The Westin Nova Scotian Blog

With a modern new look and feel comes a new name.  Our Halifax Hotel Cornwallis Room is now known as the Seaport Room!  In keeping with our commitment to promote our neighbourhood, the Halifax Seaport District, we decided to name our lobby level meeting room the same.

The dust has settled, and The Westin Nova Scotian has once again successfully hosted the biggest and brightest in the world of National defense; The Halifax International Security Forum.

Jane, Leanne, Jennifer & Kaela, our friends from Zed Events (http://www.zedevents.ca/), paid us a visit last week.  We often work with the Zed team on creative, one-of -a-kind events, so to give them a new experience we toured our kitchen.  We made a pit stop for a bite to eat before moving on to Eve Lounge to listen to our Tuesday evening Jazz Duo, Ray MacNeil & Mike Cummings.  Ray & Mike are two-thirds of Waterford Jazz.  

Thanks for stopping by for a visit Zed team! 

Over the past 3-4 years, we have seen tremendous changes in how the hotel industry operates, how guests book rooms, and how meeting planners negotiate rates and consider hotels. We understand that organizations, especially those in government have to be much wiser with shrinking budgets and limited resources. This is especially true when planning a Halifax meeting or conference.

Government meeting planners are being challenged like never before. How to come up with creative programs that accomplish your goals and let you stay on budget is the question all meeting planners face. One way to accomplish this is to bring your hotel sales manager into the planning phase earlier. Their suggestions may just give you the winning edge. Consider need periods of the hotel to deliver the best value for your program. If your dates are flexible, you may be offered a great deal on rates. Rather than just considering the rate being offered, look at other options such as reduced parking rates or special promotions being offered by the hotel. The more information you have about your group will assist the sales manager in creating the best possible value proposal for you and your group.

We had our youngest conference delegate at the Westin Nova Scotian last week. Three month old Bodie was here with his Mom (the MACU conference organizer) & Dad. According to his Mom, Bodie enjoyed the pool and flirting with the female delegates and hotel associates who adored him!

Here I am with the cutie after lunch in Eve Lounge.

Planning activities for smaller groups is really fun in Halifax. There is no shortage of delicious restaurants, exciting pubs and nightclubs, and tourist attractions throughout Halifax. We asked our LinkedIn Members and here are a few ideas that we came up with:

Jennifer Alexander, Executive Meeting Manager: I would suggest Harbour Hopper, Queen Anne Harbour Cruise and I hear that Greyline/Ambassatours has a VIP bus.

Glenn Bowie, Area Director of Sales and Marketing for New Castle Hotels: In Halifax, there is absolutely nothing like a traditional Pub crawl, complete with Logo'd Sou Wester, branded T-Shirts, and one of our famous Bag Pipers. It is a great way to bring the group together.

When planning your next event have you thought about how to deal with the cash bar vs. host bar question?

Are you planning a meeting, conference, or bringing a group to Halifax? Check out what one of our Sales Managers, Teri Green, has to say about negotiating group rates:

The key is flexibility. If your dates are not set in stone feel free to ask your sales manager if there are any dates that might offer you the best rate.

Could your room block start on a Sunday? Sunday is notoriously a slower night for hotels so lower rates may be available. (READ BELOW FOR MORE INFO)......

For anyone who's ever had to plan a meeting or conference in Halifax, you probably know that there are premium periods and a small booking window. Traditionally Halifax is busiest during May, August, September, and early October. Some people are surprised by this because they assume June July, and August would be.

These periods are normally busy with conventions and conferences. Because of summer vacations, conference take place either before or after tourist season. That, combined with cruise ship and tour bus season, makes for a very happening Halifax.

So when should you book your Halifax Conference hotel? Here are a few guidelines: