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A New Way to Perk Up Meetings

Groups can brainstorm while working on artistic projects or tinkering with games.
Groups can brainstorm while working on artistic projects or tinkering with games.
Photo: Courtesy Affinia Hotels

Hashing out ideas during a conference can sometimes get stale, and to help foster group creativity, Affinia Hotels is now offering its Brainstorming Meeting Package, which provides attendees with fun, stimulating tools and games to recharge. Guests can use sketch pads to work out ideas and take notes, pick up colorful crayons, markers, pencils, and pens for doodling, engage in creative play with an Etch-a-Sketch or Play-Doh, even ask a Magic Eight Ball to help make tough decisions. The hotel can put together an assortment of retro candies for the table, with treats like Dots, Tootsie Rolls, and jelly beans, and can customize breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus.

The service is available in New York at the Affinia Manhattan and Affinia Dumont, in Washington at the Liaison Capitol Hill, and at the Affinia Chicago; the package costs about $300, in addition to regular meeting fees (like room rental and catering charges), and is based on a group size of 20 people. For meetings booked by August 31, organizers receive an upgrade to the brainstorming package along with a selection of two perks from a list of services that includes discounted audiovisual rentals, room upgrades, or complimentary coffee breaks.

The hotel is also providing three other new packages, a Green Meetings program which includes touches like recycled plastic and wooden pens, organic menus, and a charitable donation; a No-Tech package with old-fashioned note-taking opportunities, cork boards, white boards, and a spot to park everyone’s techie gadgets; and finally a Hi-Tech program with the latest devices (even a Wii and Playstation for break time). These other meeting types are roughly the same price as the brainstorming set-up, except the Hi-Tech plan, which is more expensive.

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