Chic Boutique & Lifestyle Hotel Openings during 2021. A Selection of enchanting new venues in Europe. 2020 ended as 2021 enters the path to a new era for business.
Welcome this new year by planning new businesses at chic boutique venues before they book up. We offer an exclusive insight into new openings and gorgeous choices to boost your MICE business. These business destinations and boutique hospitality selection will help you plan your agenda and corporate trips. Experience unique meetings in most inspiring venues during a challenging year.
Breaking news, important announcements, ingenious digital resources and brilliant webinars have taken place during 2020. Leaving behind a year in which much of the business trips and meetings were also put on stand-by or suspended. A large part of opening plans for Boutique & Lifestyle properties were delayed while new venues could not make their debut due to the large drop in demand causing great havoc.
However, all the citizens of the world have experienced a tremendous advance in corporate communication and high technologies in addition to the incorporation of innovative concepts such as the execution of hybrid events, totally unknown until now among others.
As has happened before, our ancestors used to reveal that after devastating crises and drastic changes, new experiences and opportunities emerged, which can be interpreted as a synonym for evolution.
The New Year 2021 opens the gateway to a new era for business and as a result, numerous new hotel openings are planned, many companies belonging to the hospitality and lifestyle industry, including strategic segments with enormous growth potential like MICE, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events / Exhibitions.
Business travellers as well as meeting and event tourism represent a significant increase in revenue and are crucial to global economies. Boutique MICE Business Multimedia Productions showcases a selection of properties that are scheduled to debut in 2021 in a wide range of European markets. The end of the year 2020 section, highlights in brief presenting an update on how leading companies, institutions and associations continue to evolve towards a better future.
2020 END OF YEAR HIGHLIGHTS IN BRIEF
Etihad Airways was awarded the title of the World´s Leading First Class Lounge Airline also won the 2020 World´s Leading Inflight Service award. In First Class, Etihad offers VIP travel concierge and dedicated team reflecting a commitment to exceed guest expectations. Etihad acquired the title of World’s Leading Airline – Inflight Entertainment at the World Travel Awards.
Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi’s flag carrier and considered an iconic industry leader in the Middle East within the aviation sector, has been honored with a number of significant accolades by the praise from voters at the 2020 World Travel Awards. The Abu Dhabi emblematic airline has also launched ‘Etihad Wellness’ this builds on the safety, health, and wellbeing protocols already put in place by the airline to deal with Covid-19 while still providing a top-quality travel experience to Etihad’s guests who are the leading priority, during and beyond the flight.
WEBINAR – MPI – WEC GRAPEVINE
MPI, the world´s largest association for meetings and events professionals, provided the last webinar of the year on Friday 18th of December, 2020. An extremely compelling and especially functional webinar titled WEC Grapevine: How We Did It – Pandemic Meetings Considerations & Lessons Learned.
In November 2020, Meetings Professionals International (MPI) delivered an industry-leading hybrid event in-person at the Gaylord Texan in the heart of Grapevine, Texas, and live online to a global audience representing 17 countries.
It has been a one-stop spot for more than 600 global meeting professionals onsite and 1,200 digital participants, MPI’s lofty mission—to execute a safe, engaging experience for all attendees that delivered on its theme—Reunite for Recovery. With WEC Grapevine, MPI created a first of its kind hybrid event, with a 100% live digital experience; a blueprint for meetings and events of the future.
WEC Grapevine: How We Did It – Pandemic Meetings Considerations & Lessons Learned. Members were particularly drawn to the in-depth conversation, exceptional speakers and explainers. During the one-hour program, important topics related to the strategy and implementation of the World Education Congress (WEC) Grapevine were addressed; from early critical choices to duty of care to the realities of hybrid. A nifty/ resourceful opportunity to share insights, information, strategy and execution of WEC Grapevine that provides a pathway for meetings and events to move forward and a blueprint for our industry’s recovery.
Speaker(s):
- Melinda Burdette, CMP, Director of Events, MPI.
- Drew Holmgreen, Vice President, Brand Engagement, MPI.
- Jessie States, CMP, CMM, MPI Academy Director, MPI.
- Annette Gregg, CMM, MBA, Senior Vice President, Experience, MPI.
“It is essential to interact with the speakers, when you do it live, that makes it a digital engagement, it makes it a digital activity not virtual because a digital event is one where it’s taking place: fully live, fully interactive and fully engaging.”
“When the decision was made that WEC was going to be live, working with the team we decided that it was going to be digital and not virtual and it was another way to set this event apart from others in the market place.” Drew Holmgreen, Vice President, Brand Engagement, MPI.
During the webinar, each speaker covered a related topic by answering strategic questions.
- Obviously, there are a lot of stakeholders involved in this. How did you get everybody at The Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center your sponsors, your exhibitors? How did you get everybody on the same page, how is this going to happen, and make sure they all stuck to it?
“We had a higher purpose this World Education Congress (WEC) was not your traditional annual conference. We were trying to showcase this as a beacon of hope, to get our industry meeting again, to get our meeting professionals confident, that in-person events can happen safely and frankly to get our friends and co-workers employed again. ”
“We kept reminding everybody involved in this project that this was going to be watched by everybody. WEC was the only real congress happening this year, except for connecting some other smaller events that really was happening to this degree and it was critical, that everybody was aligned on that vision, so everybody could line up and follow the safety protocols.”
- “MPI knew because we made it clear and made everybody agree that if you were showing up, you were going to follow the rules because it meant much bigger things than just a four-day event at the Grapevine.” Annette Gregg, CMM, MBA, Senior Vice President, Experience, MPI.
Ms. Jessie States CMP, CMM and MPI Academy Director shared interesting details about the relevance of content during the webinar titled: WEC Grapevine: How We Did It – Pandemic Meetings Considerations & Lessons Learned.
“We did programming, during breaks and lunches, and that was because we knew that people on the West Coast, East Coast, Europe, they were not experiencing a lunchtime at those particular times; so we kept the programming going so that there was always something that was happening for the digital audience regardless of what time zones they were at.”
“The other thing that we did, we made our marketplace that´s the place where our sponsors were, we made sure that was open 24 hours, that way people could make appointments at any time since we had 17 countries represented. So if someone from Asia or Eastern Europe wanted to make an appointment at what hours that we considered off-hours that was available for them too.” Jessie States, CMP, CMM, MPI Academy Director, MPI.
- After the experience of hosting such a unique event (WEC Grapevine 2020), that you see using in the future even if we are in a pandemic environment, do you think Hybrid is here to stay?
“Maybe, you know there is no downside to adding a digital component to your live event. I don’t think and we all don’t feel like digital will ever take the place entirely of in-person interaction, because it’s just not how humans are built.” “Humans are built to interact with each other face-to-face, this is how we connect, is how your brain releases endorphins, when you’re around others physically, so we don’t fear that digital will take the place ofin-person.” “It is that digital will now be a supplement and maybe it’ll grow your audience.”
“That is our vision, at Meeting Professionals International (MPI) we are a global association, there is some people that’ll never be able to travel to a WEC so why not keep a digital component, so those folks, those members from around the globe can dial an experience what´s like to be part of the experience.”Annette Gregg, CMM, MBA, Senior Vice President, Experience, MPI.
- WEC Vegas taking place in June 2021 will carry forward MPI´s live hybrid format at the brand-new Caesars Forum.
Sommet Education names a high caliber “Digital Board” in order to stimulate the study experience in hospitality 3.0
“I am very proud and excited to welcome these renowned experts who will provide additional encouragement and incorporate fresh ideas into our academic programs, bringing the hospitality study experience to the third generation level.” said Mr.Benoît-Etienne Domenget – Chief Executive Officer, Sommet Education.
Sommet Education has appointed a Digital Board integrated by high-caliber experts with the aim of accelerating and nurturing the education 3.0 experience while generating a direct and global impact for a sustainable approach to digital learning in its academic plan.
The digital transformation, led by a working group made up of academic members and digital experts, has been designed to ensure that new solutions respond with maximum flexibility and instructional accuracy to the situation and the needs of the students.
The aim of the Digital Board is to propose new ideas, services, products and solutions that take advantage of technologies and help to further integrate digitization into the learning experiences of students in the Sommet Education network. The board also intends to incorporate new members and experience throughout the development of its reflections.
Sommet Education has successfully accelerated its digitization in response to the pandemic situation.
“In recent months, Sommet Education has demonstrated its ability to adapt to the needs of its students and accelerate their digital transformation.”
2021 Chic Boutique & Lifestyle Venue Openings in Europe
CASTELLO DI RESCHIO – UMBRIA – ITALY SPRING 2021
- A thousand-year-old castle meticulously restored and stylishly reimagined into a dazzling hotel. The property features an impressive equestrian center including magnificent stables. Count Antonio Bolza, founded his stud in 1999 and now Reschio offers the unique opportunity to experience the Castello a historical gem together with some of the most skilled dressage horses in the world.
MATILD PALACE – BUDABEST – HUNGARY SPRING 2021
- Marriott Luxury Collection. The palace is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site and is under monumental protection. Matild Palace will inspire guests, combine luxurious surroundings with exceptional experiences, distinctive settings with custom floor plans and the latest audiovisual equipment. The first Luxury Collection property in Hungary and a perfect gateway to Budapest strategically located on the banks of the Danube river.
THE NEWT – SOMERSET – ENGLAND – SPRING 2021
- The Newt farmyard in Somerset offers an innovative design and is ideal for country walks, nourishing foods are produced on the farm property. The new hotel includes amenities such as a spectacular cider mill, estate and farm shop.
GLENEAGLE TOWNHOUSE – Edinburgh – Fall 2020
- Gleneagles is coming to Edinburgh owned by Ennismore, which recently merged with Accor to create a global lifestyle hotel company. The iconic sporting and country estate is launching its first ever city outpost in St Andrew Square, the former Bank of Scotland building will become the Gleneagles Townhouse.
THE WOODWARD – GENEVA – SWITZERLAND SPRING 2021
- The Woodward, an exclusive palace and luxury suite property managed by the Oetker Collection, this new acquisition will add value to its sophisticated portfolio. Formerly built in 1901 by François Durel, a respected French architect, the new property will be located on Quai Wilson. Becoming the first all-suite hotel designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon in Geneva, with restaurants from L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, awarded a Michelin star, and Le Jardinier de Alain Verzeroli, powered by vegetables, as well as a 1,200 spa square meters of the Maison Guerlain.
SIX SENSES – IBIZA – SPAIN – 2021
- https://www.sixsenses.com
- Six Senses Ibiza features 134 guest accommodations included townhouses, pool suites and beach cave units set on a 25-acre (10-hectare) site just 30 minutes from the airport. The first sustainable resort and residential community within the Balearics is scheduled to open in 2021 on crystalline Cala Xarraca Bay is the inspiring setting for Six Senses Ibiza.
KEMPINSKI PALACE ENGELBERG – TITLIS – SWISS ALPS
- Kempinski Palace Engelberg is will open in Switzerland’s ski resort village of Engelberg in spring 2021. With a unique blend of fresh Swiss hospitality, warm five-star luxury service, a concierge team and an abundance of activities available at Kempinski Palace Engelberg Perched high in the mountains in the heart of Switzerland, will soon be ready to welcome its first guests.
KEMPINSKI – FRUTT MOUNTAIN RESORT- SWITZERLAND
- Frutt Mountain Resort, the latest addition to the Kempinski luxury hotel group in the picturesque Swiss mountains, will welcome ski and nature lovers to the heart of central Switzerland, just 40 km from Lucerne. Melchsee-Frutt opens the winter season with a stunning brand new mountain resort.
AIRELLES CHÂTEAU DE VERSAILLES – LE GRAND CONTRÔLE – PARIS – FRANCE SPRING 2021
- https://airelles.com
- Le Grand Contrôle managed by Airelles and nestled within the grounds of the Château de Versailles an splendid new property featuring 14 rooms and apartments, a signature Alain Ducasse restaurant, wellness centre, and indoor swimming pool will open its doors in spring 2021.
THE DILLY – LONDON – SPRING 2021
- Le Méridien Piccadilly will become Dilly, an independently owned and operated hotel. An Extraordinary venue to host meetings and events for business travellers and experimental seekers right in the center of Piccadilly. Doing business in the vibrant capital city of London is a must and the Dilly will offer plenty of exceptional options for the perfect setup: a total of 894 sqm event space with seven event rooms and a choice of four breakout rooms for small group rooms.
SIX SENSES CRANS-MONTANA – SWITZERLAND – 2021
- Six Senses is set to launch its first luxury development a resort and residential project in the Swiss Alps during 2021. Reaching new Heights Six Senses Crans-Montana includes a 5-star hotel, 2 restaurants and the best spa and wellness facilities. The resort will have 47 fully furnished apartments and 17 residences. Prestigious events taking place in Crans-Montana in the heart of the Swiss Alps. The residences in Crans-Montana have reinvented the classics of Alpine architecture with a bright and welcoming style.
Nobu Marrakech – Fall 2021
- Global lifestyle brand Nobu Hospitality continues its global expansion with its first African property in Marrakech, Morocco. Nobu Hotel and Restaurant Marrakech is a collaboration between Hivernage Collection, MC Hotels (the owners of the Nobu Hotel Marbella, Marbella Club Hotel and joint owners of the Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay) and Nobu Hospitality founded by Robert De Niro, Nobu Matsuhisa and Meir Teper.
Boutique MICE Business wishes you a very happy 2021. May this new year be the best & productive for all citizens of the world as well as full of health, and success. We will keep you informed about the New Chic Venue openings in global destinations, as well as the whole new crop of varied productions and exciting coverage that awaits us in the coming months … BE BOUTIQUE, BE BUSINESS.
