The Days Inn recently got this letter and video testimonial from a guest that we thought was worth sharing . . .

We’ve heard comments from many people about what a beautiful place Jekyll is. I know group planners work very hard on the details with guests and they come & go.  this was a big thing for our family, as you can see by this and we only do it every 3 years.  Not sure if you knew that Krystyne who helped me so much on the planning, was unable to attend because of her due date.  She actually had the baby on the Wednesday we were there. They’re incorporated into the video as a part of the reunion memories.

Thanks again for all your help in getting the details right. All the best - Rose Doherty

Tags: family reunion, georgia beaches, jekyll island accommodations, jekyll island meetings, jekyll island vacation, The Days Inn Jekyll Island
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The Jekyll Island Authority today announced its selection for Planning, Architectural and Engineering Services for the Jekyll Island Convention Center, Beachfront Park and Entry Corridor Revitalization areas. The selection is a conclusion of Request for Qualified Contractor #253 and was approved by the Jekyll Island Authority Board on Monday.

The Jekyll Island Authority is pleased to select HHCP Architecture, Inc. as the winning firm. HHCP will contract and report to the Jekyll Island Authority and together with HHCP’s project team work with the JIA along with revitalization partner Linger Longer Communities to fulfill the vision for the new beach village.

“We had 33 responses to the RFQC, so the review team had a great amount of work to complete in a short amount of time,” stated Jones Hooks, Executive Director of the Jekyll Island Authority. “There were many great firms, but HHCP really impressed us, bringing a higher level of excitement and a deeper understanding of the importance and potential the beach village project has.”

HHCP Architecture, Inc. will be the primary partner and handle architecture, programming, budget & scheduling and LEED qualification. Among HHCP’s project team, site consultants will be Thomas & Hutton Engineering Co. of Brunswick, GA who will handle civil engineering and surveying. Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin of Atlanta will handle transportation planning, site planning, landscape architecture, environmental and graphics & wayfinding. Building consultants will be structural engineers Stanley D. Lindsey and Associates of Atlanta, mechanical engineers TLC Engineering for Architecture from Orlando and interior designer TJNG Partners also of Orlando. HHCP Architecture, Inc. is licensed and registered in Georgia with its main headquarters in Maitland, Florida.

“The new Jekyll Island Convention Center and Beach Village has the potential to create a strong sense of place and give visitors an enjoyable, rich and unique experience that will make them want to visit again,” stated Alan Helman, senior partner with HHCP Architecture, Inc. “We are obviously pleased with the selection and are confident in our team’s ability to meet the goals and exceed expectations.”

Helman Hurley Charvat Peacock/Architects, Inc. (HHCP) was founded in 1975 and has grown to become one of the southeast’s most experienced and respected architectural firms. With a staff of 67 professionals and support staff, HHCP has project experience all over the world, most in the hospitality industry. Much of the domestic experience is in Florida, Georgia and Puerto Rico and includes the Orange County Convention Center and University of Central Florida’s College of Hospitality in Orlando. HHCP’s work on the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort was recognized as the 2007 Project of the Year by Associated Builders and Contractors.

The Jekyll Island Beach Village project is one of several redevelopment projects which will bring about the revitalization of Jekyll Island. Along with a new convention center and beachfront park, partner Linger Longer Communities will construct two adjacent hotels, a retail shopping village with public plaza and a new vacation ownership lodging project. The entry corridor to Jekyll Island will be re-worked to unify the site and place the beach village adjacent and overlooking the beach and ocean. The total project is expected to cost $165+ million.

Even during revitalization, Jekyll Island offers guests a wonderful beach escape with hotels, rental cottages and campground all operating. All restaurants, tennis facilities, bike paths, Summer Waves Water Park, Historic Landmark District and golf courses are open for business; and miles of uncrowded beach are unaffected by revitalization project work. For more information about Jekyll island revitalization, visit www.jekyllisland.com. For more information on HHCP Architecture, Inc., please visit www.hhcp.com.

Tags: georgia beaches, georgia vacations, jekyll island authority, jekyll island authority board, jekyll island convention center, jekyll island meetings, jekyll island redevelopment, Jekyll island revitaliz, Jekyll Island vacations
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By Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY

In past years, partners of global executive search firm Stanton Chase conducted business meetings in South Africa during a long trip with their families that included a safari. They also enjoyed Sydney during a gathering at the Australian city’s Ritz-Carlton.
But next month, the firm’s partners will huddle at a Marriott in the suburbs of Nashville, chosen partly for its access to low-cost Southwest Airlines, says Mickey Matthews, a Stanton Chase executive. The firm is also overlapping meetings to avoid the expense of flying people out twice.
Today, “practical” has replaced “memorable” as the buzzword in high-end business circles. Companies are canceling splashy events and lavish business dinners or revamping the way they plan them. The new mood means drastic changes for employees who’ve come to expect five-star treatment, as well as hoteliers and travel planners who base their businesses on such meetings and incentive travel trips.
They’ve even coined a new phrase for the trend: “the AIG effect.”
It comes from the embarrassing disclosure last fall that struggling insurance giant American International Group had spent about $400,000 on a retreat at a luxurious St. Regis resort and spa after taking an $85 billion federal bailout. After that, hoteliers saw mass cancellations or postponements of previously booked upscale trips and meetings.
Businesses usually cut back on luxury travel spending in tough times, but new image concerns raise additional worries, says Bjorn Hanson of New York University.
“There’s not many companies out there that want to see their name on the reader board in a four-, five-star hotel nowadays,” he says.
• Smaller checks at dinner
The mood is evident even at business dinners. At Morton’s in Midtown Manhattan, where a steak typically costs $50, the average check for business meetings and dinners is getting smaller, says Barbara Rodriguez, the restaurant’s sales manager. People are scheduling early dinners or lunches instead of four-course meals, she says.
“They’re taking into consideration that they don’t have those larger expense accounts anymore,” she says.
The incentive travel industry is also being squeezed because the trips - usually held in exotic locales to motivate sales forces - now seem splashy. Brenda Anderson, CEO of the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives, says companies are wary about programs that could invite scrutiny because, “The spotlight is still on looking for examples of how this greed got out of control.”
How companies are handling “the AIG effect”:
•Choosing lesser-known hotels. Independent luxury hotels such as Boston’s Liberty Hotel are gaining business from their big-name rivals. “If you’re submitting an expense account, and you get a big Ritz-Carlton or a Four Seasons plastered across the folio, it’s going to raise some eyebrows,” says Jim Treadway, the hotel’s managing director.

One group last month called The James hotel in downtown Chicago to book an $80,000 meeting in February after canceling at an upscale hotel in Las Vegas, says Patrick Hatton, the hotel’s general manager. “They didn’t want the image of having their meeting in Las Vegas,” he says.

•Avoiding waterfront. Miami’s high-end waterfront resorts are having a tougher time than inland ones booking groups, says William Talbert III, CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Whether it’s the Four Seasons, Conrad or Mandarin Oriental, there’s a drop-off on booked business,” he says.
•Downplaying golf. The upscale Jekyll Island Club resort in coastal Georgia is receiving extra corporate business from groups that want to avoid top-priced golf resorts. The hotel, which charges $200 to $250 a night, has three public golf courses nearby.
“Nobody’s going to get in trouble bringing their company here,” says Kevin Runner, the hotel’s general manager.
•Picking cheaper wines. The James hotel’s restaurant, David Burke’s Primehouse, now stocks fewer $250 bottles of wine and is replacing some pricey picks with cheaper ones. For example, pinot noir fans will now find a $110 Coho Pinot Noir Stanly Ranch Carneros instead of a $175 Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast. “People aren’t spending on the big wines,” Hatton says.
•Staying closer to home. Joyce Landry of Miami-based Landry & Kling Cruise Event Services says she expects companies will choose closer cruise options, such as the Caribbean instead of the Mediterranean: “They’re not stopping, but they’re being more frugal and careful.”
David Ellis, a consultant for a major information technology company, says his company canceled an annual six-day conference this year at the Rio casino and hotel in Las Vegas for the first time in his eight years. Though it wasn’t extravagant, many people - including his wife - enjoyed going, he says.
“Most of us looked forward to it for reconnecting to friends, networking (and) getting to know management,” Ellis says. In the end, he wasn’t shocked, given the economy.
Expectations also evolved at Stanton Chase.
“People have come down a little bit in their expectations,” Matthews says. “People recognize that that stuff was outstanding, but it was maybe a little once-in-a-lifetime.”

Tags: aig, conventions, corporate meetings, jekyll island, Jekyll Island Club Hotel, jekyll island meetings, meeting destinations
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