In This Issue

Keys to Productive Meet & Greet Programs
Tipping Part II: At Home and on the Road
Low Carbs Part II: Combining Low Carbs and Fine Dining
Good News About Hospitality Jobs
Question of the Month
Around the Industry
Krisam & GEP News

Keys to Productive Meet & Greet Programs
A guest column by John Cushnie, Convention Sales Manager, Absolutely Atlanta

Limousines? Rickshaws? Horse-drawn carriages? Memorable meetings that make your company look good don't begin at the door of the meeting place. To hold a truly perfect event, your welcome should begin as soon as your guests arrive in town. "Meet & Greet" programs coddle VIPs, enhance the efficiency of schedules, and give everyone good vibes about you and your organization. A little extra effort, and what an impression you'll make! Here are some ways to initiate or expand a Meet & Greet program and guidelines for making it run smoothly.

Tipping Part II: At Home and on the Road -- by popular request
Excerpts from Be on Your Best Business Behavior by Colleen Rickenbacher

"When tipping maids in a hotel, be sure to do it on a daily basis," Colleen Rickenbacher recommends, as shifts change and you could end up tipping one maid for services performed by many. It's also best to leave the tip in an envelope (even the hotel provided ones), she cautions, so it's clear the money is for the maid and not pocket change meant to be retrieved later.

Author of Be on Your Best Business Behavior, Colleen offered tipping advice for event planners in their professional capacity last month. Now, in response to your requests, Colleen suggests tipping guidelines for everyday life. Hotels, restaurants, airports, cabs, salons, it's all here.

Low Carbs Part II: Combining Low Carbs and Fine Dining (plus a Tasty Recipe)
An interview with James Reaux, Executive Chef, Boca Raton Resort & Club

Let's face it. When someone signs up for an annual conference or is invited to a special event as a reward for a job well done, they're not expecting to deprive themselves the whole time. In fact, they are probably looking forward to a bit of pampering and a superb meal or two. So, how can you, as an event planner, meet their expectations, not ruin their diets, and also please those who aren't counting calories or carbs?

Executive Chef James Reaux of the Boca Raton Resort & Club has his own philosophy about serving low carb meals for banquets and catering. Read on for ideas on planning low carb, healthy meals and still indulging a little. Some of the choices will surprise you. Think: comfort food. (salmon fondue recipe included)

Good News About Hospitality Jobs

The hospitality industry was listed by CareerBuilder.com as one of the top three industries that plan to hire in the second quarter of 2004. The other two are health services and retail. Separate surveys conducted by CareerBuilder from November 18, 2003 to December 4, 2003, reported that a surprising one-half of hospitality workers plan to change jobs this year, and one in four hospitality hiring managers plan to add new jobs in 2004.

The survey of 285 hospitality workers, "Trends in Hospitality 2004", showed they are motivated by a desire to make more money (33 percent), move their careers forward (15 percent) and find a more satisfactory position (11 percent).

The "Hiring Trends in Hospitality 2004," survey of 125 managers showed that those adding new jobs say they are recruiting to improve customer service, expand operations and support the launch of new products or services. In addition, 66 percent of hospitality hiring managers say they plan to replace employees who left voluntarily or were laid off. Find out more about current industry trends.

Speaking of Jobs: Have one to fill? Need one? Readers of The Event Insider as well as our many members and partners of Krisam/GEP are invited to post job openings in the new, online Planners Forum. This new service is free and exposes your position to a targeted audience of planning professionals. Simply go to the Planners Forum and post your job description or peruse openings. Please spread the word to your colleagues in the industry so we can build an effective employment recruitment tool for you.

Question of the Month
This month's poll question is: Are you planning an event outside of the U.S.?

The exchange rate between the dollar and the Euro has created a challenge for Americans when traveling and meeting abroad. Yet, meetings in Canada and south of the border present favorable costs. Does your company regularly hold events outside the U.S.? Or, are you planning to? Take the poll at left and let us know.

Please respond by May 14th. Results will be published in the next newsletter.

Last month's poll results:

What percentage of your meeting attendees are requesting low-carb menu items?

• Less than 10% (59%)
• 10-25% (25%)
• 25-50% (13%)
• More than 50% (3%)

Around the Industry

• Meeting and Convention Business Growing. Reuters News Service reports that "meetings and conventions, a prime business travel component battered by an unstable economy for four years, appear to be staging a recovery in 2004. That's good news on a number of fronts. The sector generates $102 billion in revenue each year in the United States alone, touching everything from air travel to lodging, restaurants and jobs. The events, held annually and semi-annually, account for more business trips than anything else," according to the news service report.
• Milan tops British survey of most expensive hotel cities. Hotels in Milan are more expensive for business travelers than those in any other city in the world - according to a new survey by BTI UK, the UK's leading travel management company. Other key findings include that London has dropped out of the top ten, New York remains among the most expensive, corporations are cutting length of stays, and budget hotels are seeing increased volume. Read more about the survey.
• NBTA releases meetings management white paper. The Groups & Meetings Committee of the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) has released "Framework for Success: Building a Strategic Meetings Management Program," a white paper designed for travel managers who have responsibility for a strategic meetings management program within their company. The document outlines a broad spectrum of tools designed to provide commonly used terminology, definitions, cost/benefit analysis tools, and best practice methodologies in meetings management. Additional documents to support this white paper will be issued later this year, including hotel and airline FAQ's and tools of the trade, meeting resources guide and links, and the impact of governmental legislation (i.e. Sarbanes-Oxley, etc.). Get a copy of NBTA's white paper with associated Q&A's.
• City-financed hotels unfair? USA Today reports that "cities across the US, faced with a drop in private investment capital, are raising public money from bonds to finance big convention center hotels. Supporters say the practice is a prudent use of government borrowing privileges for economic development. But a growing chorus of opponents say it puts governments at risk, gluts the market for convention facilities and creates unfair competition." Among the cities cited in the report were: Sacramento, 503 rooms; Myrtle Beach, SC, 402 rooms; Austin, 800 rooms; Omaha, 450 rooms; and Denver, 1,100 rooms.
• Airport Passengers and Crowding Up. According to the FAA's annual aerospace forecast released March 25, the number of people flying in the United States will reach pre-Sept. 11, 2001 levels by 2005, with an average growth rate of 6.8 percent over the next two years. And, according to a new FAA capacity study, 16 airports and seven major metropolitan areas will need additional capacity in 2013, to meet an increasing demand. Five airports - Atlanta, Newark, LaGuardia, Chicago O'Hare and Philadelphia - need additional capacity today. The number of passengers is expected to exceed more than one billion by 2015.
• The new world's longest flight is an 18.5 hour jaunt from Los Angeles to Singapore. The Singapore Air Lines Airbus A-340 carries 181 passengers and includes a stand-up lounge.
• USA Today reports that more and more corporations are signing with Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity to handle their travel bookings while some individuals are finding that they can schedule travel by tapping in to such corporate sites as American Express, Garbertravel.com, and Owt.net.

Krisam & GEP News

Krisam & GEP Produce New Directory
The Krisam Group & Global Events Partners 2004 Directory will begin arriving in meeting professionals' mailboxes across the country this spring. Entirely redesigned to include 40 full-color pages of information, the Directory not only lists hotels and their cities but also provides planners with key information at a glance such as total meeting space and largest meeting room available. In addition, the Directory will include information on Krisam's affiliated companies, Global Events Partners and August Jackson, so planners can locate a DMC, production services, and hotels all in one place. Contact your Krisam representative or email Kathleen McDermott at Krisam.

New Krisam Members
Carmel Valley Ranch, Carmel Valley, CA

New GEP Partners
Glamour Tours, Jamaica

Absolutely Atlanta Adds New Sales Manager
Absolutely Atlanta announced the addition of Kate Larry as convention sales manager to pursue new business opportunities with trade associations and in-bound conference organizers. Formerly meeting sales manager with the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, Kate also served as an account manager for BBDO advertising. Phelps R. Hope, president, Absolutely Atlanta, said the city is experiencing a growth in demand for destination management services, thanks in part to the expansion of the Georgia World Congress Center. Kate will be working to capture more of that market.

SunBurst Opens 3,500 sq. ft. SpaTerre
The SunBurst Resort & Spa, the only full-service resort in old-town Scottsdale, AZ, has completed the second phase of a $6 million renovation project, which included the addition of a luxurious 3,500 sq. ft. SpaTerre, renovation of the Porte Cochere, and installing wireless Internet access in all guest rooms, the lobby, pool area, and conference space. The first phase of the renovation involved remodeling of public and meeting spaces. The final phase, due to be complete in early fall, includes renovation of all the guest rooms, the lobby, restaurant and pool. "Having completed the second phase of our renovation, we can now say that the SunBurst is a full-service resort, offering the true Scottsdale experience with a boutique feel," comments Dori Familiant, general manager of SunBurst Resort & Spa.

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