The Lodge, one of four housing options at Sea Island Resort on Georgia’s coast.

While a natural choice for incentive programs, luxury properties have a broader appeal in the meeting planning world. A four- or five-star lodging choice can be appropriate for a board of directors meeting or other high-end gathering involving the C-suite. On the client-facing side, it can be the kind of setting that impresses customers (or potential customers) and conveys the quality of the host company’s brand. And the reward aspect of a luxury property need not be restricted to incentive programs: Splendid surroundings and amenities effectively reward a company’s associates at the annual meeting, for example.

Meeting on the Lake

With that perspective in mind, Lowe Boats has partnered with the Chateau on the Lake Resort, Spa & Convention Center in Branson, Missouri, for the last three installments of its Annual Boat Dealer Meeting. Approximately 300 of the Lebanon, Missouri-based company’s dealers attended, and “the luxurious feel of the Chateau makes our show a reward for our dealers’ hard work,” says Beverly Ramsey, marketing manager, Lowe Boats. “It’s important that they feel they are appreciated with plush accommodations, wonderful meals and entertainment during our new product show. Some add days on the front end or the back end to make it a true vacation.”

Chateau on the Lake Resort, Spa & Convention Center, located in the picturesque Ozark Mountains, certainly has luxury credentials, having received the AAA Four Diamond Award for 18 consecutive years. Offering 301 newly refurbished guest rooms and 43,500 sf of meeting space, the resort has been a nice fit for the Lowe Boats group, while its full-service marina on Table Rock Lake accommodates the boats. “The convenience of the marina to the beautiful accommodations at the Chateau make it a perfect location,” Ramsey says. “We put 20 new boat models at the marina for the dealers to try out. With our show and boats on the water, lots of dealers take advantage of that time to try and run as many of the new models that they can. Other dealers enjoy the pool and The Library when not in a training session or meeting.”

Yet another context in which a luxury property can be ideal is the celebration of a company milestone. Last year was Lowe Boats’ 45th anniversary, and a property like the Chateau was ideal for the momentous occasion — not only in terms of amenities, but also service.

“We wanted to have a huge cake with our 45th anniversary logo on display to celebrate,” Ramsey relates. “Every bakery had limitations on their oven space. The staff at Chateau found someone who would build this huge display cake out of Styrofoam, and complete it with icing and our logo. Everyone commented how great the cake looked. Then they rolled it in the back while the wait staff served cake from sheet cakes to our guests. Everyone assumed they were eating the cake that was on display.”

To round out the celebration, the awards dinner was followed by live entertainment at the resort’s outdoor pool and a fireworks display.

Mountain Luxury

Also partnering with a luxury hotel for non-incentive meetings is Boston Scientific Corporation, a Marlborough, Massachusetts-based medical device company. The legendary Broadmoor, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has hosted several small conferences for the company in addition to a 400-attendee annual sales meeting in January 2016.

For the annual meeting, participants “fly in from all across the country, and we have a global contingent that comes to this meeting as well,” says Mike Jones, vice president of sales for the company. “The luxury part of the resort makes people feel this is a really impressive spot. Comments from surveys included, ‘Wow, what a venue to have the annual sales meeting in!’ ” That kind of reaction led Boston Scientific to rebook The Broadmoor for its 2019 annual meeting.

“The luxury part of the Broadmoor makes people feel this is a really impressive spot. Comments from surveys included, ‘Wow, what a venue to have the annual sales meeting in!’ ”
— Mike Jones

Situated at the gateway to the Colorado Rockies, The Broadmoor and surrounding area is “a really desirable place to go, a very scenic resort and location,” says Jones. “But more important is how the local team works with us, making our entire team feel welcome.” The resort also makes the sales group feel more connected with numerous teambuilding opportunities, from bowling to paintball to hiking.

Indeed, this luxury resort is just as suited to the outdoorsman as to the epicurean. “Depending on what your flavor is, whether you like luxury or wilderness, they have it for you,” says Jones. “So if instead of fine dining you want to go out and do flyfishing with a packed lunch, you can do that as well.” The 784-room resort offers three Wilderness Experience properties: The Ranch at Emerald Valley, Cloud Camp and Fishing Camp. The panoply of outdoor event spaces are part of an overall 185,000 sf of function space, including the 60,000-sf Broadmoor Hall and 62 meeting rooms.

Opened in 1918, The Broadmoor represents Colorado’s history as much as it does luxury. Last October, The Broadmoor introduced the refurbished Estate House, a 12,000-sf historic mansion ideal for groups looking for Great Gatsby-style elegance. Built in the 1920s, the home still features original woodwork, art and other period accents. A lavish grand parlor is suited to a cocktail reception of up to 120, private dinners for up to 60, or meetings. The refined dining room seats up to 16 and is serviced by The Broadmoor’s acclaimed culinary team. At the resort proper, groups can avail themselves of Colorado’s only Forbes Five Star, AAA Five Diamond restaurant, the Penrose Room. A five-star spa and fitness center is also onsite, as well as three championship golf courses.

From fish camp to fine dining, The Broadmoor exemplifies how “luxury” encompasses a range of unique offerings. Josh Lesnick, president and CEO of Associated Luxury Hotels, parent company of Associated Luxury Hotels International, notes, “Today’s luxury customer is truly changing and evolving, as are their needs. At Associated Luxury Hotels International, we work with so many spectacular independent luxury resorts and hotels, and each one has its own unique, special way of meeting and exceeding the needs of their guests. That is ultimately what it’s all about with today’s luxury customer. Delivering new and exciting experiences that truly feel personalized and deliver unexpected extra touches that create powerful memories.”

High-Demand Segment

As far as new hotels joining the luxury ranks in the U.S., there are relatively few in the pipeline, according to recent data from STR. In February 2017, there were 8,490 luxury-segment rooms in construction, which represents a 10.7 percent increase over February 2016. However, that compares to 27,457, 62,083 and 63,274 under construction, respectively, in the upper upscale, upscale and upper midscale segments for February 2017.

“We don’t have a lot of new builds going on in North America right now at the luxury level,” says Rhea Stagner, CIS, DVP, sourcing and supplier relations at Maritz Travel – A Maritz Global Events Company.

Combined with a high-demand market, the situation for planners often calls for booking as far in advance as possible — whether or not the luxury property is in a first-tier city. “The further out they can source the better, 18–24 months,” says Stagner. “That way they will have options for that meeting or incentive. Closer in, your options become more limited, regardless of whether it’s a tier-one or tier-two hotel.”

California Cachet

For example, Orange County, California, sees considerable demand from groups interested in luxury properties due to a constellation of resorts including the five-diamond Monarch Beach Resort, in Dana Point; five-star Montage Laguna Beach; five-diamond Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel; and the five-star, five-diamond Resort at Pelican Hill, in Newport. Maritz Travel has a significant history with the latter property, showing its versatility for more than just incentives. “We were one of their very first customers and had a strong relationship with their sales team prior to opening,” says Stagner. “We have done a little bit of everything there, from 20-person board of directors meetings to 20-person dealer owner meetings all the way up to 500-person incentives.”

The resort offers 204 opulently appointed bungalow guest rooms and suites with private terraces; 23,000 sf of function space; a five-star spa; and world-class restaurants, including Andrea, serving authentic Northern Italian cuisine. Pelican Hill Golf Club boasts 36 scenic holes by Tom Fazio; this spring, Pelican Hill Golf Academy debuted a new 3-D golf evaluation. Also onsite is the Coliseum Pool, an immense circular pool with tiered decks and luxurious cabanas.

Among the special events Stagner’s team has held for group clients of the resort is a “beautiful welcome reception at the Coliseum Pool with a stunning sunset view,” she describes. “The area is so beautiful with uplighting on the palm trees and gobo on the pool, it requires very little outside décor.” In addition, an awards ceremony and dinner in Mar Vista Ballroom presented “a stunning view and beautiful setting requiring minimum décor, which is a cost savings to the customer while the guests experience a memorable evening.”

Desert Jewel

Much like The Resort at Pelican Hill, many of Arizona’s luxury properties are known for connecting with their natural environment. The AAA Five Diamond Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, for example, is set against the backdrop of Arizona’s McDowell Mountains, in the heart of the Sonoran Desert. The Spanish colonial-style resort’s 750 rooms include 69 Fairmont Gold rooms and suites. Notable amenities include five heated swimming pools, the 44,000-sf Well & Being Spa and Bourbon Steak, the Four Diamond steakhouse by acclaimed chef Michael Mina. The resort opened an additional 102 guest rooms in summer 2016, yielding its current total. The expansion included three luxury suites, a new Sunset Beach pool, 35,000-sf Sunset Lawn and new Western town event venue. This summer, the resort will expand and renovate its 2,600-sf Fairmont Gold Meeting Center and add a new 1,000-sf breakout room. A sliding Nano-tec bifolding glass wall (with privacy blinds) opens the space to a 6,000-sf patio overlooking the TPC Golf Course and McDowell Mountains. It’s ideal for a small but high-end corporate meeting.

Las Vegas Winner

Another luxury option in the American West is Wynn Las Vegas. The Wynn name is practically synonymous with luxury: Wynn Resorts has received more Forbes Five Star Awards than any other independent hotel company in the world. And the brand is well attuned to the meetings market, with a combined 290,000 sf of function space between Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Las Vegas, paired with a total of 4,750 guest rooms.

Luxury shopping is among the distinctive experiences here with the 99,000-sf Wynn Esplanade and a luxury retail Strip-front expansion, Wynn Plaza, currently under construction and scheduled to debut the first quarter of 2018. The 7,000-sf Wynn Collection boutique, showcasing the work of fashion luminaries, has hosted many corporate groups who want a salon-like environment.

Another upscale space is the Chairman’s Salon, graced with crystal chandeliers, burnished chintz and a dramatic curving staircase. This March, Wynn Las Vegas introduced a new program of workshops led by Wynn experts throughout the resort, such as master chefs, sommeliers, mixologists and artisans. The program is an excellent opportunity for planners seeking to give their attendees an interactive experience with high-end craftsmanship in many of its forms.

Seaside Retreat

On the Southeast coast of the U.S. lies a resort that combines luxury with Southern hospitality. Georgia’s oceanfront Sea Island Resort, surrounded by five miles of private beach, is billed as the only resort in the world to achieve four Forbes Five Star awards nine years in a row. Sea Island Resort has enhanced an already top-tier product with the recent completion of a $40 million expansion, which added the new Garden Wing, with 63 guest rooms, and the new 5,000-sf Mizner Ballroom at The Cloister at Sea Island. With the new ballroom, Sea Island Resort offers groups 51,000 total sf of indoor and outdoor event space.

The Mediterranean-style Cloister — one of the resort’s four housing options along with The Lodge, Inn and Cottages — now offers 265 elegant accommodations featuring views of the Black Banks River and Atlantic Ocean. The Cloister, originally designed by famed Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner in 1928, encompasses the Sea Island Yacht Club, The Spa at Sea Island and The Sea Island Beach Club. The Cloister’s F&B venues also have been augmented with an 80-seat addition and redesign of Italian restaurant Tavola, and the debut of the new River Bar Lounge. Johnson Vann Interiors commissioned Georgia artist Steve Penley to create a vivid painting for the signature restaurant.

The Lodge at Sea Island, surrounded by the fairways of the Sea Island Golf Club, is an intimate 40-room hotel and golf clubhouse offering expansive ocean views. The 85-room Inn at Sea Island is on St. Simons Island — just across the largest salt marsh on the Eastern Seaboard — minutes from the Cloister. Finally there are about 130 Sea Island Cottages — from three to eight bed­rooms — available for rent.

Amenities include the 65,000-sf Spa at Sea Island, which also has garnered Forbes Five Star acclaim, and three championship golf courses and the Golf Performance Center. Out-of-the ordinary activities are available, such as the Sea Island Shooting School offering access to Rainbow Island Sporting Clays Course; and private beach horseback rides on the shore and along the dunes.

New York Icon

Striking interiors are commonplace at luxury properties, whether in the guest rooms, lobby or eateries. Perhaps no East Coast metropolitan hotel outdoes The Plaza in this respect. From the beaux arts-style, 4,800-sf Grand Ballroom where Truman Capote once entertained, to the Italian Renaissance ambience of The Terrace Room, to the Central Park-inspired Palm Court, The Plaza is home to a wealth of gathering venues beyond its 5,000 sf of meeting space.

“I do events all over the city at many of the hotels, but The Plaza of course is iconic,” remarks Lynn Silverman, chief executive planner at Manhattan-based Creative Event Planning. “The venues are so special; they’re each so different.” Major law firms are among the corporate groups Silverman has brought to The Plaza during her more than 20-year relationship with the property. “Luxury is key” for these groups, she says. “They want to treat their VIP clients with the utmost of care.”

Among many special event options, Silverman recommends a buyout of the 9,500-sf Todd English Food Hall, “which is a very popular spot with him being a celebrity chef. It’s great because it can be used for a dinner, but before dinner it can be used for a meeting. And you can have interactive experiences, such as pasta making,” she explains. Wine and spirits tasting and pairing, as well as sushi rolling are further culinary possibilities for groups at The Food Hall, which includes a 3,500-sf private dining room.

Having appeared in numerous films, The Plaza has deep ties with popular culture and evokes immediate recognition from meeting attendees worldwide. Eloise: A Book for Precocious Grown Ups “is probably read to every little girl growing up. People know about The Plaza since they’re knee high,” Silverman notes. All of which makes the hotel extremely marketable for many types of corporate events.

But even luxury resorts that are not on par with The Plaza in terms of renown can still garner fame with attendees. Post-event surveys are routinely laudatory with properties of this level. “We do a participant/guest survey for all of our programs, and consistently, Resort at Pelican Hill programs have rated a 4.9 on a 5-point scale,” Stagner says. “For an incentive program there a few weeks ago, one guest response was: ‘I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Pelican Hill. It spoiled me for all future hotel stays. They will all pale in comparison.’ ” Planners booking such a property should be aware they’re setting quite a precedent in hospitality for their groups. C&IT

Caesars Palace accommodates meetings large and small, from expansive ballrooms to the intimate Senate Boardroom (above).

It will not be a shock to anyone who has attended a meeting in Las Vegas that the city was named the World’s Leading Meeting & Conference Destination in the World Travel Awards. Four of the city’s hotels are listed among the top 10 U.S. properties in Cvent’s Top 100 Meeting Hotels list for 2017, and the city itself came in at No. 3 on Cvent’s Top 50 U.S. Meetings Destinations in 2016. For the 23rd year in a row, Las Vegas was named as the No. 1 trade show destination in the country by Trade Show News Network, with 57 of the 250 largest trade shows, which is more shows than the next two destinations — Orlando and Chicago — hosted combined. A record 6.3 million delegates traveled to Las Vegas in 2016 to attend meetings and conventions — with good reason.

The Nevada mecca has reinvented itself many times over the years, but positioning itself as the quintessential place to hold a meeting, convention or expo may be one of its most successful efforts. And yet, among those who aren’t so familiar with its merits, the city still suffers from the erroneous perception that it’s all play and no work. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, it offers many places and ways to play; however, business is serious business in Las Vegas, and that includes delivering a lot to corporations for the money spent.

Caesars Service

Angela Baer, CMP, corporate meeting planner with Caterpillar Inc., points to numerous reasons that Las Vegas worked well for CONEXPO/CON-AGG 2017, an event in March that drew 4,000-plus attendees. The base hotel for Caterpillar’s group was Caesars Palace.

To start, Baer says, the convention center is expansive enough to meet the needs of very large groups. But in addition, she adds, “Caesars Palace is also a good fit because our company can get all our attending employees, show workers, dealers and customers in the same hotel. It has enough sleeping rooms to accommodate our group size. We also have enough convention space at Caesars to do many functions and meetings; both Caterpillar and our dealers utilize this space.” In fact, Caterpillar held all of its functions and events at Caesars.

But it’s not just about the right size. Baer calls the Caesars space and staff “excellent” and points to the convenience of access to the company’s other properties. “You can utilize all 10 of the Caesars properties for events, which counts toward the F&B minimum. And there are lots of options in addition to basic meeting rooms and ballrooms.”

She says there is also a great deal of value added to having everyone in one place. “Networking opportunities are priceless, so getting my entire group into one hotel is key. We were able to negotiate a rate that allowed us to save money on sleeping rooms thereby allowing our guests to all be under one roof.”

None of this was surprising to Baer. “We’ve had an excellent relationship with Caesars for over 20 years,” she says. “But even so, if the service wasn’t there, we’d look elsewhere.”

There’s no need for that, however. “They are all incredible to work with and they make our team look good,” she says. “I’ve worked closely on several events with Frank Gregory and Mary Ferris in the catering department. Matt Waltersdorf and Marie Lee on the sales side are fantastic. And Jessica Roya in registrations is my saving grace!”

In terms of layout, Baer says, “Event space is the most accessible from the Palace tower. I always have staff stay there. It is actually being renovated as we speak, so soon it will be the most up-to-date tower Caesars has. I put my executives in the Augustus and Octavius towers, which are part of the Laurel Collection. These towers are VIP-driven and easily accessible for any security you may have. You don’t have to go through the casino to access them.”

She also notes that there is a venue for every need. “We have run the spectrum of events from small board meetings to full-on rock concerts. Ballrooms have tons of space for rigging, staging, etc. And the décor and function space are neutral and nice for events.”

For planners who have not been to the hotel, she says, “It’s huge. You will get your steps in staying here! But that’s true of any property that offers a large amount of space. I find Caesars easy to navigate once you get to know it. Convention space is in one area, the casino is in the middle, shops and restaurants are on one end and guest-room towers are located throughout.” In spite of its size, she says, “It’s nice as everything you need is right there.”

And the location works well for groups, too. “Caesars is very central, which is helpful for staff and guests. It’s easy walking distance to most locations on The Strip. And,” she adds, “Caesars convention staff will help with planning from beginning to end. I would recommend Caesars for large or small groups. Everyone will be made to feel like a VIP.”

Toyota set its Prius launch event at Caesars Palace and the Linq Hotel. Brian Hords, founder, o2 Creative Solutions, worked with Toyota on the 2015 event for 550 attendees.

“We chose the location based on a larger Toyota event that was happening concurrently. The company’s national dealer meeting was taking place at Mandalay Bay, a private event for its dealer network. We needed to be close in proximity, as the cars we were revealing needed to be at the other venue the next day. We were also looking for a highly visible and attractive location for the international press that Toyota was bringing in for this event,” he says.

Some media were housed at Caesars Palace. Others were at the Linq. Hords says the Linq was chosen “based on its central location on the Strip and its relative newness for journalists and media. It also offered a great rooftop venue with views of The Strip. Another deciding factor was the large architectural LED media surfaces that allowed us a large-scale mediascape.”

As for challenges, Hords notes, “Freight access to the rooftop is limited. We had to load three vehicles and all the rigging for our staging and stunt from a crane that blocked a portion of Las Vegas Blvd.” Challenges aside, Hords calls the Linq a “great venue for a large-scale, media-rich event.”

Hard Rock Buyout

Some companies want to be in Las Vegas but not necessarily on The Strip. Quest Software chose Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas for its Sales Kickoff FY 18 in February 2017, with 1,250 in attendance. Christy Kallinger, director global sales enablement with Quest, says of Vegas, “It’s great because of the level of service you get for the cost. And Las Vegas has just about everything you could ask for at all different price points. It is also an easy destination for most people to get to.”

She says the city added to the conference ROI because of “lower flight costs and overall lower costs for the high level of service, which allowed us to get more for our money.”

“We were able to do a hotel buyout and take advantage of the Las Vegas location, but we were not in the middle of The Strip. We loved the Hard Rock.”
— Christy Kallinger

The Hard Rock provided an excellent base. “We were able to do a hotel buyout and take advantage of the Las Vegas location, but we were not in the middle of The Strip. We loved the Hard Rock,” Kallinger says. “No.1 reason was the staff. Michael Rowland and Lia Rispoli and their staff were some of the very best we have ever worked with. Second, the hotel was ours for the week. We were able to do a lot of branding and we had a lot of flexibility to do what we needed to do in the meeting space. Lastly, we loved the whole rock ‘n’ roll theme. The Joint and Vinyl were unique venues to hold meetings in.”

The group had some regional dinners offsite. Kallinger says the favorites were Top Golf and Brooklyn Bowl, which she calls excellent venues for team dinners and activities.

But the Hard Rock itself really delivered for the group. “What we loved about this hotel was how close everything was. The food was excellent. The meeting spaces were great and flexible. The hotel guest rooms were really nice and the pool area provided an ideal space in which to hold our party. The décor was perfect for our rock ‘n’ roll theme.”

The weather, however, didn’t fully cooperate. “We ended up having bad weather for our outdoor party at the pool,” Kallinger says, “but Lia Rispoli and team very quickly got one of the ballrooms party-ready with a DJ, and our sales reps had a great night.”

For those considering Las Vegas for a meeting, Kallinger advises, “Find a hotel that will meet your needs from the first meeting. Also, hire a DMC to help you with external events and transportation. We hired Hosts Global and they were fantastic. They helped us with transportation, our regional dinners and our party.”

As for the Hard Rock, Kallinger notes, “Mike Rowland and Lia Rispoli will go above and beyond to make your event successful.”

New & Noteworthy

Ever in reinvention mode, Las Vegas and its hotels always have something new going on.

In March, Wynn Las Vegas announced a Master Class Series that will take guests behind the scenes to learn from the resort’s experts. It began in April and will continue throughout the year. Among the first options were Vintner for a Day with Wynn’s Executive Director of Wine Mark Thomas, Spin With a Star DJ, Mastering Your Most Flattering Selfie (with celebrated stylists at the Encore’s Claude Baruk Salon), and Mixology 2.0, with Wynn mixologist Damian Cross. On June 15 David Walzog, executive chef of the award-winning SW Steakhouse and Lakeside at Wynn Las Vegas will host a “Grilling With a Master” workshop, which includes an outdoor cookout class on the SW Steakhouse patio, overlooking the Lake of Dreams.

Wynn also announced the debut of Parasol Up after the venue’s extensive renovation last December. The lounge is lighter and breezier in design, and offers the latest technology as well as a new bar menu from the hotel’s master mixologist.

And this fall brings the debut of Wynn Plaza, a 75,000-sf luxury retail hub bordering Las Vegas Boulevard.

According to Steve Wynn in a late April earnings call, the Wynn board of directors has approved phase one construction of the new Wynn Paradise Park that will begin in December 2017 or January 2018. The master planned park will replace the Wynn Golf Club with a 1,000- 2,000-room hotel tower and 260,000 sf of beachfront meeting and ballroom space overlooking a 20-acre lagoon — offering water sports activities — and a white sand beach and 4,000-foot boardwalk. Cabanas, attractions and food service also are planned. The phased $1.5 billion project is slated for a 2019 completion.

As of January, guests at The Venetian, The Palazzo and Sands Expo, in conjunction with Zappos, have access to a 1,170-sf pop-up coworking lounge with room to recharge, get online, gather, collaborate and meet in small groups. There’s even a six-seat private conference room. Zappos team members are staffing the lounge, located on level two of The Venetian, and say they’ll be sharing the Zappos service philosophy of “delivering happiness with every ‘collision’ they make with a guest.” The lounge will be open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas announced a $13 million remodel of its Casino Tower, and phase one of that remodel has already wrapped up, including the renovation of 575 guest rooms. When complete, all 640 rooms and suites will have been renovated and refreshed. In May, MB Steak will debut at the Hard Rock, a collaboration of Michael and David Morton, sons of Arnie Morton, who launched Morton’s of Chicago in 1978. The hotel also announced the opening of Oyster Bar, a full-service restaurant and bar combining oyster, seafood and more with top-shelf libations. Finally, Hard Rock has added nearly 18,000 sf of meeting and convention space, including the 28,000-sf Artist Ballroom.

Set to open this winter at Caesars Palace is the first of its kind Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen, inspired by the Michelin-star celebrity chef’s hit television show. Ramsay’s fifth Las Vegas restaurant promises to give diners an “immersive” experience so they “feel like they, too, are part of the show — flames and all,” Ramsay said in a statement. Hell’s Kitchen will feature dishes from the show’s cast as well as chef Ramsay’s signature creations. The restaurant will seat 300 and offer both indoor and patio dining adjacent to The Strip.

In February, MGM Resorts International and Microsoft Corp. inked a historic multiyear deal, the first of its kind for both companies. Microsoft plans to combine four of its annual events into one mega event with as many as 30,000 delegates. That event represents the largest single-corporation meeting event ever hosted by MGM Resorts, and it’s right up there with the city’s largest annual corporate group events.

Aria Resort & Casino is in the midst of a $154 million expansion of its convention center that will add 200,000 sf of technologically advanced, flexible meeting space across four stories, highlighted by stunning indoor/open-air spaces and a glass-enclosed venue with dramatic views of The Park and new T-Mobile Arena. With the completion of the expansion, Aria will feature more than 500,000 sf of meeting space. Construction began in May 2016 with anticipated completion in February 2018.

To meet the needs of their growing clientele, Mandalay Bay’s Convention Center recently expanded by 350,000 sf to a total of more than 2 million sf, enabling Mandalay Bay to accommodate existing customer growth needs as well as to attract new corporate and association business. The expansion added new exhibit space, ballrooms and underground parking, and the project creates one of the most flexible, customer-focused convention facilities in North America.

At a cost of $70 million, the expansion also included a bandwidth increase to accommodate more attendees and allow for the most advanced presentations, while allowing seamless connectivity from convention space to public spaces to guest rooms. In spring 2016, the final phase of a resort-wide remodel of more than 3,000 guest rooms and suites was completed.

Located adjacent to Mandalay Bay, the new non-smoking, all-suite luxury Delano Las Vegas hotel features 20,000 sf of indoor meeting space with 31 meeting rooms including four boardrooms. Engaging social spaces include 3940 Coffee + Tea and Della’s Kitchen, where “historic farmhouse meets urban kitchen” and the new South Beach-inspired Delano Beach Club, which groups can buy out for an evening reception. Delano’s Sage Living room, located within the four separate floors of the hotel’s meeting area, offers a chic and alternative space to gather with overstuffed couches, special chairs designed with lower-back support, end tables and coffee tables. The room, featuring two 52-inch, flat-screen TVs, can be used for presentations in a relaxed, comfortable environment.

Last year Peppermill resort in Reno celebrated 45 years in operation, serving meeting attendees and other guests. For the occasion, the resort redesigned some of its spaces and venues, including Edge, providing an intimate but vibrant nightlife experience. Lighting, soft goods and LED panels were among the changes. Six video walls were also installed throughout the property to bring the world into the resort via technology, giving guests the feeling of globetrotting while never leaving Reno. Peppermill also continues its emphasis on sustainability via a variety of dedicated practices and programs that cut energy costs and water use.

Wherever you base your meeting in Las Vegas, you can bet on one thing: There will be professional staff and services and quality facilities to accommodate and even elevate your events. Las Vegas may be a fun destination, but it definitely means business for those who arrive in the city to do business. C&IT

Email, websites, social media and other digital communication tools have given corporate event planners new ways to promote conferences and other gatherings. But they’ve also unleashed a flood of ways companies can run into legal troubles.

Planners and their bosses have a lot to think about in the digital age. How do we protect attendees’ privacy? How do we keep employees from landing the company in hot water with irate Facebook posts or inappropriate Instagram photos? What are the emerging risks and how can we avoid them?

Two attorneys who specialize in the event industry provide some guidance to help corporations navigate the tricky waters surrounding digital communications. While this should not be interpreted as legal advice, it will provide a framework for evaluating the legal issues companies should consider before upcoming events.

Protecting Attendee Privacy

There are two important elements to protecting the privacy of people who attend your events. The first is being clear about when and what information you’re collecting. The second is actually keeping that information private.

“You need to advise people that you’re collecting their information,” says John S. Foster, Esq., CHME, founding partner with Foster, Jensen & Gulley, an Atlanta-based firm that specializes in the legal aspects of meetings, conventions, trade shows and association management. “You also need to tell them what information you’re collecting, and you need to give them the opportunity to change that information and opt out if they don’t want to give you the information.”

“Social websites don’t have any protection. You’re responsible for anything that’s posted on a social website.”
— John S. Foster, Esq.

Beacons provide a good example of the former. Jonathan Howe is the Chicago-based founding partner and president of Howe & Hutton Ltd., a firm that serves the association and meeting industries. He suggests having a written statement about what information you’re collecting, how that data will be used and who it will be shared with. “Make sure you have affirmative permission from the person to collect their information,” he says.

Foster uses Amazon.com as an example of the latter. Their website makes it very clear where users can go to change their personal information or disallow the site from collecting their details in the future.

Companies that gather personal data must make every effort to ensure consumers’ information remains private. “The key element is making sure you’ve exercised due diligence when collecting data,” Howe says. Among other best practices, due diligence includes having good firewalls in place so networks are as safe as possible; not using unsecured and non-password-protected wireless connections; and making sure vendors are working just as hard to protect attendees’ privacy. Keep in mind that cellphones and tablets can be hacked, not just computers.

The guidelines credit card companies ask businesses to meet before they set up merchant accounts can be a good source of best practices for guarding customer data. One of the most important of these, Howe says, is having a written policy detailing how consumers will be notified if the company’s network is hacked and people’s information is compromised. Following these guidelines to the letter if any information is stolen is crucial.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking an event is too small for anyone to pay attention, or so big that vendors will automatically put protections in place. “The most hacked institution in the world is the U.S. government,” Howe says. “Everybody is vulnerable. What we do is just try to protect data to the extent we can.”

If your firm is unusually vulnerable to cyber break-ins, or plans to collect or disseminate highly sensitive information, it’s possible to purchase cybersecurity insurance. Premiums vary depending on the size of the company, as well as what vertical they’re in. “If you’re in health care, they’re going to be substantial,” Howe notes.

Technology, Vendors and Contracts

Remember that apps can cause the same privacy headaches as online software programs. “Make sure you do due diligence on who’s going to be your supplier, and that they have the appropriate firewalls and other protections in place,” Howe says.

“You also need to make sure your vendor contracts provide a very clear understanding of what they can do with the information they gather on your behalf,” he adds. Can the company utilize the data they collect for their own purposes? Some companies will insert permission for this into their contracts; look for it and ask them to remove it. It’s a good idea to make sure the vendor is required to delete attendees’ information off the app after an appropriate period of time. That ensures the data isn’t vulnerable to hackers or accidentally mixed in with other data the company plans to keep.

Make sure there’s a clause that defines who is liable if information on the app is compromised. The vendor, not your company, should bear the burden for dealing with hacks and other privacy breaches.

Howe says hotels are another vendor attempting to insert language giving them permission to collect and share attendee data. A nuance is that the hotel is placing the burden of gathering attendee consent for this on the event host.

“That’s a contract clause you want to strike immediately,” he says.

Another consideration when negotiating with hotels is how they make attendees aware of their privacy policy. Foster recommends that contracts contain wording requiring the hotel to make their policies regarding the collection of personally identifiable information available to guests at the time the reservation is made. Each individual should be able to determine what information he or she will disclose to the hotel.

Write It Down

One of the most important things any company can do to protect itself in the digital age is have written guidelines for how people use communications tools, Foster says. The business should have policies for how employees use email, as well as instructions for how they interact with the company’s website and social media platforms.

This is particularly important for employees who manage the company’s digital sites, but all employees need some guidance about how to use online resources. For example, everyone should be instructed not to state that they represent the company when they post online, even if they’re sharing information on their personal social media accounts (unless the company has expressly granted them permission, of course).

It’s easy to require employees to review company policies and agree to them during a new employee orientation or department meeting. It’s harder to get outside users to agree to company policies, but it’s still possible. Businesses can require that members of the public log in to their site and click on a user policy before they post comments, for example. Whenever possible, “make people click on a statement saying use of your website means they agree to your rules and guidelines before they get into the site,” Foster says. For social media, businesses should have a policy in a public place (like a website) that they can point to if people are using the sites inappropriately.

There’s one key component of protecting your company that doesn’t involve writing it down. “I always tell people that with email, if you never want to see it again, don’t put your fingers on the keyboard,” Howe says. “Nobody is hack-proof.”

Emphasize to employees that there’s no guarantee any written communication will stay private. Besides the growing risk of hacking, emails can be subpoenaed if the company gets involved in a lawsuit. In addition, the company may choose to monitor email and other electronic communications as a way to decrease the company’s liability.

Because of that, Foster says, remind employees that email is not a good way to communicate sensitive or confidential information, including proprietary details about the company or its events. It should never be used to make derogatory statements about others.

It’s also a good idea to continually remind employees that they’re the first line of defense against viruses and malware that can compromise a company’s systems. They should never open attachments or click on links unless they’re absolutely certain they’re safe.

One of the more frightening malware programs is one that allows criminals to enter your system and lock it down until you pay them. The most common way this so-called “ransomware” enters a company’s network is through email. Often messages are designed to look like an e-card from a friend. But when the recipient opens the attachment or clicks the link, the malware quickly spreads through the system.

Remind employees: “When in doubt, don’t open it,” Howe says. “Send it to the IT people and let them see if it’s legit or not.” Also, make sure the IT department has the resources it needs to keep firewalls and other protections up to date.

Digital Communications and the CAN-SPAM Act

In 2003, Congress passed the CAN-SPAM Act. It created several rules that companies must follow when using emails for commercial purposes.

Foster explains that email messages cannot have misleading information in any part of the header, including the To, From and Reply To fields. The Subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message and not be written to mislead the recipient. The email message must somehow disclose that the email contains an advertisement; the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which enforces the act, gives guidelines for how to do this. Each message also must identify where the business is located by providing a mailing address.

The law requires that message recipients have a way to opt out of future solicitations from the company. When a person asks to be removed from the mailing list, you must do so promptly. Most email marketing services will automatically do both of these things for you, but the law makes it clear that the burden is on you to ensure these services are carried out.

FTC Endorsement and Advertising Guidelines

The FTC also sets rules for advertising, and there are a few things corporations should know on this subject as well. Many companies allow vendors or sponsors to run advertising on their event websites. You have a duty to ensure that advertising is not fraudulent or misleading. Once you receive the ad, it’s a good idea to visit the company’s website and make sure their ad seems consistent with what they’re sharing there. If it doesn’t pass the “smell test,” ask them about it.

In addition, “Have a contract with them that says they will hold you harmless, indemnify and defend you if their advertising is misleading or violates any government guidelines,” Foster says. “That transfers the risk back to the company that is doing the advertising.”

The FTC has promulgated rules regarding endorsements and testimonials in advertisements — an important thing to pay attention to in this age of influencer marketing. The goal of these rules is to ensure the public isn’t misled about the voluntary nature of the third-party endorser.

If a business or individual receives a material benefit in exchange for endorsing or advertising an event, they must disclose that they’re receiving compensation. That’s easy to remember when a company hires a celebrity or spokesperson to promote an event.

But Foster reminds firms to look for less obvious examples. If a business gives a customer a discount or free ticket to an event in exchange for promoting it on their Facebook or Instagram account, that counts as a material benefit and must be disclosed.

Intellectual Property and Copyright

The World Intellectual Property Organization defines intellectual property as creations of the mind, including inventions, literary and artistic works, and logos and names used in commerce. Chances are most of your speakers will be speaking about or sharing something (such as a handout, video or PowerPoint presentation) that’s considered intellectual property. Depending on the type of meeting, people also may be discussing items that are patented or topics that include trade secrets, which also fall under intellectual property.

Speakers also may be presenting information with another legal protection: a copyright. Copyrights can be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, and they give an individual or company the exclusive right to disseminate that item or piece of information. But even if an individual never registers a copyright, copyright law says their work is still protected as soon as it is “fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.” (The main advantage to registering a copyright is that it gives the copyright holder the right to bring a lawsuit and collect damages if their copyright is violated.)

Since many companies choose to post copies of speaker handouts or presentations on their website following a meeting, they can run into issues around violating intellectual property or copyright laws. There are two important things firms can do to avoid problems. “Make sure you have the speaker’s written permission to post their materials on your website so there’s no copyright issue,” Foster says. If the work was done by an employee, and the employment agreement states that the employer has the right to use that work, the company is also protected.

“If you have a speaker, have them warrant to you that the information they’re presenting is their own, or, if it’s not their own, that they have permission to use it,” Howe says. Get this information in writing in case an issue arises later on.

Defamation and Social Media

Defamation is defined as any statement that’s false and injures the reputation of a person or business. Libel is written defamation, while slander is spoken defamation. It’s important to note that if someone shares a negative opinion, that doesn’t count as defamation. It’s only when that information is presented as a fact that a person or company can be held liable for their comments.

Defamatory statements posted to a company’s online platform can get them in trouble in some circumstances, but not all. If a company owns and is considered the publisher of a platform — that is, they are solely responsible for what goes on the site — the company can be held accountable. This is typically true with websites. But if the company is considered a distributor — which is the case for the comments section of a website, since virtually anyone can post information — the company is not liable.

“Social websites don’t have any protection,” Foster says. “You’re responsible for anything that’s posted on a social website.” Make sure employees who will be posting and sharing content on sites such as Facebook and Twitter are educated about defamation, and are trustworthy enough not to write a negative statement in the heat of the moment.

Businesses also should note that if intellectual property or copyrighted material is posted to social media sites without the owner’s permission, the company is open to liability. According to Foster, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act exempts online service providers from liability if they post and follow procedures for removing copyrighted material if they receive notice from the copyright owner.

If you’re not already doing it, it’s wise to continually monitor social media sites before, during and after an event to see what’s being said. Remove information that’s inappropriate or defamatory per the company’s publicly posted social media policy.

“Real time now is becoming more and more of a factor,” Howe says. “Corporations today monitor everything that might be said about them. That way if something bad is happening, they can step in early and say ‘We’re on top of it’ and put a stop to things.” C&IT

Meeting and event planners turn to regional drive-in meet­ings to keep costs down and draw the maximum number of attendees. Moreover, drive-in meetings in or near city centers are convenient and walkable, which enhances the overall experience — exactly what planners and attendees want more than ever nowadays. Here are a few options to consider from coast to coast.

East Coast Classics

Lansdowne Resort and Spa sprawls across 476 acres along the banks of the Potomac River in Leesburg, Virginia. Rich in history and at the gateway of Virginia wine country, the resort is deeply connected to nature and the region. It’s also the ideal locale for a drive-in meeting or event for attendees from the East Coast.

Glynnis Judy, corporate meeting event specialist at Taylors, South Carolina-based Touchpoint Energized Communications, produced a corporate event of high-level executives. The two-day meeting featured a reception on the first night and an outing on the second evening. There were general sessions each day.

“They may be able to take advantage of the venue’s golf course because it’s easier to throw the clubs in the trunk than it is to bring them along on a flight.”
— Glynnis Judy

“The majority of the attendees drove, and there were about 40 to 45 people in attendance,” Judy says. “Usually, if you have a beautiful venue like Lans­downe, attendees can plan to arrive early and enjoy the property. They’re usually more relaxed when they’ve driven because they haven’t had to deal with airline issues, crowds, etc. They may be able to take advantage of the venue’s golf course because it’s easier to throw the clubs in the trunk than it is to bring them along on a flight.”

The Lansdowne resort features 55,000 sf of event space, exquisite cuisine, recreation and experiences tied to the destination, leaving guests feeling inspired with a new perspective. Just miles away from Washington, DC, Lansdowne is heir to a cherished tradition of Virginia hospitality and is the only full-service, four-diamond resort in the area.

“We’ve found that drive-in meetings help the meetings flow better as you can plan for a specific start time if you don’t have to work around airline delays,” Judy says. “Lansdowne is a beautiful property set in an easy-to-reach location and close to major cities. You get the feeling of being far away in a beautiful, lush environment without having to travel too far.​”

Nearby, Delta Hotels Baltimore Hunt Valley is a premier destination for meetings, conferences and social escapes in the greater DC and Baltimore area because of its proximity to and drivability from both cities. Surrounded by Maryland’s renowned horse country, Delta Hotels Baltimore Hunt Valley is consistently booked by large corporations (including Under Armour, McCormick Corporation, Lucent Technologies, Becton Dickinson and more). The property provides meeting planners the best of both worlds — easy access to the nation’s largest corporate headquarters and complete serenity in nature.

With an under-the-radar profile, the area’s largest collection of meeting space at 30,000 sf and the capacity to accommodate 1,200 event attendees, Delta Hotels Baltimore Hunt Valley is the ideal location for high-powered groups looking for access to Washington and Baltimore. It is close to attractions yet removed from distractions. And better yet, there’s complimentary parking for 900.

Delta Hotels Baltimore Hunt Valley boasts a transformative redesign of all interior spaces blending an authentic countryside vibe with a luxurious, modern style.

Another popular drive-in destination is Connecticut where expansion is the name of the game. Leaders of the Mohegan Tribe and Mohegan Sun gathered recently to announce the official plans for The Mohegan Sun Expo Center. Construction is underway with a target opening date of summer 2018. The expansion will span more than 240,000 gross sf and will be located by the Winter Garage and in close proximity to Mohegan Sun’s newest hotel, Earth Tower. Mohegan Tribal Chairman Kevin Brown stated, “This new conference center will help solidify Mohegan Sun as not just the premier conventions destination, but the premier resort in the Northeast region. It will enable us to host some of the largest trade shows in the nation and take back some of the lost conventions that seek bigger venues in Boston and New York.”

The 21,412-sf ballroom is divisible into two and will feature more than 3,000 sf of prefunction space. There will be 18 meeting rooms in total.

More features include free parking, six loading docks from an open parking field and additional drive-in access from two grade level drive-in doors.

Additional features include a mobile box office, advanced technology, digital displays inside and outside the center, free Wi-Fi and contiguous exhibit space.

The new Expo Center will be a column-free structure with clerestory windows. The main circulation spine that connects the exposition hall to the prefunction area also provides access to the overall facility, including the ballroom and adjustable meeting rooms. Along this path, floor-to-ceiling windows and doors lead visitors onto an outdoor patio that adds gathering space in warm weather and buffers the building from Cove Road that loops around the entire site. Greenery extends east to the recently completed Earth Tower, which shares the same grand entry as the Sky Tower.

Interior finishes will recall the Tribe’s cultural history, with custom carpeting and light fixtures that reflect Native American motifs, the nearby Thames River and the color palettes of the Earth and Sky Towers.

Once the Expo Center is completed in the summer of 2018, Mohegan Sun will be home to the largest meetings and convention spaces between Boston and New York City.

Just a two-hour drive from New York or Boston, another attractive drive-in site in Connecticut is Saybrook Point Inn and Spa in Saybrook, which offers a variety of venue options — from traditional to non-traditional settings for meetings, along with creative teambuilding activities including an Iron Chef-style cooking competition in their award-winning restaurant Fresh Salt, New England-style fishing boat excursions and scavenger hunts on a hiking trail.

The Hilton Meadowlands Hotel & Conference Center in Meadowlands, New Jersey, also is a favorite drive-in conference hotel featuring 30,000 sf of flexible space. This Northern New Jersey events venue features 15 meeting rooms and two ballrooms, complete with high-speed internet access, videoconferencing services and complimentary event parking.

Pittsburgh on Your Own

Susan Zachardy, events coordinator at GPD Group in Akron, Ohio, understands the importance of having as many attendees as possible for a meeting or event. She recently orchestrated a drive-in leadership retreat for GPD Group at Kimpton Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Thirty-one executives participated for a full-day event with a facilitator. As corporations continue to tighten their proverbial purse strings, they recognize that not all meetings are conducive to people’s schedules or the company budget — especially those that are held in locales that require the majority of attendees to fly in. But regional drive-in meetings offer cost-effective options to productive getaways without hurting the bottom line.

“The vast majority of past meetings for GPD Group have required flying,” Zachardy says. “The only other two cities we have driven to were Detroit and Niagara Falls. From a planning standpoint the hardest part of planning in the past has been having to put so many people on planes. Driving offers all attendees (the option) to arrive on their own time schedule.”

For GPD Group’s most recent leadership retreat, all 31 attendees drove — from different locations in Ohio and Indiana.

“The convenient location of the hotel was a drawing point, and I investigated four hotels in the Pittsburgh area and was most impressed with the courteous, knowledgeable and helpfulness of the people that I had original contact with at Hotel Monaco,” Zachardy says.

Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh is located in downtown Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle, right next to Mellon Square Park. Its location offers great bars and restaurants within easy reach, and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, bus station and train station are all within four blocks.

Pittsburgh is easily accessible by car from most Northeast cities, and Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh plays host to some of the best meetings in town. Located within a six-hour drive or less from nine states, Washington DC, and parts of Canada, Pittsburgh is both easy and affordable to travel to by car. There is an abundance of parking options, from hotel valet, to several parking garages and lots within a five-minute walk, to plenty of street parking — ideal options for drive-in attendees.

West Coast Wows

For Denise Odle, sales assistant and meeting planner at Iridex Corporation in Mountain View, California, drive-in meetings that are close to the main office provide attendees flexibility, which gives them the option to leave when necessary.

“Not only can they go home at night to be with family, if necessary, but they are also available to go back to the office or other local meetings/events that they need to attend,” Odle says. “A few of our attendees did have to leave for other meetings but came back. Coming and going like that is easier when you don’t have to fly to and from the venue.”

Odle recently planned a yearly global sales kickoff meeting with the sales, marketing, engineering and executive teams at Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa in Monterey, California.

“The sales team was provided with new info, strategy and goals for 2017 along with the opportunity to provide feedback to the main office staff,” Odle says.

Designated as an eight-time Forbes Four Star-rated hotel, the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa features breathtaking views of the ocean, and the hotel’s ideal location provides easy access to the area’s most vibrant attractions, including Cannery Row, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Fisherman’s Wharf and recreational activities such as world-class golf, sailing, scuba diving and whale watching.

The hotel’s oceanview event venues are welcoming sites for executive retreats, conferences and seminars, while the ballrooms have adjacent outdoor terraces and beautiful waterfront settings for receptions and social events. The Outdoor Plaza is a stunning, open-air location for private cocktail parties, banquets or barbecues.

“We chose the Monterey area because it was fairly close to the main office, and we didn’t have to fly the entire team to the venue,” Odle says. “But the location is still far enough away and in a cute little tourist area so that people at least feel like they were getting away from the norm.”

Paige Cecil, meeting planner and administrative coordinator for FreshSource LLC, in Orange, California, recently coordinated an awards dinner at Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa for a retail partner. Attendees included the retailer’s employees (the award winners), executives, and a select few of their vendors. All attendees were invited to stay two nights and to select the complimentary activity of their choice.

“With the exception of a handful of vendors, most drove to the event,” Cecil says. “There were approximately 140 attendees. The biggest benefit to drive-in meetings is that the attendees are spending less time with travel. Flying is becoming more and more stressful, so a more local event means the attendees are more likely to enjoy themselves.”

Michelle Wilson, a corporate meeting planner who recently orchestrated her company’s second three-day teambuilding and celebration meeting at Chaminade Resort & Spa in Santa Cruz, California, had 11 attendees drive to this offsite event.

“Drive-in meetings offer privacy and focus,” Wilson says. “When away from the office and in a relaxed atmosphere, I have found drive-in meetings to be an outstanding experience. Offsite meetings have provided our groups with the aforementioned privacy and focus as well as the chance to relax and enjoy the beautiful location. With everyone at one site, participants aren’t running to meeting after meeting trying to keep up. The Ropes Course is a tremendous teambonding experience and one we’ve enjoyed immensely. Having leisure time between workshops and the ability to enjoy meals together or have a bit of private time to rejuvenate helps tremendously.”

At Chaminade Resort & Spa they offer the Benchmark Conference Plan (BCP) — a one-price-per-person package that conference professionals tailor to a company’s specific objectives. The BCP is a unique and exclusive offering including overnight accommodations, meals, continuous refreshment service, conference space including amphitheaters, boardrooms, large conference rooms and smaller breakout rooms. Each room is set to specifications with ergonomic furnishings. High-tech audio-visual equipment also is part of the package.

The Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort, a working ranch located on 10,500 acres in California’s Santa Ynez Valley, about 30 miles northeast of Santa Barbara, is a popular drive-in destination for meetings and events. From custom teambuilding and corporate events, Alisal creates programs for groups of all sizes.

The property is made up of 73 cottages all with working wood-burning fireplaces — and without phones or televisions (although they do have Wi-Fi throughout the property) — making it a truly rustic escape from the daily grind. The Alisal offers various group and teambuilding activities, from ropes courses to country dancing, as well as a winemakers dinner and winery tours. The resort’s Meet & Play package is designed for groups who like to split their time between meetings and recreation. This package includes unlimited recreational activities, including horseback riding, golf, fishing and tennis.

Located 20 minutes from downtown Palm Springs, Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort and Spa offers a variety of beautiful indoor and outdoor event venues that will motivate and inspire attendees. Hyatt Regency Indian Wells offers more than 88,000 sf of meeting space accommodating any type of event, from a stunning outdoor event on the Serena Vista Lawn to a full-scale trade show in the Indian Wells Ballroom.

Tina Oliver, meeting planner with Onyx Meetings and Events in Kansas City, Missouri, recently orchestrated a drive-in corporate event at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

“This particular meeting is very special. It’s a celebration and thank you from the company to its employees because of their dedication and hard work,” Oliver says. “Each attendee is invited to bring a guest. We have one day of meetings and one day of giving back to the community, and it ends with an awards celebration.”

Spanning 400 rolling acres in the coastal foothills of Carlsbad, Omni La Costa Resort & Spa is the premier destination for drive-in meetings, conferences and social escapes in Southern California area because of its proximity to and drivability from both San Diego and Los Angeles. Consistently booked by large corporations, the property provides meeting planners the best of both worlds, easy access to the nation’s largest corporate headquarters such as med-tech giants in San Diego and La Jolla and entertainment in Los Angeles.

“We chose Omni because of their location, size and service. There were 700 people in attendance and 60 percent drove,” Oliver says. “The attendees love drive-in meetings because they can be flexible. We have several attendees that take advantage of the more scenic routes that they don’t typically get to take. I love it because it saves on airfare and allows me the opportunity to spend it in other areas, such as a great keynote speaker, or a well-known band for the welcome reception.”

Southern Gems

Whether it’s for corporate retreats, conferences or executive meetings, Callaway Gardens offers a diverse selection of traditional and non-traditional meeting venues as well as a number of lodging, dining, shopping and recreational options throughout the resort for guests to create a customized day outing. This property, which is popular with the Southeast drive market, is just 70 minutes from Atlanta.

Southern hospitality and the expertise and resources of a city that hosts nearly 11 million visitor days annually, makes Panama City Beach the ideal destination in Florida for meetings, groups, conferences and conventions. Whether it’s a business conference, convention, or executive retreat there are endless options in this beachside community with more than 160,000 sf of flexible meeting space complete with stunning views of the Gulf of Mexico or St. Andrews Bay.

The newly renovated Sheraton Bay Point resort is now open and offers 60,000 sf of flexible indoor and outdoor event space including a 12,000-sf ballroom, 8,000-sf junior ballroom, eight additional breakout rooms, 22 individual meeting rooms, outdoor lawns and a covered deck and private bay beach among other venues that cater to a group’s needs. From large conventions for up to 1,500 attendees to intimate board meetings, the Sheraton Bay Point Resort offers a catering staff that can fulfill all dining expectations.

Located on the South Carolina coast, close to Savannah, Georgia, and Hilton Head, South Carolina, Montage Palmetto Bluff is recognized as a premier destination for board meetings, client events, corporate retreats and incentive programs. There are a wealth of activities and dining options as well as meeting space with a residential atmosphere and gorgeous views of the May River. Located on 20,000 acres in South Carolina’s low country, Montage Palmetto Bluff is adorned with 100-year-old oak trees and 35 miles of waterfront, providing an unforgettable backdrop for a board meeting, executive retreat or client event. The facilities include more than 16,000 sf of flexible meeting space, including a 7,000-sf ballroom and a 1,800-sf ballroom with an outdoor veranda overlooking the May River. C&IT

If you know you cannot be influenced to recommend or book a property simply because a hotel offers you planner points or expensive gifts, is it OK to take them? Is accepting an invitation to a FAM or a complimentary site visit inherently wrong…or never wrong? What should a planner do if he or she sees a colleague or boss doing something inappropriate that could also be unethical?

“Find a great mentor. …You are not alone; we have all made mistakes, and we can all learn from each other.”
— Nell Nicholas

Most associations that serve the meetings industry offer ethical guidelines and codes of conduct for planners to embrace. The Convention Industry Council, for example, has a CMP Standards of Ethical Conduct Statement and Policy, and asks all CMP recipients to pledge, among other things, to:

• Maintain exemplary standards of professional conduct at all times.
• Actively model and encourage the integration of ethics into all aspects of the performance of duties.
• Never use the position of planner for undue personal gain and promptly disclose to appropriate parties all potential and actual conflicts of interest.

If It Feels Wrong…

Ethics should by definition be crystal clear. Things are either right or they’re wrong…right? Alas, the answer is not always as definitive as one would think. And not every meeting planner sees every ethical issue in exactly the same way. But most agree on this point: If it feels wrong, it probably is.

We went to a few industry experts — meeting planners — and asked them for their thoughts on a number of potential ethical dilemmas. Here’s what they had to say.

To start, there was no consensus on what the most prevalent ethical dilemmas for planners are. Blue Janis, an Experient national account manager based in Florida, says, “To me, there is really only one: Not putting the needs and best interest of the client before those of the planner.”

Nell Nicholas, senior director, global accounts, HelmsBriscoe, notes, “This is open to interpretation. One potential ethical issue is FAM abuse. If a planner has not booked a destination, should he/she accept a FAM trip into that destination? The flip side of that coin is, if a planner has not been to a destination, how is he/she able to sell it to stakeholders for future business?  It’s a sticky wicket! Stringent qualification on the supplier side can certainly alleviate this potential issue, including real potential for business in that destination and overall volume of business booked, years in the business, how many FAMs the planner has already been on in that year, etc.,” Nicholas says.

“Another possible ethical issue is option abuse.  Both planners and hoteliers need to be fully transparent on their holds prior to contracting. This goes for both sides. If hotels are holding a second option, it’s always helpful for planners to know what the possibility is of going to first option and what the parameters are on that second-option hold to properly communicate with their stakeholders about the viability of going to contract. For planners,” she says, “full transparency about how strongly the percentage of that hotel winning the business and why/why not is really helpful for a hotel to manage its dates more efficiently. Open and clear lines of communication are key for both parties to maximize revenues and create successful programs.”

Commissions or Kickbacks?

Dayne P.S. Sullivan, CTA, meeting planner and event manager with Adventures LLC, a San Antonio, Texas, company offering meeting planning and DMC services, says, “One of the most prevalent ethics issues that we’ve experienced is hotel sales staff attempting to ‘persuade’ a planner to choose their hotel over another through gifts or freebies. This includes free hotel stays that can be used for sites or vacations.”

On the DMC front, he says, “Another issue we’ve experienced lately pertains to independent planners and hotels asking for commissions (which also could be considered kickbacks) from DMCs, venues, etc., for simply referring them or making the company a preferred vendor.

“Our company is a hybrid that provides meeting and event management as well as the work of a destination management company, so we get hit from multiple sides by this issue. It is not uncommon for an independent planner to contact our DMC division and ask us to create an experience or manage a meeting/event and then expect us to pay them a commission on the total event spend.

“I can understand commissions or fees being paid by a DMC, AV company or event company with inside or on-property sales offices at a hotel,” Sullivan says. “However, to ask for a commission simply for referring an event planner or DMC only drives up the cost to everyone concerned. The referrals should be based on the company’s knowledge and service level, not on how much they will pay to the referring planner or property. This also happens with many meeting planning and DMC networks.”

Sullivan says planners should not be afraid to ask a network or organization how they are funded or if they are paid commissions or referrals.

“I also find it appalling,” he continues, “when a hotel salesperson asks me to share what other hotels are offering in their proposals. We ask that they give us their best possible offer at the beginning, and the decision will be based on what is best for our client. By asking me to share what another property is offering, they diminish their credibility, and I immediately place that property at the bottom of my list.”

Guidelines Count

For Sam K. (not his real name), a planner in the automotive industry who wishes to remain anonymous, ethical dilemmas are made more difficult when a company does not have clear guidelines and rules in place, or does — but managers and other employees skirt around them. “My company has rules and guidelines,” he says, “but some policies are more ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ ”

That leaves employees in murky territory.

Most planners agree that accepting invitations to FAMs or paid-for site inspections is not in itself inherently unethical. As Nicholas notes, planners need to see properties firsthand in order to be able to deliver the best information to clients. The ethics issue comes into play when planners accept an invitation to properties they know they won’t book or that they’ve been to multiple times.

Janis puts it this way: “As long as the planner is accepting invitations to FAMs or arranging site inspections to destinations that can be realistically selected by the client, I don’t think a planner has any ethical concerns. Planners that accept FAM invitations for personal pleasure reasons are in a serious ethical swamp.”

Sullivan points out that, unfortunately, many planners don’t know or are on the fence about what is and is not acceptable. “I understand the need to get planners to see your city, hotels and venues; however, it becomes an issue when a planner knowingly accepts a free trip or hotel stay to a property they or their client will never use. What I believe is a more ethical way to treat this issue,” he says, “is to have the planner pay for the trip with the possibility of being reimbursed if/when a group contract is signed.

“While we will accept complimentary hotel rooms for site visits,” he adds, “these are written into the hotel agreements for our groups and are strictly limited. I can only remember participating in three FAM trips during my 18 years as a planner, and I only attended if we had a client interested in booking business at that location. However, I have witnessed others on the same FAM trips, making the statement, ‘Oh this is a vacation I needed.’ I believe every FAM should be vetted, and I know it is hard to do so.”

Nicholas believes site inspection invitations are best for planners “when there is an RFP out to demonstrate the veracity of the site inspection.” She says getting the CVB involved with the RFP is a key factor in planning site inspections.

“CVBs are another layer of support to assist with complimentary site inspection visits,” she says. “Circumstances may arise when a hotel cannot comp the planner, say when visiting a hotel during high-demand dates. In that case, when one hotel is in contention of winning the business, a win/win situation is to charge the client the room rate for the site (hopefully it is discounted!) and credit the client that room rate off the master bill if the hotel is selected for the program.”

Admittedly, she adds, this gets a little dicey when a destination is in high demand and multiple hotels are on the site inspection list. “When there is no RFP out and a hotel offers a complimentary site inspection, it’s important that the planner offer full disclosure — before accepting the invitation — as to the potential for booking that destination.”

While planners in Sam K.’s company cannot accept complimentary airfare or attend organized FAMs or comped site inspections, “They can accept comped hotel nights during site inspections — but those are then worked into the subsequent contract so that everything is transparent.”

Handling Points and Gifts

When it comes to hotel points offered to planners by properties, planners are divided. How gifts from hotels and CVBs should be handled also is not always clear.

In terms of points, “I represent a major third party,” Janis says. “Our company policy, one I completely agree with, prohibits me taking points.”

Nicholas believes that for the vast majority of planners, their ethics are not compromised if they accept hotel points. “There is no dilemma about collecting points as a planner for a program,” she says. “I have had this conversation with several planners, all of whom understand that the points are a perk of the role of meeting planner and can be used in any way the planner would like. I don’t know a single planner who punches a time clock, and the hours, especially onsite, are brutal. The demands of a planner onsite can be insane while their only focus is to execute a successful program. All the moving parts and details for a planner onsite to consider are exhausting. If a hotel wants to give points to a planner as a thank you, there should be no issue with that.”

She also doesn’t believe that the acceptance of points clouds a planner’s decision-making. “When selecting a property, the planner has a whole host of stakeholders to satisfy from a budgeting standpoint to the style and scope of the selected property. If a hotel is selected for personal gain, then, yes, the planner has compromised his or her position. But I don’t believe there is a planner out there who would compromise their position in a company for hotel points.”

For Sullivan, it’s about how those points are used. “On occasion, we have accepted hotel points. However, they are always used for site visits or business purposes. Every planner should make sure there are written guidelines in place and an understanding of what is acceptable and unacceptable. This will also protect them from repercussions if something is said or done that goes against the guidelines. Make sure they are specific! I have never thought of hotel points as part of the discussion process. I would rather the hotel do something more for my client so their hotel is more of a value.”

Planners in Sam K’s company cannot accept planner points from a hotel, nor can they accept gifts over a value of $50. But that tricky ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ looseness makes some of these rules ineffective. Sam tells a couple of stories that show the dilemma planners face when the rules aren’t really the rules. Yet, he points out, checks and balances in the planning system and structures keep planners on more solid ground in his company.

“A hotel company sent a box to a manager at our company to thank him for booking multiple meetings at one of its resorts. Before opening it, he said to the employee who had planned those meetings, ‘You did all the work so you can keep it.’ But when he opened the gift, it turned out to be a very expensive sterling silver serving dish, which he promptly took home.”

On another occasion, Sam says, “A CVB gave two of us the newest iPads as a thanks for booking one of our largest meetings in its city. There was no way to not take them with the CEO of the CVB standing there, which presented me with a dilemma. My colleague took hers and quickly put it away. I kept mine unopened for several months then gave it to a relative.”

The thing is, Sam says, “An iPad would not induce me to book another meeting in that city to begin with. But I couldn’t mandate that even if I wanted to. Our company has many, many checks and balances in place for exactly that reason, and it’s the checks and balances that I believe make the big difference. The way site selection works for us is that planners come up with five potential destinations that will work for a meeting. Those are then narrowed down to two by directors within the company. Two planners will then go to those two destinations; either they pay their own air or the company does. The two planners come back with a recommendation for one of those destinations based on it meeting very specific, pre-identified criteria. Once a contract is in play, several people in the company review it. With this system, planners cannot show favoritism to any one property, CVB or destination, and gifts cannot influence any of the related decisions.”

Newbies Need Solid Advice

For young or new planners facing these issues, the right path may be even less clear. Advice for them from the planners we talked to covered a range of suggestions and solutions, from personal attitudes to company policies.

Janis put it very succinctly. “Be sure you have a clear personal moral code. Always put the needs and best interests of the client before those of your own. If you have to wonder whether it’s inappropriate, it probably isn’t.”

Sullivan’s suggestions include company processes and systems as well as planner clarity. “Adopt a blind bid process,” he says. ”We are an independent planning company and have implemented a policy of blind bidding, whereby one planner in our office will gather all the RFP responses and place them in a comparative spreadsheet. This spreadsheet doesn’t contain any property names or affiliations. It’s then given to a different planner in our office to review, compare and determine which property is giving our client the most ‘bang for its buck.’ At that point, we will have a joint meeting and discuss the pros and cons of each property.”

He says planners should make sure there are specific policies and procedures in place regarding hotel points, gifts, FAM trips, site visits, etc., and they should be updated often. “Your position as a planner will also include being a teacher. Be proactive in helping to develop ethical practices at your company and make sure everything is addressed in the employee handbook or Code of Conduct. It will provide protection for you and your company.

“Lastly,” Sullivan recommends, “Ask questions and then question the answers! Make sure you have a clear understanding of what practices are acceptable and what practices are not. If your conscience or gut tells you something is wrong, it usually is and it needs to be addressed.”

Nicholas encourages planners to seek help from those more experienced. “Find a great mentor,” she says. “We are out there and available to help guide you through tough choices and compromising situations. You are not alone; we have all made mistakes, and we can all learn from each other.”

When it comes down to it, planners put their jobs on the line if they act unethically. “You don’t want to lose your job,” Sam K. says, “so consider whether breaching guidelines, such as accepting planner points when you know you should not, is worth it. As the saying goes, ‘If you would be embarrassed reading about something you did on the front page of the newspaper, don’t do it.’ ” C&IT

Experient, along with MGM Event Productions, created a color-coded dining experience at Bellagio. Credit: Digital Blue Photography

Environmental sustainability, encouraging good health, personalization and experiential learning are major areas of focus in the meeting industry. It should come as no surprise, then, that these areas impart a strong influence over 2017’s food and beverage trends. Here’s a look at what industry experts believe are ways to create memorable and high-quality experiences for today’s event attendees.

Farm-to-Table Food and Drinks

Interest in locally sourced, sustainably grown and raised food is still wildly popular with attendees. While that trend has been going on for a long time, planners may be pleasantly surprised by how much easier it is to get the fork-to-plate experience at larger venues.

The move to bring locally sourced cuisine to banquets started with independent and boutique hotels, according to Mike Schugt, president of Teneo Hospitality Group, a global sales company that works with more than 300 hotels and resorts and 70 destination management companies. Those smaller venues were able to experiment in their restaurants, then share best practices with the banquet staff. Over time, larger hotels have adapted that same model. As they’ve done that, “They’re able to create these intimate, unique, almost farm-to-table banquet experiences for thousands of people,” Schugt says.

“Experience design is one of the trends that continues to develop. The same is true of personalization.”
— Karen Watson

The focus on local extends to the drink menu as well, says Tracy Stuckrath, CSEP, CMM, CHC, CFPM, president and chief connecting officer of Thrive! Meetings & Events. More food service professionals are pairing local wines and microbrews with menus to give guests a true taste of the region. “People are incorporating more and more flavors into their cocktails as well,” she says. “They’re using local and organic vegetables and fruits and coming up with creative drinks that are seasonal.”

Along with the focus on locally made food is the interest in housemade items and/or foods prepared from scratch. Many hotels are now making some of their own condiments, cured meats, cocktail mixers and more.

Healthful Foods

Another popular trend is creating more healthful food and beverage options. The main place where planners are doing this is with snacks or breaks. Instead of the traditional cookies or sugary foods, more companies are opting for protein-rich items such as yogurt and nuts, or fruit and veggie-focused items such as roasted vegetables or make-your-own smoothie bars.

This trend definitely extends to the beverage space. Instead of sodas, caterers are setting out club soda and water infused with cucumbers or strawberries.

Schugt cautions not to go overboard with healthful foods at meetings. “You still have to cater to people’s sweet tooth,” he says. “Maybe you can have a little shot glass of carrot cake or key lime pie on the end of the buffet. At events, those are the things that fly off the shelf the quickest.”

Non-Traditional Proteins

“A couple years back, every banquet and convention menu was based on chicken breasts and pork tenderloins,” says Stefan Peroutka, executive banquet chef at The Venetian and Palazzo resorts in Las Vegas. “People are much more open to trying new things now.”

Today’s consumers understand that part of sustainability is eating the whole animal and avoiding certain types of fish. This shift in mindset has allowed Peroutka to introduce menu items such as smoked and braised meats and housemade sausages. He’s also using some unusual seafood, including sardines, mackerel and rockfish. “Even two years ago that was a definite ‘no,’ ” he says.

Stuckrath can envision a time when banquet staff may offer dishes with crickets, venison, elk, bison or goat. “Since goat meat is the No. 1 meat eaten around the world, it’s starting to be incorporated into a lot more restaurant menus,” she says. “It will be interesting to see how hotels and convention centers incorporate them — maybe more for appetizers than main courses.”

It’s also becoming more common to see plant-based proteins as part of a main course — and not just for vegetarians and vegans. “We’re definitely incorporating more for lunch and breakfast,” Peroutka says. He often shies away from tofu — “soybeans have gotten a really bad rap in the last few years because they’re genetically modified” — and instead uses beans, legumes or nuts.

There’s a sustainability element to serving more plant-based foods. “Reducing the amount of meat we consume is huge for the environment,” Stuckrath says.

There’s also a guest services element to this trend. “One of the things most meeting planners are getting away from is that special meal area where people feel singled out,” Peroutka says. “We try to offer a regular meal that appeals to everybody.”

Starch Replacements and Other Alternative Foods

As more people adopt special diets such as paleo or gluten-free — and as more people develop food allergies — starch replacements and other food alternatives will continue to garner interest. “The one I love is alternative pastas,” says Stuckrath. “You can use a spiralizer to create pasta from vegetables such as carrots and zucchini.” It’s also possible to purchase pasta made with almond flour or chickpea flour.

Alternative milks made from products such as rice, soy, hemp, nut or coconut remain popular with many guests. Stuckrath is seeing more cooks use alternative sweeteners, including agave, date sugar and maple syrup.

“Transparency in food is huge right now,” she says. “Not just what meals are free of but what they actually contain.” Sharing a list of the ingredients for every dish will be appreciated by many guests, not just those with allergies or special diets.

Ethnic-Inspired Items

“The crowds we’re catering to are getting more and more diverse,” Peroutka says. That, combined with foodie culture, means guests are more open to exploring different flavors.

Peroutka likes to experiment with ethnic cuisines at breakfast. “We’re exploring Indian-inspired breakfast items right now,” he says. “It’s a good fusion; there’s some egg in it, but it’s more like handheld items with authentic flavors.” Many of these foods, he points out, are lower in fat than the traditional bacon, fried potatoes and eggs, which fits with the trend toward more healthful eating.

Offering a variety of exciting flavors can work great at other meals too. Peroutka recently did a street food-inspired dinner for a cloud software company. He created three different hot dog options using housemade sausages. There was a banh mi-style dog, a German-style offering made with bratwurst, and the “confused Californian,” which had an avocado topping.

For planners looking to introduce ethnic foods to their attendees, Stuckrath says cuisines from Thailand, the Phillipines and other Asian countries are really big right now. So is food from South American and Middle Eastern countries. “There’s a lot more melding of flavors across different countries and continents,” she says, which can lead to some interesting fusion dishes.

More Beverage Trends

Premium beverage stations are an up-and-coming trend. Ditch the airpots of coffee and invite baristas to whip up lattes, Americanos and other hot drinks in front of guests. “It’s like bringing in a mini Starbucks,” says Schugt. “That’s an amazing presentation for groups.”

Cold-pressed coffee is another craze among the caffeinated set. Find ways to incorporate it into cocktails or daytime drinks. And don’t forget about tea. For people who are health-conscious or trying to avoid caffeine, a nice selection of organic and free-trade teas will be much appreciated.

Just as not everyone wants to drink caffeine, plenty of people avoid alcohol. But they still can participate in trendy cocktail culture when venues offer mocktails. Whether these are thoughtful interpretations of the drinks on the menu, or custom-made beverages just for them, offering mocktails will make all guests feel included.

Many meeting planners are choosing to offer a signature cocktail created just for that event. The cocktail can reflect a theme, such as Prohibition-era drinks or beverages using local spirits. Or it can reflect some aspect of the group’s personality and tastes.

Customized F&B Experiences

In addition to quality food and beverages, event attendees want to have can’t-miss experiences. “Experience design is one of the trends that continues to develop,” says Karen Watson, CMP, director of strategic events for Experient. “The same is true of personalization.”

Watson created a dining experience at Las Vegas’ Bellagio that exemplifies this trend. Her goal was to make sure the 500 people who attended felt like they were attending the best dinner party they’d ever been to.

She started by surveying attendees and asking them to rank 10 different types of cuisine by what they’d most enjoy eating. From the survey she narrowed the choices to seven different themed meals that the kitchen would prepare.

MGM Event Productions created customized table­scapes to go with each cuisine. Guests who wanted a steakhouse-style meal would be seated at round tables with metal chairs and centerpieces that featured cowboy boots and sunflowers. Tables and chairs that could be lit up with turquoise lights were used for the seafood setups.

As part of the survey, attendees also were asked a few personal questions such as their favorite sports, television shows and books. Watson made seat assignments based on those questions so everyone would be at a table with people they had something in common with. There were tables for people who played sports and people who liked to watch sports; tables for guests who admired the same famous people and liked the same kind of music. “There was even a ‘Game of Thrones’ table,” she says.

Event guests, who were staying at The Mirage for the conference, received invitations to the closing dinner at the Bellagio that were color-coded to their choice of cuisine (red for Asian food, blue for comfort food, etc.). When they came to the hall for the pre-dinner reception, they found a wall painted with the images of seven different houses with doors that would take them to their area of the dining hall. The houses also were made up to resemble the theme of the cuisine. The Asian house was flanked by regal lions; the comfort food house had real shrubbery in front.

When folks went through each door, their area of the room was spotlighted in the theme color so they could easily find their table (see photos on page 14–15). “Even the waiters were dressed in appropriate colors for the seven different concepts,” Watson says.

The event was a tremendous amount of work: Watson says it took about two weeks to do the seating assignments. But her guests were truly treated to an experience they’ll never forget.

‘Live’ Experiences

Live food events, where meals are prepared in front of guests, are getting more popular. “I’m seeing more and more requests for sushi stations,” says Gregg Herning, vice president of sales at Las Vegas’ Bellagio. These are sushi bars where chefs prepare the food in front of guests. “Even though it’s a laborious and expensive endeavor, people want to do it because it will wow their participants.”

“As people’s knowledge of food grows, their thirst for information grows too,” says Watson. That informed her decision to create a live cooking event for another trip she organized. The group of 30 people was staying at the Boca Raton Resort & Spa in Southeast Florida. The chef planned an unforgettable fishmonger’s lunch.

“They took us to the sidewalk by the water,” Watson says. “The executive chef was there in his rubber overall suit, and he got on his smartphone with one of the fishermen he gets fish from regularly. The fisherman pulled up alongside us and the other chefs started loading the fish off the boat into a big wheelbarrow.” The chefs filleted the tuna and made a sushi appetizer in front of the group. While they worked, the head chef told them all about the fish, including its habitat, sustainability, market price and what else it could be used for.

After attendees had finished their appetizer, they went back inside so the chefs could prepare the remainder of their meal. Everything was done in front of the group, so the educational component continued throughout the meal. Not only did guests learn cooking techniques, they got recipes so they could prepare some of the same dishes at home.

Not all live food events have to be on par with this one. “Bring the chefs out and have them interact with your group or do different tastings,” Stuckrath says. Beer and food pairings, cheese and salt tastings, or champagne and chocolate tasting are out of the norm and will give guests an experience that engages multiple senses.

Immersive Experiences

“The new trend is to get the participants involved in the cooking process,” Herning says. “It’s not just watching a cooking demonstration, it’s being part of it.” Bellagio can set up cooking classes or opportunities for people to act as celebrity chefs giving cooking demonstrations. Their staff videotapes these sessions so each attendee has a memento of their experience, and guests can receive a Bellagio or Tuscany Kitchen apron with their name embroidered on it.

Another fun option is to participate in a mixologist session. “We’ll divide the group up, put them with their own mixologist and have the smaller groups compete to create the next new very cool mixed drink,” Herning says. “Sometimes we promise the winner we’ll highlight their drink as the happy-hour drink. We’ll show a picture of the drink, the recipe and put ‘as created by’ with the guest’s name. It’s much more immersive than just standing there.”

And that’s definitely the expectation of guests these days, whether they’re attending a reception, meal or any other part of an event. C&IT

Karl Edmunds is a recognized business leader with more than 30 years of executive leadership. His current role is V.P. of Global Financial Services for Educational Measures, an internationally recognized provider of live meeting engagement services and technology. His focus is to bring innovative thought leadership coupled with the best engagement technology to drive more effective corporate events worldwide. kedmunds@educationalmeasures.com

The digital age has left no industry untouched, and the world of live meetings and events is not an exception. Still, there are many who haven’t adopted the conveniences of the ever-changing technology landscape. If meeting planners aren’t constantly re-evaluating their events and making improvements, their meetings will easily be outshined and even replaced by others. Organizations cannot continue to spend tens of thousands of dollars on events that yield no measurable return. So, how can you tell if your tried-and-true methods are no longer sustainable?

Here are the four signs that your live events are growing stale.

1. You Don’t Have a Tech Budget or It’s Tiny.

If meetings and events are strategically important to your firm and you still operate without a technology budget, your firm will likely be left behind. Event leaders who still operate without any meeting technology for participant engagement are like the leadership of Blockbuster who failed to see the threat of Netflix until it was too late.

Unfortunately, too many event planners pass over new technology solely based on cost. Of course, you have a budget, and you need to stick to it, but consider where you are spending and what you are getting in return. Are your meetings delivering results? Do participants understand your message? How well can you measure and track that understanding? If your meeting is for new prospective customers, can you calculate how many leads and customers are needed to make the investment in new technology worthwhile? Yes, technology can have a large upfront investment, but astute managers are beginning to see that the right technology can deliver exponentially more value than what is currently in place.

2. Your Core Tactics to Manage Meeting Content Are Outdated.

If you are a meeting and event planner who has taken the first step with technology and feel good about automated registration, expense management, revenue tracking and electronic agendas but still open the meeting with a three-ring binder on the table for your participants, you are behind the curve. Interactive technologies are not only “cool” to look at, but they also are a much more reliable method of keeping individuals engaged.

In today’s market, the most advanced events allow every participant to save slides, take notes on specific slides, draw stylus notes for future reference and post questions to speakers and moderators, and then they can have all this activity delivered to them in a secure PDF file at the conclusion of the event. No more searching for those specific slides through a book of papers and details scattered throughout an event.

3. Your Engagement Measurement Is a One-Trick Pony

If your measure of success for a completed live event is a simple paper survey ranking between 1 and 10, you are missing a multitude of opportunities. Post-meeting reporting has the latitude to evaluate how engaged the audience was, what topics resonated most, which speakers provided the best information, and when individuals were interested or uninterested throughout the event.

Before you even start the detailed planning for an event, at least be clear about the basic measures of success. Will the meeting be measured by the number of new leads it generates for the sales department? If so, what is the targeted cost per lead? How is it tracked? Or is the meeting designed to enhance brand awareness? If so what are the measures and timelines to be used in measuring brand awareness?

Leading event planners are beginning to compile data derived from multiple events, which allows deeper insight than ever before and may include personality profiles, demographics, corporate position and geographic considerations. These meeting analytics will be the fuel that drives dramatic changes in how meetings are conducted today.

4. You Aren’t Prepared for “The Next Big Thing.”

If you are making future technology decisions based on what you are comfortable with, you are behind. The role of technology will continue to evolve and change so be prepared to adapt and adopt when appropriate. For example, virtual reality platforms will begin to show up and deepen the engagement opportunities in live events. Three-dimensional printers may very well become the go-to for creating event structures, sets or signage. The IOT (Internet of Things) has the opportunity to open the door for tracking activities of participants beyond anything that is currently used or has been in the past. And analytics tools will dramatically enhance the strategic value and consequently the ROI of live events. Executive management from leading companies will begin to expect high quality data from live meetings to analyze in their own strategies for overall corporate growth.

Innovative meeting planners will be actively utilizing engagement technology to increase the impact of their events and improve the quality of data that is derived from them. While the evolution to new and emerging event technologies may seem a bit overwhelming initially, the best event and meeting planners know that to survive in this ever-changing industry, you must adapt. Take a look at your strategies; do they need an overhaul? A simple change? Or are you right on target?

If you feel behind, don’t ignore the signs. Take an honest assessment of your events and make changes to keep your attendees engaged and enhance your ability to drive measurable results.

Final Thoughts

In summary, successful event management is no longer simply a “how” function but must be first tasked with a “why.” By knowing the why of the meeting through strategic marketing decisions, the how factors will be put into place by the events team to achieve company goals, rather than just doing what has always been done. The outcome will be a dramatic leap in quality based on real data and metrics and not just completion based on soft, worn out assumptions.

To avoid having your meetings grow stale, the role of the event department must move from one of basic logistics to a critical element of the executive marketing leadership team. Meetings should no longer be viewed solely as a social function with good food. Good meeting planners must have the responsibility, the technology and the budget to deliver post-meeting data and analytics that begin to show and track a true ROI for that meeting investment. C&IT

Xyngular’s President Marc Walker says their sales reps are eager to earn a return trip to Robert Redford’s Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah. Credit: Xyngular

From an incentive travel point of view, the draw of the mountains can be comparable to the draw of the sea.

Evidence comes from the incentive programs of Xyngular, a Lehi, Utah-based health and nutrition products company. The Caribbean (via cruise) and Bora Bora are among the destinations the company utilizes for its six to eight annual incentive trips, but competing and perhaps eclipsing those destinations in terms of popularity is Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort.

After a visit to Robert Redford’s creation, Xyngular’s sales representatives will often ask, “How can I earn my way back to Sundance?” remarks company President Marc Walker. “So we have added our Sundance Return Trip, where if someone gets a certain amount of sales in a month we invite them back to be a mentor for the other people there.”

Xyngular’s sales representatives do love the sun ‘n’ fun destinations, Walker says, but “there is something special about Sundance, and when they’ve been there they want to go back.”

“We know most of the staff (at Sundance Resort) by now, and they know us. And we’ve been treated well since day one. They could get used to you (after seven years) and not go the extra mile, but that’s never happened.”
— Marc Walker

Indeed, the group has been going back for seven years to enjoy the amenities at Sundance, a property that epitomizes the mountain resort. Tucked away in a little valley near Mount Timpanogos, the resort recently added a new ski lift and a new zip tour, one of the longest in North America. Xyngular’s qualifiers have taken advantage of both activities, as well as the Redford Conference Center for their meetings.

Part of nearly 14,000 sf of onsite meeting space, the facility has a rustic feel with plenty of wood accents as well as a lobby with a large fireplace. With 95 guest rooms (undergoing a renovation through the first quarter of 2018), the property is a nice fit for Xyngular’s 40–60 incentive winners and spouses. “We know most of the staff by now, and they know us,” says Walker. “And we’ve been treated well since day one. They could get used to you (after seven years) and not go the extra mile, but that’s never happened. For example, in the winter when we do an outdoor event with fire pits they’ll be out there shoveling the snow to make a place for our people; last year they had three feet.”

Outdoor Events

Outdoor functions, weather permitting, are practically a must at a mountain resort so that attendees can take in the natural majesty of their surroundings.

Raleigh, North Carolina-based FMI Corporation, a management consulting and investment banking provider for the engineering and construction industry, tries to mix in outdoor gatherings as part of its events at Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs. Since 2003, the company has staged client-facing leadership training conferences at the 316-room resort, set on 200 scenic acres. “It’s an incredible setting at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the Front Range we call it here in Colorado Springs,” says Mark Hooey, consultant and corporate planner with FMI Corporation, who is based in the Denver office.

A great indoor vantage point to appreciate that setting is Cheyenne’s Mountain View Restaurant, infused with natural light from large windows and offering outdoor seating. “They have an incredible buffet with multiple entrees, a well-stocked salad bar and a dessert bar as well,” says Hooey. “We’re meeting before and after the meal so a buffet works very well for us (as opposed to a more time-consuming plated meal). And if the main restaurant is too busy with a special event for a large group, they’ll accommodate us and put us in a breakout room for our meal. And we’ll have our own mini buffet line with the same selection.”

While bringing in only 10–50 attendees at a time, FMI Corporation receives highly attentive service from the resort staff during the full week of the event. Over the years, the group has convened in a variety of spaces within Cheyenne’s more than 40,000 sf of function space. “They’re very aware of what we do each day, and if we need a quick turn on a meeting space from an open space to a classroom or boardroom setting, they’re right on time to help us make those transitions,” Hooey adds.

When not in sessions, including before and after the conference, attendees have a slew of amenities to enjoy onsite, a highlight being the Alluvia Spa & Wellness Retreat. Seasonal offerings include an 18-hole Pete Dye-designed golf course, a private lake with watersports and five outdoor pools. The resort also creates “Signature Meeting Experiences” for groups, such as The Amazing Race (teambuilding based on the hit TV show), Crafty in Colorado Springs Beer Tasting (the city is home to more than 150 craft breweries) and Glow Golf (a nighttime experience of the Pete Dye course).

Toward the end of FMI’s conference, many attendees make time to visit some of Colorado Springs’ remarkable attractions, from Garden of the Gods to Seven Falls to Manitou Springs. “The experience and the setting has been phenomenal,” says Hooey in sum. “Our program has been going for 20 years, and it’s largely successful because clients go back to their home company and say, ‘That was amazing; we need to send more people.’ So the marketing has been word of mouth.”

Unique Location = Unique Spaces

Another popular option for groups in a state known for its mountain resorts is located in Keystone, amidst three mountains: Dercum Mountain, North Peak and the Outback. Similar to FMI’s relationship with Cheyenne, Louisville, Colorado-based CableLabs has found a long-standing partner in Keystone Resort, taking its annual meeting there for about 18 years.

Keystone offers 1,200 lodging units across three neighborhoods, a good logistical match for the approximately 850 cable operators, internal associates and vendors who attend CableLabs’ annual meeting. Options range from the Keystone Lodge & Spa to the centrally located Inn to Ski Tip Lodge, converted from an 1880s stagecoach stop. The Keystone Conference Center houses more than 60,000 sf of meeting and exhibit space, complementing an additional 40,000 sf of meeting space resort wide. “We find that the Keystone Conference Center meets our needs; it’s an independent building so we can really own the building when we’re there. And it’s just the right size for our event,” explains Annette Smith, manager corporate events at CableLabs.

“The other thing that makes Keystone unique for us is certainly the self-contained services,” she adds. “They handle the shipping themselves. Our electrical needs are also met: We require a Comcast cable feed in for our broadband service; we have a one gigabit fiber line that drops in.” In addition, Wi-Fi is available throughout the meeting rooms and common areas.

Taking full advantage of its natural environs, Keystone offers several unique spaces for special events, including Keystone Stables, Decatur Field, Keystone Lakeside Gazebo, the Mountain View Terrace, Mountain House and Summit House, Key Top Overlook and more. “People love to be in the mountains,” says Smith. “There is biking, hiking and gondola rides to the top of the mountain. It’s almost a game with them to sight wild animals: a moose, a deer, a black bear, even a mother bear and her babies behind the convention center.”

Smith also commends the resort’s culinary creativity and service. “I think that the Keystone F&B organization is probably one of the most interesting in the area. They rival anybody because of the way they bring in interns to the F&B staff. They bring in culinary students, and that gives them a freshness; you’re not seeing the same person doing the same thing all the time,” she explains. “If I say I need to do an event that focuses on Thai cuisine, I would guarantee you I would have a good menu, and it would taste like it should.” For a taste of classic Colorado beef, the CableLabs group sometimes buys out the Keystone Ranch steakhouse, set in an authentic 1930s homestead.

Keystone is managed by Vail Resorts, a few of whose properties are undergoing improvements. The Pines Lodge, a RockResort set among aspen and pine groves on the slopes of Beaver Creek Mountain, is conducting a renovation of its 60 guest rooms, as well as tech upgrades with the addition of 55-inch televisions and USB ports in every room.

In Park City, Utah, the Grand Summit Hotel is closing for renovation from April through mid-summer. A ski-in/ski-out, AAA Four Diamond resort, the Grand Summit Hotel offers 350 lodging options and several on-mountain venues for groups, such as the recently expanded Red Pine Lodge accommodating up to 450 guests.

In February, Vail Resorts entered an agreement to acquire Stowe Mountain Resort, in Stowe, Vermont, from Mt. Mansfield Company Inc. for a purchase price of $50 million. Stowe Mountain Resort will be Vail Resorts’ first mountain resort on the East Coast. Stowe Mountain Resort includes the 312-room Stowe Mountain Lodge and offers 56,000 sf of function space, a world-class spa, two 18-hole championship golf courses, the Spruce Peal Performing Arts Center and some of New England’s finest skiing with more than 100 trails.

Peaks and Lakes

Farther down the East Coast lies a classic mountain resort in Bolton Landing, New York. Set on Lake George within the Adirondacks, the Sagamore Resort was built in 1883 and pairs Victorian architecture with AAA Four Diamond quality and service.

Ideal for smaller groups, the property offers 137 guest rooms and a generous amount of indoor meeting space: more than 32,000 sf, including the 15,760-sf Conference Center and the 10,080-sf Sagamore Ballroom. Several improvement projects have been completed or are underway at the Sagamore. Wireless connectivity and download speeds are being increased from 3MB to 10MB. The 32-inch flat-screen TVs in the main hotel have been replaced with 50-inch TVs, and nano doors have been added around the indoor pool so it becomes more of an open-air concept throughout the seasons. In addition, room renovations to the entire main hotel are being planned.

Go Westward

A very different but equally beautiful mountain experience lies out West in Arizona and California. The Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa, located on 53 acres in Paradise Valley, Arizona, offers 109 guest rooms and has recently unveiled $2 million in renovations to its Spa Casitas and Spa Suites. Conducted in three stages, the project also saw the 2016 introduction of Spa House (a 3,500-sf mountain enclave for groups of up to 16) and a complete redesign of the resort’s Mountain Casita accommodations in 2015. The 12 Spa Casitas surround the resort’s infinity-edge pool and award-winning Sanctuary Spa. The 12 Spa Suites feature glass rock fireplaces and panoramic views of Paradise Valley’s Sonoran landscape.

The Lake Tahoe experience is also a “paradise” for groups, whether they’re skiing, hiking or just taking in the alpine village of Northstar California. An upscale resort choice ideal for incentive groups is The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, the area’s first AAA Five Diamond resort. Expected to open this summer is the Lake Club, an elegant, multilevel dining and bar facility with panoramic views of Lake Tahoe. The facility features a 650-sf indoor gathering area and bar, a 600-sf ground-floor dining terrace, a 950-sf upper-level dining deck and a 2,000-sf lawn area, complemented by a private boat pier, outdoor whirlpool, fire pit and barbecue.

Groups currently have more than 15,000 sf of indoor and outdoor function space at the 170-room Ritz-Carlton. During free time, attendees can repair to the 17,000-sf spa and fitness center, or get a little adventurous by taking a gondola ride to the Village at Northstar or a six-mile trip to historic downtown Truckee.

Speaking of adventure, The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe has recently launched a resort-wide program called Après Adventurist, offering guests both summer and winter packages of activities. An “Adventurist” acts as a host and escort for activities ranging from wine tasting to stargazing to snowmobile tours.

Exploring Nature in Teams

A mountainside environment tends to bring out the outdoorsman in any attendee, and exploring nature can certainly become a team experience that breeds cohesiveness. Vail Resorts has recently introduced new teambuilding experiences in partnership with CBST Adventures. Available at Vail Resorts properties in eight destinations across Colorado, Utah and California, the menu of activities includes Beaver Creek Winter Rush, based on Winter Olympic games; Vail Resorts RiverVentures Expedition, a rafting or float trip combined with strategic challenges; and Team Tune Up at Lake Tahoe, a corporate wellness/holistic program that features full-body circuit training, yoga and meditation out in nature.

Another notable example of a mountain resort curating outdoor teambuilding activities is Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York. Founded in the 1800s like the Sagamore, Mo­honk is a Victorian-style National Historic Landmark nestled in the Hudson Valley. Surrounded by 40,000 acres of pristine forest and protected wildlife, the resort is well positioned to offer groups a “back to the roots” selection of meeting activities that integrate survival skills, nature awareness and an “escape from technology.” The new program includes options such as Explore “Man Vs. Wild,” where participants work together to master the “Basic 4” elements of survival while learning to effectively communicate; Fire-Building, a mini-break where groups practice this ancient skill; Nature Walks, led by Mohonk’s naturalist, Michael Ridolfo; and Forest Bathing, an ancient Japanese form of meditation led by Mohonk’s Director of Mindfulness Programming Nina Smiley, Ph.D.

Planners who want their group’s lodging experience to be “close to nature” can consider renting Mohonk Mountain House’s newest accommodation, Grove Lodge, which debuted in September. Located by a fern grove on the northeast side of the 1,200-acre property, the 7,000-sf, two-story lodge utilizes native stones, reclaimed wood, natural finishes and sustainable materials throughout. It features six rooms and a 1,080-sf Great Room with cathedral ceilings, exposed wood beams, a natural hardwood floor and artwork from Hudson Valley artists.

Overall, a mountain resort promises immersion into some of our country’s most inspiring landscapes. And from an incentive perspective, it’s a path historically less trodden than the beach destinations. But as the Xyngular group’s longtime partnership with Sundance Mountain Resort shows, even after any novelty has worn off, attendees are still keen on earning return trips, which require achieving an elevated sales quota. The lure of the mountains, it seems, incentivizes them to greater heights of performance. C&IT

There’s nothing more rewarding than planning a meeting that people really want to attend. With beautiful weather, luxurious beaches and state-of-the-art amenities, Miami sizzles with excitement and new opportunities to take meetings and events to the next level.

Miami On the Move for Meetings

As William D. Talbert III, CDME, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, explains, Miami is a constantly evolving global destination, providing meeting planners with exceptional options for meetings, conventions and events.
“The unparalleled culture, accessibility, hotel rooms and diverse offsite venues set against a backdrop of beautiful weather and beaches are just a few of the elements that make Miami the preeminent locale for meetings and events,” Talbert says.
Miami International Airport (MIA) currently serves 109 airlines, which is the most of any U.S. airport. New airlines and nonstop routes are being added in 2017, which will further increase accessibility to the destination.

“Meetings and conventions held in Greater Miami have seen record international attendance due to the ease of air access to the destination,” Talbert says. “With three convention centers totaling more than 1 million sf, 75 additional meeting venues throughout the destination and more than 50,000 hotel rooms from intimate boutique hotels to luxury resorts and convention hotels, the GMCVB convention sales team is eager to be the meeting planner’s onsite, one stop for assistance with every detail from start to finish,” Talbert says. “Our experienced, knowledgeable team welcomes the opportunity to work with planners to identify hotels, venues, vendors and more to fulfill and exceed expectations for a highly successful meeting in Miami.”

For the full story, download the “Meeting in Miami” Planner  PDF.

Jill Anonson has more than 20 years of experience in strategic incentive travel, event management and sales strategy, and serves as the Events Solution Manager at ITA Group. She is responsible for market definition, competitive research, business plan development and more while creating strategies and solutions that help ITA Group thrive. ITA Group creates and manages incentives, events and recognition programs that align and motivate people. Headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, ITA Group has operations in every region of the United States and award solutions for 75+ countries globally. www.itagroup.com

It’s no secret that elements of the evolving global landscape trickle over into the travel industry. New risks and threats pop up without warning, and the travel and event industry is particularly vulnerable to the changes. What seems like a safe destination one day might raise eyebrows the next, forcing event planners into a difficult spot.

“Safeguarding proprietary information such as company financial data and trade secrets, as well as guest information, is imperative.”

Yet, according to a Global Business Travel Association survey, nearly 30 percent of companies reported their organization lacked a risk management plan or were unsure if there was one. That’s an incredibly vulnerable position for travel planners and their clients alike.

The good news is that the risk inherent in incentive travel can be successfully mitigated through risk management. Designing and delivering safe yet once-in-a-lifetime experiences in all corners of the world can be a reality if a comprehensive and flexible approach is used.

First: Assess the Risk

Before you can mitigate risk, you need to assess it. How much is too much? Consider these questions before selecting your destination:

• People. How will you accommodate their basic needs when traveling, such as physical safety, access to medical services and the ability to communicate?
• Experience. Will the destination meet the desire of your demographic? And will the quality of medical support be acceptable?
• Dollars. Since your incentive travel experience or event is a business investment, a profitable return is your goal. Assess whether or not your mitigation tactics are sufficient to ensure a solid return.

Destination Considerations

Arming yourself with as much timely and accurate intelligence as you can gather will allow you to identify and assess the risks of a destination. Securing legitimate intelligence will largely depend on the authenticated resources to which you have access. While destination management professionals and the news media may be able to offer insight, a qualified intelligence professional (i.e., a global security expert) often can deliver more pertinent and timely information. If you don’t have a proper resource on staff who can deliver the necessary level of accuracy or detail, consider contracting with a professional individual or team that can.

A crisis management or emergency management plan is essential. The destination-specific intelligence you gather will allow you to fine tune that plan, mitigating risk down to the lowest possible level. The plan should include — but is not limited to — these strategies:

• An emergency meeting location. Being able to account for each of your guests in the event of a fire or flood is the first step to ensuring traveler safety. Your emergency meeting location should be shared in pre-event communications and reinforced onsite at arrival.
• An evacuation strategy. If your group is in an area where tropical storms are a possibility, a detailed evacuation plan may prove lifesaving.
• Reliable communication. If the terror threat rises or public unrest escalates while you are onsite, knowing exactly how you will reach each and every one of your guests with details and instructions is a must. Strongly consider leveraging your event technology such as an app, or create an emergency text/email distribution list to disseminate mass messages.

Medical Risk Management

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “…the hazards associated with travel cannot be eliminated. …The goal in travel and in travel medicine should be skillfully managing risk, rather than trying to eliminate risk.”

From potentially life-threatening medical emergencies to travel-related injury and illness, the risk of a situation requiring medical attention is quite likely with a large group of travelers, making it critical to have medical care procedures in place. Well in advance of the trip, research and complete a checklist that details:

• The nearest hospital and pharmacy.
• Hotel phone number, security procedures and emergency process.
• Whether there is an AED (automated external defibrillator) program and/or doctor on call at the hotel.
• EMT and ambulance estimate travel time to/from hotel.
• U.S. Embassy location/address and hours of operation.
• Decide how, in the event of a medical emergency, the staff should contact emergency services for assistance.
• Prepare a list of which onsite team members should be immediately notified.
• Determine if staff members (either your team or the hotel/travel staff) have emergency training in first aid, CPR or AED use, and if there a first aid kit or AED near where the event will take place.

Data Protection

While the evolution of technology as it relates to travel and events is of immense value, the benefits come with substantial risk. Safeguarding proprietary information such as company financial data and trade secrets, as well as guest information, is imperative. Your data risk management approach should be carefully planned with your information technology team. Data collection/encryption, network security and security access features of your event spaces need to be analyzed. Third-party services being utilized by technology suppliers to collect information and the privacy policies in place should be examined. Also, appropriate social media policies should be established for your event.

Consider the data security of your individual attendees, asking these questions:

• Does the event space’s VPN (Virtual Private Network)extend to the guest rooms?
• Will you or the hotel be using beacons to convey or collect information from attendees, and what might this expose?
• What is your policy for lost or stolen devices and identifiable information?

Financial Security

A travel experience or event is an investment for your company — and protecting that investment is critical to its success. There may be times when the risk is greater than the reward, and cancellation becomes a reality, or events outside your control force you to revise travel dates or switch hotels. But there are protective measures you can take to protect yourself and your investment. Here are five major contracting considerations:

• Rates, deposits and payment schedules, including your contracted attrition rate and deposit schedule.
• Do you have a reasonable cancellation schedule and force majeure terms that are up to date as they relate to global risk factors? Have you negotiated construction/renovation terms that can have an impact on your travel experience?
• Confidentiality. What protections are in place for you and your guests? Have you negotiated terms prohibiting your hotel partner from booking your competitors during your event date?
• Insurance. Do your hotelier partners and third-party suppliers have adequate insurance portfolios?
• Are mutual indemnification and hold-harmless terms part of your agreement? Have you formally defined how you will resolve disputes?

The bottom line is that exercising sound risk management is good business. Mitigating risk is a win for you, your business and your valued guests. C&IT