LAS VEGAS A new conference, called the Millennium Hospitality Summit, will be held for the first time March 29 April 1 in Las Vegas.
The new Summit, according to its Chairman, Mark Birtha, who is also the services and catering manager of The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, represents an effort to give a small group of industry executives an “insiders preview of the world of hospitality in Las Vegas.”
Birtha, a Cornell grad, conceived of the idea for the conference in conjunction with the Cornell Hotel Society, which has not hosted an event in the city since 1994 when the Western Regional Conference was held here.
“Las Vegas is becoming not only the number-one destination for hospitality, but also a market trendsetter in the industry. We decided we needed to do something to get Cornell alumni back into Las Vegas to highlight this market as a worldwide hospitality mecca,” said Birtha.
For its debut this year, the Millennium Hospitality Summit s attendance is being limited to approximately 200 guests in order to “keep the event an intimate exchange between industry executives before letting it blossom into a full-blown trade show,” remarked Birtha.
Although Birtha says he has already been contacted by the AH&LA and other hospitality marketing groups, he has not yet built any additional affiliations. This year, the Summit is accepting corporate sponsors and foregoing organizational ties. Going forward, however, Birtha hopes the Millennium Hospitality Summit will grow to a larger scale and thus welcome affiliations with other industry groups.
The Millennium Hospitality Summit, according to Birtha, will be held at approximately the same time each year going forward, depending on the area s room availability. However, it will always be in “late spring or early summer in March, April or May.”
“The timing needs to be fairly consistent from year-to-year so that people can plan it in their annual schedules,” Birtha continued.
This year, guest speakers include: Tom Cullen, associate dean of industry affairs at the Cornell Hotel School; Marc Falcone, director, Bear Stearns; Dick Moskal, svp at PurchasePro; Terry Lanni, chairman/CEO of MGM Mirage Corp.; Arte Nathan, chief knowledge officer for Unifi (a division of PwC); and Gary Loverman, COO of Harrah s Entertainment, among others.
The event also features back-of-the-house tours of the newest mega-resorts, performances by Cirque du Soleil, and a sampling of local restaurants. Other special events include a special panel on “How Technology Has Transformed Tourism and Hospitality.” (3/22/01) Kelly Wayne