Dave shared insights into the human psyche and by adding in his own personal stories and sense of humor the morning was filled with great information and lots of laughter.  He started out by asking the group who believed they have free will.  Of course, everyone believes that they do but in reality, none of have it at all.  The unconscious mind is always one step ahead, trying to prepare the conscious mind for what to anticipate, thereby controlling you.  For example, you always look before stepping out into the road, so that you don’t get hit by a bus.  Your unconscious mind warned the conscious mind of the possible danger and made you do something – look both ways before crossing the road. 

It is interesting that the conscious mind can go forward and backward but it is never in “the moment”. However, the unconscious mind is always in the moment. 

While we may not have the free will we think we have or would like to have, we do control how we think and how we view the world.  We do control our schema, for better or worse. You chose whether you want to live in an optimistic world or a pessimistic world.  As you change your schema you will change your life.  One can become an optimist if they so choose, just as easily as one can become a pessimist.  It is a proven scientific fact that optimists live healthier, happier lives and live on average 15 years longer than pessimists.

Living a stress free life is also very important to good health and a healthy outlook on life.  The number one cause of stress is not other people and their actions but rather the voices inside our head.  What Dave called “the 3 AM demon committee meeting in your head as you lay in bed.” Let it go! 

Learning to like you is also a key fact to having a healthy outlook.  “You had better like you, because you will always be there for you!”  Why is it that people always define themselves by the things they like least about themselves?  What do you really like about yourself? Focus on that.  Control your thoughts, shift your schema, and your whole outlook will shift with it.

Dave Mitchell will return again for the June 21, 2012 GOAMPI meeting.  Be sure to register early as you will not want to miss it.

This post was writing by Lauralee Shapiro, CMP for the Greater Orlando Meeting Professionals International Marketing Committee, May 2012

As planners, it is our goal to set the stage to inspire our attendees. To do this successfully, there are 7 “Drivers of Inspiration” according to Mohl.

1. Vision – You must have a clear vision of what the outcome will be.

2. Progress – Whether it is a personal or professional skill, the attendee must walk away expressing that they have progressed in their competency of this skill because of the meeting.

3. Story – Tell a story and tell it well.

4. Affirmation – You must know ahead of time, what this is going to be.

5. Authenticity – Define the “why” and have it guide the entire process – before, during and after the meeting.

6. Credibility – This goes back to the opening quote above: Never let credibility killers undermine the integrity of the experience

7. Servant Leadership – You need to serve other people’s needs and wants. The participant should be the #1 priority; they are the true stake holder.

So, how do you bring this all together to inspire your attendees  We witnessed this by watching an 8 minute abbreviated version of the Wizard of Oz.  It went like this:

The song Somewhere Over The Rainbow is your vision. The house lands and the munchkins proclaim their affirmation that “Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead!”.  The skill Dorothy is in search of is a way to get home.  She progresses by following the yellow brick road. Along the way, she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion, all of whom show their authenticity by admitting they do not have a brain, a heart and courage. In an effort to help the three of them, Dorothy takes them on the journey with her to meet the wizard.  They are now her stake holders and she is creating a culture of servant leadership. We all know that once they actually get there, the “wizard” is a man behind a curtain.  This part of the movie just screams credibility. In the end, the real story is that the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion overcame their own obstacles and helped to save Dorothy. The Wizard gave them all affirmation that what they were looking for, they already had within.  Your meeting attendees may already have the skills and knowledge they need but it is your role as the meeting designer to create an atmosphere to help them discover these skills within.

The process of designing an inspiring meeting must have a clear vision, a great story and you must know the outcome, from the start.  What will your story be and how will you inspire your attendees at your next meeting?

I recently stayed at a lower end chain brand in a major convention city.  For the rate I paid, it was okay and normally I would not complain because I understand the concept of you get what you pay for, but this property was just one disappointment after another.  Here is my list of “issues” and “concerns” I experienced.

1. The shade on the bedside lamp was not properly fitted to the base.  It had a makeshift fix to hold it in place except every time you moved it more than one inch, the shade would fall off and if you were in the way, you’d get hit in the head with it. After this happened twice, I just took it off and put it on the floor off to the side.

2. I was sharing the room with another woman.  She was also registered in the room so they knew there were two women in the room.  The first day, they took out four towels but only replace them with two.  I had to call twice to get more towels.  When I called the second time, the front desk agent apologized for not sending them up the first time but she “forgot what room it was that called for the towels so she was glad I called back”.  I should also note that this is a very large chain brand and they did NOT have a conservation program where you hang the towels up if you want to keep them.  I should also note that even if they did have such a program in place, there was no towel bar in the shower nor hooks on the wall to actually hang up your towels, so they all had to go on the floor. There was nowhere else to put them.

3. I wear glasses and most of the time, I wear eye make up.  It has long been a pet peeve of mine to have a make up mirror in the bathroom. It does not have to be magnified or have lights, just a mirror that is close enough so I can see what I am doing without my glasses.  It is too hard to do this with a standard wall mirror when you have to lean across a 24″ counter.  So, this hotel did not have a make up mirror.  I was disappointed but I figured, I could use the full length mirror in the hallway as you first come into the room.  There was a light switch right as you come in the room so I flicked this switch thinking I’d get a nice light directly above the mirror and put on my make up. No such luck.  There was no light.  We could not figure out what the switch was for; we tried and tried but it did not control any lights in the room.  So there I was in front of a mirror, nice and close but with the bathroom door closed (my room-mate was in there) I stood in the dark and could not do anything.

4. My biggest issue has to do with security.  As a woman traveller, and a hotel employee, I know all about proper security measures so that the guests are safe.  I was expecting a fax at the hotel to support a discounted rate I received.  When we returned to the hotel on the first night from dinner, I stopped by the front desk to see if the fax had arrived.  The agent went into their back office to check the fax machine. She stood at the doorway to the back office, about 6′-8′ from the actual front desk counter and called over to me “what’s your room number honey?” so she could write it on the fax to attach to my room folio.  I should mention that there were serveral other people at the desk checking in at this time. I replied to her that if she brought the fax over to the counter, I would be happy to write it down for her.  Never, ever should this happen.  When a guest checks in, male or female, the front desk agent should never say the room number out loud.  I was astonished that this happened.

All in all, I have to say, the stay was just okay. However, I highly doubt I will return to that particular hotel again in the future.   I checked out five days ago and have yet to receive an e-mail asking me to complete a survey for them.  If they do send me one, I will be sure to reply with the link to this blog.  So you tell me, am I a hotel snob? I don’t think so……

“Think Outside The Box”. How many times have you heard this before; whether it is for creating custom menus or program content for a meeting? Ms. Eisenstodt posed this questions to the group; why are meeting room set ups modeled after traditional grade school seating?  This is not thinking outside the box at all.  Everyone is sitting quietly in nice straight rows, taking notes, moving from one classroom to another (aka breakout sessions).  It was no fun when we were in school and it is not fun at a meeting.  You need to try to understand how your audience learns and then design the program to accommodate a variety of different learning types.  For example, some people can learn better with white noise or music in the background. Others need complete silence.  Some want a comfortable chair at a table to take notes while others prefer a casual living room set up while typing on their tablet.  You need to try to mix it up to meet everyone’s needs.  Perhaps consider having the main session in a quiet room with comfortable executive chairs and then go into self directed breakout rooms with bean bag chairs and iPod docking stations.

These different learning styles need to be addressed as well as how the content is developed.  Some attendees may still find value and enjoy learning from a traditional Power Point presentation while others may be more visual and will absorb more from a presentation model known as Peckakucha. This follows a 20 X 20 rule.  On the screen, attendees will see 20 images and each will change after 20 seconds (you can learn more about this at www.pecha-kucha.org ).

But what about ROI you ask?  Consider setting the room with clusters of 6 – 8 at square tables to encourage interaction if your goal is to brainstorm and plan for the future. The outcome of the sessions will have great ROI if the stage is set to encourage it.  If you are looking for play type activities with ROI, engage the services of a teambuilding company to help you find ways to add value to the program.  Long gone are the days of beach Olympic tug-o-wars and raft building.  Attendees ask for more now.  Serving ice cream to terminally ill children or volunteering at a Veterans rehab center.  These kinds of “play” will produce a win-win every time.   Final quote Ms. Eisenstodt left us with – “Play is the highest form of research” Albert Einstein.

This post first appeared on www.goampi.org in February 2012.

On Thursday November 17, the Greater Orlando Area MPI chapter welcomed Mary J. Monusky, CEO of Premier Lifestyles, Inc.  She spent the better part of the hour presenting and discussing the findings of a study conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership.  The study was a survey of over 1,100 CEO over a 7 year span; in 2003, 2007 and 2010.  The results were both surprising and inspiring.

One point that the majority of the CEO’s agreed on is that the global business environment is complex and requires change.  To be relevant, you need to restructure, implement process improvements across the board and continually educate and better yourself. One key factor in all of this was with regards to talent.

Talent is #1 – the process of acquisition, development and retention (this is why you need to continually educate yourself).  Ms. Monusky talked about a new trend in talent acquisition that companies like Google and Groupon are using called “Bottoms Up Recruiting”.  Rather than focusing on the top of a resume –  the educational background, designation etc., they are focusing on the bottom of the resume to see what your interests are; what you do outside of work and if you are good fit for the culture of that particular organization.  A PhD is not as relevant or important as the fact that maybe you are a regional champion for BMX racing.  They are looking for the “wow factor” of the person, not so much the education and experience.

Three skills that stood out as being critical to these CEO’s were collaboration, negotiation and horizontal management.  You need to be able to collaborate with others; this was a key skill set.  Your negotiation skills with regards to how you influence management above you but also how you influence those you don’t manage, the horizontal management skills.

Ms. Monusky talked about top trends to watch for in the near future. 66% of the CEO’s in the survey felt that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is 2^nd only to market share.  More and more companies are making CSR a major part of their overall strategies; giving back to the community and / or the environment. Secondly, Mergers & Acquisitions are going to be key moving forward.  You need to know what is coming next so you are not surprised.  Is the hotel next to you about to be sold or go into foreclosure? This is critical information and you need to know it before it happens.  Lastly, she discussed the rise in ethical concerns. One only needs to watch the headlines to see examples of ethics gone bad in today’s global business community.

As mentioned earlier, she explained how important it will be to continually educate yourself.  Mary pointed out three key areas to focus on to become a great, global business leader.

1. EI – Emotional Intelligence is the ability to identify, assess, communicate and manage emotions.
2. TBL – Triple Bottom Line is a new trend in accounting.  Based on Profits, People and the Planet, this is a new way for CFO’s to report on a company. It is important to note that “Planet” does not only refer to saving the planet I.e. recycling but also how the company is reducing their footprint that is being left on the planet.
3. HBR – Harvard Business Review case studies are excellent reading

Some great resources she left us with included:

www.ccl.org www.hbr.org  www.greenbiz.com  www.selfgrowth.com  www.wisebusiness.com  and www.bloomberg.com/the-mentor

Last piece of advice was this, “everything new is happening now!”.  Don’t get left behind.

In my 15+ years in this industry as both a supplier and a planner, I have seen firsthand the types of unethical behavior that takes place.  Here are just two examples:

• As a hotelier, local suppliers like DMC’s and off site venues reach out to the future, definite clients to see if they can secure some of their business during the meeting or incentive trip.  This is usually done by way of introductions from solid relationships with the  sales managers or convention service managers. The contact list for future groups is confidential hotel information and yet I know that in some destinations, money is paid for this information. I was offered several hundred dollars by one such vendor for the hotel list, which I turned down.
• As an independent planner always looking to expand my client base, I was approached by a hotel sales person offering to introduce me to key, potential clients if I split my commissions on future bookings with them, to be paid in cash without the hotel’s knowledge. Again, I turned this down. I did receive referrals to new accounts from some hotel sales people but it was an open introduction with no cash exchange.  It was done based on a solid relationship between two professionals who both had the best interest of the client in mind.

The meetings / hospitality industry is no different from others in that it is a very small, very incestuous industry.  It can almost be guaranteed that you will cross paths with a former co-worker or boss at some point in time if you stay in the business long enough.  When presented with a  situation that your gut tells you is just not right, do a gut check and ask yourself if your mother would approve of the behavior. That should give you your answer.  I urge you to make the right choices and help us all work together to elevate the ethical standards of our industry.

The Greater Orlando Area Meeting Professionals International (GOAMPI) October education event was presented by Orlando’s very own Fritz Lehman. He has been involved in the  hospitality industry in Orlando since he founded Hello Florida! in 1986. In 2005 he started OpenDoor Resources, LLC.  As an executive recruiter with a focus on the meetings / hospitality industry, he knows a thing or two about what employers are looking for.

The current economy has created what Lehman referred to as a “bulls eye market”.  Employers looking to fill vacant positions are searching for that needle in a haystack. They want the perfect match; somebody who has not only done the job before, but is doing it now.  The successful candidate will be able to hit the ground running with little ramp up time needed.  Transferable skills and past experience are just not enough in this bulls eye job market. 

Here are some tips Lehman gave on how to stand out as an applicant.  Some of these tips may seem obvious but they are also the ones that are most often overlooked and almost always are the cause for elimination from consideration.

• Network within your industry, even when you are not looking for a new position.  When you need a friend, it is too late to start trying to make friends.  Keep in touch with recruiters and read industry trade journals.
• If you are interested in a certain company, set up traces to know when a position has been posted.  Check out www.watchthatpage.com.
• Review, clean up and monitor your social media profile(s). Employers are checking your on line presence and applicants will be eliminated from consideration if they have photos, comments etc. that are not in line with the corporate culture.

Resume tips:

-Substance and style are equally important. Your resume should be logical, clear, free of spelling and grammatical errors and accurate.  This is an opportunity to show your writing skills; how you express yourself, but be careful not to get too creative with the formatting.  Have a second set of eyes or a professional resume writer help you. Don’t rely solely on spell check; it is not always correct.

-Be honest! Employers will verify dates of past employment. Do not intentionally obscure dates of employment, for example listing 2008 – 2009 when in fact is was June 2008 – January 2009. Do not try to hide your age by omitting dates for graduating college.

- Customize your resume for each job.  Emphasize your experience that is relevant to the position.

-The style and content should match the level of experience and position you are applying for.

-Be sure to include accomplishments and achievements and omit information that is irrelevant.

Interview tips:

- Be on time.

-Research the company and have questions prepared. A great question to ask early in the interview if you can is “What are the characteristics of the ideal candidate?” Listen carefully to the answer and remember it as you answer their questions.

-Be enthusiastic. Even if you feel it is not going well, stay upbeat and determined to win the job. Don’t give up until you get an official “no”.

-Have a well thought out, rehearsed answer to the question “tell me about yourself”. It should be 60 – 90 seconds and should be relevant to the position you are interviewing for.

-Answer questions with details, not just a yes or no. Show them you are articulate.

-Send a Thank You note right away. E-mail is acceptable but a hand written note will make you stand out.

-Do not speak poorly of your current / past employers or co-workers.

-Take responsibility for your failures – Don’t be the victim and blame everyone and everything.

Lastly, take advantage of technology to make your application stand out. Two ideas that I loved were having a video resume and having a QR code on your resume that will link to an on line resume, your person web page with your bio or perhaps your LinkedIn profile.

Here are a few options that can save you time, money and head aches:

1. The local convention bureau almost always will have temps who are trained and experienced.  They are hired on an hourly basis and are local so there is no travel costs involved.

2. Hire a freelance travel director. These folks are true professionals in the meetings industry.  Many are CMP’s (Certified Meeting Professional designation).  Some may be local to your meeting location, others would have travel expenses, but their experience and expertise is almost always worth their weight in gold.

3. For a limited budget and simple needs, look to see if there is a local hospitality school near by. I have yet to meet a 2nd or 3rd year student who would turn down the opportunity for some real life, hands on experience.  With good direction, these students are an excellent option.

In all three options noted, you would save on the expense of airfares and hotel for your own staff to travel, you would gain the peace of mind that you have experienced meeting professionals working for you and you will continue to have staff in the office so that your organization can continue to be productive and not miss a beat.

Disclaimer: I am not an employee of nor do I represent any of the hotel companies mentioned in this blog.  All of the statements and examples provided here are just those…examples.  They are my own opinions based on my personal and professional experiences and knowledge and should not be considered “the standard” with any and / or all of the hotel companies mentioned.

 1. Corporate Owned and Managed by a chain brand:

This is when the hotel company, for example Starwood or Marriott owns the hotel and also has control of the day-to-day operations of the business.  The employees are paid by the hotel company and they receive the corporate training and abide by those corporate policies and procedures.  With a national or global chain, there are usually national sales offices (NSO); sales people who represent all the hotels in the chain, not just one specific property. These NSO contacts are a great support system if you run into problems at the property level when it comes to contracting, planning or even the execution of your meeting.  A “pro” for this ownership model is that in the event your meeting cancels, you may be able to negotiate to relocate a cancelled meeting to a different hotel within their chain or get a credit of your attrition dollars paid to be used at a future meeting at another one of their hotels. The levels of service and hotel product will also have great consistency. Potential “con” for this is that sometimes we all know a very large corporation can take a long to time make a decision when asked to have an exception to the standard practices.  This can hold up negotiations.

 2. Privately Owned and Corporate Managed by a chain brand:

Some companies are in the business of owning hotels but they do not manage them.  In this case, the employees would receive their training, pay and benefits from the hotel company, such as Starwood or Marriott. This is often a franchise situation where the owners of the building have paid the hotel company a fee to “fly their flag” and carry the brand name whether that be a Westin or a JW Marriott.  Under such an arrangement, you are assured the consistency in the level of service and the hotel product as you would find in a hotel that that brand would own and manage.  A potential “con” to this structure is that the owners usually have the final say with anything that has to do with money.  So if a renovation or upgrades to the meeting space need to be done, it is up to the owners whether or not to invest money into the property.  As a franchise, they must maintain certain standards to keep the name and also their diamond /star ratings.  Also, the ownership may not own other hotels in the same chain so the potential to rebook a cancelled meeting or negotiate attrition as described in #1 would not apply. The owner wants all the money to stay at their hotel, not go to another one that they do not have a stake in.

 3. Privately Owned and Privately Managed as Franchise of chain brand:

This is like taking example #2 and adding one more degree of separation.  For example, ABC Company owns the hotel, and they manage it – the employees are trained and paid by ABC Company.  ABC Company has paid a franchise fee to Hilton Worldwide to “flag” the hotel as a Doubletree.  Other than the Doubletree flag out front and you being awarded your Hilton points, the corporate folks at Hilton will not have much to do with this hotel.  The National Sales Office will send group leads to them and individual guests can use Hilton central reservations but if you run into any problems with the hotel, you in all likelihood would be dealing with someone at ABC Company to resolve the situation, not Hilton Worldwide.

 4. Privately Owned and Privately Managed – Independent hotel:

The best example of this hotel would be a “mom and pop” owned hotel.  However, some of these are VERY nice mom and pops.  Some of the best, most exclusive hotels in the world have this ownership.  An example would be the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Nothing wrong with that hotel, I can say from personal experience it is truly one of the best.  Pros for this business model are that they have tremendous flexibility with rate, concessions and contract terms.  They can also run any type of promotion they want and do renovations when and how they prefer.  A potential con for this one though is the lack of support you would get from a national chain.  It is just you and hotel.

 5. Privately Owned with Management Contract – Independent hotel:

There are companies who are in the business of managing hotels.  They will manage a chain brand hotel or an independent hotel; they are not too choosy.  When ABC Company owns a hotel that they do not want to manage, they hire XYZ Corporation to be the management company to run the day-to-day operations.  This ownership structure has many of the same pros and cons as #4 but the actual owner is one step removed from the day-to-day operations and decision-making process.

 Here are two examples in the Orlando area (where there is no shortage of hotels!) that don’t fall into any of the above….just to make it even more confusing!

 Universal Orlando - there are three Loews hotels (Portofino Bay, Hard Rock and the Royal Pacific).  Their ownership / management set up were described to me by an employee as:

“A joint venture with three hospitality brands, include one chain brand.  The chain brand manages the three hotels.”

 Here is another:

Reunion Resort and Club, A Wyndham Grand Resort – this resort has an owner, who has hired a management company to run the day-to-day operations.  The owner also recently franchised the resort to be part of the Wyndham Grand Resort collection but Wyndham has no part in the operation of the resort.  Wyndham is really only there in name….

The bottom line is that you can never really know who owns and / or manages the hotel you are about to contract with.  If after reading this blog you feel that it is important for you to know this information, add it to your RFP so you know from the get go, and always have a change in ownership / change in management clause in your contracts.  You just never know what will happen to that hotel between contract signing and when your group arrives.

Rate Spread

If the hotel has quoted separate rates for single and double occupancy rooms, review your group’s history and determine which occupancy you use more of.  If you use more doubles than singles, ask them to reduce the double occupancy rate and increase the single occupancy rate.

Complimentary Policy

Many hotels will offer one complimentary room for every 50 rooms sold based on the number of sleeping rooms you contract for on your main meeting days.  This can often be negotiated to a lower ratio such as one in 40 or even one in 25 in some cases.  Always try to get the complimentary rooms based on a cumulative basis as opposed to a daily basis and include any rooms your attendees use if they extend their stay prior to or post of the main meeting days.

Shipping and Receiving

If you have a lot of supplies that you ship ahead for the meeting, you can negotiate the fees to be waived anywhere from 24 to 48 hours prior to arrival.  Base it on the first night of any attendee arrival, not the first meeting day as you will probably arrive a day or two ahead of the group.

Beverage Service for Office

If your meeting or conference will require an office for the on-site staff members who are there to work the meeting, ask the hotel to provide complimentary beverages such as coffee, water and sodas.  It’s a small concession the hotel can provide to help keep the hardworking staff happy and save you some money.

Group Rate Extension

Most contracts will state that after the cutoff date or after the group room block has been filled the hotel will offer the best available room rate. This can often be negotiated to extend the group rate if they have rooms available.

I always recommend having a professional represent you when negotiating any contract.  The best executed contracts are not a “win-win agreement” but rather a “partnership agreement” between your company and the hotel.  The hotel sales manager is representing the hotel and their interests, but who is representing you and your company if you do not have a legal department to review the contract?

This first appeared on www.officearrow.com in January 2010.