Group buyouts are easy
Next to the Rockefeller and almost twice as large, the 1,000-square-foot Chrysler Room is ideal for corporate training, seminars and receptions, and like the ballroom, it has a built-in, drop-down presentation screen.
Another Art Deco masterpiece, the 850-square-foot Redick Executive Board Room, is on the seventh floor and allows groups to meet near their guest rooms.
“We host a lot of corporate groups between 25 and 150,” Adams said. “For larger groups a buyout of all 89 rooms is easy, and they can take over the whole hotel. Having most of our meeting space on one floor is a plus, as the two smaller rooms can be used for breakouts from the ballroom. However, we are not able to accommodate groups that need lots of breakouts.”
As in the hotel guest rooms and common areas, all meeting rooms have free wireless Internet, complete audiovisual technology and full bar and catering options.
Abutting the downstairs meeting spaces, the two-story Zin Room, known for its extensive wine list, is a full-service restaurant serving American fusion cuisine – soups, salads, burgers, pasta. It has a semi-private dining mezzanine and big stone fireplace for chilly winter nights.
For food and beverage, anything goes at the Hotel Deco XV.
“As a boutique property and member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Hotels of America, we say yes to customizing whatever a guest needs,” said Sarah Claufin, vice president of hospitality. “We want guests to enjoy our menu, but we’re willing to adapt to dietary preferences, such as vegetarian or gluten-free. We’ve done a lot of ethnic group dinners.”
Next to the restaurant, the Encore Lounge has live music Thursdays through Saturdays and a several signature drinks, including the AmaZIN Martini, a blend of Zinfandel, cream and raspberry liquor, and Bourbon for Breakfast, bacon-infused bourbon made in-house.
Directly across the street, the 1926 Orpheum Theater is a former vaudeville house with a 2,600-seat proscenium theater and a full card of musicals, dance performances and operas. Four blocks away, the Holland Performing Arts Center is home to the Omaha Symphony.
For team building, the Hotel Deco XV partners with an Omaha organization famous for its opinion polls, Gallup Inc. , which interviews team-building clients, determines their employees’ talents and customizes activities, such as creating a Team Talent Map, that help capitalize on those talents and build strong teams. The hotel trains its own employees according to the Gallup Q-12, a series of questions that lead to team engagement.
“The Gallup Q-12 helps define our corporate culture and helps them become a part of our team with a focus on providing extraordinary service,” said Adams. “There’s hotel on every corner. You may have an amazing-looking space, and super IT and AV capacities, but the single-most important thing is to provide a memorable experience for planners and attendees. We want attendees to say, ‘Wow! That was a really fun break’ or ‘The food was terrific.’ That’s what delivering great hospitality and great meetings is all about, and that’s always our goal.”
