plenary Vienna and Access 2012

On the Itinerary Vienna offers more than 25,000 hotel rooms. These six leading conference hotels, all in the city center, were on our itinerary:

› Hilton Vienna 579 rooms; 26,000 square feet of meeting space

› Hotel InterContinental Vienna 458 rooms; 19,000 square feet of meeting space

› Radisson BLU Palais Hotel 247 rooms; 11,000 square feet of meeting space

› Ritz-Carlton Vienna 202 rooms; 11,785 square feet of meeting space

› Steigenberger Hotel Herrenhof 196 rooms; 4,600 square feet of meeting space

› Vienna Marriott Hotel 323 rooms; 12,500 square feet of meeting space

Café Society Café Central, built in 1876 and adjoining the Palais Ferstal in Vienna’s historic city center, counts Franz Kafka and Sigmund Freud as former patrons. It can be reserved for events.

corporate events each year. At the two-day Access 2012, 1,800

meeting professionals from 15 coun- tries met with representatives from 200 Austrian exhibitors at the opulent HOFBURG Vienna, which offers 182,000 square feet of exhibition space and 35 rooms and halls in a setting lit by crystal chandeliers and featuring ceiling paintings commissioned by Emperor Franz Joseph. Amid the historic grandeur, Access

Academy provided an educational program attuned to trends in meet- ing design and technology, including presentations on how venues can meet the demands of interactive meetings. The trade show also involved event sup- pliers, including those specializing in lighting and entertainment. Meetings and events are increasingly converging,

32 PCMA CONVENE DECEMBER 2012

said Andrea Bauer, whose company Vereint, Ltd. managed Access 2012 and who designed the educational program. “Pure events don’t work anymore — they need content,” Bauer said. “And content needs emotion.” The program’s evening entertain-

ment included a trip to the edge of the Vienna Woods, to Fuhrgassl-Huber, a traditional wine tavern. To say that Furhgassl-Huber is capacious is an understatement — it can accommo- date groups of up to 800 people. But it manages to exude homey warmth, offering diners groaning buffets loaded with Weiner Schnitizel, smoked meats, vegetables, and salads, amid music and pitchers of wine. Our group also got a taste of Vien-

nese café society when, during a day filled with site visits, we stopped for

lunch at the famed Café Central, where such luminaries as Franz Kafa and Sigmund Freud were patrons. Today the café is operated by Palais Events, which also manages three other unique meeting venues in Vienna, including the stunning Palais Daun-Kinsky, a lemon-colored stucco building filled with marble stairways, sculptures, and painted ceilings, which can accom- modate dinners and small conferences of up to 180 people. The Palais Ferstal, home to the city’s first stock market, can accommodate groups of up to 735. And the newly renovated Weiner Bör- sensäle, another former headquarters to the stock exchange, accommodates conference groups of up to 540.

. — Barbara Palmer For more information: vienna.convention.at PCMA.ORG