician, and psychotherapist and fellow co-founder Karen Chugg. A bullied computer geek and fat fast-food junkie, Simon flipped his life around in 2004 and now works as one of the hottest personal trainers and nutritional advisors around, renowned for stripping weight from anyone in his path. Simon’s original training techniques and weight-loss ideas have made him national fitness expert in top women’s magazines and his best-selling book ‘The Lunchbox Diet’ launched to critical acclaim in 2009, receiving praise from press and celebrities alike – everyone from Elle Magazine to Cameron Diaz!

Simon and Karen have both had to overcome their own weight struggles through their lives and now bring their vast experience to help others, allowing guests to discover why they eat the foods they do, why they find it hard to keep a steady weight and to set out a plan for life, that they can sustain and use to reshape their life. And that is what makes this so unique; the fact it is just as much about the mind, as it is about the body, which works to ensure long-term results rather than just a quick fix.  

The approach of the academy is unique as well as personally tailored to each individual, combining a proven formula of teaching, physical education and relaxation. All of this is contained within an uber-luxe environment, which means you wake up in a stunning room in the picturesque countryside ready to spend another day cleansing your mind and body through structured exercise programs, seminar and fun workshops leaving you energised, full of life and, most importantly, looking and feeling amazing. Simon Lovell explains his passion:

“As soon as I set foot in Bovey Castle something clicked and I knew that the Academy had to be born.”

“It was a dream come true and now we’re launching it’s a fantastic feeling, knowing that it will shape so many lives. For a personal trainer it’s the ultimate fitness playground and Karen can get the most out of her sessions in the most fabulous setting. This coupled with our other experts makes it the most exciting place to be in 2011 if you want to feel great about yourself”.

“Our passion for the weight loss academy has come from overcoming our own personal struggles and wanting to make long lasting change in people, whatever stage they are with their weight and most of all; confidence. We’ve had the ah-ha moments that have shaped our lives and now it’s time for us to spark the light in others.”

Inspirational setting
Set in 400 acres of Dartmoor National Park, on the edge of the valley and overlooking the beautifully restored Edwardian gardens and trout lake far below, it is an exceptional example of England’s last true wilderness.

In addition to the 63 rooms and suites in the castle itself, the luxury five star accommodation offering also features 14 exquisite three-story granite lodges – each bordering the golf course and secluded by lakes and manicured lawns. Offering three double bedrooms, all of which are en-suite, comfortably sleeping six or indulgently sleeping two they make the perfect choice for families, groups of friends or couples looking for that extra bit of and seclusion.

– Standard package – £1,997 sharing / £2,367 own room
– Deluxe package – £2,317 sharing / £2,677 own room
This is arriving Sunday afternoon, departing Friday after lunch. Includes all food, drinks (with meals) and activities.

B&B rates for those wanting to indulge in the Bovey Castle experience but wanting to take it a little easier start from £225 per room per night. Christmas and New year packages are still available to book.

For further information visit www.boveycastle.com or call 01647 445000

What is design?

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For most people, design is an amorphous idea – something creative-types do, disconnected from the world with their heads in the clouds, while the rest of us are forced to deal with reality and cold hard facts. Design is something done by tormented geniuses, making uncomfortable looking furniture in Amsterdam or peculiar logos in London.

What people don’t realise, however, is that design is what keeps our world running – or causes it to crash. The closest thing we have to replicating nature, design fundamentally impacts our lives every day. And, to the misunderstanding of most, a deep understanding of those cold hard facts are what separates good design from bad design.

“Let me put it this way,” says Chrissy Lawrence of Evil Designs in Ellenville, New York: “The Florida recount during the 2000 United States Presidential Election wasn’t primarily the result of nefarious plotting or political manoeuvring. The recount happened because the Florida ballot and voting process was poorly designed.”

For most of us when design works, little is made of it beyond the initial, “Hmm,” regardless of its impact on our daily lives: putting radio controls onto a car’s steering wheel, double-sided tape, or a USB drive that fits on your keychain.

Exceptions include revolutionary products ranging from the iPhone to Post-it notes, but for the most part good design causes little more than a quick smile across a userÕs face. But when design fails it’s another story entirely. “Think about the things that drive you crazy over the course of the day,” Lawrence continues: “Having to pull open a door while leaving a coffee shop, even though your hands are filled with steaming beverages; parking lots with only one exit; road signs that force the driver to take his eye off the road; DVD packaging. All of those are failures in design.”

Indeed, design – good and bad – could be thought of as the oil that keeps a car’s engine running, either well or poorly. But what of the car itself? Perhaps design needs to be thought of as more than just a process, object, or function. Maybe, design just…is.

Design is
Writing a list of historically great designers is a futile task: there’s no universally accepted definition of design, so most great artists, musicians and architects fall under the category of great designers. And, as most design is done in teams, it becomes even harder to further segment the list.

Instead, we need to look outside – literally – to the environment we live in. Regardless of your belief system, something created our world – be it God, physics, natural selection, or anything in between – and whatever did it, did a pretty good job.

From the process of ocean currents, to the balance between predator and prey, to the complexity of photosynthesis, nature works. It is the pinnacle of design – perfectly functional – so in a sense, nature is design and design is nature.

Design is what makes the world work, and it is what makes the world fall apart. Design is everything we do (work, play, school, government, war), everything we use (computers, pens, towels, cars, houses), and everything we experience (art, books, food, music, movies).

Therefore, we need to treat design differently. Design can’t simply be something done by right-brained eccentrics. It has to be something we all do in every decision we make.

Design isn’t just creating the physical objects we use; it is creating the world we’ve chosen to live in. Which is why we need to move past the “spark of genius” or “eureka” concept, and focus on what Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, calls “Design Thinking.”

IDEO is one of the great design firms of our time. They have literally shaped the world around us, with a client list including some of the most innovative and disruptive companies whose products we use daily: 3M, Apple, Microsoft, Nike, Marriott, Procter and Gamble, Nokia, Toyota, Whirlpool and Xerox.

But they’ve become more than that.

Instead of simply designing products for these companies, IDEO has redesigned itself into a consultancy that helps companies, non-profits, and government organisations change the way they think. IDEO teaches them “Design Thinking.”

As Brown puts it in his book, Change by Design, “The mission of design thinking is to translate observations into insights and insights into products and services that will improve lives.”

Design thinking is a process that focuses on enhancing an experience, rather than simply creating something new – using robust data (both subjective and objective), repeated testing, and a worldview that looks at how the new design will not just change that particular experience, but also life around that experience.

As an example, let’s redesign public transport in a major city which already has both bus and rail services.

Our first step would be to experience what already exists. Ride buses, get on and off trains, pay with cash, buy a pass, run late, ride late, experience the beginning and end of each line. We would talk to passengers, drivers, counter clerks and security.

We would spend time at the headquarters to understand the operations. We would examine the legal implications and complications, and we would talk to government officials to learn transport’s impact on public policy.

Then we would look at the hard data – the numbers, schedules, fuel costs, payroll, revenue and expenses.

And, as we were doing all of this, we would brainstorm, take notes, and begin thinking: how can this be better, how can I take what works and expand it, and how can I remove or replace what doesn’t?

Then, we would create something new and test it. If it failed, we would try something else, and if we succeeded we would test it over and over again.

Eventually we would have our best solution. But that would just be the beginning, because public transport affects and is affected by so many other processes, such as where people work and live. So then we would research that, and go back to the drawing board.

Designing the future
Design is no longer a solo practice – and no longer does it focus on a single interaction (between user and product). Design is complex and messy, but impacts every moment of our lives.

This is why the 2010 ACTE Global Education Conference in Berlin (3-5 October) will feature a keynote presentation from Fabio Sergio, Executive Creative Director at frog design – one of the worldÕs leading design firms.

Sergio will offer attendees an understanding about how design is evolving to tackle ever-larger issues, and the implications of good (and bad) design on business and travel. He will examine the pain points for business travellers and what the future travel experience will look like.

For a long time, design has been thought of as the process of the genius, the lone designer atop the mountain, waiting for lighting to strike. In some instances that is still the case, but, design has changed and continues to change. As society better understands the power of networks, and shifts towards a new norm in thinking that everything is connected, design will become more important than ever.

About ACTE
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives represents the global business travel industry through international advocacy efforts, executive level educational programmes, and independent industry research. ACTE’s membership consists of senior travel industry executives from 82 countries representing the €463bn business travel industry, serving more than 12 million business travellers worldwide. With the support of sponsors from every major segment of the business travel industry, ACTE develops and delivers educational programmes in key business centers throughout the world. ACTE has representation in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and the United States.

For more information about ACTE visit www.acte.org, telephone +1 703 683 5322 or email info@acte.org

Capital convenience

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In 1959, Hilton revolutionised the hotel world with the opening of the first establishment in the vicinity of an airport: the San Francisco Airport Hilton. Almost half a century later, when Hilton inaugurated its fifth hotel in the Iberian Peninsula, it reintroduced the original choice for its strategic location. Designed by architect Miguel Oliver, the Hilton Madrid Airport’s two eight storey towers are situated in a privileged place, only five minutes from Madrid Barajas International Airport and 15 minutes from the city centre.

This strategic location, as well as its design and high service standards, have made it the first stop for business travellers. A total area of 1,700sqm of meeting space is available for meetings, conferences and conventions of all types and magnitudes. These working areas (a total of 15) are equipped with the latest technological innovations, including video conference equipment and instant translation systems; naturally the whole building is Wi-Fi enabled.

The biggest function room is the Isabella Ballroom, a 755sq m venue with a capacity of 580 people. The hotel is designed in such a way that each tower can function separately, providing delegates with their own exclusive space, totally independent from the rest of the hotel guests.

The hotel offers 284 rooms across its towers. All the bedrooms have a working area equipped with multimedia technology, as well as personalised and very modern interior decoration. Guests who choose to stay in the executive rooms can enjoy the advantages of the executive lounge, which offers its own reception for check-in and check-out, refreshments throughout the day, and all the necessary features for work.

The Hilton Madrid Airport also offers Hilton’s original Relaxation Rooms; rooms designed in such a way that the space, light and colours of their elements radiate peace and harmony. They are not only spacious (45sq m), but also have three areas with very different characteristics: one to work, one to rest and one to cool down and relax. One unique feature of these rooms is that the working area is situated behind the king size bed, concealing it from sight and helping guests completely disconnect from their work for a while. They also offer luxurious marble bathrooms, including a Jacuzzi and separate shower.

In their leisure time, guests can keep fit in the hotel gym, reduce stress in the sauna, or relax in the hydrotherapy pool. When night falls, the Ferrum Bar becomes one of the hotel’s main attractions, thanks to its modern interior decoration and its range of exclusive speciality whiskies.

To make it easier for guests to reach the city centre and transfer to the airport, the hotel offers a comfortable transport service free of charge. This complimentary shuttle service to and from all terminals at the Madrid Barajas Airport operates from 5.30am until 1.00am; the city centre service is also available throughout the day.

Due to the proximity to the airport, over the course of its two years the hotel has launched several offers specifically for air travellers, such as a 50 percent discount for passengers who have missed their flight. Another outstanding initiative of the hotel has been the ‘meetings in transit’ offer, which allowed travellers to hire function rooms by the hour and gain access to other hotel services such as the gym and sauna.

www.hilton.co.uk/madridairport

Bright horizons

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The Laico brand is a big name in Africa. With an extensive portfolio throughout the continent, it offers more than 3,000 rooms in 14 hotels, providing consistently high levels of service in key destinations.

The group has been slowly and steadily expanding over the last few years, even through the global credit crisis. However, while other chain expansions can represent unique venues being swallowed into a homogenous mass, Laico are keen for their hotels to be distinct from each other, retaining a large part of their local traditions. “Business travellers will come to a Laico hotel and recognise the brand, the uniform, the stationery,” says marketing manager Renaud Bachoffner, “but each hotel still retains its own personality.”

So their Lake Victoria Hotel in Entebbe is a British colonial style destination, the Djerba Hotel in Tunisia reproduces all the charm of local Mediterranean architecture, and the Laico Bahari Beach in Dar Es Salaam Tanzania, the brand’s latest opening, offers luxuriously furbished rooms in traditional thatched beach houses, mere seconds from the Indian Ocean.

“Imagine a hard day working in the hot city centre,” says Mr Bachoffner. “After a short drive, you enter your cottage, take your suit off, and only steps away from your room, dive into the ocean.”

“It’s a unique feeling,” he says: “you’ve just washed your busy day stress away.”

Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, surrounded by beautiful lush gardens featuring indigenous palms, tropical flowering shrubs and bright bougainvillea, the hotel offers 92 bedrooms, four suites and an ultra-modern conference centre – the best of its kind in Dar-es-salaam.

Meeting in paradise
The Bahari Conference Centre features three meeting rooms and a multi-purpose ballroom; all the venues are fully equipped with LCD projectors, screens, a translation room and modern furnishings providing delegates with all-in-one conference solutions.

Tembo, the multi-purpose ballroom, can host up to 600 people for a reception or 260 people in a classroom style. The three fully equipped meeting rooms on the first floor offer a spectacular atmosphere for board meetings and smaller events. Simba can host up to 70 people in reception style and 45 classroom; Chui holds 60 reception and 42 classroom, and Twiga fits 50 people reception and 35 classroom.

The conference centre is completed with three well furnished lounges where delegates can relax during their breaks, a VIP lounge for prestigious visitors, and ample secure parking around the facility to guarantee peace of mind. And with just a two minute walk to the beautiful Bahari Beach, it is the perfect venue to indulge in some wide-open, blue-sky thinking.

The country’s unique landscape and the hotel’s individual design makes it a fantastic destination for MICE visits, whether visitors wish to take advantage of the nearby national parks offering excellent safari opportunities, or simply enjoy the professional facilities of the hotel with a well deserved cocktail and delicious dinner under the tropical stars.

The design of the Laico Bahari Beach’s guestrooms and suites is influenced by old Swahili architecture, built in traditional style from coral blocks and palm frond thatched roofs.

Every single room faces the ocean, offering spectacular views of the sun rising over the sparkling sea, and has its own spacious terrace or balcony accessed through wide glass doors. They are individually air conditioned, and elegantly styled and furnished with local fabrics in traditional colours. n

www.laicohotels.com

Rising in the east
Kenya
The Laico Regency Nairobi, conveniently located in the very heart of the capital’s business district, is a must for individual travellers and international meetings. The hotel features 208 rooms and 34 suites, while the business centre can accommodate up to 600 guests in its large Cristal Ballroom and smaller meetings in its exclusive and refined colonial-style Summit Club. After work visitors can relax by the pool, work out in the fitness club or tour the many nearby shops for a fitting souvenir. Evening entertainment is provided by cocktails at the 5th Avenue jazz bar and the hotel’s four a la carte restaurants.

Uganda
Just minutes from Entebbe’s international airport, Laico Lake Victoria is far more than “just another hotel.” Built in the 1940s amid lush tropical gardens and majestic Royal palms, this colonial gem offers an intimate Out of Africa atmosphere. The entire property has been redecorated, with all 100 rooms and four suites completely renovated. The restaurant, bar and terrace overlook the pool and lake, creating a glorious idyll. A meeting in one of the three conference rooms, with a coffee break on the terrace, buffet lunch in the gardens and an elegant gala dinner by the pool is the perfect scenario for a successful seminar.

Rwanda
The Laico Umubano is five minutes away from the Rwanda’s capital Kigali; but set atop a hill in an oasis of greenery it provides a place of calm retreat as well as easy access to this celebrated city. Just five kilometres away from the airport, it’s also a fine stopping point for those adventuring deeper into the country – such as to visit the gorillas in the Volcano National Park. The 85 comfortable rooms, 15 suites, business centre and four meeting rooms (one of which can accommodate up to 300 guests) allow for large conferences. Lunch and dinner can be served amid lush gardens on the terrace of the Cote Jardin, with other professional diversions including the pool bar, tennis facilities and well equipped health centre.

Setting in the west
Burkina Faso
The Laico Ouaga 2000, featuring 210 rooms, 11 suites and 10 villas, is the emblematic hotel of the new administrative and residential district of capital Ouagadougou. Its contemporary luxury is set off by African touches and ultra modern facilities. Four meeting rooms for up to 800 guests make it a prestigious venue for seminars, congresses and events. Its restaurants combine contemporary international cuisine with an African flavour: guests can choose between La Cascade, which overlooks the outdoor pool; the elegant Tenakourou, offering panoramic views; and the grilled dishes of open air Zama.

Gabon
Gabon’s capital Libreville offers many pleasures, and the Laico Okoume Palace is ideally positioned to enjoy them all: just five minutes away from the airport, it is right next to the beach and close to many of the city’s key sights and amusements, including St Marie’s Cathedral and the Mbolo Shopping mall. The luxurious hotel offers 300 rooms, 20 suites and 78 apartments, as well as the requisite amenities for business travellers. Guests can savour the refined cuisine of the Muhebe restaurantÕs delicious sea food specialties and enjoy a light Italian meal under the coconut trees of the Terrace restaurant.

Mali
Located in downtown Bamako, close to the market and Mali’s National Museum, the 158 rooms and 33 suites of Laico L’Amitie offer top quality service and refined comfort, from the Deluxe rooms to the prestigious Presidential Suite overlooking the Niger River and the Martyrs Bridge. The hotel offers a business centre and the largest meeting facilities of the capital (nine meeting rooms including one for 600 people), allowing for large conferences and summits. It features two restaurants and a lively bar to complement a congress or business trip. Set in a huge park, the property also features fitness and tennis facilities, an outdoor pool, and a nine hole golf course.

Historic hospitality

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For business trips or corporate meetings, corporate clients who choose The Marmara Hotels and Residences know that they will receive exceptional quality and service whenever they visit. With the high demands of the business world in mind and their re-designed, state of the art conference rooms and services, Marmara provides an environment conducive to both pleasurable and profitable activities. Corporate clients looking to book their next meeting at one of the many Marmara Hotels and Residences conference rooms will receive one complimentary stay for every 20 bookings they make at one of The Marmara Hotels.

The Marmara Hotels are dedicated to ensuring that all the arrangements and services necessary to host an effective business meeting are taken care of, including a well-timed selection of catering menus served before, during, and after each meeting. Each catering menu is guaranteed to add an element of satisfaction to an event. Kick off each meeting with steeped tea, mini sandwiches and fresh simit, and follow up with two other creatively themed coffee and tea breaks throughout the day. With a choice of open buffet and set menu options for lunch, clients get a chance to savour the many unique dishes prepared by The Marmara’s award-winning chefs. At the end of each meeting, The Marmara serves a delightful cocktail and some ice cream, allowing participants to revel in the conclusion of a hard day’s work.

Proximity and professionalism
The Maramara’s property portfolio offers positively vast capacities to accommodate business events, including the Marmara Taksim (1,940 banquet style), the Marmara Antalya (1,200 banquet style) and the Marmara Esma Sultan (650 banquet style). With unique services and an unrivalled proximity to the city centre, Marmara Hotels never let down their guests.

The Corporate offer pack, which is available at all Marmara properties, allows business guests to enjoy their stay with cocktails served at the entrance and turn-down service in their rooms. Guests opting for the standard meetings package are served complimentary beverages during the coffee break, while those opting for premium or royal meetings are served complimentary cocktails and fresh juice following the meeting.

The Marmara Esma Sultan Mansion has served as a flagship of Turkish hospitality since the 19th century, when it hosted guests under the auspices of its royal landlady. Today as then it functions as a gateway to the country, with historical threads running throughout its five star fabric.

The mansion offers a privileged location right on the Bosphorous, and is a dream destination for summer receptions: a seaport allows guests to arrive directly from the strait, and its luscious green garden allows for a seated capacity of 1,000 people or a cocktail capacity of up to 3,000 people. Boutique menus are created especially for each party, and the experienced chefs can work with organisers to ensure they cater perfectly to their desires.

Tel: +90 212 334 8415; www.themarmarahotels.com

Prime of place

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Strategically situated for access to thriving businesses, exciting cultural experiences and modern leisure opportunities, the Sheraton Incheon provides guests with the highest international standards of comfort and convenience.

The hotel is at the heart of the new Songdo international business district, just 20 minutes from Incheon International Airport over the new Incheon Bridge. Songdo is one of the first ‘ubiquitous cities’ exploiting information technology to its fullest: a testing bed for new and sustainable technologies. The Sheraton Incheon acts very much as a flagship hotel for the region: it is one of the first fully non-smoking and eco-friendly LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rated hotels in Korea.

This stunning new property incorporates a host of modern green technology; a testament to innovative, eco-friendly living. The 319 guest rooms offer familiar Sheraton comforts, including the signature Sweet Sleeper bed with plush mattress, cosy duvet and Sheraton coffee maker. Each room features a high ceiling and large windows, 32 inch LCD television, a generously proportioned work desk, high speed Wi-Fi and broadband access. All the amenities and facilities are designed to meet the needs of the experienced traveller, including a spacious bathroom featuring separate bathtub and rainforest shower.

Life is better when shared
The Club Lounge, located on the 22nd floor, boasts a spectacular semi-panoramic view of the West Sea, Central Park and the Incheon Bridge – the fifth longest in the world. Guests can enjoy a large array of dining options, including the popular all day dining restaurant Feast, the authentic Asian flavours of Miyabi and Yue, and the upscale Italian cuisine offered by Bene.

For relaxation the Sheraton Incheon offers the first 24 hour Sheraton Fitness suite – programmed by ‘Core Performance’ – in Korea. This fitness programme was created to fulfil guests’ desires for simple yet effective health and fitness solutions while travelling. The newly opened Hasta spa invites guests to a warm and calming atmosphere; it offers a full range of sensory spa treatments designed to soothe mind and body.

Business on the agenda
Boasting 1,600sq m of flexible function and meeting space that can be tailored to individual needs, the Sheraton Incheon offers the perfect place to do business. State of the art meeting technology, wireless internet connectivity in all function areas and a full service business centre means guests have everything they need at hand. A dedicated team providing event support ensures the success of any event, assisting from initial planning to taking care of all the details needed to guarantee smooth execution on the actual day.

The Link@Sheraton, a unique complimentary service of the Sheraton Brand, provides a quick and easy way for business travellers to remain connected with their families and enable smooth communication with their offices.

The Sheraton Incheon Hotel is close to Songdo Convensia convention centre, Central Park, the soon to open Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, the International School and the Tomorrow City museum of the future. In August the hotel will celebrate its first anniversary with guests and neighbours, including the many global companies that have recently moved to Songdo.

Tel: +82 32 835 1000/1004; sheraton.incheon@sheraton.com; www.sheraton.com/incheon

The classic conundrum

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By most objective measures, modern cars are better than old ones. Look at how fast they go, how rarely they break, how much protection they give us and the technology inside them. It should be enough to render the stuff people were driving 20 years ago (let alone 40 or 60) obsolete. But it doesn’t. Classic cars continue to set hearts aflutter like few new models can. The question is, should that fluttering of the heart be allowed to develop into a reaching for the wallet? Owning a classic is a dream for many, but what’s the reality?

When we talk about classic cars, we’re referring to a huge range of different vehicles. If you thought there were a lot of new cars to choose from today, think of every car that’s ever been made (save for those that have rolled off production lines in the last couple of decades). That’s the breadth of the classic car world and that’s real choice.

Obviously, the entire scope of automotive production isn’t still trundling around our streets, even if it might seem that way when you’re trying to get home on a Friday evening. The majority of older models had their date with the crusher or rusted into oblivion long ago. What we’re left with are classic vehicles that have survived by chance or been preserved by besotted and diligent owners. It’s a kind of vehicular natural selection which has given the interesting, the quirky, the innovative and the beautiful a better chance of survival than the dross.

This process can create a stilted view of the motoring past. Not every man about town in swinging 60s London had an Aston Martin DB5 in the garage and his Italian equivalents weren’t screaming through Turin en masse in Ferrari 250 GTOs – but evocative vehicles like these have been nursed tenderly through the years in disproportionate numbers. Such cars grow in value and recognition, becoming emblems of their era while contemporaries afflicted by shoddy construction, shockingly unreliability or butt ugliness are deemed less worthy of preservation and fade from the memory. The result is a vision of our automotive yesteryears with a rosier tint than the reality – but that’s nostalgia for you.          

Fortunately, budgets and ideas on what constitutes an iconic or beautiful car have always differed wildly and despite this whittling away of the unremarkable that inevitably takes place over time, the choice of classics today is huge.

You can part with peanuts for an old wreck that’s been slowly disintegrating in a garage for decades or pay through the nose for a mint, lovingly restored classic. And vice versa, depending on the model in question. A 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante famously sold for over £3m after being discovered languishing in a dust-caked British barn that was left to relatives in an “eccentric” doctor’s will. By contrast, a pristine Morris Minor that one love-struck owner has lavished attention on since 1955 might struggle to top £3,000.

There’s a level for everyone in the classic car market, regardless of your financial means or commitment. There’s also tremendous potential to come spectacularly unstuck if you don’t enter transactions with your eyes open and, perhaps more importantly, buy for the right reasons.

New cars make notoriously terrible investments. “Drive a modern [car] out of the showroom and onto the street and you stand to lose 40 percent of its value instantly”, explains Simon Charlesworth of classic car website www.dep-o.co.uk. Every day a car stays out of the scrapyard, its depreciation plods onward at a decelerating pace. Eventually, maybe after 15 to 20 years, values bottom out and then, as dictated by the forces of supply and demand, cars can start to appreciate.  

Clearly, the trick when buying a classic car as an investment is to clamber behind the wheel at the right moment in this cycle, ideally when the depreciation phase has run its course and the car is tantalisingly poised for a huge upward leap in value. It’s easier said than done. Charlesworth notes that it’s “always been the case that if you look after a classic then it will appreciate in value.” What’s much harder to know is when and by how much.

Historic Auto Group is a research company specialising in the vintage car market and its HAGI Top Index, which measures the prices of high-end classic models, shows major gains since the early 1980s, albeit with a few hiccups along the way. “It’s a small market but nevertheless successful,” says co-founder Hardy Singh Sohanpal, adding that it continues to have long term potential but “definitely isn’t a market for speculators.”

Similar notes of caution are often sounded when the subject of investing in classic cars crops up. One source of the concern can be traced back to the late 1980s, when the young and upwardly mobile fuelled a price boom by investing their gigantic bonuses in classics, notably including the Jaguar E-Type. The recession triggered a major crash that reduced the value of rare E-Types – that had been changing hands for six-figure sums – by more than half. Buyers in the market for a short-term profit had their fingers badly singed.

‘Invest for love’ seems to be the best advice for those trying to make money from classic cars. “The great thing about a car compared with other things that people purchase as an asset is that there’s an awful lot you can do with it,” explains Stewart Skilbeck of  Bonhams auctions. “It might enable you to have the greatest day of your life on a rally, or to meet a new business partner. It might be the greatest thing that happened to that person to own such a car.” If you use the car and love the car, fluctuations in value will seem less important.   

There are all kinds of emotional reasons to choose a classic car. One is passion for the eras that some vintage models have come to reflect as powerfully as the music or fashions of the day. The E-Type Jaguar and the Mini are as evocative of the 1960s as the Beatles; the Cadillac Eldorado Seville screams 1950s Americana like Buddy Holly; and the 1980s wouldn’t be the 1980s without the filofax, the stock market crash, Audi’s Quattro and Porsche’s 911.
Classic car fans will also seek out the model their father drove in their youth or the star car from a favourite movie.

There are those with affinities for a particular manufacturer and buyers who choose a car for its unique history or pioneering design. Like so much about the classic car world, your own dream car is a matter of personal taste.    

Talk of investments and dream cars suggests significant sums of money, but at the lower end of the scale lots of people run older models because they’re so affordable. The term ‘everyday classic’ might conjure up unfavourable images of being stranded at the roadside with a gently smoking Alfa Romeo Giulietta or spending late nights fruitlessly scouring the internet for a ’74 Ford Mustang headlight. The truth is that with depreciation taken out of the equation, cheap insurance, a surprisingly plentiful supply of parts and maintenance you can do yourself (with a little patience), some classics can prove highly cost-effective as everyday cars.

Painstaking research and thorough inspections are the order of the day when buying any classic car and even affordable models could easily have major skeletons lurking in the glove compartment. Get it right, however, and numerous benefits present themselves. There are environmental gains inherent in reusing something rather than perpetuating the modern cycle of dispose and replace. The warm camaraderie between classic car owners means you’ll never be short of someone to talk about tappets with and the fact that your car gets more favourable attention than your neighbour’s £100,000 Mercedes-Benz will be a constant source of pleasure. With proper care, you could even make money over a typical ownership period, a sensation that will be completely alien to most new car owners.

The classic car is more than something bought by men in the throes of a midlife crisis. For anyone with an inkling of fondness for the motorcar, it isn’t too hard to see why vintage models summon up the passion they do in all kinds of people.

Modern vehicles might be more advanced technologically but the four rubber-shod wheels, the internal combustion engine and the basic actions of driving haven’t altered too dramatically in 100 years. The world has changed though, leaving the classic car as a rare window back to a different place and time when it may have stood at the pinnacle of design, engineering, beauty or style. Classic car owners often see themselves as caretakers of their own piece of history and who knows, somewhere out there might well be a little piece of history with your name on it.

First choice

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The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) holds education events in a lot of cities. This year alone, ACTE will hold senior-level business travel networking and education events in 30 cities around the world. Over the last 30 months, 52 cities have seen ACTE events fall within their municipalities. So, it would seem that when it comes time to choose where to hold their Global Education Conference each year in Europe, the process would be relatively simple. ACTE has seen a lot of venues in a lot of cities; surely one would work for its conference.

But here’s the interesting thing – of the last eight conferences held in Europe, only half had ever previously hosted an ACTE event. And of those four, only two had seen more than one. So, selecting a location is not as easy as it may first appear.

A lot goes in to selecting the perfect location for an event slated to host more than 800 people representing more than 25 countries, beginning with finding the perfect space. And those 800 people mean the Global Education Conference falls within a very narrow frame of being not quite large enough for a convention centre but too large for the average European hotel meeting space.

For 2010, a few options presented themselves in various business hubs throughout the continent, meaning that the second step would be moving past the space and examining the peripheral qualities that separate one city from the next, such as accessibility and transportation volume, along with secondary venues for off-site events. But, more than anything, what ACTE looks for is experience – and it was that expertise that drove ACTE to select Berlin as its 2010 Global Education Conference host.

One of Europe’s most exciting cities, and widely acknowledged as an international trendsetter, the vibrant lifestyle of the German capital embraces art, culture, history, architecture, academia and science. Major corporations from around the world establish the city as their European headquarters, alongside some of Europe’s brightest start-ups in technology, communications, multimedia, music, and science – all of which pull from the strong, well-educated workforce.

But more than just being a great city, Berlin is also a great events city.

In 2009 Berlin saw more than 100,000 events, drawing 8.3m visitors (17 percent of them from abroad, flying in on one of Berlin’s 2,100 weekly flights, connected to more than 130 destinations). Five million room nights were logged in Berlin by convention-goers in 2009, many of them at one of the city’s 166 meeting hotels, which represented 53 percent of all event space providers, hosting 91,000 events.

One of those venues was the Intercontinental Berlin – ACTE’s 2010 conference hotel. A part of Berlin’s skyline for nearly half a century, the hotel is located just a few minutes from everything Berlin has to offer – including the Memorial Church and the Reichstag. Its meeting space offers a smooth and simple layout that will not just make it easy for ACTE to run the event, but provide for a more enriching conference experience for attendees – the key to any successful event. For ACTE it will offer professional, experienced staff and all the amenities necessary to run an innovative and exciting event.

But a successful event requires more than just finding space in a city like Berlin: it is essential to find a local partner that will provide the knowledge necessary to be successful in its host city.

The right place, the right people
In Berlin, ACTE found that partner in the Berlin Convention Office (BCO), which offers professional support for the organisation of conventions, meetings and incentives throughout the city. Its wide network of contacts and committed staff provide the expertise needed for an organisation from outside the city to be successful. The BCO is a champion of continuously enhancing the city’s offerings, which include the new Berlin Brandenburg International Airport, scheduled to open in 2011; the new main railway station in Berlin-Hauptbahnhof; the recently-opened O2 World, one of the world’s most technologically advanced major sports and entertainment venues; and numerous international hotel properties scheduled to open in the coming years.

Since choosing Berlin the BCO has offered its support and network to ACTE staff as they prepare for their October event, from off-site reception suggestions to basic know-how of the German meetings industry – and the laws, taxes, and procedures that accompany it.

The 2010 ACTE Global Education Conference in Berlin (3-5 October) will celebrate 20 years of ACTE advancing the European business travel industry, and it is hard to imagine a better city to do that in than Berlin. A major hub of business and industry, many of ACTE’s partners and sponsors have a large presence in the city – making it easy for them to participate. Many of ACTE’s attendees will be able easily to access the city, saving money on transportation and accommodation. And, most importantly, the history and culture that runs through the city will lend to an experience as unique and enriched as the city itself.

ACTE opens the conference on an event unique to Berlin and renowned worldwide – Unity Day. Celebrating the country’s reunification in 1990, the national day of Germany is an event that promotes peace, understanding, and bringing people together. ACTE could not have asked for a better day to kick off its conference, an event that year after year brings hundreds of people from dozens of countries together to work in harmony to promote even further cultural interactions through business travel.

Featuring keynote presentations from industry and business experts, education sessions that will focus on the issues impacting the future of global business travel, and networking opportunities with the industry’s leaders, the 2010 ACTE Global Education Conference is an event not to be missed in a city that should be on every traveller’s shortlist.
Historically, selecting a location for ACTE conferences has never been easy, but in Berlin, ACTE found a city that provides the space, the accessibility, the heart and the partners necessary to do just that – be easy.

Heaven is a great airport hotel

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A business acquaintance recently confided how much he’d enjoyed being stranded by the effects of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud. He stayed at a luxury airport hotel in the US, 3,500 miles from the demands of work and home, with only a fully-stocked mini-bar, 50 channels of television and a Jacuzzi for company.

He endured the enforced wait with great patience. “Five days. Just had to sit it out,” he confessed to me.

That was all he confessed, and you know what they say: what happens under a volcanic cloud stays under a volcanic cloud.

When it finally lifted, I can’t help feeling that another, much greyer, cloud descended on my acquaintance. It was time for him to leave the limbo of the airport hotel and rejoin real life.

The best airport hotels make you feel like you have slipped through the demands of time and distance into a little piece of heaven. The worst airport hotels make you feel as if you have taken the fast track line straight to hell.

Let’s compare and contrast.

My favourite airport hotel is in the Far East. It isn’t a budget hotel. The rooms are priced at exactly what it would cost you to book a business hotel downtown and take a return taxi ride from the airport. Clever.

From its triple-glazed window you can stare out at the world’s largest airliners silently gliding in and out as the sun sets. From your door you step out into a fragrant open-air atrium, with fragrant trees and running water. Don’t ask me how they make it so fragrant, when all you should be inhaling is jet fumes, but I attribute this to the hotel’s peculiar magic.

The worst airport hotel I have stayed in was in England. Claiming to be adjacent to London Gatwick airport, it was in fact buried deep in the countryside, many miles away.

It was a shame that the hotel wasn’t buried so deep that it was totally inaccessible. This would have spared me, and a coach load of German tourists, from one of the crumbiest nights of our lives.

When I say crumby, I mean literal crumbs in the bedcovers. Crumbs, but without the small consolation of biscuits to greet the hungry traveller. I’m no Sherlock Holmes, but I deduce that the maid must have tucked into a couple of shortbreads before taking a nap in the bed.

And what a bed.

What it lacked in size it more than made up for in damp lumpiness. The bedspread (for duvets had yet to reach this part of Olde England) matched the room’s décor: a kind of oaky brown which was intended to project rural charm, but instead just reminded me of gravy.

For the only time in my life, I decided to cut my losses and get the hell out of the hotel.

In the brown lobby, lined up on the brown carpet, the faces of the German tourists spoke volumes. Disappointment was mixed with horror. It was a scene I had glimpsed once before, on a Florentine mural. The mural depicted sinners being led down to another circle of Hell. In this case, the underworld was going to be brown. With uncomfortable mattresses.

It was an old establishment, but perhaps not old enough for Dante Alighieri to have once stayed as a guest. If he had, it might have explained much of what he’d gone on to write.

Of course, most airport hotels lie somewhere in the middle between paradise and the infernal brown crumb factory. In my imagination, the perfect airport hotel would be as glamorous as that in the 60s film, The VIPs. Starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, the movie more than lived up to its title.

The plot features the misadventures of a group of upmarket passengers, stranded by a London fog. It’s such a star-studded film, that even David (now Sir David) Frost only merits a walk-on part.
 
Trapped in luxury, the personal and financial troubles of the characters play out against the backdrop of Heathrow in the 1960s. The characters – and the actors themselves – were the first ‘jet-setters,’ a phrase that now sounds archaic.
Could a modern version of The VIPs ever reach the screen? Perhaps. Though they would be well-advised to check the bedclothes for crumbs first.

Hywel Jones is a television producer who has travelled the world with the BBC and ITV. He now runs the international broadcast and corporate TV production company hi.tv. His favourite destination is San Francisco.

Paradise regained

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The Adam and Eve Hotel’s world of mirrors, glass and pristine white surfaces is just 35 minutes from Antalya airport, right on the coast of the Mediterranean. The hotel is vast: rooms range from the standard 64sq m Design Rooms to the 1,000sq m Adam and Eve suite, while 24 villas offering up to 1,212sq m of private space are also available.

The rooms are decorated in a minimalist style with floor to ceiling windows, a luxurious Jacuzzi for two in the centre of the room, a 42” plasma television and private 16sq m balcony with daybed. A ‘Clima Click’ air conditioning system and bespoke LED illumination makes each room uniquely customisable: 13km of lighting equipment is installed throughout the hotel, transforming each room and every Jacuzzi into a light therapy centre capable of dozens of lighting solutions. Showers, steam baths and therapy baths are also equipped with light and colour therapy features.

The 28 suites, ranging from 128sq m to 1,000sq m, are situated on every floor of the hotel’s main building. In addition to all the features of the design rooms, they offer a sauna for four people, access to a private beach club immediately in front of the villas, and an additional living area – in some suites this space features a square bed measuring 4.6m by 4.6m.

The Special Adam and Eve Suite is exactly 1,000sq m and is situated on the 5th floor of the main building. It has two living rooms, two bedrooms, two therapy baths, two saunas, two bars, two large terraces, a full home cinema system and a kitchen. This top-of-the-line exclusive suite is the most distinguished symbol of the ‘heaven on earth’ concept that the Adam and Eve Hotel aims to create.

Throughout the resort, personalised service is provided by the Adam and Eve Angels, who ensure guests’ wishes and needs are fulfilled, while villa guests can also enjoy the services of a Butler, who serves as a special holiday assistant.

Angel delight
The hotel’s spa suites are another symbol of this heaven on earth concept. The 10 EdenSpa suites, arranged in a special garden, offer Turkish baths, saunas and special therapy beds, with private audio systems playing in each suite’s personal terrace, helping visitors relax next to the ornamental pool. Two of the suites are designed in Thai style and two are special skin care units. Other facilities in the spa include a 65 m long indoor pool and Thai, Klang and Ayurveda massages.

Extensive and modern sport and wellness facilities are also available: the fully equipped fitness centre is open 24 hours a day, and a vast array of indoor, outdoor and watersports are supported either by the resort or nearby providers. There are also six golf courses less than 10km away. Guests who like a swim will enjoy the 104m long Relax Pool; surrounded by designer sunbeds and served by a specialist cocktail bar, it is just one of the seven pools around the resort. For children there are four water slides and a pool at the Adam and Eve Mini club.

The hotel offers even more opportunities for keeping active through the night. The 175m long Atrium features six restaurants and three bars – including the 96m Bluetooth Bar – and is the venue for the nightly DJ performances, parties and concerts that keep the hotel’s nightlife vibrant. The 25m high space is decorated with five million individually placed mirrors; it is a dazzling and highly flexible venue, suitable for decadent parties as well as formal congresses.

Adam & Eve Hotels, Belek, Antalya, Turkey; tel: +90 (242) 444 0596; mice@adamevehotels.com; www.adamevehotels.com