Lighten Up
Every organization or meeting can benefit from a little humor.
“Corporate cultures that embrace humor are embracing team spirit, creativity, productivity and better health,” says Shannon McDevitt of Just Humor Me (http://www.justhumorme.com). “All of these things translate into bigger profits. And while a good sense of humor doesn’t guarantee good character or ethics, the absence of it often indicates underlying problems in morale, service, or integrity.”
Embassy Suites Hotels recently injected some humor into its business by conducting a “Do Not Disturb” contest, which invited hotel guests to come up with creative slogans to be used on the hotel chains’ newly-designed “Do Not Disturb” door hangers. The five winners each received a three-night stay at a select Embassy Suites destination. Their winning slogans, soon to be hung on doors across the country, include:
- “Shh! I’m hatching a plan to bust some little soaps out of here.” – Marty Mintman, St. Louis, MO
- “Pillow Fight in Progress.” – Susan Suarez, University City, MO
- “There are days when I wish I could wear this around my neck” – Sandra Parcher, Milpitas, CA
- “I’ve built a pillow fort and I am not opening the door for anybody!” – Amy Forgette, Streamwood, IL
- “Aww, Mom. Just five more minutes. Please?” – Brian White, Chicago, IL
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Service Gets Certified
You might plan the perfect meeting, but once attendees arrive at your destination, you have little control over the service they’ll receive. And for some meeting planners, truly good service from drivers, desk clerks, food service workers and others seems extremely hard to come by these days.
In some cities, that’s changing. The Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) program, launched by Mickey Schaefer & Associates’ Tourism Ambassador Institute, is a certification program that inspires front-line hospitality employees and volunteers to work together to turn every visitor encounter into a positive, memorable experience. In order to use the “CTA” designation behind his or her name (such as John Smith, CTA), a hospitality employee must complete assigned reading, take a one-day class and pass a final examination. He or she must also maintain ongoing education to learn more about his or her region and what it has to offer visitors, as well as more about the meetings and conventions industry.
Convention and visitor bureaus in a number of cities, including Kansas City, Tucson, Greater Phoenix, Milwaukee, Lexington, Spokane, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Cincinnati, are now licensed to offer the CTA designation in their destinations. Meeting planners say they’ve noticed a marked difference in the service provided by front-line employees in those destinations. So if you’re looking for a city where your group will receive exceptional service, check out a CTA city.
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Taking the CMP? Study in Second Life
Early this year, the Meetings Community (MeCo) Group conducted its first Virtual CMP Boot Camp to help prepare meeting planners who will be taking the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) exam. The virtual study group met in Second Life at the MeCo Mansion, a place of learning and networking for meeting and event professionals built in 2007 by Dan Parks, President/Creative Director of Corporate Planners Unlimited, Inc.
According to reports, Second Life offered an ideal environment to prepare for the exam. “This is an excellent complement to face-to-face learning,” says Jessica Levin, a meeting planner who blogs at http://eventmarketing.typepad.com/blog/. “I am amazed at how real the experience of Second Life is and how the learning experience is brought into my living room. It was much different ‘sitting’ in the MeCo Mansion theater with my fellow ‘classmates’ than just listening in on a webinar.”
While other fee-based exam preparation classes are usually offered over a three-day weekend where many candidates have to travel by air and be away from home, this boot camp was offered at no charge to attendees and allowed participants to log in from the comfort of their home or office. Looking toward more corporate social responsibility, MeCo is setting the pace by taking a lean and green approach with the medium of Second Life in reaching other professionals, showing them best practices in minimizing carbon imprints, along with the merits of how technology will augment the industry as a whole.
For more information, visit http://www.meetingscommunity.org.
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Breakfast of Champions
Looking to do some business over a hotel meal? You might want to skip dinner and drinks.
A new survey commissioned by Holiday Inn Express found that more than two-thirds of respondents prefer conducting business during a sit-down breakfast. “And while 87% enjoy having a hot breakfast with their colleagues, 77% view breakfast with the boss as an innocent opportunity to get to know them better, not just a way to earn brownie points and get ahead professionally,” say the survey’s authors.
The survey also discovered that business travelers are looking for smarter, more cost-conscious ways to work and connect with other professionals over breakfast. That’s why Holiday Inn Express says it has upgraded its free Express Start Breakfast Bar to include a wider menu of hot foods. The bar now includes cheese omelets, bacon, sausage and biscuits with gravy, as well as its signature cinnamon rolls and coffee. Holiday Inn says it will also continue to offer lighter fare such as fresh fruit and yogurt.
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