Simply Mumtaz visits Albuquerque, New Mexico ~ Your Next Conference Site!

Hi All! Joella and I (Jennifer) landed in Albuquerque last week where it was at the highest 45 degrees!! Talk about a change from this week! What an experience we had in Albuquerque!

 

Both of us had never been, so we were pleasantly surprised by how much Albuquerque has to offer. From great golf courses, like the PAA-Ko Ridge Golf Club, ranked No. 29 of “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses” to shopping in their Old Town, filled with Native American turquoise and silver jewelry to our favorite thing, hot air ballooning! Albuquerque is of course known as the ballooning capital of the world and we are excited to return soon and next time ride in a hot air balloon!

The Balloon Fiesta attracts more than 700,000 visitors over the course of 9 days from all over the world! The first day of our trip, we were up at 4:45am to check it out!! We definitely needed more coffee that morning! It had been raining, but we lucked out and the balloons were inflated long enough for us to take some great photos! Here we are with our wonderful Albuquerque CVB guy, KC Flores! Both KC and Jacob Quintana are fantastic and we would recommend them to anyone who is looking to take a conference to Albuquerque. They were not only hospitable and friendly, but really cool guys to be around. Thanks so much for making our trip a great success, KC!

Sandia Peak Tramway, North America’s longest single-span aerial tramway, is a ride the top of the 10,000 foot peak where for a breathtaking view! This year there was already snow atop the peak…who would have thought!

A perfect ending to the trip was the Dinner under the Sea. We were treated to a private dining experience for 20 at the Albuquerque BioPark Aquarium, where we dined with sharks, sea turtles, and stingrays.

Another great thing we were introduced to in Albuquerque was Paws And Stripes. The nonprofit organization provides rescue dogs to wounded United States Military Veterans. Every dog in the program is rescued from local shelters and foster homes and trained individually with veterans from day one, building an amazing and close man-service dog relationship as they both heal together. Check them out at PawAndStripes.org

It was a great trip and Joella and I are looking forward to returning for some more Albuquerque fun! 

Together As One at The Beyond Our Doors Dinner

Hey everyone! Our client recently celebrated their goal of providing back to the community and staying green with their annual Beyond Our Doors dinner this past September. Highlights of the night include organic dinner choices, eco-friendly table arrangements and a picture that literally brought the room together. Details below!

A light cocktail happy hour was followed by dinner choices of Grilled Free Range Airline Chicken Beast, Line Caught Halibut or a vegetarian Giant Ravioli. Mango Sorbet with fresh organic berries and mint garnished with petit four was served as desert during the night’s main presentation. 

Keeping in theme with the Kaiser’s goal of helping communities and staying eco–conscious, the night’s centerpieces transformed each table into a community garden of sorts as each centerpiece used organic fruits and vegetables which guests were encouraged to harvest from and take home at the end of the evening. Reusable bags where distributed in lieu of plastic bags.

Another take away item that guests were treated to at the end of the night was a poster spelling out the word “Together” with photos of guests taken earlier in the evening. With the help of Cotton Photography, Simply Mumtaz Events took snap shots of guests as they arrived and complied their faces into the collage and distributing copies after revealing a framed version to guests.

The quick turn around for “Together” posters couldn’t have been accomplished without our graphic designer Jahel! A big thank you to the rest of the Simply Mumtaz Events team and everyone involved!

Stay tuned for details from Joella Hopkins and Jennifer Minzey’s FAM trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico and IMEX America 2011 in Las Vegas, Neveda.

Jennifer highlights ISES LA's Annual JAM

This post brought to you by Jennifer Minzey, VP of Education & Programs for your local ISES LA Chapter. On September 20^th, ISES Greater Los Angeles was proud to produce the Annual ISES LA JAM (Joint Allied Mixer) at Santa Anita Parkway. 

This year's educational sessions were presented by two experts who addressed what our special events industry is looking towards in 2012. Beverly Oviedo, CMP addressed the crowd about the new ISO Standards being drafted for going Green and pending approval for 2012.  Our other expert, Robert Kempken, VP of IBIS World, discussed the grim outlook that our industry is still facing.  But, he said that being creative, marketing ourselves, and thinking outside of the box is the best approach for surviving this climate.  He was a popular speaker with our attendees and remained afterwards to answer everyone’s questions.  

The tradeshow that followed was fun because I got to see familiar faces and meet news ones.  J & M Entertainment Event Production, Plan It Interactive, Party Pals, and AFR Furnishings, just to name a few.

There was a cool new product from LA Photo Party that I particularly liked, which was their Photo Party Upload, they can take a photo of you at your event and then you post it to any social media site on the spot! It was very cool! We are hoping to use it for an upcoming event in the spring! 

The evening was filled with friends, food, and drinks…all of which turned into professional fun at another ISES LA event!  Hope to see you at the next ISES event, Meet the Masters on November 14^th at the Millennium Biltmore!   Special Thanks to Joelle Leder Photography!

Highlights from Event Marketer Countdown

Simply Mumtaz President, Joella Hopkins, CSEP, CMP, had a great time this past week at the Event Marketer Countdown. It was a fantastic fast paced download of current experiential marketing trends. So, here are a few of Joella's take homes…


As we all know social media is changing the way we all are starting to plan and invite attendees to events. However, now social media is driving attendance to events. Some are starting to only announce via Twitter major events, especially for those B-to-C focused events. Some organizations are only offering discounts by “Liking” their FaceBook pages. Social media is now becoming a feeder of attendees. We’d love to hear how you use social media at your events?

Consumers are driving the messages we create. We are no longer dictating messages because as we address current trends we are now customizing our messages. We are striving to have longer communications in terms of the time each of our consumers spend on our sites…

Bottom line is we all need to be creative in using our social media outlets to engage our consumers. We need to tailor those communications to convey the right message, interact longer, and inspire action.

I hope this has been helpful… Please comment with your most successful or groundbreaking social media tactics! We’d love to hear about them and share.

Luxury & Super Cool Venues - Joella's Highlights from the Luxury Meetings Summit

Joella reporting in... So, last week I attended the Luxury Meetings Summit which was held at the beautiful Beverly Montage in the heart of Beverly Hills. It was awesome getting to meet over 25 luxury brands and potential venues to hold events. A few stuck out to me... So, here goes - my highlights and why! In no particular order... 

The Canary Hotel is up first. This gorgeous downtown Santa Barbara resort, is the only full service luxury boutique left in that area. Despite appealing to those that "flock" to this Spanish style Villa, they offer over 5,000 square feet of meeting space, for small parties or large banquets, including seminars. With panoramic roof top views, this is quite the locale to have a corporate affair or an intimate event.

Second up is the Montage Deer Valley in Park City Utah! Stunning property in both winter for ski season and the rest of the year for hiking! This gorgeous ski resort is the ideal meeting spot for those that yearn for the "slope" life. With over 50,000 square feet of meeting space both indoor and outdoor to offer, resort meeting rooms varying in size from 2,500-4,300 square feet, can accommodate from 120-300 attendees. Montage also offers an audio and visual department, making PowerPoint presentations easy and accessible, helping those coming in from other cities, to carry less luggage and equipment during their travel.

The Arizona Biltmore, located in the scenic and beautiful Phoenix desert, where Frank Lloyd Wright served as a consulting architect, offers over 100,000 square feet of meeting space. For corporate events, small or large, Biltmore appeals for its all in one capabilities including their amazing look! Their magnificent gardens and sparkling pools accentuate any meeting, bringing tranquility to long days and busy afternoons. I hope to bring a self-contained conference their way soon!

Next up is the Carmel Valley Ranch is just one of the many luxurious resorts California has to offer residents and tourists alike. "Where else can you play 18 holes of world-class golf, access hundreds of miles of hiking trails, wander around an organic garden, learn about honey bees in an apiary and dress in a Bee Suit, explore vineyard terroir, enjoy mountain-top yoga, and then relax by your choice of pools?" I loved this place.

Whether you reserve space indoors or in the cinematic grounds, with over 35,000 square feet of meeting space, the Ranch can accommodate any "honey" of an event, sure to give all of your attendees a very "sweet" experience from the soothing aroma from The Carmel Lavender Farm just a few miles away.

Next up is The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

In this picturesque mountain getaway, The Broadmoor, in Colorado Springs, CO, brings Green Incentives to any meeting or event with their "environmentally-conscious programs in water and energy use and waste generation. The Broadmoor offers 60,000 square feet of pillar-free, carpeted meeting space, which can handle groups up to 6,500 people with ease." Their main hall can accommodate up to 350 booths, and is the centerpiece of the Event Center Complex.

I also fell in love with The London in West Hollywood. They had some unusal roof space that made it a very unique option for us planners! With almost 16,000 square feet of event and meeting space to offer, in the epicenter of Los Angeles in West Hollywood, CA, The London prides itself on glamour and elegance. Catered by international Master Chef Gordon Ramsey, with the ability to accommodate 75-750, attendees will be impressed and swooned like celebrities, while they dine on delectables, and utilize state of the art AV equipment and complimentary WiFi. They offer ballrooms up to 4,000 square feet and a 24 hour business center. I can't wait to plan an event there!

I hope that you enjoy this blog post! It was a fantastic meeting and I'm happy to highlight these special venues. Give me a holler if you have any questions! joella@simplymumtaz.com. Have a great week all!

We're Hiring! Events Assistant Position

Hey everybody. We're hiring for an Events Assistant position. We are looking for someone to join our team and work their way to an Event Coordinator position. It is seasonal/part-time... similar to a teacher's schedule. Spring and Fall is super busy and Summer is slower, but not dead. Please email Simply Mumtaz President Joella Hopkins, CSEP, CMP at joella@simplymumtaz.com for a Job Description which includes how to submit for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!

ExchangeLA & ISES LA!

Hi everyone! It's Jennifer Minzey and as your ISES LA VP of Programs and Education I'm excited to blog about ExchangeLA and ISES LA! On August 17th, the ISES LA Chapter was fortunate enough to have their August meeting held at the historic and newly renovated Exchange LA, the original home of the Los Angeles Stock Exchange Building.  This meeting was a departure from the regular networking event, as WISE GUYS EVENTS came in and "played" with our crowd with both individual and team building activities.  We also had the pleasure of having LA Spice Catering, Lisa & Mo, and the Nickel Diner share their delectable treats with us that evening.  Thank you to all who came out, I really appreciate it.

But, nothing could have prepared me for the first time that I walked into Exchange LA. WOW!!! These were the first words that came to mind when visiting the venue.  Just some history for you, ground was broken on this art-deco building on October 21, 1929, just three days before Black Thursday.  The Los Angeles Stock Exchange merged with the Pacific Stock Exchange in 1956 and trading took place until 1986.  Since then, the building remained largely unoccupied.  After nearly two years of renovation and retrofitting, Exchange LA now pays homage to its rich and opulent past.

From the outside it looks like the other old buildings in Downtown LA. But, once you walk through the doors, it is an eye opening experience to a whole different style of venue.  From the state of the art sound system to the lighting to the sheer massiveness of the space--spanning over 25,000 square feet and four floors, this venue can offer an array of possibilities.  Hosting a small crowd in one of their really cool suites to hosting over 1,000 people in their main area, Exchange LA offers something unique, something for that creative and fun planner who is looking for something different.

Thank you to Luminaire Images for all the great shots of that evening!