ICHRIE GOING FULL THROTTLE

Indianapolis is one of the highest ranked conference cities in the USA, and we can see why!!

Last week, Fran Brasseux (ICHRIE CEO), Kim Williams (ICHRIE President), Page Ksionska (Conference Consultant), and Darla Hancock (ICHRIE Communications & Networking Specialist) visited the JW Marriott Indy Place and the Indiana State Museum - as well as lunched with Jeff Robinson (Managing Director of Marketing at Visit Indy) at the iconic Harry & Izzy’s and spent an evening at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse for a NBA Indiana Pacers basketball game with Visit Indy and the Indianapolis Convention Center, one of the largest in the Midwest.

Why are we telling you about our agenda? Because we are excited to share some of the highlights from our visit with you! Here are a couple reasons we are excited about our conference in Indy this June…

• The city is vibrant and thriving with outside spaces - and Midwest hospitality did not go unnoticed everywhere we went!

• The JW Marriott is a beautiful hotel. It currently is Marriott’s #1 hotel in its class and is ranked Indy’s #1 hotel by IndyStar. The meeting spaces for our conference span only two floors this summer and connect directly to the Convention Center, restaurants, and shopping by the Skywalk.

• Walking around town is simple with the Skywalk (you don’t even have to go outside if it’s raining) and our conference location is close to several 5-mile trails, multiple sports venues, and so many amazing opportunities for outdoor recreation like the Indy Cultural Trail, Gondola Rides and more.

• We are excited about the Friday evening’s Gala Reception. Indianapolis musician, Eric Baker, will join us in The Great Hall at the Indiana State Museum before our Awards Gala.

• We’re excited about integrating wellness into our mornings and throughout our sessions and Indy has some fun and creative ways to do that - stay tuned.

• The drive from the Indianapolis International Airport to IndyPlace is a convenient 15–20-minute drive and the two-terminal airport is very easy to maneuver around. And did you know? the Indy Airport is the #1 airport in Morth America for customer satisfaction?

• The IndyPlace Starbucks is steps from our conference space and recently they integrated mobile ordering for those who like staying caffeinated.

We know Indianapolis is probably not at the top over your bucket list of locations. But, the “Crossroad of America” has so many exiting aspects that will enhance your conference experience. Along with networking, presentations and research for tenure and connecting with industry, the application of cutting-edge trends and ideas, integrated technology (co-locating with the HITEC Conference-only one trip for our tech-interested members) and experiential learning in hospitality education - you’ll be so glad you came!

As spring approaches, we are on a race towards conference, REGISTER TODAY! Just as race teams must join together to innovate for peak performance, hospitality educators must evolve to stay ahead.