OMNI HOTELS & RESORTS LAUNCHES FOURTH ANNUAL BE COLLABORATIVE SERIES

Luxury Hotel Brand Brings Together Thought Leaders, Meeting Planners and Travel Professionals for Educational Sessions

DALLAS (August 11, 2014) - Omni Hotels & Resorts announced today details for the fourth annual Be Collaborative road-show, a professional development series offered to meeting planners   across the nation. Each year the program offers new insights on how clients and suppliers can collaborate by embracing each other’s points of views and achieving mutual success. The popular program at various Omni Hotels & Resorts properties across the country will focus on professional and personal development. It is followed by a networking event. Each session features a distinguished guest speaker and professional development content presented by an industry expert.  

Inspired by the innovative TED Talks, this year’s Be Collaborative format will focus on speaker and attendee interaction by spreading ideas through inspiring forum discussions. The goal is to generate dialogue and provide both personal and professional development for planners and managers to find success in all areas of their lives. There are three interactive sessions for participants including:

• Straight Talk: A presentation by STR that will provide insight on supply versus demand, and how planners can leverage trends to save their organizations time and money.
• Meetings Technology: Encore Event Technologies will discuss the latest in technology trends, and how to use them so planners can do their jobs and run meetings more effectively. In addition, attendees will receive an in-depth demo of OmniLink, the luxury brand’s new, proprietary and exclusive, customizable meeting app powered by Encore Event Technologies that will help planners stay connected while keeping attendees in the know.
• Omni Meetings University: Omni’s first online meeting planner educational portal is a centralized hub of sophisticated meeting planner tools. Omni Meetings University provides planners with a thorough understanding of the brand; its collection of hotels and resorts, relevant programs as well as top meetings industry trends. It equips planners with tools to make the best site decisions to meet their business objectives.

“Be Collaborative is one of Omni’s most successful client events, and provides planners and suppliers a platform to interact in a meaningful way that drives business results,” said Tom Faust, vice president of sales for Omni Hotels & Resorts. “In addition to the great information that comes from Be Collaborative, we’re honored that this program has been certified by the Convention Industry Council (CIC), and we can provide ongoing continuing education credits for meeting planners.”

Furthermore, Be Collaborative will feature Simon T. Bailey as a thought leader and author of the new book Shift Your Brilliance – Harness the Power of You, Inc. (Published by SoundWisdom). Bailey will provide timely and enlightening information to help meeting professionals understand how to shift their thinking and deliver results personally and professionally. He is a leadership imagineer, whose expertise equips learning participants with tips, tools and techniques on how to deliver value in the new normal. Cited as ‘one of the best keynote speakers ever heard,’ Bailey will deliver a fresh insight on leadership, employee performance and customer experience.

The Be Collaborative series kicks off at the Omni Berkshire Place in Midtown Manhattan on Aug. 21. Subsequent locations and dates include The Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Va., on Sept. 6; Omni Chicago Hotel on Sept. 18; Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 1; Omni San Francisco Hotel on Oct. 30; Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta on Nov. 13; Omni Parker House in Boston on Nov. 20; and the Omni Dallas Hotel on Dec. 18. 

New this year, Omni partnered with the Meeting Planners International (MPI) Foundation to provide an MPI Foundation scholarship to an attendee at each Be Collaborative event to include registration, airfare and accommodations for the 2015 MPI World Education Congress (WEC) in San Francisco.  Eight total scholarships will be awarded.

For more information, to book a meeting or event and for terms and conditions regarding Omni Hotels & Resorts meeting offerings, customers can visit omnihotels.com/meetings or by calling 1-800-788-OMNI. Travelers or media can also follow Omni Hotels & Resorts at www.Facebook.com/OmniHotels, Twitter.com/OmniHotels, and Twitter.com/OmniMeetings.

About Omni Hotels & Resorts

Omni Hotels & Resorts creates genuine, authentic guest experiences at 60 distinct upscale hotels and resorts in leading business gateways and leisure destinations across North America. With over 20 world-class golf courses and award-winning spa retreats, to dynamic business settings, each Omni showcases the local flavor of the destination while featuring four-diamond services, signature restaurants, Wi-Fi connectivity and unique wellness options.  Known for its distinguished, personalized service, Omni leaves a lasting impression with every customer interaction, with a heightened level of recognition and rewards delivered through its Select Guest loyalty program and the company’s “Power of One” associate empowerment program. The brand is frequently recognized by top consumer research organizations and travel publications. To get additional information or book accommodations, visit omnihotels.com or call 1-800-The-Omni.