Day at the cricket

We've done a LOT of work with Mantra Pandanas in Darwin over the last 18 months and this (mainly) led to an invite for me to a corporate box at the cricket on the second day of the first test between Australia and New Zealand.

I'm not a huge cricket fan but a day out of the office after the madness of peak season was something to look forward to. Plus, corporate box, food & drink, etc ... unlikely I'm going to turn that down! As you can see from the picture below, the weather wasn't great but that was a good thing for us (and no doubt the players) as it wasn't too hot.

The action on the field was a little slow but the company was great and the food and drinks flowed. Thanks so much to Edith, our sales manager from Mantra for the invite and her generous hospitality, it was a fantastic way to spend a Friday afternoon!

Busiest week of the year?

The end of year peak corporate travel season in Australia essentially runs from the end of September school holidays until early December. We have been flat out every day since Melbourne Cup (Nov 1) and this week was the ultimate for Australian hotels.

Here is what happened:

* Adelaide - filled last night
* Brisbane - filled Tuesday, Wednesday and almost Thursday
* Canberra - filled Tuesday, Wednesday
* Melbourne - filled Wednesday, Thursday
* Perth - filled Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
* Sydney - filled Tuesday, Wednesday and almost Thursday

It got so busy, the cities so full and we ran out of our allotments so early (especially for Perth) that we had to give up on this week enquiries on Tuesday and focus on the week after.

There looks to be another 2 or 3 weeks left before things quieten down so if you have any travel to do in that time and need to book accommodation, make sure you organise your hotel before you book your flights!

The Tiger Woods effect

He may not be the # 1 golfer in the world anymore but that doesn't lessen the pulling power of Tigers Woods playing tournaments in Australia. This then flows through to the hotels in the city that he's playing in.

Last week Tiger was in Sydney playing in the Australian Open and virtually every CBD hotel was fully booked Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This week he joined the USA's President's Cup team in Melbourne and all the hotels in and around the CBD have filled for at least Wednesday and Thursday nights.

I think I've explained this concept before, but when a sporting event happens in a city, strangely its not the nights of the event that actually fill, its only the nights that overlap with corporate travel. For instance, the golf got underway today in Melbourne but the worst nights for accommodation were actually last night and tonight with there still being availability over the weekend (while the tournament is still running).

I know he's become a controversial figure after his off-course antics that have come to light but as a golf fan and a business owner that benefits from him coming to Australia, I for one hope he comes back every year!

Gold Coast 600 in style!

I get some pretty cool invites and this ranks right up there. Last Friday I was lucky enough to be invited by Palazzo Versace to their trackside corporate suite for the Gold Coast 600 (formerly Indy).

Now, I'm not a petrol head by any stretch but when the invite is for a sporting event and there's a corporate suite involved, I'm there!

I went to the Indy many years ago for my brother's buck's day but Friday was definitely more about doing it in style! Good food, great view (see below), wait-staff bringing you drinks all day and some celebrities as well. In the suite we had Tom Williams (briefly), Haley Bateup (iron woman ... so fit!) as well as Travis Cloke and Cameron Wood from Collingwood. There were also a few of the drivers wives and girlfriends.

A massive thank you to Andrew who is the DOSM at Palazzo Versace for the invite and his generous hospitality.

Perth and October don't mix

Perth is NOT the place to be in October if you can help it!

Everyone knows about CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) and the visit of the Queen but its now every week in October that the Perth hotels are full.

October started a little slowly for Perth due to the school holidays in QLD, VIC and NSW. Not as many corporates travelling so for once the city didn't actually fill midweek. Every other week has been nuts and next week is one of the worst. The reason? Well, its the week before CHOGM so everyone that doesn't want to pay $500/night for a 4 star hotel is coming next week and now every hotel is sold out on Tuesday, Wednesday and many on Thursday as well.

Normally for Perth, I suggest booking two weeks in advance to ensure you can get availability at a decent price, this month I just recommend postponing your travel until November.

Diamant Hotel Brisbane

What's in a name?

What is now the Diamant Hotel Brisbane has been The Portal Hotel, the Best Western Portal Hotel, back to The Portal Hotel and now the Diamant!

I visited the hotel back in the Best Western stage and reviewing that post I notice I compared it to the Kirketon Hotel in Sydney. Well, the reason its now called the Diamant Hotel is that its been taken over by the 8 Hotels Group which in fact manage the Kirketon!

With the change in name and ownership came new management and since we do a bit of work with the hotel Adam and I received an invite to have a look around and meet the team. I had seen the rooms before but it was good for Adam so he knew exactly what he was talking about when describing the hotel to clients.

After having a look around we sat down with Branka (the GM) and Tamara (reservations) in the restaurant and enjoyed a glass of wine and an array of finger food. Its always great to actually meet people that you talk to so often so it was a very enjoyable afternoon.

To celebrate the new name (and new management) the hotel is currently running a weekend promotion where you receive a celebratory bottle of Moet & Chandon champagne when you stay on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night ("neighbour rates" package).

Sydney conference

I've been lucky enough to be able to do a bit of travel this year and that continued last week when I went down to a three day conference in Sydney.

The conference was being held at the Masonic Centre which is at the south end of the CBD and since I was with a couple of friends the best option was a 2 bedroom apartment at Meriton Kent Street. I've stayed at the hotel previously so I knew what to expect and since we were there for a couple of days I upgraded to a sky view apartment (higher floors). The weather was terrible on the first day but thankfully it cleared up over the next few days so we could actually admire the view (see pictures below).

Thankfully we booked a couple of weeks early as two bedroom apartments sell out virtually every weekend in Sydney. That didn't stop us having to pay top dollar for the apartment on Saturday night ... which hurts as I'm obviously used to being "looked after" by hotels when I travel!