Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal

Kudos to La Belle Vie

So, here's further proof that La Belle Vie is putting Minnesota cuisine in the national spotlight. It's the only Minnesota restaurant to make Open Table's list of the Top 50 U.S. Restaurants, according to reviews by Open Table diners. The list is based on more than 2 million restaurant reviews collected from diners from March 2008 to April 2009.

Congratulations to Chef /Owner Tim McKee and Managing Partner Josh Thoma, who will make an appearance in the upcoming summer issue of Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal. Tim McKee is also up for a James Beard Award for the third year in a row. That announcement will come May 4. Kudos and good luck to the crew at La Belle Vie!

--Marni Ginther
Assistant Editor

Popular Science: Geek Getaways

I was reading through the latest issue of Popular Science. The magazine offers a three-part series on "The Future of Travel." Part I talks about "getting there" and how in the next few decades we'll see airplanes that look like stealth bombers and hypersonic commercial jets that will take us from NYC to Sydney in 90 minutes - THROUGH SPACE. Part III discusses comfort, and why airplane seats are so miserable.

But Part II is what got me excited. Pop Sci features eight experiences, or what they call "Geek Getaways." Out of those eight getaways, TWO fall in Minnesota and one is located in Iowa. How cool is that? Now instead of taking offense to the fact that we might be a little extra geeky up here, just read about these freakin' cool excursions. I had no idea.

+ ELY, Minn., Wildlife Research Institute: Go hang out and study black bears with biologist Lynn Rogers. Sure it costs $1,500, but as the article says, "you'll become part of the longest and most in-depth bear study ever conducted." For webcams and more information, go here.

+ NORTHEASTERN Minn., Mine State Park: Take a daily tour ($10) of the Soudan Underground Laboratory where they take subatomic particles and smash them against atoms. You even get to ride in a miner's cage to 2,400 feet below ground.

+ DES MOINES, Iowa, Great Ape Trust: Did you know that the largest great ape research facility in North America is in Iowa? Become a member ($50) to tour the venue and meet the apes. This is where Kanzi lives, who is known as the world's smartest ape. (Image from the Grape Ape Trust Web site.)

I think it's amazing that I can live here all my life and not know nearly enough about what's in my own backyard - or as little as a few hundred miles away. And if I have such little a clue and I write about the state of Minnesota for a living, imagine all the people who don't live here - they don't know what they're missing!

Where have you been in Minnesota, Iowa or the general Midwest, that blew your mind? Share it with us.

--Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor

Brands on the Brink

Via Twitter (follow us @MeetingsMHJ), I was pointed to this blog post on 24/7 Wall St. about the next 12 major brands that won't make it past the end of 2010. Some were not a surprise (Borders, Saturn), but some made me frown with disappointment. Here are a few worth calling out:

+ Avis/Budget: This really isn't a shock either. If you're in the hospitality industry you know how much rental car companies are struggling. According to the post, in 2008 the company lost more than $1 billion.

+ Palm: The smartphone company cannot keep up with iPhone and Blackberry. It's launching a brand-new, incredibly cool phone this year, but with previously lagging sales and a partnership with third-place Sprint, the outlook does not look good.

+ Airlines: Again, no big surprise. 24/7 Wall St. predicts another merger among large U.S. carriers to avoid bankruptcy. Who will it be?

+ Gap: I know retail is struggling, but to read that Gap, which also owns Banana Republic and Old Navy, may have to shut down one of its retail arms - and it would most likely be Old Navy - well, that nearly brought a tear to my eye. In these tough times, don't we need to keep our more affordable retailers around? Old Navy is my go-to store for casualwear.

+ Crocs: This isn't super hospitality related, but just two years ago everyone was wearing Crocs. You couldn't get away from those things - what are they sandals, shoes, slippers? But, Crocs may just go the way of the Beanie Baby. Maybe I should finally buy a pair before they're gone completely?

What do you think about the future of these brands? Who else do think is struggling?

--Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor

Top 10 Travel Tech Trends

PhoCusWright, a Sherman, Conn.-based travel consultancy, has just released its report outlining what the company's analysts believe will be the top 10 technology trends to take place in 2009. In their words, these trends have the ability to "drive change in travel, tourism and hospitality ... and reshape the way consumers search shop and buy travel."

Early Morning Education and Rejuvenation With MPI and ISES

Ask anyone here in the office and they'll tell you I'm not a morning person. Before 9 a.m., sans coffee, I'm usually about as responsive as a comatose tree sloth. But this morning I was at Graves 601 at 7 a.m. for the joint MPI and ISES "Educate and Rejuvenate" roundtable program and let me tell you, it was worth it. Even for a tree sloth.

I had never been to a large event at Graves, so it was nice to check out the 5,600-square-foot ballroom with Paldao wood walls and glowing light boxes (very sleek, very Graves) and the space was very appropriate for the rounds that were set out for the breakfast event. Ooh! Speaking of breakfast, the buffet featured a delicious assortment of mini pastries, fresh fruit and little egg-cheese-ham and tomato wraps. That might sound standard, but as a bit of a foodie, I'm always disappointed when fruit platters consist of pale, mealy melon chunks and dry or overly sweet pastries. I believe food is part of welcoming your guests, and the buffet at Graves welcomed guests with real fruit (pineapple, blackberries, strawberries), three kinds of itty bitty smoothies, flaky croissants filled with chocolate, almond and other deliciousness, and good coffee. (Perhaps because I'm not a morning person, I am also a giant coffee snob.)

In case you're getting concerned, no, I did not spend the morning guzzling smoothies and stuffing pastries in my purse. I attended three half-hour roundtable discussions out of 18 options, covering topics from CSEP/CMP certification to photography to international meetings. Before I talk about which topics I picked can I just say how much I love roundtables? Whenever I attend an event with roundtables I meet more people, I learn more and I'm more engaged. It provides structure to aid in networking, it allows attendees to have input rather than listening to speakers the whole time and works for shy and outgoing personalities. Ok. So here's what I learned:

Hotels and an Uncertain Future

With occupancy rates down and little credit available, many hotels are feeling the pinch right now. The New York Times published an article in today's paper about how many hotels are facing an uncertain future. And it's being felt across all markets, particularly in the luxury market.

From the Times: “Luxury is just getting killed,” said Bobby Bowers, senior vice president for operations at STR Global, a company that monitors and researches hotel performance. While occupancy and therefore room rates are down at every level of hotel, the drop is more pronounced at the higher end.

"Since these hotels have greater fixed operating costs because of their extra services and larger staffs, they need higher occupancy rates just to break even. This is compounded by what many analysts have called the “A.I.G. effect,” as companies worry about public or regulatory scrutiny if their employees stay at lavish properties or hold events there."

Of course the effects of the current economic downturn vary from market to market, but let's just hope this isn't a sign that conditions are continuing to deteriorate. 

--Joel Schettler

Editor

Ask Your Colleagues: Influential Books

Topic: Keeping with tradition in our spring issue, we asked your peers what books they have read recently that inspired or influenced their professional lives.

Answer: The most recent book I’ve read is Saving the World at Work: What Companies and Individuals can do to go Beyond Making a Profit to Making a Difference by Tim Sanders. I was inspired to read this book because it ties in so well with my company and mission: building corporate social responsibility (CSR) awareness. Sanders refers to the “Responsibility Revolution,” meaning if corporations pay more attention to only their bottom line, they risk becoming obsolete. The marketplace and the world are changing. People looking for work and choosing with whom to partner put those that are socially responsible at the top of their list. Sanders divides up the CSR into three positions, innovators, pioneers and fast-followers, and reiterates the importance of embracing an abundance mentality. He also remarks how we need to infuse responsibility into our events. So as I turn the pages, I see similarities to Integrity Incentives—in both the excitement of what we do and the obstacles we face in spreading the word!

Lucy Eisele, Founder
Integrity Incentives
www.integrityincentives.com

What books have you read in the past year that have influenced you? For other responses, check out our latest issue.

PGA 2009

I was reading my husband's Sports Illustrated last night (BTW, thrilled with the prediction that the Twins will win the AL Central), and skimmed the article about Tiger Woods' Grand Slam possibilities. To win the Grand Slam this year, Tiger has to win the PGA, which takes place right here in Minnesota at Hazeltine National Golf Club Aug. 10-16. The writer interviewed Rich Beem, the everyman golfer who beat Tiger at Hazeltine in 2002 (it was quite the upset). Here's what Beem, and the article, had to say about our local course:

If Woods topples the field in the first three majors, he will chase history at the site of one of his most stinging defeats. Hazeltine is where Rich Beem danced on the 72nd green at the 2002 PGA Championship and denied Woods his third major of the year with a devil-may-care attitude and a thumping five-wood.

"I remember pretty much everything from that week," says Beem. "It's nice for my children to think I beat arguably the greatest player of all time. For me, personally, I'm simply glad I won the PGA Championship."

At 7,674 yards—up from 7,360 in 2002—the Minnesota course will demand long tee shots, but accuracy is the key. "They can grow the rough there as easy as anyone in the country," Beem says. "You can hit it as long as you want, but it's not going to help you if you don't hit it straight, brother."

Asked how Hazeltine—with its gnarly rough and strategically placed bunkers—fits Woods's game, Beem says there isn't a course that doesn't set up for Tiger. "He's driving it so much better," Beem says. "His iron play is amazing, his short game even better, and his putter is off the charts. As high as he hits it, you'd be silly not to say he's one of the favorites."

I was there in 2002, so those few paragraphs in SI brought back some fun memories. That Sunday, I followed Tiger and his red shirt around from hole to hole, watching him take his shots, looking for his signature fist pump. It was August, but the weather was beautiful - not too hot. The crowd was large, but I was able to squeeze my way next to the ropes on several different holes. But that defeat? Ugh. I know it's easy to be a Tiger fan - he's the best there is - but you can't deny he's changed the game. A girl like me, who won't let her dad teach her to golf, would never watch it on TV if it weren't for Tiger. I've been watching him play since he started. So, to watch him, in person, lose to Beem that day was heartbreaking. However, most of us also have a soft spot in our hearts for the underdog, and Rich Beem was definitely an underdog that day - if not most days. Plus, to have a memorable PGA like that one take place in Minnesota is only good for our state in the long run.

I'm looking forward to PGA 2009 (I cannot believe how fast those years flew by!). Anyone else?

-- Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor

OM's Restaurant Marketing

You may or may not have heard about OM, the new project from restaurateur Randy Norman (also involved in the Capital Grille, Bellanotte, r. Norman's, which is now Seven the Steakhouse, and Seven Sushi). It's an Indian restaurant Norman is creating in partnership with Uppal Enterprises that will feature the culinary talents of Raghvan Iyer,  award-winning culinary instructor,  author and co-founder of the Minneapolis-based Asian Culinary Arts Institutes. (P.S. I'm filing ACAI under: Supercool Things We Have In Minneapolis That I Never Even Knew About!)

The restaurant isn't opening until late May or early June, according to Jeremy Iggers' informative chat with Iyer. But the OM crew isn't losing any time in starting to generate buzz with blog updates and Twitterings. Today, for example, they announced that you can vote on the accents/upholstery fabric used in the restaurant's lounge. Kind of a neat way to make diners feel like part of the restaurant's development process, however, I notice that you can't vote without submitting your full name and e-mail address. Hrm.

It will be interesting to see what other unique, interactive marketing techniques the restaurant employs between now and its opening, if any. And once all this buzz has been created, will the restaurant live up to it? Besides Dancing Ganesha, which opened last spring, I'm not really aware of any other Indian restaurants in the Twin Cities of the "fine dining" persuasion. Thoughts, fellow foodies?

--Marni Ginther
Assistant Editor

Photo from OM blog

April Fool's Day. Marketing Tool?

With a plethora of clever hoaxes going around today, I thought it would be interesting to talk about how companies and destinations use April 1 as an opportunity for marketing. It makes sense. If you can create something clever - perhaps even elaborate - and get people talking about and forwarding your video, e-mail, blog post, etc., it might really work for you.

A few examples:

+ I read on Hotel Chatter about the Hotelicopter. A flying hotel. The blog called out the Hotelicopter as a hoax, claiming the interior shots were ripped off from Yotel. But in fact, Yotel was behind the entire hoax anyway. Until today, I'd never heard of Yotel (hotel rooms located inside airport terminals), so I guess the April Fool's marketing worked on me.

+ @KarenBrown tweeted today about a new cell phone, the Pomegrante NS08. At first I thought this phone was really cool, until I discovered that it was also made up (Yeah, I don't think a cell phone could actually brew coffee. Yet.) as a way to promote tourism to Nova Scotia, "A place that has everything." I'm not sure it makes me want to visit Nova Scotia, but it did make me think about Nova Scotia today, which I wouldn't have done otherwise.

+ And those of us living in Minnesota couldn't miss the story of Ely making a bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Did you see the faux press conference? Those guys are hilarious! If only for a good laugh, you have to watch the video. When asked how Ely would accommodate all the people from around the world that would arrive in town for the Olympics, one guy says, straight-faced, "We have roads."

What hospitality- or marketing-related hoaxes have you come across this April Fool's Day?

-- Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor