THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL
TM
ESSENTIAL JOB SKILLS FOR 2014
■
MOVING MEETINGS FORWARD
■
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC REBOUND
DECEMBER 2013
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Volume 1, Issue 4
EDITORIAL STAFF
EDITOR IN CHIEF
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
MANAGING EDITOR
EDITOR
DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
DESIGN AND PREPRESS
COVER DESIGN
COVER PHOTO
David Basler, dbasler@mpiweb.org
Jeff Daigle, jdaigle@mpiweb.org
Blair Potter, bpotter@mpiweb.org
Michael Pinchera, mpinchera@mpiweb.org
Jeff Loy, jloy@mpiweb.org
Holly Smith, hsmith@mpiweb.org
Sherry Gritch, SG2Designs, sherry@sgproductions.net
Jeff Daigle
Rick Crank for Pix by Ric
MPI ADVERTISING STAFF
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• 86-10-5869-3771
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EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA
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Pierre Fernandez
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AL, AR, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NM, OH, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WV, WY
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CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, MA, MD, ME, MI, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT, CANADA, CARIBBEAN, CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, SOUTH AMERICA
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MPI EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT
PRESIDENT & CEO
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Paul Van Deventer, pvandeventer@mpiweb.org
Cindy D’Aoust, cdaoust@mpiweb.org
Daniel Gilmartin, dgilmartin@mpiweb.org
INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Chairman of the Board
Michael Dominguez, CHSE, MGM Resorts International
Chairman-elect
Kevin Kirby, Hard Rock International
Vice Chairwoman of Finance
Erin Tench, CMP, CMM, Penn State University
Vice Chairman
Roel Frissen, CMM, Parthen
Vice Chairwoman
Allison Kinsley, CMP, CMM , Kinsley Meetings
BOARD MEMBERS
Amanda Armstrong, CMP, Enterprise Holdings Inc.
Krzysztof Celuch, CMM, CITE, Vistula University
Jordan D. Clark, Caesars Entertainment
Angie Duncan, CMP, CMM, BCD M&I
Hattie Hill, CMM, Hattie Hill Enterprises Inc.
Cornelia Horner, CMP, American Land Title Association
Gerrit Jessen, CMP, CMM, MCI Deutschland GmbH
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Audra Narikawa, CMP, Capital Group
Fiona Pelham, Sustainable Events Ltd.
Alisa Peters, CMP, CMM, Experient Inc.
Darren Temple, CTA, Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau
Marti Winer, Wyndham Hotel Group
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
MPI Foundation Board Representative
David Johnson, Aimbridge Hospitality
Is OCD about filing em
ails and
clearing out her inbox.
LEGAL COUNSEL
Jonathan T. Howe, Esq., Howe & Hutton Ltd.
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2 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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CONTENTS
FEATURES
56
GROWING
YOUR JOB
SKILLS
FOR 2014
Staying ahead of the
competition isn’t easy—
it takes the ability to evolve.
With that in mind, our experts have isolated five core
skills you’ll need in the coming year and the steps you’ll
need to take to cultivate
your career.
60
64
Learn how one man, with no meeting experience, successfully localized
a globally recognized event and
launched a new event craze in Asia.
Each country is emerging from the recession at a different pace, but MPI members
in the region are optimistic the growth will
continue.
THE CREATOR OF
COMIC CON INDIA
EUROPE ON THE
REBOUND
MPIWEB.ORG 5
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18
CONTENTS
VIEWPOINTS
38 GETTING BETTER RESULTS
Using engagement, focus and discipline
to overcome hurdles, unleash your
potential and find success in your career.
THE LOBBY
18 MOVING MEETINGS FORWARD
MPI provides the essential resources
you need to tell the story of what you
do and why you do it.
40 COMMON CONTRACT MISTAKES
(AND HOW TO AVOID THEM)
30
Industry expert Joan Eisenstodt offers
up eight tips that take the fear out of
contract creation and help you build a
stronger foundation for your next meeting.
20 FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE
MEETING INDUSTRY
Giovanna Lucherini tells her story of personal
and professional growth—from exchange
student to meeting industry entrepreneur.
20
22 FULL THROTTLE
SHOWCASE
46 SUSTAINABLE FOOD BEST
PRACTICES
32 days. 34 states. 13,000 miles. The story of
one MPI member’s dream motorcycle ride
around the U.S., the cause it supported and the
people he met along the way.
At the forefront of vertical farming, one
country’s pursuit of challenging sustainability
goals by 2030 mixes technology with
traditional growing techniques.
24 THE EFFECTS OF THE SHUTDOWN
Meeting professionals discuss the shortand long-term effects of the U.S. government
shutdown.
26 FIRST CHAPTER CELEBRATES 40 YEARS
Members of MPI’s first chapter gather to
commemorate four decades of community.
30 IS THIS HEAVEN? NO, IT’S DETROIT.
Editor David Basler finds a little piece of
tranquility behind a Motown microphone.
50
48 FINDING SUCCESS USING
UNIQUE VENUES
Even something as pedestrian as a parking
garage can play host to a great event—all it
takes is a little creative thinking.
50 CRAFTING AND GROWING
A PARTNERSHIP
Thanks to a new venue partnership, a canned
beer festival is flourishing alongside the craft
brewing movement.
6 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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FROM THE EDITOR
GREAT GIFTS IN NONTRADITIONAL PACKAGES
WHO SAYS GIFTS NEED TO BE WRAPPED
AND PUT UNDER A TREE? This time
of year, we often hear the phrase
“this is the season of giving.” But
shouldn’t giving be an exercise that
knows no season? Shouldn’t we
always strive to make life better for
those who have less? I think so.
Giving (or gifting), no matter the
season, makes a difference, and
there are many non-traditional
ways to gift this holiday season.
Believe in Others
Simply telling, or showing, someone
you believe in them is one of the
best gifts you can give. Think about
that last time you needed a boost
and got a con ident look from a
co-worker or a phone call with
encouragement from a friend—felt
great didn’t it?
We all have times of doubt and
simply knowing that someone else
believes in our abilities can make all
the difference.
Lending a Helping Hand
For some, this might be as simple as
shoveling your elderly neighbor’s
walkway or picking up their paper
every morning so they don’t have to
walk to the curb. For others, lending
a helping hand involves more of a
long-term commitment.
The future of our community is
rooted in mentoring. If you’re a
seasoned meeting professional,
have you thought about giving back
as a mentor? Our industry is blessed with a young generation excited
about becoming meeting professionals, and they are in need of
dedicated mentors to point them in
the right direction and help build
their con idence and connections.
Becoming a mentor is not a gift
for the faint at heart, however. It
takes time and dedication. If you
are interested, there are two places
you can start: 1) ind a college or
university near you that has an
event management program (or the
like) and connect with them directly (MPI has student clubs at 15
colleges and universities around the
world, and you can ind out more
about them at www.mpiweb.org/
community/students), or 2) get
students more involved in your
chapter activities. If you want best
practices on how to do it, connect
with someone from MPI’s Rocky
Mountain Chapter—they have one
of the strongest student mentoring
programs in our community.
Give Money, Not Canned Goods
Simply said, a monetary gift offers
lexibility, making it a preferred gift
of most every non-pro it organization helping others in speci ic ways.
A local food bank, for example,
would prefer you write a check than
donate canned goods, because with
your cash donation, they can buy the
food staples they are in need of most
rather than being inundated with
too much of one item.
Your monetary donations to
non-pro it organizations like the
MPI Foundation offer similar lexibility—creating scholarships for
individual members and grants for
chapters that help advance opportunities for members of the MPI
community (see Page 28). If you’re
looking for an easy way to give back
to the meeting and event industry,
consider a donation to the MPI
Foundation.
Whether it’s in your local community or your MPI community, giving of
your encouragement, your time or
your money makes a big difference.
No matter what season, the gift of
giving back is something we should
all make a priority.
Happy Holidays!
David Basler
Editor in Chief
dbasler@mpiweb.org
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FROM THE CEO
Let the passion you have for this
industry shine in your conversations
with friends, family, co-workers and
those outside our industry.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
As we approach the end of the year,
we will see a lurry of news stories
discussing forecasts for 2014; in fact,
this issue includes an article about
essential job skills for 2014 (see Page
56). Naturally, we are drawn to these
stories as we want to know what’s
on the horizon so we can prepare
for the changes to come.
And when it comes to the growth
of our industry, we have the opportunity as well as the responsibility to
be part of that change. Doing so will
ensure the stability and growth of
our profession and help garner recognition from outside in luencers
for the work we do.
MPI helps the industry grow by
providing professional development
opportunities, including education,
networking and a marketplace for
members and the broader community. We also provide a voice for the
industry in our publications, marketing channels, communications,
speaking engagements and through
collaborations with the Meetings
Mean Business Coalition led by the
U.S. Travel Association, the Convention Industry Council (CIC) and the
Joint Meetings Industry Council
(JMIC). In addition, through the
MPI Foundation, we invest in
scholarships, grants and panindustry research.
So, how can you in luence the
growth and recognition of the industry? While there are many ways,
I suggest three simple ways to make
a difference while balancing your
careers and personal lives.
First, become a mentor. Creating
a personal developmental relationship with a peer can be bene icial to
you and your mentee. You both can
enhance your communication skills
and expand your viewpoints in
addition to advancing your careers.
And growth for one meeting and
event professional equals a win for
our industry.
Second, promote the meeting and
event profession as a rewarding
career. Share your story. Tell people
about the great work you do, the
personal growth that you have
experienced and the support you
receive from professional networks.
Let the passion you have for this
industry shine in your conversations with friends, family, co-workers and those outside our industry
—whether face to face or through
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
Third, become well-versed in the
facts about our industry. This will
help you positively position and
promote the value derived from
this industry.
Arm yourself with data about
the industry’s economic value, job
growth and value creation, so you
can constructively respond to others
who may challenge investments in
meetings and events, whether as a
result of tight budgets or controversial news stories.
MPI is here to help you make
a difference. Chapter events are a
great way to network with other
professionals and for establishing a
mentoring partnership. In addition,
we will launch the Meetings Move
Us Forward grassroots effort in midDecember with resources to help you
share your story and educate others
about the industry. It features a documentary, industry facts, ads and
more. See the related article in this
issue (Page 18) for details.
Also, check it out at www.mpi
web.org/forward, and let’s grow
our industry together.
Happy Holidays!
Paul Van Deventer
MPI President & CEO
pvandeventer@mpiweb.org
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CONTRIBUTORS
MICHAEL BERMAN is a
photographer and writer.
His photography website
is http://www.msbpix.
com; his food-focused
blog is http://pizzacen
tric.com. He co-authored
(and did photography for)
The Little Bookroom Guide
to New York City with
Children, due out in 2014.
It’s embarrassing. I knew
comic conventions had
something to do with
characters, but I really
didn’t know what that was
until I had the chance to
ask Jatin Varma, the person
I photographed for “This
Man Created Comic Con
India” (Page 60). During
our brief photo shoot, I
learned quite a bit about
what makes a comic con—
and that we have in common the same favorite
character: Jean-Luc Picard
from Star Trek: The Next
Generation.
MRIDU KHULLAR RELPH
is a freelance journalist
based in New Delhi and
has written for The New
York Times, The Independent and Time among
others.
As an avid comic book
reader throughout my
childhood, I read everything
from the Archies my friends
brought from abroad to the
Chacha Chaudhary comics
available right at my doorstep. At 13, I found comics
frustrating—I could only
borrow a couple at a time
from the newsstand and
raced through them far too
quickly. At 31, it takes days
to get through even one
comic—there’s just so much
in the words and artwork to
be enjoyed, discussed and
debated. (“This Man
Created Comic Con
India,” Page 60).
ROGER SIMONS, CMP,
is an internationally recognized sustainable
event, communications
and engagement expert
and an international
board member for the
Green Meeting Industry
Council (GMIC) with more
than 10 years of industry
experience.
Food waste is one of the
defining challenges of our
era. I don’t think it gets the
press it should, but the
statistics are startling.
According to the United
Nations Environment
Program, roughly one-third
of the food produced for
human consumption every
year gets lost or wasted,
and consumers in rich
countries waste almost as
much food as the entire net
food production of sub-Saharan Africa every year! We
all have to do our bit, like
Singapore (“Best Practices
in Sustainable Food,”
Page 46), in reducing this
huge resource waste.
ADAM WREN is an
Indianapolis-based writer
and editor whose work
has appeared in Inc. and
at entreprenuer.com.
While reporting on “Growing Your Job Skills for
2014” (Page 56) , I was
encouraged to find that in
the new economy, being
curious and a serial learner
doesn’t necessarily make
you a dilettante. I’m curious
about so many subjects,
and spend time—a year,
maybe two or more—
learning everything I can
about topics as varied as
WordPress to White House
speechwriters. Then I rinse
and repeat with another
subject. The sources I interviewed explained that this
kind of rapid skill and
knowledge acquisition is
key for meeting planners
in 2014.
KEVIN WOO has been a
freelance writer for 15
years, and has written for
MPI for the past 10.
During his career he has
covered business, venture
capital, science, parenting
and meeting and event
planning. He has three
daughters and plays a lot
of golf in his spare time.
I spent several months
trying to find a unique
story about a meeting or
event in Miami. I spoke
with people who organized conventions, highend events at celebrity
mansions and corporate
events, but nothing struck
me as terribly unique.
When I was presented with
an event that included a
reception and dinner in a
parking structure (“Park
Your Event Here,” Page
48) I was skeptical. As it
turns out, the garage
presented the event planners with a number of
challenges that weren’t
easy to overcome, and I
was able to tell their story.
My takeaway: Meeting
planners need to be fast
on their feet and come
up with creative on-thespot solutions.
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CONVERSATIONS
New ideas start with conversations.
This isn’t your typical letters page. We call it “Conversations” for a reason. We don’t just want you to comment on
our stories, we want to engage with you and share the resulting ideas with everyone. This page features what
you’re talking about and when the topic warrants, we’ll let you know our thoughts as well.
A STAR IS BORN
Stoked to get @TheMeetingPro in the
mail and see my friend @JessicaLevin
on the cover! Need it autographed!
@EvntGrrl
Our November issue featured a hypothetical scenario in which meeting professionals offered solutions for
an event plagued with major attendee engagement problems. We then continued the discussion online,
and here’s what some of the members of our LinkedIn group (http://mpi.to/NovCS) had to say.
BETTER ENGAGEMENT AT EVENTS
[Re: “How Would You Have Planned This Differently,” November 2013 issue]
If networking and breaking down silos is a key reason for the conference then it should be in
the objectives with activities planned to achieve the desired result. Group activities that appeal
to a broad range of people and allow for collaboration, encourage communication and provide a
challenge that must be achieved as a group are the most effective.
These shared experiences become part of the story of the conference. Done well, people will
remember and talk about them long after the conference is over. It also gives delegates something to discuss at receptions and breaks and makes meeting new people less awkward.
STEWART HALL MPI NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER
I think it’s important to not force networking, but offer opportunities for those who agree that
the cultural isolation is a problem AND want to do something about it. So any solution/program
would be an optional participation (in my hypothetical solution, anyway). One format I would
suggest is to have a mixer-style event where everyone drops 5-10 business cards in a ishbowl
(or just names on cardstock, if privacy is a concern), and then draws that many cards. Each
mixer attendee is then challenged to ind and meet the people they drew from the bowl. Similar
to multi-cultural bingo, the winners would get a prize (and applause and honor) during a general session. Love this what would you do series! Very thought provoking!
KEVIN YANUSHEFSKI
A couple of thoughts: The session opener should include a brief entertainment-based introduction to all it’s delegates—a ceremonial “raising of the lags,” if you will. The theme can be carried on to an exhibit hall loor (or education sessions) with the addition of those same lags
above the entrance “inside” the exhibit hall or breakout. The “opener” should be bi-lingual,
maybe hire a song/script writer and add some international family humor.
ROB O’BRIEN
EDITOR DAVID BASLER’S RESPONSE:
Hey @EvntGrrl, autograph sessions
make great chapter event activities.
When Julie Walker, CMP (MPI Middle
Pennsylvania Chapter), was on the
August cover, the chapter board
planned a signing ceremony at their
next chapter event. Julie was a star and
the chapter loved getting their signed
copies of the magazine!
So, how can you start
a conversation?
In today’s social world, conversations
happen in myriad ways besides face to
face. Whether you want to talk about a
story we’ve published in this magazine
or MPI’s e-newsletters or blogs, here’s
how you can reach us by phone, email
and social media.
Start a conversation with
an editor:
David Basler, editor in chief
dbasler@mpiweb.org • (972) 702-3081
@TheMeetingPro • Skype: TheMeetingPro
Blair Potter, managing editor
bpotter@mpiweb.org • (972) 702-3092
Michael Pinchera, editor (features)
mpinchera@mpiweb.org • (972) 702-3018
@mpinchera
Jeff Loy, digital editor
jloy@mpiweb.org • (972) 702-3038
@JeffLoyMPI
Start a conversation with MPI:
Twitter: @MPI
Facebook: http://mpi.to/FansOfTMP
14 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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MARTIN KALFATOVIC
WHO WE ARE 20 FIRST THING 22
YOUR COMMUNITY 26 HAVE A MOMENT 32
THE LASTING EFFECTS
OF THE SHUTDOWN
Solid working relationships and transparency are key
for government planners and suppliers. PAGE 24
MPIWEB.ORG 17
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INDUSTRY VOICE
DOWNLOAD THE
AD CAMPAIGN
Print and web banner ads are available
for you to promote the progressive
value of meetings and events. Get
them now at www.mpiweb.org/
forward.
MOVING
FORWARD
MPI provides you with essential
resources to tell the story of what
you do and why you do it.
BY MICHAEL PINCHERA
H
ave you ever struggled to
explain what you do to
people that don’t know
about the meeting and
event industry? People like your
family, clients, friends—even your
boss? MPI gets it, and we realize
that it is essential that you have the
means to tell the story of what you
do and of the impact of meetings
and events on our world.
“To best accommodate your needs and storytelling endeavors, MPI has built ‘Meetings Move Us
Forward,’ a grassroots effort to drive dialogue about the industry,” says MPI President and CEO Paul Van Deventer.
The “Meetings Move Us Forward” website (www.mpi
web.org/forward) provides all of the resources you need
to clearly tell your story about your industry. There you can
watch and share our irst-ever industry documentary, which
will soon be broadcast on public television (stay tuned for
details!). In addition, a one-minute spot promoting the
meeting and event industry is coming soon to prime time
television across the U.S.
You’re also given materials that detail the breadth of
the industry: economic impact research, employment and
career stats, information on the value of face-to-face meetings, articles supporting grassroots communication, the relaunched “I Am MPI” campaign highlighting MPI member
stories and much more.
“It must be clearly understood that meetings and events
are not just the product of this industry, they are a powerful
vehicle with which to attain transformation,” Van Deventer
says.
Immediate past MPI Chairman Kevin Hinton pioneered a
task force that would ultimately create “Meetings Move Us
Forward,” to share the powerful story of meetings and events
and, in turn, help MPI members talk about the industry in a
consistent and meaningful way.
Yet, this isn’t a singular campaign or program—MPI’s focus on four core message points to empower you to explain
your work and your industry are part of the association’s DNA
and we’ve been delivering these resources to you via professional research, articles and other communications for more
than a year. With “Meetings Move Us Forward” we’ve simply
created an entry point for meeting professionals seeking this
information.
18 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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“Meetings and
events are not just
the product of this
industry, they are a
powerful vehicle
with which to attain
transformation.”
—Paul Van Deventer, MPI President and CEO
WITH THESE RESOURCES,
YOU’LL BE ABLE TO:
1. LEARN HOW TO DEFINE A
“MEETING”
3. SHOWCASE THE BREADTH
OF THE INDUSTRY
According to the MPI task force’s
official definition, “The global
meeting and event industry architects live group experiences that
move communities, organizations
and businesses forward with a
shared purpose.” Consider and
explain what that means for you.
Every day you’re designing and executing meetings ranging from the
Olympic Games and presidential
inaugurations to corporate sales
kick offs, trade shows, professional
development, charitable fundraisers, board meetings and more.
Too many people see the
industry as conventions and parties—clarify perceptions by talking
about the massive scope of your
industry.
2. HIGHLIGHT THE STRATEGIC VALUE OF YOUR WORK
Whether the goal is education,
motivation, problem solving or relationship building, we all facilitate
organizational and personal transformations that drive progress.
Every day, groups are brought
together to learn, to be inspired,
to generate new ideas and to
build relationships. In business
meetings worldwide, people
are transferring knowledge,
brainstorming ideas, negotiating
deals, generating revenue and
improving processes.
You’re changing the world
through these methods and more.
Assess your own strategic value
and share what you discover.
WATCH AND SHARE THE VIDEOS
Seeing is believing, and the world will believe what you do makes
a real difference after watching these videos, including a short
documentary focusing on the strategic value of meetings and
events. Watch them today at www.mpiweb.org/forward.
Download all the grassroots resources at
4. SPEAK IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC IMPACT AND JOBS
Ours is a far-reaching industry that
employs more than 1.7 million
people and represents almost 1
percent of the U.S. GDP. The meeting and event industry delivers
£58.4 billion to the U.K.’s GDP,
employing 515,000 people (double
the employment figures for the
telecommunications industry).
From the meeting planner to
the audiovisual provider and
hotelier, our workforce represents
a diverse cross-section of business
professionals. As such, the meeting
and event industry is not only an
agent of change and progress, but
a powerful economic driver.
www.mpiweb.org/forward
MPIWEB.ORG 19
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WHO WE ARE
20
0 THE MEETING
ING PROFESSIONAL
ALL DECEMBER
AUGUST
A
UGUST 2013
2013
3
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GIOVANNA
LUCHERINI
MPI ITALIA CHAPTER
I immediately fell in love with the meeting industry world. After graduating from college, I
worked for the most important professional congress organizers in Florence, Italy, as a hostess. After
spending several years in the ready-to-wear sector of the fashion industry, I came back to the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions industry in 1998. After working as deputy secretary
and conference manager for the European Association of General Practitioners for three years, I
had the chance to buy my own agency in 2001. It has been the best decision of my life!
In 1987, I worked at Walt Disney World in Florida as a cultural representative. I loved working
with thousands of guests so much that I knew I had to learn more about the organization of special
events.
I often attend classes and conferences where I can learn more and more about innovation,
social media, new technology and web tools that can be applied to meetings. I’d love to become
more of an expert and teach students and professionals of my industry. I also helped organize the
European Meetings and Events Conference (EMEC) in Turin, Italy, in 2009 and learned more about
CSR and green meetings. I am still learning, but also trying to have my clients incorporate some
of these efforts into their meetings.
My agency was founded in 1993 and Carla Guidi, the previous owner, was already a member
of MPI Italia, so I knew MPI was the best international association to join. I joined in 2002 and
immediately volunteered for several committees, becoming VP of education in 2008. Working with
colleagues for the creation of the yearly seminars and events was great, as were the networking
opportunities. I am the VP of education for another two-year term, and I still work with the same
enthusiasm and love. I have improved my skills and enlarged my personal and professional
community, and I also like to share this experience with colleagues of the MICE industry, and
I always look to fellow MPI members irst when placing business.
I am most proud of being awarded the Loyalty Recognition Award last year by my chapter,
so I have added more energy to my mission.
When I’m not working, I love to travel—something I get to do often when I am working as well.
My favorite destination is Italy, where I live, as I breathe the history in every corner of the
country and feel so proud of the outstanding past. I also love to sew. A group of
friends stages a play for charity every year, and I am the of icial costume designer.
Giovanna Lucherini
is the CEO of Studio Guidi
and has been an MPI member
for 11 years. She is currently
the VP of education for the
MPI Italia Chapter.
Photo by Jeff Loy
MPIWEB.ORG 21
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THE FIRST THING
FULL
THROTTLE
The irst thing that
helped Steven G. Foster,
CMP, CTA (MPI Dallas/
Fort Worth Chapter),
realize an immediate
connection with the Boot
Campaign was a mutual
admiration for a book
called Lone Survivor.
Foster, an avid motorcyclist and Harley-Davidson life member, was introduced to the
Boot Campaign in Los Angeles when he
was invited to participate in a “Boot Ride”
on behalf of military veterans with the cast
of the TV series Sons of Anarchy.
“I’m a fan of the show, so of course I
said yes,” he says. “I discovered Boot Campaign was founded by ive women from
Texas who were inspired to get involved in
service to our military and veterans after
reading Lone Survivor by former Navy
SEAL Marcus Luttrell—a book that also
had a powerful impact on me.”
A U.S. perimeter motorcycle ride had
always been on Foster’s bucket list, and the
Encounters on
the Full-Throttle
Leadership Ride
opportunity to raise money to assist
veterans helped elevate the summer 2013
road trip to something with a much greater purpose. It became the “Full-Throttle
Leadership Ride—a 32-day, 34-state,
13,000-mile journey on behalf of American Heroes.” The route would take him
from Dallas, along the Gulf Coast, through
the Everglades to Ground Zero in New
York, a irehouse in Montana, down the
Paci ic Coastline and across the deserts of
the Southwest.
“Riding the perimeter just to do it
would have been a great adventure and a
good story to tell for about six months,
but after that, who would really care?”
Foster says. “For the ride to really mean
something, it had to be about something
bigger than just me. Once I met the Boot
Campaign, I knew I had found the reason
to ride.” —BLAIR POTTER
“I met two WWII veterans, Bert Stolier and
Tom Blakey, at the National World War II
Museum in New Orleans. Bert was at Pearl
Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, during the Japanese
attack, and later was assigned to the USS
Northampton, which was torpedoed and sunk
during the Battle of Tassafaronga. Tom parachuted
into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and later
saw action at the Battle of the Bulge. Instead of
focusing on their service, they both talked about
the needs of those veterans who have served in
Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.”
“I had lunch with some Vietnam veterans at
a shelter in Norfolk, Va. These men are
‘living’ on the streets of the country they
served to protect. I learned that nearly half of
the country’s homeless veterans served during the
Vietnam era.”
“At a rest stop just outside of San Diego, I
met an Army dad whose son was overseas.
He proudly wore his son’s service ring, which
he puts on first thing in the morning along with
his wedding ring. We talked about motorcycles,
the military, America and leadership—and then he
offered me gas money for the trip. His son was
serving on our behalf in harm’s way and he was
trying to give me gas money—amazing.”
22 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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POOL/GETTY IMAGES
IMPACT
THE EFFECTS OF
THE SHUTDOWN
A planner and supplier who work with government contracts discuss
the long- and short-term impacts of the U.S. government shutdown.
BY B L A I R P O T T E R
NEARLY HALF OF MEETING PLANNER
Dara Hall’s business is U.S. government work. Hall, CMP, CMM (MPI Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter), executive
vice president for Event Source Professionals (ESP)—a certi ied woman-owned small business—spoke
with The Meeting Professional about
government meetings in the wake of
the recent U.S. government shutdown
and the possibility of further disruptions in the near future.
“The shutdown, in addition to
causing angst for our government
contacts, resulted in delays across
the board: proposal deadline delays,
delays in the publication of answers
to questions asked in advance of proposal preparation, delays in awarding
of contracts and delays in payment for
work done,” she says. “This resulted
in reduced lead times in an arena already experiencing incredibly short
lead times.”
ESP has produced meetings for
various government meetings—including the IRS and the Department of
Homeland Security—over the years
and was awarded an Advertising & Integrated Marketing Solutions (AIMS)
General Services Administration
(GSA) Schedule in 2010, followed by
winning a ive-year, multimillion-dollar contract with the National Institutes of Health six months later.
“ESP is somewhat unique in that
we act as the end-user for our programs by signing the contracts and
taking responsibility for payment
of supplier invoices,” Hall says. “The
government shutdown delayed program payments, which meant we had
to choose between being perceived as
being slow to pay our suppliers or incurring interest charges for drawing
on our line of credit. The incredibly
tight pro it margins that already exist in the world of government meetings make that a tough decision.
So, as was the case with 9/11, solid
working relationships with your
suppliers is key.”
She says the delineation between
a government-related RFP and those
that come from other business is becoming more and
more blurred.
“Especially with publicly
traded corporations that are
required to report expenditures with minorities (i.e.,
service-disabled, 8A, WOSB,
etc.), transparency is key,” Hall says.
“Valid meeting objectives are scrutinized, and the approval process can
take longer and require many levels
of authority. Typically, suppliers need
to waive cancellation and attrition
clauses for government meetings and
will need to observe shorter requirements for guarantees.”
Uncertainty is the long-term effect
of the recent shutdown and the possibility of future shutdowns.
“I would imagine that our hotel
partners especially might be hesitant
in the future to accept contracts for
government business,” Hall says. “We
could certainly see higher prices in
the future for accepting the risk of
booking government business.
Paul Somogyi, director of sales
for middle market, government
and af inity segments for Marriott
International, acknowledges that
his company experienced a number
of group cancellations with arrival
dates during the shutdown period—as well as transient booking
cancellations.
“We do not view a government
shutdown as force majeure, however, we will closely monitor the contractual language of all future government meetings,” he says.
Hotel
Impact
Washington, D.C.,
hotels reported
13,000 fewer
bookings and a
US$2 million loss
in revenue during
the shutdown,
according to Mayor
Vincent Gray.
“I would imagine that our hotel
partners might be hesitant in the
future to accept contracts for
government business.”
Somogyi cites the U.S. Of ice of
Management and Budget (OMB) as
having a signi icant impact on government meetings.
“Government meetings have
been on the decline since OMB’s
‘campaign to cut waste’ memo and
guidelines,” he says. “This has presented it’s own set of challenges
unique to government meetings,
now limited to those deemed mission-critical with senior administration pre-approval. We anticipate
OMB’s guidelines of a 30 percent
reduction in travel spend to prevail
as outlined in their ‘campaign to cut
waste’ memo through 2016.”
Daily Cost
The shutdown cost
the U.S. $152 million
per day in economic
output due to lost
travel-related activity,
according to the U.S.
Travel Association.
24 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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YOUR COMMUNITY
UR
MARKNYDOAR
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FIRST MPI
CHAPTER
CELEBRATES
40 YEARS
AT 7:15 P.M. ON NOVEMBER 13, 1973,
a small group of dedicated MPI members
gathered at the Stouffer’s Denver Inn
(now the Denver Doubletree Hotel) and
of icially started the Rocky Mountain
Chapter—MPI’s irst of what is now a
roster of 71 chapters and clubs worldwide.
Exactly 40 years later, nearly 200
meeting professionals—including current chapter leaders and members, 14
past presidents and current headquarters staff—wore red to Denver’s Curtis
Hotel to celebrate the ruby anniversary
and four decades of chapter success in
combination with the chapter’s annual
auction fundraiser. Attendees participated in several fun games, and also placed
notes about how MPI has affected them
in a time capsule that will be opened at
next year’s chapter gala.
“It was special celebrating the chapter’s milestone and the rich history,” says
2013-14 Chapter President Danny Findley. “This chapter has seen so many years
of success because of our strong volunteer base and support from MPI and our
membership.”
The special event doubled the chapter’s typical monthly meeting attendance
and brought in more than US$26,000
through ticket sales and auction fundraising—making it the chapter’s largest
fundraiser of the year. MPI Chief Operat-
-5
RY 3
A
U
R
FEB
✓
ing Of icer Cindy D’Aoust and Senior Director of Chapters and Member Services
Brad Shanklin presented the chapter with
a $250 check for the Food Bank of the
Rockies, which the chapter has supported
through fundraising for 20 years.
“About a third of those who participated were past members who hadn’t been
active in a few years or more,” Findley
says. “The event gave
“This chapter them an opportunity
to network with old
has seen so
friends and to re-enmany years
gage with the chapof success
ter. Many told me
because of
they wanted to get
our strong
involved regularly
volunteer
again. After seeing
base and
support from the enthusiasm
MPI and our everyone had, I have
membership.” no doubt we’ll easily
see another 40
—Danny Findley
years.”
Donna Watford, CMP, CMM, past president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter, says
the event was worthy of best planning,
production and achievement awards.
“What a great time we had for three
hours of reconnecting, remembrances,
recognition, bidding on great items, music
and good food and drinks,” she says.
“What a fantastic evening! You are all to
be commended on all the work that went
into this celebration for our 40 years of
doing incredible business. Love you all.
Continue the excellence.” —DAVID BASLER
MPI EUROPEAENVENTS
MEETINGS &E (EMEC)
CONFERENC
Istanbul
14
g/events/emec20
www.mpiweb.or
23-25
FEBRUARY
CBI PHA
RMA
FORUM
2014
Orland
✓
o
www.cb
inet.com
MARC
H 19-2
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✓MPI providing ed
ucation
SHARE YOUR
CSR SUCCESSES
Nearly 80 percent of delegates say it pleases them to buy
from ethically and socially responsible organizations,
according to MPI Foundation research, and nearly 90
percent of industry businesses practice CSR in some way.
But those same businesses aren’t successfully sharing that
information with current and potential clients, nor do
they know how their customers want to receive it.
MPI can help. The association has launched a multifaceted toolkit that reveals what consumers and delegates
look for in suppliers and partners, shares best practices
and provides you with the means to a competitive advantage in a saturated marketplace. The toolkit is free to MPI
members at www.mpiweb.org/portal/research.
26 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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CARBON FOOTPRINT
DOWN, MEMBER
ENGAGEMENT UP
MPI WILL SOON BE CHANGING the way
members receive renewal invoices. Starting in January, the organization is converting to an e-mail invoicing system.
“This new system ef iciently delivers
members’ renewal reminders, and if they
need a paper copy, they simply download
and print an attached PDF,” says Brad
Shanklin, MPI’s senior director of chapters
and member services.
It is estimated that this change will
eliminate 76,000 sheets from MPI’s annual
paper consumption—a reduction of 6,627
lbs. in yearly carbon footprint resulting in
contributing almost 58,000 less cubic
square feet of CO2 annually.
NAVIGATING
THE NEW
NORMAL
WITH EMEC KEYNOTE
PETER HINSSEN
The Meeting Professional recently had the
opportunity to sit down with Peter Hinssen, one of Europe’s premier experts on
the impact of technology on our society
and the keynote speaker for MPI’s 2014
European Meetings and Events Conference
(EMEC) in Istanbul, to discuss how meeting professionals can prepare for what
Hinssen calls “The New Normal.”
Define “The New Normal.”
I am describing a world where technology
has stopped being special and has become
normality. We have spent the past 20
years in the shallow end of the digital
pool, and we are about to be thrown into
the deep end. The new normal is a connected world and it will impact every
With the staff time MPI is saving
through the e-invoice conversion, member
engagement representatives (MERs) will
be able to expand their outreach to the
MPI community.
“We are developing a new Member
Connect Strategy that will result in a stronger member voice within the organization
through increased listening to what members have on their minds,” Shanklin says.
Members can expect periodic calls
from their MERs throughout 2014. Be
prepared to share your MPI experience
with us so that we can serve you better,
and log on to MPIWeb.org/me to ensure
we have the correct contact information.
industry—especially meetings and events.
In the new normal markets are being
replaced by networks and the customer is
at the heart of the networks, so I think
there is going to be a premium placed on
the value of human encounters once we
enter the new normal. Meetings and
events are now gatherings of interactive
groups creating networks capable of generating a completely different outcome.
What is the No. 1 challenge you see
meeting professionals facing in 2014?
Because content is becoming extremely
luid, and because information is so readily
available and ubiquitous, people who
organize meetings and events will have to
be sharper than ever before to be industry
leaders, but there is a clear opportunity to
rethink how we use digital networking in
terms of how meetings and events are
organized. Consumption of information is
changing so quickly as a result of the new
normal, and we are only scratching the
surface.
How can meeting professionals best
prepare for working in the connected
world of “The New Normal?”
Experiment. There is going to be a phase
to igure out the right approach and the
right model to use. It’s not about buying a
tool. It’s more like understanding a new
language, and you are probably going to
RISE AWARDS:
IT ALL STARTS
WITH YOU
MPI is accepting peer
nominations for the RISE
Awards program. Nominees are individuals, MPI
chapters and communities and organizations
that are making significant contributions to the
meeting and event industry through influence,
innovation and global reach.
You know who’s moving the industry forward. Now tell the world. The deadline to
submit a nomination is December 13. Detailed
descriptions, criteria and nomination application requirements for all seven awards can be
found at www.mpiweb.org/rise.
MPI SEEKS
APPLICANTS FOR
BOARD POSITIONS
MPI will accept online applications for its 20142015 Board of Directors until 5 p.m. CST on
January 15, 2014. All MPI Board of Directors
applicants must upload a resumé or curriculum
vitae and a headshot during the application
process.
Board seats are open to any MPI members
in good standing. Officer applicants must have
completed one full year or must currently sit on
the board—aside from chairman-elect candidates, who must be standing board members.
For more information and to access the
application, visit www.mpiweb.org or e-mail
jparker@mpiweb.org.
fail—but fail fast, fail forward and learn
from your mistakes. Meeting professionals will also have to develop some new
skills. See this as an opportunity to create
a new role and a new skill base.
Hinssen will elaborate on success in a
connected world during his keynote
address at EMEC (February 23-25).
Register at www.mpiweb.org/events/
emec2014. —DAVID BASLER
MPIWEB.ORG 27
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YOUR COMMUNITY
MPI FOUNDATION:
REFOCUSED AND COMMITTED
TO YOUR SUCCESS
TO SECURE A SUCCESSFUL TOMORROW,
it’s essential to support and strengthen
you today. That is the renewed mission
of the MPI Foundation.
In recent months, the Foundation has
undergone a striking strategic shift
which will directly bene it MPI members
and their professional goals. In the past
few years, the Foundation was focused
on raising funds primarily for research
and initiatives, but now that fundraising
will be focused on directly increasing
scholarships and grants for individual
members and chapters.
“Frankly speaking, the Foundation got
off track and we realized we needed to
change our focus to efforts that directly
help you, our members,” says Foundation
Global Board of Trustees Executive Committee Chairman Dave Johnson.
So now more than ever, the Foundation is seeking to award scholarships to
individuals for professional growth such
as college degrees, certi ication, attendance at industry events and more.
Foundation Chapter Grants are equally a
focus to bolster education and development on the chapter level—where most
MPI members have the greatest face-toface connection.
“Funds will be fully transparent, even
to the extent that contributors will be
able to track their giving through to
speci ic individuals,” Johnson said.
“What’s more, the Foundation will keep
donors connected with scholarship and
grant recipients so they can follow the
progress and the real, human value of
their contributions.”
MPI is also making it easier than ever
before to contribute to the Foundation,
from individual and corporate giving
(one-time and annual renewals) to
branded scholarships and more.
AT&T Park San Francisco, for instance, is supporting the Foundation’s
Education Endowment through matching
individual contributions up to US$30,000
per year in 2014 and 2015. That’s up to
$60,000 to help fund individual member
education, research and chapters.
And individuals just like you are also
supporting the MPI community through
generous donations on all levels.
The Foundation’s renowned fundraising events, such as Rendezvous For a
“Amidst the fallout of staff reductions and
frozen budgets in my organization, the MPI
Foundation became an umbrella in the
storm. Through their generous partnership, I
attended the World Education Congress.
More than ever before, the connection,
education and sharing of experience became personally and professionally vital.”
—Barry D. Jones
MPI Brazil Chapter
Manager, Conference Planning
FAMILYLIFE
“My MPI chapter was very fortunate to get
a Foundation Chapter Grant because it
allowed us to do things that we couldn’t
earmark money for in our budget.”
—Ananda Ybarra, CMP
MPI Orange County Chapter
Mammoth Black Concierge Manager
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area LLC
Reason, will continue at the European
Meetings & Events Conference (Feb.
23-25 in Istanbul) and at the World
Education Congress (Aug. 2-5 in Minneapolis). Attending these events allows
you unparalleled opportunities to network with industry peers and ticket sales
act as donations to the Foundation.
If you are interested in applying for
individual scholarships, chapter grants,
or just want to learn how to contribute,
visit www.mpiweb.org/foundation.
—MICHAEL PINCHERA
28 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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TOP SPOTS
IS THIS HEAVEN?
NO, IT’S DETROIT.
J
ust about everything I did in my spare time as a kid
revolved around music. So when I received an invitation from the Detroit CVB to attend a press trip in the
city that gave birth to the “Motown Sound,” it was
an opportunity this music a icionado just couldn’t
pass up.
More speci ically, The Meeting Professional had been invited
to join in the celebration opening the Cobo Center’s newly constructed atrium with 80-foot-high ceilings overlooking the Detroit River and renovated, 40,000-square-foot ballroom—part
of the three-phase, US$299 million renovation the iconic convention center is currently undergoing. When completed in
2015, Cobo will be at the top of every meeting planner’s “mustsee” list—exactly what the city wants and needs in an already
very competitive Midwest market.
On the day of the unveiling,
while out touring various meetun
ou’re
Whileeyre...
h
ing venues and hotel properties around the Motor City,
our hosts asked, “Do you
guys want to check out the
Motown Museum?”
The question was answered with a unanimous
(and simultaneous), “YES!”
from all six of us in the van.
I tried to control my excitement, but inside I was
bursting.
As a kid I had fallen in
love with the sounds of Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, The
Temptations and the Jackson Five (just to name a few). My dad
had a massive collection of Motown records and I’d play album
after album on his Panasonic turntable until the needle was practically worn down, often ignoring calls to come to the dinner table in an effort to listen to just one more song. My mom would
knock on my door to ind me dancing in a “synchronized” line
and singing to “My Girl” (my favorite Temptations song), at the
top of my lungs.
Our van pulled up to the curb at 2648 West Grand Boulevard
in front of a white colonial revival house with blue trim—a
non-descript structure if not for the 20-foot sign hung on the
façade spelling out “Hitsville U.S.A.” in script lettering. I walked
up the steps and stood on the porch. I was in awe and I hadn’t
even stepped foot inside yet.
Just an hour earlier, we had been touring an amazingly versatile suburban convention facility just north of the city (http://
suburbancollectionshowplace.com), and now I was about to
tour the house that Barry Gordy had purchased and turned into
his Motown recording studio in 1959.
We toured every corner of the house, including the hole Gordy
had cut in the second- loor ceiling so that the sound could echo
into the attic where he’d placed recorders to pick up the sound
(that’s the secret of the Motown Sound by the way).
The tour saves the best for last—Studio A, where the magic
happened. I stood there, in front of the microphone that captured
some of the best music ever recorded. Our tour guide led the
group in our own rendition
of “My Girl”—and once
again, I was singing at the
top of my lungs.
When the tour was over,
someone asked me what I
thought. I smiled and said,
“I know I’m not in heaven,
but this is pretty damn
close.” —DAVID BASLER
Be it BBQ or a unique twist on the
coney hotdog, Detroit is all about
great food. Check out celebrity
chef Anthony Bourdain’s culinary
tour of the Motor City at http://
cnn.it/17pgYPd.
For more information on the
Cobo Center renovation, visit
www.cobocenter.com/about_
us/renovation_update.
30 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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HAVE A MOMENT
32
32 THE
THE MEETING
MEETING PROFESSIONAL
PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER
NOVEMBER2013
2013
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11/21/13 3:30 PM
CAN’T
HOLD US
EVENT:
Album release concert
for Macklemore and
Ryan Lewis’ debut
album, The Heist, at
WaMu Theater in
Seattle
WHEN:
Friday, Oct. 12, 2012
WHO:
Josh Hamon (MPI Washington State Chapter),
director of event architecture for Blue Danube
Productions, designed the
set, lighting and onstage
projection. This photo was
taken from the ground of
the gutter between the
stage and crowd while
Macklemore and Ryan
Lewis played “As We
Danced.” In the following
nine months, the group
became the first duo to
ever hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their
first two singles and was
named “Best Group” at the
2013 BET Awards.
Photo by Tony Hoffman /
Unique View Photography
MPIWEB.ORG 33
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SPECIAL ADVERTISEMENT
San Antonio CVB
WWW.MEETINGS.VISITSANANTONIO.COM
G
ET UNFORGETTABLE SERVICE IN
AN UNFORGETTABLE CITY.
San Antonio is frequently voted one
of America’s favorite and friendliest cities.
Southern hospitality meets Texas hospitality
to create a culture that’s unmatched when it
comes to showing visitors a good time. And as
a testament to this, the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau has won numerous
awards for their outstanding service and
hospitality. But the CVB staff is more than just
friendly. They’ll help you with everything from
site visits to the airport sendoff, and everything in between.
DEDICATED SERVICE
As soon as you decide to plan your next meeting or convention in San Antonio, the CVB will
assign a dedicated staff member to your team.
Your dedicated staff member (DSM) will assist
you with site inspections, communicating
with city departments, alerting key businesses
to your arrival, providing housing assistance
and dispersing lead referrals to suppliers,
venues, destination marketing companies and
other service providers. Whatever you need,
your DSM will be there to help. So whether
you have questions about meeting venues or
where to ind the best guacamole in town,
all you have to do is ask. And it’s entirely
complimentary.
San Antonio Special Advertisement.indd 34
FINDING THE PERFECT VENUE
Once you’ve decided to meet in San Antonio,
the next step is deciding where to meet in
San Antonio—and once again, the CVB will be
there to lend a hand. With intimate knowledge
of every venue in town, from the unique to the
traditional, they’ll help you ind one that’s just
right for your group. For larger gatherings,
the 1.3 million-square-foot Henry B. Gonzalez
Convention Center offers 440,000 square feet
of contiguous exhibit space, innovative technology, a convenient location and panoramic
windows with scenic views of the river. For
mid-sized groups, the Pearl Brewery can seat
up to 400 in its 5,525-square-foot Pearl Stable
Ballroom. And for smaller get-togethers, San
Antonio offers myriad hotels, resorts and
historic sites.
SETTLING IN
Another important aspect: Where to stay. San
Antonio offers more than 43,000 hotel rooms
with a variety of options, from chic boutiques
to luxurious resorts to all the major hospitality lags. More than 13,700 rooms are located
downtown, 6,500 of which are within walking
distance of the convention center. All in all,
you’ll ind the perfect accommodations for
every budget and group, and your DSM will be
there to help.
11/21/13 6:43 PM
For larger gatherings, the 1.3 million-square-foot Henry B. Gonzalez
Convention Center offers 440,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit
space, innovative technology, a convenient location and panoramic
windows with scenic views of the river.
SPREADING THE WORD
Once you’ve planned your event, you’ll need
to make sure people get there, yet another
place where the San Antonio CVB excels.
They’ll provide you with an attendance-building toolkit, downtown and area maps, guides
to restaurants, nightlife and attractions, a
custom microsite for your event and customized e-postcards and Web banners to promote
attendance. Your DSM will even travel to your
convention the prior year to promote San
Antonio.
GETTING AROUND
Downtown San Antonio is only eight miles
from San Antonio International Airport—only
a 15-minute ride. And once attendees are
downtown, a peaceful walk along the River
Walk will take them just about anywhere they
need to go, including the convention center,
hotels, restaurants and other attractions.
Perhaps that’s why it’s known as “the world’s
largest hotel lobby.” Not to mention, it’s a
great place to network.
FINDING AFTER-MEETING ACTIVITIES
San Antonio is more than a meeting destination—it’s also a major vacation destination
with hundreds of attractions. If it’s history
you’re interested in, you’ll ind the Alamo,
four other Spanish colonial missions, a multitude of museums and the oldest operating
cathedral in the nation. For the outdoorsy
type, there’s golf, peaceful strolls along the
River Walk, walking and biking trails, caving,
frequent festivals and outdoor markets. When
it comes to shopping, you’ll ind high-end
boutiques, outlet malls and more than a few
art galleries. And don’t forget about the food.
San Antonio offers a wide variety of culinary
options, from traditional German to worldclass Tex-Mex to French, Italian and English.
So how will you ever decide what to do irst?
Once again, just ask your DSM.
San Antonio Special Advertisement.indd 35
WHAT ATTENDEES
ARE SAYING
Sandra Blum
Texas Dental Association:
“San Antonio is a city that understands and knows how to facilitate
meetings and conventions. The team
is supportive in every way and is
eager and available to assist with
details and requests for information.
The city’s ambience and the accessibility of restaurants and nightlife
to the hotels is a real bonus for our
attendees. The recent renovations to
the downtown hotels are very much
appreciated.”
Jennifer Ragan-Fore
International Society
for Technology in Education:
“I’m struck once again by how
committed the San Antonio CVB was
to ISTE’s success throughout the process. From the most routine requests
to the most complex, your team
always responded with urgency and
a sense of partnership…your help
has been invaluable.“
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VIEWPOINTS
Overcoming Obstacles to Find Career Success 38 | Avoiding Common Contract Pitfalls 40
Effectiveness
means identifying
the next hurdle to
your increased
success, assessing
it and figuring
out how to
jump it.
LEVEL UP
PAGE 38
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CAREER
BY BRIDGET DICELLO
Bridget (MPI Tennessee Chapter) is a speaker, an executive coach
and author of How, Not If, to Navigate Difficult Conversations.
She can be reached at bridget@bridgetdicello.com.
LEVEL UP
Do you need to overcome hurdles to get results?
Climb your way to success through engagement,
focus and discipline.
YOU MAY BE GOOD, OR EVEN GREAT,
AT WHAT YOU DO. Yet, you have amazing
potential you have not yet discovered.
Increasing your personal effectiveness
means you are doing the right things,
purposefully and ef iciently in ways that
produce results—better results than
yesterday. It means doing something differently in order to move forward through
small, powerful iterations toward the results you desire. An effective meeting planner is engaged in every aspect of the meeting, focused on expected results and
meeting ROI and determined to plan and
execute a better meeting than anyone
expects.
Effectiveness means identifying the
next hurdle to your increased success,
assessing it and iguring out how to jump
it. Personally, I’ve leaped hurdles of business ownership, cold calling, new technology, social media, discovering life balance
and a million smaller hurdles in between,
and have experienced signi icant professional growth as a result.
Results
To you, “results” may mean creating meaningful and memorable events, receiving a
promotion, landing excellent clients, decreasing your stress level, having a positive
impact on your co-workers, becoming more
in luential in your industry, improving your
problem solving and deadline management
skills or increasing participant engagement.
What is the result that you want to be more
effective in achieving today, this week, this
month and this year?
Engaged
When you are engaged, you are excited
about your work, dive into problems and
solve them and look for the next obstacle
to overcome. This level of engagement
enables you to discover a multitude of
opportunities, possibilities and connections. Who knew I’d be on the MPI Tennessee Chapter board when I started my
company based on a passion for developing leaders in the healthcare industry?
If you feel you lack engagement and
that work has become stale, build your
expertise or ef iciency and, as a result,
your excitement about what you are doing. If you want to become more effective
at negotiating contracts, assume a con idence-building leadership role or take a
class that includes role-playing. If you
desire to increase meeting ROI by asking
the tough questions to clearly understand
a particular stakeholder’s real expectations in the area of technology, for example, you might ask a veteran planner to act
as a mentor, read a book on constructive
con lict and attend an event on technology
or bandwidth.
Identify what you can do, and then
purposefully decide what you will do.
If you want to accomplish something, it
is not a question of if you can, but how
you will!
Focused and Determined
Increasing your personal effectiveness is
about you and what you want to accomplish, and what you are allowing to get in
your way. Insights and feedback from
38 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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peers and supervisors is valuable and
provides an objective view.
I had a mentor many years ago point
out my nervous laugh that he felt detracted from my credibility. Changing small
habits, often hard to break, can make a
signi icant difference in effectiveness.
No one sees the world exactly as you
do, and your view determines your path.
Your day is full of decisions momentto-moment as to how you will spend
your time, the focus you will give to what
you are doing, the readiness to accept
your weaknesses and work to improve
them and willingness to give yourself
credit for your strengths and build
upon them.
The most dif icult part of increasing
effectiveness is actually changing your
mindset, what you do or how you do it.
Giving money to those individuals at the
side of the road always seemed wrong to
me. “I’m a female, driving alone, and
they’ll probably just buy alcohol anyway”
was the tape that played in my head.
Then, one day, listening to one of Mother
Teresa’s messages, my mindset was
changed. Now I keep $10 handy at all
times and look for someone with whom
to share it. Seemingly minute, daily
changes in behavior add up and lead to
personal and professional growth.
Discipline and Perseverance
Effectiveness also requires discipline,
focus and perseverance to work the plan
you have put in place. First steps are
often the most dif icult to identify and
to take.
Let’s say you are preparing the educational component of your meeting, and
you have a conversation with someone
who is negative, condescending and lists
the reasons why doing something new
and different won’t work. Do you let that
person take you off track? Or maybe they
bring up something you didn’t know, and
that makes the perfectionist in you run
back to the drawing board and stop
forward progress. Or maybe
the need to
work with this
dif icult person
makes you
want to retreat
to the way you
have always
done things,
and avoid the
new opportunities because
you’d rather work alone and quickly than
navigate a dif icult conversation.
If you avoid dif icult conversations,
instead speak with honesty, clarity and
objectivity about the situation.
Avoid emotionally charged adjectives
and blame. Use the moment between
when someone speaks and you respond
very carefully to in luence the outcome.
Take a deep breath, and ask many curious questions to understand the other
person enough to lead the conversation
to a positive conclusion.
I had a mentor many years ago point out my
nervous laugh that he felt detracted from my
credibility. Changing small habits, often hard
to break, can make a significant difference
in effectiveness.
Recharge
You are not a machine. It is critical in
your desire to be more effective that you
take the time to rejuvenate. While
hard-chargers are often energized by
working and achieving results, everyone
is renewed by rest and taking care of
emotional, physical and spiritual needs.
MPIWEB.ORG 39
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ESSENTIALS
BY JOAN L. EISENSTODT
Joan (MPI Potomac Chapter) is a meetings and hospitality
consultant, trainer and facilitator with extensive experience with
associations, corporations, hotel companies and DMOs. She can be
reached at eisenstodt@aol.com or on Twitter at @JoanEisenstodt.
COMMON
CONTRACT MISTAKES
(AND HOW TO AVOID THEM)
8 Tips for Creating a Quality Contract and a Better Meeting
I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY, nor do I play
one on the Internet or TV.
My personal knowledge of contracts
began in 1983. One of my clients needed
to cancel a meeting that had been booked
years before by someone else. The result
of the cancelation was a lawsuit naming
my client, my company and me personally as co-defendants. Through this event,
my knowledge of contracts grew exponentially—it had to or I was going to lose
my business. Ultimately, it was a great
learning experience, but one I wish on
no one else.
Since then, I have consulted fellow
meeting professionals on contract best
practices and I regularly testify as an
expert witness in contract cases, and
through these experiences I have made
note of the mysteries and myths about
hotel contracts that are rampant in our
industry.
Creating a complete and quality contract should be in every meeting professional’s wheelhouse, but it isn’t. We tend
to ignore what we fear and don’t understand. But it isn’t as dif icult as you think,
and the only thing you should fear is the
outcome of not paying attention.
I advise those I consult to follow these
tips in avoiding the common contract
pitfalls.
1. Start by writing a thorough RFP and
insist on a thorough proposal that
directly responds to your RFP from the
hotel. If the hotel calls the proposal a
“contract” or “agreement,” it will be if it
is signed by both parties.
2. Don’t rush to sign anything. Sign
nothing until you have completed negotiations and all terms are clari ied and
understood by the parties to the contract.
Anything with a signature on it can be
considered binding, and negotiating after
signature is dif icult. Don’t sign anything
until all parties are certain every detail is
covered and memorialized in the document. Too often important details are
overlooked when signatures are done
in haste.
3. Read every word the hotel sends
you—including any attached or virtual
documents on the hotel’s website, especially policies noted in the proposal but
not attached. I like to read out loud because it helps me hear whether it really
makes sense or not. Try it—it works.
Now read it again. Reading things twice
ensures you haven’t missed something.
4. Make sure you understand the language. If you’re drafting the contract,
write it conversationally—don’t try to
sound like a lawyer. If you receive a draft
from a lawyer ask them to clarify things
you don’t understand.
5. “Red-line” the document (or use
“track changes”) with your questions,
comments, understandings from conversations, etc. This is the beginning of the
conversation between the planner and
the hotel sales person to clarify terms,
add more speci ic information to the
document and ultimately come to
agreement.
6. Go back and add the addenda
language to the body of the contract
rather than including them as attachments. If your company or organization
uses an addendum, ind a way to incorporate all that information into the body
of the signed document. Addenda become detached, and if not speci ic about
what takes precedent, you could be in
a heap of trouble.
7. Be specific. Clarity is your friend when
drafting a contract. For example, if you
see language such as, “Special electrical
requirements must be speci ied to our
Catering Department at least three weeks
prior to the function. Charges will be
based on labor involved and power usage
estimated,” ask the hotel to identify what
“special” means, add the date (rather
than saying three weeks prior to the
function) and ind out what happens if
the needs change after that time. De ine
the parameters of the charges rather
than having them based on estimates.
8. Don’t forget the small details. I often
see the simple things left out, and it’s the
simple things that can get you in trouble
down the road. Things such as:
• Owners’ names. The contract is with
the owners d/b/a (“doing business
as”) the hotel. It may matter to the
meeting sponsor who owns the hotel
and it will certainly matter if there is
a dispute. Best to ask in the RFP and
include the owner’s name in the
contract.
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Creating a complete and quality contract
should be in every meeting professional’s
wheelhouse, but it isn’t. We tend to ignore
what we fear and don’t understand. But it
isn’t as difficult as you think, and the only
thing you should fear is the outcome of
not paying attention.
• Numbers and dates not percentages
and days. Instead of 360 days out for
cancellation, insert the date; instead of
25 percent of the estimated master
account for payment, insert a dollar
igure. Know the exact terms. Why? If
it says 360 days out from your meeting, does that mean the irst guest
room arrival or the irst day of the
meeting space block or the irst day
of a general session or something
entirely different?
• Consistent language. If a contract
refers to the “Group” or uses its acronym in part of the contract and switches to “Patron” elsewhere, I bet there’s
been some sloppy cutting and pasting.
Demand consistency.
While this column simply scratches
the surface, it will get you started in
the right direction. Read more about
contract best practices at http://
tinyurl.com/APEXcontracts.
The more you ask, the more you’ll
know, and that will ensure a better
contract and a better meeting
foundation.
MPIWEB.ORG 41
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SPECIAL ADVERTISEMENT
Vancouver Convention
Centre
WWW.VANCOUVERCONVENTIONCENTRE.COM
A
six-acre grass roof. LEED Platinum certi ication. An unparalleled waterfront setting.
These are not typical features or qualities
you would attribute to a convention center, but
these are exactly the type of examples that set the
Vancouver Convention Centre apart.
The only two-time winner of the International
Association of Congress Centres’ (AIPC) Apex
Award for the “World’s Best Conference Centre”
(2008 and 2002), the Vancouver Convention Centre
is anything but conventional.
“The addition of our West building in 2009 gave
us the opportunity to do things differently. The
design of our facility moves away from the big box
‘look and feel’ of a traditional convention center,” says
Claire Smith, vice president of sales and marketing,
Vancouver Convention Centre. “We want to treat
every delegate who walks through our doors to a
unique experience; we want them to be inspired.”
“Our facility is not only functional,” Smith adds. “It
is environmentally sustainable in every way and aesthetically beautiful, taking advantage of the beautiful
natural surroundings that Vancouver is known for.”
Located on Vancouver’s downtown waterfront
with a dramatic mountain backdrop, the Vancouver
Convention Centre offers one of the most beautiful
settings in the world. Covering four city blocks, the
center’s two connected buildings offer 466,500
square feet of lexible function space with 72 meeting rooms as well as Canada’s largest waterfront
ballroom at 53,000 square feet.
Vancouver Special Advertisement.indd 42
One distinctive design feature is the dramatic
loor-to-ceiling glass windows throughout the facility.
When delegates come out of a meeting room, they are
treated to breathtaking harbour and mountain views,
natural light and open space. This is not common to
ind at a convention center
There is also little that is common about the
green design and practices of the Vancouver
Convention Centre. Perhaps the most unique green
feature is the center’s six-acre living roof. Landscaped with more than 400,000 indigenous plants,
the largest living roof in Canada is also home to
four beehives, whose bees produce honey for the
facility’s “scratch” kitchen.
Other environmentally sustainable features
include a seawater heating and cooling system, an
onsite water treatment plant, a marine habitat built
into the building’s foundation and an extensive
facility-wide recycling program that recycles nearly
half of the total volume of waste generated.
Apart from the bricks and mortar, the convention
center’s unique approach to the guest experience has
been celebrated in the industry. Recognized with the
AIPC 2011 Innovation Award, the center’s Service
Excellence Program embraced by every employee
and of icial partners ensures unparalleled service at
every touch point with guests.
Smith explained that they wanted to ensure that
guests are not only inspired by the glass, wood and
spectacular views of the stunning West building,
but also by exceptional service delivery.
11/25/13 4:23 PM
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SHOWCASE
Food Sustainability 46 | Success Using Unique Venues 48 | Crafting and Growing a Partnership 50
“Before I saw 1111
I said, ‘Sorry, a parking
garage is not going to
happen.’ But when I
saw it I immediately
got it. I recognized that
1111 provided us with
the vibe we were trying
to go for and that none
of the other venues
could match.”
PARK YOUR EVENT HERE
PAGE 48
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SUSTAINABILITY
Best Practices in
Sustainable Food
Tiger Beer, urban farming and a holistic approach highlight
Singapore’s efforts to promote local alternatives.
BY ROGER SIMONS, CMP
AS AN EVENT PLANNER BASED IN ASIA with a
focus on sustainability, I come across a lot
of variance in event best practice and work
with venues and events in the transition to
more sustainable food sourcing. Particularly
here in Singapore, it’s led to some interesting
questions for the event industry.
Just what is local to a nation only 440
miles square with one of the densest populations in the world? As such a small island nation, Singapore faces a number of resource
challenges. With a lourishing event industry
evident from the 2.5 million MICE delegate
visitors from January to September 2012
and their spending producing an estimated
economic impact of US$3.4 billion, there’s a
clear need to focus on stimulating a sustainable event industry and destination.
The Singapore Tourism Board made
sustainability a key strategy for the local
industry in 2012 and started with an indepth research study benchmarking the
performance of their supplier constituents
and considering how to stimulate best practices. The result is a comprehensive set of
guidelines launched at EIBTM in Barcelona
supporting facilities and planners in their
journey to sustainable best practices. These
guidelines provide many lessons for sustainable food sourcing, no matter where you
are based in the world. Here are a few tips
on sourcing sustainable food for your event,
property or destination.
Define Your “Local”
There is no agreed-upon global de inition of
local, and you’ll ind that local food in the U.S.
might have traveled a lot further than local
food in the Netherlands. De ine what makes
sense for your event, venue or destination.
In the case of Singapore, “local” can’t be
limited even just to the same country, so
we’re looking at Malaysia, Indonesia and
even Thailand when considering that the
bulk of fruits and vegetables are trucked
down the 460-mile Malay Peninsula.
Kevin Teng, director of sustainability for
Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, says determining “food miles” is a key component of
sustainability.
“We make informed choices on where our
supplies originate from to reduce our food
miles and present an array of sustainable
dining options for meeting organizers, and
we launched our Green Harvest Menu this
year,” he says. “All fruits and vegetables on
this menu are grown locally or sourced from
neighboring Southeast Asian regions, and
selected seafood is from sustainable stock.
Ultimately, the lower the food miles, the
fresher the product and lower the emission
of greenhouse gases during transportation.”
Seek a Destination’s Core Strengths
Each destination where you hold an event
will have its core strengths—and what you
ind might surprise you.
Singapore is very strong on brewing its
own beer. Its “Tiger Beer”—launched in
46 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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local agricultural community, and they’ll
have time to work towards your goal.
In Singapore, the challenge of feeding a
growing population is pushing the concept
of urban farming to new heights. SkyGreen
is the world’s irst low-carbon, hydraulic,
water-driven, tropical vegetable urban vertical farm, and is 10 times more productive
per square foot than conventional farming.
Integrate Local Food as Part of a Wider
Sustainability Initiative
The most common excuse heard for lack
of sustainability in our industry is “green
events cost more.” Though a holistic focus on
1932—is now consumed in 60 countries
worldwide and is one of Singapore’s most
well-known brands. Meanwhile, across the
Paci ic, distilleries in New York are booming, and at a recent international event in
a Manhattan hotel we served a delicious
locally produced vodka cocktail. You can
now source everything from Gin distilled in
Brooklyn to Bourbon bottled in Williamsburg to Vodka distilled from apples grown in
the Hudson Valley of upstate New York.
PHOTO: SKY GREENS AND AVA
PHOTO: AVA
“Ultimately, the lower the food miles,
the fresher the product and lower the
emission of greenhouse gases
during transportation.”
sustainable event design demonstrates that
savings are the norm, local, organic, sustainable and fair trade food can be the principle
area where costs are higher. But with a wider
initiative focusing on reducing energy, material and resource use you’ll ind that slightly
higher costs in food can be offset by savings
in areas such as reduced transport, giveaways and printing.
“We also ful ill our green commitment
outside of our premises,” Teng says. “For instance, during ITB Asia 2013, we launched
our irst green booth made of eco-friendly
materials. In addition to having this reusable booth, we also gave out thumb drives
instead of relying on
brochures and printed material. This
resulted in overall
cost savings as well
as the ability for us
to extend our green
philosophy. Through
this, we hope to serve
as a positive in luence to the rest of the
industry.”
Set Aspirations with Suppliers Early
Anything in life is possible with early preparation, and even what once felt like a dream
can become a plan with a leap of faith and
commitment. Share your aspirations early
with your suppliers, your caterer or your
Dream Big
The only barrier to
fresh, local, organic,
sustainable and seasonal produce for the
entire event industry
is your aspiration
and vision. Collaborate with your supply
chain and dream big.
Who knows? Along
the way, we might
discover a little more
joy. In the words
of J.R.R. Tolkien in
The Hobbit, “If more
of us valued food
and cheer and song
above hoarded gold,
it would be a merrier
world.”
SINGAPORE’S SUSTAINABILITY GOALS FOR 2030
35% 140
Improvement in energy
efficiency from 2005 levels
Liters
per person
Reduce domestic water consumption
(down from 156 liters in 2008)
70%
Improve recycling rate
from 56% (in 2008)
MPIWEB.ORG 47
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DIGITAL CMO SUMMIT
Park Your Event Here
Even something as pedestrian as a parking garage can play host to
a great event with creative thinking and a willingness to take on new
challenges—as evidenced by a group of marketing leaders that
convened in Miami’s South Beach.
BY KEVIN WOO
MIAMI’S SOUTH BEACH IS HOME TO AN EVENT
VENUE that is so hot and hip it has become
known among locals simply by its numerical
address. No street name is required.
The venue isn’t part of a swanky hotel or
hot dance club. Instead, 1111 (pronounced
Eleven-Eleven) is a parking garage. Each
year 1111 (Lincoln Road for those not in
the know) hosts 25 to 30 private events for
groups ranging from 70 to 700. “A parking
garage?” you ask. Well, this is no ordinary
parking structure, it’s a work of art.
In May, Millward Brown Digital held an
evening event for 175 clients at 1111 as part
of its Digital CMO Summit. The annual sum-
mit brings marketing leaders together to
learn new ways to explore and discuss forces
transforming their business.
“Before I saw 1111 I said, ‘Sorry, a parking
garage is not going to happen,’” says Kristen
Luongo, Millward Brown Digital’s marketing
manager. “But when I saw it I immediately
got it. Our clients attend many events each
year, and we need to ind a way to provide
a unique experience—one that they will remember and talk about, and that will make
them want to attend again next year. With
the blank walls and 34-foot ceilings, the garage allowed me to create an atmosphere
that was consistent with our message to at-
tendees. I recognized that 1111 provided us
with the vibe we were trying to go for and
that none of the other venues could match.
It was literally a blank canvas and we could
do anything we wanted with the walls, the
decor, the arrangement of the furniture and
the eating areas.”
Lauren Halpren, CMP (MPI South Florida Chapter), meeting and event planner at
DECO Productions, was responsible for producing the event. To sell Luongo on the idea,
Halpren took advantage of 1111’s best asset:
its spectacular view of South Beach.
1111’s design was the brainchild of Robert Wennett, the garage’s owner, and the
48 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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architects at Herzog & de Meuron, a Swiss
architectural irm known for its cutting-edge
designs of shopping malls and homes.
What makes 1111 unique is the way it was
constructed. It’s made of concrete and glass
and there are no external walls or cross beams
to obstruct the views. Inside the garage are
water gardens, re lective glass pavilions and
artwork. The ceiling heights vary from loor to
loor and range from eight feet to 34 feet high.
The seventh loor, with its 34-foot ceilings, is
reserved for special events.
Within the property is 40,000 square feet
of retail space that is occupied by companies
such as MAC cosmetics, Nespresso coffee and
Osklen clothing. On the second loor is Juvia,
a restaurant that combines French, Japanese
and Peruvian cooking styles. The garage even
has a condo (complete with a pool and garden)
on the top loor.
The Challenges
You might think that 1111’s wide-open space
would make it a cinch for load in and load out.
Not so. Ceilings with varying heights and a lack
of freight elevators are two of many challenges.
Steep ramps challenge every vendor that
works at 1111. Because the pedestrian elevators are off-limits to vendors, everything must
be brought in on latbed trucks, minivans, golf
carts or by tow. Even shuttle vans are too tall to
make it to the top levels.
Jenny Lynn George of Aaron’s Catering says
it takes a small army and several types of vehicles to load in and out at 1111. For the CMO
Summit her team needed a 26-foot truck to
carry all the tables, chairs and cooking equipment to the garage. Then they had to unload
the haul into minivans and latbed trucks
for the trip to the seventh loor. The load-in
process took three-and-a-half hours.
Once the
cooking equipment arrived,
another small
army of chefs
began preparing a menu of
molecular gastronomy cuisine. The menu
included scallops with bacon air and truf le
mashed potatoes and braised and glazed short
ribs with yucca and goat cheese puree.
The biggest challenge for George was something she had no control over: wind.
“Wind is always a factor at 1111,” she
says. “Fortunately for the guests the wind
dies down around 6:30 p.m. and there’s
only a light breeze during the evening.
But when we’re trying to set up it can be a
challenge.”
To shield themselves from the elements,
George installs pipe and drape around the
“Our clients attend many events each year, and
we need to find a way to provide a unique
experience—one that they will remember and talk about, and that will make
them want to attend again next year.”
LAUREN
HALPREN
MPI South Florida Chapter
“WHAT I
LEARNED”
When doing an evening at an
offsite property it takes an army
of professionals, professionalism
between the various teams and
knowledge to pull off the event.
areas where the staff will be working. And
her team has learned that using the right vessels will prevent food from lying away during
events.
Regardless of the pipe and drape that surrounds the food prep area, 1111 is still a challenge for the chefs. George’s staff typically uses
propane-based ovens, but the ire marshal
determined that propane is a ire hazard at
1111, so her team was forced to use electricity. George’s team needed to bring in powerful
generators to run the cooking equipment.
Halpren credits Luongo for seeing the
possibilities at 1111. When she shows the
property, sometimes event planners get it and
sometimes they don’t.
“Those clients who get it are likely to be
high tech, innovative and creative,” she says.
INCREASING ENGAGEMENT WITH INSTAGRAM
As Digital CMO Summit attendees arrived at 1111 they were given instructions
on how to take pictures and upload them to Instagram. Within seconds, the
pictures appeared on the ceiling.
“This may have been the coolest part of the evening,” says Kristen Luongo,
Millward Brown Digital’s marketing manager. “All night, people were taking
pictures of themselves with friends, and they were able to see the pictures
projected on the ceiling in real time. For our audience this was a big hit, and
it engaged them in a way that most have never experienced.”
MPIWEB.ORG 49
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CANFEST
Crafting and Growing
a Partnership
A popular Nevada-based canned beer festival is growing alongside the
burgeoning craft brewing industry thanks to a new venue partnership.
BY ROB COTTER
THE RECENT BOOM IN CRAFT BREWING has
been giving beer connoisseurs extra reasons
to work up a thirst. Sales in the U.S. are up 15
percent in the past year, and growth potential
is huge for the nearly 2,500 craft breweries
making inroads into the US$100 billion beer
industry.
Many festivals, such as CANFEST—“The
Annual, Original Canned Beer Festival,” held
in August 2013 at the Peppermill Resort Spa
Casino in Reno, Nevada—have sprung up as
part of the beer revolution. These events offer
a sure- ire way to get word about a new brew
lowing to a wider audience.
“CANFEST started in 2009 as the only festival in the world strictly for canned beer,” says
Connie Aguilar, CANFEST event producer and
head of strategic communications at digital
engagement irm The Abbi Agency. “A trend
in craft beer was happening at that time, and
beer festivals started becoming really popular.
Out of that the little stepchild that emerged
was canned craft beer, so we put on the idea
for CANFEST.”
Establishing a ledgling niche idea in a
growing industry placed a number of demands
directly on the event organizer, but these de-
mands were met through a strong partnership
with a new host venue.
“We saw that people inside of and beyond
Reno were very interested in CANFEST, and so
each year we continued to do it and knew that
we could keep growing it,” Aguilar says. “But
we grew out of the venues, from a little theater to one of the bigger ballrooms to an event
center. Going to Peppermill in 2013 changed
everything.”
Peppermill of icials were able to raise CANFEST’s pro ile through the direct use of their
client database, an initiative that led to an
increase of attendance by 600 (30 percent),
one of several aspects of the event that saw a
dramatic improvement due to the new
partnership.
Securing Growth
Another partnership coup for the event came
through the venue assuming responsibility
for security, freeing the organizer to focus on
growing the entertainment.
“Our security team is well versed in crowd
and alcohol management and all trained from
the medical side,” says Pat Flynn (MPI At-Large
member), executive director of hotel operations and sales for Peppermill. “We took on
the responsibility to ID everybody that walked
through the door and ensure that everybody
that came into the venue was of legal drinking
age.”
Safe and secure in the new surroundings,
eager beer lovers were this year served up a
whole new entertainment program to complement the expanded selection of ine craft beverages on offer from almost 50 breweries.
“The Peppermill provided a full buffet of
great food in our VIP section—there was a
band playing, a DJ was in from the resort’s
nightclub and we also had a ‘silent disco’ that
we recruited from San Francisco, with around
50 pairs of headphones,” Aguilar says. “We
had the ability to add these elements since we
could breathe easy knowing the Peppermill
was taking care of security.”
BEER INDUSTRY 2012
1%
Overall growth | US BEER INDUSTRY
15%
Rise in volume | CRAFT BREWERS
Source: Brewers Association
50 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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WHAT IS A
CRAFT BEER?
An American craft brewer is small,
independent and traditional.
SMALL: Annual production of beer
less than 6 million barrels. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according
to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Flavored malt beverages are
not considered beer for purposes
of this definition.
INDEPENDENT: Less than 25
percent of the craft brewery is owned
or controlled (or equivalent economic
interest) by an alcoholic beverage
industry member who is not a
craft brewer.
TRADITIONAL: A brewer who has
either an all malt flagship (the beer
which represents the greatest volume
among that brewer’s brands) or has at
least 50 percent of its volume in either
all malt beers or in beers which use
adjuncts to enhance rather than
lighten flavor.
Source: Brewers Association
A successful
understanding
between venue and
organizer tends to be
the perfect pairing in
the meeting industry,
with communication
at the core of their
relationship.
No Spillage
A “no spillage” attitude to waste was another success stemming from the partnership,
realized through the venue taking care of
signage and info sharing and the organizer’s
responsibility for direct waste collection.
“We’re really big on digital signage, so that
there’s not any waste factor when it comes
to poster boards and podiums,” Flynn says.
“Throughout the whole property there’s just
a ton of digital signage that we use to get the
message out to our hotel guests. In addition,
at check-in we inform guests of what’s going
on while they’re here.”
The Abbi Agency then takes care of the
recycling that does need to be conducted.
“We work with a group in the community that ensures every single can is recycled,”
Aguilar says. “We love canned beer because
it’s better for the environment; we aim to
make sure that not one beer can ends up in
the regular garbage.”
Bikes for Beer
Extending the “no spillage” ethos to CSR, organizers also reached out to the local community
through their “bike drive” initiative, seeking donations of unwanted bikes to the NFP Reno Bike
Project (with each donor receiving a free ticket
to CANFEST). The charity rebuilds bikes for
disadvantaged children, and also seeks out venues where they can participate in some healthy
sport.
“Every year the bike drive raises between 150
and 250 bikes for the charity, which is the bread
and butter of their shop,” Aguilar says. “We also
conduct a raf le that raises around $3,000 for
them, and make sure they have a strong presence on all of the PR and marketing we do up
until the event.”
Success in a Can
While bikes and beer are the perfect pairing for
CANFEST, a successful understanding between
venue and organizer tends to be the perfect pairing in the meeting industry, with communication
at the core of their relationship.
“Leading up to the event, even four or ive
months out, we spoke to the Peppermill every day,” Aguilar says. “We had meetings two
or three times a month and did walk-throughs
together. They dedicated themselves fully in
making sure that the event would be great—you
can’t ask for more than they gave.”
PAT
FLYNN
MPI At-Large
Member
“WHAT I
LEARNED”
With CANFEST, I learned
that by working together
with a good cause you can
really make a difference in
improving people’s lives
and benefit the community in general.
MPIWEB.ORG 51
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1213_054.indd 54
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FEATURES
“It’s been like the
economy has been
in the refrigerator for
a while, but we are
seeing indications
of thawing. Most of
our business now comes
with very little lead time—
people are making their
decisions at the last minute
and being very cautious
about their spend, but
just the same, demand for
meetings is increasing.”
HORIA VARLAN
AFTER THE ECONOMIC FALL
PAGE 64
MPIWEB.ORG 55
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CAREER
Social
Networking
Video
Platform
Mobile
CSS
Multi-tasking
Coding
Management
HTML
Marketing
Language
Ch
hange happens.
dapt to
o survvive
e.
Ad
volve or become irrre
elevannt.
Ev
By Adam Wren
In the mercurial world of the meeting professional, these
dictums are ever-present realities. But as the tectonic plates of economy and technology continue to
shift, they also accurately capture the need for meeting professionals to make sure their skills are honed.
As always, meeting pros must be master logisticians, crafty
crisis managers and bona fide negotiators. But as audience expectations transform, so too must a planner’s skills and abilities.
The skills most essential in the coming year are a welcome shift
from some of the standard fare. Hone your abilities
with these skills and you’ll enjoy a valuable head
start for 2014.
56 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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ATTAIN MOBILE FLUENCY
In 2014, mobile Internet access and usage is expected to eclipse traditional desktop usage, according to comScore’s “State of the Internet.” For
meeting professionals, that necessitates a different approach to designing, planning and marketing meetings.
“For instance, there’s a general
sense that every event should have
[a mobile app],” says Nann Phillips,
CMP, CMM (MPI Dallas/Fort Worth
Chapter), a human resources expert with DallasHR and the HRSouthwest Conference. “The mobile
question is almost not a question
anymore.”
As audience preferences and
expectations shift to accessing
meeting info with a mobile- irst mindset, meeting professionals must
be able to oversee the development of mobile apps, if not develop apps
themselves.
“If you’re competing with other events and you want to have a particular image of being innovative and up to date and communicate with
your participants the way they want to be communicated with—and the
way the rest of the world is communicating with them—something like
mobile [access] is going to be almost a mandate,” Phillips says.
In 2014, mobile
Internet access
and usage is expected to eclipse
traditional desktop usage.
BECOME CODING LITERATE
In an increasingly digital era, coding—the ability to create and tweak a
website through programming languages such as HTML and CSS—has
been called the “new literacy.”
But do meeting professionals
really need to know the nuts
and bolts of the backends of
websites and mobile apps?
“There’s a lot of discussion out there that the next, if
not current, big talent trend is
learning how to code, whether
you’re an accountant or a house
painter or a meeting planner,”
Phillips says. “I don’t know
that it’s quite there yet for our
industry, but I can say that the
apps [and other tech tools] I’ve
worked with are built to be user-friendly. You don’t have to know how to
code, but you do have to know [the basics of how coding works] if you
want to do any kinds of hands-on management.”
Though meeting planners should know some basic HTML commands
and simple principles of user-interface design, Phillips says.
In an increasingly
digital era, coding—
the ability to create
and tweak a website
through programming languages such
as HTML and CSS—
has been called the
“new literacy.”
Have a strong background in hotel sales. Know
the ins and outs of how a hotel functions from a
selling standpoint. Knowledge of RevPAR, group
ceilings, forecasting and group room control all help
in being able to place business. Additionally, being
able to talk intelligently with your hotel stakeholders
and then clearly articulate that back to the client is a
benefit—think of it as being a hospitality translator.
Further knowledge into the operations side of
hotels is also of added value.
RICK CRANK FOR PIX BY RIC
PRO TIP: The online education resource lynda.com
has dozens of tutorials to learn about building mobile
apps (http://brev.is/HVk6), including “Programming
for Non-Programmers.” Even if you don’t make your own
app from scratch, these free videos provide great
insight into what it takes to build mobile.
Corey’s Essential Skills for
CVB Professionals
Be tech savvy. Staying in touch, being able to
access information on the go and information
sharing are all keys to success because you’re not
sitting behind a desk most of the time. Staying on
top of technology also comes in handy when helping
planners figure out smart alternatives to visions that
may not be in the scope of their budget. It’s easy to
become complacent in the way you use technology.
Surround yourself with plenty of people who are
more knowledgeable on the technology front
so you have readily available resources.
Embrace continuing education. Often a
seminar or workshop at a conference will apply
more to a planner than a supplier, but attending
planner-focused education enriches your knowledge base and you’ll have more to offer your clients.
Always look for continuing education and build a
network of professionals with which to consult
and share information and ideas.
—Corey D. Bizzell (MPI Carolinas Chapter)
Vice President of Group Sales & Business Development
Durham (N.C.) CVB
MPIWEB.ORG 57
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At a minimum, these skills will help planners work with external
vendors and contractors who are doing the more technical work.
It’s important to know some of the basic coding jargon.
PRO TIP: Sites such as CodeAcademy.com
and TeamTreeHouse.com offer free and
subscription-based lessons on basic and
advanced coding, respectively.
THINK SOCIAL
Social skills online and of line transcend any individual platform—
it’s more of a mindset.
“The irst step is [recognizing] that it’s not a fad—it’s here to
stay,” Phillips says. “Now, that doesn’t mean the players will be
the same. There could [always]
be a ‘new Facebook.’ The tech
world changes every day—particularly in the social world. You
have to go to people through
social channels with your
information.”
Still, the most important
skill is thinking socially.
“As our society gravitates towards more and more usage of
Social skills
online and
offline transcend
any individual
platform—it’s
more of a
mindset.
Dec_Feature- Job Skills.indd 58
social media you have to remember that everyone is watching you,”
says Corey D. Bizzell (MPI Carolinas Chapter), vice president of group
sales and business development for the Durham (N.C.) CVB. “Watch
what you say, what you ‘like’ and who and what you follow, because
everyone is looking—including clients you so easily befriended.”
With so much focus on social media skills, it’s easy to neglect
your of line social skills. From in-person networking to managing
personalities, the meeting professional must continue to grow
their understanding of interpersonal relationships.
“Networking skills both in person and via social media are essential,” Bizzell says. “Knowing how to properly work a crowd, how
to stand out among your peers and establish and maintain your
professional persona are all of uber importance—make people
remember you.”
PRO TIP: Brush up on your leadership and social skills by taking (or
re-taking) the Clifton StrengthsFinder inventory, and reading a book
such as Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie.
11/25/13 1:59 PM
LEARN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
“As organizations and events are becoming more and more internationally based, the need for bilingual professionals really stands
out,” Phillips says.
What second (or third) language should you pick up? Of course,
the importance of mastering any particular language will likely be
informed by your speci ic context, such as the foreign countries in
which you most often do business or where you’d like to expand.
But by sheer prevalence, the top ive most spoken languages worldwide are Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, English, Arabic and Hindi.
PRO TIP: To speed up your efforts, download apps such as Babbel
(babbel.com, free on Apple and Android platforms) or Mind Snacks
(MindSnacks.com, free in the Apple App Store).
In an economy
that’s virtually reinventing
itself everyday,
perhaps the
most essential
skill is the ability
to learn—and
master new
skills in real
time.
require masters of all trades, he
says. “‘Skability’ means attitude
and drive, not just skills.”
Galway, Scotland-based speaker
Kevin Kelly, author of the book DO!
The Pursuit of Xceptional Execution,
says that rapid skill and expert-status acquisition is a must today.
“The pace of change just like
any industry is accelerating in the
meeting industry,” Kelly says. “If one
doesn’t commit to developing expert
status in their business and being
open to learn by committing to ongoing personal development and
growth, they will be left behind.”
DEVELOP RAPID SKILL ACQUISITION
In an economy that’s virtually reinventing itself everyday, perhaps the
most essential skill is the ability to learn—and master new skills in
real time.
“What’s needed is a combination of skill and ability—let’s call it
‘skability,’” says Tim Clark, a Portland, Ore.-based speaker, entrepreneur and author of the international bestseller Business Model You.
“What’s most important for employees in 2014 is the ‘skability’ to
learn independently.”
Forces and market trends such as “downsizing, globalization,
tough economic times and rapidly changing business models”
Dec_Feature- Job Skills.indd 59
PRO TIP: Start with this interview with Josh Kaufman, author of The First 20
Hours: How to Learn Anything … Fast—http://brev.is/1Uk6.
11/22/13 4:42 PM
CREATIVITY
THESE PEOPLE ARE I
NEW YORK C
THEY HAVE NO IDEA
THAT THIS MAN CREATED
COMIC CON INDIA
BY MRIDU KHULLAR RELPH | PHOTOS BY MICHAEL BERMAN
60 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
Dec_Profile-Varma-Nov-20-2013.indd 60
11/22/13 2:43 PM
IN LINE FOR THE
COMIC CON
JATIN VARMA IS A GEEK.
The 28-year-old believes that comics are a lifelong investment, recognizes how
large events help pump dollars into the studios of small artists and appreciates
February in Delhi. Delhi is so lovely, in fact, that he surmised there could be no
better place to host the irst-ever Indian comic convention.
“We didn’t really have any event experience,” Varma says, “but we thought,
‘Why not experiment? Let’s try and put this together.’”
Comic Con India arrived in February 2011 with great fanfare and under the
banner of Varma’s Twenty Onwards Media. The inaugural event saw 50 exhibitors, 15,000 fans and almost US$50,000 in sales in just two days. Since then, the
event has exploded with annual events now planned in four cities across this
emerging market.
Batman and Superman have long been beloved in India, but Super Kudi
(Super Girl) and Pavitr Prabhakar (Spider-Man’s alter ego in India) are claiming
their space in the market, too. In a country already crowded with a multilingual
fantasyland of themes ranging from mythology to humor to horror, Varma’s
genius has been in appealing to the Westernized Big Bang Theory fan base as
well as keeping true to local Indian artists.
A COMIC CON IS BORN
“I had not been to a comic con before we started [one],” Varma admits. “But when
we started it, it was an impulse. We thought about it for a long time, but in the
end, it was a gut feeling and we created our own version. I’ve since been to comic
cons in San Diego, Dubai and New York. All of them are different.”
For years, Varma and his colleagues at Twenty Onwards Media published
Random, inspired by the infamous U.S. Mad magazine. Through that, they often
came into contact with writers and artists who complained of having no space to
sell or showcase their work.
Being a huge comic book fan helped guide the decision to put on a comic convention, regardless of the lack of event organizing experience. Varma reckoned
that if nothing else, the event could be a way to get cheap comics.
“It wasn’t meant to be a business,” he says. “Even until last year, we didn’t see
it as a business. But now at the scale we’re on, we have to take it very seriously.”
Comic Con India is a strange breed of part exhibition, part entertainment and
part costume party. In the last few years, Varma and his team have ramped up the
effort and started bringing in international publishers and increased the focus on
merchandise. But convincing exhibitors to join in continues to be Varma’s greatest challenge.
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“We have to irst explain to people what a
comic con is,” Varma says. “Everyone comes in
with their own meaning. Some think it will be a
very artistic event, others think it’s more about
entertainment. Considering that none of them
have actually ever been to a comic con, most
just relate to what they’ve seen on television.”
Initially, Comic Con India was a free event,
but starting this year, it was ticketed.
“Now we’ve reached a sustainability level
where we’re no longer worried about [traf ic],”
Varma says. “Now we’re worried about increasing the value of it so that if you’re coming
on the irst day, you should want to come on the
second day and the third day.
He says revenue from ticket sales is essential in order to fund a bigger and better event
that will induce people to attend the entire
convention. The exhibitor fees can only
fund so much.
In a country such as India where itting in is
fashionable and outlandish costumes can make
their wearers pariahs, this comic con has given
people a safe place to experiment and have fun.
“At the convention in Bangalore this year,
there was a guy who spent four months creating his Iron Man suit,” Varma
says. “In Delhi, we saw a kid who came as Optimus Prime. He was a Transformer, and he made his costume so detailed that when he lay down, it
actually became a truck. It was insane.”
PLANTING THE SEEDS
Varma grew up in a middle-class neighborhood in South Delhi, where he now lives in a
joint household with his parents and wife.
After inishing high school, Varma arrived
in the U.S. to study economics with a minor in
English.
“While I was in college, I discovered that
even though I was really into Batman, Superman and all of that, I had been missing out on
a huge genre of comic books and graphic novels,” he says. “As part of my English class, I had
to read Maus—the irst-ever graphic novel to
win a Pulitzer Prize. That changed my entire
perspective, and I was completely hooked.”
The economics degree didn’t help as
much.
“What helped was just going to the U.S.
and living there for four years,” he says. “I
wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing if I hadn’t
gone there.”
After he returned from India, he worked
for six months in various of ices and quickly realized that it wasn’t something he could
do on a long-term basis. So he convinced his
father to fund Twenty Onwards Media, which in its early years made
television shows and currently handles back-end production for various
channels.
Varma has always identi ied as a geek. He admits sheepishly that he’s
NOW, IT’S COOL
TO BE A GEEK.
Dec_Profile-Varma-Nov-20-2013.indd 62
11/21/13 4:58 PM
been—“much to the chagrin of my family”—collecting toys since before
he was even aware of comic conventions and other pop culture gatherings. Back then there was no one who understood his passion. There was
no one he could talk to. Now he’s surrounded by people who can talk for
hours about characters and costumes and storylines.
Now, it’s cool to be a geek.
SUCCEEDING IN A NICHE MARKET
Varma’s strategy for reaching the urban youth has concentrated mostly
on social media. Judging by their Facebook “likes”—497,000 fans at last
count—it seems to be working.
Before the irst event, Varma and his team had no idea whether the
concept was even viable.
“There was a lot of compromise, a lot of begging,” he says.
Eventually, publishers signed up. And in shocking numbers, people
came.
While the market for comic books and graphic novels in India is quite
large, Varma says access to this market is still very restricted. Distribution
is patchy at best, and there simply aren’t enough bookstores.
“When you go to a large bookstore [in India], they don’t understand
the product well enough to sell it in the right way,” he says.
The online store Flipkart helps some but even then, Varma says, you
need someone who’s familiar with the genre to curate and showcase the
products.
Comic Con India, for this reason, becomes an artist’s haven.
“If you’re trying to put out something creative, then you should come
to Comic Con India and showcase it,” he says.
In the end, Comic Con India, says its founder, is whatever you want it
to be.
Dec_Profile-Varma-Nov-20-2013.indd 63
Jatin Varma’s Tips for Launching
a Successful Event in India
THINK LONG-TERM If you’re looking for a short-term return, India
is not the story for you. But if you’re investing with a five-year
plan and thinking India could be the right fit, it is.
UP-TO-DATE PRODUCTS Middle-class Indians have a lot of money
to spend, but they’re no longer satisfied with old products.
Don’t come to India bringing products that are years old.
They won’t sell.
MAKE PLANS Plan. And then plan some more. If you need 10
people for security, add five extra just in case. You’ll need
them.
STUDY YOUR VENUE Be careful in venue selection. Go in only for
those venues that personally meet your standards. Trying
to get a mediocre venue nearer to the city might help in
the short run but eventually you’ll need to move to the best
venue possible.
LOCAL LIAISON Navigating through permissions and taxes is
very tricky, so have a local liaison with you.
UNDERSTAND THE MARKET There’s huge untapped demand in
India. But don’t think of India as a mass-scale market. The
penetration is only just beginning.
PAY FOR QUALITY India is not cheap. If you want quality, you
have to pay for it, from the quality of the people you employ
to the quality of the venues in which you host your event.
11/25/13 1:55 PM
TRENDS
“It’s not yet rosy in the garden, but
it is certainly looking a lot beƩer
than it has been in the past.”
PATRICK M. DELANEY, CMM, CITE
MPI U.K. and Ireland Chapter
AFTER THE
E¤ONOMI¤
FA££
“You can’t say the recession is over by any
means, but you can say it’s easing.”
As Europe emerges from recession, meeting
professionals report steady and growing business—
and a glass-half-full attitude. BY ROWLAND STITELER
CAROLE MCKELLAR, CMM
MPI U.K. and Ireland Chapter
he latest reports from Eurostat, the statistical arm of the European Union (EU), would seem to herald great news for the
meeting industry throughout the continent: The recession is
over, at least in terms of how the growth data stack up.
Perhaps the most optimistic piece of data in a detailed and
lengthy report released by Eurostat in August is that compared to the
second quarter (Q2) of 2012, the economies of the 28 EU countries
collectively grew by 0.3 percent.
Anecdotal reports from European meeting professionals in ive
EU countries show that there is in fact a thawing in meeting industry
business levels and expectations of growth in the near future—but
the numbers and the expectations for the future must be tempered
by several caveats, they say.
“It’s not yet rosy in the garden, but it is certainly looking a lot better than it has been in the past,” says Dublin-based Patrick M. Delaney,
CMM, CITE (MPI U.K. and Ireland Chapter), vice president of industry
relations for MCI, a multinational meeting and event planning company that does business throughout Europe.
Delaney, whose comments were representative of the consensus
of European meeting professionals interviewed, says the various caveats to be observed when reading a headline that says “European
Recession Over” are signi icant.
“As opposed to saying that business is rising, it’s actually that it
has just stopped falling. So the glass is half full,” Delaney says. “There
is room for guarded optimism, but the sentiment around Europe is
that our industry is still operating in a dif icult business environment.
Clients are still very much looking for value. They are looking for
reasons to justify their meetings investment, and they need a wellde ined reason of why they are meeting now.”
Delaney also points out that the EU is not a homogeneous
entity, but a collection of 28 independent nations, all of which have
their own distinct national economies—some of which remain in
considerable dif iculty.
T
ISTANBUL I TURKEY
23-25 February I 2014
The Eurostat data clearly seem to illustrate what Delaney says:
The Q2 2013 data compared to that of Q2 2012 from those in Germany and the United Kingdom are up 0.5 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, whereas Greece and Cyprus are down 4.6 percent and 5.2
percent, respectively.
But even with those wide, country-by-country variances in the
economic picture, and the strong atmosphere of caution throughout
the meeting industry, there is still a degree of optimism being expressed by European meeting professionals these days.
Monica Fontoura, CMP (MPI At Large – Europe), director of national accounts for Global Cynergies based in Basel, Switzerland, is in a
position—literally—to have a good perspective on how the European
meeting industry is doing these days.
“We are located in the heart of Central Europe and are surrounded by Germany, France and Italy, and our clients are from
all over Europe,” she says. “I think people are more con ident
in Europe now. Our clients have to do business somehow
and they have to
have meetings
and we see them
“Groups in the countries where our client
moving forward
base is located seem to be feeling confident
enough to book travel going forward.”
with that. They
don’t spend as
MONTSE MIRANDA
much
money;
MPI Spain Chapter
maybe their budgets are a little
bit smaller, but there is a return of a certain level of con idence going
forward. I am working on meetings for clients in 2014 and 2015 right
now and that obviously re lects expectations of a better economic
environment.”
Belgian planner Brigitte Boone, CMP, CMM (MPI Belgium Chapter), managing director of Admire, a meeting and incentives planning
company based in Brussels, says she sees a distinct improvement in
business, not just when compared with the same
quarter in 2012, but since the beginning of this year.
Connect with your peers and grow through the professional education offerings
at MPI’s European Meetings & Events Conference in Istanbul, Feb. 23-25. For the
latest details, visit www.mpiweb.org/events/emec2014.
64 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
Dec_Feature-European Recession.indd 64
11/25/13 1:56 PM
EUROSTAT
“We are not hearing the recession discussion
as much anymore, and perhaps that
creates an atmosphere for growth.”
FIONA PELHAM
MPI U.K. and Ireland Chapter
“It’s been like the economy has been in
the refrigerator for a while, but we are
seeing indicaƟons of thawing.”
Established in 1953 to
meet the requirements
of the coal and steel
community, Eurostat is
the statistical office of the
European Union. Its task is
to provide the European
Union with statistics that
enable comparisons
between countries
and regions.
BRIGITTE BOONE, CMP, CMM
MPI Belgium Chapter
Another company that has grown through
the recession is Sustainable Events Ltd. based in
Manchester, England.
“I think there has been a growing demand
MONICA FONTOURA, CMP (SWITZERLAND)
for what we offer,” says Fiona Pelham (MPI U.K.
MPI At Large – Europe
and Ireland Chapter), managing director of Sustainable Events, which was founded in 2004.
“There has been a growing corporate desire
“It’s been like the economy has been in the refrigerator for a for environmentally sustainable meetings and events that they can
while, but we are seeing indications of thawing,” she says. “Most of demonstrate to be ‘green.’”
Pelham says her clients are increasingly interested in well-docuour business now comes with very little lead time—people are making their decisions at the last minute and being very cautious about mented ROI for their meetings and being able to demonstrate to their
stakeholders that the budgets were prudent. But just the same, there
their spend, but just the same, demand for meetings is increasing.”
While the current economic numbers differ signi icantly from seems to be a growing demand for meetings in the U.K.
“It seems that we have been hearing the discussion of the recescountry to country within Europe, there are still individual success
stories within even the countries whose economies are not yet sion for so long in the media that it’s hard to remember when we
weren’t having that discussion,” Pelham says. “But we are not hearbouncing back.
“We are a little different because we are a new company that just ing that discussion as much anymore, and it has an impact on group
began operation in 2008,” says Montse Miranda (MPI Spain Chapter), psychology that perhaps creates an atmosphere for growth.”
Carole McKellar, CMM (MPI U.K. and Ireland Chapter), executive
managing director of Cutting Edge Events, a destination management
director of Europe for HelmsBriscoe, has seen marked growth in the
company based in Barcelona, Spain.
While the Q2 2013 Eurostat economic report on Spain showed company’s European business in the irst half of 2013.
“You can’t say the recession is over by any means, but you can say
the country’s economic activity actually shrank 1.7 percent compared to Q2 2012, Miranda says her company has grown year-over- it’s easing,” McKellar says. “There is an atmosphere of cautiousness in
year ever since it was founded and is expecting more growth in 2014 our clients’ spending, and they want to be able to justify their spend
to their stakeholders.”
and 2015.
But there is an upside to some of what’s been happening,
That is in large part because of the appeal of Barcelona as a
warm-weather destination with a strong and growing clientele from McKellar says.
“Companies have learned hard economic lessons in recent years,
northern European countries, most of which are showing increasingand that has led to much greater scrutiny of meetings,” she says. “Our
ly stronger economic reports nowadays.
“A lot of our success has to do with the economic conditions not clients want a clearly demonstrable reason for their meetings now
necessarily in our own country, but the conditions in the countries and a veri iable bene it to the company from the meetings. But when
where our clients come from,” Miranda says. “And groups in the coun- the value of meetings can be proven and the purpose of meetings is
tries where our client base is located seem to be feeling con ident well focused, that’s a situation in which our industry can only bene it.
It’s an opportunity to prove our worth as planners.”
enough to book travel going forward.”
“Our clients have to do business somehow
and they have to have meeƟngs and we
see them moving forward with that.”
MPIWEB.ORG 65
Dec_Feature-European Recession.indd 65
11/21/13 4:36 PM
SPECIAL ADVERTISEMENT
Hangzhou Tourism
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angzhou, accessible from Shanghai in
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As one of China’s top tourist destinations,
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Hangzhou also offers convenience and fun,
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The city of Hangzhou is offering a unique
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From October 1, 2013, through February 28,
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1213_067.indd 67
11/11/13 9:47 AM
SPECIAL ADVERTISEMENT
Mediasite Events
WWW.SONICFOUNDRY.COM/EVENTWEBCASTING
6
Ways to Get Proven Results with
Webcasting by Mediasite Events
It’s day one of a big conference and while many
attendees are shaking hands, trading business cards
and clamoring for the best seat to catch the opening
keynote, there are a number of individuals sitting at
their of ice computers sipping coffee and iring up
their Internet connections.
For the next several hours these in-of ice folks
network with other attendees, watch live sessions
via event webcasting and ask questions of presenters
and panelists. While lack of time and money might
have kept them from going in person, the hybrid
event helps bridge time and distance, giving them
a rich, interesting and customized experience—all
thanks to Mediasite Events.
Mediasite Events empowers you to produce
successful, high-quality online experiences that score
rave audience reviews and achieve your event goals.
Powered by the award-winning Mediasite webcasting
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Live and on-demand viewing options
No need to seek out separate solutions for live
streaming and video on demand. Mediasite Events
provides everything you need to capture and stream
keynotes, breakout sessions and any other event
happenings.
Mobile streaming
Stream your event or webcast to any user on any
device. Mediasite intelligently detects each user’s
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playback for iPad, iPhone, Android, Surface/Windows RT or BlackBerry.
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A dedicated team
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Rely on us for turnkey webcast production or engage
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Either way, your success is our mission.
Affordable scalability
Mediasite Events provides an exceptionally scalable
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Unmatched video experience
Impress your remote audience with engaging live
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Realize the bene its of webcasting your next
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Sonic Foundry Special Advertisement.indd 68
11/21/13 6:39 PM
1213_069.indd 69
11/25/13 3:05 PM
1213_070.indd 70
11/27/13 10:02 AM
SPECIAL SECTION:
Illinois
CONTENTS
BILLY ANDERSON
General Manager, Rosemont Convention Bureau
Illinois Special Section.indd 71
PAGES 72-73
PAGE 74
Rosemont Convention
Bureau
Navy Pier
“Ros
“Rosemont
“
“R
Ros
osem
emon
em
on
o
nt is
i the
t ideal destination for any size meeting
or eevent.
or
veent.
nt We off
nt
o er a convenient location, first-rate confere
fe
r nc
re
ncee facilities,
faci
fa
cililiittii a variety of accommodations, worldference
cl
lasss restaurants
reest
st
class
and our newest entertainment
o
op
opt
pt
options:
MB Financial Park and the Fashion
O
Outlets of Chicago.”
11/21/13 6:01 PM
ILLINOIS SPECIAL SECTION
Rosemont Convention
Bureau
WWW.ROSEMONT.COM
W
ith an increase in new development,
Rosemont is growing into one of the most
entertaining and accommodating trade
show and event destinations in the nation. Discover
all the reasons you should choose Rosemont for your
next show.
FLEXIBLE CONVENTION SPACE
Rosemont is home to the 840,000-square-foot Donald
E. Stephens Convention Center, featuring lexible exhibition space, a friendly staff and great rates. Perfect for
shows and events of all sizes, the convention center
team can customize the space for your needs from
100 to 3,566 booths, and includes 50 fully functional,
easily accessible meeting rooms. Rosemont also offers
excellent catering services for intimate banquets of 80
to cocktail parties of 8,000.
A CONVENIENT DESTINATION
Rosemont is one of the most convenient destinations
in the nation, just a ive-minute drive from Chicago
O’Hare International Airport. The village’s 2.5 square
miles can be traversed in minutes, which may reduce
your transportation costs by as much as 90 percent.
With more than 10,000 hotel rooms within 3.5
miles and 6,000 within the village limits, guests will
ind plenty of places to stay in Rosemont, and the
beautiful suburban atmosphere ensures that guests
feel comfortable, safe and secure.
MORE TO ENJOY IN ROSEMONT
The MB Financial Park at Rosemont is Chicagoland’s
hottest new entertainment district, featuring
dynamic bars and restaurants with live music,
casual dining, bowling, a comedy club and outdoor
patios. Located just blocks away from the Donald E.
Stephens Convention Center, it’s the perfect place for
after-show events, an alternative location for meetings or just a place to relax and unwind after a long
day on the show loor.
Rosemont’s Fashion Outlets of Chicago is home to
more than 120 designer outlets from the nation’s bestknown retailers. Featuring retail icons Bloomingdales,
Saks Off Fifth and Neiman Marcus Last Call, Fashion
Outlets of Chicago exudes both fashion and style. Featuring ine-dining restaurants Prasino and Villagio,
shuttle service to/from nearby O’Hare Airport and a
TSA-certi ied concierge who can print your boarding
pass and check your travel luggage, a quick stop before
or after the convention is a must.
Come early or stay after a convention for one of
the great shows at the Allstate Arena or Rosemont
Theatre. With performances from legendary musicians
such as Elton John, Bonnie Raitt and The Eagles, these
two special event venues will provide the perfect
entertainment. Rosemont’s Dome at the Ballpark,
the largest air-suspended dome in North America,
makes the perfect unique venue for team-building
events. The 140,000-square-foot facility plays host to
tournaments, leagues and individual games for youth
baseball and softball as well as adult softball teams.
Discover Rosemont and check out all that is new
around town. Call (847) 692-2220 or visit www.
Rosemont.com.
72 ADVERTISEMENT
Illinois Special Section.indd 72
11/22/13 10:10 AM
1213_073.indd 73
11/22/13 1:01 PM
ILLINOIS SPECIAL SECTION
Navy Pier
WWW.NAVYPIER.COM
C
entrally located on Chicago’s beautiful
lakefront with thousands of hotel rooms
nearby, Navy Pier makes any event
spectacular.
For exhibition space, the 170,000-squarefoot Festival Hall can be divided into two halls.
Together or separate, the halls accommodate
medium- or smaller-sized exhibitions. The
space has 60-foot-high ceilings and a 10-truck
dock for easy loading and unloading.
Adjacent to Festival Hall are 36 lexible
rooms ranging from 750 to 8,200 square feet.
The 15,000-square-foot Lakeview Terrace
showcases breathtaking views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline. The Lakeview
Terrace adds lair to any dinner, reception or
small exhibition. And just above, the Lakeview
Terrace rooftop tent can hold 1,000 for a
reception or 800 for dinner.
The historic Grand Ballroom offers 18,000
square feet of space. With an 80-foot domed
ceiling and panoramic views of the lake and
city, the Grand Ballroom provides a location
that capitalizes on timeless architecture and
the beauty of the city itself. This open, elegant
ballroom is also ideal for smaller meetings,
product launches, receptions, corporate holiday parties and galas.
Navy Pier also features onsite sales and
event management staff, exhibition and
audiovisual services, a full-service caterer and
enclosed parking for 1,700 vehicles.
Find out what Navy Pier can do for your
next meeting by visiting www.navypier.com
or calling (312) 595-7437.
74 ADVERTISEMENT
Illinois Special Section.indd 74
11/21/13 6:03 PM
SPECIAL SECTION:
Carolinas
CONTENTS
PAGES 76-77
PAGE 80
VisitGreenvilleSC
The Bay Watch Resort
& Conference Center
PAGE 78
Greensboro Area CVB
PAGE 79
PAGE 81
Greater Raleigh CVB
Myrtle Beach
Convention Center
MICHELLE McCALLUM
Senior Sales Manager, VisitGreenvilleSC
Carolinas Special Section.indd 75
“One of
“One
of the Southeast’s hottest cities, Forbes recognized
Gree
Gr
eenv
nvil South Carolina, as a ‘Top Ten Downtown in America.’
Greenville,
Natu
Na
tura
rall beauty,
b
Natural
southern charm, cosmopolitan cool and an energi
er
g ze downtown lined with boutiques, galleries, theaters
gi
ergized
an
and 100+ restaurants—along with easy interstate access
a a user-friendly airport—make Greenville a standout
and
d
destination.”
11/21/13 6:15 PM
CAROLINAS SPECIAL SECTION
VisitGreenvilleSC
WWW.MEETGREENVILLESC.COM
G
reenville is a city so fabulously unexpected
they should call it Surprisingville.
In recent years, Greenville, South Carolina,
has made nearly every Top 10 list imaginable. Major
accolades roll in as regularly as the sun sets behind
the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains, from publications
such as Forbes, Oprah, Outside and Men’s Journal. And
yet, people are still surprised. By Greenville’s unique
blend of timeless southern charm and unexpectedly
cosmopolitan cool. By an energized downtown that
highlights the community’s passion for the arts,
growing reputation as a hotbed for international
enterprise and staggering collection of natural
attractions and amenities.
There’sSoMuchToDoville.
In a place that could rely solely on natural beauty
and outdoor amenities to inspire visitation, you’ll
ind countless diversions. Greenville is home to a
splendid collection of restaurants. Classical concerts,
ballets and musicals keep The Peace Center for the
Performing Arts hopping, while the Bon Secours
Wellness Arena welcomes major concerts and sporting events. The Greenville County Museum of Art,
part of the Heritage Green urban arts and cultural
campus, houses the world’s most extensive Andrew
Wyeth collection. The Fenway Park-inspired Fluor
Field is home to the Greenville Drive baseball team.
And 20 minutes from downtown, the BMW Performance Center proves the promise of “The Ultimate
Driving Machine.” For every cute boutique, you’ll ind
a fabulous hiking trail. For every café and coffee shop,
you’ll discover an outdoor sculpture or historic site.
From the Farmer’s Market to a trip down a whitewater river, the greater Greenville area has it all.
They’veGotThePerfectVenueVille.
For corporate events, trade shows, conferences and
conventions of every size, Greenville boasts venues
large and small—from lexible hotel meeting facilities to one of the largest convention centers in the
Southeast, the TD Convention Center. With 280,000
square feet of contiguous exhibit space and 60,000
square feet of meeting, ballroom and conference
space, there’s almost nothing this newly renovated
facility can’t handle.
ISleptLikeABabyVille.
Making the most of your visit to Greenville requires
a good night’s rest. Fortunately, you’ll ind more
than 8,500 hotel rooms, with most located in convenient clusters.
Full-service properties include the Westin Poinsett,
Hyatt Regency, Hilton, Marriott, Embassy Suites Golf
Resort and Conference Center and the Crowne Plaza.
Select-service hotels include Hampton Inn & Suites
Downtown Riverplace, Hampton Inn Greenville Woodruff, Courtyard by Marriott Downtown or GSP Airport,
Holiday Inn Express Hotels & Suites Downtown, Hilton
Garden Inn, Fair ield Inn by Marriott GSP and Sleep
Inn at TD Convention Center—to name a few.
Contact Info
VisitGreenvilleSC
148 River Street, Suite 222
Greenville, South Carolina 29601
(800) 351-7180, (864) 421-0000
www.MeetGreenvilleSC.com
76 ADVERTISEMENT
Carolinas Special Section.indd 76
11/21/13 6:16 PM
1213_077.indd 77
11/11/13 12:14 PM
CAROLINAS SPECIAL SECTION
Greensboro Area CVB
WWW.VISITGREENSBORONC.COM
M
eet in the Center of it All: Greensboro
is centrally located in the heart of
North Carolina, making your event
easily accessible for everyone!
With 85 hotels and resorts, nearly 10,000
rooms and a variety of top-notch facilities and
offsite venues, Greensboro has something to
it every association’s needs. The area is home
to the largest privately owned convention
center complex between Washington, D.C.,
and Atlanta; the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel
at Four Seasons/Joseph S. Koury Convention
Center offers 1,017 guest rooms and more
than 250,000 square feet of meeting space.
The Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors
Bureau offers an abundance of convention and
event services, including facility and attraction information, site inspections, assistance
securing bid proposals, promotional brochures,
media assistance and more. Piedmont Triad
International Airport provides daily service
to and from U.S. and Canadian cities, and Air
Canada recently added two direct daily lights
between Greensboro and Toronto.
The excitement doesn’t end when your
event is over—Greensboro is home to a plethora of entertaining attractions and more than
500 restaurants that offer pleasures for every
palate. Visit the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, slip and slide at Wet ‘N Wild
water park and more. Greensboro is ready to
roll out the red carpet!
78 ADVERTISEMENT
Carolinas Special Section.indd 78
11/22/13 12:01 PM
Myrtle Beach
Convention Center
WWW.MYRTLEBEACHCONVENTIONCENTER.COM
S
un and southern hospitality are the
staples of meetings at the Myrtle Beach
Convention Center. Our convention
center offers the most innovative and lexible
environment for association, corporate,
education and government meetings; national
and regional trade shows; faith-based conferences and concerts; and other large events
that involve youth competitions and sporting
tournaments. Simply put, we have what you
want: 250,000 square feet of lexible meeting
and exhibit space, cutting-edge technology
with dedicated onsite IT staff, exceptional
culinary experts and professional staff that
knows how to cater to your every need.
The 100,800-square-foot, column-free
exhibit space is divisible into three sections.
Moreover, it provides the perfect backdrop
for any event ranging from conventions to
meetings to concerts to sporting events. Our
exhibit space has been out itted with features
that include wireless Internet access, electricity, cable, telecommunications and water. Hall
C can convert from exhibit space to telescopic
seating for more than 2,500 people, making it
ideal for general sessions and large assemblies. Thirty- ive-foot ceilings in the exhibit
hall can accommodate most any exhibit or
production company’s needs. Eleven dedicated docks and drive-in access to each hall
ensure that every event moves in and out on
time and budget.
MPIWEB.ORG 79
Carolinas Special Section.indd 79
11/22/13 10:30 AM
CAROLINAS SPECIAL SECTION
The Bay Watch Resort
& Conference Center
WWW.BAYWATCHRESORT.COM
L
ocated oceanfront in North Myrtle
Beach, the Bay Watch Resort and Conference Center is minutes away from
some of the best shops, restaurants and shows
in town. Facilities include covered parking, an
upscale restaurant and lounge, a beach bar
and an array of pools and lazy rivers. Additional amenities include a convenience store,
itness center and game room.
At Bay Watch’s oceanfront conference
center, social and corporate event planners
can choose from more than 6,500 square feet
of lexible meeting, banquet and exhibit space
with breakout rooms and outdoor dining
areas. Corporate services include audiovisual equipment, copier/fax services and
Carolinas Special Section.indd 80
Located oceanfront in North
Myrtle Beach, the Bay Watch
Resort and Conference Center
is minutes away from some of
the best shops, restaurants and
shows in town.
high-speed Internet. With 11 meeting rooms,
Bay Watch Resort and Conference Center
offers a range of options where the professional event and catering staff is capable of
creating proposals with any budget to ensure
your Myrtle Beach meetings are a success.
11/22/13 3:25 PM
Greater Raleigh CVB
WWW.VISITRALEIGH.COM
I
t’s nothing new for the Raleigh area to be
praised in the national press as one of the
best places in the country to live, work,
play and meet…and we take those rankings to
heart.
Greater Raleigh has won accolades for
pretty much everything you can think of—one
of the “Best Places for Business and Careers”
and “Next Biggest Boom Towns in the U.S.”
by Forbes magazine and among the “Most
Hospitable Cities” by Airbnb, to name a few.
According to our count, we’ve been named at
the top of more than 50 “Best of” lists so far
in 2013.
But known for more than our accolades,
Greater Raleigh has historic landmarks and
burgeoning cosmopolitan offerings—arts,
festivals, sports and shopping—making it the
“can’t miss” cultural and entertainment center
of the Southeast. Not to mention that we have
more than 40 free attractions…a big reason
Hotwire.com ranked Raleigh No. 6 among the
“Top 10 U.S. Value Destinations.”
We’re also striking a chord with music
lovers as the “go to” place to experience live
music in North Carolina. More than 85 live
music venues make it easy to get out and hear
local and touring bands 365 days a year.
From the time you arrive at RDU International Airport, an airport whose architecture
CNN says soars, then experience for yourself
the unique and unexpected sides of the Raleigh
area we guarantee you’ll leave with Greater
Raleigh on your very own “Best of” list.
MPIWEB.ORG 81
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11/25/13 1:11 PM
SPECIAL SECTION:
Michigan
CONTENTS
PAGES 84-85
PAGES 86-87
Detroit Metro CVB Grand Traverse Resort
and Spa
BILL BOHDE
Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Detroit Metro CVB
Michigan Special Section.indd 83
“Dettro
“Detroit
“Det
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and it’s a destination worth considering.”
11/22/13 11:45 AM
PHOTO BY PEPLIN PHOTOGRAPHIC
MICHIGAN SPECIAL SECTION
Detroit Metro CVB
WWW.MEETDETROIT.COM
I
t’s of icial—Detroit is making a comeback.
It hasn’t been an easy road, but the city is
growing stronger and looking better than
ever. With a number of new developments and
all of the grit and determination that has de ined
Detroit for decades, this American stronghold of
a city is entering a bright new chapter.
Throughout the past two years, billions
of dollars have been poured into revamping downtown Detroit with new hotels,
residential developments, retail stores and
restaurants. Local companies are also moving
employees and of ices downtown in record
numbers. And with distinctive cultural institutions, a transformed riverfront, championship
sports teams, bustling nightlife, eclectic dining
and a packed lineup of festivals and events, it’s
never been a more exciting time for planners
to bring their meeting to The D.
Affordable and accessible, Detroit has more
than 4,500 hotel rooms available downtown.
Cobo Center, the city’s downtown convention
center, is currently undergoing a $279 million
expansion due for completion at the end of
2014. The facility will offer 723,000 square
feet of total exhibition space and 100 meeting
rooms. The 40,000-square-foot ballroom and
an atrium with dramatic loor-to-ceiling views
of the Detroit River are now open and hosting
events. As for offsite activities and events that
are uniquely Detroit, planners can choose from
With a number of new
developments and all of the
grit and determination that has
defined Detroit for decades, this
American stronghold of a city is
entering a bright new chapter.
one of the city’s there are many auto-themed
attractions, including the Ford Rouge Factory
Tour, Automotive Hall of Fame, Edsel & Eleanor
Ford House and Ford Piquette Avenue Plant.
When it’s time to start planning, the
Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau
can help with every last detail. Planners can
also get a head start by visiting meetdetroit.
com, which has plenty of interactive resources
including a marketing and promotional toolkit, an easily searchable database of meeting
facilities and hotels, sample itineraries and
insider suggestions for attractions, tours,
restaurants and shopping.
Be part of Detroit’s comeback. Contact the
Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau to
book your next meeting today.
For more information, contact Keith Kirsten,
director of sales for the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, at (313) 202-1938 or
kkirsten@meetdetroit.com.
84 ADVERTISEMENT
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MICHIGAN SPECIAL SECTION
Grand Traverse
Resort and Spa
WWW.GRANDTRAVERSERESORT.COM
A
n emerging travel destination, Traverse City,
Michigan, is gaining notoriety for a budding
wine culture as well as its natural beauty along
the coastline of Lake Michigan. Nearby Old Mission
Peninsula was recently pegged a “Top Wine Region
to Watch” by Touring and Tasting, and Midwest Living
has ranked Traverse City as one of the coolest vacation
spots in the Midwest.
Close-by is one of the Midwest’s inest full-service, year-round resort destinations for golf, spa and
conferences—Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. The
900-acre property is located along the sandy shores of
Lake Michigan’s East Grand Traverse Bay. A recipient
of numerous awards, including Green Lodging Michigan “Leader,” the resort features nearly 600 rooms
for meeting attendees within the tower, hotel and
condominiums.
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa is capable of accommodating a wide variety of groups such as Special
Olympics Michigan, Porsche Club of America and the
Detroit Red Wings. The resort’s 86,500 square feet of
function space, including indoor and outdoor venues,
is perfect for groups of up to 2,500 attendees. Meeting
space ranges from the pillar-free, 19,320-square-foot
Governors’ Hall to intimate boardrooms. Outdoor
function venues include the resort’s private beach club
on Grand Traverse Bay.
Five restaurants and lounges feature menus that
change seasonally and utilize locally grown, fresh
ingredients from Michigan as well as a selection of
local wines and microbrews. Aerie Restaurant &
Lounge, located on the 16th loor of the tower, features
superb cuisine and magni icent views of Grand Traverse Bay and the surrounding region.
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa excels at golf, with
three championship courses—The Bear, a signature
design by Jack Nicklaus; The Wolverine, a signature
design by Gary Player; and the original resort course,
Spruce Run.
Spa Grand Traverse is a 7,000-square-foot, fullservice spa occupying two loors with a wide range of
amenities including 23 treatment rooms, a salon and
a boutique.
Five indoor tennis courts, separate cardio and
weight rooms and a yoga studio highlight the
100,000-square-foot health club. An indoor water
playground is also available for family-oriented groups.
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa is situated in the
northwest corner of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula along
Lake Michigan’s East Grand Traverse Bay. Grand Traverse is also a 10-minute drive from the city’s Cherry
Capital Airport (TVC).
Contact Information
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa
100 Grand Traverse Village Boulevard
P.O. Box 404
Acme, MI 49610
(800) 748-0303
grandtraverseresort.com
meetings@gtresort.com
86 ADVERTISEMENT
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MPI STRATEGIC PARTNERS
STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
The MPI Foundation continues its drive to provide innovative, career-building thought
leadership development through the following key industry partnerships.
GLOBAL PARTNERS
MPI MARKETSMART BUSINESS
SOLUTIONSTM
ELITE PARTNERS
The MPI Foundation thanks the following investors
for their generous support.
INNOVATOR
Dallas CVB
Encore Productions
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts
Rosen Hotels and Resorts
San Francisco Travel
ADVOCATE
Abu Dhabi Tourism Culture
Authority
AT&T Park
AVT Event Technologies
Caesars Windsor
Canadian Tourism Commission
Las Vegas CVA
Loews
MCI
Mediasite by Sonic Foundry
GATEKEEPER
Cendyn
Hilton Worldwide
MGM Resorts International
Reed Travel Exhibitions
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
The International Centre
The Parking Spot
Travel Alberta
ASSOCIATE
Accor Hospitality
Barbican
Fort Worth CVB
STRONCO Group
The Meetings Show UK
Tourisme Montreal
CONTRIBUTOR
Walt Disney World Swan
& Dolphin
CHAPTERS
Arizona Sunbelt
Chicago Area
Middle Pennsylvania
Montreal & Quebec
Northern California
Ohio
Orange County
Philadelphia Area
Potomac
Rocky Mountain
Tampa Bay Area
UK & Ireland
Washington State
PREMIER PARTNERS
88 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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SIGNATURE PARTNERS
PREFERRED PARTNERS
CHOICE PARTNERS
MPIWEB.ORG 89
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11/26/13 9:06 AM
IN SUMMARY
CAREER
CREATIVITY
TRENDS
“Growing Your Job
Skills for 2014”
“This Man Created
Comic Con India”
“After the
Economic Fall”
By Adam Wren
Reading Time: 7 min.
By Mridu Khullar Relph
Reading Time: 8 min.
By Rowland Stiteler
Reading Time: 6 min.
Going beyond the annual tips you’ll see
elsewhere this time of year, this story
reaches out to professionals in the HR,
entrepreneurship, sales and business
development fields to share wisdom that
will help prime you for a successful 2014.
You’ll learn the importance of attaining or
growing skills such as becoming literate in
computer code as well as foreign spoken
languages, thinking with a social mindset,
rapid skill acquisition, attaining mobile
fluency and more.
A special addition reveals essential
skills for convention bureau professionals
from Corey D. Bizzell (MPI Carolinas Chapter), vice president of group sales and
business development for the Durham
(N.C.) CVB.
The inspiration and story behind the
culture-hopping Comic Con India and its
originator, Jatin Varma, exemplify how
globally recognized events can be successfully localized.
With no event planning experience,
Varma, and his company Twenty Onwards
Media, launched the pop culture convention in India in 2011 as an experiment
while filling a hole in the hearts of the
nation’s geeks. It’s since become a genuine business vehicle that’s a driving force
in India’s creative landscape.
In this story, you’ll also learn Varma’s
top tips for launching a successful event
in the thriving Indian marketplace.
The euro zone’s boom time has not yet
fully returned, but as meeting professionals survey the reality of today’s
European meeting and event industry,
the consensus (supported by Eurostat
data) is that business is on the upswing.
Learn why European industry experts
Brigitte Boone, CMP, CMM; Patrick M.
Delaney, CMM, CITE; Monica Fontoura,
CMP; Carole McKellar, CMM; Montse
Miranda; and Fiona Pelham report a
glass-half-full spirit persists.
90 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL DECEMBER 2013
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UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN
Every day, groups are brought together to learn, to be
inspired, to generate new ideas and to build relationships. People are transferring knowledge, brainstorming
ideas and improving processes.
You are changing the world through these methods
and more. MOVING FORWARD, Page 18
WORLD BANK PHOTO COLLECTION
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