A MONTHLY DIGEST TO INFORM AND ENLIGHTEN MEETING PLANNERS
How much luggage is too much? SEE PAGE 4
Not sure how much luggage is too much? It’s wise to call ahead and double check your airline’s luggage policy when traveling.
IN THIS ISSUE Trends
3,5,18
Book review
6
Secret life of bagels
7
Communicating
8
Management insight
10
Datebook
11
Attitude
12-13
Hotel News
16,17
MPI Meeting Day April 2005 Edition
19 VOL. 3 ISSUE 3
When should you use PowerPoint? BY DAVE PARADI, MBA
I
was speaking to a group of keynote speakers at a professional speakers convention recently on the topic of PowerPoint usage. Many people found the ideas I shared helpful, so I thought I would share them with you. As I explained to the group, I think you can see almost any business-oriented presentation as being on a continuum, where one end is a fully inspirational presentation and the other end is a totally informational presentation. One of the key distinctions along the
line between the two ends is how many points you want the audience to remember. A purely inspirational presentation, like a pep talk you would give your team, has very few points you need the audience to remember, perhaps only one key point. A highly informational presentation, like a training program, can have many points that you want the audience to remember in order to improve their job performance.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
NOTES
FROM THE EDITOR
Nine out of ten S
tatistics released by the Print Measurement Bureau reported that 9 out of the top 10 magazines in Canada showed readership declines in the past year. Just to hold your readership is considered an accomplishment now-a-days. At the Planner, we have more than doubled our readership even though we have started charging non-planners to receive it. Not bad for a publication that’s less than two years old. You will also notice at the bottom right that we have started giving back—it’s not much but it’s a start. So thanks for your support & keep telling your friends about us. And as always if you have ideas or suggestions please let us know.
Coming in May • Teambuilding • Chef’s Table • Planning Golf Events
2
What would you like to read about? • Data Please e-mail me at: Projector Tips lgervais@theplanner.ca
Last month’s winners in the survey contest: Lynda Kerr B. Lou Cox Bridget Ayden Anne-Marie Obdam Suzanne Despatie
Published by: 2105 rue de la Montagne, suite 100 • Montreal, Quebec • H3G 1Z8 Telephone: (514) 849-6841 ext. 333 • Fax: (514) 284-2282 We welcome your comments: info@theplanner.ca Editor: Leo Gervais Assistant Editor: Nathalie Caron Proofreader: Keith Motton Translator: Dominique Lamarche Administration: Patrick Galvin, Julie Boisvert Sales: James Paulson, Camille Lay Contributors: Mike Auctor, Anne Biarritz, Thomas Chalmers, Peter De Jager, Stacey Hanke, Maya Kramer, Joe Schwarcz, Harriet Wezena The Planner is a monthly publication distributed to 11,000 professional meeting planners across Canada and the U.S.. Poste-publication No. 40934013
Need to change your address? Email us at: info@theplanner.ca
Our Mission and Goal Our mission is to inform and enlighten meeting planners. Each edition will have no more than 30 to 35 per cent advertising (all of which will be informative) with the rest of the publication dedicated to articles to help meeting planners in their dayto-day activities. Our goal is to give out the accumulated profit as educational grants to planners.
Giving back Educational grants
Jennifer Campbell Cathleen Fillmore Peter L. Fournier Lucette Kirbach Gerry Hood
Congratulations to all the winners! Ed. Note: The survey results will be published in the May edition.
APRIL 2005
PP: Use recall aids CONTINUED
FROM
POWERPOINT
PAGE
1
In between the two ends of the spectrum there are a variety of different presentations with various numbers of points being made. To help the audience remember your message, you should use recall aids. A recall aid is something that the audience can use to recall the points you have made after you are finished the presentation. There are many different forms of recall aids, including handouts, workbooks, cards, and yes, PowerPoint. PowerPoint can be a recall aid because it can give visual reminders of the points we are making. The most popular usage of PowerPoint as a recall aid is when we use the title and bullet points to reinforce the key points we are speaking about. An even more effective use of PowerPoint is to use photographs to help tell a story that illustrates your point. Audiences remember your powerful stories more than any other part of your presentation. You can burn the points in their memory even more by showing a photo, telling a story related to that photo, then making the point that the story and photo illustrate. In this way, the emotional impact of the photo will add weight to the point you make through the story. PowerPoint should not necessarily be the only recall aid you use, but it could be a valuable tool in helping your audience remember and act on your points. When you plan your next presentation (you do plan your presentation instead of just jumping in to PowerPoint I hope), think about where you are on the continuum between an inspirational and an informational presentation. Then consider how PowerPoint may fit into your plan for recall aids. ••• Dave Paradi is known as The PowerPoint Lifeguard because he rescues speakers and their audiences from "Death by PowerPoint". Dave is the author of “Guide to PowerPoint” in the Prentice Hall Series in Advanced Business Communication. His consulting, workshops and learning tools help organizations improve the profitability of their PowerPoint presentations. Learn more at : http://www.PowerPointLifeguard.com. ©2004 Dave Paradi
APRIL 2005
Industry Trends Jetsgo is gone, now is Delta going bankrupt? Delta Airlines says it would report “a substantial net loss” in 2005, causing a 12 per cent loss in its shares and reviving the spectre of bankruptcy. The U.S. Air carrier is coming off a horrendous 2004 when it reported a loss of US $5.2-billion, the largest in its 75-year history. Despite a planned US $5 billion in cost cuts, competitive pressures like fuel costs may drive it to “seek to restructure… costs under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy Code” it revealed in its recent filing to the American Securities and Exchange Commission. Delta is also looking to asset sales to raise cash and avoid joining United and US Airways in bankruptcy.
If you can make it there… The estimated total number of visitors to New York City in 2004 was a new record high 39.6 million, 4.6 percent higher than in 2003. International arrivals increased by 10.2 percent, with 20 percent increase coming from Japan. Occupancy was 83 percent, and the average daily rate increased by US $19 to US $212. The number of visitors is expected to be higher than 40 million in 2005.
So Bill, I want to hold this meeting…. Microsoft is offering a way to meet whether “you’re three offices or Hold a fast meeting via Microsoft. 30,000 miles apart” with their service Microsoft Office Live Meeting. All you need is a phone, a PC and an Internet connection to get the productivity of an in-person meeting without the downtime and expense of business travel. Microsoft is even offering 30 days of free service and a free demo at www.microsoft.com/liveonline. For more info call: 1-877-568-2495.
3
Airlines cutting costs by losing luggage BY MAYA KRAMER
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ondering if you should bring an extra pant suit on that trip to New York? If you ask the airlines, the answer would likely be a no. With soaring fuel costs, not only are prices for check-in luggage increasing, but several airlines are reducing the maximum carry-on luggage size and weight. The guidelines are in response to concerns that aircraft are being increasingly overloaded. On an aircraft carrying more people – a Boeing 737 for example, on which upwards of 150 people are seated, weight accumulates quickly. Ten kilograms for every person sitting on a plane adds up – and safety can become an issue in terms of both weight and space. Airlines also argue that fuel usage is increased with extra weight on board. But the fact that the regulations are justified doesn’t make it easy for passengers to accept. “It’s a little ridiculous,” said one industry insider. In his travels, he says, it just isn’t plausible to reduce his carry-on baggage to 5kg – a newly-common maximum weight. “I know the weight of laptops and other technological devices are decreasing, but it just doesn’t make it easy for travelers.” Air Canada refused to comment on the regulations, saying that the policies are under review. But passengers can find ways to compensate for the new rules; packing lightly is always important – reducing the amount of unnecessary clothing is key, and dressing in layers is always conducive to a lighter
load. And while the contents of a bag are most of the problem, the luggage itself must be considered. Bags can weigh up to 20 pounds (about 9 kilograms) themselves. Cutting down on this baggage weight is a great way to step around the fees and hassle of having to pay extra for any check-in luggage. Luggage companies are responding to the need for lighter baggage well – both Skyway Luggage and Travelpro have released small, light check-in models for sale. Instead of the standard 9 kilograms, these models can weigh in at as little as 4.5 kilograms – a significant drop when the price for an extra kilogram can be US $8. The final word for travelers: Pack light, and make sure you don’t forget your smile. The light luggage can be ordered online at the following sites: www.tutto.com www.luggagebase.com www.skywayluggage.com
Masterpieces are never anything but happy attempts.
4
George Sand
APRIL 2005
Industry Trends Reach out and PIN someone
M
y friend Don calls it the CrackBerry. So how addictive is it? Well, look around a meeting room, hotel lobby, or even in an elevator sometime and you’ll see people using the now famous BlackBerry, the ultimate connectivity tool. Oh sure, there are others like the Palm Trio but I have never heard “He’s Trioing me” but I have often heard “I’m BlackBerrying my boss.” This handy little Personal Digital Assistant is a phone, organizer, instant messenger, and e-mail all in one. Being a converted Palm user, I can say unequivocally the BlackBerry (invented by Canadian company Research in Motion) is a joy to use with an easyto-use keypad. And among we “berries,” there is the shared experience of the PIN, basically Instant Messaging between these specific machines. Each BlackBerry has a PIN number, sort of like an IP address for a computer, and the rapidity with which instant messages go between them instantaneously is truly amazing. You might ask “Who cares?” Well, I asked the same question, but I was at a luncheon on St. Patrick’s Day and several of us were pinning to discuss the effectiveness of some of the speakers and arrange the post-luncheon get-together. All this was accomplished without speaking a word or interrupting anybody. It has been reported that journalists at press conferences will get pinned with questions from their editors or producers DURING the press conference to react to something a speaker says—instant reaction to spin from politicians and their ilk. The BlackBerry takes communicating to a whole new level. I encourage all meeting planners to give a BlackBerry a try—I’m sure you’ll find getting pinned will take on a whole new, positive meaning.
Achoo! Honey, pass the honey please Dreading the upcoming sneezing season as hay fever makes its yearly comeback? Have no fear: a natural remedy is to take unprocessed, locally produced honey derived from beehives. It is a natural antihistamine, and two teaspoons taken each morning inoculates you from the allergic reaction against local pollens. And there are no side effects.
It’s about time! The American Transportation Security Administration recently added lighters to the list of items prohibited from aircraft, and all areas beyond security checkpoints, starting April 14. The ban includes butane, absorbed-fuel (Zippo-type), electric, batterypowered and novelty lighters, although matches still are allowed. TSA will dispose of lighters brought to security checkpoints.
Who makes $20,000 profit per minute? Well, it’s… Wal-Mart recently reported that for its last fiscal year, it had profits—not sales, profits—of US $10.3 billion. That means that every minute, as its cash registers around the world ring up amounts for its endless throng of customers, it earns an average of US $20,000. And consider this: Wal-mart is raking it in without a flagship store in the greatest capitalist city in the world, New York. Opposition prompted Wal-Mart to recently scrap its plan for a store in the borough of Queens.
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5
BOOK REVIEW
The Itty Bitty Guide to Business Travel BY HARRIET WEZENA
I
s it always a dreadful task when it comes to planning a business trip? Worry no more. The Itty Bitty Guide To Business Travel, a pocket-sized book, has all the information you need to plan a successful and panic-free business trip, from beginning to end. The 128-paged book, by Stacie Krajchir and Carrie Rosten, is divided into eight chapters all tailored to meet your business travel needs into such important categories as: Booking Your Trip, Before You Go; Packing Like a Pro; Getting There; You've Arrived; Out and About; and Coming Home. Given that you will be traveling on your company’s budget, the authors advise it is essential to know one’s company’s travel policies. A good number of pages are devoted to outlining informa6 tion regarding company per diems, travel agents, trip budgets, expenses, the use of vacation days to extend business trips, and company credit cards. If you often return from a business trip to find your desk overflowing with files to work on, the chapter “How to Prepare Your Office for Departure” provides some helpful suggestions: For instance, organizing and delegating your work to co-workers to ease the work load on your return. Other interesting information on how to Prepare Your Home (including arranging for a house sitter): and perhaps most pertinently: Preparing Your Mind and
Body for the Trip. Although these topics are not covered in any great depth, the book does provide many helpful tips for travelers. The book also offers information dealing with public transportation, airports, rental cars, check-ins and possible upgrades to a better flying class. Although basic, the information is both succinct and to the point and would be ideal for people just starting off on their business travel career or the occasional traveler. You will learn some tricks on how to
pack your luggage such as the necessity of coordinating outfits to ensure you take the least possible items, the benefits of layering when it comes to clothes, and other matters. Inject “A Little Bit of Home” feel into your trip and bring personal items like photos of family members and friends, a home video, items the authors suggest will help you relax more while on your business trip. Using checklists as one of their organizational elements, information is handy, easy to find when and wherever you need to plan a business trip. The book addresses the general logistical framework involved with business trips and it is ideal for all business travelers and others who make infrequent trips and need to be reminded of the basic steps involved in business travel. It will get you there and back painlessly. Stacie Krajchir is a television producer who lives in Venice Beach, California. Carrie Rosten is a Los Angeles-based wardrobe stylist and costume designer. For more information on the book, go to www.amazon.com, search title.
Book; The Itty Bitty Guide To Business Travel Authors: Stacie Krajchir and Carrie Rosten Publisher: Library of Congress Cataloging-inPublication Data, 2004 Price on Amazon.com: US $ 6.29
APRIL 2005
The secret life of bagels BY JOE SCHWARCZ
Y
You should have seen the face of the guy behind the counter in the Manhattan bagel shop when I asked for the smallest, thinnest bagel they had. In a country where excess rules, where the credo is “bigger is better,” my request must have come as a shock. But I really needed that thin bagel to save a lecture I was about to give at Columbia University. The lecture was to focus on some interesting everyday applications of chemistry and I wanted to start with a demonstration of how acrylic plastics can make our lives less risky. Dr. Mark Smith, head of emergency at George Washington University Medical Center, had made headlines across America by going public about a “great under-reported injury of our times.” Bagel cutting. Anyone who has ever risked a mangled hand by trying to slice a bagel in half knows exactly what we are talking about. Luckily, inventors have risen to the challenge and have come up with a variety of devices to ensure that a good bagel isn’t ruined by being splattered with blood. I had even found one that I really liked. It was a clear acrylic box that held a bagel snugly and had slits down two sides to guide a knife. Not only does it prevent injuries, it also protects us from the other great scourge of bagel life-the smoke filled kitchen. This of course happens when the bigger half of an unequally sliced bagel refuses to pop up after having been squeezed into a toaster slot that is clearly too small.
New Yorkers boil their bagels My proposed demonstration of scientific bagel cutting obviously required a victim which I planned to order for breakfast. Alas, what they brought me was some gigantic roll with a hole in it that looked more like a life preserver than a bagel. I realized we had a problem. There was no way it would fit into my
bagel cutter. That’s when I ran to the bagel shop and made my “unusual” request. No shortage of bagels here, but all were as obese as my original. And then as I stood there frustrated, the door to the back flew open and I caught a glimpse of what was going on. The raw bagels were going through a machine where they were being steamed! Not boiled, but steamed! That’s when I decided that New Yorkers didn’t need to learn about acrylics, they needed to learn about bagel making. Montreal is the center of the bagel world. Because here we do it right. For just 180 calories and virtually no fat, you get splendid flavor, unique texture and a dose of history. According to legend, in 1683 the Polish King John Soviesky helped save Vienna from Turkish invaders. In gratitude, A Viennese baker created a stirrup shaped roll to commemorate the bravery of the Polish soldiers. In a German dialect this came to be called “beugel,” meaning ring or bracelet, because of the large hole in the middle of the roll. “Beygel” was the Yiddish version of the name and of course from this it was only a short hop to our word “bagel.” The bagel was introduced into America by Jewish immigrants about a century ago and in Montreal some of their descendants are still delighting customers by producing bagels in the traditional fashion. There’s nothing like the smell and taste of a fresh bagel straight out of the oven. Try the bagel challenge. I defy anyone to buy a dozen and still have a dozen by the time they arrive home. Cannot be done. Not even by a Canadian reared on sliced white bread. To make this gustatory and health marvel, you don’t start with just any flour, you use flour which is rich in two proteins, glutenin and gliadin. These long, coiled, tangled molecules unfold and line up in long strands when kneaded with water. They also forge crosslinks with each other, building a network of proteins known as
Courtesy Charm Character Calm Cuisine - Canadian
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
Relais & Châteaux has set a worldwide standard for elegant hospitality defined by the five C’s. Now a select group within the family has added a sixth: Canadian.
Redefines life in the Country R.R. 33 Cambridge, Ontario N3H 4R8 519.740.2100 1.800.268.1898 www.langdonhall.ca
APRIL 2005
Langdon Hall offers escape into a world of gracious hospitality, elegant amenities and exemplary service. An excellent meeting and entertaining venue. For 2005 AAA/CAA has awarded Langdon Hall the coveted Five Diamond Award for dining. LANGDON HALL IS ONE OF 13 R&C MEMBERS ACROSS CANADA W W W. R E L A I S C H AT E A U X . C O M
7
Communicating so People WANT to listen Learning the art of “getting to the point” BY STACEY HANKE
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8
hen you speak, do people WANT to listen? Do you ever wonder why you struggle with getting your listeners to take action? Do you ramble and loose your focus? Whether you’re in a meeting, sales call, exhibiting or presenting, you need a strategy for preparing a message that gets results. It’s critical that your introduction grabs the attention of your listener. The greatest challenges I hear are, “I never know how to start and end my message.” “I tend to ramble.” “Once I get started I’m ok.” This last statement frightens me. It sounds like you’re saying; “Don’t listen for the first two minutes. Wait until I get going. Then it really gets good.”
Clarifying your objective is the first step to communicating a clear and concise message that gets to the point and gets your listener to take action. Avoid beginning your message with the statement, “What I would like to talk about today is…” The fact is, 99% of the time, your listener will know why they have been asked to meet with you. Instead of using this long “filler” statement, an effective communicator is able to get their point across in 45 seconds or less. How you accomplish this is with your objective which sets the tone for your message “if” it’s delivered with impact. To guarantee you grab your listener’s attention, follow this process when designing openings and closings: • In order to persuade your listener and build trust, share how you feel about your topic. Without this step, your listener will be confused about how you feel and what you’re asking them to do. “To stay ahead of the competition, it’s important you apply the proper closing to a sale.” The word important is your perspective. • When you specifically communicate to your listeners what you want done, you increase the chances they’ll take action. • A general action step states what you want your listeners to do while they’re physically present during your message. “Stay open and explore opportunities.” • To get action from your listeners, they need to walk away with a clear understanding of what you’re asking them to do. “Sign up for a free demonstration today.” • Your listener will want to know “What’s in it for me?” When you show the benefits of taking action, you increase the chances that they’ll do it. Benefits are the most persuasive element to your message. “When you sign up today, you’ll begin to receive immediate tools for increasing profits and expanding your clientele.” It’s a well-known fact that we remember the first and last thing we hear. Therefore, it’s critical every message is
organized to convey a powerful opening and closing. It’s one thing to choose and organize specifically what you want to say. The real um challenge is when you uh need to deliver your message, ok. Like you may be familiar you know to words that uh clutter our language. We tend to use non-words when we don’t know what to say. Writing this article with non-words would be extremely distracting to read. We don’t write with non-words, why do we speak with them? The most powerful skill you possess is the ability to pause and take a relaxing breath. When you replace non-words with a pause, you’ll speak in shorter sentences and quickly get to the point. There are powerful benefits when you incorporate pauses at the end of your sentences, when you loose your train of thought, express a key point or ask a question. • Think on your feet and gather your thoughts to avoid rambling. • Have time to take a relaxing breath, appear comfortable and gain control of your message. • Your listener has time to hear and understand your message. • You’ll keep your listeners attention and they’ll take action. When your message is cluttered with non-words, you’re perceived with an inability to perform your job and with a lack of knowledge. I challenge you to begin listening to your voice mail messages before you hit the send button. Ask a co-worker or family member to bring to your attention when you use non-words. Practice using pauses when you’re passing out handouts in meetings, referring to brochure pieces while exhibiting or when you’re referring to notes. Before long, you’ll increase your awareness and begin saying less with greater impact. And isn’t that what communication is all about? Speaking so people want to listen. Stacey Hanke is an Executive Consultant, Author, Coach and Speaker with 1st Impression Consulting, Inc. Contact her at (773) 209-5970 or via e-mail at: staceyhanke@ameritech.net
APRIL 2005
Boiling water with honey is the key to a fabulous bagel CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 gluten which gives dough the elasticity it needs to rise as yeast generates carbon dioxide gas. A small amount of sugar is added to the dough to serve as food for the yeast and a little egg for color and flavor. The kneading technique is critical because it creates the air pockets into which the carbon dioxide will expand. The number of these air cells will contribute greatly to the final texture. Furthermore, oxygen in the air, introduced during kneading, strengthens the gluten by promoting a chemical reaction that forms sulfur-sulfur links between adjacent protein molecules. What makes a bagel a bagel, however, is not the flour, nor the kneading. It is immersion of the hand-formed rings of dough in boiling water prior to baking. Starch molecules in flour are coiled together in tiny granules but hot water penetrates the granules and causes them to swell. Then the swollen granules muscle their way into and strengthen the molecular scaffolding created by the gluten proteins. A classic, chewy bagel is the result. Furthermore, the boiling water is not just any water. It has to have a little dissolved honey! That’s because in the heat of the oven, sugars in the honey combine with proteins in the dough to form the shiny brown crust prized by bagelites. Ahh, the oven. You can’t make a proper bagel without a wood-burning oven. The smoke adds to the flavor, and the burning wood provides just the right temperature.
Leadership in Project Management Project Management June 15 - 17, 2005 This seminar explores proven techniques to create effective project teams, meet critical deadlines and avoid cost overruns. Learn how to set realistic budgets and schedules in the project planning stage, and the importance of human relations and communications throughout the project life cycle. You will also benefit from the instructors’ diverse knowledge and personal experiences in managing projects within numerous industries. Conforms with the internationally recognized framework and terminology of the Project Management Institute and represents 21 PMI® professional development units.
Faculty of Management McGill University 1001 Sherbrooke Street West, 6th Floor Montreal, Quebec Canada H3A 1G5
APRIL 2005
T 1 514 398 3970 or 1 888 419 0707 F 1 514 398 7443 or 1 888 421 0303 E executive@mcgill.ca www.executive.mcgill.ca
During baking, gluten coagulates and starch completes its gelatinization. If the temperature is too low, the dough will expand as the volume of trapped gases increases, but will then collapse because the gluten and starch have not set. If the oven is too hot, the setting takes place too soon and the dough does not gain enough volume. It’s a touchy business that needs an expert hand. A Montreal hand. What I saw in New York was not a pretty sight. I saw dough being steamed instead of being boiled. I saw electric ovens. I saw jalapeno peppers, chocolate chips and, believe it or not, bacon bits being added to bagels. But even this sacrilege did not prepare me for what I was to see in the frozen food section of the supermarket to where I dashed, hoping against hope, to find a bagel that looked like a bagel. Staring me in the face was the “UnHoley” bagel. It looked like a hamburger bun filled with cream cheese. No hole! No class! But I must admit, it did solve the problem of having to cut the bagel. By this time I was getting desperate and frustrated by bagels that had no holes and others that were like king-sized doughnuts with rigor mortis. There was one last chance. Zabar’s, Manhattan’s most famous food store. No proper bagels here either, but they did have something to save the day. An adjustable bagel cutter! It was polyethylene, not acrylic, but I just adjusted my talk accordingly. Thank goodness for American ingenuity. Now, if they could only learn to make proper bagels. Joe Schwarcz is the Director of the McGill University Office for Science and Society, a newspaper columnist for the Montreal Gazette as well as an experienced conference speaker. To learn more about his entertaining and informative presentations, contact him at: joe.schwarcz@McGill.ca or (514) 398-6238 or visit www.oss.mcgill.ca. This article originally appeared in The Gazette.
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Looking out for management insight BY PETER DE JAGER
W
hat we often label as ‘insight’ is often nothing more than the end result of Yogi Berra’s sage advice: “You can learn a lot just by watching.” Actually, we have to add ‘thinking’ somewhere to his advice otherwise the world passes by as a series of disconnected images, but only a little thinking is required, and there’s no heavy lifting involved. Here’s something that most of us have noticed at some point or other. After we get out of the bath or swimming pool, our fingertips are usually ‘wrinkled’. So far there’s nothing earth shattering here, we might or might not know why it happens, we just know it does. We typically file this type of observation away as a useless bit of trivia. But, what do we do when we observe that in some situations, fingers immersed in water don’t wrinkle? That was the case in hospitals, when nurses noticed that after washing the hands of patients who’d just had surgery, sometimes the wrinkles appeared and other times they didn’t. They also noticed that the wrinkle-free patients had complications, specifically with respect to the proper healing of their sympathetic autonomic nervous system. Today, after ‘clinical’ tests have proved the validity of the observation, the wrinkling of the skin after immersion in water, is used as a positive indicator of proper healing after surgery. 10 The field of science yields dozens of similar finds. Rubber,
radar, Teflon®, stainless steel, and matches all owe their existence to someone noticing something odd, and then capitalizing on what they’d observed. Noticing patterns in human behaviour is a little bit more difficult because the degree of variation is significantly higher. Mix equal parts by weight of sulphur, charcoal and saltpetre, add an open flame to the mixture and you’ll be rewarded with a flare and puff of smoke every single time. Place the same individual in the same situation several times and you’ll likely get different responses, even if the only reason for those differences is that the victim (oops… I meant subject) learns something with each experience of the experiment and adjusts their behaviour accordingly. Despite these variances, it is possible to identify useful patterns in human behaviour. When Elisabeth Kubler-Ross identified the Grief Cycle (first published in “On Death and Dying”) she was merely relaying to a larger audience what she had learnt herself by watching people die. Today, even if people don’t know who first identified them, they are very much aware of the five primary stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and finally Acceptance. What is the value of such an observation? After all, not everyone goes through all of those stages, and when they do, they don’t necessarily go through the stages in a rigid sequence; people are prone to bouncing around backwards and forwards along DABDA. Nor do we progress through the stages in anything that could be labelled as a consistent schedule. One person might spend a week in Anger and others only fume for an hour or so. With all this variation, what possible value could such a set of observations be to anyone? For starters, if we’re aware of the ‘Anger’ phase, and if we know it is a direct response to being told you have a terminal illness, then we are able to distance our self from the ‘anger’, without distancing ourselves from the person. That alone justifies the time it takes to learn the Grief Cycle. By recognizing that the ‘anger’ is impersonal, and not directed at us, we’re able to continue our role as a caregiver to a terminally ill patient, rather than leaving them alone to die. The “Art of Observing” isn’t a complicated technique. It doesn’t demand years of study or “Certificates of Learning” hammered onto the wall, it only requires that we keep our eyes open and accept that everything we see happens for a reason, even if we’ll never be certain of that reason. Why do people smile back at you if you smile at them? Why does anger usually get rewarded with anger? Does it matter? All we really have to know is that when we do ‘X’, then we get back a certain response. If there’s a single fundamental way to becoming a good manager, then it is most likely the ability to observe people. If we watch how they respond to events and then repeat what results in ‘good’ behaviour and reduce that which produces a negative response, then we’re gaining insight and improving our people skills… just because we watched and learned. Yogi would be proud of us. ••• © 2005 Peter de Jager - Peter is a speaker, writer and consultant on Management Issues relating to Change. Read more of his work at www.technobility.com or contact him at pdejager@technobility.com
APRIL 2005
DATEBOOK — Upcoming Events — APRIL 19-21 IMEX, Worldwide Exhibition for Incentive Travel, Meetings & Events, Messe Frankfurt, Germany. www.imex-frankfurt.com, (011) 44-1273-227311. MAY 1-3 Association of Corporate Travel Executives Global Conference, Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre. www.acte.org, (703) 683-5322. MAY 18-21 Society of Government Meeting Professionals Annual Conference, Sheraton Grand Sacramento, Calif. www.sgmp.org, (703) 549-0892. JULY 9-12 Meeting Professionals International World Education Conference, Miami Convention Centre, Florida. www.mpiweb.org, (972) 702-3000. JULY 11-15 Trade Show Exhibitors Association TS-2The Trade Show About Trade Shows, Washington (D.C.) Convention Centre, D.C. www.tsea.org, (703) 683-8500, ext. 221.
Change is inevitable. Growth is optional. Ken Blanchard
So•cial im•pact Results, pure and simple. The best groups demonstrate both immediate impact as well as the promise of broader systematic change. ❖❖❖ Source: Fast Company
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Attitudes fine-tune people’s antennae It is impossible not to have them Ed. Note: This is the second part in a series of articles by the RBC about attitude.
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or one thing, it can lead to thinking that is blatantly self- contradictory. In a study of attitudes towards ethnic groups, for instance, respondents were asked to rank their characteristics on a checklist which included the words “aggressive” and “cowardly.” It would, of course, support the negative attitude of a person towards a certain group if its members had both these undesirable characteristics. Sure enough, some people rated certain groups as both cowardly and aggressive, totally ignoring the fact that the two traits are logically opposed to each other. Their prejudice towards the despised group of their choice made them eager to believe anything bad about it whether it made sense or not. Attitudes fine-tune people's social antennae, giving them a particular sensitivity to the subjects of their preoccupations. People heavily committed to an attitude are constantly on the look- out for evidence to support it; often enough they find it, if only in their own interpretation of events. Attitudes can lead to a mild form of mania in which the person holding them relates things to them which most people would regard as irrelevant. A man who hates the government, for instance, will find a way 12 to blame the government if lightning strikes his house. It is impossible not to have them, and they can be good as well as bad In the physical sense of the word, an attitude is the way you stand, and where you stand socially affects the way you see life around you. For example, a study in the United States took groups of management and unionized employees from a crosssection of industries and asked them to estimate how much money had been lost to the economy from strikes in a year. The management people vastly over-estimated the actual figure; the unionized people just as vastly under-estimated it. The results demonstrated that people will see what their attitudes tell them to see.
They will then proceed to talk themselves into believing in what they see, although the facts may stand absolutely against it. This self-deception is at its most obvious in cults and radical movements of various kinds. The spectacle of intelligent people insisting on theories that are demonstrably false is a tribute to the incredible power of group pressure and brain-washing. As we watch, we more normal and sensible people assure ourselves that we would never be as gullible as that. But, in the words of the modern philosopher Rollo May, “the ultimate illusion is the conceit that you are free from illusion.” It is natural to think that attitudes are something that only other people have; natural and false. For better or for worse, we all have attitudes. It is impossible not to have them. And attitudes can be just as good as they can be bad. But whether an attitude is good or bad, the important thing is to recognize it. The opinions that flow from it should be identified as the intellectual conditioned reactions they are. This applies not only to the opinions of others, but to what we think and say in our own right. The question is: “Is this my attitude talking, or is it me?" How do you recognize the kind of thinking that comes from an attitude? Not easily, since it can so smoothly pass itself off as reason. The more pronounced attitudes do, however, have certain earmarks that give them away. You can be fairly sure that you are listening to the authentic voice of an attitude when: • It makes everything sound simple. Attitudinal opinions often state that there is a single big problem which cries out for a single big solution. Simplicity is seductive, which is why views of this kind so often meet with unanimous agreement. If you find yourself nodding and murmuring assent with everyone else in a room, you are probably indulging in an attitude. • It has all the answers. A convinced attitude-holder always has plausible pat answers to criticism, and is adept at glossing over any weak spots in his arguments. He maintains that his point of view is the absolute truth, and discourages the search for the evidence on which this truth is supposed to be based.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
APRIL 2005
Are your attitudes thinking for you? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12
We must guard against replacing intolerant old attitudes with intolerant new ones • It shouts down criticism. Some attitude-holders feel that their views are so transcendently right that freedom of speech must be suspended out of respect for their rightness. They worship sacrosanct icons, and reject as “unacceptable” facts or opinions that run counter to their beliefs. • It strains credulity. People with reformist attitudes on subjects like health and ecology use hair-raising statements to whip the apathetic public into line with their causes. Millions will die if we do not go along with this point of view; we will totally destroy our environment, or some section of it, if we do not go along with that. Those making such apocalyptic claims have lost their sense of proportion in the depths of their attitudes. • It reaches for justification. Attitude-holders will go to great - and sometimes ridiculous - lengths to give an air of legitimacy and fairness to their causes. One of the most cherished American attitudes of the 20th century held that it was all right to segregate black from white people, and to keep blacks in inferior positions. In their arguments against desegregation, southern white leaders implied that black people rather enjoyed being persecuted; they were happier “staying in their place” than assuming the full rights of American citizenship. • Its speaks of 'them and us.' Group attitudes often dwell on grievances stemming from real or supposed ill-treatment by another group. If you hear a lot about what they are doing, in particular about what they are doing to us, you are listening to an attitude. The above are just a few of the ways in which you can tell when a person's opinions have their roots in attitudes. That person, don't forget, could be you. But why should you care whether your attitudes are doing your thinking for you? Well, one good reason is that, by thinking and acting without a fair appraisal of the facts, you might be doing people an injury or an injustice.
And we should all keep in mind that it is in attitudes that such foul states of mind as bigotry, racism, vindictiveness and xenophobia get their start. Another reason to check on your attitudes is that they can always be improved. Though some would argue the contrary, a case can be made for saying that we live in an age in which bad old attitudes are steadily being replaced by the good new ones. In the western world in recent year, attitudinal changes have led the way to greater humanity and equality. It was not too long ago, for instance, that popular attitudes here in Canada decreed that a physically disabled person could never hold a “normal job." Even in striving for improvement, however, constant vigilance is in order. New attitudes can be just as intolerant as old ones, especially when they have overwhelming public support. We must be careful that, in doing what the majority attitude deems to be the right thing, we do not expose minorities to injustice. No matter how unexceptionable they may seem when they are adopted, popular attitudes should be regularly re-examined to see how they stand up in practice and in the light of emerging realities. The habit of monitoring attitudes, especially your own, cannot help but make you a better member of society. Indeed, you have a positive duty as a responsible citizen not to accept attitudinal thinking at face value; to do your own homework, come to your own conclusions, and try as far as possible to distinguish truth from falsity. And as a bonus, doing so can make you into a better and 13 more contented private person. “Of all exercises, there is none of such importance, or of so much immediate concern, as those which let us into the knowledge of our own nature,” wrote the wise old English bishop, William Warburton. Any investigation into our innermost natures must begin with those strange phenomena we call our attitudes. •••
Reprinted with permission from the Royal Bank of Canada. Visit their website: www.royalbank.com
Call us for your corporate events!
APRIL 2005
FIVE-MINUTE LIFE COACH Questions for 7 Days BY THOMAS CHALMERS
Dosage and Directions: Take these questions each day this week, as prescribed, and start addressing it. Complete the seven day course. If symptoms persist, contact your Life Coach!
Monday:
Wednesday:
The last word.
How willing are you to make substantial changes? What are you prepared to do?
I hope that you have found these questions stimulating. They need to be more than just thought provoking. There is no point in complaining about the way things are if you are not prepared to take action . . .
Thursday: What have you been tolerating for too long? Are you going to start tackling that toleration today?
Friday: What do you really want? What are you going to do to get it?
Saturday:
How is your heart today? If you are feeling heavy-hearted, what are you going to do to become light-hearted?
What is your life long dream that is worth living? Is it just a pipe dream?
Tuesday:
Sunday:
Where are you being most irresponsible in your life at the moment? What is it going to take for you to become responsible in that area?
Do you run your life or is your life running you? How are you going to turn your life around?
A shopkeeper owned a dog and the dog lay all day long on one of the wooden steps leading up to the shop. And every day the dog howled and cried. A woman asked the shopkeeper one day, “Why does your dog howl so much?” The shopkeeper replied, “He’s lying on a nail but he’s too lazy to get up!” Actions speak louder than words. If you’ve been lying on a nail for too long, it’s time to get up and find some answers.
Website: www.idealife.co.uk •••
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62 % The percentage of Americans who have no idea what a blog is. Source: NY Times
HERE, “HANG TEN” IS A BUSINESS TERM. Where else but White Point Beach Resort can you play nine holes before breakfast, accomplish your agenda, try surfing, then linger over freshly-planked salmon and a glass of fine, local wine? Where else do meeting rooms have natural light and windows that open to greet fresh, sea air? White Point. Only 90-minutes from Halifax, yet worlds away from a culture that relies on words like; traffic, hurry and elevator. For more information call: Anne Stevens, Director of Sales
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Jargon Buster Techno babble demystified sponsored by Avtec Professional A/V services
Blog: A frequently updated Web site consisting of personal observations and excerpts from other sources, typically run by a single person.
APRIL 2005
Headphones a good bet for the plane Ed. Note: This is the first in a series of upcoming articles dealing with various new technologies, all aimed at making your life easier and more enjoyable. The following two sets of headphones were tried out on several flights across the continent by Planner staffers Leo Gervais and Camille Lay, and A/V guy Don Murray. Here are their comments...
Comparison of Bose and PlaneQuiet Bose Quiet Comfort, www.bose.com Price: US $299 Case: Hard cover Leo Gervais: • Cut noise by about 70 %. • The case was much better for protection of the actual headphones. • Sound quality was good. • More expensive, but I thought the extra cost was worth it. Don Murray: • A bit bulky, but nonetheless a snug fit. Would be better if headphones fit around neck instead of on head. • Great carrying case, a bit bulky. • Sound quality good, not exceptional. • High price increases overall expectation and lowers overall value. Camille Lay: • Keeps out the sound of the engines and other extraneous sounds like kids crying very well. Covers the ears well. • Great carrying case, although large • Improves quality while listening to music or the TV • Expensive
APRIL 2005
Bose (left) makes a great set of “acoustic noise cancelling” headphones no doubt, but PlaneQuiet’s NC6 are a much better value for the price. PlaneQuiet NC6, www.protravelgear.com Price: US $99 Case: Bag Leo Gervais: • Cut noise by about 50 %. • The carrying bag was wimpy. • Sound quality was mediocre. • Way less expensive, could be a factor.
Camille Lay: • Provides a good buffer against sound, covers smaller ears well • Carrying bag could allow headphones 15 to be damaged over the long term • Improves quality while listening to music or the TV • Light, not cumbersome • Inexpensive for the quality
Don Murray: • Not as comfortable as Bose, but lighter. • Carrying bag more compact, much less secure. • Sound quality average. • Overall value is better, based primarily on the price.
Consensus: Although Bose headphones are superior in everything from sound quality to carrying case, the much lower cost will make PlaneQuiet’s version very attractive to the price-conscious crowd.
Hotel News from around the world Tidan buys two Montreal-area hotels The Meridien Versailles-Montréal Hotel as well as the Chateau Versailles Hotel were purchased on March 7 by Groupe Tidan. For more info: www.montreal.lemeridien.com
InterContinental and Lehman Brothers make a deal InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, the world’s largest hotelier, agreed to sell 73 U.K. hotels to a group led by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. for US $1.9 billion to concentrate on managing and franchising properties. The Windsor-based company will sell hotels such as the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza at Heathrow Airport and use the proceeds to return funds to shareholders, finance investment and repay debt, chairman David Webster said. InterContinental is using a recovery in the US $195-billion global lodging industry from a three-year slump to dispose of its hotels and model itself on U.S. hoteliers such as Marriott International Inc.
Elvis in Macau? Eight international hotel chains, including Four Seasons Hotels Inc., are teaming up to create “Asia’s Las Vegas,” a multi-billion dollar resort on the gambling island of Macau, China. Once the first phase of development is completed in 2007, 16 the area will add seven resort hotels with 10,000 guest rooms and more than 20,000 seats of live entertainment in eight separate theatre venues, said Las Vegas Sands Corp. in a statement. The new strip in Macau “is destined to become Asia’s Las Vegas,” Sheldon Adelson, chief executive of Las Vegas Sands, said in a statement. Joining Las Vegas Sands are the Four Seasons, Dorsett Hotel Group, Hilton Hotels, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International, Regal Hotels and Starwood Hotel and Resorts Worldwide. “It took 75 years for Las Vegas to emerge as an international destination. Our intention is to replicate that feat in less than
three years,” added William Weidner, LVS president and CEO. The former Portuguese colony is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal. Gambling expanded dramatically there in 2002, when Macau decided to end the 40-year monopoly of casino tycoon Stanley Ho. Even before the announcement, Macau was expected to overtake Las Vegas and Atlantic City in gambling revenue within the next few months.
Staying fit with Hilton Hilton Hotel Corp. began providing certified personal trainers at the chain’s domestic properties in February. The program includes more than 5,000 personal trainers available to guests at an hourly rate, as well as a Bally-designed in-room minigym complete with yoga mats and hand weights.
Regarding booking hotel rooms online: Caveat Emptor Be careful when you book a hotel room online—you may pay up to 30 percent more at certain websites. Nightly rates may appear identical on different sites. Then right before you plug in your credit-card number, fees sprout as the online vendors take their cut. For example, a recent check by The Planner found the price for a five-day stay at the Ramada New Yorker Hotel at the end of March/beginning of April varied from a total price (in US dollars) of $1083.15, including $171.15 in fees at Orbitz.com to $1018.88, including $158 in fees, a difference of more than 6 per cent and $64.27. Many travel sites lump their commissions in with taxes, so the rates appear identical to other sites when consumers are searching for rates. Booking fees can vary greatly on the same site for different hotels, depending on the deals negotiated with the hotels. So don’t assume one site will always be more expensive.The hotel’s own website may have better rates than major travel sites because hotels don’t charge booking fees and want to maintain customer royalty. Also, many hotels guarantee the lowest price. So keep searching and compare, and don’t forget to check with the hotels themselves.
Spice Up your Corporate Event - Just Add Salt. From the beginning of time lakes and rivers, harbours and oases have inspired writers, artists, scientists and explorers. It’s no wonder that more meeting and special event planners are jumping ship -- from hotel rooms to vessels that float. It's ‘full steam ahead’ for team-building exercises, board of director meetings, product launches and educational seminars.
Call us to inspire your team - 2 to 7 day expeditions onboard the tallship cruise vessel Caledonia
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Hotel News cont’d... Travelocity/Groople Inc. Travelocity has announced an agreement with Groople Inc., a provider of online group travel reservations, that will give Travelocity customers a dedicated groups section with discounted hotel rates, group content and new planning features. “Combining Groople’s expertise into Travelocity’s hotel offerings is another commitment we are making to our customers’ varying needs as they research and plan their trips on Travelocity, regardless of they size [of the group],” said Josh Feuerstein, Travelocity’s vice president, hotels. The group booking function can be accessed from Travelocity’s main hotel page. After choosing the city and dates, users select the “5+ rooms” button to proceed with a search for larger room blocks. The program provides automated rooming lists, flexible payment options and other advantages for planners. According to a spokesperson, the discount-travel site is ideal for groups of fewer than 100 people and all planners conducting initial research on rates and availability. Travelocity’s primary competitors, Expedia and Orbitz, do not yet offer group-booking capabilities.
Ritz-Carlton in the Turks and Caicos A Ritz-Carlton property is coming to the Turks and Caicos Islands. A planned mixed-use development called West Caicos Reserve will feature the 125-room Molasses Reef, a RitzCarlton Resort, along with a spa, villas, a marina and 2,000 square feet of meeting space. Guest will fly into Providenciales and take a 20-minute ferry ride to the property. The bulk of the resort should be complete in two years. Speaking about the Ritz, we have heard from many planners what a great Hotel the Ritz-Carlton Cancun is.
Airlines may drop Canada if airport fees increase further El Al, Israel’s national airline, says it may remove Canada from its list of 50 global destinations unless something is done to rein in skyrocketing airport fees in this country. Stanley morais, El Al’s Canadian general manager, told a federal transport committee recently that it costs about CDN $12,000 to land a jumbo jet at Pearson International Airport, compared with about CDN $3,000 in Tel Aviv. A representative of Alitalia Airline SpA said rising airport fees have prompted the airline to halt several years of service expansions. Rising airport rents are a big part of the problem: they rose 13 percent to CDN $268 million and are scheduled to climb to about $500 million by 2010. The federal government negotiated the rent structure and increases when it spun off the administration of airports to not-for-profit authorities in the early 1990s. The federal government is preparing to offer Canada’s airports a deal that would give them the rent cut they so desperately crave, but would require them to make room on their boards for airlines who want more say in how the facilities are run. Airports, for example, shouldn’t be allowed to hike the fees they charge airlines without more consulting since they are not “private clubs,” said Federal Transport Minister Jean Lapierre.
Due to the high landing fees, we’d like everyone to grab their parachute and...
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A rise in hotel rates Business travellers are finding it more expensive to stay at a hotel. Hotel rates will be at least 24 per cent higher this April compared with a year earlier in New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta and 16-19 per cent higher in Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco according to research conducted by analysts at J.P. Morgan Chase.
APRIL 2005
Mattstah
Industry Trends Halifax: A great airport! Halifax was recently named the best airport in the Americas in a survey conducted by Airports Council International and the International Air Transport Association. The organizations interviewed 65,000 people at 40 airports in 2004.
Vancouver No.2 in the world! Vancouver has been ranked as the city with the second best quality of life in the world for the third year in a row Vancouver ties Vienna for second place, behind top ranked Geneva and Zurich, according to a survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. The annual survey grades 215 cities based on 39 criteria, including safety, public services, schools, climate and recreation. Mercer prepares the survey for governments, companies and organizations looking to place employees on international assignments.
Waisting away A recent study says that serious health problems for men tend to begin when their waist size exceeds 100 centimetres (40 inches), and for women when waist circumference gets beyond 90 cm (36 inches). The new research, published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, tracked 27,270 men over 13 years. 18 During that period, 884 of them developed diabetes. They were
placed into five different groups, based on waist size. Not surprisingly, the bigger a man’s belly, the less likely he was to be active, and the more likely he was to have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. For more info: http://www.ajcn.org.
Spa for men will pamper discreetly An Edmonton entrepreneur is banking on the hope men will flock to the spa to try their first facial, manicure or pedicure if they can do it without being seen. Ed Kilbride and his partners are spending more than $1 million to provide male-oriented amenities that are missing from most unisex facilities. “Up to 35 per cent of all people in spas are men,” Kilbride says, so he expects The Board Room in downtown Edmonton to tempt many male professionals. It opens May 2, with 13 employees. Kilbride is planning a similar spa in Calgary and hopes to eventually expand to Vancouver and Toronto. The 2,900-square foot spa will have separate spaces for each client- and an array of “toys for boys,” including television screens, stereo music and magazines. Kilbride said, “It's a niche market that has not been tapped.” Having visited spas in New York, London and Paris, he found they consistently ignore the male preference for privacy. In most spas, you would sit in a room with several other people to get a pedicure, he explained, which “in our focusgroup research, we found men are not comfortable with that.”
APRIL 2005
MPI National Meeting Day April 21st has been declared "National Meetings Industry Day" throughout Canada in recognition of the global meetings industry and the significant economic impact meetings and events bring to Canada. Developed by MPI in 1997 to help build awareness of the industry, National Meetings Industry Day events attract business professionals from a variety of industries and members of government. In recognition of National Meetings Industry Day, members from all seven MPI Canadian chapters will celebrate with a variety of educational and networking activities. Join in the excitement and help celebrate the importance of meetings in business in Canada. BRITISH COLUMBIA CHAPTER Breakfast and Luncheon 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. ROI presentation and special luncheon presentation by the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre www.mpibcchapter.com (604) 822-1064 GREATER CALGARY CHAPTER Planner/Supplier Forum 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. TELUS Convention Centre www.mpi-gcc.org (403) 296-6505 GREATER EDMONTON CHAPTER Breakfast Meeting Shaw Conference Centre www.mpigec.ca (780) 988-5405 MANITOBA CHAPTER Breakfast Meeting 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. Winnipeg Convention Centre
www.mpiweb.mb.ca (204) 975-6203 TORONTO CHAPTER Breakfast Meeting 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. Toronto Education Conference 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Toronto Congress Centre www.mpitoronto.org (905) 567-9591 OTTAWA CHAPTER National Meetings Industry Day Conference "Power of Partnerships" 8:00 a.m. - 4:15 p.m. Hilton Lac-Leamy www.mpiottawa.ca (613) 254-5653 MONTREAL CHAPTER Breakfast Meeting www.mpimontreal.com (514) 493-9835
BUSINESS GETTING BETTER O
kay, it’s time to rejoice—the hospitality industry is finally back on its feet. However, Dave Arnold, CEO, East Coast, for PKF Consulting, says that this renewed health in the market will translate into higher rates at conference centers who could raise their prices once they get their customers back.
2.7 APRIL 2005
Arnold also notes that the only element that is lagging behind is corporate meetings, which in turn means less business for conference centers who are still behind hotels in their bookings. Organizations that had to become lean are now growing again, with many people looking for more training, and other extra
things that will build esprit de corps and retain good employees, such as teambuilding and leisure activities. “Adding fun is a way to keep that talent,” says Mike Fahner, vice president of development and marketing for Aramark Harrison Lodging. “We’re even getting inquiries into traditional rope courses again.”
Total sales of the restaurants, caterers and taverns industry reached almost $2.7 billion in January, a 3.6 per cent increase over January, 2004.
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