ANDAZ Shanghai is offering an annual dinner package for companies looking to usher in 2014 with a bang.

Priced from RMB6,800 (US$1,118) net per table of at least 10 guests for a Chinese set menu, the New Year party package is valid until March 31, 2014.

It includes free flow of soft drinks, juices, local beers and two bottles of imported red wine per table, use of audiovisual system, special room rate for guests and one complimentary night’s stay for bookings of more than 20 tables, among others.

Buffet arrangements are available too, and a minimum booking of 40 pax is required.

Other terms apply. All prices include a 15 per cent service charge.

Contact info.shanghai@andaz.com for more information.

REGAL Hotels International is offering an early bird promotion to corporate event planners, valid from January 1 to March 31, 2014.

Aimed at TMCs, DMCs, PCOs and PEOs worldwide, the promotion is available at all properties in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dezhou and Guiyang.

It features a 15 per cent commission on commissionable room rates or five per cent commission on nett room rates, a theme refreshment break upgrade, use of one LCD projector, Internet access in the meeting venue (limited to two devices), and a guaranteed upgrade for two rooms to the next category for every 20 rooms per booking.

Terms apply.

Visit www.regalhotel.com for more information.

TREVOR McCartney will move from his position as director of business development at Qatar National Convention Centre to lead Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre as general manager come early 2014.

The venue, which is managed by AEG Ogden, is due for completion in December 2016.

Geoff Donaghy, director of convention centres for AEG Ogden, said there was considerable international interest in the position but the internal promotion of McCartney was an endorsement of the strength and talent within the AEG Ogden network.

McCartney was previously chief executive of Borneo Convention Centre Kuching, Malaysia for three years and director of international sales and operations at the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall, Thailand for three years. He was also a key member of pre-opening teams at three major UK conference centres.

“Trevor is an outstanding and experienced convention centre executive who is well respected throughout the industry globally,” said Donaghy.

UFI has appointed Renaud Hamaide, CEO of Comexposium in Paris, France, president for the 2013/2014 season.

Hamaide succeeds Chen Xianjin, chairman of the Organising Committee of China Association for Exhibition Centers. Chen will continue to support UFI as immediate past-president.

Hamaide and Chen form part of UFI’s presidential trio, with each individual serving one year as incoming-president, one year as incumbent president and one year as immediate past-president.

Andrés López Valderrama, CEO of Corferias, Bogota, Colombia, completes the trio as incoming UFI president for the 2013/2014 term.

CORPORATE travel and business events to Cebu City and Mactan Island appear to have been spared from the same fate leisure tourism business in the province and the Visayas are enduring following the devastating landfall of super typhoon Haiyan.

Cebu City and Mactan Island are the business and commercial hubs of Cebu province and the Visayas.

Jerome Coronado, inbound supervisor of Swire Travel Philippines, Inc., said the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Bohol and Cebu on October 15 – three weeks before the super typhoon struck – had caused more business travel cancellations and postponement of events in Cebu.

Agreeing, Wow Philippines Travel Agency general manager, Relly Magundayao, said business returned a week after the super typhoon struck, although there had been some postponement of business travel to Cebu, from this year to sometime in 2014, and fewer enquiries for teambuilding activities in Boracay.

In fact, several days after Haiyan struck, Cebu’s hotel sector is enjoying full occupancy due to the onslaught of foreign journalists, international relief agencies and non-profit organisations, and military aid personnel using Cebu as their gateway and warehouse centre to Tacloban and eastern Samar.

Some of the hotels that have reported strong occupancies include Cebu City Marriott, Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu and Best Western Plus Lex Cebu.

Hotels are expected to continue to be booked out as the stricken areas in the Visayas continue to merit international aid.

FOLLOWING two years of modest budget and activity increases in meeting spend per organisation, figures are expected to be flat or show a slight decline across all regions in 2014, reported the latest American Express Meetings & Events 2014 Global Meetings Forecast.

Industry activity appears likely to be stabilising due to a rise in meetings-related policies designed to ensure such events comply with company guidelines and deliver against strategic objectives.

Across all regions, meeting organisers will likely continue to face challenges as they strive to achieve more with flat or decreasing budgets expected, compared to previous years.

Most notable is the shift in expectations among meeting planners in Asia-Pacific. Respondents from the region were the only ones last year to predict an average increase in overall meetings spend per organisation, however, this year they are forecasting a 3.6 per cent decline – the largest dip among all regions.

The number of meetings is expected to dip 1.2 per cent while the number of attendees per meeting is projected to fall by 2.4 per cent.

“While businesses throughout Asia-Pacific still recognise the importance of meetings and events, over the past year there has been a shift towards greater control and transparency within meetings programmes,” said Danielle Puceta, director, American Express Meetings & Events, Asia-Pacific.

“After two years of optimism, in 2014 we expect slight decreases in the frequency and spend-per-organisation when it comes to meetings and events in the Asia-Pacific region. We believe this is indicative of a maturing industry and a phase of greater scrutiny, aimed at ensuring meetings and events activity truly meets organisational objectives.”

The study also ranked Shanghai as the top meeting destination choice among meeting planners in Asia-Pacific, followed by Singapore and Sydney.

Hong Kong and Macau jumped from seventh position last year to fourth this year, while Bangkok and Chiang Mai share fifth spot in the latest rankings.