You’ve crossed every T and dotted every I in your hotel contract for an upcoming conference. You’ve taken every possible precaution to mitigate potential risk to you and your company.

But have you? There are many potential risks beyond the scope of a hotel contract, from transportation issues to attendee misbehavior and offsite venue/vendor considerations.

The Legal Perspective

Attorney Jonathan T. Howe, president of Howe & Hutton, Ltd., in Chicago, says the answer to most questions about the potential for risk is almost always “Yes,” and a first line of defense is insurance.

“Insurance is the granddaddy of all prevention and risk-management efforts,” Howe says. “You must be certain you have it and that all of your vendors and operators have it as well.”

You also have to have the right kind of insurance and ensure that vendors are properly licensed. “You have to be sure that what you have is right for exactly what you’re doing,” Howe says. “And you have to confirm that the insurance and licenses your private vendors have are right for the specific service they’re providing.”

Attorney Lisa Sommer Devlin, of Devlin Law Firm P.C. in Phoenix, AZ, recommends consulting an expert. “There’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ for insurance, as it depends on the types of events you’re planning, their value, whether the events generate income for the customer and many other factors. You need to sit down with an insurance broker that understands your business to review the coverage options to figure out what works best for you.”

One Huge Hurdle: Alcohol

Alcohol is one issue that requires planners to be proactive. “If there’s alcohol at an event,” Howe says, “planners should have liquor liability coverage as part of their standard insurance coverage — even if the caterer has adequate alcohol liability as well.”

Naturally, you should verify their coverage. “Ask vendors for their applicable certificate of insurance,” Howe says, “and consider asking to be co-insured on their policy. Even if you do that, you should also put an indemnification clause into any agreement with that vendor.”

Devlin says, “It’s always better for vendors to have ample insurance that names the planner and/or customer as additional insureds. The amount of coverage would vary depending upon the service or activity the vendor is providing.”

In addition to making sure that anyone serving alcohol has all the proper licenses, training and liability coverage, Devlin cautions planners to avoid having hospitality rooms where liquor is “help yourself.”

She also notes that marijuana is an issue for planners now that it’s legal in some states. “Generally meeting planners won’t be responsible for an attendee who drinks or smokes marijuana unless the planner provided it to the attendee or encouraged the attendee to drink or smoke,” Devlin says. “However, it’s a good idea to have your registration encourage attendees to drink responsibly. For events where marijuana is legal in some capacity, laws can be tricky. Marijuana is still illegal federally. Planners might consider a statement in registration materials spelling out that marijuana use is still illegal as a matter of federal law, thus the organization’s policy is that marijuana in any form is not allowed at the event.”

Howe concurs. “Marijuana is tricky even in states where it’s legal, and at this point there isn’t total clarity on how issues with marijuana will play out in courts, while alcohol laws are typically very clear.”

He also advises clearly stating policies related to use of alcohol and marijuana in registration materials. “It’s a good idea to spell that out in meeting materials, including that smoking pot, ingesting edibles and overuse of alcohol is grounds for being expelled from the conference. However,” he adds, “kicking an attendee out of a conference has its problems as well, so be sure you have talked to an attorney and know exactly what to do in the case of any attendee doing something for which he/she might be asked to leave.”

What if attendees visit an offsite function at a restaurant, decide to stay on after the function ends and drink too much, causing harm to themselves or others? Is the planner liable?

Tyra Warner Hilliard, Esq., Ph.D., CMP, attorney and professor at the College of Coastal Georgia, suggests planners include a clause in any agreement/contract with venues that makes clear when the function starts and stops and when the planner’s liability attaches and releases. “However,” she adds, “this doesn’t mean the planner wouldn’t be sued. Anyone can be sued, with or without such language. It would be up to the fact finder — a judge or jury — to determine responsibility and fault.”

Thorough Vetting is Important

Indemnification clauses, like insurance and licensing, are essential. “You always want one in any agreement or contract with a vendor, so that liability is shifted away from you should there be a problem,” Howe says.

But something else comes into play even before all that. “Beyond insurance and licensure,” Howe notes, “probably the most important strategy for planners to reduce risk is to do due diligence on every vendor.”

Take, for example, the caterer at an offsite venue. “Yes,” Howe says, “you need to have a contract with that caterer; however, before you get to that point you should have thoroughly vetted the caterer. What is the caterer’s reputation? Has the company ever been sued for negligence? What’s the caterer’s standing with local food-safety inspectors? Has the company ever been cited by the local public health department? Have clients ever complained of food poisoning? You should have also checked the caterer’s references, not just asked for them and then ignored them. You should have documentation that you asked and verified everything.”

Should attendees get food poisoning from the catered meal, for example, Howe says, “You may not be held responsible as the owner or organizer of the event if you can prove you did your due diligence and nothing came to your attention that would make you think tainted food might be a problem or that the caterer is anything less than qualified, professional and adhering to all safety protocols.”

Having alcohol at an offsite event also requires significant vetting, and the questions you need to ask go beyond alcohol liability coverage. “Have the catering employees serving the alcohol been trained in alcohol awareness so they know not to serve anyone underage and when to cut someone off? What’s the level of training for every server who will work at your event? “And,” Howe adds, “consider putting into your agreement with the company an expectation of who will be serving alcohol, how it will be served and how servers will handle any alcohol-related problems.”

Don’t Forget Transportation

The same type of due diligence applies to transportation companies. It’s not enough that the company has the appropriate license. “What’s the company’s safety record? Reputation? How does the company train and certify its drivers? What kind of background checks are done on drivers to ensure they’re competent and experienced enough to be driving your group?” Howe says these are all questions planners should ask before booking a company.

Due diligence also comes into play when something goes wrong.

“Say an attendee clearly has had too much to drink,” Howe says. “You can’t just let him/her walk out, get in a car and hope it all goes well. Should something happen, you have to show that you did everything possible to protect that person from hurting himself or others so that you’re not held responsible. You can provide transportation for him so he doesn’t drive. You can provide a hotel room if necessary and take away the car keys. Leaving that kind of situation to chance is, as the phrase goes, an accident waiting to happen.”

What about waivers? How helpful are they in protecting planners? The answer is they can be very helpful — if executed correctly. “In addition to carrying insurance and making sure the vendors carry the right insurance and licenses,” Howe says, “you should also have attendees sign waivers if they’re going to engage in anything risky such as horseback riding, a 5K or helping out in a plant for a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project. These waivers act in two ways to help planners: First, they can serve as a deterrent to attendees suing the planner/company if the attendee does get hurt. Second, they do carry weight in court if an attendee does sue — but only if the waiver is detailed, well documented and clearly spells out exactly what the risks inherent in the activity would be.”

Avoid Copyright Infringement

Some legal pitfalls are not about illness or injury but can still cause planners a world of trouble if ignored. One of those is making sure you’re not infringing on copyrights or trademarks during the meeting. Taking photographs of attendees or taking video of presenter sessions for use on your organization’s website, for example, are problematic if the right precautions aren’t taken.

“These can be a copyright and/or trademark violation,” Hilliard notes. “If planners want to photograph or provide videos of a presenter while presenting, they need to include that information in the speaker contract so that, when signed by the speaker, it grants permission for the specific use(s) of the images or videography captured. However, copyrights are a bundle of rights, not a single right. So it’s important for a planner to remember that if a speaker grants permission for a single copyright use, such as use of slides, that doesn’t grant all copyrights, such as video. Likewise, there should be a notice on the registration form for any meeting that says photos are going to be taken and that by registering for the meeting, attendees are agreeing to allow their likeness to be used on the group’s website, marketing materials and so on. All efforts should be used to avoid getting non-attendees in the photos.”

Music at an event is also a potential issue. “You have the right to use copyrighted music — but only if you get the proper licensing,” Howe says. The three main organizations holding music copyrights are The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) and Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC). Sometimes you have to get licenses and permissions from more than one, so due diligence is the best practice here, too.”

Planner Insights

Rebecca Wright, CIS, CITP, director, account operations, with Creative Group, Inc. and member of SITE’s international board of directors, lists the top three things she thinks are critical to minimizing risk outside of hotel contracts.

Proactively put measures in place to be able to quickly respond if the unexpected occurs.

Request that attendees accept a general liability waiver during the event registration process.

Attempt to partner with suppliers with whom you have worked and that meet your standards for insurance and liability.

Following up on those, Wright addresses the specific steps her company takes in specific situations.

In terms of choosing a transportation company to move attendees from one place to another, she says, “We’re selective of our supplier partners, ensuring that they meet our insurance standards. In addition, we have limitation of liability clauses in our client and supplier contracts.”

Wright’s group also includes addendums for non-hotel supplier contracts that address serving alcohol at functions as well as potential health issues at offsite venues.

The alcohol addendum “addresses liquor liability, and that supplier will be responsible for following local laws regarding liquor service, will not serve anyone under 21, and will not serve anyone noticeably intoxicated,” she says.

“We also include an addendum for non-hotel supplier contracts that addresses safety code compliance related to food, including health inspections for the kitchen. In addition, during the planning process, we gather information and outline the required protocol if a health issue occurs during program execution.”

For Wright, much of it comes down to due diligence and putting protocols in place well before the conference. “Creative Group, Inc. employs a three-pronged approach to duty of care for our clients and program participants. This approach includes preventative, active and post planning methods to respond to potential or active threats to the safety of our attendees.”

Preventative actions, for example, include, “The gathering of emergency protocols and information from our local suppliers and host properties. This information is provided to the onsite team of all managed programs prior to operation for reference or use in the event of a crisis. Onsite, the management team will identify/confirm whereabouts; determine risk; and coordinate the communication between the onsite authorities, client and Creative Group senior leadership. And post-conference there is detailed incident reporting, coordination of external communications with senior leadership and, if necessary, we arrange for post-incident resources for affected individuals.”

In terms of specific potential problems, Wright is well prepared. “We have protocols in place for onsite response in the event of an attendee accident. Accidents that occur are documented and the details forwarded to our attorneys and insurance providers.”

There’s an action plan to deal with stolen property, too. “During the planning process, we gather information and outline the protocol required if property is stolen at a venue. And onsite staff has heightened awareness to property that’s left unattended.”

Use Waivers for Risky Activities

If attendees are engaging in any risky activity, there are waivers. “Attendees are asked to sign a liability waiver with Creative Group when participating in an activity with some inherent risk. Additionally, they may be asked to sign a similar waiver by the DMC or CSR supplier. For activities we think are too high risk for attendees but the host company still wants to offer, we ask the company to sign a waiver holding us harmless.”

Wright’s best advice for other planners is, “Partner with suppliers you know and prepare for the unexpected during every step of the planning process.”

One way for planners to take some worry out of finding the highest quality, most reliable local suppliers is to work with a DMC. DMCs know the local area and they know the top vendors and venues. As Joshua Jones, DMCP, regional president, Hosts Las Vegas, Hosts Seattle and Hosts Southern California, notes, “One of the most important reasons to work with a DMC is that we are risk mitigators.”

However, he adds, planners need to engage in open, honest conversations with DMCs regarding potential risks in all areas of the meeting. That said, “We also understand that sometimes the best planning of risk avoidance is not exempt from incidents happening and how we handle those incidents is critically important. Part of our principles include all of our DMCs to have an emergency preparedness plan for our groups. Proactive procedures and communication planning can help minimize impact when it matters most.”

When it comes to transportation, Jones lays out appropriate steps. “When moving attendees from one venue to another, it’s important to check the levels of insurance with the transportation companies, ask what type of driver background checks are done, how and how frequently are drivers trained and find out the age and regular maintenance schedule of the fleet. All transportation companies should have full emergency plans in place.”

As for serving alcohol, Jones notes, “It’s important to make sure bartender and server ratios are within recommended guidelines. This allows for more eyes on guest consumption and prevents over-serving. Having adequate and substantial food at the event as well as coffee, tea and other non-alcoholic options is imperative.”

While working with trusted caterers and venues with solid reputations and practices doesn’t categorically prevent such issues as food poisoning, it does minimize risk. Additionally, Jones says, “Tracking the time food is out for consumption, staggering food and choosing items that hold up better than others are all things that can be done to help reduce the risk of food issues.”

Accidents Happen

Attendee accidents can and do happen, and it’s the response that matters. Jones says having a field staff onsite helps. “This adds another layer to risk mitigation. Field staff are trained on how to handle incidents as well as emergency preparedness. They’re also briefed on how to work with the venue or activity to ensure medical response is called if necessary, processes are being followed and reports and photos are recorded.”

Can you over communicate when it comes to attendees watching their property? Probably not.

“It’s important to over communicate to attendees that items should not be left unattended,” Jones advises. “In addition, hiring proper, well-vetted security can help deter potential criminals, and doing a sweep of rooms, vehicles and venues after attendees have departed is also a good practice to avoid guests’ personal items going missing.”

Like our other experts, Jones thinks due diligence is critical. “We invest a lot of time and resources in the vetting and training of suppliers to reduce risk. We start with a dive into the basics: insurance levels, types of coverage, who is covered, financial strength, etc. We also look into internal policies and training they provide to their teams; are they aligned with the service levels and execution we have? In many cases we work with partners to go through our own training to ensure delivery of the types of experiences our clients expect. Internally, we provide extensive quarterly training for internal teams and field coordinators.”

Not surprisingly, Jones believes in the value DMCs bring to the table in terms of risk management. “They’ve already done the work for you. As local experts, they have properly vetted each supplier. They know a supplier’s service level, have identified potential risks and verified insurance coverage. They know their history in the city and genuinely care about your program and attendee experience.”

All of that is true, and the reason many planners work with DMCs. But as our legal experts know, planners still should perform due diligence as necessary for every single program. Managing risk should be a priority with every single program as a best practice.C&IT

For decades, business professionals have recognized the need to connect with each other outside of the conference room. While late night ‘wining and dining’ is still a prevalent relationship-building tradition, corporate meeting planners are continuing to embrace the greens — incorporating golf programs into their corporate and incentive travel plans.

In fact, golf was always used to entertain, but the level of amusement has gone beyond golf and food and beverage and it is now an integral part of creating long-term, mutually beneficial relationships and partnerships.

Christi Braak, meeting planner and executive administrative assistant at PCL Construction, recently planned a golf program at Shingle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, FL on May 4, 2019. Approximately 80 attended, however PCL could’ve had up to 200 people, so picking a course and after-round facility that could coordinate those numbers was important.

“PCL hosts an annual golf tournament for all employees each year,” Braak says. “What enticed me to reach out to Shingle Creek is the proximity to our main office and the knowledge we have of the course and the staff.”

Shingle Creek Golf Club is onsite at the beautiful AAA Four Diamond Rosen Shingle Creek, which features more than 1,500 guest rooms. In addition, the facility offers more than 490,000 sf of state-of-the-art meeting and event space, including a 95,000-sf, column-free ballroom. The par-72 championship course, redesigned by Arnold Palmer Design Company, lies along historic Shingle Creek, headwaters to the Florida Everglades.

“What enticed me to reach out to Shingle Creek is the proximity to our main office and the knowledge we have of the course and the staff.”
Christi Braak

Shingle Creek Golf Club prides itself on its team building, incentive and appreciation golf programs. Private and group instruction can be provided on the course, off the course, or a combination of both. Groups can foster team dynamics with competitive golf activities on green grass or a carpeted meeting room floor. And Shingle Creek’s top golf instructor, Brad Brewer, can demonstrate to attendees the most common swing flaws and how to quickly remedy them so golfers can have more success during their round. Shingle Creek Golf Club’s professional instructors provide helpful pointers during pre-round warm up to participants on the range and putting green. In addition, attendees can enjoy a 30-minute computerized swing analysis session and private lessons to help participating golfers feel better prepared for their upcoming round.

Because the PCL group of golfers features skill levels of all types, PCL created teams that have an A, B, C and D player, and they play scramble ball, allowing for the players to play the best shot.

Plan Ahead

“From my experience with golf events, meeting planners should make sure they start planning months in advance for the event. Many courses fill up quickly during the prime times of the season, and finding that perfect day and time can be tricky to coordinate,” Braak says. “Visit the venue and get a walk through of what happens where. Make sure the guests are clear on where they need to be. If all this is planned from the beginning, the event should run smoothly.”

North America’s naturally diverse landscape, which includes rolling river valleys, dense forests and glacier-carved lakes, provides the perfect backdrop for numerous golf destinations.

Take Innisbrook, a Salamander Golf & Spa Resort, in Palm Harbor, FL for example. This award-winning resort features four championship golf courses, and was recently one of only six resorts named the “2018 Best Golf Resorts in Florida” by Golf Digest. It is also considered among the top-75 golf resorts in America. Designed by Lawrence Packard, the four courses at Innisbrook offer diverse playing fields, including championship layouts featuring up to 70 feet of elevation change.

Make it Memorable

As the golf arena continues to evolve, golf course owners and operators recognize the need to customize their offerings to help make golf events memorable for all involved. Set in the Cheyenne Mountains, The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO makes a concerted effort to entice all members of a group — golfers and non-golfers alike — to participate in various activities to make a memorable experience for all. The Broadmoor Invitation, which began in 1921, ensures the spouse of the golfer engages in unique activities throughout the event. These may include menu planning with a Broadmoor chef, pickleball round robin, stair climbing at Seven Falls, falconry, bowling and Bloody Mary’s, a farm-to-table picnic, a hike to Cloud Camp, scarf making and mimosas.

Of course, The Broadmoor’s two iconic courses are ranked among the best golf courses in the world. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Donald Ross, these award-winning courses are ideal for golfers of all levels. And after a round or two of golf, attendees can enjoy visiting together in the 185,000 sf of event space within The Broadmoor’s exquisite meeting areas.

Many golf aficionados want to experience new or redesigned courses that they may never have played before. That’s why more golf courses are upping their game and breathing new life into their long-standing golf courses. For example, the new Phoenician Golf Course at The Phoenician, a Luxury Collection Resort, in Scottsdale, AZ has recently opened after a 10-month redesign. In addition to rerouting the course and developing new holes, the re-contoured fairways and rebuilt green complexes have transformed this golf course into a preeminent course just waiting to be played. Located amidst Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, the golf course also features a renovated and expanded 19th Hole dining venue — the perfect place for meeting attendees to gather after a round.

Everything is in front of the golfer, with no surprise bunkers or blind hazards. The course plays to a par-71 and offers four sets of player-friendly tees ranging from 4,594 yards from the forward tees to 6,518 yards from the championship tees. Complementing it are The Phoenician Golf Shop and locker rooms, which were also renovated and expanded.

Omni Barton Creek in Austin, TX recently underwent an extensive, $150 million renovation and expansion that started in November 2017, says Todd Raessler, general manager.

“Additionally, taking inspiration from the lush landscape of the Texas Hill Country, the property’s overall design highlights the history and sweeping views of this iconic destination, while providing a true oasis that creates a relaxing haven for all guests,” Raessler says. “At every opportunity, the design team worked to bring the essence of the outdoors inside with one-of-a-kind artwork featuring local foliage, floor-to-ceiling windows and natural materials embracing the Hill Country landscape.“

The work at the 4,000-acre resort wrapped up in May 2019, and its four championship golf courses — one designed by Austin native Ben Crenshaw, another by Arnold Palmer and two by Tom Fazio — are ready to challenge golfers of all skill levels.

In addition to golf, the 493-room resort offers 52,237 sf of indoor meeting and pre-function space with a new Conference Center complete with 16 meeting rooms, the 14,532-sf Brazos Ballroom, the 8,240-sf redesigned Darrell K. Royal Ballroom and a 5,556-sf Pavilion space with retractable windows for a true indoor/outdoor space. Finally, the resort boasts 23,955 sf of sweeping event lawns that allow guests to experience the surrounding scenic views firsthand.

While Florida, California and Arizona are often thought of as the best golf locales, Wisconsin offers golfers of all skill levels an array of inviting, challenging and breathtaking courses. From formidable courses that test skill at every hole to wide-open courses with fairways designed for high-handicap, weekend golfers — the Dairy State has it.

Among these courses, The American Club in Kohler, WI is a historic 100-year-old gem encompassing four golf courses. In fact, the four award-winning, Pete Dye-designed courses — The Straits, The Irish, The River and The Meadow Valleys — offer a wealth of opportunities for golf programs for groups of all sizes. And The American Club’s tournament division staff frequently works with meeting planners to help plan a variety of tournament-style events, specialty games and contests.

Of course, Pinehurst in North Carolina has long been synonymous with “all things golf” and offers the ideal golf getaways for corporate and incentive groups. With nine — that’s right, nine — courses, Pinehurst is a golf lovers’ paradise and has hosted more championships than any other club in the country.

In addition to hosting traditional types of group golf events, attendees can face off against Pinehurst’s finest in contests that pit attendees against one of Pinehurst’s golf professionals. For non-golfers in the group, Pinehurst’s disc golf program combines golf with Frisbees and offers a unique challenge all its own. Of course, serious golfers in the group can enjoy golf academy lessons, clinics and corporate golf schools. And Pinehurst’s professional golf speakers can address corporate and incentive groups to talk about the history of Pinehurst and how to conquer the resort’s famous greens.

And when it’s time for intimate, large or formal gatherings of the group, Pinehurst offers a plethora of awe-inspiring venues to hold various types of meetings or soirees.

The Carolina Hotel offers more than 61,000 sf of indoor meeting space and 22,000 sf of outdoor function space, while the Holly Inn offers five unique meeting spaces — the Camellia Room, Evergreen Music Room, Gardenia Room, the Library and Magnolia Room.

Choosing the Right Course

If a winter corporate meeting or incentive trip is in the works, there are a slew of winter golf destinations that can satisfy any attendees’ need to hits the links. And better yet, many of these golf destinations appeal to a variety of budgets and interests — for golfers and non-golfers alike. As previously established, award-winning courses can be found across the country.

At issue for many meeting planners who want business professionals to hit the links together is finding golf courses that meet the needs of players of all levels. When business professionals golf together, each person has different needs and wants different challenges. Many resorts offer shorter, executive-type courses ideal for players new to the game. Here, the fairways are not necessarily the flat, open fairways found at traditional par-three courses. Rather, the executive courses have good terrain, including bunkers, water hazards and trees.

Courses are also offering more business-focused amenities. Today’s business golfers have access to computers, wireless internet, private dining, lavish locker rooms, catered functions, caddies and/or forecaddies, dual logo merchandise opportunities, fitness programs, concierge services, limousine services and tournament services — almost anything a meeting planner can think of can be provided.

And golf courses are now working hand-in-hand with meeting planners to make golf outings special for attendees. These may include amenities such as a personalized coordinator for group outings, group clinics from PGA professionals, prepaid food and beverage coupons to give to attendees, pro shops with merchandise from a PGA Tour stop, catered meals and personalized prize packages.

According to Craig Dooley, senior vice president at SDI Meetings and Incentives, SDI does a mix of golf-centric and golf-included programs throughout the year in a wide variety of destinations around the globe.

“For example, we have done a number of more golf-centric programs at The Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland. There we have had about 24 golfers in a group, out of about 150-200 total program participants,” Dooley says. “Two of their more famous courses are one where the Ryder Cup is held and another where the Scottish Open is held.”

Dooley also orchestrated golf events for 100 to 125 golfers in private tournaments at Wailea Golf Club in Maui, one starting at 8 a.m. on a leisure-focused program, and another occurring in the afternoon after their business meeting concluded.

“Golf was available to attendees throughout the program at their leisure and when schedules allow,” Dooley says.

For SDI’s clients, every group tends to have a number of die-hard golfers who enjoy the experience of a new course and look forward to the leisure activity while they are on a program.

“When a program is in an area known for golf, such as Scotland, even those less-than-die-hard players want to play for the unique experience that particular course will bring and have a story to tell,” Dooley says.

Not Everyone Plays

SDI accommodates non-golfers by ensuring there are ample alternative activities, such as other sports, local exploration, spa or leisurely enjoying the property.

“For SDI, it’s important to know the ins and outs of the specific golf courses we are planning to book, so we personally know what to expect and can educate and assure our guests ahead of and onsite what the experience will entail,” Dooley says. “Meeting planners should know when a course opens its books for future bookings and know its cancellation policies. Also be sure to know the details on course fees, caddy requirements, cart usage and rental club types and fees. As with any program, having firsthand knowledge well in advance ensures you avoid any surprises and deliver the best possible experience.”

Ken Schmalz, managing partner at S&A Event Services in New Milford, CT orchestrated a golf event at The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, CA for 220 total guests. The guests included 30 internal attorneys, 150 clients and 40 spouses for a client-centric industry conference hosted by a law firm for their clients, investors and developers in the world of global energy and project finance issues. The event included two days of golf as well multiple activity options for non-golfers.

Pelican Hill Golf Club offers programs for a variety of group sizes, from dual course buyout tournaments to smaller corporate groups. The facility’s ocean-view golf academy caters to groups by offering custom instruction programs to help golfers improve their game.

What’s more, the Golf Pavilion and Pelican Grill restaurant offer nearby venues for gathering before or after a group golf event.

“The golf component of this event has always been an integral component that helps attract the right C-level demographic,” Schmalz says. “We run a one-day tournament and a second day of golfing on their own at a more leisurely approach.”

Schmalz says it’s important for meeting planners to understand the meeting and networking objectives, including skill levels and the variety of golfers in order to plan the right format, have the appropriate on-course festivities and contests, and determine what sponsor-branding opportunities might be available and impactful.

“Make it organized but fun,” Schmalz says.

“Fun” certainly is the name of the game at French Lick Resort, where attendees can enjoy two world-class golf courses designed by Pete Dye and Donald Ross. And while the exquisite nature of these courses can’t be beat, the fun that comes with the various group golf activities makes it a memorable experience for all. In fact, French Lick Resort’s team of golf professionals work with meeting planners to build golf activities into any group or business agenda. From a golf scramble with a cocktail hour to long-drive and putting challenges to goofy golf activities with unique twists on each hole, there is a wealth of opportunities for meeting planners to incorporate golf into any event at French Lick Resort. Some groups add “bang” to their golf program by pairing a golf scramble with an afternoon at the resort’s outdoor shooting range.

Trump National Doral Miami also offers some of the country’s most unique golf programs. Located on an 800-acre tropical oasis, Trump National Doral boasts four distinctly unique courses, including the legendary The Blue Monster — one of the most challenging courses available today. In addition, attendees can enjoy the state-of-the-art LED practice facility, a cutting-edge club-fitting lab and the new Rick Smith Golf Performance Center. Meeting planners can also give group attendees a once-in-a-lifetime Twilight golf experience. Popular with golfers and non-golfers alike, this fun-filled activity gives players the experience of golfing at Trump National Doral with a unique and exciting twist. It is also a great team-building interactive activity that involves a combination of fun and a healthy competition.

Regardless of the location and type of links chosen for a group event, corporate and incentive golf programs are as much about enjoying the surrounding landscape as they are about birdies and bogeys. Nature lovers will enjoy the mountainous views, unspoiled beaches, and pristine countryside found amidst many of the nation’s golf courses. Attendees can also take a day off from swinging their clubs and head into one of the culturally rich cities near a number of splendid courses. And when the golf program comes to an end, attendees will leave knowing they tackled the championship courses and journeyed along the paths taken by the great heroes of the past who played the same fairways and conquered the same greens.C&IT

With meeting room technology such as lighting that simulates daylight and air purifiers, planners say nothing can replace simply getting attendees outside of their meeting rooms. Credit: Visit San Antonio

What will the meeting room of the future look like? How will it function? What innovations in technology and the science of learning will drive its evolution? Those questions are among the most vitally important facing the meetings industry today. And both planners and attendees are increasingly pondering those questions.

There are three key elements of the current debate about how the meeting room experience is evolving and what it will look like and feel like in the future. One is new technologies. The second is the meeting room itself as a designed physical space. And the third is the ongoing breakthroughs in brain science and learning that experts argue will ultimately play the most important and transformational role of them all.

The Frontiers of Technology

To understand the role of new and innovative technologies in the meeting room experience, one must first understand how limited the vision has been so far, says David Hsieh, CEO of San Mateo, CA-based Kaptivo, which has pioneered the next-generation whiteboard and rendered it interactive and sharable.

“It’s expensive to bring people to offsite meetings. So if you can have a virtual meeting, with remote attendees who can have the same kind of experience they’d have if they were there, you can save a ton of money.”
David Hsieh

“I would argue that technology in hotels is stuck in the Dark Ages,” says Hsieh, who as former vice president of products at WebEx and former vice president of marketing for Cisco TelePresence has been on the cutting edge of meeting technologies for well over a decade. “For example, if you ask what is the single-biggest improvement in recent years when it comes to meeting technology, the answer is Wi-Fi. And if you compare that to what is now available in a typical conference room in the corporate world, the hotel is not even close.”

How does he explain that gap? “Technology is not a core competence for hotels,” he says. “So usually there is no one really focused on what the meeting room technology should be beyond basic things like A/V. And then there’s the fact that so many hotels outsource their A/V, Wi-Fi and other technology services, so they’re not really in the technology business. The hotel is just providing space. So with very few exceptions, there’s no one really thinking about what kind of experience the meeting planner and attendees want and need to have.”

In addition, Hsieh says, the time-honored role of the hotel meeting room as the nexus of the meeting experience is also evolving. Today, he says, remote attendees are playing a more and more prominent role in the execution of meetings.

“For some companies, the trend is primarily budgetary,” Hsieh says. “It’s expensive to bring people to offsite meetings. So if you can have a virtual meeting, with remote attendees who can have the same kind of experience they’d have if they were there, you can save a ton of money.”

But another reason for the trend is convenience. Not everyone can travel for a meeting; it’s a big-time commitment, and sometimes being there is either inconvenient or impossible. That’s why more companies and meeting planners are providing new ways for attendees to ‘be there’ without actually being there. That was the idea behind TelePresence. The idea was to use HD video to make people feel like they were in the same room, sitting at the same table, whether they were actually physically present or not.

What does Hsieh see on the far horizon of future technology? “It’s easy now to imagine some kind of virtual reality-based experience, where the remote participants can literally feel like they are sitting in the room,” he says. “Think of the Jedi Council in the Star Wars movies. You’re not actually there, but you’re a holographic figure that people can see and hear and interact with.”

Given such possibilities, he says, the meeting room of the future must be built and equipped to facilitate such cutting-edge innovations.

The Here and Now

In the current market, Hsieh says, the focus is on the evolution of devices or any new technologies that facilitate more seamless meeting experiences, both for planners and attendees.

“One of the more interesting innovations right now is in wireless media-sharing devices that let you display content from your phone or your tablet or your PC onto a monitor wirelessly and easily, with one click,” he says. “It used to be that when you walk into the room, you have to plug in your computer. If you don’t have the right adapter, you need to go find one. Now, you can walk into the meeting, open up your device, click a button and then, Whammo!, your presentation is automatically shared. The function is much faster and more convenient.”

There are a number of companies now providing or developing such technology, Hsieh says. He cites the current leaders in the space as Lifesize, Mersive, and Barco. “They all work really well.”

Meanwhile, an entirely new category of meeting room device is being developed. “It doesn’t really even have a name yet,” Hsieh says. “But it’s like a ‘control panel’ for the meeting room. The reason that’s important is that as technology has proliferated, it has become more and more complicated to get all this technology working together. With one of these new devices, all of the systems in the meeting room are now controlled by a single device. That way, you don’t have to go to your phone and use that control panel, then go to another device and use that control panel.”

Although the development and introduction of such technology is in the early stages, rapid progress is being made. “What we have seen up until now is that people have taken general purpose devices, like an iPad, and built special-purpose software that implements the control panel,” Hsieh says. “For example, a company like Zoom has software for the iPad. But what we’re starting to see now is companies that are doing purpose-built devices. And the companies that are working on that include Logitech, which is actually developing control panel devices. And their only purpose is to be taken into the meeting room and control all of the technology in the room. The best way to understand it is to consider that you used to have multiple remote controls in your living room that controlled your TV, sound system, DVD player or DVR, and so on. Now you can do all of that with one universal remote control. That’s the principle involved.”

As an example of the evolving capability, he cites Logitech Tap, which was introduced early this year. Another provider is Crestron.

Yet another new category of meeting room technology will be voice-control capability. “Today, when you go into a meeting room and you want to turn something on, you have to push a button somewhere,” Hsieh says. “What a number of companies are starting to do is add voice controls to their products. For example, you’ll eventually be able to walk into the room and say, ‘Start the video conference with so and so,’ such as a remote presenter or ‘Begin the ZYZ presentation.’ And all the right devices just make that happen.”

Think of the new functionality as Alexa for the meeting room, Hsieh says. “And as a matter of fact, Amazon now has a new Alexa for business that is trying to move in that direction.”

Kaptivo itself is another transformational technology. “What we’ve done is solve a problem that has been a meeting room problem since meeting technology was first introduced,” Hsieh says. “And that is how to share a whiteboard electronically. People had been trying for decades to solve that issue, but never saw strong user adoption because either it didn’t work well or was too complicated. It was the same with videoconferencing technology, meaning it took a long time for it to really become useful and practical. Kaptivo has now delivered the same kind of breakthrough solution for the sharing of whiteboard content.”

Any existing whiteboard can be equipped to become interactive with both onsite and remote attendees, who can share content on any device as well as save it to any device for future reference or additional sharing.

The Room Itself

The evolution of the meeting room itself, as space designed for a specific purpose, is another key element of the debate over the future. And so far, at least, it has not been given the level of attention it deserves, says Samantha Meigs, Ph.D., associate professor of history and experience design at the University of Indianapolis.

“It seems to me that the issue is late in being discussed by the meeting industry,” Meigs says. “Based on what I see and hear, that this is an issue that is really just now being discovered and talked about.” Meigs, Ph.D., Chair of the Experience Design Department, and Associate Professor of History and Experience Design at the University of Indianapolis. She also plans conferences in the history department, and thinks that neither meeting planners nor vendors have yet approached the issue in a comprehensive or “holistic” way.

Based on his observations as an industry leader, Michael Dominguez, chief sales officer at MGM Resorts International in Las Vegas, disputes that assessment of planners, but concurs when it comes to suppliers. “What I have found,” he says, “is that too many suppliers, partners and vendors have not been good resources to tell planners how to implement the future and help them do it.”

Any suggestion that the bar is currently set too low, in general, is somewhat reinforced by what the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC) touted as the most significant finding of its own “Meeting Room of the Future” survey last year. “The report shows that high-quality internet will be the most important meeting element in the coming years, and that the success of meetings today depends on the quality of a meeting venue’s internet infrastructure,” IACC CEO Mark Cooper noted in releasing the report. It is remarkable, especially given the ways in which new technologies have transformed other industries, that the overarching perception in the meeting industry seems to be the preeminence of internet service in hotels and conference centers. Any truly enlightened debate over the future of the meeting room must include the space itself.

And to IACC’s credit, its 2018 report addresses that factor.

“One of the things that both this year’s and last year’s report touched on was the flexibility of where the meeting takes place and where collaboration takes place,” says Ellen Sinclair, the Brunswick, NJ-based senior vice president of major hotel and IACC-certified conference center operator Benchmark, a global hospitality company. “And part of the issue now is not just what happens in the meeting room, but also what happens around the meeting room. That means that those other spaces become just as important as the main ‘meat-and-potatoes’ meeting rooms where your sessions are taking place.”

As part of that evolution, now underway, Sinclair says, ancillary and alternative spaces will begin to supplant what has traditionally been just another numbered — and standard — meeting room down the hall, so to speak.

Raising the Bar

When it comes to theoretical discussion of the meeting room of the future, one major hotelier, Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International, has already set a high standard with the development of two new facilities at its new $550 million Park MGM, formerly the Monte Carlo, which made its debut in April 2018. Its Madison Meeting Center caters to meetings for 10-50 attendees. The 10,000-sf complex features 10 flexible rooms that can accommodate various layouts ideal for classroom-style training, certifications, product seminars and workshops. It also offers moveable ergonomic furniture, built-in audiovisual equipment, and rolling whiteboards. It also incorporates the DELOS Stay Well Meetings protocol — developed in cooperation with health and wellness guru and DELOS board member Deepak Chopra — and previously deployed at the MGM Grand and Mirage properties. The Stay Well program features state-of-the-art air purification, energizing lighting, science-based menu options, soothing aromatherapy and other wellness features designed to enhance the productivity and overall wellness of attendees.

“We have based the things we’re doing on the underlying science,” Dominguez says. “For example, a key question in the meeting industry is why attendees get tired in the middle of the afternoon? And the reasons are twofold: One is that you’ve been sitting in really crappy light all day long, which means a yellow hue. We have gone to blue-hued light in our Stay Well meeting rooms. And that’s important because blue light allows your body to suppress melatonin. And that allows you to remain alert and attentive. The second reason is that because you’re indoors all day, you’re not getting enough Vitamin D. So what we now know from the science is that it’s not just important that the food you eat at the meeting to be nutritious, but also for it to be Vitamin D-infused. So that is now a focus on our menus.”

The Park MGM’s new Ideation Studio, which opened last fall, provides spaces ideal for corporate retreats and brainstorming sessions, with eight unique environments and four distinctive room types that each can accommodate groups of 6-25 attendees. Each space has been intentionally planned with a wide array of workspaces to spur collaboration, productivity, creativity and innovation.

“The basic idea was to design a space that was specifically created for collaboration and consensus-building. And again, the facility is based on underlying science.”

The Engagement Factor

From an academic perspective, the meeting room of the future will address factors that reach far beyond material considerations such as seating, lighting or nutrition, although those things are vital to the final result, Meigs says.

The overarching factor, she says, is what she calls a “minds on” level of alertness from attendees. “It’s the mental equivalent of ‘hands on,’ and it means a more in-depth way of talking about things and communicating,” she says. “It means having people be more actively involved in engagement with your material and with problem-solving.”

The inherent flaw in the current way meetings are conducted is that levels of attention and engagement among attendees range from minimal to meaningful and effective, along with everything in between.

How can that reality be overcome? “One way is to do anything that is unexpected and presents some kind of a challenge,” Meigs says. “The idea is to do something to get people involved in a way other than what they would normally expect. That gets them fully engaged, as opposed to just listening to somebody give a report or read a paper.”

Perhaps the most critical element of the larger discussion, Meigs says, is that her academic understanding of experience design differs quite sharply in one key respect from what meeting planners typically do. “True experience design, as I think of it, is all about sort of letting go of control. And meeting planners are typically very much in control of everything, which they have to be. But I think that control is also antithetical to the idea of a better experience. In the future, the most successful results are going to come from letting go of control, which seems to be a very difficult thing for people in the meetings industry to do.”C&IT

New Orleans, with its unique history and culture, is often a destination planners select repeatedly to host events because there is so much to see and do. Credit: Gwendolyn Events

What better way for a group to connect with the culture of a legacy destination than to give a passé product a jazz funeral?

The meeting place, of course, is New Orleans, a city that’s been celebrating its dead for close to 300 years. The group, a pharma company that’s a regular in the Big Easy, relied on Bethany Lemanski, owner and creative designer of Gwendolyn Events, to give the product a proper send off.

“The culture in New Orleans is something that draws groups again and again,” she said. “Our job is to make a bridge between the city’s vibrant art, music and history scene and our corporate groups in ways that constantly surprise them.”

Legacy denotes staying power, a sense of place that goes beyond a generic hotel ballroom and convention center setting; a venue or destination that planners know to which they can return again and again for a successful event. Harnessing that energy in an era of digital connections gives the meetings industry the opportunity to connect on many levels: intellectually with the topic of discussion, personally with the local culture and fellow attendees and emotionally with the experience that energizes the meeting in memorable ways.

“The culture in New Orleans is something that draws groups again and again. Our job is to make a bridge between the city’s vibrant art, music and history scene and our corporate groups in ways that constantly surprise them.”
Bethany Lemanski

Why Planners Choose One Destination Over Another

When planning meetings for large liquid asphalt producers that make up the Asphalt Institute out of Lexington, KY, Natasha Pedigo, CMP, is charged with wowing as many as 1,000 attendees a year. The Asphalt Institute is the international trade association of petroleum asphalt producers, manufacturers and affiliated businesses. Pedigo, who brings 15 years of meeting planning experience to the task, has a definite checklist when it comes to giving one destination her business.

“We do have a small international contingency and a few partnerships in Europe,” she said of the companies that make up all aspects of liquid asphalt manufacturing. “We look for cities that have airlift for international visitors and are a reasonable distance to and from the airport, which is another consideration.” Naturally she wants to lock in destinations that are intriguing to the attendees. “A legacy city is a place where they’ll see things they wouldn’t see at home.”

As for hotels, she likes the idea of the group being the big fish, not getting lost in a large convention hotel juggling multiple conferences. “We don’t want to feel like a number,” she said. “We like to feel that we own the place; that both the destination and the hotel embraces us.”

A destination may tick some of the boxes, but the hotel has to close the deal, she added. “We have to have a lobby bar that is ready for us to be there in droves,” she said. “That spot is essentially our fifth meeting room, the place where so many connections happen. That networking is critical to our attendees, who genuinely like each other and want to connect.”

December’s meeting found the group at a hotel that didn’t take her heeding seriously — resulting in an understaffed lobby bar with harried employees running out of drinks. “We won’t be going there again,” Pedigo says.

On the other hand, as part of the Asphalt Institute’s 100th birthday celebration this year, she’s once again turning to the Hilton Lexington/Downtown, which is connected both to the Rupp Arena and the Lexington Convention Center. Lexington, like New Orleans, is a legacy destination for her. The hotel’s Bigg Blue Martini is a stellar lounge; a lively spot that creates a welcoming gathering area for meeting attendees to network.

When dealing with her corporate groups, what deeper appeal a destination offers besides the nuts and bolts of programming is always front of mind, Anna Visconti Peagler says. Peagler, who recently parlayed a career managing meetings for a large Pennsylvania-based bank and the University of Pittsburgh into her own business, Black Angus Corporate Meeting Planners, knows from experience that destinations that deliver beyond the usual guarantee better meeting attendance.

Lemanski agrees, adding that return on investment plays a big role.

“Every meeting planner weighs the basics — the costs of hotel rooms, food and transportation vs. the experience the attendee is going to have. What will the ROI be?” Lemanski asks. “We have it pretty good here in New Orleans because we have so much to offer. Everything is close and walkable, which helps. We can not only save on transportation, but we can move our attendees in a second line parade, from the hotel to the dinner venue, complete with a police escort and a brass band. It’s a comparable investment but the difference between a parade and a bus ride is a no brainer.”

Delivering New Orleans culture can come in myriad ways, from serving hot beignets at the coffee break to kicking off an early morning general session with a 15-person gospel choir, Lemanski added. “That always gets everybody wide awake. New Orleans makes it easy for planners to get to wow.”

Finding the Elements That Create a Lasting Experience

A destination and meeting that connects on an emotional level to an attendee is what will long resonate, Lemanski says. “New Orleans is able to hit all of the senses: hearing, sight, taste, smell and touch. Our great food is a given, and there is the amazing music, of course. Then there’s something to see like the Mardi Gras Indians — so colorful and culturally interesting — most people have no idea they even exist.”

One important thing attendees appreciate is familiarity after a day of traveling. “Our attendees travel a lot,” Pedigo says. “Giving them a sense of place is critical. In many hotels, for example, you could be in any city in America. For instance, in New Orleans, many hotels seem to have a passion for using local artists, not just generic art. If you’re traveling three weeks in a row, it’s great to know where you are when you wake up.”

Incorporating a city’s food specialties into the hotel’s buffets is another important aspect, Pedigo says. “In Minneapolis, we want to serve a Jucy Lucy, the legendary cheese-stuffed burger. You can only have chicken piccata so many times. If members don’t connect to the food in the meeting experience, they’ll skip functions and find it elsewhere.”

Food is a critical part of the experience, agrees Peagler. “Because it reflects the culture of a city. “I’ve had a great experience in Toronto in that regard. They did a super job bringing Canadian culture, food, local speakers and entertainment into the programming.”

Working closely with the local CVB is always a boon, Peagler says. “Although I always do site inspections and research in advance, the CVBs can really add that insider info into the mix. Finding the hidden gems, the unexpected places and experiences, can really make a big impression.”

Offsite programming can deepen the attendee’s experience in many ways. Pedigo, who likes to incorporate offsite venues into smaller meetings for manageability, agrees that moving the group away from the hotel is always a big hit. “In Boston, we took them to a Red Sox game,” she says.

Pedigo has learned over the years that while entertainment can be an important aspect of an offsite conference event, not everything works. For example, they don’t always want to schedule  a trip to a comedy show. “If the attendees genuinely like each other and want to visit with each other, we want to provide a space that allows them to talk while still soaking in some of the local culture.”

In New York, for instance, she brought in some students from The Juilliard School to play classical music during dinner. It was a big hit. “The idea is to find what in a city you can’t do anywhere else,” Pedigo says.

Offsite experiences in New Orleans run a wild gamut, Lemanski says. “In less than an hour we can be on a bayou having a crawfish boil, the attendees can hold a baby alligator and listen and dance to a Cajun band. In and around the city, there’s Mardi Gras World, where attendees make masks on a Mardi Gras float on the river front. A Mississippi river cruise can evoke the days of Mark Twain, with jazz music and local cuisine part of the experience.”

The renovation and revival of a handful of historic downtown theaters, including the Saenger Theatre, the Joy Theater and the Orpheum Theater, has expanded the offsite playing field. “These are beautiful historic buildings with tons of detail and stories. Add an old-style jazz band and characters in costume and you can really give attendees an enjoyable time.”

Lemanski has had great success using cultural experiences to punch home a conference theme. One example is the jazz funeral for a product that’s on its way out. “For a group that’s trying something new, or launching a new product, we can do a voodoo blessing of positivity. That involves using the elements of earth, fire, sky and water to bless the new product. The ceremony always makes a huge impression.”

Tapping Into Legacy to Create a Memorable Meeting

A legacy meeting delivers on all of these counts and so much more, says Pedigo, who associates the word legacy with longevity.

“I’ve seen so many meetings and events come and go with literally no footprint or staying power left behind,” she says. As the Asphalt Institute this year is celebrating its 100th anniversary, that adds both a fourth meeting and the importance of the group’s own legacy into the mix. “Part of our legacy is to really listen and pay attention to what our companies want. Our records go back to 1986, which is a lot of back story. We don’t want to have meetings just for meeting’s sake. We aren’t just checking a box.”

They held the meeting in New York to celebrate the organization’s manufacturing past, and upcoming centennial meetings include Chicago in August for a celebration of the organization’s present; a homecoming meeting planned in October at the Hilton Lexington/Downtown, their founding city; and finally San Diego in December, where the group’s future will be the theme.

Although legacy denotes a history, it isn’t something that ossifies, Pedigo says. “We have to listen, to pay attention and change as needed to stay nimble within that legacy. The whole ‘same as last year’ doesn’t fly with me. That’s when you get stagnant.”

The companies that make up the Asphalt Institute are themselves concerned with legacy, as many of them are multigenerational. “What might have been important to the first and second generation doesn’t matter as much to the third or fourth. We have to be open to that and continue to serve as change occurs.”

For some of Peagler’s groups, leaving a bit of themselves behind is a way to extend that sense of legacy. “They get involved in some kind of charitable community work that really touches the locals,” Peagler says. “We bring so much revenue along with our meeting, but this is a way to stretch that in a slightly different direction that in just hospitality.”

While there are elements of a meeting that Peagler can’t control — the quality of speakers and educational programming, for example — wrangling the bits she can influence is full-on her job. “I’m here to make everybody’s job easier, and handle any issues that come up seamlessly, behind the scenes. I want the destination to really shine and make that lasting impression.”

New Orleans, which just celebrated its 300th birthday in 2018, is certainly an example of a legacy destination with staying power, Lemanski says. “Our history stems from a gumbo of nationalities and influences that has created a unique and particular culture. And the city still continues to develop and grow. “

The ability of a destination to charm and surprise attendees makes the difference between a same-old meeting and one that invites attendees to ruminate on their experiences and be eager to return.

“New Orleans is always surprising attendees,” Peagler says. “That memorable moment might happen as soon as you get in the cab from the airport. People are so friendly here. The driver might start talking about his day, telling you about his favorite restaurants or bars; sharing stories about his life.” She continues, “Your New Orleans experience may have already started before you even get to the hotel. It’s that genuine interaction — with hospitality staff, locals, shop owners — that will stick in the minds of the meeting attendees. Every time they come to New Orleans, it’s a different experience. Which makes them want to extend, stay longer, or bring the family in for the weekend. That’s a win-win for everybody.”C&IT

The Omni Fort Worth Hotel hosted a GameStop event in 2019. GameStop’s meeting planner likes Omni’s ample space.  Credit: GameStop

One of the most personalized ways that a hotel chain caters to its group clients is via its national sales representatives. They effectively become the face of the brand, and when they demonstrate attentiveness to the planner’s needs, the brand looks good. Samantha Vogel, CMP, senior manager, meetings and travel with Grapevine, TX-based GameStop, has strong relationships with both Marriott International and Hilton Hotels & Resorts sales reps, and enjoys having them reach out to her with opportunities because they understand “the nuances of what we do.”

”For our annual meeting, we’re so large we only go to certain cities. So if they’re reaching out telling us ‘We have a new Marriott coming online near the convention center in Indianapolis, we know you’re going to go there.’ Yes, we absolutely want to know about that.”

Carrie Huffhines, CMP, senior events and logistics manager with Austin, TX-based Keller Williams Realty, also enjoys having an open line of communication with the national reps at the chains with which she frequently works, including Hilton, Marriott and Omni Hotels & Resorts. “We do ask them to reach out to us, usually quarterly, to give us an update on what the brand is doing and what they’re seeing in the industry. But then we want to have the same ability to reach out to them if we have questions or if we’re having a difficult time with a specific client services manager (CSM). The ability to reach out and have that immediate response is priceless.”

While a brand extends personalized service to group clients via its representatives, it also pursues numerous initiatives catering to group clientele as a whole, ranging from meeting technology to onsite wellness activities to property upgrades that will benefit meetings. Following is an overview of some of the latest developments that showcase the commitment to the meetings group market among the world’s largest hoteliers.

“We also think Omni has that one-on-one service feel and it tends to feel like a boutique property because of private management.”
Samantha Vogel

Hilton Hotels & Resorts

Huffhines points to a welcome trend among renovating hoteliers, including Hilton. “Our attendees like the fact that many of the hotels are upgrading their lobby areas to be more social areas. Networking is huge for our events,” she says. For example, “the Hilton Austin within the last two years has finished renovating their lobby and now they have the long tables for several people to share and network. The atmosphere has changed so it’s more communal.”

Far beyond meetings-friendly lobby renovations, Hilton is upping the ante in the group market with the launch of a global meetings-focused brand, Signia Hilton. Properties such as the Signia Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, Signia Hilton Atlanta and Signia Hilton Indianapolis are under development, and will boast a minimum of 500 guest rooms and 75 sf per room of flexible function space. Other features include signature restaurants, destination bars, wellness experiences and, most importantly, a variety of high-tech meeting spaces, from large ballrooms and pre-function areas to small and midsize meeting rooms.

Hilton has been making significant strides in meetings technology by introducing a variety of meeting room elements. Examples include Steelcase Thread, which conveniently situates power outlets in different parts of the meeting room as needed; CoeLux artificial skylights, which brings the appearance and feeling of natural skylights to the room with nanotechnology; Nanoleaf customizable lighting; and Panasonic’s BF1 Series LCD touchscreens, which can connect and display content from any operating system or USB and enables meeting facilitators to switch between a PowerPoint presentation and a collaborative whiteboarding session. Complementing these tech tools are atmospheric elements such as Nordgröna’s unique moss wall, which brings a taste of the outdoors to meeting rooms and acts as an air purifier and sound absorber. Locally themed elements are also being introduced to meeting spaces — the Hilton Austin’s music-inspired meeting room, The Reverbery, is a prime example.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

The latest Wyndham property developments favor both incentive meetings and training conferences. Incentive planners are constantly looking for upscale resorts in intriguing destinations that will likely be new to well-traveled potential qualifiers. Wyndham’s “upper upscale” brand, Wyndham Grand, is debuting in six new destinations this year: California; Cam Ranh, Vietnam; Mexico City, Mexico; Kayseri, Turkey; Tblisi, Georgia; and Crete, Greece. Wyndham Grand resorts, featuring a distinctive architectural design and premium amenities, restaurants and spas, are an ideal home base for incentive travelers to explore these destinations.

On the business meetings front, few brands deliver a conference experience on par with Dolce Hotels and Resorts by Wyndham. The historic Seaview, a Dolce Hotel, in Galloway, NJ, reopened in March after a $17 million project that updated all 296 guest rooms and suites; refreshed the 27,000 sf of meeting space, lobby and public areas; renovated the outdoor pool; and added new dining options, including an eatery within the hotel’s famed Oval Room. Groups in intense sessions benefit from Dolce’s signature Nourishment Hubs and the brand’s Thoughtful Foods for Thoughtful Minds program.

Planners partnering with the Seaview as well as other Wyndham properties can take advantage of the chain’s go meet rewards program, enabling them to earn one point for every dollar spent on qualifying revenue, regardless of billing method, with no minimum spending requirement and no maximum point limit.

Omni Hotels & Resorts

The combination of local character and ample meeting facilities is what attracts GameStop’s Samantha Vogel and her participants to the Omni brand. “Our attendees feel Omnis tend to be a little more upscale and have more local flair,” she says. “We also think Omni has that one-on-one service feel and it tends to feel like a boutique property because of private management.” GameStop recently held its 2019 Field Leadership Meeting at the 614-room Omni Fort Worth Hotel, bringing in about 500 attendees and utilizing all of the hotel’s 68,000 sf of meeting space.

Novartis utilized the same property for its National Sales Meeting in January. “We have found the staff at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel to be creative and resourceful in enabling us to execute our objectives,” notes Laura Healy, director of meetings and events management. She relates an example of that creativity. “We decided to hold both the Opening Theme Party and the Awards Gala at Omni Fort Worth Hotel; however, we did not want the two events to look and feel the same, as they had just one major ballroom. The hotel worked with us to design an interactive event by just mapping out the foyer areas, creating staging for the band/karaoke contest, and integrating food and beverage stations with gaming activities. They also worked with use to create ‘reveal’ experiences throughout the night of the Awards Gala, which was optically effective and minimized costs.”

Omni also excels on the F&B front, offering “creative menus” according to Healy. A case in point is Omni Originals, a brand-wide food and beverage series offering guests a unique culinary experience each quarter such as “Season of Smoke” and “Morel Mushrooms.” Along with that creativity, Omni brings social responsibility. In recent years, the brand launched its Say Goodnight to Hunger program, which makes a donation to Feeding America for every booking made through OmniHotels.com. In addition, Omni hotels support their local food banks and pantries, and enable their group clients to donate meals. “We really like the program because it gives you the specific number of meals that they’ve donated, and you can turn that around and let your attendees know we donated 562 meals to the local homeless community,” Vogel says.

InterContinental Hotels Group

IHG made a strong commitment to its group clientele at IMEX America last year when it introduced Crowne Plaza Meeting Mentors: Christy Lamagna, founder of strategic meetings and events; Tahira Endean, event-technology and design expert; Michaela Alexis, personal-branding coach; and Julian Lwin, owner and creative director of Lwin Design studio. These globally recognized industry experts are collaborating with Crowne Plaza to develop a robust meetings website with videos, blog posts and other content, and assisting clients in the areas of event strategy, design, technology and social media.

IHG also has meeting attendees’ needs in mind. Traveling professionals want to be both well rested and fueled for a long day of meetings, and new IHG offerings assist on both counts. The brand has piloted the use of the JOURNI Mobile Task Light, first installed at Crowne Plaza Atlanta-Airport. Developed by Healthe by Lighting Science, this portable LED task light is designed to help regulate sleep when traveling, and is effectively a response to a new IHG study revealing that 80 percent of travelers struggle to sleep when away from home. On the sustenance side, attendees staying at Holiday Inn properties can begin their day with a breakfast that is both expedient and energizing with the new Express Start Breakfast, included in every stay. More than 30 hot and fresh items are available, including healthy options, dishes localized by country, and grab-and-go meals.

Marriott International

Given her long-standing relationship with Marriott, Vogel was among the planners who were advantaged by the Marriott-Starwood merger. “Our Marriott national sales reps are fantastic. They are talking to us all the time, making sure we’re up to date on which properties they’ve invested in from a remodel standpoint. When Marriott and Starwood merged, it extended the available properties” under the existing relationship, she says. Moreover, Marriott is very proactive in maintaining and improving its hotels, she adds. “We’ve been at properties where we feel the service has been great but the property hasn’t been updated in some time. We don’t tend to go back to those kinds of properties. And I really feel that Marriott overall has done a good job reinvesting in their properties and keeping them up to date.”

The brand is also heavily investing in expanding its portfolio, with a three-year growth plan that includes opening more than 1,700 hotels worldwide and adding between 275,000 and 295,000 rooms by 2021. The development pipeline includes an increasing number of Legacy-Starwood branded hotels. With regard to Sheraton, the company’s most geographically diverse brand, more than 1/4 of the properties are already under renovation or committed to a renovation.

Two recent Marriott openings are especially of note for the meetings industry. Located just 10 minutes from the Denver International Airport, the 1,501-room Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center debuted in December, offering groups 485,000 sf of function space that includes the 174,000-sf Aurora Exhibition Hall and 22,000-sf Aurora Patio. Other property highlights include eight F&B outlets, the Relâche Spa and Salon, 22,000 sf of aquatic recreation and an eight-story atrium window affording a panoramic view of the Denver skyline and Rocky Mountains. And in January, the Delta Hotels by Marriott Dallas Allen & Watters Creek Convention Center opened as the first of the Delta Hotels brand in the Dallas-Forth Worth  area and the brand’s first new build in North America. The Benchmark-managed property features 90,000 sf of convention, ballroom and meeting space, 300 guest rooms and suites and a restaurant by celebrity Chef Stephan Pyles.

Also of note, Marriott rebranded its loyalty program, which combines Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and SPG, as Marriott Bonvoy this year.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Last fall, Hyatt made life easier for its meeting planner clients with the introduction of the Hyatt Planner Portal. Available across Hyatt’s global portfolio, the invitation-only, comprehensive tool allows planners to manage contracts, attendee information and costs through all stages of planning. It can also generate reports on current, upcoming and past meetings. “Created with feedback directly from meeting planners, this solution aims to alleviate pain points planners face and it captures information in one place so they can spend more time focusing on what is most important for their attendees,” explained Steve Enselein, senior vice president of events at Hyatt, in a statement.

The Hyatt Planner Portal also includes a customized reservation link for attendees, banquet menus, event space floor plans and access to diagramming software. It is integrated with Hyatt’s Event Concierge App, which allows planners to make requests directly to the hotel team, and Group Bill, which organizes all costs into a single invoice for easy payment.

MGM Resorts International

MGM is engaging its meetings clientele on multiple fronts, from major meeting space expansions to wellness to technology to team building. MGM Grand completed a $130 million, 250,000 sf expansion of its Conference Center in December. As part of the project, Stay Well Meetings, which launched at MGM Grand in 2014, expanded its footprint by 22,000 sf and now encompasses the Conference Center’s entire second floor of both the new and existing space. Stay Well Meetings has also been implemented at The Mirage’s Calypso Court, which includes seven meeting rooms ranging from 900 sf to 4,680 sf.
Stay Well Meetings features are also in place at MGM Resorts’ new centerpiece for high-tech meetings, Park MGM. The hotel’s Madison Meeting Center (MMC) and Ideation Studio both became IACC members in November. The 10,000-sf MMC offers 10 flexible rooms, two self-service lounges, ergonomic moveable furniture with integrated power, built-in A/V and rolling whiteboards, as well as the Las Vegas Strip’s first Daily Meeting Package. The Ideation Studio has numerous high-tech features, including Cisco Webex Boards allowing for full HD video teleconferencing, audio conferencing and collaboration annotative capabilities; built-in whiteboard wall surfaces; audio/video conferencing at the touch of a button; and wall-mounted speakers for presentations and background music.
Groups that want to enjoy a bonding experience before they head into the conference room might consider the ARIA Hike. Participants are guided through ARIA Resort & Casino’s $40 million fine art collection, gaining an appreciation for leading contemporary artists while benefitting from a cardio workout.

Caesars Entertainment

Caesars’ most significant new meetings offering, and one of the most significant in Las Vegas, is Caesars FORUM, a $375 million conference facility scheduled to open in 2020. As of February 2019, Caesars had booked $150 million in meetings business at the venue, and its immediate popularity is not surprising. One of the FORUM’s main virtues is, as they say in real estate, “location, location, location.” There are more than 20,000 Caesars Entertainment hotel rooms within walking distance, and 5,000 Caesars Entertainment hotel rooms connected to the facility, which is accessible via skybridge from Harrah’s Las Vegas and The LINQ Hotel & Casino. In addition, the FORUM is adjacent to The LINQ Promenade retail district, giving attendees a convenient way to spend their free time.

In terms of meeting space, the FORUM boasts ample square footage, variety and flexibility.
Its 300,000 sf of meeting space includes two 110,000-sf pillar-less ballrooms, two 40,000-sf ballrooms and six state-of-the-art boardrooms. More than 2 miles of airwalls can create more than 100 breakout rooms. The LEED Silver certified facility is also being built on one floor for convenient move-in, supported by nine loading docks. Groups looking for an outdoor experience are accommodated by FORUM Plaza, a 100,000-sf outdoor space.

Caesars is complementing this major new business offering with new entertainment options this year. Of particular note is the Vanderpump Cocktail Garden, which opened at Caesars Palace in April. TV star and restaurateur Lisa Vanderpump’s stylish garden oasis can be rented for events of up to 150 guests, and its two venues can be individually rented: an interior back lounge that accommodates 50 seated guests or up to 70 standing, as well as the patio for 50 seated guests.

From this compelling venue for recreational gatherings to a new state-of-the-art conference facility, Caesars Entertainment is more prepared than ever to host groups at all levels of hospitality. C&IT

Credit: aiisha/Depositphotos.com

When Chris King, meeting planner and president of Focus Incentives, a meeting, incentive and group travel management company, looks for a meeting or event location that offers the best of everything, he often considers the Las Vegas and Reno areas. Here’s why: “Las Vegas and Reno offer everything that a meeting planner needs to create a successful event,” King says. “From outstanding hotels, resorts and meeting venues to unmatched entertainment options and recreational activities, Las Vegas and Reno provide easy-to-reach destinations that attendees appreciate.”

Excellent Values

Recently King turned to Treasure Island Hotel & Casino for a corporate meeting that met King’s parameters and budget expectations. “Treasure Island provides an excellent value compared to similar Las Vegas resorts,” King says. “The resort’s location cannot be beat. The experienced events team at Treasure Island made our group feel at home. Many of the employees are longtime Treasure Island team members and they care about the success of the events they manage.”

“We had 42 attendees and the constant clean up by ARIA Resort & Casino staff really made a difference in us being able to get things done.”
Koren Vazquez

Treasure Island recently completed a full remodel and expansion to its meetings and event space as well as several luxury and premier guest suites. In addition, all 2,664 deluxe rooms as well as the 120 petite, 55 tower and 19 executive suites are currently undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation scheduled to be completed over the next several months. Any attendee would also be inspired by the newest Antilles Ballroom space, which features natural lighting from the optional tropical pool view with panoramic two-way mirrored glass doors. For those who host or attend a meeting or convention at Treasure Island, customized banquet menus also are available, including regionally sourced options.

As Jennifer Guevarra, vice president of business development and sales at MEET Las Vegas explains, Las Vegas is the ideal city to host corporate meetings and events as the city offers a vast array of activities, diversified dining options and entertainment.

“Meeting planners have more access to celebrity performances, world-renowned chefs, as well as indoor and outdoor activities,” Guevarra says. “This accessibility along the Las Vegas Strip takes away from many of the logistical challenges of transportation either for the celebrity or the attendees. The diversification of restaurants within the city allows both planners and attendees a vast amount of options for every palate.”

Parker Meeks, president of infrastructure at TRC Companies, Inc. orchestrated a leadership strategy offsite meeting for the organization’s top-25 leaders at ARIA Resort & Casino. “I was familiar with ARIA and knew it was a great location in the middle of the Strip,” Meeks says. “It is a nice property with all the meeting and conference amenities to provide all of our needs with a high-end feel.”
ARIA is one of MGM Resorts International’s venues within the Las Vegas area. MGM’s vision to grow the convention market within Las Vegas has resulted in MGM Grand’s $130 million, 250,000-sf expansion. With this expansion, MGM Resorts now offers a total of 4 million sf of leading meeting and convention space within a 2-mile stretch on the Las Vegas Strip. That’s more than all the convention space in Manhattan combined. MGM Grand’s expansion comes on the heels of expansions at sister properties Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Las Vegas, ARIA and Park MGM.

Meeks recognizes that Las Vegas offers an easy location for direct flights from across the country. “Our leadership team is spread across both coasts,” Meeks says. “There are lots of activities for social events and high-value hotel rooms for the price.”

Koren Vazquez, meeting planner with Full Steam Staffing, also selected ARIA Resort & Casino for the company’s 10-year anniversary conference. “We had 42 attendees and the constant clean up by ARIA staff really made a difference in us being able to get things done.” ARIA recently added outdoor meeting space with its Ironwood Terrace, an 8,000-sf outdoor space connecting ARIA’s East and West Convention Centers overlooking the pool complex and mountains. An ideal location for breakfast, lunch, dinner or receptions, the terrace can accommodate an intimate event for 30 or a large reception for up to 800 guests.

Changes Aplenty

The Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Las Vegas Convention Center also recently finished an expansion, which included 350,000 sf of new exhibit space, a 20,000-sf foyer and underground parking. The Mandalay Bay Convention Center now boasts more than 2 million total sf and more than 900,000 sf of contiguous exhibit space with the ability to grow current shows and attract new corporate, association and incentive groups.
Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is undergoing $250 million in renovations and expansions that have touched nearly every inch of the property as it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2019.

The Westgate Las Vegas offers more than 225,000 sf of renovated convention space, 2,800 guest rooms and suites and the award-winning Serenity Spa by Westgate.
The venue’s expansive convention space can accommodate any function; from intimate gatherings of 10 to groups of 6,000. The meeting space is centrally located on the ground level and offers 35 meeting/breakout rooms. They also boast more than 100,000 sf of continuous customizable meeting space including the 70,000-sf Paradise Event Center, 43,000-sf Pavilion and 35,000-sf Ballroom.

In April 2016, Las Vegas added the T-Mobile Arena, a multipurpose indoor arena on the Las Vegas Strip. This venue is home for the city’s Vegas Golden Knights NHL team.
“MEET Las Vegas is fortunate to be one block away from the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, which brings concerts, music festivals and viewing parties for various events taking place at the T-Mobile Arena,” Guevarra says.

Unique Venues

One unique venue that has become very popular among meeting and event planners is The Mob Museum. The museum offers truly unique spaces of various sizes. Guests can attend a classroom-style training in the Oscar B. Goodman Room, enjoy an elegant dinner in the Historic Courtroom or hold a Roaring ‘20s-themed reception in the Distillery. During events guests are also encouraged to explore The Mob Museum’s award-winning exhibits.
Leora Azoulay, president of Incentives by Design, Inc., recently worked with a client who comes to Las Vegas for their annual meeting.

“They invite all their top customers to attend and on the second night they host them to a special dinner event that will be memorable and out of the ordinary,” Azoulay says. “The Mob Museum was the perfect opportunity to give them something they couldn’t have done on their own. We hosted a sit-down dinner in the courtroom for 60 people complete with an ex-mob guest speaker who shared his life story. It was truly enlightening, entertaining and perhaps even a bit unnerving.”

The team at Incentives by Design began by sending invitations to guest’s rooms the evening before — a plush fish wrapped in newspaper with a little note that read: “If you don’t want to swim with the fishes, you’ll be in attendance for dinner tomorrow night.” Upon arrival guests explored the museum and enjoyed the exceptional exhibits before coming into the courtroom.

“The room was set with long tables, using the existing courtroom benches for seating,” Azoulay says. “Our guest speaker, Frank Cullotta, who right hand man to Tony Spilotro in the day, entertained all and terrified some with his stories of life in the mob. When the guests returned to the hotel that night, they each had a personalized signed copy of a book written by Frank. The guests that attended the event were in awe, both because of what they learned walking through the exhibits and later from the guest speaker. Dining in the same courtroom that you now know was where the actual mob members were tried is quite a spectacular sensation. The guests will remember this event for years to come.”

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas’ uniquely vertical design, situated on just 8.6 acres, allows for easy access to the facility’s meeting and convention space, which spans three floors of the 2,995-room resort and offering seven ballrooms ranging from 7,000 sf to 37,000 sf.
The Chelsea, the Cosmopolitan’s new 40,000-sf event and performance space, offers business, meeting and convention planners an avant-garde approach to meetings, a refreshing addition to what is currently available in Las Vegas. The unique meeting space, which can accommodate more than 3,000 people, is further complemented with stunning digital displays that create surfaces for meetings and groups to enhance the experience beyond traditional programming.

To offer a one-of-a-kind conference experience, Caesars Entertainment recently began construction of Caesars FORUM, a $375 million, 550,000-sf conference center in Las Vegas with the two largest pillar-free ballrooms in the world that will open in 2020. Within walking distance to more than 20,000 Caesars Entertainment hotel rooms, connected to 5,000 Caesars Entertainment hotel rooms and adjacent to The LINQ Promenade retail district, this state-of-the-art facility will provide a unique option for meetings and events.
Until Caesars FORUM is complete, Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel & Casino also offers an amazing meeting space experience. Its 300,000 sf of meeting space is comfortably set apart from the casino area, yet remains within easy reach of attendees. Caesars Palace offers a large range of flexible venues with countless configuration options to suit groups of all sizes. In addition to traditional meeting venues within Caesars, the site’s Colosseum boasts one of the world’s largest LED screens, a perfect location for presentations that really “wow.”

Reno Gems

Reno has long been a favorite destination for meeting and event planners, and Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno is a go-to resort for meetings and events of all sizes. Grand Sierra’s convention center provides over 200,000 sf of meeting space, along with 45 breakout rooms to meet smaller group’s needs. Located a mere five minutes from the Reno airport, Grand Sierra can accommodate groups ranging from 10 to 4,000 people.

With 106,000 sf of meeting space, Peppermill Resort Spa Casino, features its newly renovated Sorrento, Naples and Capri ballrooms. In addition to offering Northern Nevada’s largest clear-span meeting space, Peppermill also boasts a unique private dining room and two-story executive boardroom.

To establish strong relationships with meeting planners, Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno works hard to make their jobs as easy as possible. A meeting planner who recently visited the Atlantis property commented that it took exactly eight minutes from the time they received their luggage at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport to be escorted to the hotel by Atlantis’ complimentary shuttle. Atlantis is connected to the Reno-Sparks Convention Center via a glass-enclosed Sky Bridge with 550,000 sf of combined flexible meeting space available at Atlantis and the convention center.

“The decisive factor for this client choosing our hotel was how bright and spacious the meeting space is,” says John R. McGinnes, executive director of sales at Atlantis. “Additionally, another huge plus was having access to all of the meeting space on the same floor and being accessible from each of the hotel’s elevator banks.”

Tips for Success

Recently MEET Las Vegas hosted a corporate event that not only bought out their entire building and outdoor Pavilion, but also the adjacent parking lot next to the company. As Guevarra explains, this allowed the planner to create a “vehicle-to-event” experience where the moment they stepped out of their cars, they were immersed by the company’s brand — from a welcoming entrance, to strategically sectioned off entry points and finally a sound tunnel with virtual reality effects walking into the event space.

“The flexibility of MEET Las Vegas to create a total arrival experience allows us to ‘wow’ attendees from the moment they arrive onsite,” Guevarra says.

Las Vegas-Reno Area Benefits

Las Vegas and Reno are ideal locales for hosting and planning corporate meetings and events for several reasons. Accessibility is a big factor, because Las Vegas has direct flights from so many major hubs worldwide.

“Weather is also a key factor for meeting planners as they simply want sunshine — it’s surprisingly a huge benefit for this great city and permits planners to look at group activities both indoors and outdoors year round,” says Tara Russell, senior vice president of sales, catering and conference services at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. “The city of Las Vegas also still boasts a low tax rate for hotels, restaurants and retail shopping. In a small radius, we have nearly everything a planner would desire.”

To make the most of their planning experience, King recommends meeting planners who have selected Las Vegas begin orchestrating their event as far in advance as possible and avoid competing with major conventions that drive up the prices of hotels and event venues. “Las Vegas has so much to offer that it can be overwhelming when considering all of the group event options,” King says. “Experienced hotel teams and destination management companies can help planner find the best option for their group.”
Meeks also recommends meeting planners coordinate across venues by evaluating properties where possible to bundle dinners and events with meeting planning. “This reduces the number of separate touch points to plan, including invoices, expenses, etc.,” Meeks says.

Russell says most attendees want to be where they would normally go on their free time anyway, so meeting planners should select what is best for the majority of the participants.
“Getting their ‘buy in’ before selection may also work towards your favor,” Russell says. “Giving attendees a bit of down time is also beneficial, as all work with little time to explore may hinder participation. Call out the designated free time on the agenda, so guests understand the balance between that and the scheduled activities.”

Guevarra stresses that Las Vegas is moving in a direction where the region will be the leader in entertainment, dining and event experiences. “More celebrity chefs and talent are recognizing they are able to have life balance in our city thanks to the amount of traffic that comes to the city,” Guevarra says. “With the arrival of the Las Vegas Stadium, to the all-immersive MSG Sphere, to up-and-coming hotels such as Resorts World Las Vegas and Circa in downtown, Las Vegas never ceases to push the boundaries of event demands.” Las Vegas Stadium is set to open in 2020, MSG Sphere in 2021 and Resorts World Las Vegas and Circa Resort & Casino in 2020.C&IT

Bob Novak is head of the Corporate & DMC Department of AIM Group International-Prague Office in the Czech Republic. He started his career in the early 2000s in the travel and events industry as specialist in incentive and event organization for international corporate groups in Prague. After having worked for several years at Destination Management Companies, he chose to gain a different experience, and went to work for seven years at Czech Airlines as senior flight attendant. He came back to do incentive and event organization with international clients, which is what he likes the most. Visit www.aimgroupinternational.com

Reserving accommodations, organizing transport, booking restaurants or finding event ideas are just a click away. Does that mean that DMCs are no longer needed? No, that is not the case. Increasingly, DMCs are responding to these changing market dynamics to deliver a service that is very much needed by the client. At AIM Group, our DMC teams have extensive and long-standing experience across 10 countries.

In this white paper we draw on this experience to explore the main reason for choosing a local DMC when organizing a corporate event, and the latest DMCs trends event professionals need to follow in 2019.

What are DMCs all About?

The DMC’s role is all about creating a destination experience tailored to each specific project.

By listening to what a client likes and wants to achieve, the DMC is then able to establish how to satisfy each attendee in a way that resonates with them long after the event and to deliver authentic activities, tours and excursions which best reflect the client’s needs. So a DMC not only offers a full range of services such as hotel accommodations, dinner organization, venue selection, entertainment, visa procedures, team-building activities, transportation, speaker selection, public relations and so on, but a rich and diverse portfolio of unique experiences.

The reasons for contracting a local DMC are numerous. Working with a DMC means that you can secure a higher return on investment (ROI) and better overall event quality.

Here some key reasons why clients can benefit from DMC services:

• Saving time. With a local DMC, detailed and complex information about the destination can be distilled and prioritized by the local experts, saving precious time for the client. And, as every company knows, time is money. All that searching, planning, comparing and negotiating can be left to the experts.
• Risk mitigation and management. Due to established relationships with local providers — transportation, hotels, caterers and locations, etc. — a DMC can also mitigate against potential problems, thus providing the best solutions. In the case of any sudden changes or unexpected issues, related to, for example, the size of the group, timing, flows, etc., the DMC team is at hand to solve problems and guarantee the smooth and successful realization of the event.
• A one-stop-shop. Clients have the advantage of liaising with a dedicated DMC project manager as opposed to a long list of various local suppliers. Not only does this save time but it also avoids misunderstandings as the project manager has the overall vision of the event and a full understanding of the client’s needs.
• A local physical office. The DMC team manages all the logistical aspects during the event, and it is at the client’s disposal in case of special needs or emergencies. Using a DMC gives the client peace of mind to focus on their own guests, stakeholders and strategic objectives without the distractions of logistics, pick up times, etc.
• Extensive local knowledge. DMCs tailor incentives, events and activities on a daily basis so they are experts in what can be achieved at the destination and how the program should be built in an effective way. DMCs are always honest with clients and inform them if some of their ideas are unfeasible and can offer alternative solutions. Moreover with eyes and ears on the ground, you do not have to rely on “virtual” references, which might not reflect the reality.
• Economic savings. With years of experience and trusted relationships with our local providers, DMCs have acquired substantial buying power and can negotiate better rates or service upgrades. Developing strong relationships with suppliers is as important as a good client relationship!
• Simplified finances. Having one partner to liaise with all suppliers cuts out administrative activities and simplifies accounting and value added tax (VAT) recovery.
• Unique experiences. Only a local DMC has the kind of knowledge that can help find the perfect fit for each client. A DMC has a deep understanding of the variety of unique experiences that reflect the culture and tradition of a given town, city or country. A DMC not only offers a full range of services, but a rich and diverse portfolio of unique experiences.
• Which are the Top 2019 Trends?
• Event organization is constantly evolving like the other industries influenced by new technologies, social change, new market offerings such as innovative hotels and cutting-edge venues, and so on.
• Tailored meaningful experiences. If the direct involvement of participants was the mantra of recent years, with guests transformed into protagonists, now the trend is to find activities with a meaning; with a direct link to the clients’ speciality, industry, event objective or local community. So avoid a cut-and-paste approach. We need to design creative experiences that reflect the specific client and event.
• New places. Many clients visit major destination cities more than once, so second-tier, emerging destinations or original locations are appreciated to add that bit of spice and variety to DMC programs. It is wise to avoid the predictable choices and instead consider the lesser-known places where you may even benefit from grants and promotional rates offered by lesser-known cities.
• More corporate social responsibility (CSR). There is more emphasis on integrating CSR programs into events. Giving back to local communities, for instance, through team-buildings activities such as building homes for the homeless, restoring social centers, sowing plants and trees, decorating playgrounds, etc. is something that can add a long-term legacy while motivating participants.
• Ethical food. Organic, healthy, vegetarian, local food is increasingly a la mode. You need to remember to include these choices on menus and tell the food story to guests. Do not forget to reduce food waste and recycle or donate surplus food.
• Social media. Even when traveling for work, attendees love to share with friends and colleagues their experiences. If the client’s policy is open to it, you must promote social engagement among participants. Provide good Wi-Fi, a social media toolkit — with major hashtags and links — and promote social activities, before, during and after the event, such as photo contests, tweet walls and gamification.
• Short notice. With clients taking a more active role in planning their own events, it means that DMCs are often contacted at the last minute and need to manage projects in shorter time frames. Flexible teams and procedures could be the right answer.

Is it complex work? Yes, and we love it! C&IT

Turn on the television or open a newspaper, and you will be hard-pressed not to find information on “sustainability.” The green movement has embraced the business world and captured the attention of the corporate meeting and events industry like never before. From sustainable presentation strategies to “farm-to-table” menu options to eco-friendly material distribution, “going green” is causing meeting and event planners to take notice and change the way they’re doing business.

A New Business Model

Casey Carignan, meeting and event planner at Exact Sciences in Madison, WI, sees the concept of sustainable meetings growing — not only through increased communication between companies and event venues, but through heightened awareness of the carbon footprint company events can leave behind on host sites.

“Convention centers are also working towards a brighter future by hiring dedicated sustainability staff members to increase accountability,” Carignan says. Whether it’s recycling or donating leftover materials or purchasing more generic materials to reuse for multiple events, many companies and event centers are taking steps in a more sustainable direction.

Sustainable events also are becoming more prevalent in the events community. In fact, the growing awareness of the importance of sustainability is one of the biggest trends Rachel Andrews, director of meetings and events, marketing for Cvent, has seen in recent years. As sustainability practices have become more commonplace around the world, Cvent has seen these practices blend into meetings and events as well.

“Convention centers are also working towards a brighter future by hiring dedicated sustainability staff members to increase accountability,”
Casey Carignan

“Business events involved more than 1.5 billion participants across more than 180 countries in 2017 alone and the industry is not slowing down. Think of the global environmental impact that events can have at that kind of scale,” Andrews says. “If we don’t start thinking sustainably now, meetings and events can have a detrimental impact on our future.”

There is a much more prevalent desire to address the environmental impact of our events — both as event planners and from the hotel and venue side as well, Andrews explains.

“Beyond the obvious things like plastic cups or bottled water offered onsite, the travel and commuting involved to shuttle attendees, and the energy needed to host large conferences and events is astronomical,” Andrews says. “As this awareness has grown, so has the willingness to make adjustments to how an event is organized and executed.”

Trends such as reusable water bottles, water bottle filling stations, and prominent recycling centers and containers are popping up throughout event venues. Additionally, food stations are now offering smaller portion sizes in an effort to combat food waste at large events.

According to Julie Blank, director, strategic accounts at Brightspot, more clients are inquiring about ways they can ease into sustainability. While many clients are quick to note that no additional budget is available to support the effort, many like the idea and want to participate in small ways.

And while five to 10 years ago “going green” felt like a fad, as Blank explains, today we have a better understanding and a greater public focus on the importance of reducing waste, conserving natural resources, improving both air and water quality and protecting ecosystems and biodiversity.

“The biggest trend is that people are acknowledging that events can produce a lot of waste and a large carbon footprint, and they are starting the sustainability conversations with event partners,” Blank says.

The Art of Giving Back

Companies recognize that incorporating environmental elements into a meeting or event is more than just ‘green’ business — it’s good business. Exact Sciences is a great example of the many companies focusing on community service both in their local communities and in the communities surrounding their larger events.

“Companies looking to incorporate more community service components should consider using the arrival or departure day for engagement opportunities since attendees might not always have set plans,” Carignan says. “A morning or afternoon of picking up trash from local parks, serving food at a homeless shelter, or compiling bags of necessities for individuals in need can offer an excellent opportunity to engage with and give back to the host community.”

Cvent partners with both local and regional nonprofits at many of the company’s events. For instance, at the company’s user conference, Cvent Connect in 2018, attendees worked with Clean the World and put together hundreds of hygiene kits for a great cause.

“We’ve also seen area event organizers host donation drives as part of their events,” Andrews says. “Adding a corporate social responsibility element to our events is a major focus for us. Not only does it offer your attendees a great way to give back, but the opportunity allows for more engagement and networking among them as well. It’s a win-win.”

Sarah Sebastian, meeting planner and owner at Rose Gold Collective, an experiential agency, says finding a local charity to tie into an event is a nice way to give back and share social impact.

“Choosing local vendors, minority businesses and other specialty vendors are also great ways to help support the community or town you are in and are proven to help keep the money in the community and support jobs,” Sebastian says.

Sebastian stresses the important role that meeting and events planners play in incorporating sustainability into the meeting and events they plan — regardless of the size. “We should all consider the waste and ways we can leave a space or community better after an event,” Sebastian says. “Even if our clients aren’t asking or bringing it up, it is up to us and our business to be aware and thoughtful of the impact we have. We have buying power.”

Sebastian always ensures the meetings or events her firm plans don’t have Styrofoam products being used. “We are producing higher-end events so we have control on what the glassware looks like, what items we are asking for — so I think we should all have that mentality and ask questions to our venues and vendors. What are they doing to cut waste?” Sebastian says.

One of Carignan’s favorite sustainability examples was when meeting attendees were offered a stainless steel water bottle — both as a welcome gift and as a method to reduce the use of plastic water bottles. By implementing this with a group of 100 attendees at a three-day meeting, with the average attendee consuming 2.5 bottles of water per day, Carignan and her team could prevent the use of 750 plastic water bottles.

“This strategy presents a great opportunity for increasing logo awareness while potentially saving money through the one-time cost of an environmentally friendly water bottle,” Carignan says.

Go Paperless

Many of Brightspot’s clients have implemented paperless meetings. Advances in technology have made it easy to get rid of the 100-page binder full of speaker bios, agendas and PowerPoint printouts. And, as Blank explains, an ‘app’ is a great way to ensure that everyone has the most up-to-date meeting information and no reprints are needed as agendas change.

Not sure your audience is ready to go paperless? Blank recommends printing a small agenda that can be folded and slipped into the back of a name badge as a baby step. Also print an app download instruction card that can be sent with pre-event documents or handed out at check-in.

“My favorite way to help ease people into app usage is to set up an onsite app concierge desk,” Blank says. “When getting checked in, we ask if the attendee has downloaded the app. If the answer is no, we direct them to the app concierge desk where we have staff available to help download and navigate the app. People want to participate, they just need someone to help make it less intimidating.”

At Cvent’s recent internal companywide event, the company gave away customized S’well bottles that more than 1,400 employees could use throughout the day to fill with water rather than using plastic and paper cups. “Conference or event swag is also a big ticket item. Many of these swag items are cheap and end up in the trash and landfills,” Andrews says. “By giving our employees the S’well bottles rather than other less expensive branded tchotchkes that wouldn’t be used, we were able to reduce our waste, while also giving our team something that they would use every day.”

And because food waste is a considerable issue for meetings and events of all sizes, at Cvent CONNECT, the meeting planners also work closely with the catering and banquet teams to present buffet items in a way that reduces overfilling — and thus, wasting — of food during meal breaks.

Luckily, more hotels and venues are offering other programs to avoid food waste. For example, hotels will take food that hasn’t made it to the show floor and will package and distribute it to approved providers who deliver to local area food banks. “Such programs are increasingly becoming a priority for venues and planners alike,” Andrews says.

Ask the Right Questions

Working with suppliers, vendors and destinations who are using “best practices” in greening meetings also is important to many meeting and event professionals’ overall sustainability vision. Whether it’s a facility, ground transportation, use of rental goods, audio/visual and even entertainment, stewardship is key to being as carbon-neutral as possible.

“Collaboration throughout the industry is also helping drive growth — other individuals in this field can help you determine what materials and/or goods your meeting may be able to donate after the event,” Carignan says. “It’s a question I believe every meeting planner should be asking to see what options there may be.”

When choosing a ‘green’ locale some key questions that should be asked include:

• Going ‘green’ with the 3 Rs [Recycle, Reuse and Repurpose], means meaningful goals — What are your next action steps?
• Have you transitioned overhead lighting and A/V equipment to ‘green bulbs’ to reduce impact on energy consumption?
• What percentage do you recycle, and are containers visible for guests to use and sort waste?
• Do you research and source locally grown produce, goods and products during menu planning?

Shel Horowitz, owner of Going Beyond Sustainability and author of Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green, specializes in green and ethical marketing strategies. He recommends meeting planners include green features in the venue evaluation criteria such as:

• Does the venue promote using solar, wind and geothermal for water heating and/or electricity?
• Does it promote using water-saving faucets and shower heads?
• Does it have windows that open?
• Does it have key-activated, in-room electricity that shuts off when the room is empty?
• Does it have super insulation?
• Does it have lots of oxygen-releasing plants in the atrium?
• Does it use natural rather than chemical pest control?
• Does it have earth-friendly landscaping with walking trails?
• Does it use full-spectrum LED or compact fluorescent lighting?
• Does it utilize natural sunlight where possible?

“Attendees will actually feel better at a venue like that, too,” Horowitz says. “Fresh air and natural light create a sense of well-being — and they’ll want to come back for their next conference.”

Blank suggests checking with CVBs and choosing a destination that supports sustainability, has great access to public transportation or allows attendees to walk to local restaurants and shopping areas. “Choose a hotel that recycles. Better yet, choose a green-certified hotel,” Blank says.

Other suggestions include placing recycling bins in the meeting space, collecting and recycling name badges, not using pre-set water at the functions and using water bottle refill stations.

Horowitz also recommends meeting planners encourage transportation sharing. “It’s pretty easy for meeting planners to set up a web page to match people needing and offering rides,” Horowitz says. “A car consumes almost as much fuel with one person onboard as it does with four, and the other resources consumed, such as time, impact on traffic flow, parking, etc., are constant no matter how many passengers are in the vehicle. Thus, if a driver gets three riders, the environmental impact is reduced by nearly 75 percent. If people are flying in for the event, coordinating airport pickups to maximize vehicle occupancy is another green option.”

Horowitz suggests planners also put “green” on the agenda. If the event theme lends itself to it, encourage the organizer to incorporate green speakers into the platform — and green messaging in the program. “This could include all the steps they’re taking to reduce the footprint of the conference, and everything else the organization is doing beyond the conference, as well as things the attendees can do to reduce their own impact at the conference and when they get home,” Horowitz says. “And suggest green side trips such as a local organic farm or recycling center.”

Down the Road

Meeting planners who take steps to become more environmentally friendly often find that the benefits of “green business” go far beyond contributing to a healthier planet. They also make for a healthier bottom line.

And while consumers may be getting tired of the green speak continually being discussed throughout a myriad of industries, experts agree the green movement is here to stay. Also, if handled correctly, embracing the sustainability within the meeting and events industry can be a powerful advantage in today’s environmentally focused economy.

While strong environmental initiatives are beginning to gain the upper hand within the meetings industry, attendees also are demanding companies show the steps they are taking to become more sustainable and renewable. How can they do this? Companies can train meeting and event planners to think about sustainability through all facets of the meeting and events planning process or be trained to put sustainability frameworks into practice to capitalize on current demands for “green” products and services.

“Sustainable practices are now often the norm in our everyday lives,” Andrews says. “We are used to dividing trash into multiple bins at the local Starbucks. Food and beverage labels at grocery stores highlight sustainable practices to encourage awareness. It often takes that kind of broad implementation for something to find its way into other industries such as meetings and events. When we expect a certain level of sustainability in our personal lives, we then expect that in our professional setting as well.”

Of course, with growing awareness about the effects of humankind’s current habits on wildlife and oceans, hotels and venues are becoming more interested in committing to new initiatives to help reduce waste. “If every company eliminated just one unsustainable component from their meetings, such as plastic straws, plastic water bottles or Styrofoam cups, we could significantly impact the carbon footprint of corporate events,” Carignan says.

And while the meetings and events industry is still in the very early stages of making meetings and events truly sustainable, Andrews says event planners need to drive awareness and ask for more sustainable options from our partners and vendors. “Many hotel and venues offer a variety of green initiatives — it’s our social responsibility to ask about them,” Andrews says. “There is so much opportunity and as sustainability practices become even more ingrained into our daily lives, I have no doubt that it will continue to positively impact the meetings and events industry.” C&IT

Some chefs are seeing a newfound focus on beverages such as bourbon and scotch, craft beers, molecular drinks, mocktails and cocktails with pearl caviar and infused and injected drinks.

Trends come and go, and that’s as true for and beverage (F&B) as anything else. Remember when kale and cake pops were king and using liquid nitrogen to wow attendees was everywhere?

So what’s trending today, and does it matter to chefs and planners? In a word — yes.

Edward Perotti, CMP, CMM, director of global events with Pure Storage, says, “100 percent, yes. It’s important to keep up with the latest food trends,” adding that he depends on venue chefs to keep on top of them.

“I communicate the look and feel of the event to the chef, then give him/her free reign to show me what can work that aligns with the event and is within the budget, etc.” One caution, he adds,“is to not go toward a trend at a business event without making sure it fits the goals of the event or even culture of the organization.”

“For so long, F&B events were turnkey, and rarely did you do something out of the box. Today, ‘out of the box’ is becoming an everyday thing. I’m beyond excited and inspired.”
Edward Perotti

Creativity is Returning

What really excites Perotti, however, is the creativity chefs and mixologists are bringing back to the art of entertaining. “For so long, F&B events were turnkey, and rarely did you do something out of the box. Today, ‘out of the box’ is becoming an everyday thing. I’m beyond excited and inspired.”

Like others, Perotti sees changes in special-request meals. “Vegetarian options have evolved to the level of fabulous meals. Now if we can just get the other special-meal options to that point. When hotels have a chef that’s creative and open, and they let him/her do what they do best, the product is an experience,” he says. “Take Chef Michael at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square. He’s so creative and driven by the guest experience, and his dining experience shows it.”

And there’s no reason, Perotti notes, not to serve “special” foods to everyone. “As a work- and cost-saving measure, how about doing halal beef for everyone or gluten-free pasta as the choice for all meals? Special-request foods are at a point where the product is really good, so you can serve it to everyone and take the notion of specific food areas off the table, so to speak.”

Seafood, too, is changing. “The go-to seafood in my mind is out. I believe the popular, done-to-death fish like salmon, swordfish and tuna will fade away and we’ll see fish entrées made with less common catering-world fish such as cod, trout or even triggerfish. These are more sustainable and the preparation options are fun.”

“And give me bread,” Perotti says. “I’m glad to see it back. With the heritage grains, high-quality flours and ingredients and artisanal bread preparation, the idea of minimal bread options, or the notion that it’s a boring add-on, is going away.”

Chefs are also Teaching

Culinary education as part of the meeting experience is also increasing.

“I’m thrilled that many chefs are weaving in options for education and interactive food-and-drink experiences. There’s a price tag for this, but it is a great way to engage guests, give them an up-leveled F&B experience and, with a little imagination, weave it into your event messaging.”

Perotti says craft cocktails as part of the dining and engagement trend at events has gained momentum but has challenges. “It’s a costly line item in budgets. And many venues don’t have the catering/mixology talent or capacity to create craft cocktails for large-scale events. Additionally, in the corporate world, shying away from full open bars to just beer and wine is on the rise due to corporate liabilities. Get guidance from your legal and human resources teams on where they stand,” he cautions, “before you give that CEO his open bar.”

As for sustainable practices, that’s core to Perotti’s job. “I’m not seeing guests or attendees asking for local. I believe they don’t because, as a planner, it’s part of my professional brand to advocate and provide local and sustainable foods. I don’t believe guests or attendees should ask, it should just be. I see this as part of my role to make it a priority for my guests, attendees and organizations. I’m a huge supporter of the communities and locations in which we host our events. We, as the planning community, have the ability to do much to help local economies as well as the environment, just within our food programs. I don’t, and will never, see a reason to NOT follow sustainable practices.”

Planner Relies on Chefs for Ideas

Jessica Rife, CMP, senior events manager with E Source, also believes in delivering new experiences to attendees, including exciting and innovative F&B concepts. “I absolutely rely on chefs and hotels to guide this discussion and bring new ideas to the table.”

She calls the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel among the best at that. “I’m always excited to sit down with them and hear their ideas for our events.”

The top five trends Rife sees are farm-to-table, locally sourced foods, new plant-based proteins, mocktails and a demand for flavored sparkling waters. Additionally, requests for vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free meals are up, but she doesn’t see a decline in meat. “People like to have options,” she says. “They want more proteins and fruits and vegetables, but balance is important. They still enjoy a fun treat such as a doughnut wall.”

As for global foods, she says they can be risky to serve to a large group, yet people are branching out and embracing more global options. “Last year, we had a ramen station created by Chef Skomal at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel; people loved it and were lining up.”

Sharon Purewal, DMCP, managing partner at 360 Destination Group, a San Francisco-based DMC, says her clients are generally sophisticated and well-traveled, and one way to surprise them is via technology.

“We now have options like drone delivery of beverages, robot-made coffee, edible cocktail printing and  molecular bites. We’re also seeing a trend in 3D dining and projection mapping on dining tables. It’s all about heightening the senses in new ways.”

Requests for special meals are up at Purewal’s events as well. “At times we may be asked to provide up to 30 percent special meals for seated dinners. If we’re doing an event with food stations, we have to make sure to have a diverse enough menu to satisfy most needs — and make sure everything is labeled.”

There’s Still a Place for Meat

While creative non-meat options are up, meat, she says, has not disappeared. “Many chefs are designing more complex and unique plant-based offerings. However, we have yet to have a group not offer a meat course. But when we do food-station events, we can take more liberty in offering a creative vegetarian station and really showcasing the skills of the chef.”

While not new, connecting people to local purveyors of food is still on trend. “From the attendee perspective, there’s definitely a greater interest in where the food is coming from,” Purewal says. “We partner with organizations like The Cheese School of San Francisco to offer interactive, immersive food experiences where guests can ask questions and learn about their food from origin to plate.”

Purewal also likes to invite local producers — farmers, wine makers, brewers, etc. — to events to mingle with the guests. “They may be at a food station to answer questions one-on-one. Or they speak to the group as a whole as their course is being served,” she says.

Cocktails, Mocktails and Beer

Learning about beer and cocktails is increasingly important to attendees, too. “We’re still serving a lot of wine,” Purewal says, “but there’s interest in expanding the palate and learning how to pair other beverages. For example, The Cheese School offers a wonderful beer and cheese pairing. It’s a great education and allows us to showcase local artisan cheesemakers and brewers.”

Additionally, Purewal notes, there’s a trend of offering creative non-alcoholic drinks including “mocktails made with the freshest ingredients used in unexpected ways to create fusions people wouldn’t think of on their own.”

Rheanna Binkley, venue and events manager at The Cheese School of San Francisco, which offers hands-on, interactive, educational corporate and team-building events, does see an increase in meat requests.

“Some of our regular clients keep requesting additional meat items for their groups. This may be due to the ‘keto diet’ trend. What we’ve noticed about vegetarians is that they’re being more curious about the source of food items and inquiring about animal byproducts such as rennet, which is in a lot of cheese. It seems the trend may be the emergence of the more educated vegetarian.”

Additionally, she says, the definition of “healthy” has changed. “For decades ‘healthy’ meant low-fat, low-salt and veggies. With the rise of slow food challenging the industrialization of food and the value we now see in knowing where our food comes from, many of our clients are embracing whole fats, animal products and real sugar.”

It’s storytelling, however, that really excites Binkley. “We’ve noticed an upswing in themes and requests for stories to be told through food,” she says. “Whether it’s a six-course meal based on a revolutionary product launch or recreating a ‘magical cheese moment’ a client had while traveling, the opportunity to give guests a unique experience with food is what gets us excited.”

A Chef/Planner Bond is Ideal

A planner’s relationship with a creative chef can drive more than menus. Shannon Wilson, owner of Know Forte, LLC, says Chef Ken at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, is the reason she set a second meeting at the hotel. “He created a break [meal] with pecans multiple ways as we had a keynote speaker from [Green Valley Pecan Company]. Next day he did beef jerky five ways for break food. He was a huge hit with the attendees.”

The resort also offers F&B-related interactive activities, which fits well with Wilson’s clients. “What makes people want to come to events I organize is based on how they remember experiencing it, which is often a combination of activities focused around eating and drinking. If I don’t provide something fun, exciting and creative, something they haven’t previously experienced, their impression and takeaway reflects that.”

Chefs, she says, play a major role in providing lasting impressions. “I need chefs to be creative and adventurous while tailoring to local flavors and the audience. If the first meal/beverage starts on the wrong foot, it’s hard to overcome that.”

Wilson says the concept of alcohol pairings has also changed. “There are new flavors evolving, such as more interest in global cuisine, adding whiskeys to sauces and international flavors to provide a whole pairing experience and depth of flavor beyond traditional uses.”

She’s also seeing creative ways to use cuts of meat rarely found in grocery stores but that previous generations used, and more interest in smoking and curing.

Attendees, too, are interested in keeping up with the latest trends, Wilson notes. As an example, she organized a hands-on cooking demo based around the sous-vide cooking method, something most home cooks don’t use. It was a hit.

“People have more interest in knowing where their food comes from and how it’s prepared. They pay attention to flavor profiles,” Wilson says. “It’s fun to learn something new with a familiar ingredient.”

And her clients want healthy options. ”The days of ‘doughnut/pastry’ breaks are gone for the level of attendees I organize. They don’t want pre-packaged snacks or foods. Attendees expect fresh foods and more often they want protein — foods that satiate and fuel them rather than a quick-fix that causes a sugar spike and then a crash. I can select lean beef choices, which have unlimited flavor opportunities, so they never get boring.”

Wilson is a strong believer in drawing from the region when creating meal and break menus. More than locally grown, she says, her attendees want local flavor. “If attendees arrive at my event and are presented with the same food they have at home, it’s not a destination experience for them. Ingredients don’t have to be sourced within a certain radius to provide local flavor. Food and beverages can be prepared to add a local flavor or touch without being grown right there. It’s more about providing a destination experience and relying on chefs to know and understand local food flavors.”

What the Chefs Say

David Daniel, executive sous chef at JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes

Storytelling, Daniel says, has become increasingly important. “Locally inspired is not enough anymore. It needs to be story-driven also.”

Other trends he sees include more plant-based substitutions, nutritional notes on menus and cleaner presentations. As for beverages, he sees a focus on bourbon and scotch, craft beers, molecular drinks, cocktails with pearl caviar and infused and injected drinks.

Interactivity also continues to trend. “I believe we have a great opportunity in focusing on executing events with an interactive and social approach of guest perspective, involving the guest being a part of the meal and interacting with the food.”

Sustainability is paramount. “Anything disposable should be compostable.” Daniel says the property partners with Harvest Power, which converts food waste to energy. In the past, the program has diverted as much as 195 tons of food waste from landfills.

Michael Vaughn, executive chef at Hilton San Francisco Union Square

Vaughn also points to storytelling, “It’s about customization. We ask more questions to learn about the concept, the purpose and end goals for the event. We then translate the information into the décor and cuisine, etc. We like to say, ‘Your story, our flavors.’”

He sees an intersection of global cuisine, healthy eating and environmental responsibility. “Our menu designs have an intensified healthy balance to them, offering cuisine from around the world with an emphasis on plant-based accents and environmental responsibility. As an example, we’ve developed a vegan, gluten-free cauliflower ravioli that’s extremely versatile to design around.”

He says air frying, dehydration, algae, mocktails with a creative culinary component and ghee, a clarified butter used in Indian cooking are on the rise, while use of traditional food stations is declining. With his region so tech driven, his team has tapped into that. “We’ve worked in some fantastic performances. We’re using infrared grills, NuWave ovens, siphons and handheld smokers to name a few. Gone are the days of simple carving stations.”

By partnering with a local grower, Vaughn says, farm-to-table evolves. “We design what we want for a flavor profile, search the world of seeds they plant and 12-15 days later we have incorporated these in our menus for guests to enjoy.”

As for sustainable practices, Vaughn notes a team sorts through all discards at the hotel, resulting in an award-winning program of landfill diversion.

Chris Clark, F&B director, Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel

One trend that’s increasing he says is buying and using unusual but usable fruits and vegetables. Blemished produce is perfect for pies, purees and sauces, and, Clark says, helps decrease food waste. “One reason for the trend is that this produce is now much easier to get from national suppliers.”

Mushrooms have a new popularity according to Clark, including mushroom jerky, which he calls a great stand-alone break food. Mushroom- and truffle-infused spirits and cocktails are also on the rise, as is growing mushrooms in-house. “They’re not only a cool display piece but a great show when your action-station chefs are clipping and cooking in front of guests.”

Infusions are also trending. Clark says butter infusions and CBD-infused snacks and drinks, such as sparkling waters, are also gaining popularity. “And no, these will not get you high.”

As for global cuisine, Clark is seeing a rise in authentic Oaxacan and Michoacán cuisines from Mexico, which notably pair insect protein with spirits. “There’s mezcal and insect pairings and the taste is way better than you can imagine,” Clark says. “Dried and seasoned crickets — ‘chapulines’ — and pisco are another trending pairing.”

Among the front-and-center beverage trends are low- or non-alcohol options, flavored seltzers and local cold-pressed juices. Additionally, he says, IPAs are out, lagers are in and milk bars are a thing. “Almond, cashew, coconut and oat milk sharing real estate with half-and-half, low-fat and skim milk will soon be the new norm.”

One sustainable practice gaining traction is straw alternatives — straws made of bamboo or durum-wheat pasta. Clark notes, “Some places are making their own pasta straws now.”

Doug Connor, senior vice president, Centerplate

Chefs at venues managed by Centerplate are seeing an increase in special-request meals. “Our guests are more diet-conscious than ever before, and it’s our responsibility to offer something delicious for everyone. In time, the market for plant-based meat will not be just vegans or vegetarians; it will be meat-eaters, too,” Connor says.

Among the major trends Connor is seeing include fermented foods such as kombucha; adding more seeds to foods; exotic citrus including yuzu, bergamot and pomelos; and herbs such as lemon verbena, savory and caraway flower.

Matt Walbaum, executive chef, Levy Restaurants

Walbaum says convention center menus have evolved in keeping with expectations. “Before you might have seen the same vegetables on your plate year round. We now bring in local and seasonal ingredients and prepare them with real care and expertise. Meeting planners want their guests to get a true sense of the city they’re in, so we keep that in mind when designing our menus and seek to celebrate the local market in our menus.”

He says he’s also seeing more Thai, Vietnamese and Indian foods. “Plant-based protein options are growing among vegetarians but also among those who are thinking about the health and environmental impact of their diets,” Walbaum says. “Craft beers and coffee roasters with signature proprietary blends are popular in our centers. Fresh-baked goods from in-house bakeries are a point of difference at Levy’s convention centers.”

Walbaum also notes that some Levy centers have gardens or bee farms onsite — living walls are a trend and reducing food waste is a priority.

While keeping up with trends is important, he says, “There’s something magical about taking classic dishes and adding a new twist. Turning those dishes into something new and spectacular is truly rewarding and a whole lot of fun.” C&IT

While Italy remains a popular foreign destination, planners are also interested in alternative destinations a little more off the beaten path.

Proving that overseas meeting and incentive events are no mere exotic sideshow, a new report by Allied Market Research projects that the global Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) industry is growing at a rate of 7.5 percent annually. The group market wing of the tourism industry is rising from $752 billion in 2016 to $1.2 trillion by 2023.

Tried-and-true sites such as Las Vegas and Orlando still tend to dominate lists of top destinations overall, but places such as Cancun, Toronto, London and Singapore are grabbing an ever-growing piece of the pie. With demand for U.S. hotels exceeding supply and costs rising apace, foreign destinations may offer attractive opportunities.

American Express M&E projects a 2.41 percent increase in North American hotel room rates for groups, but just 1.6 percent in Europe, 1.1 percent in the Asia-Pacific region and less than 1 percent in Latin America. Also of note: The CWT Meetings & Events 2019 Trends Report expects that costs per attendee/day will actually decline 4 percent in the Asia-Pacific region in 2019.

But for U.S.-based meeting planners accustomed to the accessibility, logistics and ease of planning a meeting or incentive close to home, an international destination is not for the faint of heart.

Seek Advice from Seasoned Professionals

“Get with someone who knows what they’re doing,” says Kim Hester, senior account executive for Irvine, CA-based JNR Incorporated. “Make no assumptions that things will run the way they do at home.”

Hester knows from firsthand experience the kinds of unique circumstances a program in a foreign country can spark.

“Get with someone who knows what they’re doing, Make no assumptions that things will run the way they do at home.”
Kim Hester

Hester was aboard a Windstar Mediterranean cruise two years ago when a member of her group suffered a massive heart attack just as the ship was sailing out of the harbor at Kotor, Montenegro. The captain dropped a tender boat for a two-minute trip to a nearby hospital, but as it reached shore, the guest died.

“I knew if it was established that he died on land it would take weeks to get him out of Montenegro,” Hester says. “But if he died on the ship, it would be in international waters, and no problem. So I got the ship doctor to document that the guy died on the water, not on land. We had the remains out of Montenegro and on the way back to the family funeral in Texas within 48 hours.”

“If you don’t know how to get a body out of Montenegro, don’t be afraid to ask,” Hester adds. “If you have true expertise on your side, you’ll have the resources to guide you through those kinds of situations.”

Destinations for Unique Experiences

Patricia Silvio, global marketing manager for the international DMC Pacific World, says that interest in new destinations and unique experiences has increased significantly during the past few years.

“The appeal for U.S.-based companies to host events overseas is the chance to experience different cultures and unique offerings from around the world,” says Silvio, whose company works with a wide range of industries, such as technology, insurance, healthcare, education and finance. “They continue to value the importance of face-to-face meetings and events (M&E), but every industry sector is looking for out-of-the-box and localized experiences in M&E. For example, meeting attendees are showing a growing desire to connect with the local culture and experience the destination through the stories and experiences of the locals.”

Peter Lombard, CEO and founder of Globe Guides, concurs.

“Getting people outside of their comfort zone changes the way they engage with one another; how they engage with learning,” Lombard says. “And a couple of my clients have said that just having their team in a different time zone allows them to disconnect from home and focus on the content or the experiences at hand. They’re not checking their cell phones. Instead, they’re trying food they’ve never had before.”

Hester says despite bubbling trade wars and diplomatic tussles, the climate is right today for international meetings and incentives. “There’s always going to be a certain number of people who are afraid of travel outside the country. But there’s also intense curiosity; the younger generation is less timid. Most people want to get out there and experience the world, and they’re wanting more and more off-the-beaten-track destinations.”

Getting There

What makes for a good international meeting or incentive destination? Several factors should play into the final choice, starting with where the attendees are based.

“If it takes two stops to get there, they’re not going,” Hester says. “It’s really important to have good air access.” Having a group fly halfway around the world for an event means people will be exhausted for the first day or two. “I make sure they understand flight distances. People get excited about going to Australia, but if they want to do an incentive for four or five nights I tell them the flight time has to be proportionate to the amount of time for the program.”

For Michael Lambert, travel account manager, operations with Maritz Travel, airlift to Australia was an important consideration for an incentive he plans annually for a financial institution catering to the Latin market in the Americas. Fortunately, air service to Sydney has grown considerably over the last decade.

“We had 350 attendees coming from the Caribbean, Central and South America, as well as from the U.S. But I could funnel them through Dallas, L.A. or even Santiago, Chile.”

Australia is still a long flight, and a bucket-list destination for many. In addition to recommending at least four nights, Lambert says planners should expect a lot of requests for extensions. “I think that’s something a lot of us don’t anticipate.”

It’s also important to understand the culture of the company and how it relates to the destination, Lombard says. “It’s not about whether Morocco is better than Italy — one might work for one company, the other works for another. Some groups may want a more remote experience someplace like Cambodia or Myanmar, or I can give you a more polished experience in downtown Singapore or Bangkok.”

Clients need to understand that many destinations do not operate the way they may be used to at home. Cuba is currently trendy, but amenities to which travelers are accustomed, such as air conditioning or cell phone and internet access, are not widely available.

James LaValle, LA-based manager of MICE for the Hong Kong Tourism Board, recommends meeting planners researching their first overseas event should start with a user-friendly destination.

“Hong Kong certainly is,” LaValle says. “They can go into Hong Kong with a little more sense of familiarity. It’s a user-friendly destination but has enough unique cultural appeal to be very exciting for its visitors. And with the increased focus on China lately, Hong Kong provides access to China without being in China, with all of its limitations. Negotiating and contracting in Hong Kong are very easy, there’s no taxes, VAT, GST or otherwise, and there’s no visa required. Those visas can not only take a lot of time, but can also require a lot of funds to secure.”

Costs of Various Destinations

“In New Zealand, the U.S. dollar is very strong, so it’s a great value for us,” Hester says. “Ireland and Thailand also offer great value. Vietnam and Cambodia are just plain dirt cheap. There are some places that are expensive, such as Scandinavia, but you get a lot for your money.”

Airfare can be a particular concern for planners looking overseas, but with a glut of seats flying over the Pacific today, some far-flung destinations can be cheaper than stateside options. One example: Thailand.

For sheer exoticism on a big-city scale, Bangkok is hungry for business and wants to showcase its meetings options. Software provider SDL weighed several options for a leadership summit held last year. Following events in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and North America-South America (NASA) regions, Jessica Connolly, senior manager, corporate events & marketing with SDL, says cost was “the outstanding factor” in selecting Bangkok as the host for the 150-person meeting.

“Coupled with the quality and cost of the location, Bangkok was a top choice,” Connolly says. The city provides attendees a decidedly foreign place where English is a common second language, there’s a vibrant culture, and five-star hotels offer excellent value for money.”

Sumate Sudasna, president of the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA) agrees that Bangkok is a great destination.

“Thai hospitality is second to none,” Sudasna says, adding that Bangkok is known as the city of smiles. “Bangkok is ideal for people who want something different but also desire American-style comfort.”

LaValle acknowledged that Hong Kong is at the upper end of the pricing sphere for the Asia-Pacific region, with Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok at the lower end. “But we are also a Tier 1 global financial center,” LaValle adds. “Compared to similar Tier 1 cities like London or New York, we’re relatively affordable.”

LaValle recommends that planners looking to shave costs work with the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

“We’re here to help planners identify lower cost options, if necessary” says LaValle, who suggests planners look beyond the brand names they know. “National brand hotels in international destinations can be of a higher standard than their domestic counterparts with prices reflecting that. Instead, price-conscious clients can look to the Asian brands for value. Harbour Plaza Hotels & Resorts and Regal Hotels International are two examples of really good solutions in Hong Kong for planners with a tighter budget.”

Another area where planners can find unpleasant budget surprises is currency fluctuation.

“You’ve got to time your currency buys correctly,” Hester suggests. “You can get caught buying [in] the wrong direction.”

But sometimes the best-laid plans can still go awry, and Hester says one country stands out for her as overpriced.

“Without a doubt, Iceland. It’s a wonderful, wonderful place, but their success in tourism has exploded. A decade ago it they received just a few hundred thousand visitors, last year it was 2.3 million. That demand has driven prices up astronomically, and it’s now one of the most expensive places in the world. I took a program to Iceland last summer and everyone had a great time — but it was insanely expensive. We went way over budget.”

Popular Destinations

Spain, Thailand and China sit atop Pacific World’s 2019 list of the top destinations based on the number of requests received. Silvio says her company finds that the destinations ranking highest all have strong convention bureaus and a clear destination development strategy as well as modern infrastructure and convenient access.

“For example, motivated by the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games, the Paris region committed to enhancing the visitor experience backed by a 23-million euro investment plan which will greatly boost France as both a tourist and MICE destination,” Silvio says. “Nearby Monaco has recently completed a major renovation of the Casino Square area, including a restored 5-star Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo and the addition of the One Monte-Carlo conference center. Monaco also attracts incentive programs due to its location between France and Italy, giving attendees the opportunity to visit three countries in one trip.”

To look ahead for emerging MICE destinations, Silvio says Pacific World follows government investments in infrastructure and development, leisure travel trends, social media and more.

“The goal is to find emerging destinations that satisfy the needs of a new generation of planners as well as re-energize the interest of experienced travelers, all of whom are looking for new, exceptionally curated experiences.”

One country Silvio says has been showing steady growth, particularly from the U.S. market, is Peru, a country that offers three diverse regions: the coast, the highlands and the jungle, creating a range of climates, landscapes, textures and flavors.

“They’ve made important infrastructure changes and investments and have proactively courted MICE planners in the U.S.,” Silvio says. “The opening of a new convention center in Lima in 2015 was a game-changer and the city is now able to host large-scale events.”

Other places Silvio identifies as tomorrow’s emerging MICE targets include Bhutan, Namibia, the Greater Bay of South China, Bordeaux in France and Bodrum, Turkey.

For planners like Hester, up-and-coming options such as these are ripe for discovery.

“When it comes to the classic European cities, more and more people have ‘been-there, done-that,’” Hester says. “Quite a few places in France and Italy are getting loved to death. People are getting away from classical Europe and the traditional capitals. They want to see more of the countryside. Today people want to see Puglia, on the heel of Italy’s boot, which is like Tuscany on the ocean — beautiful, but not as crowded.”

Other European destinations Hester recommends include Northern Ireland and Malta. For meeting and incentive planners with open minds, the world is truly your oyster. C&IT