Smart Meetings

We’ve had some new additions in the past month or so here at Smart Meetings. For example: Hi, I’m Zac and I’ll be your web editor. If you e-mail “pressroom,” “admin,” or “web,” it’s me.

Since the end of June, besides just me, we’ve added 25 percent more people to our staff (plus a new puppy) and if you tried to call our office on a particular Thursday in July, you know none of us were here – we were building ourselves into a team on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge from Sausalito, in beautiful San Francisco.

We met at the Ferry Building, under the fog, at 8:30 in the morning and were split into teams of three. Our event organizer Frank, from Murder on the Menu, tasked us with goals, spoke of a competition, gave us Polaroid cameras, and set us loose to explore the City by the Bay. My team (which I will spoil the end for you by saying was the winner) consisted of myself, our associate publisher, Ginny, and our editor, Carolyn.

Our mission was to hit a series of locations, take photographic evidence of us at said locations, and conceptualize a beverage that embodies the spirit of San Francisco, Smart Meetings, and our team while on the excursion. It's scavenger hunt meets marketing presentation.

My team hopped a trolley up the Embarcadero to Pier 39, posed with the sea lions and met some Floridians who were friendly enough to snap our picture; walked up to Fisherman’s Warf to talk to a valet and pose on a cable car; then walked south through the city’s Little Italy neighborhood of North Beach for espresso, chocolate, City Lights bookstore and our own tales of the city.

Being out from behind our desks, away from the flood of daily responsibilities and emails, phone calls and travel, we were able to talk about our lives out of the office – past, present and future, providing a great way to get to know each other better as people and not positions in a staff box.

At noon, the whole staff rendezvoused at Sens in the Embarcadero Center, and after eating an amazing Mediterranean meal, we presented our findings to all of our coworkers. It’s rare that the entire staff of Smart Meetings is in town at the same time, so it was a great opportunity for us to get a good sense of what our coworkers are capable of when trying to win a bottle of champagne (which I again point out, I won, but have yet to drink).

And so, a team was built. Inside jokes were created (not a day has gone by without a reference to “Smopus”), memories shared and raps performed (not by me). I’m already looking forward to a “team-strengthening” day soon, if only so we can scavenge the city for more excitement and good times.

Epilogue:
What was the winning recipe, you ask? It provides for the mind, body and spirit by combining the mind-altering abilities of a very nice Polish vodka (whose name rhymes with “Schmelvedere”), the body-energizing abilities of an Austrian energy drink (which claims to “Give You Winnnnngs”) and the sweet and caring touch of American-made grenadine. Not terribly original, but mighty tasty. Ask for it by name, Vitamin V, but be prepared to describe it because not a lot of bartenders are going to read this blog.

It’s been a busy past few months with a number of excursions I won’t soon forget. Here’s a quick look at some places I’ve been fortunate enough to check out recently on behalf of Smart Meetings…

The grand opening at Suncadia Lodge in early May was a blast. The property in Central Washington is half the size of Manhattan and has something for literally everyone. Took my first helicopter ride, received my first Spa treatment, had an awesome evening visit to The Brick—the tavern featured for years in the Northern Exposure TV series…It’s a cliché to say a resort has everything, but it’s pretty true in this case—golfing, swimming (including waterslides), top cuisine, fantastic spa, etc. Oh, also had the chance to chat a few times with Detlef Schrempf, the former NBA star now residing in Bellevue, Wash. and also took in an amazing ‘synchronized swimming’ show.

More recently, I’ve had the chance to spend some time in the OC and Pasadena, as well as the Monterey Bay region. I think what impresses me most about the Monterey Bay area is intense diversity that makes it impossible to pigeon-hole the locale under any specific topic. A ten-minute drive can take you from the kitschy waterside fun at Cannery Row to the pristine resorts and wineries of Carmel Valley.

I spent one night in downtown Monterey at the Portola Hotel where the highlight was probably a visit to the Mucky Duck on Alvarado Street, a lively tavern with cheap drinks and a large patio area outback surrounding a fire pit. The next evening was then spent at the shiny new InterContinental The Clement—right next to the Aquarium. Sipping a glass of fine wine on my balcony, with seals at play amid kelp beds below me, it really hit home what a truly amazing place Monterey is.

Closer to home, I’ve also spent some time in San Francisco recently, as well as a tour through the Western realms of Sonoma County. Among my San Francisco visits, one involved staying at the newly revamped Hyatt Regency, which transformed two of its upper floors into Regency Club rooms and the former Equinox Restaurant into the new Regency Club. While I’ll miss the old ‘spinning’ restaurant, the new rooms look pretty hip and snazzy—and the new Regency Club is a good place to work at a computer terminal, savor one of the cutting-edge massage chairs, have a cocktail, or all of the above.

One upcoming trip that has me very enthused is a journey to Park City, Utah in a few weeks. I’ll be sure to tell you all about it!

I've just returned from an information-packed three hours at the Hilton San Francisco, where I and about 100 other members of the media, hotels and DMCs listened to industry experts discuss the newest developments in travel websites and digital marketing.

Dubbed “Marketing in a Digital World,” the morning educational session was part of the Visitor Industry Marketing Conference, sponsored by the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau.Aside from coming away excited about the future of travel technology, I also picked up a few new favorite websites.

My new best friend is tripit.com., which is by far the smartest and most user-friendly tool for travelers I’ve ever seen. Simply forward all your travel reservation e-mails as you get them (airline, hotel) to tripit.com, and the website automatically creates itineraries for you. Go to the site and you will see all your future trips neatly organized, with such add-ons like instant weather forecasts and maps for every contingency that may occur. You can even access your trip information from your smart phone—misplaced reservations and forgotten flight times are a thing of the past.

Finally! On a recent trip to Newport Beach, Calif., my room at the Marriott Newport Beach Hotel and Spa  had a mini-refrigerator (the above “reefer” in restaurant lingo) instead of a mini-bar—a positive trend as far as I’m concerned. The fridge was liberated from its former persona and was now a refreshing place to store my own bottled water (49 cents, not $5) and whatever snacks I chose to bring along.

            Therefore, no more annoying “mini-bar checks” to interrupt my stay. No more disputes on my hotel bill (if you so much as lift out a package to check the ingredients, the sensor knows—and so does the accounting department). And no more 400 percent markups on items that are mostly unhealthy anyway.

            Yes, I know some people find mini-bars convenient if they arrive late and room service hours are over. And I know the mini-bar is cheaper and more convenient than going downstairs to the bar for a beer, or ordering room service.

            But what was once a profit center for hotels has now obviously become a liability, as it’s a time-waster for staff and some guests (like yours truly) even refuse to accept a key at check-in. In fact, I heard Mr. Bill Marriott say at a press conference that what mini-bars have taught hotel guests is how not to use the mini-bar.

            Count me in as a fast-learner on that one!

Amazing. Some of the airlines—including Delta and US Airways—are now charging customers fees to cash in their frequent-flier miles for new tickets. What’s next, a $50 surcharge for losing my luggage? When will the madness end?

Today’s travelers get the idea: fuel costs a lot these days. So why don’t the airlines just raise their ticket prices a bit and pass on the expense in the simplest manner possible? Instead, they’re choosing to nickel-and-time passengers to death on everything from in-flight soda purchases to just checking a bag. Fallout includes everything from angrier travelers to slower-moving check-in lines.

Maybe we should just be happy that some of these airlines aren’t in charge of, say, the movie theaters too. Popcorn would only be a dollar but you’d have to pay another buck for a “butter processing fee” and 50 cents for the popcorn box. Napkins would be a dime each, and if you grabbed more than three there’d be a one-dollar “napkin overage” charge. Sheesh.

Two airlines do appear to be doing something right these days—Southwest, which has remained relatively affordable while vocally decrying the petty surcharges so many airlines have glommed onto, and JetBlue, which has taken some of the discomfort out of long flights with its added legroom and seatback TVs. But even these airlines have their faults—such as Southwest treating its fliers like a herd of cattle with its “open seating” policy.

When you add it all up, it’s no wonder that passenger satisfaction is at an all-time low. And one has to have the feeling that we’ve only seen the beginning of these rampant incidental charges.