Predictable ballroom and boardroom meetings are going topsy-turvy, as meeting planners find more creative ways to engage attendees.
Athletics Stadium
When the Hilton West Palm Beach hosted a meeting organized by Adidas, they transformed their Oceana ballroom into a football locker room and field entrance tunnel. By branding the whole room with ADIDAS and NCAA gear, they created a fully immersive experience for attendees that made the group feel like professional sports stars.
Indoor Rainforest
Costa Rica’s Los Sueños Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort is already set on a 1,100-acre rainforest, but to continue the tropical theme into the event itself, the property re-created its rainforest setting indoors. A lush natural entryway and indigenous floral arrangements made attendees feel as if they were meeting directly in the rich landscape of Costa Rica rather than in a hotel.
Basketball meetings
The JW Marriott Grand Rapids already has a track record for transforming its 12,320 sf international ballroom into impressive new permutations such as a country barn, a glow-in-the-dark yoga studio, and a catwalk. Always looking for creative ways to engage attendees, the property recently outdid itself by converting its space into a full-size functional basketball court.
Undersea World
The Hilton Hawaiian Village boasts the largest capacity ballroom in Hawaii, which it recently transformed in to an “Undersea World” setting for a lavish banquet. Gigantic jellyfish, coral lighting fixtures and live action aquarium shots made the space evocative of Hawaii’s pristine seas.
Prohibition Speakeasy
The Hilton New Orleans Riverside, located just minutes from the New Orleans Morial Convention Center and on the banks of the Mississippi River, creates a “secret” speakeasy networking experience for groups in its Public Belt lounge. Attendees are given a set of keys and shown through a back door, where they can either go to a back-of-house kitchen area with food and drink stations, or experience a speakeasy-style lounge with smoky drinks, a dance floor and desserts.
