THERE was a time when a glass of bubbly and some fancy canapes would be enough to lure travel agents away from their viewdata screens to an operator’s soiree, but Forte’s Le Meridien thinks things have moved on.
At the hotel chain’s brand-awareness evening at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel (soon to be a Le Meridien) last week, the incentive to attend was no less than a big fat diamond.
The evening’s sponsors London Diamonds had laced hundreds of cocktails with small sparkling crystals but only one was a girl’s real best friend – and worth £1,000.
Agents made a beeline for the trays of cocktails but Backchat took a cautious overview and stuck to the red wine for fear of choking.
The lucky winner was in fact one Marco De Rivo from London’s Miki Travel but it seems he has metaphorically ticked the no-publicity box as Backchat failed to get through to him and none of his colleagues know of his good fortune.
Sorry, Marco. Looks like you’ll have to cough up for a huge round of drinks now after all.