N THE POST-RECESSION MARKET- place, Puerto Rico must confront the obvious, again and again: Yes,
it’s a beautiful destination — a sunny, tropical Caribbean paradise. Then it must do what the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau (PRCB) did for more than 100 meeting professionals during its Smooth Meetings Summit on Dec. 2–6: Prove the U.S. territory’s meetings bona fides.
Besides reminding our group that American citizens don’t need foreign currency — or even a passport — to visit, PRCB demonstrated the ease of getting there, and the many options
for meetings and merriment once you land. It’s not for nothing that PRCB has a meetings-related website at www .notaboondoggle.com. One of our host hotels, the Inter- Continental San Juan Resort & Casino, located on Isla Verde Beach, offers
more than 400 guest rooms and more than 18,000 square feet of event space in 16 meeting rooms. Another host hotel, the Caribe Hilton, sits on 17 acres of tropical gardens between Old San Juan and Condado (also called New San Juan), and houses 646 guest rooms and 264 Lagoon Villas. Meeting space includes 24 rooms and more than 65,000 square feet of space. Nearby sits the Conrad San Juan Condado Plaza, our third host hotel, whose ultra-contemporary interior in- cludes 570 guest rooms, with views of the Atlan- tic Ocean and Condado Lagoon, and 41,000 square feet of space and
18 meeting rooms. The last of the host hotels was the Renaissance La Concha Hotel. Just down the street from the Conrad, and just as hip, the property offers more than 480 guest rooms and 30,000 square feet of flexible, indoor continued on page 18
ISLAND IN THE SUN: Puerto Rico’s Smooth Meetings Summit showed off the U.S. territory’s blend of climate, culture, and in- frastructure, which includes — from top left — the San Juan Gate; kayaking in Ciales; the River Course at Wyndham Rio Mar; and the Lions Fountain in Ponce’s Plaza Las Delicias.