E D U C AT I O N I N B U S I N E S S E V E N T S + T E C H N O LO GY + L E A D E R S H I P + D E S T I N AT I O N S + M E E T I N G D E S I G N +
MAY.JUNE 2016
2
2016 SALARY SURVEY HOW MUCH DO YOU MAKE?
+ GMID Coast-to-Coast + Small Cities, Big Business + New York City Update + Moving the Industry Forward PM 40063170
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Distinctive properties. Authentic experiences. Proven service.
Celebrating 30 years of Global Sales Service Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI) is a Global Sales Organization providing authorized, professional sales assistance for planning your meetings, conventions, and incentive programs. ALHI is dues-funded and serves as a regional extension for an unrivaled luxury-level portfolio of more than 250 distinctive hotels and resorts in 45 nations; plus luxury cruise ships and DMC service providers for successful group programs worldwide. ALHI stands prepared to support your needs with valuable one-call global access and knowledgable, proven sales support for authentic experiences around the globe!
Visit ALHI.com • Luxury Group Desk. 866-303-2544
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ALHI’s Distinctive Luxury Portfolio Global Hotel Portfolio Destinations & Alliance Members Bangkok Beijing Berlin Budapest Delhi Dubai Estepona Frankfurt Geneva
Hamburg Istanbul Paris Sanja Shanghai Shenzhen St. Moritz Vienna Many more
*ALHI Global Luxury Alliance Members Atlantis, Paradise Island Bermuda Tourism Authority Delta Air Lines Global DMC Partners Kempinski Hotels Norwegian Cruise Lines Oceania Cruises Regent Seven Seas Cruises
CALIFORNIA Bacara Resort & Spa Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa Fairmont Grand Del Mar Hard Rock Hotel San Diego Hotel del Coronado Hotel Irvine Hotel Nikko San Francisco InterContinental Mark Hopkins InterContinental San Francisco Island Hotel Newport Beach Loews Coronado Bay Loews Hollywood Hotel Loews Regency San Francisco Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel Miramonte Resort & Spa Ojai Valley Inn & Spa Pasea Hotel & Spa Pebble Beach Resorts Rancho Bernardo Inn Resort at Squaw Creek Surf & Sand Resort Terranea Resort The Inn at Spanish Bay The Langham Huntington The Lodge at Pebble Beach The Meritage Resort and Spa The Resort at Pelican Hill COLORADO Gateway Canyons Resort & Spa The Broadmoor The Inverness Hotel and Conference Center The Sebastian-Vail
ANTIGUA Sandals Grand Antigua Resort & Spa BAHAMAS Atlantis Paradise Island* Sandals Emerald Bay Sandals Royal Bahamian BARBADOS Sandals Barbados
USA Portfolio ARIZONA Arizona Grand Resort & Spa Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Loews Ventana Canyon Royal Palms Resort and Spa The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch The Wigwam
North American Portfolio Outside the USA
FLORIDA (con’t) Loews Miami Beach Hotel Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando® Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando® Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando® Naples Grande Beach Resort Ocean Reef Club One Ocean Resort & Spa PGA National Resort & Spa Ponte Vedra Inn & Club Ponte Vedra Lodge & Club Rosen Shingle Creek Saddlebrook Resort Sonesta Fort Lauderdale Beach Streamsong Resort The Biltmore The Breakers The Henderson The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club Trump National Doral Miami Villas of Grand Cypress GEORGIA Château Élan Loews Atlanta Hotel The Cloister at Sea Island The Lodge at Sea Island Golf Club HAWAII Halekulani On the Beach at Waikiki Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows The MODERN Honolulu Turtle Bay Resort IDAHO Sun Valley Resort The Coeur d’Alene
CONNECTICUT Foxwoods Resort Casino Mohegan Sun
ILLINOIS Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park InterContinental Chicago Loews Chicago Hotel Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel The Langham Chicago The Peninsula Chicago
FLORIDA Fontainebleau InterContinental Miami Loews Don CeSar Hotel
LOUISIANA Hotel Monteleone Loews New Orleans Hotel Royal Sonesta New Orleans
SOUTH CAROLINA Belmond Charleston Place Hotel Montage Palmetto Bluff Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island
BERMUDA* Elbow Beach Resort Fairmont Southampton Hamilton Princess & Beach Club Newstead Belmont Hills Golf Resort & Spa Rosewood Tucker’s Point The Reefs Resort & Club
TENNESSEE Loews Vanderbilt Hotel The Peabody Hotel Memphis
CANADA Loews Hotel Vogue Montréal Pan Pacific Vancouver CURAÇAO Santa Barbara Beach & Golf Resort
MISSISSIPPI Beau Rivage Resort & Casino
TEXAS AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center Hotel Sorella CITYCENTRE Hotel Valencia Riverwalk InterContinental Dallas La Cantera Hill Country Resort Royal Sonesta Houston The Adolphus The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa
MISSOURI Hotel Sorella Country Club Plaza The Chase Park Plaza
UTAH Little America Hotel Montage Deer Valley The Grand America Hotel
NEVADA ARIA Bellagio Delano Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas MGM Grand Hotel & Casino Monte Carlo Resort and Casino The Mirage The Signature at MGM Grand Vdara Hotel & Spa
VERMONT Stowe Mountain Lodge
NEW YORK Adolphus Hotel Langham Place, Fifth Avenue Loews Regency Hotel Lotte New York Palace
WASHINGTON, D.C. Loews Madison Hotel Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC The Washington Court Hotel Watergate Hotel Willard InterContinental
MARYLAND Loews Annapolis Hotel Royal Sonesta Harbor Court Baltimore MASSACHUSETTS InterContinental Boston Loews Boston Hotel Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club Royal Sonesta Boston Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center The Langham Boston MICHIGAN Amway Grand Plaza MGM Grand Detroit MINNESOTA Loews Minneapolis Hotel
NORTH CAROLINA Pinehurst Resort The Carolina Inn
PUERTO RICO Condado Vanderbilt Hotel Gran Meliá Golf Resort
VIRGINIA Colonial Williamsburg Hotels Lansdowne Resort Salamander Resort & Spa WASHINGTON Motif Seattle Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle
WEST VIRGINIA The Greenbrier
PENNSYLVANIA WISCONSIN Loews Philadelphia Hotel Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa The American Club Resort
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Paradisus Palma Real Resort Paradisus Punta Cana Resort GRENADA Sandals LaSource Grenada Resort & Spa JAMAICA Half Moon Sandals Ochi Beach Resort Sandals Royal Plantation Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa MEXICO Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun Grand Fiesta Americana Los Cabos Grand Fiesta Americana Puerto Vallarta LIVE Aqua Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Esmeralda Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Perla PANAMA Westin Playa Bonita* ST. LUCIA Sandals Grand St. Lucian TURKS & CAICOS Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa
Come and see us at IncentiveWorks Booth #1313
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YEARS
CANADA’S MEETINGS + EVENTS SHOW
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+CONTENTS features 27
Research
37
CANADA UPDATE
THE M+IT 2016 SALARY SURVEY REPORT
Keltic Lodge completes reno; new zipline in Niagara; and more
How much do you make?
BY LORI SMITH
BY CHRISTINE OTSUKA
46 32
NEXT GEN Meet Edward Byers, manager professional development & events, Real Property Association of Canada
In Depth SMALL CITIES, BIG BUSINESS The advantages of small destinations
AS TOLD TO CHRISTINE OTSUKA
BY ALLAN LYNCH
40
Destination NEW YORK CITY
departments
Bright lights, great spaces BY LORI SMITH
columns 15
LEADERSHIP Moving the meetings industry forward
6
What’s on meetingscanada.com
9
Editor’s Comment Feedback
14 42
Snapped: Global Meetings Industry Day 2016
BY MARIELA MCILWRAITH, CMP, CMM, MBA
17
CRITICAL PATH Deciding when to grow your business BY BAILEY ROTH AND CARLY SILBERSTEIN
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THE SUPPLY SIDE Making small meeting business attractive to hotels BY ALLAN LYNCH
20
HARD WIRED
27
The renaissance of printed photos BY CHRISTINE OTSUKA
32 57
37 MEETINGSCANADA.COM
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what's new on
NEWS
HOTELS
SECURITY ISSUES TOP-OF-MIND Forty-eight per cent of respondents to Meeting Professional International’s quarterly Meetings Outlook survey expect the costs of meetings to rise due to the need for greater security.
ALT OTTAWA OPENS
RESEARCH PHOTOS
VIDEO
The first Canadian Association of Professional Event Planners (CanSPEP) membership survey in
LET’S GET SOCIAL PARTY @ INTERCON
10 GREAT PLACES TO MEET IN CANADA
five years generated a 60 per cent response rate—one of the highest in the industry.
BLOG
Sarah Lowis, CMP, CMM “How to Help People Attend Your Event”
“Putting on an event is one thing. Getting people to actually show up is quite another.”
The data collected revealed that its members influence more than $58 million in annual spend
Listen in on the conversation or better yet, join in! Follow us on Twitter for the latest breaking industry news and updates @MeetingsCanada 6
View and share event photos, ask for advice from other planners and suppliers or react to industry headlines on our Facebook page (facebook.com/MeetingsCanada)
and a solid majority plan seven or more meetings a year.
MEETINGSCANADA.COM
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TRUE MARITIME HOSPITALITY Experience the best of Canada’s east coast. Make the most of your business travel with an incredible variety of meeting spaces and specials. Explore ‘not to miss’ features from the famous Prince Edward Island beaches to standing over the mighty Miramichi River, you’ll find a hotel or resort that best fits your needs.
FOR YOUR EXCLUSIVE MEETING & INCENTIVE TRAVEL OFFERS: JANET HIGGINS, 1.902.629.2313 | JHIGGINS@RODDHOTELSANDRESORTS.COM MONCTON – MIRAMICHI – YARMOUTH – CHARLOTTETOWN – PEI RESORTS WWW.RODDMEETINGS.COM
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Client: Rodd Resorts
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WHAT’S MAKING YOU HAPPY?
VOLUME 45, NUMBER 3 MAY.JUNE 2016
Managing Director 416.510.5141
R O B IN PA IS LE Y robin@newcom.ca
EDITORIAL Editor 416.442.5600 x3254
LO R I S MIT H, CIS
Associate Editor 416.442.5600 x3255
CHR IST IN E OTS U KA
lsmith@meetingscanada.com
“Putting away everything that has to do with winter—boots, gloves, coats, ice scraper, rubber mats, etc.— because spring is finally here!”
cotsuka@meetingscanada.com
ART
“I’m loving the longer days.”
Art Director 416.442.5600 x3590
ÚÚ Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy. ÚÚ
ELLIE ROBINSON ellie@newcom.ca
SALES International Business Development Manager 416.510.5144 Advertising and Marketing Consultant 416.510.5199
“Vacation—where the sun is hot, the water is blue and the drinks are flowing!”
A LA N N A MCQ UA ID amcquaid@meetingscanada.com
MA R K KE LLY mkelly@meetingscanada.com
“Football, football and more football!! Whether it be the Cinderella Foxes doing the unthinkable in capturing EPL glory or waiting in eager anticipation for the Champions League and European Championships to start, nothing uplifts my spirit like the ‘Beautiful Game’.”
INCENTIVEWORKS Event Coordinator 416.442.5600 x3213 Event Manager 416.510.6867 Event Coordinator 416.510.6819
“Takeout when you don’t feel like cooking!”
EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Allan Lynch, Mariela McIlwraith, CMP, CMM, MBA, Bailey Roth, Carly Silberstein
NEWCOM BUSINESS MEDIA Vice-President + General Manager
JOE GLIONNA
President
JIM GLIONNA
ST E P HA N IE RA P KO, CMP srapko@meetingscanada.com
S IM FRAYN E sfrayne@meetingscanada.com
“Planning my garden… petunias, geraniums and begonias!”
MEG A N ME HLE N BACHE R meganm@newcom.ca
CIRCULATION + PRODUCTION + ONLINE Circulation Manager MA RY G A RU F I 416.442.5600 x3545
mary@newcom.ca
Production Manager (Print & Online) 416.510.6779
KIMB E R LY CO L L I N S kim@newcom.ca
Meetings + Incentive Travel (M+IT) magazine receives unsolicited features and materials (including letters to the editor) from time to time. M+IT, its affiliates and assignees may use, reproduce, publish, re-publish, distribute, store and archive such submissions in whole or in part in any form or medium whatsoever, without compensation of any sort. MAIL PREFERENCES: Occasionally we make our subscriber list available to reputable companies whose products or services may be of interest to you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, please contact us via one of the following methods: Phone: 1-800-668-2374, Fax: 416-442-2191, E-Mail: privacyofficer@annexnewcom.ca, SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: Canada $77.95 per year, Outside Canada $108.00 US per year, Single Copy Canada $13.00, Buyers Guide $60.95. HST #10386 2405 RT0001. Meetings + Incentive Travel is published 6 times per year except for occasional combined, expanded or premium issues, which count as two subscription issues. Meetings + Incentive Travel is indexed in the Canadian Business Index and is available online in the Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database. Contents Copyright Newcom Business Media. Canada Post — Canadian publications Mail Sales Product Agreement 40069240 ISSN No. 0225-8285 (Print) ISSN No. 1929-6428 (Online). 80 Valleybrook Drive, North York, ON M3B 2S9. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
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+EDITOR’SCOMMENT
FAILURE TO EXECUTE
COMING NEXT ISSUE
IncentiveWorks Show Preview Guide; a look at delivering authentic elements in programs; a conversation with Velvet Chainsaw’s Jeff Hurt; and what’s new in Winnipeg.
Congratulations to Christine Otsuka who, after six years with M+IT, is joining EventMobi as Content Marketing Manager. All the best, Christine! We’ll miss you!
In the November.December 2015 issue, I wrote that 2016 would be our year of destress. Our international business development manager Alanna McQuaid was recovering from a stress-induced cardiac incident. [Update: Alanna just received a clean bill of health from her cardiologist.] Other team members were struggling with health issues, which, if not caused by stress, were complicated by it. A few of us, me included, were battling weight gain brought on by too much sitting, too much fine food (an occupational hazard!) and not enough exercise and vegetables. Nearly everyone on the M+IT and IncentiveWorks (IW) team bought into the idea that we would make the year ahead a healthy one. There’s a saying that’s popular now: Ideas are s__t. Execution is everything. Tech guru Gary Vaynerchuk is credited with saying it, others attribute it to Henry Ford. It’s printed on T-shirts. Apparently, we should get some because it reflects what happened to our year of destress idea: failure to execute. At the beginning of January, I resolved to walk every workday. I didn’t have to go far. If I was really busy, I could just go around the block. But, I had to go. My reasoning was that I could reroute the neuropathways that were telling me I didn't have time. Everyone has 10 minutes, I reasoned. Throughout the cold and wet days of January, February and March, I walked. Then, the weather got better and I stopped. Other team members haven’t
fared much better. For example, Alanna has a gym membership that is going unused. Our attempts to destress have been like April snow; they arrive with fury and melt away the next day. Now it’s May and I’m asking, why is it so hard for so many of us to do what’s good for our health? I can honestly say that I’ve never regretted a workout. Yet, too many evenings I’ll sit at my desk working, unable to convince myself that the gym or pool is a better place to be. What’s that about? I’m bringing this up because the full-out ramp-up to IncentiveWorks has started. From now until IW is over, the hours will be long and the stress high. There’ll be too many late nights and pizza dinners. This is particularly true for those who work exclusively on IW. (Full disclosure: I don’t work anywhere near the long hours the IW team does at this time of year.) Clearly we need to develop and execute a workable destress plan. An idea wasn't—and isn't—enough. We have come up with a few things we’re going to do, such as Fitbit walking challenges and ordering more salads when working late. But, I know that's not enough. All of you plan events, how do you manage to stay sane and healthy? What’s your destressing advice?
LORI SMITH EDITOR lsmith@meetingscanada.com
M+IT EDITORIAL MANDATE Meetings industry and travel publications are often offered free FAM trips, accommodations and gifts. M+IT magazine only accepts those that will be featured in the magazine or online through editorial content. Destinations are chosen through reader surveys and market research. MEETINGSCANADA.COM
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FIRE UP YOUR EVENT WITH A FESTIVAL Organizing a meeting or conference and at a loss for creative new ideas for after-hours or free-time activities? Looking to go beyond a destination’s standard tourism venues and provide a one-of-a-kind experience?
IN THE HEART OF THE ACTION! The Hôtel Château Laurier Québec is your VIP accommodation for all of Québec City’s major festivals. The hotel is strategically located with amazing view of the Festival d’été de Québec. It’s also directly on the routes for the Québec Winter Carnival’s parade, the Fêtes de la NouvelleFrance’s pageant, and Grand Prix Cyclistes de Québec race. You can’t get any closer than this! hotelchateaulaurier.com
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and hectic travel arrangements, a festival is a great added value for participants to add a touch of “vacay and play” to an otherwise back-to-back convention. Bleisure at its best!
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Have you considered the potential of adding a festival to your program mix? Festivals can be great ways for event attendees to immerse themselves in a host city’s culture and get up close and personal with the locals. What’s more, with oftentimes jam-packed schedules
While scouting out a location for your next business meeting or convention, it pays to research a good time in advance so that you can identify host cities that have interesting festivals taking place on the dates you’ll be there. Here are some top ideas to help in your research for local festivals for your next event.
A TRUE GEM IN THE HEART OF OLD QUÉBEC! After an $8 million investment, the historic Hotel Manoir Victoria has been completely renovated to a stunning classic contemporary décor, perpetuating its long-time elegance. It’s perfect location, in the midst of Québec City’s historical sites and festivals make it a great choice for corporate meetings of up to 175 people. Attendees will no doubt rave about the creative Nordic-inspired cuisine of trendy Chez Boulay-Bistro Boréal, which caters to the hotel’s banquet events in a delightful way! manoir-victoria.com
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Music to their ears Even if delegates don’t always have the same musical tastes, festivals that get them humming to new beats are formidable ways to get them involved in a destination’s local vibe. For example, Québec City’s renowned Festival d’été de Québec packs a major musical punch with over 300 shows with some of the top names in the industry. This year, the festival is attracting big names like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Selena Gomez and Brad Paisley.
International Pow Wow, which pays homage to the traditions of the local First Nations community.
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Festivals can be great ways for event attendees to immerse themselves in a host city’s culture and get up close and personal with the locals. Cultural escapes It stands to reason that a host city’s rich cultural heritage is a big attraction for tourists. Getting good insight into the history of a location—and the festivals that pay tribute to it—can help you to organize an activity to transport participants back in time. Planning an event in Québec City? Les Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France, during which citizens adorn themselves in costumes from a by-gone era, gives travellers a true taste of Québec in the 17th and 18th century. Meet the original inhabitants of Québec City with the Wendake
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Seasonal and gastronomical extravaganzas Win them over with their love of food and drink! From festivals that celebrate the unique harvests, terroir products and agri-food production of a region to gourmet festivals that give attendees an insider taste into specific fare, food festivals are always a hit. Québec City holds a variety of them every year— from the BBQ Fest to the Festibière de Québec, a commemoration of local microbreweries, to the Dîner en Blanc, where people wear only white and dine in a coveted and magical setting, to fall fruit picking celebrations to the German Christmas Market. And one must not forget the world’s largest winter carnival, the Québec Winter Carnival. It’s a dazzling experience you don’t want to miss.
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f t , d t n d y — e l , d , e e t r u
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Sports sensations Whether your meeting or convention attendees are stoked on participating in an event or prefer getting an adrenaline rush from the sidelines, sports activities never disappoint. Destinations often are home to many themed races and activities. Québec City’s MontSaint-Anne hosts Spring Madness every spring to toast the advent of the warm summer months ahead. The Grand Prix Cyclistes de Québec, held this year on September 9, welcomes UCIsanctioned competitors from all over the world.
A festival can definitely add flare to your event as well as be a surprisingly affordable option for some much-appreciated downtime for event attendees. The key is to talk to local representatives to see which one can be on par with your attendee personas. Plunge your delegates into a local festival’s buzz— and create a sensation! To start planning your meeting in Québec City, visit : QuebecBusinessDestination.com
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Festival d’été de Québec (July 7 to 17, 2016) Photo : Renaud Philippe
2 Fête de la Nouvelle-France (August 3 to 7, 2016) Photo : Festival des fêtes de la Nouvelle-France
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Festival d’été de Québec
AWARD-WINNING SERVICE IN THE HEART OF THE CITY Located in downtown Québec City, the Québec City Convention Centre is only steps away from your heart’s desire: accommodation, restaurants and attractions. Close to 300,000 square feet of comfort, modernity and step-by-step assistance await you at Québec City’s award-winning Convention Centre. convention.qc.ca
(July 7 to 17, 2016) Photo : Renaud Philippe
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Wendake International Pow Wow (June 24 to 26, 2016) Photo : Jean Louis Regis
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Québec City Convention Center Éduc Tour Photo : SCCQ
6 Festibière de Québec (August 18 to 21, 2016) Photo : Ville de Québec
7 Grand prix cyclistes de Québec (Septembre 9, 2016) Photo : Marathon SSQ
8 Marathon des deux rives
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(August 28, 2016) Photo : Muriel Leclerc
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+FEEDBACK I opened the latest issue and bang—the conversation between Helen Van Dongen and Matthew LeBlanc. I totally agree with Helen. What Matthew, I believe, doesn’t fully understand is that those of us who’ve been around a while have been working for years to get away from the party planner/anyoneKEEPING UP WITH THE can-do-this-job image. Our profession has evolved into much more, but even today, with GMID and economic impact studies, some groups still don’t understand the full consequences of what we do. When I was teaching at night, I’d ask my new students two things: 1. What’s the first thing you need to do when planning an event, conference? Often the response was to find the venue. Wrong! 2. Why do you want to join this profession? Often: “Because I plan my friend’s birthday parties, wedding, etc. and I’m well organized.” Wrong again! I still do a lot of mentoring and here’s what I think makes us stand out and what we need to get across to those outside our profession: 1. It is always about the measurable objectives determined at the beginning of the process and every decision must aid in reaching those objectives, not only for the organization designing the event, but for all those taking part from sponsors to delegates to suppliers, etc. It is a planner’s job to help determine the objectives and to design, implement and evaluate the program to meet them. 2. As professional planners, we are responsible for the safety and security of every person at each event. 3. As professionals, we have our integrity and reputation to protect, so we must be transparent and ethical every step of the way. 4. Every event has an economic impact in the area where the event takes place. So, to Matthew, this is not about party planning, nor that he’s a millennial, nor that he’s a male. It is about professionalism and understanding how hard people worked in the past to create the now and the hope that the next generation of professionals will move the profession forward even more. Never use the term party-planner to describe what a pro does. Now, regarding the story about NMID turning 20—awesome! However, it goes back further than that meeting written about in the first paragraph. In fact, a year or two before that, Rita Plaskett, myself and a member of CAPS—I believe Leslie Wright was also there and likely others—decided the outside world needed to know what we did and the impact of it. So, we decided to hold a press conference at Queen’s Park. We invited media and ministers for 5:00 p.m. We figured food and drink would bring them out. I think four people showed up! And from those humble beginnings we got NMID, the economic impact studies, NAMID and now GMID. I think we often forget history (certainly on a global scale in so many ways). Members of my generation also have to remember those that came before us—the founders of MPI, PCMA, etc.—and their contributions. We wouldn’t have the recognition we have today without their innovative visions. Not that we should dwell in the past—absolutely not. We should always use the past to push us forward, as these two examples show. BUT, we can’t forget the humble beginnings. OK, off my soapbox. Keep up the great work. Sandy Biback, CMP, CMM
From Twitter
E D U C AT I O N I N B U S I N E S S E V E N T S + T E C H N O LO GY + L E A D E R S H I P + D E S T I N AT I O N S + M E E T I N G D E S I G N +
MARCH.APRIL 2016
+ NMID Turns 20 + Meeting in Dubai + Klick’s Experiment in Inspiration + Are Automated RFPs Effective?
PM 40063170
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YOU RETWEETED
M+IT welcomes feedback! | Email lsmith@meetingscanada.com | Twitter @meetingscanada | Facebook M&IT – Meetings and Incentive Travel 14
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+LEADERSHIP
WHAT’S NEXT MOVING THE MEETINGS INDUSTRY FORWARD
BY MARIELA MCILWRAITH, CMP, CMM, MBA In recent years, we’ve seen dramatic changes to the business of meetings. From advances in technology, to the evolution of meeting design and the integration of sustainability, meetings today now have the infrastructure needed to be transformational experiences for organizations and participants. That said, we haven’t yet realized our full potential. Specifically, we need to leverage the tools we have to plan and execute meetings strategically. I see this as requiring five distinct practices: 1 | Designing meetings to achieve objectives 2 | Improving our business practices 3 | Smarter use of technology 4 | Growing our industry with sustainable, ethical practices 5 | Continued industry collaboration MEETING DESIGN As meeting professionals, we need to focus on increasing the impact of our events, and designing our meetings for optimal participant performance. When it comes to impact, my recommendation is to begin by asking, “How can our event community have the most significant impact on our industry or society?” Much like the way we expect deliverables in business, we should expect deliverables from our meetings that are designed to advance our organizational goals and objectives beyond the confines of our meetings’ dates and space. Examples of deliverables could be producing state-of-the-industry reports that include surveys of on-site and virtual participants
©Violka08/iStock
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combined with an analysis of the results. Another example would be to host a hack-a-thon style program where the braintrust of the event community is directed at solving an issue for the industry or society more broadly. While we’ve made great strides in measuring the financial impact of our industry with important studies, including Canada’s pioneering Economic Impact Study, we still have an important opportunity and responsibility to track, measure and amplify the impact of our events through outcome driven meeting design. The second aspect of meeting design is creating the right environment for optimal participant performance. One of the most important advances in our industry in recent years has been to better understand neuroscience for participant success. Many of the decisions we make, from food choices to lighting to imagery, all play an important role in how the brain responds, and making smart choices, such as selecting brain friendly foods, will result in our participants being able to better focus and perform during our events. BETTER BUSINESS PRACTICES Our industry will benefit from better business practices. On the supplier side, there needs to be a focus on identifying potential new programs and events and providing these prospective event hosts with the risk-sharing environment and confidence to start. On the planner side, a change in the approach in sponsorship models that allow for greater flexibility of benefits, integration in the program and include new event enhancement aspects that align with the sponsors’ brand image.
MEETINGSCANADA.COM
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+LEADERSHIP I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work on two projects for the Convention Industry Council last year, one on piracy and poaching and the other on eRFP practices. Piracy and poaching is affecting many events. Fortunately, there are many steps we can take to minimize the likelihood and impact. When it comes to eRFP practices, it is really important to narrow the field to the venues that will best help you to achieve your event objectives before sending out large volumes. SMARTER USE OF TECHNOLOGY I would argue that the future of technology in the meetings industry is learning how to use mainstream technology to its full capacity. For example, meeting apps can and should be more than a pocket schedule. They should be used for real-time audience engagement, data analytics and providing opportunities for education before, during and after the event. Hybrid meeting technology is another example of where we have the tools to significantly increase the reach of our meetings when used to effectively engage live and virtual participants, and when they are designed to recognize the needs of the two distinct audiences. Finally, gamification has great potential when meeting goals are transformed into game quests. Imagine the impact on your event’s success if your participants are given increased motivation to have meaningful interactions with your sponsors or exhibitors, where they are rewarded for collaboration or information sharing and where they are actively reaching out to their networks to share stories from your programs. SUSTAINABLE AND ETHICAL PRACTICES As an industry, we can have a significant positive impact on the environment and local communities where our events are held when we employ sustainable and ethical
RESOURCES EPiracy/Poaching Tookit – conventionindustry.org eRFP Tookit – conventionindustry.org Child Sexual Exploitation Code: thecode.org
practices with a legacy focus. An easy step that planners can take is to require that their venues be trained to identify and report possible human trafficking by requiring them to be signatories and follow the practices of The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism. We also need to be better educated on making our events inclusive and accessible. We can start by factoring faith-based needs for our participants with date selection, meal options and schedules, and space and time for faithbased practices. We also need to consider the meeting space layouts, lighting and sound decisions we make and how they affect accessible participation. Other factors include having allergy-responsible menus and selecting speakers and marketing images that reflect diversity. Ultimately, it is our responsibility to ensure that everyone who wants to participate in our events can do so in a dignified and easy way. On the environmental side of sustainability, we’re fortunate that many of our venues have done the heavy lifting with energy, water and waste management infrastructure. But that’s just the start. We need to continue to make responsible choices for our programs that include minimizing the production of waste, including food waste and selecting materials, menus and suppliers that can help us to achieve our sustainability related goals. CONTINUED INDUSTRY COLLABORATION One of the most promising changes that I’ve seen in recent years is a greater collaboration by industry leaders. The best example is this year’s Global Meeting Industry Day that included more than 100 events in 30 countries and five continents. I’m proud to say that this program started in Canada 20 years ago and is now a global program. This type of coordinated messaging is vital for our industry’s growth. Mariela McIlwraith is president of Meeting Change. She is executive editor of the Convention Industry Council Manual, 9th edition; and co-author of two books on CSR and environmentally-friendly meetings. The winner of multiple industry awards, she was inducted into the M+IT Hall of Fame as the 2015 Industry Builder.
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+ CRITICALPATH OFFICE SPACE
HIRING
TECH TOOLS
GROWING PAINS BY BAILEY ROTH & CARLY SILBERSTEIN
DECIDING WHEN BIGGER IS BETTER
Growth is a decision. How big you want your company to be and how quickly you plan to grow are important questions you want to have answered after you develop your value proposition. It is also important to consider if you can manage and sustain the growth you envision for your company. There are many benefits to having a small handful of clients that you service on an annual or regular basis, but also many benefits to creating a robust business development strategy to grow your company to be much larger. The key to growing successfully is to ensure your growth is managed effectively and to have a strategy for some of the following decisions you will be faced with. HIRING One of the most important considerations and decisions is, if and when to hire. Are you able to manage your growth plans on your own, or do you need to hire people with specific knowledge and skills to support you? How quickly do you need to have people onboard in order to ensure you are able to manage ©dane_mark/iStock
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your workload? Can you get by managing everything on your own, or do you need to invest in people, your most important (and likely most expensive) investment? It is important to have a strategy for human capital growth early on when you are doing your company’s strategic planning, or you will likely find yourself overwhelmed by the decision. Since it is an expensive decision, our advice is to make the decision about when you plan to hire before you get to that point. OFFICE SPACE What culture do you want to create for your company and will you be able to create and sustain that culture regardless of your office space and its location? Do the benefits outweigh the costs of this option? This is an important question to have answered before you start searching for the perfect office space. If you’ve decided that your business needs an office, you then have to decide how large your office space will be, where it will be located MEETINGSCANADA.COM
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+ CRITICALPATH and how long a commitment you are willing to make to that space. Some other important questions include: Where are your clients located? Is close proximity to you important to them? Is access to the highway or subway critical to your business model? What types of office resources do you anticipate needing, including boardroom space, kitchen facilities, or an industrial-size printer? Do you require storage space? If you decide not to pursue the route of having a physical office space, what technologies will you need to invest in, or what environment will you need to “create� to ensure your business remains professional and that you are still able to provide your clients with the best quality work. If you have employees, how will everyone communicate effectively? How will you manage their time and workloads remotely? TECHNOLOGY When starting your own business, you will more often than not find yourself wishing you had more hours in the day. This is why it is important to make sure you are spending your time wisely and being as efficient as possible. Consider what tools you can use for internal communications with your team to reduce the number of emails in your inbox. This will not only save you time reading,
responding to, and filing emails, but it will also save time that is lost by moving back and forth between projects and your inbox. Having an internal communications policy between team members is critical to being more efficient with your time. It is also important to be tracking your time so you can see where and how you are spending it. It may seem like a waste of time to track this, but there is a lot you can learn about how long it takes to complete certain tasks that will be beneficial for your business. Finally, consider what project management tools exist for keeping your work and your team on track. There are many tools available that will make processes smoother, and others that will simply help keep projects more organized and out of your inbox. We would encourage testing project management tools that come with a free trial; you want to avoid investing in technologies if you have to revisit their functionality shortly after starting to use them. Bailey Roth and Carly Silberstein are the co-founders of Redstone Agency, an event and association management company headquartered in Toronto, Canada and operating internationally. redstoneagency.ca
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+THESUPPLYSIDE
FINDING ROOM How to make small meeting business attractive to hotels
Just as Joseph and Mary found no room at the inn, many planners find their smaller events, like board meetings, either kicked to the stables or left homeless. These small meetings often lack the bedroom counts that interest innkeepers. So it was one winter for a Canadian planner whose board meeting was turned away by five hotels in one city. Each sales director attempted to soften the rejection with the offer to discuss the planner’s 1,500-delegate national event. The planner’s response made further negotiations dependent on the climate in Hades. Planners need not despair; small business can be made to be more attractive to hoteliers. The event, like dating, can be helped with a little dressing up. The Fairmont Chateau Laurier’s director of public relations, Deneen Perrin, says their property works with a lot of small- to medium-sized groups. “The only time we wouldn’t take a small group is if it was an unbalanced piece of business where they had a small group of bedrooms, but wanted to use one of our big ballrooms or a large number of meeting rooms,” she explains. Perrin’s recommendation is for planners to come with their full meeting needs up front—bedrooms, f&b, AV, meeting space—and a budget. And to be realistic and as specific ©iStock
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BY ALLAN LYNCH
as possible, because once they get into a contract, attrition becomes an important factor. “If they’re booking a group of 10 or more rooms they’re going to need to sign a contract. However, if it is 10 rooms or less, a contract isn’t necessary. So if they’re waffling and think it’s only going to be eight rooms, that’s good to know, because then they wouldn’t have to enter into a contract.” Greg Durrer, senior director, Global Brand Management, Delta Hotels at Marriott International, says packaging is important. He suggests that when speaking to a hotel, planners think of the bigger picture for their smaller event. “Instead of focusing on the next meeting that needs to be booked and finalized, think of it as a series of meetings that could be booked at one time, because when talking more broadly, the hotel can make a larger evaluation of that piece of business. That may help the conversation progress beyond just what would be a nonstarter if you only spoke about that next meeting.” If a group has a limited number of meetings there’s still the potential for packaging preand post- small event requirements into the annual convention contract. It’s also helpful when hoteliers can be creative. Durrer says that traditionally, if someone
says they need a room for a board meeting, they expect a boardroom-style space. “But perhaps through some creative conversations and brainstorming, we may discover this particular board meeting would feel very comfortable in an atypical space, and we may be able to find some very creative solutions and deliver a location in the hotel or in a space that isn’t traditionally considered for a boardroom.” Among his suggestions are the private dining rooms available in virtually all Delta properties. “The fit and finish of these private dining rooms are fantastic and could easily serve as a space for a board meeting. They have all the AV capabilities required for something like that and are close to the f&b space, so that element can be easily executed throughout the meeting.” He also suggests that smaller business often finds a natural fit in smaller properties. One person who wouldn’t disagree about the advantages of small meetings in smaller spaces is Anne Stevens, director of sales at Nova Scotia’s White Point Beach Resort. White Point is an 800-acre, oceanside ecoresort with 126 rooms and 7,200 square feet of flexible meeting space. For truly out-of-the-box small meetings, the property has had groups meet around a fire pit on their WiFi-equipped
white sand beach. Stevens, like her colleagues, looks for flexibility in meeting dates and says shoulder season business can be rewarded with “proposals that include additional opportunities to enhance the group’s meeting experience. Benefits may include a more competitive price to additional perks and experiences within the destination.” And, like the chains, White Point looks at future business potential. Stevens says, “We review the future business potential of the account for our property—i.e. board of director’s meetings, AGM, workshops, team-building events, holiday parties, etc. We also consider the possible spin-off business from those in attendance. Suppliers and planners benefit by sharing information and expectations, as it has to be the ‘right fit’ for both parties regardless of the size of the group and the time of year.” To complete our meeting parable, hoteliers know that just as that yet-to-be holiday several millennia ago, a small event could lead to bigger things. Allan Lynch is a freelance journalist based in New Minas, Nova Scotia. He writes extensively about the business events industry.
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+HARDWIRED
Throwback to the Future BY CHRISTINE OTSUKA It would seem what’s old is new again. With the digital nature of photo sharing— posting pictures to social media, keeping digital photos on your phone and even sharing official event photos via online galleries—hard copies of photographs are a novelty. That’s one of the reasons photo booth installations are so popular with attendees. Printed photos, these days, are treated as mementos that serve as a reminder of your organization and the experience you created as the planner. One of the biggest trends we’ve seen is the revival of the “Polaroid” photo, an instant picture that is printed directly from the camera. The vintage feel was made popular again with the Instagram mobile app, which allows photos to be filtered and include borders to create the look of a Polaroid photo. But Fujifilm has taken this hit from the past and made it new and notable again with their Instax Mini cameras. I’ve seen them used over the past few months in two ways. First, by event staff or volunteers who walk around an event (like an official event photographer) snapping photos of attendees during a reception that attendees get to keep. And secondly, by sponsors in sponsored lounge areas posing in a staged setup or with a mascot, creating a destination for attendees to visit. In either case, it injects a bit of fun into the experience and gives attendees a memorable gift. The best part is that while the photo is “developing,” event staff or sponsors have the opportunity to chat with the guest. In addition, organizers or sponsors can take two photos and create a low-tech social wall by pinning the instant photos to a corkboard or clipping them to a line against the wall. Fujifilm Instax Mini cameras are available in a wide array of models, including the Neo Classic look of the Instax Mini 90, or the colourfully modern Instax Mini 8. They can be purchased for around 100 bucks at any Best Buy, Walmart or Indigo. Don’t forget film, which will run about a dollar an exposure. 20
Printing Instagram Pics Another trend replacing photo booths at events are hashtag printers that connect to the Internet, scan Instagram and Twitter for your event hashtag, and print out copies of the photo, allowing attendees and event staff to keep branded mementos from the event. Here are three options and their points of difference:
#HASHTAG INSTAGRAM PRINTER The #HASHTAG Mini prints all tagged photos, but the 11.5” touchscreen is its point of difference. The screen shows a grid of thumbnail pictures already taken, which can be selected, enlarged and printed again. The printer can be wrapped to fit your brand image and they’ll create custom branded software and photo templates for each event. The high-speed, high-capacity event printer holds 300 6”x4” colour prints. Price to rent is about $1,800 CDN. www.hashtag.co.uk
PHOTOBOXX
LUSTER
With Photoboxx’s streamlined unit, you lose the touchscreen but gain a Photoboxx pro who will set up the unit and interact with attendees. You can create a custom look and branding to appear on the prints, and will receive unlimited free prints for attendees and event staff, as well as detailed data analytics. You can also add on digital display capabilities. Pricing for a half-day event is $1,200 USD + travel/shipping and a full-day rental is $1,800 US + travel/shipping. Multi-event pricing and long-term rental is also offered. www.photoboxx.me
Luster (formerly Instaprint) allows you to print all tagged photos via hashtag printers that are cute and compact, allowing them to fit easily in multiple locations around the event venue. Each rental is turnkey, meaning a Luster operator is sent to install the printers, provide support and engage guests. Standard rates start at $3,000 USD + travel and covers a half-day rental with the two-printer kit. Discounts can be applied to advance bookings, partnerships or multi-day and multi-event bookings. www.luster.cc
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THERE’S TEAMWORK HAPPENING HERE!
IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO CONVEY ALL THE STRENGTHS OF OUR EXCEPTIONAL TEAM IN JUST A HUNDRED WORDS, SO WE INCLUDED A PICTURE TO ADD A THOUSAND MORE. Why do clients love our team so much? It’s a combination of collaborative spirit, a ‘whatever it takes’ tenacity and decades’ worth of know-how. Every event we host is different, each client’s goals unique. But no matter how challenging or enormous the event may be, our team sees to it that every aspect exceeds the expectations of clients, participants and attendees. Event planning, promotion, hospitality, food, drink and beyond – our people manage it all with professionalism and efficiency. If your event is too important to trust to just any venue, talk to the team at The International Centre.
InternationalCentre.com 6900 Airport Road, Mississauga 905.677.6131 / tf 1.800.567.1199 3 500+ EVENTS A YEAR 3 $7 M RENEWAL PLAN 3 500,000+ FT2 EVENT FACILITY 3 5,000 FREE PARKING SPACES
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The International Centre Staff (from left to right) Ron Bentley, Director of Event and Client Services; Sandra Martin, Director of Sales; Trevor Lui, Director of Operations and Sustainability; Lee-Anne Leckie, Sales Manager – Meetings and Conventions; Raiman Dilag, Director of Technology Services; Rita Medynski, Sales Manager – Trade and Consumer Shows; Kevin Parker, Sales Manager – Corporate; Tawfik Shehata, Executive Chef; and Nadena Singh, Director of Events Management
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+ KEYNOTESPEAKER
AVOIDING DISTRACTIONS
Sitting down with distraction expert and IncentiveWorks keynote speaker Curt Steinhorst We all fall victim to distraction at one point or another. Is it any wonder with the bevy of advertisements, alerts, emails and constant notifications that we’re faced with each day? It’s gotten so intense that the average person struggles to make it three minutes without being interrupted. IncentiveWorks keynote Curt Steinhorst knows a thing or two about distraction. He’s the founder and president of Promentum Group, a communications consultancy that crafts messages for today’s distracted audiences, but his fascination with distraction isn’t just professional. Diagnosed with ADD as a child, he’s worked tirelessly to overcome the unique distractions that today’s technology creates. We spoke to Curt to find out how to thrive in the age of distraction. There’s been a real call for mindfulness in business. How do we strike a balance between engaging with the world around us in the present moment, and staying on top of all the details, requests, emails and obligations of our busy work and home life? We can learn a lot by looking at the balanced approach most of us have taken to dieting and fitness. For most of history, no one needed a gym or a treadmill. But then our dietary habits changed and we suddenly did. None of us are naturally wired to want to workout or to resist tasty sugars, fats, and salts. That’s why most of the population is out of shape. But, about 15 years ago a movement towards fitness and dietary discipline began and now a growing number of people are committed to fighting the unhealthy tide. My hope is that the same kind of revolution will occur with our relationship to digital connectivity. Right now our digital habits are just as bad as our eating habits were in the '80s and early '90s. But I believe there’s hope that a movement 22
BY CHRISTINE OTSUKA
for living a more balanced digital lifestyle is on the horizon, that people will become increasingly aware of what’s being lost every time they neglect the world right in front of them for whatever is in their phones, that we will begin to preserve and protect the most precious mental asset we have: our attention. What’s the single biggest thing we can do today to avoid distractions and build focus? My No. 1 strategy is to build what I call a focus vault. By vault I mean a place you can go to where the world won’t interfere with your work. A focus vault is simply an unreachable, stationary place where you go by yourself to focus on your most important work for a limited period of time. Just like you go to a gym to get in shape for a certain amount of time every day (or a few times a week), you need to begin by entering a place like that—but for your mind. A place you intentionally set apart to achieve better mental performance, where you cease to be available to the world so you can fully attend to your most important work. You should try to enter this vault of yours once a day (ideally in the morning).
YEARS
This is a time to recalibrate, re-prioritize, and re-focus. I recommend starting with 20 minutes a day, with the goal of eventually focusing for 45 minutes at a time. What kind of impact will our tech-focused world have on future generations and their ability to focus? In a single word: profound. Our tech-focused world is going to have a profound impact on everyone entering the workforce from this point forward. The good news is, we know what the challenge will be and though it will only become harder and harder, it isn’t likely to change. The key is to start now by intentionally rethinking your personal approach and your organization’s approach to communication collaboration so that your values and procedures give your people the education, support, and structure they need to strategically focus on their most important work regardless of the countless distractions competing for their attention throughout the day. Curt shares more tips for focusing in a distracting world in Avoiding Distractions: Part II on meetingscanada.com.
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B E N E F I T I N G T H E M P I F O U N D AT I O N • Network with the industry’s best • Experience North America’s #1 bar as rated by ESPN • Enjoy hosted bars and delicious food from Real Sports, Air Canada Centre and e11even
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2016 SALARY SURVEY
HOW MUCH DO YOU MAKE? BY CHRISTINE OTSUKA
I
t’s a question we all want to ask. The idea that we may not be making as much as our peers is the reason compensation studies exist in every industry imaginable and why they’re wildly popular, year-over-year. But salary surveys are so much more than that. The results also speak to your value, your employer and, perhaps, your negotiation skills. Our salary survey has grown to include more than average salaries for role, gender and experience. On the following pages, you’ll see stats on employer benefits, performance reviews, employer-supported professional development, job titles, vacation allotment, career complaints and job search and satisfaction. Our hope is that you’ll be able to use this information to determine how your pay compares to others in similar positions and discover what other professionals are doing to bring greater value to their organizations. Consider it one tool in your arsenal come negotiation time. I’d like to extend sincere thanks to the 220 planners who gave of their time and answered each question about their career and employment situation with care. I’d also like to urge you to participate next year so we can continue to build this benchmark and provide a regional picture of salaries across Canada—but we can’t do it without your help!
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Salaries Across The Board TYPE OF PLANNER
$55,000 Show managers
$64,000 Corporate planners
$68,000 Independent or third-party planners
$63,000 Not-for-profit, government or association planners
In-house supplier planners
ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP
GENDER Men make $15,500 more than women
$63,000
$59,000
$77,500
Don’t belong to an industry association
$60,250
Belong to one industry association
$65,000
Belong to two industry associations
$80,000
Belong to three industry associations
$84,000
GOING DEEPER Meeting planning offers a good salary between $50,000 and $80,000 throughout your career. What’s interesting is that the amount of schooling doesn’t seem to affect salary in a significant way. Twenty-three per cent of respondents reported completing some college or university and earning $68,000, while the vast majority of respondents completed university (40 per cent) or college (26 per cent) and made a comparable $63,000. What they studied mattered to how much they earned. As many planners studied business/commerce (24 per cent) in school as meeting/event management (23 per cent), and those who studied business made $8,000 more on average. While the number of years of experience you have or what job title you possess can be an indicator of salary, our results showed a more accurate determinant is the level of role or how the position is classified. Roles that involved coordination commanded $49,000 and executive positions hovered around the $80,000 mark. Finally, the wage gap still exists, as it does across the country and across nearly all professions. According to Statistics Canada, women working full-time still earn 73.5 cents on the dollar compared to men. For meeting planners, men out-earn women by more than $15,000. It’s a startling figure and forces us to pose the question, “In an industry dominated by women, how have we let the gender gap persist?”
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Meeting planners make $64,000 on average, which is up slightly from 2015 where planners reported making $60,000. So much can influence the amount you earn each year. Here’s a run-down on the most impressive indicators
DESIGNATIONS
YOUR ROLE
$80,000 Executive
$72,500 CMP
$73,500 Managerial
$75,000 CMM
$60,000 Operations/Tactical
$62,031 None
$49,000
64%
Coordination
Do not have a designation
SUPERVISOR STATUS The more people you manage, the more you earn.
$98,750
$70,000
$69,500
$57,500
6 to 10
3 to 5
1 or 2
0
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Complete Compensation
Almost half of planners received a bonus or financial incentive in 2015.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BENEFITS
Nearly all employers cover all or part of the costs of professional development opportunities
Employer pays for all or a portion of the following benefits
57% Local industry education
52%
19%
Webinars
Medical & Dental
82%
24%
Vision care
75%
Skills-based training indirectly related to your position
Group life insurance
72%
Top up maternity pay
35%
Pension plan
41%
Parking
40%
Smartphone
66%
Language training
65% 69%
Skills-based training directly related to your position
Industry conference registration/travel expenses
12% None of the above
52% Association membership dues
GOING DEEPER A planner’s compensation is more than their base salary. Benefits, opportunities and flexibility offered by employers are wins across the board, but money talks, even if you aren’t speaking up during annual performance reviews. While 58 per cent of employers conduct annual reviews, 13 per cent don’t bother, and another five per cent will only do so if the employee requests one. A whopping 42 per cent of respondents to our survey suggest there’s no opportunity to negotiate salary at the time of their review, while 20 per cent aren’t sure. Those numbers are astounding—62 per cent aren’t asking the questions that ultimately affect how much they’re paid, which can have an impact on workplace happiness. It’s no wonder that 58 per cent of planners either did not anticipate a raise or weren’t sure if they would receive one this year. If you don’t ask, you can’t expect much.
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VACATION Just under half of planners use all of their vacation time
29%
36% 13%
10% Two weeks
Three weeks
Four weeks
Five weeks
9% Six or more weeks
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Satisfaction & Job Market HOURS WORKED PER WEEK
ALL SMILES (MOSTLY)
72%
are satisfied with salary
66%
are satisfied with support received for career/professional development
79%
are satisfied with work/life balance
75%
are satisfied with benefits
60%
are happy with their organization’s pension/RRSP contributions
85%
feel their vacation time is satisfactory
84%
feel secure in their jobs
28%
are not satisfied with the performance recognition they receive
40%
are not satisfied with the opportunity for advancement within their organization
88%
are satisfied with their relationship with co-workers
82%
are happy with the amount of influence they have on the job
83%
are satisfied with their relationship with their superiors
88%
are happy with their jobs overall
61-70 hours 51-60 hours
Less than 40 hours
30% 2% 14%
41-50 hours
53%
JOB MARKET OPTIMISM Compared to five years ago, planners feel there are…
35%
no difference
41%
22%
more jobs in the meetings industry
fewer jobs
JOB SEARCH FEEL THEY ARE FAIRLY PAID FOR THE WORK THEY DO
YES
42%
How planners found their current job
How they plan to find their next one
In-person networking
Online job site
Word-of-mouth
In-person networking
Recruitment firm
Word-of-mouth
Online job site
Recruitment firm
NO
58% GOING DEEPER
Planners are moderately satisfied with their compensation packages and employer flexibility despite about 70 per cent working more than 40 hours a week. Event coordinators have long been included on “most stressful job” lists, including holding the No. 5 position after enlisted military personnel, firefighter, airline pilot and police officer in CareerCast’s 2016 Most Stressful Job list. Even so, most of our salary survey respondents expressed loyalty to their current companies (53 per cent said they expected to be working in the same job in the next two years). But it doesn’t mean they—like much of the workforce—aren’t keeping their options open. Indeed’s What Matters to the Modern Candidate report found that 71 per cent of people in the labour force are either looking for or are open to a new job. A solid 15 per cent of planners who responded to our survey felt they would be in the meetings industry but at a different organization in two years’ time. Financial compensation is the number one motivator expressed by planners for considering a company or job change (64 per cent), followed closely by the idea that there is little opportunity to advance in their current organization (61 per cent). Regardless of whether you’re looking to be promoted within your organization, stay at the same level, or jump ship, keep this data in your back pocket come negotiation time. And don’t be afraid to speak up!
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+INDEPTH
SMALL CITIES
BIG BUSINESS In the quest for fresh, it may be time to think small. BY ALLAN LYNCH
C
onsider this: The four leading technology companies— Apple, Microsoft, Google and Yahoo—are all based in small communities. With combined 2015 revenues of $406.78 billion, these companies could operate anywhere, but apparently they prefer small cities. Microsoft is based in Redmond, WA (pop. 57,530); Google is located in Mountain View, CA (pop. 77,846); Yahoo is in Sunnyvale, CA (pop. 147,559); and Apple is in Cupertino, CA (pop. 60,189). Could it be that millennials, the digital demographic everyone is trying to attract to events, value smaller communities for their focus, friendliness and face-to-face experiences as well as their hipster, off-the-beaten-path vibe? The bulk of smaller communities are amenity-rich destinations that can be attractive for the delegate experience and budgeting. While none promote themselves as a discount destination, there can be subsidiary savings because of the compact geographic footprint, which saves on ground transportation and time. For example, Saint John, NB, Burnaby, BC and Pittsburg, PA all have downtowns that are 20 minutes from their airports. And going small doesn’t mean going without or suffering second-class service. Shawnna Dickie-Garnhum, convention and meetings sales manager for Discover Saint John, says their culinary and gallery scenes are booming. “We have galleries opening or moving into these stunning spaces in older buildings from the late 1800s which have the exposed brick and wooden beams.” In a four-block radius of the city’s Uptown Area there are 13 galleries and 56 bars and restaurants. This makes it easy to arrange a dine-around or guide delegates to arrange their own
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free time. This entertainment neighbourhood is adjacent to the refurbished 24,000-square-foot Saint John Trade and Convention Centre (SJTCC). The harbourfront SJTCC, which has a 17,286-square-foot, pillar-free Great Hall, boardroom and six breakouts, is connected by the Inside Connection pedway to the 197-room Hilton and 254-room Delta Brunswick hotels. The Delta provides another 18,000 square feet of space. The hotels and SJTCC are further connected to the New Brunswick Museum’s 60,000-square-foot Exhibition Centre (the Whale Gallery is a popular banqueting and reception space), city hall, Brunswick Square, Canada Games Aquatic Centre and Saint John City Market. The city has 1,800 rooms total. Other close-by event venues include the historic Imperial Theatre (from the era of movie palaces, which is used for plenaries, meetings, presentation, receptions and dinners); Lily Lake Pavilion in Rockwood Park; University of New Brunswick Saint John’s Grand Hall; the 5,000-square-foot BMO Theatre; the 7,500-square-foot Diamond Jubilee Cruise Terminal; and 10,200-square-foot Marco Polo Cruise Terminals, which is used for meetings, dinners, receptions and trade shows. Saint John is gaining attention. It hosted 750 delegates to the 2015 Canadian Association of University Business Officers conference, has hosted the 2016 Telus Cup and will be hosting the East Coast Music Awards, Canadian Association of Principals, Canadian Nurses, and Royal Architectural Institute. In 2022, it will welcome 1,100 delegates to the Royal Canadian Legion’s Dominion Command convention. One of the more interesting “out of the box” events Saint
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+INDEPTH Photos (top to bottom): Pittsburgh, PA skyline before sunset. Photo: VisitPittsburgh; Boardwalk , Burnaby BC. Photo: Tourism Burnaby; Saint John, NB waterfront. Photo © 2006 Brian Atkinson.
John is hosting in 2016 is Area 506 (506 is the provincial area code). Area 506 is a type of pop-up event that could be the meeting sector’s evolution from the food truck phenomenon. It will showcase the province’s music, culture and goods in a unique shipping container village located on the long wharf. On the other end of Canada, Burnaby (pop. 223,000) is preparing to host 1,300 athletes and coaches from 110 countries at the 2016 World Taekwondo Junior Championships at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre (BCSC). The BCSC is a 2,000-seat arena, with an NHL-regulation ice surface that converts into a 21,500-squarefoot concert, convention and trade show venue. There are smaller rooms for hire, allowing it to host anything from a 12-person board meeting to a 500-guest reception to 3,500-person conference. Given Burnaby’s facilities, it’s natural that they have a significant sports business. In addition to the BCSC there are the Kensington Complex, Alan Emmott Centre and Bonsor Recreation Complex, all of which offer spaces appropriate for meetings and events. They also have CONTINUED
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Photos: (Clockwise from left) The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Floor 5 - 1970’s Portraits Gallery. © Abby Warhola; Boardroom, Delta Burnaby Hotel & Conference Centre, Burnaby, BC. Photo © Coast Mountain Photography; The Saint John Trade and Convention Centre Photo: Destination Saint John.
facilities—gym, pool, yoga studio, arena, etc.—that can be used for exercise or team-building elements. The newest addition to the city’s sports/meeting facilities is Fortius Sport & Health, which opened two years ago. Part of the Burnaby Lake Sport Complex, it has multiple meeting rooms with capacities ranging from 12 to more than 100 people. It also has a 60-room, three-storey lodge. The Burnaby Lake Sport Complex is also home to the Bill Copeland Sports Centre, Burnaby Lake Rowing Pavilion and Canlan Burnaby 8 Rinks, as well as 10 multi-purpose fields. While Burnaby is BC’s third largest city, it is often lost in the shadows of its higher profile neighbour. “Because we’re so close to Vancouver, literally across the street, most people think of themselves as in Vancouver and don’t realize they’re in Burnaby. We’re about 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver,” says Anna Schlagintweit, business development manager, Tourism Burnaby. For the uninitiated, Burnaby has just over 1,300 guestrooms in 12 hotels. The city’s more traditional meeting spaces are the 7,420-square-foot Grand Villa ballroom in the 195-room Delta Burnaby Hotel & Conference Centre, and 6,300-square-foot Crystal Ballroom in the 283-room Hilton Vancouver Metrotown. Other brands represented include Element by Westin, Best Western,
Executive Hotel and Suites, Holiday Inn Express and Accent Inns. Burnaby also boasts a thriving film industry, with sound stages dominating a whole section of the city. So in attendee downtime there might be time for celebrity spotting. In addition, the city is home to Simon Fraser University and British Columbia Institute of Technology. Both provide additional meeting and event space. More space is available in The Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre. It has a 4,500-square-foot special events hall, 2,700-square-foot lobby and further 3,000 square feet in five additional rooms. The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts has six studios ranging from 550 to 1,765 square feet. It opens to Deer Lake Park, which has lakeside walking trails that connect to the Burnaby Art Gallery and Burnaby Village Museum. The Museum has unique spaces—how about a breakout in an old-style ice cream parlour?—for everything from a small board meeting to 2,000-person reception. Also in the park is the Hart House Restaurant. It has four inside dining options ranging up to 80 people, and corporate groups can pitch a marquee for 250 people. Deer Lake Park allows groups to have a seamless flow from meeting to outdoor event. In the U.S., Pittsburgh is another small city with a big inventory CONTINUED
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Because
matters Meet with Purpose. And meet your corporate responsibility goals, all
while creating an exceptional experience for your guests. With solutions to reduce waste, improve efficiencies and balance health and well-being, Meet with Purpose changes the way you gather.
MINDFUL
MEETING
Environmentally friendly practices
MINDFUL
EATING
Balanced, wastereducing dining choices
MINDFUL
BEING
Uplifting meeting activities
Meet responsibly. Visit meetings.hilton.com.
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+INDEPTH
CONTINUED FROM P. 34
for groups to employ. While its history is steel, Pittsburgh has reinvented itself from a dying rust-belt destination to a fun, funky place where the population is both growing and getting younger. According to Karl Pietrzak, vice-president of convention sales for VisitPittsburgh, “The last census was the first in decades that showed growth in Pittsburgh overall and growth in those younger people staying in Pittsburgh or moving here from other places. There’s a real cool vibe going on in Pittsburgh right now. In the past couple of years we’ve had 50 hotels open. Some of the newer ones are very trendy and hip. Ace hotel is only 63 rooms, but could do small meetings. Conde Nast Traveler just named it the coolest hotel in America. Zagat named Pittsburgh the number one city for food in all the United States.” While some people may know Pittsburgh as a sports city—it’s home to the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins—it’s also a cultural hub. It’s home to the Andy Warhol Museum. Warhol was a local, and his reputation and the city’s industrial fortunes endowed and inspired numerous cultural facilities and arts districts. One of the popular places for corporate clients is the Mattress Factory. It’s a pop culture, art installation museum in which artists live in-residence and create their works. Pittsburgh is also home to 30 institutions of higher learning, as well as a thriving tech sector. Google has a large office there.
The region’s largest employer, says Pietrzak, is the Pittsburgh Medical Center, which makes for a natural tie-in with medical and pharmaceutical groups. Further shucking off its smoke-stack heritage, Pittsburgh’s 1.5 million-square-foot David L. Lawrence Convention Center has Platinum LEED certification. The center’s roof garden is a Monarch Butterfly migration sanctuary. To further green a meeting, delegates can walk from the 5,000 bedrooms located in the convention centre neighbourhood. Pietrzak adds, “It’s very easy to get around in Pittsburgh. The downtown is very compact, so planners don’t need to arrange busing and schedule shuttles. There are 22 hotels within a mile of the convention centre, so we can accommodate all groups right downtown. Other cities have bigger hotels, but most of their properties are further from the convention centre. Here you’re a 10-minute walk to dining, shopping, museums, plus 10 performing arts theatres in the cultural district.” In 2015 Pittsburgh hosted 800 meeting planners at the Connect Marketplace. The word on the advantages of small destinations is getting out. In the quest for fresh, it may be time to think small. Allan Lynch is a freelance journalist based in New Minas, Nova Scotia. He writes extensively about the business events industry.
Meetings with a fresh point of view 32 wineries
19 golf courses
2.2 km boardwalk
City of Kelowna, Okanagan Valley, BC
Expect a fresh point of view when you book your next meeting or retreat in Kelowna. Imagine your event staged alongside vast vineyards or lakeside at a fabulous resort. Our wide range of meeting and incentive facilities, complemented by spectacular landscapes, will ensure Kelowna exceeds your expectations.
1-800-663-4345 ext. 217 | meetings@tourismkelowna.com #meetKelowna |
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@meetKelowna
MEETINGSCANADA.COM
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BY LORI SMITH
CANADA UPDATE
A CROSS-COUNTRY LOOK AT NEW EVENT SPACES, HOTEL OPENINGS, RENOS, F&B AND MORE
Keltic Lodge, Ingonish , NS. Photo: Pash Photography
NOVA SCOTIA A major renovation of Cape Breton’s Keltic Lodge is now complete. Located in Ingonish, the lodge has one large meeting hall with a capacity of 250 (banquet) and several smaller, 20- to 60-person rooms. Changes to the main meeting room include the installation of floor-to-ceiling windows, new kitchen, washrooms and lobby. It has also been completely redecorated. A 2,000-square-foot deck overlooking the ocean has also been added.
Licensed Lounge, Cineplex Cinemas. Photo: Cineplex Entertainment
NEW BRUNSWICK Petit-Sault Brewers opened in 2014. The craft brewery and brewtique is located in Edmunston’s old police station grounds. It is available for receptions of up to 50 people. Beer CONTINUED
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+CANADA UPDATE
CONTINUED FROM P. 37
Photos: (Clockwise from left) Aerial Adventure Course, Wildplay Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls, ON. Photo ©Shawn Talbot Photography; Executive chef Ron Kneabone, The Algonquin Resort, St. Andrews By-the-Sea, NB. Photo: ©BohemianPhotography.ca; Bistro a Champlain, Esterel, QC. Photo: ©Stephanegroleau. com; Guestroom, Le Germain Hotel Toronto, ON. Photo: ©Naomi Finlay.
tasting activities and tours of the brewery can be organized. + Ron Kneabone has been appointed executive chef at The Algonquin Resort in St. Andrews By-theSea. Kneabone comes to the Algonquin from the Marriott Fallsview in Niagara Falls, where he was executive chef/food and beverage director. Kneabone is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of Canada. He spent 10 years in France perfecting his craft in Michelin three-star restaurants and farm-to-table operations in Alsace before returning to Canada. He is a Taste of Canada gold and silver medal winner. 38
QUÉBEC Estérel Resort in The Laurentides has acquired a Québec treasure: the wine cellar created by oenophile Champlain Charest. A radiologist by profession, Charest started building the cellar in 1974, eventually housing it in a restaurant (Le Bistro à Champlain) in Sainte-Marguerite-du-lac-Masson, which he owned with painter Jean-Paul Riopelle. In honour of acquiring the more than 5,000-bottle collection, the resort’s renowned restaurant, L’ultime, has been renamed Bistro à Champlain. The Tablée à Champlain, which is held in the wine cellar
and hosted by a sommelier, is available for groups of up to 20 people. + New York City-based Sixty Hotels will open its first property outside of the U.S. in downtown Montreal. Scheduled to debut this year, the boutique hotel will feature 120 rooms, event spaces and a rooftop pool and bar. ONTARIO Stingers Indoor Paintball opened in Brockville early this year. The course in the 15,000-square-foot indoor paintball arena features 16-foot high ceilings; a playing field with bunkers; bridges; and a maze created
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+CANADA UPDATE by obstacles. It can accommodate groups up to 40. + Wildplay Niagara Falls has built and is operating a new zipline attraction at Niagara Park Commission’s (NPC) Grand View Marketplace and an aerial adventure course at Thompson Point. The aerial adventure course features ziplines, log ladders, rope swings, tightropes and more. The new Niagara Falls zipline descends 2,200 feet and offers views of the American and Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Both activities are available to groups. + Stratford eatery The Church has been reimagined and reinvented by owners Rob and Candice Wigan as Revival House. Three rooms can accommodate groups of up to 200 people: Revival, a dining and events venue; Chapel, an upstairs gastrolounge; and Confession, a VIP hideaway. + The City of Timmins reports substantial hotel growth. In 2013, a Holiday Inn Express & Suites opened, followed by a new Microtel Inn & Suites and a Hampton Inn. A Best Western Quality Suites is scheduled to open this year. These four properties added 413 rooms to the city’s inventory. In addition, extensive renovations have been done at Comfort Inn, Super 8, Days Inn, Bon Air Motel and Timmins Inn & Suites now rebranded as a Ramada Inn. + The International Plaza Hotel is undergoing an extensive, multi-million dollar renovation before rebranding as the Delta Toronto Airport + Conference Centre in late 2016. The 433-room property has 60,000 square feet of flexible function space. It has just been awarded a 3 Green Keys rating. + The Vue Event Venues' newest acquisition is the Royal Woodbine Golf Club and Lounge. Located in Toronto’s west end, minutes from Pearson International Airport, the newly renovated, 9,000-square-foot space overlooks the greens of the Royal Woodbine Golf Course. The venue features dual spaces, multiple bars, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a 4,000-square-foot patio. + Le Germain Hotel Toronto has completed its guestroom makeover. New features and design elements in the property’s 118 rooms include concealed LED lighting; Corian countertops;
and a felt-inspired material made of 95 per cent recycled matter, called Svelte, covering the wall behind the headboards. In addition, each room features a one-of-a-kind art installation on the wall above the bed. BRITISH COLUMBIA The hotel inventory in Terrace is getting a boost with the opening of three properties: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Terrace (93 rooms), Sunshine Inn (98 rooms) and Comfort Inn (92 rooms). + The Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel has opened its new restaurant and bar, Oceans 999 and Coal Harbour Bar. The restaurant serves up international cuisine made with locallysourced ingredients, and the bar features handcrafted cocktails named after the city’s neighbourhoods. In addition, the hotel’s 42,000 square feet of conference and meeting space has been enhanced with state-of-the-art audiovisual technology and plush carpeting. + Cineplex Entertainment has opened its newest theatre in South Vancouver’s emerging Marine Gateway community. The 56,000-square-foot Cineplex Cinemas Marine Gateway and VIP is built over two storeys. The first floor features seven traditional auditoriums and an UltraAVX auditorium. The second level is home to the theatre’s three VIP Cinema auditoriums and licensed lounge. It is available for corporate and group rental.
WE WANTED TO BRING A CONFERENCE TO OTTAWA. OTTAWA TOURISM BROUGHT ITS A-GAME. “When I recommended a client consider Ottawa for its next big conference, I worked with Ottawa Tourism to build the case. They coordinated their members’ proposals and put them in a single package, organized everything for our site visit, and looked after us every step of the way. They made choosing Ottawa easy, and we look forward to working with them to make the conference a huge success.” – Ellen Boddington, CMP, CMM Stellar Conference & Event Management Inc.
THE YUKON Air North, Yukon’s Airline, is increasing service on its Yellowknife/Ottawa route this summer. The new flight will take off on June 13 and run through September 16, 2016. The added days are: Departing Whitehorse every Tuesday at 2:25 pm, arriving in Ottawa at 12:05 am; departing Ottawa every Wednesday at 11:20 am, arriving Whitehorse at 3:40 pm. The carrier’s regularly scheduled flights to Yellowknife/ Ottawa, departing Whitehorse Sundays and Thursdays and returning the following day, will operate at the same times as the new service.
CANADA UPDATE ENEWSLETTER debuting June 2016! Sign up for this monthly enewsletter on meetingscanada.com and get even more news on venues, renos, openings and more! OTTAWATOURISM.CA/MEETINGS
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+DESTINATION
NEW YORK CITY BY LORI SMITH
BRIGHT LIGHTS, GREAT SPACES
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+DESTINATION I have visited New York City—Manhattan to be exact—some 35 times over the course of the last 30 years. I first set foot in The Big Apple in March 1986. Times Square had yet to be cleaned-up and revitalized. Soho, Chelsea and the Meatpacking District were not gentrified. It was grimy and glorious; an electrifying mix of museums, theatres, stores, clubs, bars and more. It offered everything. NYC is inexhaustible, which is one of the main reasons it’s a bucket list mainstay, an iconic incentive travel destination and favourite host to so many meetings and conventions. It’s also a city that constantly reinvents itself, offering something new on every visit and ensuring it remains, as Frank Sinatra sang, “top of the heap.” 2016 finds New York in the midst of a hotel boom. According to NYC & Company, the city’s official marketing, tourism and partnership organization, more than 40 new properties opened in Manhattan in the last two years. Seventy more properties are in the pipeline and expected to open by 2019. Hotel inventory is also growing in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island, where 54 new properties will open by 2019. These new properties reflect the diversity as well as the changing tastes and demographics of today’s incentive travel and meeting participants. For example, the Baccarat Hotels & Residences, which officially opened in March 2015, is the epitome of elegance and opulence. Its interiors were “imagined and realized” by the Paris-based design duo Gilles & Boissier. Design details in its 114 rooms and suites include pleated silk walls, white marble tables and Baccarat crystal accents. The Marmara Park Avenue, which opened in September, offers another, more contemporary take on NYC luxury. Housed in a historic (1927) 21-storey building, it is located just north of increasingly trendy NoMAD (north of Madison Square Park), an area bordered by 25th and 29th Streets to the south and north and Madison Avenue and Sixth Avenue to the east and west, respectively. This boutique property has 128 suites and guestrooms featuring hardwood floors, kitchens with stainless steel appliances, high ceilings, natural light and views of the New York skyline. Two other properties, just opened in NoMad, speak to the city’s past, present and future. The Redbury New York was formerly The Martha Washington Hotel. It has been
transformed by Los Angeles-based hospitality company sbe in collaboration with photographer Matthew Rolston. Located near Tin Pan Alley, the city’s famed music centre, the décor in its 256 guestrooms and public spaces combine vintage music imagery, gramophones and early- to mid-20th century photos of the city with 1960s patterns (think paisley) and Oriental rugs. Its meeting spaces feature Juliet balconies, extravagant windows and relaxation areas. It’s nouveau Bohemian boutique. Meliá Hotels International also chose NoMad for its first INNSIDE-branded property outside of Europe. This modern hotel has 313 guestrooms with oversized floor-to-ceiling windows, Nespresso coffee machines and 42-inch flat-screen TVs with USB and Bluetooth connectivity—everything millennials need. It also has access to several major subway lines and a signature restaurant helmed by celebrity chef Scott Conant. For meetings and events, it has two flexible rooms on its second floor that can accommodate up to 70 people. These rooms have floorto-ceiling windows that offer views of the street as well as natural light. Other properties recently added to the NYC hotel scene include the Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel (35th Street) and Roxy Hotel Tribeca (formerly the Tribeca Grand). A Marriott brand, the 348-room Renaissance has five event rooms (4,500 square feet in total), with a maximum capacity of 170. It also boasts the largest deck in the city—8,000 square feet with a retractable roof. The Roxy Hotel Tribeca is a celebration of music and cinema. It has 201 revamped guestrooms and a selection of unique spaces—jazz bar, cinema, lounge, penthouse—available for events. Another notable new unique venue is the Whitney Museum of American Art in the Meatpacking District, which opened last year. Designed by architect Renzo Piano, it sits between the Hudson River and the High Line, a public park built on old rail lines. Meeting spaces in the museum include the 5,120-square-foot Outdoor Gallery on the fifth floor and the 6,200-square-foot Kenneth C. Griffin Hall on the first floor. In addition to the growth in hotel inventory and unique venues, the city’s foremost convention centre is getting a major overhaul. The Jacob K. Javits will undergo a massive $1 billion (USD) redevelopment, with construction beginning late this year.
BIG BUILD
The initial phase of Hudson Yards, the largest private real estate development in U.S. history, is expected to open late this year. It will include 100+ shops, 20 restaurants, 14 acres of public space, a 150-room luxury hotel, 5,000 residences and more.
BIG APPETITE
If no new restaurants were to open in the Big Apple, it would take more than 22 years to try all the city’s eateries once. But lots of new restos are debuting in 2016-17, including kitchens helmed by celeb chefs Anthony Bourdain, Masaharu Morimoto, Tom Colicchio and more.
BIG BALLROOM
The Javits’s expansion plans will see one million square feet of event space added to the six-block facility. The new space will feature 500,000 square feet of contiguous space on one level and a 60,000-square-foot ballroom— the largest in the U.S. northeast.
PHOTOS OPPOSITE PAGE (clockwise from top left): Statue of Liberty. Photo: istockphoto.com ©cincila; The Whitney Museum of American Art. Photo by Karin Jobst. (left) Goldfish in-room amenity, Roxy Hotel Tribeca; (right) The Nook, Marmara Park Avenue; The Bar, Baccarat Hotel & Residences. Photo ©Eric Laignel. (Second row from bottom of page, l-r) NYC cabs. Photo: Jen Davis/NYC & Company; Queen bedroom, The Redbury New York. Photo ©Boone Speed; Lobby bar, new York Midtown Renaissance. Photo ©Troy House 2016; Lobby, The Redbury. Photo ©Boone Speed; (Bottom row, l-r) Apollo Theater. Photo ©Joe Buglewicz/NYC & Co.; Deluxe one-bedroom suite living room, Roxy Hotel Tribeca; Stone Street, Financial District. Photo ©Will Steacy/NYC & Co.
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MPI Toronto Meetings + Incentive Travel (M+IT) was proud to be the national media sponsor of Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID) in Canada. The snaps here are just a few of the images captured at GMID events across the country. To see more photos visit meetingscanada.com. (Photos 1-6) MPI Montreal & Quebec Chapter: VENUE - Holiday Inn Centre-Ville. | (Photos 7, 8 & 11) MPI Atlantic Canada Chapter: VENUE (Nova Scotia) - Halifax World Trade and Convention Centre; INFLUENCER AWARD - Waterfront Development Corporation Halifax; VENUE (New Brunswick): Fredericton Convention Centre; INFLUENCER AWARD: Tourism Moncton. | (Photos 9, 10, 12 , 13 & 14) MPI Toronto Chapter: VENUE - International Plaza Hotel Toronto Airport; INFLUENCER AWARD - Sheila Wong, CEM, BBW International Inc.
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MPI Greater Calgary (Photos 15, 16, 17 & 18) MPI Edmonton Chapter: VENUE - Shaw Conference Centre; INFLUENCER AWARD - NAIT Continuing Education | (Photos 119, 20, 21, 22, 23 & 24) MPI Ottawa Chapter: VENUE: Hilton Lac-
GLOBAL GLOBAL
Leamy, Gatineau; INFLUENCER AWARD - Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group. | (Photos 25, 26 & 27) MPI Greater Calgary Chapter: VENUE: Charbar, Calgary; INFLUENCER AWARD - The JUNO Awards.
APRIL 14, 2016
APRIL 14, 2016
MEETINGSCANADA.COM
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MPI British Columbia 32
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(Photos 28 -33 © Vision Event Photography Inc.) MPI British Columbia Chapter: VENUE - Anvil Centre; INFLUENCER AWARD - City of New Westminster.
CALENDAR ALERT! GLOBAL MEETINGS INDUSTRY DAY 2017 will be held April 20, 2017!
Why Join SITE Canada? Incentive travel = Business results. SITE Canada connects you with a truly global community. SITE Canada members are creative, vibrant and energetic people, of all ages and disciplines. SITE Canada has been recognized with seven consecutive Awards of Excellence including an unprecedented three Chapter of the Year awards. Become a SITE Canada member to experience exceptional opportunities to network, learn and grow, both professionally and personally. SITE Canada office@sitecanada.org 905-812-7483
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www.sitecanada.org
MEETINGSCANADA.COM
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+ADINDEX Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI) www.alhi.com Calgary Exhibition & Stampede www.calgarystampede.com Calgary TELUS Convention Centre www.calgary-convention.com Club Med Business www.clubmedbusiness.ca Destination Quebec www.QuebecBusinessDestination.com Hilton Worldwide www.meetings.hilton.com IncentiveWorks 2016 www.meetingscanada.com/incentiveworksshow International Centre, The www.internationalcentre.com
IFC, 3 21 OBC 45 10, 11, 12, 13 35 4, 22, 24, 25
Looking for venues, industry news, event pics and informed opinions?
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MPI Foundation/Canada Rocks www.mpiweb.org/foundation/canadarocks Ottawa Tourism www.ottawatourism.ca/meetings Posadas Fiesta Americana www.fiestamericanagrand.com/meetingsmexico Rodd Hotels & Resorts www.roddmeetings.com SITE Canada www.sitecanada.org Tourism Kelowna www.tourismkelowna.com WestJet www.westjet.com White Oaks Conference Resort & Spa www.whiteoaksresort.com
26 39 IBC 7 44 36 16 18
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MEETINGSCANADA.COM
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+NEXTGEN “People have underestimated me because I look young”
Name Edward Byers Title Manager Professional Development & Events Company Real Property Association of Canada Age 29 Designations CMP, CHRP Education Bachelor of Commerce, Major: Hospitality and Tourism, Ryerson University Associations MPI, PCMA, HRPA
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I got my start in the meetings industry… growing up in the 1000 Islands region of Ontario. During my university summers, I helped plan the area’s largest summer music festival. The thrill of organizing and the excitement of not knowing what each day had in store is what sold me! After university, I flew to Vancouver and handed my resume to anyone who would take it, in an effort to land a job with the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. My hardcopy resume landed in the right hands, and I got a five-month contract with VANOC. From there, I’ve worked in various roles with organizations like TIFF, the London 2012 Summer Olympics, Steam Whistle Brewing, Special Olympics Ontario and now my current role with the Real Property Association of Canada, where I am responsible for all of the association’s meetings and events. When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them… I organize corporate events. I usually start by telling people I was an Olympics junkie and have transitioned into corporate meetings and events. In my current role at the Real Property Association of Canada, I am responsible for corporate events, retreats, professional development and training. We currently host events primarily in Canada, with one CEO retreat a year in the United States. I explain to people the amount of work that goes into planning events, and also that, yes, it can be cool and exciting. The most challenging thing for me when I began my career was… understanding what is out there. After graduation, I was very eager, had a lot of drive and a ton of ideas. There are so many associations, businesses and organizations, it is really hard to figure out what direction to go. I didn’t understand that where I wanted to be then would be different from where I am now. I think anyone who is starting out in the industry should keep an open mind for their career path. It is very easy to graduate with limited knowldge of the jobs that are out there. When I speak to students at Ryerson, they are sometimes surprised by my career path and how I ended up working for
a commercial real estate association. It opens their minds to the possibilities. I think most graduates see meeting planning within hotels as the mainstream in the industry. Hotel meeting planning is a great way to get into the industry, but may not be for everyone. My career interests haven’t changed, but the trajectory was slightly different than I had planned. People shouldn’t underestimate me because… this industry breeds winners. It requires people to be multidisciplinary and use many different skill sets, which is why it takes a specific type of personality to do it. It’s no wonder that it is consistently rated one of the most stressful jobs. Having youth and drive on your side helps, but it is important to channel that energy into something productive so people won’t underestimate you. My entire career, people have either underestimated me or not given me a chance because I look young. I have constantly had to prove myself to show that I can not only do the job, but contribute to the overall strategy and bottom line of the organization. The most valuable lesson I learned was… to maintain relationships and always network because you never know where it might lead. I witnessed and experienced bosses and coworkers continue on to other major sporting events and Olympic Games because of the networks that were built at previous events. It is a remarkably small world—so stay involved! In 10 years, I see myself… owning my own business that is related to the meetings and events industry. I would like to create a business with a great corporate culture that fills a need in the meetings and events environment. Creating a business is not an easy task, but when I see individuals who have created something successful, it inspires me to do more. I constantly look to business leaders for advice and leadership as to what they did right and wrong throughout their journey. Having worked at Steam Whistle, I am very inspired by their story of three guys following their passion and turning a dream of owning their own brewery into a reality.
MEETINGSCANADA.COM
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