Dateline Monday 31st March 2025

Good morning, I hope you had a great weekend and are ready for another week at the conference and incentive coalface, I know I am ready to work with together you to deliver creative proposal and successful events.

Before I start with what is going on in the world and within the Labour Government, I would like to wish everyone who has completed Ramadan and who are now are in the season of feasting happy Eid Eid Al-Fitr Mubarak Wishing you a joyous and blessed celebration filled with peace, happiness, and prosperity, to everyone else Happy Monday morning.

I hope you managed to readjust to the loss of an hour on Saturday night going into Sunday morning the clocks were due to Spring forward in the middle of the night. Now at last the days are longer and here comes summer, the season I sooo like the best, the sunshine the warmth of the sun, shorts, and t shirts, awesome. As we have started British Summer Time the weather forecast for this week is sun, sun and more sun bring it on. April starts tomorrow so watch out for April Fool’s day pranks, April is a challenging month for me, the month contains my birthday a big biblical one this year, no I am not happy about that I have had enough birthdays to last me a lifetime.

Mr Trump’s Defence Team, no not his body guards of which there are plenty have done the messaging platform SIGNAL a huge favour by swopping messages on bombing the Houthis, the publicity over the use of Signal must have increased the platform’s value by tens of millions of dollars.    

Robbing Rachel Reeves the Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer made a song and dance of her moment in the limelight as she gave her Spring Statement to The House of Commons, she is for sure rearranging the deck chair on the sinking economy er, I mean the Titanic. The Labour Government say they are here for “working people” are busy taxing them (us) all to the hilt and back again.  

A major earthquake that the US Geological Survey reported was a 7.7-magnitude earthquake has rocked Myanmar, resulting in widespread destruction throughout the southeastern Asian country claiming over 1,600 lives and Bangkok, bringing down a 30-story skyscraper under construction sadly trapping about 50 construction workers and killing several others. Mother Nature once again proving she is in charge.

More tragedy, this one being the War in Israel and Gaza that seems to have started again with the breakdown of the ceasefire that lasted a little over two months, this resumption of more death and destruction could be easily avoided, all Hamas needs to do is to release the remaining 59 hostages it took captive on 7th October 2023. That would end the Gaza war, not sure what would end the Syria was against their own people, or the Lebanon war against Hezbollah or what would persuade the Houthis to stop lobbing missiles into the Red Sea. And all the while everything is calm, normal and carrying on in destination such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman and Egypt.    

Soap box time

The bitter news AGAIN today, it is 539 days since Israeli and other nations’ citizens were on 7th October 2023 wrenched violently from their homes, streets, fields, and places of leisure in Israel and taken to be held hostage as pawns of war imprisoned in squalid conditions in the Hamas terror tunnels in Gaza. A total of 59 Israelis are still being held captive by the group of evil, blood thirsty, barbaric terrorists called Hamas. Sadly out of the 59 people being kept in horrific conditions only 24 are still alive. Hamas are holding on to the lifeless bodies of 35 dead people as bargaining chips, there is only one word for the kind of behaviour DISGUSTING well that I guess sums up Hamas simply disgusting individuals.  Both sides are back at the negotiating table in Qatar another hot bed of dodgy people, let’s hope something positive will come out of the talks but it is not looking good due to the evil Hamas demanding conditions they know Israel cannot possibly agree to and in return the Israelis are playing hard ball by cutting off electricity and water to Gaza, hopefully the level headed people of Gaza if there are any will start to put pressure on Disgusting Hamas to free the hostages and give the population their normal pre 7th October 2023 life back.   

Off the soap box now

That’s it from a David point of view for this week.

MM and Company news update

Germany, Frankfurt IMEX 20th – 22nd May 2025

Eva of Cornerstone Meetings DMC Germanyinsight and I were chatting last week Eva asked if I was planning to attend IMEX in May I confirmed that I would be attending Eva suggested we host a client dinner in a fancy restaurant of course I was all up for that, so if you are attending IMEX in Frankfurt and you are not hosted please let me know Eva and I would be delighted if you would like to join us for dinner on Wednesday 21st May 2025 

So far Stephane of Hello Islands DMC Mauritius

Eva of Cornerstone Meeting DMC Germanyinsight

Pascal NACARA DMC on the EUROMIC Stand

Nassos of AME DMC Greece

A number of DMCs we at MM and Company work with and recommend will also be there amongst them Enjoy Slovakia DMC and Hadler DMC Scandinavia   

New York News

Hilton has announced that the newly renovated Waldorf Astoria New York has opened, for nearly a century, Waldorf Astoria New York has been a fixture of New York City society. Following a restoration program the property will retain the scale of the original Art Deco architecture with fresh contemporary furnishings. The 375-room hotel will house some of Manhattan’s largest rooms and suites. Above the hotel will sit 372 private residences, ranging from studios to four bedrooms.

Costa Rica

Nathalie, Hocine and the team at Quetzal Motivo DMC Central America have told us that the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique is opening this week

Japan

James Kent and the crew at The J Team DMC Japan are delighted with the news that The Waldorf Astoria Osaka is opening in April, the hotel will span 12 floors of a 39-story high-rise in the south district of the new Grand Green Osaka urban mixed-use development, adjacent to Osaka station (which offers easy access to the cities of Kyoto, Nara and Kobe). The hotel will have 252 guestrooms as well as three restaurants, including the signature Peacock Alley with triple-height ceilings, panoramic views of the skyline and Peacock Terrace, a rare outdoor food and beverage space.

And that is about it, you are up to date, wishing you a terrific week ahead