Experience Business Unusual at Renaissance Hotels

The Renaissance Hotel Brand is finding cool, new ways to connect with business travelers. This week, I experienced it first hand. Renaissance Hotels hosted the 6th Annual Global Day of Discovery at all of their locations world wide. I was invited to cover the event at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View in Arlington, VA.  

The hotel had a cool idea to create a pop up speakeasy just a few feet away from it’s restaurant, Socci. Many of the guests I met were frequent business travelers and received a letter from the GM inviting them to the event. Once guests arrived at the door there was a secret passcode “BLINDPIG” and a statue of a blind folded blue pig was at the door.  It was kinda cute.  

Once inside, guests got to sample food and drinks from vendors located in the Washington Metropolitan Area (MD, DC, VA). Such a cool way to introduce business travelers to a taste of DC!  Here were the vendors that made this event delicious:

Flying Dog Brewery

Metropolitan Meat Poultry and Seafood

Palmyra Farms

Coastal Sunbelt Produce

Kogiya Korean BBQ 

Cotton and Reed

Stachoski Old World Charcuterie and Sausages

Socci

Barboursville Winery

A highlight of the event was listening to the live band Marlee in the Mixx. They were excellent!  Perfect for the afterwork crowd looking to unwind and connect with a few bites and sips. On the topic of sips, I met Jason from the Barboursville Winery in Barboursville, Virginia. I could not get enough of their Octagon Red Blend! Not only did I taste several of their amazing wines, Jason shared with me details about the layout of the vineyard. Looks like I will need to plan a trip there this fall as the place is fabulous and quite picturesque.  

Overall the night was fun and the event was a success. I was able to cover the event, network, dance, and enjoy great food and drink. Thanks to Renaissance Hotels for the experience (personal and professional). For more info on the Global Day of Discovery, check out these hashtags on Twitter: #businessunusal #renhotels #renarlington