Convene - February 2016

MBCC’s oceanfront location and landscaped outdoor event spaces let groups soak up the destination’s best asset every chance they get. The open-air layout of the facility — the meeting, exhibition, and ballroom spaces are all housed in three separate buildings, and connect via outdoor walkways — give attendees the chance to get outside more than the typical convention center might allow. Many of the MBCC’s indoor spaces feature plenty of natural light, and the property offers a number of outdoor event spaces, like the 17,000-square-foot Ocean View Terrace — which accommodates up to 1,500 for banquet-style functions — and the MBCC’s courtyard, capable of holding up to 2,600 guests for receptions within its 25,000 square feet of space.

The MBCC’s largest space, the 57,525-square-foot Exhibition Hall, spans t wo buildings and offers room for 282 booths as well as 4,700 guests seated banquet-style or 6,200 guests seated theater-style. For special events, the 18,417-square-foot Grand Ballroom can seat up to 1,580 for banquets — and for meetings, nine meeting rooms offer 9,737 square feet, with the largest accommodating up to 600 attendees. All of the center’s prefunction lobby areas come outfitted with built-in reception desks and comfortable seating.

Supporting these spaces are the MBCC’s well-equipped catering facilities. A 15,000-square-foot kitchen, along with additional prep spaces, means that everything from tea breaks to five-course banquets run seamlessly. Ample parking, coach bays, and freight access in the Exhibition Hall offer added convenience for larger events.

As for on-site technology, all of the MBCC’s meeting, exhibit, and ballroom spaces come equipped with videoconferencing capabilities and high-speed Internet. A full-service business center, a fully integrated broadcast and teleconference system, and an on-site team of audiovisual technicians all help ensure that meetings and events run smoothly while groups are in house.

The MBCC also has the advantage of
having a prime location. Sangster Interna-
tional Airport is just 15 minutes away, and
surrounding the convention center are more
than 4,000 hotel rooms, a cluster of restau-
rants and bars, five shopping centers, and
three championship 18-hole golf courses. In
Rose Hall, nearby resorts like Half Moon, A
RockResort; Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara Rose
Hall; Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa; and three
IBEROSTAR hotels — Rose Hall Beach, Rose
Hall Suites, and Grand Hotel Rose Hall — sat-
isfy a range of needs, whether groups seek an
all-inclusive experience or a meeting planner
needs plenty of on-site meeting spaces.

Montego Bay is the second-largest city in Jamaica, and also offers groups conveniences like duty-free shopping and the Caribbean’s busiest airport — as well as plenty to do and see. Groups can cruise the biolumin-scent Luminous Lagoon, snorkel or swim in the pale aqua waters of Doctor’s Cave Beach, visit working plantations that grow pineapple and sugarcane, shop the craft markets, take a horseback ride on the beach, or hit the nightclubs that line the Hip Strip. Also popular is the 18th-century Rose Hall Plantation and Great House, for which the area is named. In addition, meeting-related expenses incurred in Jamaica by U.S.-based groups qualify as tax-deductible.

For more information: Montego Bay Convention Centre — Sandra Daley-Francois, Director of Global Sales, Marketing, and Public Relations; sdaleyfrancois@mobaycentre.com;

mobaycentre.com
First impressions The SMG-managed Montego Bay Convention Centre comes with all of the
essentials meeting planners expect from a modern meeting facility, including spacious lobbies and
prefunction areas equipped with reception desks and comfortable seating.