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

On the Roll

Recently, Sue Pelletier of Face2Face took a break from her regular blog posts to look through her blogroll, post new links and share a bit about each blog/blogger. I always enjoy checking out the blogrolls of sites. Those recommendations have directed me to some sites I visit daily.

If you look to the left of this page, you'll see we list our own recommendations. As you might guess, Face2Face is on there, and that's how I found the link that inspired this post (she's also among those we follow on Twitter). I also find that I enjoy checking in with Geri Wolf of Style Laboratory's Eventful Rambling blog often, whether for insights on event planning or for dining recommendations and to see beautiful photos of events she's organized. Often I start my day with a look at what's on the mind of HotelChatter, which features a mix of useful travel/hotel news and hilarious hotel dos and don'ts. Another great voice for the travel industry: Christopher Elliott, who seems to get to the heart of travel problems and solve issues for travelers. I found him through his articles on CNN.com. Jeff Hurt's Midcourse Corrections blog often draws me in; he recently started a spirited discussion about having to pay for virtual event attendance to MPI's WEC. For social media thoughts I often turn to Chris Brogan and Chris Lower, whose post yesterday about a PR mishap was quite interesting.

Which sites/blogs do you visit daily and who would you recommend to us or to your fellow hospitality professionals? Check out our updated blogroll for more suggestions.

--Ellie M. Bayrd, Associate Editor

The Hospitality Touch

For an avid Apple fan like me, I always enjoy it when the rumors start flying about an entirely new piece of hardware about to be introduced. Many Mac fans will probably already know this, but the Internet has been abuzz lately with the rumors of a new Apple tablet--a handheld touch-screen computer akin to an iPod Touch on steroids. Do I have a need for one? Not yet. But Apple has always been good about making me feel like I didn't know what I was missing.

Some reports claim that the new device will essentially offer all of the applications found on an iPhone but with a larger screen (10-12 inches) and with applications specifically designed for the new device. Other rumors even have Verizon providing wireless access.

In doing my rumor research about the new touch device, I found a few applications that are already in place for the hospitality industry. Fast Company magazine reported a story that showed just what a touch tablet could do, by showcasing a few of the applications that have already been created for Microsoft Surface. Here are a few applications the magazine highlighted:

Cross Country Mobility by ERSI
This software calculates routes to your destination at the drag of a fingertip.

Sheraton Seattle Hotel
A virtual concierge

Rio Hotel in Las Vegas
My favorite. A unique use of the touch technology that not only utilizes the touch interface of the Surface itself, but also makes good use of security cameras.

--Joel Schettler
Editor

Twitter Status Update

MinnPost’s Corey Anderson wrote a column about the news site’s Twitter usage – who they follow, who follows MinnPost and so on. It’s more of an FYI than anything, but I thought it was well written and it inspired me to write down a few bullets about our own tweeting (follow us at @MeetingsMHJ).

+ Currently, we have 369 followers from around the world. We get about five new followers each day. We started our account at the end of January 2009. We’ve tweeted 330 times since then.

+ As of today, we follow back 223 tweeters. We’re a little more picky about who we follow. You have to be related to the meeting planning and hospitality industry, whether locally, nationally or internationally. We’re not going to follow a mechanic from Nebraska—though if he wants to follow us, more power to him!

+ We follow several local news, arts and PR organizations, because as journalists it’s important for us to stay on top of the news of the day.

+ Like the MinnPost article eludes to, we won’t follow you if we don’t know your real name, you don’t tell us where you’re located, or you haven’t tweeted at all.

+ Before clicking “follow,” we read through several of the person’s previous tweets to make sure what they’re saying is relevant to our magazine. If it’s all about your dog and what you had for dinner, we take a pass (no judgment, those posts just don’t meet our mission of using Twitter). If you offer up valuable links and insights, we sign on.

+ Three of us (Amanda, Ellie and Marni) share the same Twitter account and tweet for Meetings: Minnesota’s Hospitality Journal. Since all of our tweets are going to be hospitality related and from the magazine’s perspective, we feel it would actually be more confusing if we each had our own account with our own photo. You can see our photos and names on our Twitter homepage.

+ We try to tweet a couple times each day, which is harder during deadline time.

+ Dreams for the future? We’ve successfully used Twitter to find contacts for stories, but we’d like that success rate to increase. We’d also love to see more people comment on our blog posts, which we often point toward through Twitter.

Overall, we’re happy with our Twitter account and have seen a bit more traffic to our Web site and a bit more name recognition for our magazine. So, tell us, what our your Twitter stats? How do you feel about it?

--Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor

Travel Tech Tools

Being the designated tech tool finder on staff, I of course had to read Time's Hi-Tech Travel Companions. The piece lists 25 must-have travel gadgets and some of them are very cool.

+ Apple's Airport Express: Just plug this bad boy in and link up to your own private Wi-Fi domain, no matter where you are.

+ Kensington ComboSaver Portable Notebook Lock: Kind of like a bike lock for your laptop. Wrap the cord around a table leg and stick it into one of your jacks, and your laptop is that much harder to steal.

+ Wine Skin: Like Time says, this really isn't a "tech tool," but it's uber cool. For those who like to purchase wine on trips but are too afraid to pack the bottles into their checked luggage, this bubble-wrap baggie protects the bottle and your clothes.

+ Reef Stash Sandals: My girlfriend and her husband went on a cruise in January. Her only complaint? Because one of them always had to watch their things while "off boat," they couldn't enjoy the ocean water together. Enter Stash Sandals (pictured). The sandals hide your stuff in the sole - plus they're fashionable. Shove those under your towel, and I think you're good. (I worry with too much publicity, thieves will be able to spot these eventually... but maybe not?)

+ Swissbit Swiss Army 1GB USB Flash Drive: The old mainstay goes high tech, with all the pieces of your average Swiss Army Knife plus a USB drive. Makes perfect sense.

Other handy gadgets include GPS, laptops, iPhone (no list is complete without it), a water bacteria-killing wand and so much more. What's your favorite?

--Amanda Fretheim Gates   
Managing Editor

Podcast Episode 6: Tony Wagner, Carlson Wagonlit Travel

Tony Wagner is vice president of meetings and events for Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a group that assists clients in identifying their meeting spend, negotiating with vendors and developing event concepts. Editor Joel Schettler recently sat down with Wagner for our latest Podcast to talk about the current state of the hospitality economy, the “perfect storm” we’ve felt in the meetings industry and how he works with companies to help them manage their meetings, maximize their investment and develop strategic goals.

Joel Schettler: Please describe the effects the economy has had, as you see them, on corporate travel and meetings and events.

Tony Wagner: In this economic challenge that North America and the entire world is going through, we’re seeing that companies are looking at all of their expenses, and travel is no exception—it is one of the most disposable items that you can quickly attack… I do think as you look forward, as the air capacity has decreased, and there are more available seats than marketplace, I think you’ll see that it will fit more into the budgets of corporate travelers and people attending meetings...

JS: Are you seeing these effects worldwide, or are certain markets hit more than others?

TW: In general we’re seeing a decrease across the board in meetings and events. It may not be as pronounced as here in North America, but, for example, in Europe we’re seeing a decrease in the average spend per participant per day.. . We’re also seeing changes in behavior of where they’re having meetings. The U.S. dollar has strengthened, which means you might not have as many foreign groups coming into the U.S., and vice versa—[American companies] tend to stay in the U.S. for meetings right now...

For more of our interview with Wagner, check out our most recent podcast episode, and then let us know your thoughts about what he had to say.

--Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor

Well, That's One Way To Handle Bad Reviews

The Internet has changed the way many businesses--especially those in the hospitality industry--deal with customer reviews. Sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor make  it simple for a dissatisfied customer to leave quietly but make a lot of noise in an anonymous online rant rather than bring it up to hotel or restaurant staff. 
San Francisco's Pizzeria Delfina is giving those quietly disgruntled customers a run for their money by printing t-shirts bearing all Yelp's worst reviews and having the staff wear them.
While I think it's  a clever and downright funny idea, I'm not sure it would work for just any restaurant.
As a restaurateur, would you feel confident enough to give your staff t-shirts that say "This place sucks?" (Yes, that's one of the shirts.)
Anyone in the hospitality or service industry--weigh in!

(From 7x7, via Consumerist and BoingBoing)

 --Marni Ginther
Assistant Editor

Photo from 7x7

Follow us on Twitter!

If you had a chance to read our latest issue of Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal, you may have read my Editor In-sites column on Twitter. While I was all prepared to badmouth Twitter in my column, I did some research and realized Twitter may actually be good for business. So, now we editors here at Meetings have a Twitter account. You can follow us here: @MeetingsMHJ, plus you can see our twitter feed on the left-hand side of our blog.

We're still learning the ropes, but we hope to use Twitter as a way to keep our readers informed about industry news, new things we're doing at the magazine, restaurants, hotels and events we visit, and so much more.

So, in the name of learning: All you tweeters out there, why do you do it? How has it helped you? And for those of you who aren't on Twitter or are scratching your head wondering what I'm talking about, what do you think about all of this?

--Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor

Editor's Choice: Tech Tools of 2008

Editor’s Note: In honor of the end of the year, each week in December editors Amanda Fretheim Gates, Ellie Bayrd and Marni Ginther will provide some of our top hospitality-related picks of 2008. We don't have any special alliances with these products/places/things; we've formed the lists around our own personal opinions.

+ Parrot Minikit No matter where you are, you can talk via cell phone easily with the Parrot Minikit. This lightweight, pocket-sized, two-way speaker uses Bluetooth technology, so you can easily talk in the car, at your desk, at the conference table and even from the bathtub—though maybe some time should be left to yourself?

+ Eye-Fi Using Wi-Fi networks, the 2GB card can wirelessly upload your photos to your computer and your favorite photo-sharing sites. Because so many people take photos, which in turn never leave their camera (you know who you are), the hope is if photos are automatically uploaded when you step near your computer, you’ll be more likely to order them and share them.

+ Belkin's Conserve Surge Protector Plug in all your electronics and use the strip’s wireless remote control to shut off all devices that use standby power. Now, some electronics must stay on at all times or valuable information may be lost (i.e. the next new episode of The Office). Never fear, two out of the eight outlets on the Belkin Conserve remain on at all times.

+ HYMini While maybe not the most practical, this handy device is just plain cool. Why not use wind power to bring your cell phone, iPod or PDA back to life? The HYmini uses 9-mph wind power to charge its lithium battery and, once fully charged, provides five volts of power. Attach the handheld device to your bike, motorcycle, boat, car or body to charge it, then plug your devices in via USB or one of the five included adapters.

+ Pico handheld projector Texas Instruments partnered with Optoma and developed the first Pico handheld projector. Smaller than a PDA and weighing in at around four ounces, the Optoma Pico Projector partners with cell phones, iPods and digital cameras to share images and video up to 100 times larger than the screen on the source device. By using LED and DLP technologies, the device projects clear, vivid images.

--Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor

Popular Science: Best Innovations of 2008, or What I Want for Christmas

In all honesty, I'm not a huge science person. That's why I'm a writer and why I love my engineer husband for all the things he knows and I don't. However, as the gatherer of Tech Tools for our magazine, there is one issue of Popular Science that I just love: the December issue when they highlight the top innovations of the year. This year's issue is no different. Here are some of my favorites:

+ 3M MPro110 While we've made mention of handheld projectors before, 3M has released PopSci's Grand Award Winner in the Gadgets category (pictured) by refining its already amazing technology and developing the first micro-projector. I won't go into all the technological details, but the MPro110 can take data from your laptop, camera or phone and display it at standard-definition-TV quality and size. Plus, it's made by a local company, so it doesn't get much better than that.

+ Livescribe Pulse Are you kidding me? Here's a pen that not only captures your notetaking as an image file, but also records what is going on and being said in the meeting. Enough said.

+ Samsung Airwave If you work from home, but have to stay to one side of your house to get optimal cell reception, then this product is your solution. As the article says, it acts as a mini cell tower that keeps you from dropping your calls as you walk around the house.

+ Microsoft Explorer I love the name of this computer mouse, because I can imagine it "exploring" all the surfaces you try it on, whether a smooth tabletop or your grandmother's shaggy rugs, and still working.

Nearly 100 more items are featured in the issue, from a self-cleaning drain trap (gross to think about, but I found myself enthralled) and the Olympic Gold-bringing Speedo LZR to a guitar and the Wii Fit, so check it out.

What are you wishing for this holiday season?

--Amanda Fretheim Gates
Managing Editor