Montego Bay CC_web

THE MONTEGO BAY CONVENTION CENTRE CC’S courtyard, a 25,000 square-foot space capable of holding up to 2,600 guests. Indoor space totals 139,302 square feet; the largest space is the 57,525 square foot Exhibit Hall,which offers room for 282 booths, as well as 4,700 guests seated banquet-style, or 6,200 seated theatre-style. For special events, the 18,684-square-foot Grand Ballroom can seat up to 1,580 for banquets.There are nine meeting rooms (with a total of 10,161 square feet),with the largest configuration accommodating up to 600 attendees.All spaces are equipped with videoconferencing capabilities and high-speed Internet. On site is a fully integrated broad- cast and teleconference system, operated by in-house audiovisual technicians. Dittie Guise, the General Manager of the Montego Bay Convention Centre, reports that, since opening, the facility has hosted be- tween a hundred and two-hundred-and-thirty events a year. “There is a mix of clientele, and as we grow over the years, the mix changes,” she says. “We have a lot of government-spon- sored international events, and a lot of cor- porations –both local and international.We have few associations, but that will grow as we get more international business in.We are seeing marked increases in Destination Market Weddings and we are also very well attended by the colleges and universities for their graduations. Religious groups have been quite a big draw for us - we’ve had the United Church Convocational, and the Jamaica Baptist Union - Jamaica Baptist alone has over 10,000 people in attendance. The Congrega- tion of Jehovah Witnesses just signed with us for four weekends a year for five years.” In a competitive market–Guise says that the MBCC competes with some local hotels for smaller events, and against other countries in the Caribbean for the larger ones–the amenity that she believes sets the Centre apart is its food and beverage department.“One of the things that we get rated on very highly is our food,” she states.“Our chef, Randie Anderson, has been educated in Jamaica and in the U.S.; he has a master’s degree in Gastronomic Tourism, and he’s also the only person in the Caribbean who was ever awarded a scholarship from the James Beard Foundation.” Indeed, before Anderson - who oversees all of the Centre’s concessions, catering, and special events - came to run its 15,000 square- foot kitchen, the award-winning chef had alreadymade a name for himself with stints at some of NewYork’s finest restaurants and Jamaica’s leading hotels.He has also prepared extravagant meals for the country’s last three prime ministers, as well as many foreign digni- taries and celebrities. Since coming to the MBCC, Anderson has catered manymajor events at other SMG-owned properties in the U.S. as part of Savor, the corporate parent’s catering arm. Another distinguishing characteristic of the MBCC is its dedication towards preserving the environment. Karron Benjamin, the Centre’s Assistant General Manager and Director of Operations, says that its strategy is to “reduce, reuse, and recycle” as much as possible. “We look at our engineering, we look at our food and beverage, and we look at our housekeep- ing,” he states. Regarding engineering, the goal is to reduce the cost of utilities – that means LED lighting accompanied by as much natural light as possible; using air condition