Happy Holidays from ConferenceDirect
Our good wishes for health and prosperity in the coming year.
It's Not Easy Being Green, Part Two
President's Message
By Brian Stevens
Over the past several months we have held a number of customer seminars in major cities around the country. We talked about a lot of topics that one would expect: technology, hotel growth, smoking rooms, attrition (will it ever go away?) and greener meetings. The topic that continues to be the next big deal is the green topic.
More and more, people in our industry are passionate about the environmental subject and becoming more so. Our first customer gathering was in Chicago. Wanting to accommodate our guests, we made sure that the hotel provided lots of bottled water. When the evaluations came back, several attendees commented that it wasn't ideal to have served the water in disposable plastic bottles. For the second meeting, instead, we ordered pitchers of water for each table. When the evaluations came back, one attendee commented that we could have filled a lake with all the water that would be wasted. Both are valid suggestions and the purists among us would probably suggest that, next time, we provide a filtered water cooler with each attendee taking a glass to the back of the room and only pouring as much as we will drink.
Because they are dealing with laundry, food and beverage, rubbish and waste, energy use, and a lot of promotional collateral and paper that guests bring for meetings (and leave behind), hotels have plenty of opportunities to reduce their environmental impact. While I think that this subject will become an evolution versus a revolution, it is a new way of doing what we do. Recall that one by one, municipalities around the globe banned smoking in gathering places. Many cities and countries still allow smoking, but one by one they are being challenged. The proverbial writing is on the wall, and "greener" meetings will be the new way.
In my humble opinion, this comes down to just two major questions:
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What is the facility we are booking doing to be more environmentally responsible?
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What is our environmental responsibility as a meeting, conference or convention?
The facilities question is complicated. Everything from lighting to where the executive chef buys the hotel's food can effect the environment. Recently, we learned that a hotel in Canada was either growing their own herbs and vegetables or buying them from all local farmers to conserve on the transportation pollution created from shipping food hundreds and thousands of miles.
In the future, I think there will be a rating system assessing how hotels light their buildings, recycle their discards, and clean their laundry. These ratings will be important to companies and associations who've made their own commitment to reducing environmental impact. Put another way, "green" is to 2008 what Sarbanes Oxley was to 2000.
For those wanting to think more about the evolving ‘green revolution' and its impact on business, the book Green to Gold by Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston (Yale University Press) offers a fascinating take on leadership-level responses to environmental responsibility and sustainability issues and practices.
I wish you a wonderful holiday season and a very green 2008.
NOW AVAILABLE: Virtual Content from IndustryInsights
Customer Seminars
If you weren't able to attend one of the four US-wide IndustryInsights seminars, please email brian_stevens@conferencedirect.com for instructions on accessing the virtual content. Our seminars are designed for ConferenceDirect customers – tackling issues such as increasing attendance, sustainability and environmental issues, saving money on meetings, and learning from key trends within the meetings industry.
Around the Block Hotel Audits: When, Where, How, and Why
By Bryan Croyle
Attendees are savvier than ever these days when it comes to booking hotel rooms. The Internet rates from wholesalers and best rate guarantees from individual hotel websites give your attendees many options to choose from in addition to your room block. Hotels are also enforcing damages for lack of performance (attrition) so it is important now more than ever to take room block management to the next level.
Performing "around the block audits" for your events is a surefire way to reduce potential attrition while sweetening the pot with more deserved concessions. Here are some ideas on how to manage a hotel audit.
WHEN – The Sooner the Better
The audit process starts in the contracting phase. It's important that the contract stipulates that your organization has the right to perform an around the block audit during or after your meeting and that rooms outside the block will be credited to your final pickup and count toward all contractual concessions.
If the contracts are already signed, there's still hope. Get the hotel to agree to an audit in writing before the program actualizes. Schedule the audit in advance and confirm it during your Pre-Con. Discuss exactly what reports you expect the hotel to bring to the audit and what you will be bringing.
WHERE – Onsite and Face-to-Face
The most efficient audits happen onsite after the peak night of the program. Many Convention Services Managers will perform the audit with their customers. Often it may be your Group Reservations Manager or a reservations team member. Sometimes at smaller properties, it's your sales person or the hotel's Revenue Manager.
Doing the audit onsite at the hotel gives you their undivided attention and the opportunity to look up additional information in the registration and/or hotel system to verify a match. Walking away from the meeting with the around the block names and dates assures a backup for comparison when you receive the final pick up report.
HOW – Preparation is Key
Coming to the audit with the right information will make the process run much smoother. On the Meeting Planner side, you should bring a complete list of all registrants for the meeting. This means all attendees, exhibitors, onsite registrants, staff, anyone and everyone who could possibly be in the hotel for your meeting. Having this list in Excel format as a soft copy will eliminate the need to print the lengthy list and make searching the list a breeze.
Have the hotel bring a list of everyone who had a reservation on your peak night with all noted group codes, preferably sorted by group code. By skipping over names already coded to your group or other groups obviously not associated with your group (other group business, airline codes, etc.), you can shorten the list of names needed to be cross-referenced.
To protect the hotel guest's privacy and the privacy of your attendees, there is no need to exchange lists. As the hotel representative reads the last name of those on their list, you can quickly search your Excel list (Tip: Sort your list by last name. Highlight the last name column and use "Ctrl + F" to search just the last name column.) verifying if you have a first and last name match. When you find a legitimate around the block room, be sure to note on your spreadsheet the guest's arrival and departure date so you can track the number of reservations and room nights found outside the block.
WHY – Because YOU Benefit
Performing the audit creates positive results for the planning organization. Room nights found around the block may push you at or over your commitment to the hotel, eliminating attrition penalties. Additionally, more room nights often means more concessions. The potential is there to earn more complimentary room nights and save your organization money.
You will also have more accurate history which is valuable for future negotiations. It's also helpful to survey a few of those that booked around the block to understand their needs and the reasons why a book around was necessary. This information may result in procedural changes to better accommodate your delegation.
Yes, audits are another task on your already lengthy list, but it's a task that produces results. Being proactive from the beginning will streamline the process and make the rewards that much sweeter.
Bryan Croyle is Vice President of Conference Management/Housing and Registration for ConferenceDirect.
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Joan Stevens' Perfect Pumpkin Pie
With the idea of saving you time and in the spirit of the holiday season, we offer you Joan Stevens' (mother of our intrepid CEO) sure-to-please recipe for simple and classic pumpkin pie.
You'll Need:
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1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
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1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
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2 eggs
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1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
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1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust
Instructions:
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Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk pumpkin, condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.
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Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Let cool completely. Garnish with whipped cream.
Enjoy with friends!
