Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal

SOI Event Preview: Our Keynote Speaker

 

Details are coming together for our annual State of the Industry Event. We're excited to announce that we selected Joan Eisenstodt, chief strategist, Eisenstodt Associates, LLC, as our keynote speaker. Eisenstodt is a respected expert in the hospitality industry; she founded Eisenstodt Associates, a planning and management support company, in 1981. Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal previously consulted with Eisenstodt for "Contingency Planning 101" in last year's winter issue. Learn more about Eisenstodt by following her on Twitter and reading her Meetings Collaborative blog then mark your calendar for the State of the Industry Event on February 2, 2010, when you can hear her give a keynote speech touching on the future of the industry and host a breakout session. Stay tuned for future announcements about the speakers at this year's event ...

--Ellie M. Bayrd, Associate Editor

Ask Your Colleagues: The Best Advice You've Received

Every day we receive advice from friends, colleagues and strangers—some good, some bad. Occasionally one piece of advice hits home and helps in a truly useful way. Inspired by that idea and by our cover story’s focus on mentoring we asked your peers to share the best career advice they ever received.

A: The best advice I’ve ever received came from a former employer, Chuck Parton. I was working for Chuck opening up Burger King restaurants in Ohio in the ‘80s. He told me, “You should work at what you enjoy doing.” I realized that I wasn’t really enjoying what I was doing; I liked the people and liked working for Chuck, but it was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Shortly after that Chuck sold his business, so my wife and I started looking around for what we wanted to do. In 1987 we purchased our first bed and breakfast: the Rivertown Inn (sold it in 1999). We enjoyed the business so much that in 1993 we open our second B&B, the Cover Park Manor [in Stillwater, Minn.] where we live today. In 1995 we opened the Water Street Inn [also in Stillwater] with its restaurant, Irish Pub and conference/banquet area. I would agree with Chuck Parton that it is important to enjoy what you do.

Chuck Dougherty, Innkeeper and Owner
Water Street Inn and Cover Park Manor

What was the best advice you ever received? Leave a comment and let us know. For other responses, check out the Ask Your Colleagues section in our Fall issue.

Vision Awards: Event Recap

Last night Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal welcomed nearly 200 attendees from all sectors of the hospitality industry (planner, vendor, venue...) to the Chambers Hotel for the first annual Vision Awards. After snacking on hors d'oeuvres and tasting our signature drink, attendees gathered in the ART room to celebrate our many nominees. Editor Joel Schettler kicked off the event by talking about the importance of honoring best practices in our industry. After learning of our seven winners (see list below) attendees networked and mingled in the Eden patio and ART room. Thank you very much to all our sponsors and our hosts at Chambers. It was an amazing evening and we are so happy to celebrate our nominees and winners. For a play-by-play of the evening's events, please check our Twitter feed in this post or search #mnvisionawards on Twitter.

AND THE VISION AWARDS GO TO ...

• INNOVATION: Aimee Cheek, Corporate Marketing Manager, CSM Lodging
• INSPIRATION: Jim Saccoman, General Manager, Ramada Mall of America
• PLANNER'S CHOICE-MY FAVORITE VENDOR: Heather Farrier, Floral Design & Decor Manager and the team from Festivities
• LEADERSHIP: Robb Hall, General Manager, Depot Minneapolis
• CUSTOMER SERVICE: Merry Beckmann Butikis, Convention Services Manager, Saint Paul Convention and Visitors Authority
• STEWARDSHIP: Scott Herold, CEO of Rock the Cause
• EVENT OF THE YEAR: Jennifer Braun, Director of Strategic Events, TRIAD Conferences

Read all about these winners and why they received these honors in the fall issue of the magazine. Congratulations all!

UPDATE: Check out photographer Katrina Hanneman's favorite photos of the event on her blog. Thanks, Katrina.

Live from the Vision Awards

Missing the first Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal Vision Awards tonight (Sept. 24, 2009, at Chambers Hotel)? Want to get the inside scoop? You are in the right place. We'll be tweeting (@MeetingsMHJ) from the event and posting those tweets and any others with the hashtag #mnvisionawards right here. In addition to announcing our winners, we'll talk about the event space, the hospitality professionals we meet and congratulate our nominees. Tomorrow we'll post some photos and share links to the fall issue of the magazine, where you can read more about our winners.

Say Cheese

There are many ways to be a part of Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal. In each issue we share local and national industry news in Openers and Notebook and welcome you to share your announcements for our consideration. But that's not all. We have a special section devoted to showcasing your meetings and events:  Smile File. Just send us photos and help us fill these pages with your smiling faces and creative events. Everything from awards ceremonies and team-building activities to corporate parties and annual meetings get the spotlight here. Our fall issue hits desks this Friday, but we're already working on our winter issue. Please take a minute to think if you might have a few images from late summer or fall meetings and events you want to share with the magazine. Then follow the instructions below:

1) E-mail high res digital images to ebayrd@greenspring.com or upload to our site (Images should be 300 dpi;. Don't know what that means? Then just make sure you are sending the original file--those that are 1MB or more are usually big enough).

2) E-mail a document listing the basic information about the event (what, when and where are key) as well as photo credits (ID all the people you can) and the name of the photographer.

3) Send before Oct. 16.

Feel free to get in touch if you have questions. We look forward to hearing from you.

-- Ellie M. Bayrd
Associate Editor

State of the Industry Survey Countdown

On Friday, Oct. 2, 2009, we'll be closing down our State of the Industry Survey and begin examining the results of the sixth annual survey. So much has changed over the past year that we are really looking forward to comparing last year's results to this year's results. Last year we asked planners and vendors to share how their budgets had changed over 2008.  Here's what our survey participants said:

What do you think? How different are budgets now? Click on over to our survey and tell us what you think about that and several other topics related to the local hospitality industry and your role in the industry. Then pick up our winter issue in a few months to learn what we found out and see how the status of the hospitality industry in Minnesota compares nationally.

Anyone who plays a role in the local hospitality industry is encouraged to participate. That includes full- and part-time planners (you count even if "planner" isn't your official title) and anyone who provides services to the industry. All survey participants are eligible to win a weekend getaway at Cove Point Lodge and all receive $10 off admission to our State of the Industry Event. 

We look forward to hearing from you and hope you will be able to attend our State of the Industry Event on Feb. 2, 2010, at Saint Paul RiverCentre.

Thanks, the editors of Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal

Why You Should Take Our Survey

We hope that, between our e-blasts (Don't receive these? Sign up here.), Twitter reminders, blog posts and Web site links, you are already aware of our sixth annual State of the Industry Survey. Whether the survey is old news or new to you, we hope you will take the time to participate (10 or so minutes).

Wondering WHY? Well, here are a few good reasons:

+ The data we collect helps us all examine the status of the local hospitality industry and find out what has changed over the past six years.
+ Your contributions inform our annual winter State of the Industry Report (see last year's results) and inspire the topics of conversation at our annual State of the Industry Event (Feb. 2, 2010, at Saint Paul RiverCentre).
+ The data and discussions could help you learn from others in the industry about how they are faring in this economy or help you become a better planner or vendor.
+ By reflecting about the last year of your career and answering these questions, you may learn something about yourself.
+ The information and opinions you share help us better write about the local hospitality industry.

That's not all ...
+ Participants who complete the survey receive $10 off admission to the State of the Industry Event and are entered into a drawing for a weekend getaway "up north."

Convinced? Get to clicking and answering. Remember, this survey is for all of you in the local hospitality industry: full- and part-time planners (even those of you without "planner" in your official title) and vendors (that's anyone who provides services to the local hospitality industry).

Your time and thoughtful responses are very much appreciated.

Thank you,
The Editors of Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal

Vision Awards: The Deadline Approaches

In case you missed it the first times we mentioned it on the blog, we're really excited to be hosting the first Vision Awards this year. The awards focus on rewarding best practices in the local hospitality industry in seven different categories.

This Friday is the deadline for nominations (July 31). That means you have just this week left to tell us who is deserving of a Vision Award. Who inspires you? What event impressed you? What vendor do you depend on? Which planner deserves kudos? Don't forget to look in the mirror when you are thinking of these. It's perfectly acceptable to nominate yourself.

The entire process is online. Just click on over to Vision Awards central and look through the seven awards: Customer Service, Stewardship, Event of the Year (Planners Only), Planner’s Choice—My Favorite Vendor, Leadership, Innovation and Inspiration. Think about who you want to nominate and share your thoughts with us. You may nominate multiple times in multiple categories.

We look forward to hearing from you!

--Associate Editor Ellie M. Bayrd

Events at the Weisman Art Museum

I stopped by the Weisman Art Museum's open house last night to check out their event space. The last time I  visited the

museum was the opening of  Changing Identity: Recent Works by Women Artists from Vietnam in January. Both events were lovely--the Dolly Fiterman Gallery just has a great vibe, with windows overlooking the river and natural light bouncing off the clean white walls and ceiling.

The William G. Shepherd room was lined with tables from the Weisman's nine caterers, so I hung out there a lot. I was happy to see Kafé 421 owner Georgia Sander standing behind a table overflowing with flaky phyllo dough morsels filled with all manner of Mediterranean goodness, from figs to feta to olives. Besides having a major thing for Greek food, I have happy memories of her cozy Dinkytown bistro. When I was a wee Gopher I often ate there for the food, the hospitality and student-friendly prices. (They're advertising a $25 date night on the Facebook page right now.) Anyway, I didn't know she catered, so that's exciting!

What else? Said hello to a few friends, including Christine Cunnington, the Weisman's events coordinator, Diane Pearson (MPI) and Lisa Marie Borchert (ISES), both familiar faces from our magazine, and planner Geri Wolf, who you'll hear from in the Fall 2009 issue of Meetings. In the upcoming issue you'll also get more details about events at the Weisman and four other Twin Cities museums, so stay tuned!

--Marni Ginther
Assistant Editor

Photos from Weisman Web site

The Art of the RFP: Outtakes

Who knew I could enjoy writing an article about RFPs? Don’t get me wrong, they’re an important part of the biz, but they’re not the most glamorous thing to create an article around. But, I had some really fascinating interviews with local vendors, so I wanted to share some outtakes of those interviews (quotes that didn’t make it into the story), as well as some other spots where this conversation has been happening over the past several months.

Other RFP conversations

What’s Your RFP IQ?: Very similar to my article, this story quotes several people who face challenges with RFPs. ["Requests for Proposal (RFPs) can be a headache. As such, many distributors will overlook them or throw their hands up at the whole process. Before you do that, read these business-bidding tips and success stories, straight from the experts."]

Are RFPs Still Worthwhile?: This blog post from ASAE & the Center’s Acronym blog received several interesting comments. ["I have to tell you I am happy to be included on RFP distribution lists but the more I receive the more I wonder if it makes sense for me to respond and more importantly for associations to send them out."]

Why RFPs Hurt Everyone Involved?: I found this when reading the comments from the above blog post. It’s from an association-marketing point of view. ["...proper questioning is not present leaving the vendor making a number of assumptions. These assumptions are bad for the client, because any incorrect assumptions will most likely result in additional costs down the road."]

Scenario-based RFPs: Time to Change the Game: This article from Service Performance president Chris Arlen offers an alternative version of the RFP. ["The premise is for a customer to present its service scenario to a short list of pre-qualified contractors."]

RFP is Not a Four-Letter Word: From Frank Fortin’s Guilt by Association blog (I love the blog’s title), this post talks about another alternative: the un-RFP. ["I need some process to cast a wide net, review multiple proposals, and make a smart decision."]