Cheers!

From coast to coast, The Cross Canada Hotel Bar Hop in last month's EnRoute Magazine highlights some of the most well-known - and dare I say, venerable - Canadian hotel watering holes, such as the Roof Lounge at the Park Hyatt Toronto and the Library Bar in the Fairmont Royal York.

On a recent site visit to "Cowtown" this past summer my client and I bellied up the bar at ONE18 Empire, in the newly renovated Marriott Downtown, Calgary. We were duly schooled in the history of Canadian prohibition, and yes the story about the guys who died in the Empire Hotel fire in a poker stand off.

There are few others mentioned in the article that I can (memorably) cross off my personal "been there, drank that" list, including the Dom Perignon Bar in the phemomenal Palm Court of the Ritz-Carlton, Montreal - and, oh, I'm getting thirsty now - so will be adding the rest to my (ice) bucket list.

Meetings Imitate Art

On a recent site visit to Quebec City my client and I visited the Musée National des Beaux Arts du Québec (MNBAQ) and Musée de la Civilisation as off-site options for up to 400 people. Both venues have undergone recent renovations, and offer a wide range of options and experiences for groups - including access to galleries to interactive exhibits.

 

One of MNBAQ's Temporary Exhibit Galleries

The popular "old jail" section of MNBAQ

If you hold your meeting during the AMAZING Festival d'été de Québec your group will have access to dozens of performances on outdoor stages throughout the downtown, and on the Plains of Abraham.

The Centre des Congrès de Québec added additional exhibit space a few years ago, and is connected by indoor passageways to both the Quebec Hilton and the Delta Quebec

An exceedingly walkable city, you never know when you're going to happen upon a piece of art, or performance.

Physical comedy and acrobatics entertain kids of all ages in the shadow of the famous "castle" (Chateau Frontenac), under an almost-full moon, with Salvador Dali's elephant sculpture in the background #dalielephant  

A HUGE "Merci" to Quebec Region's Meetings & Conventions bureau for facilitating our trip, and for all they do to partner with meeting professionals to bring successful and productive business events to their destination.

Travelling for Business - Mostly

I sometimes joke that mixing business with pleasure is my super-power, congratulating myself whenever I succeed in carving out some personal time to explore and enjoy a destination outside the walls of a hotel ballroom or my guestroom.

This is a fun little spot by Crowne Plaza Hotels giving road warriors permission to take advantage of hotel amenities and services - while getting the job done.

Marwood - Brands Explained

The jokey "Brangelina"-type contraction of Marriott and Starwood continues to be used as a short-form for some of the ongoing challenges since the acquisition which created the largest hotel chain in the world.

One of the challenges is distinguishing the various brands - many of which would be considered competitors in most markets, and virtually inter-changeable in the eyes of the consumer.

This Skift opinion piece, Every One of Marriott's 30 Brands Explained is a very thorough rundown of the current Marriott and Starwood brand messages along with some commentary of perhaps where the brands will (or should) go to differentiate themselves and maintain share.

Something to keep in mind if it appears a Marriott "monopoly" will impinge competition is that the vast majority of hotels are not actually company-owned.  Individual hotel owners and hotel owning companies will continue to demand their share of the business.

And then you have *us*.  My job is to create competition for my clients' business - no matter who owns the bricks and mortar, or flies the flag on the top of the building - I will ensure hotels sharpen their pencils and offer the best possible prices and terms, regardless of who they're competing against.

Human Trafficking and "The Code"

Just this week a couple in Red Deer, Alberta was charged with Human Trafficking in a case of exploiting temporary workers - at a hotel.  Details here

In this case the victims were being forced to work long hours for meager wages - and that pay was being clawed back as rent for living in a hotel room shared with up to four other workers. In other hotels and motels around the world, thousands of children are being trafficked for sex.

The statistics are heartbreaking.

• Average age: 13 years  
• Average life expectancy of child being trafficked: seven years
• 95% of recovered child sex victims ran away from an abusive home
• 1/3 of runaways are picked up by a pimp within 48 hours
• Odds that a victim will be rescued: 1 in 100

....and the most disturbing, for those of us in the hospitality industry:

• 94% of all sex trafficking takes place in a hotel or motel

Which is why ConferenceDirect has created a task force to address the issue - urging all associates to educate ourselves, sign "The Code", have meaningful conversations with our hotel and CVB partners, and even include language in our RFPs and contracts:

"As a socially responsible company and signatory of The Tourism Child-Protection Code of Contact (www.thecode.org), the Hotel is committed to combating commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Hotel stands firm in our resolve to create awareness of sex trafficking of children by utilizing our professional resources in the travel and tourism industry. We ask that our partners do the same."

THE CODE

The Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct is the only voluntary set of business principles travel and tour companies can implement to prevent child sex tourism and trafficking of children. The Code is a joint venture between the tourism private sector and ECPAT.

Companies that endorse The Code are supported by ECPAT-USA to :

Establish a policy and procedures against sexual exploitation of children.
Train employees in children's rights, the prevention of sexual exploitation and how to report suspected cases.
Include a clause in contracts throughout the value chain stating a common repudiation and zero tolerance policy of sexual exploitation of children.
Provide information to travelers on children's rights, the prevention of sexual exploitation of children and how to report suspected cases.
Support, collaborate and engage stakeholders in the prevention of sexual exploitation of children.
Report annually on their implementation of Code related activities.

At What Cost?

Speculation about the cost - beyond the estimated 18 billion dollar hit to the U.S. economy - continues to swirl around the issue of Trump's infamous travel ban.  Job losses in the tourism and hospitality sector seem likely, at the very least. Not so tangible is the possible intellectual impact from international scientific and academic communities choosing not to meet in the United States.

See Convene magazine's article Will Global Planners Cross the U.S. Off the List? for some of the latest research figures and specific examples of lost opportunities.

Flipping Awesome!

There's a fun article in the Sports section of the The Globe and Mail today about how "elves" (as they think of themselves) convert the hockey arena that saw the Leafs lose to the Caps in Game 6 of the first playoff round to a basketball court for our still-in-the-game Raptors.

Check it out here

Thing is, hotels do this sort of thing all the time.  Sometimes it involves tearing down a trade show for one group (booths and pipe and drape and food stations) to set up a breakfast meeting (banquet rounds with linens, chairs, dishes and cutlery, and staging with podium, mic, and screens) for a completely different organisation. Sometimes a group requires a room to be "flipped" in the same day, for the same group.  

I  remember one group I worked with was using half the Regency Ballroom at the the old Four Seasons Hotel (on Avenue Road) for a team building event featuring a crazy obstacle course of over-sized blow-up tunnels and things to climb over and under.  While they were playing mock Olympics it was "all hands on deck" with employees from nearly every department in the hotel assisting with the "flip" to a gala dinner setup complete with dance floor and staging for live band.

Can't believe I found a picture of the Regency Ballroom in the *old* Four Seasons Toronto!

Go Raps!

All work and no play?

I know how hard my clients work, and our partners at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts (now part of Accor Hotels) recognize how much ConferenceDirect Associates do for our clients. So a couple of weeks ago we were all treated to a mid-week pampering break at Her Majesty's Pleasure cocktail bar/spa located downtown in Toronto. 

After a pampering treatment of our choice and some "F&B" (this is the hospitality industry, after all), we were apprised of the latest updates on Fairmont Hotels in the Eastern region of Canada - most exciting of which is the complete "transformation" (to the tune of $140-million) of the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth in Montreal. The QE closed completely in June of 2016 and is set to re-open, ahead of schedule, within the next couple of months and the entire guestroom inventory will be renovated by December 2017. See here for more details.

Can a Hotel change the way we eat?

That's the question posed in an article in this week's NOW magazine, about the Gladstone's decision to hire a food activist to work with the hotel's Executive Chef in planning menus using sustainable, locally sourced ingredients.

It's not a new revelation that rearing cattle produces more greenhouse gasses than driving cars. "According to the United National, livestock is responsible for 18 per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. This percentage includes the effect of deforestation in order to create grazing land, as well as livestock natural methane gas emissions".

So naturally vegetables and other produce from nearby Southern Ontario farms will be taking centre stage. Food activism also translates to social responsibility to the neighbourhood residents by offering healthy pay-what-you-can dinners.


Read the story here

Stay to Play - yes, it's a thing

I recently came across an excellent article in the Spring issue of Adrenalin, a magazine about Sports Tourism in Canada. The Case for Stay-To-Play looks at the reasons, challenges, and best practices for implementing a "stay-to-play" policy.

Essentially the policy states that attendees who book their accommodations outside the negotiated room block(s) are prohibited from participating in the event.

Sounds draconian - but it works. By giving the organizers complete control of the room block they're in a stronger bargaining position with hotels, and without the risk of attrition charges, the event - and the organization itself - can flourish, which in turn benefits its members/event attendees.

I experienced some form of this a couple of years ago, when I attended a PCMA East conference in Montreal.  I was delighted to stay at the beautiful Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, the host hotel for (and major sponsor of) the conference.  Had I opted to stay at nearby a hotel though, I would have received a phone call from the organizers (who were comparing the conference registration list with the hotel reservations list) and been told that I would be charged an additional $200 to attend the conference. (It should be pointed out that this was a meetings industry conference, so we all "got it".)

One of my clients has implemented a softer version of this by offering a "Stay and Save" rebate to attendees who book their hotel room before the cutoff date, and show proof of hotel check-in when they pick up their registration materials at the event.  (See Sweet Side of Swing Northwest)  I think this is brilliant!

Would love to hear your feedback.

Shoot it or lose it

I don't know about you, but I always congratulate myself at the end of a trip if:
A. I actually wore everything I packed
and
B. I didn't leave anything behind in a hotel room or on a plane

This travel trip courtesy of  Meetings and Conventions: snap photos on your phone of everything you pack and refer to the photos as you repack to ensure you have everything.

Mission: Massage

I'm treating myself to a massage a the Four Seasons Toronto Spa this week. Sadly I should have scheduled it earlier in the day, according to an article in the Travel Section of this weekend's Globe and Mail.

See: "How to get a good massage on the road" or Under Pressure

In terms of local (Toronto) spa experiences I'm still a huge fan of the Stillwater Spa in the bowels of the Park Hyatt.  Have heard great things about the Miraj Hammam Spa at the Shangri-La Hotel Toronto.  Next time - and I will book an earlier appointment.

Do the Wild Thing

Animal welfare is a subject near and dear to my heart so I read with great interest an article in the March Issue of Meetings Today about how animal sanctuaries are welcoming groups and hosting events. Power-point-weary conference delegates are invited to take a break from technology and reconnect with nature and with living beings who have been given a second lease on life.

I have huge admiration for the people who run these safe havens for injured and abused animals - not for profit, but because of a strong moral conviction that this is the right thing to do.  From retired race horses, to rescued farm animals, to endangered species...."all creatures great and small" deserve safe and pain-free lives.

You can read the full article here

See below a YouTube video starring the animals of the Catskill Animal Sanctuary

Trump Slump Silver Lining?

I woke up this morning to a piece on the radio about the Girl Guides of Canada suspending all trips to the United States due to the current travel restrictions and fears that if one girl on a bus trip to New York, for instance, is denied entry that they couldn't very well leave her at the border.
See story here

This is just the latest in a story I've been following about the sudden drop in travel to the United States since President Trump announced his infamous "travel ban".  Travel companies Frommer and Kayak have cited drops in individual hotel rates in the 30% range.  Domestic travelers typically don't spend as much as foreign visitors, affecting the one-in-eight people in the United States who earn their living either directly or indirectly from the travel industry.

ConferenceDirect has already canvassed its associates to find out how the current regulations are affecting our clients. I'm sure I'll hear more about that at our Annual Partner Meeting in Baltimore at the end of next month.

We've already seen a softening in group hotel rates in the wake of unprecedented demand over the last few years.  Could this mean a significant shift in what has been a sellers market?