WestJet plans additional flights to Chicago, starting May 14.

WestJet will launch daily non-stop service between Vancouver and Chicago, and Calgary and Chicago, beginning May 14.

In addition to flying these routes, WestJet will continue to market non-stop service to Chicago from Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal on its partner American Airlines’ codeshare flights.

Chicago is an American Airlines’ major hub, providing connections to key destinations in the U.S. and around the world.

The new destination announcement follows the release of the airline’s summer schedule, which includes seven-times daily service to New York (LaGuardia); daily service to Whitehorse, Yukon; three-times weekly service to Kingston, Jamaica; and weekly non-stop service to Aruba.

WestJet non-stop service between Vancouver, Calgary and Chicago is subject to government approval.

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As we all know, the meetings and incentive travel industry is continually re-inventing itself and looking for ways to provide more meaningful and memorable experiences for attendees.

Other than serving food and using name badges, almost every aspect of the events we present today is different from the past.

Attendees are more “connected” than ever before through technology, so most meetings are less about transferring information from speaker to audience and more about promoting dialogue and idea exchange in a face-to-face environment.

And most of today’s incentive programs are likely to include a business component and allow participants to customize their experience by offering them a choice of activities.

More importantly, the event is less likely to be a singular occurrence and much more likely to support and be related to all of the host’s other marketing and corporate initiatives.

Why?

The truth is, the whole world of marketing has changed drastically in the past 10 years.

We have gone from a world where companies told the consumer what they needed to buy or do, to one where the client is truly in charge.

The client expects to choose how, when and where he will receive information, and expects the information to be tailored to his specific needs.

That means that the real purpose of presenting face-to-face experiences is to promote relationship growth and build loyalty within specific segments of the market.

Events have had to change significantly to achieve those goals and are more likely to be designed to support (and are supported by) virtual marketing campaigns and information exchanges.

It is not unusual today to see events that are connected to online user forums, provide twitter hashtags to the audience to encourage dialogue exchange, endorse mobile communities and promote other forms of audience interaction.

This means the planner’s skill sets have had to change as well.

Yes – a good planner has to manage all logistics effectively.

But now, he or she also has to be able to talk about and facilitate the implementation of individualized learning, online exchanges, mobile applications and interactive websites.

How are we as industry professionals able to do that?

Increasingly, it’s all about collaboration – how well we build relationships with experts in other fields and how we integrate them into the event team, to design more relevant experiences.

One thing will never change: events will have to continue to evolve to remain relevant to a prospective audience that is constantly transforming.

Stock Restaurant & Bar opened today in the brand-new Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto, in the city’s downtown core.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, Stock will serve a seasonally changing menu produced by a kitchen staff headed up by Todd Clarmo, who’s worked at Langdon Hall, in Blair, Ont., and Canoe, in Toronto, and chef de cuisine Paul Banallick, formerly of Toronto’s Auberge du Pommier.

Overseeing the wine list is master sommelier John Szabo, who’s put together a list featuring rare and exclusive bottles and organic and bio-dynamically produced wines. The spirits program includes a long list of craft beers and an artisanal cherry blossom infused vodka, designed exclusively for STOCK™ and Suits Lobby Lounge.

For more info, visit their site

The historic New York Helmsley Hotel has launched a $65-million renovation in preparation for flying the Westin flag following the extensive re-branding.

Each offering over 300 sq. ft., all 774 guestrooms will undergo a floor-to-ceiling renovation and feature the brand’s eco-friendly Westin Classic design scheme.

More than 15,000 sq. ft. of meeting space will also be renovated. Five new breakout rooms will be added, with the largest space accommodating 450. Additional amenities include teleconferencing capabilities, fibre optics, and some of the highest bandwidth in Manhattan.

In addition, the lobby bar/restaurant will be extended to 42nd Street and the entire façade of the building will be transformed.

The renovation is expected to be completed in June and rooms will remain open during the conversion.

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Alison Silcoff (right) and Isabelle Lê accept a Special Events Gala Award at the Jan. 27 ceremony.

Montreal-based Alison Silcoff Events Inc. has won two Special Events Gala Awards in the ‘best event entertainment’ and ‘best event for a corporation’ categories, in a ceremony held Jan. 27 at the Tampa Convention Centre, in Tampa, Fla.

The company won best event entertainment (budget $25,000 to $100,000) for the 2011 Daffodil Ball, which featured a Russian Romance theme.

Silcoff Events also won best event for a corporation (budget over $500,000) for Frostbite, an event in Montreal’s Convention Centre for an American financial services corporation and their 1,300 attendees.

“In the entire history of the Gala Awards, only two other Canadian companies have ever won in [the corporate] category,” said company principal Alison Silcoff.

Hugely prestigious, the Gala Awards are considered the pinnacle of achievement in the events business worldwide.

Visit Special Events’ site

The National Football League’s NFL on Location provides corporate and incentive groups access, throughout the year, to league events, including the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, draft and the International Series Game.

For instance, at the recent Super Bowl, the organization featured gameday hospitality at the exclusive NFL On Location pregame and postgame parties.
Also available are amenities such as pre- and post-game hospitality; in-seat food and beverage service; and an onfield postgame experience.

NFL On Location offers guaranteed seat locations, group seating blocks and exclusive Insider Extras and amenities.

Groups outside the U.S. are eligible to participate and groups of all sizes can be accommodate.

Next year’s Super Bowl will be held in New Orleans.

Visit NFL on Location’s site

The Atlantis event pavilion at Ontario Place, on Toronto’s waterfront, will remain open while the tourist attraction is closed, until 2017, for redevelopment.

Last week, the Ontario government announced that it will shutter the Toronto facility for five years because the facility had not been turning a profit.

“We’re losing money, we are subsidizing it $20-million a year and we need to redevelop the site so it’s more accessible for families, more accessible for the entire community,” said Finance Minister Dwight Duncan at the press conference announcing the redevelopment of Ontario Place.

The water park, amusement rides and the Cinesphere will close until 2017 while the attraction is redeveloped. In addition to Atlantis, the only attractions that will remain open are the Molson Amphitheatre and the marina.

Opened in 1971, Ontario Place has seen attendance dip to 563,000, in 2011, from a high of 2.5-million visitors.

Visit Atlantis pavilion’s site

Westin Hotels & Resorts is transforming fitness facilities at its 186 hotels around the world to include such amenities as new equipment and blue-light therapy.

Rolling out globally throughout 2012, the new studios will feature more floorspace for stretching, yoga and fitness classes. Pulley machines are being added to smaller fitness studios, to provide a wider range of workout options.

In addition, Westin is introducing ActiViva Lighting, a new energizing fluorescent lighting that positively influences well-being and will help to make guests feel more alert, awake and energized in target workout areas such as the cardio zone.

Additionally, the lighting will be customized in all workout zones, to coincide with the type of exercise taking place in each specific area.

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Porter Airlines is increasing its New York service with two additional daily flights.

This increases daily roundtrip departures between Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport to as many as 13 flights and provides a wider range of morning, afternoon and evening departures for passengers.

“Demand for our Toronto-New York route continues to increase and we are responding with additional flights,” said president and CEO Robert Deluce.

The first new flight starts March 26, with a second flight beginning on April 16 and additional weekend options as of March 25.

This follows on the heels of Porter launching, this winter, non-stop service between Newark and Mt. Tremblant, Que.

In addition, passengers at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport now have buy premium food, available for sale in each lounge.

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My friend Trevor Lui (@luisays) said it best…time is money. But you are not likely to part with either, without knowing the value, or the promise of value, that you will receive in return. When was the last time you really gave some thought to defining value?

Value is a finicky friend to time and money; value is as much about perception as it is a measurable commodity. The same value means different things to different people, cultures and time zones. So how can you deliver value when it’s a moving target?

If we presume that you would trade time or money for a product, then value could be defined as the service you provide. It goes without saying that your products must be on par with or have benefits that comparable products in your category have. And I think it’s fair to say we’ve all been promised “the best service” to death by every organization from fast food to politics. So is value a myth? Is value an empty promise?

To read more, visit TheSteveReport