Smart Meetings | Page 122 of 602 | Corporate Event Planning: Business Events, Meetings, Conferences

In its second year since the pandemic, Consumer Electronic Show (CES) roared back to life this weekend at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), which offers 4.8 million sq. ft. of meeting space.

This year’s CES has over 3,000 exhibitors and over 100,000 attendees across the show floor and promises something for everyone as it is 70% larger than CES 2021.

Expansion Means More Technology and Connections

attendees at the consumer electronics show looking at new technology

The newly expanded LVCC West Hall accomodated nearly 300 auto companies to showcase their inventory of everything from self-driving vehicles to autonomous vehicles. “We really value bringing together technology’s greatest supporters,” said Lauren Forrer, a member of the event communications teams for CES.

Read More: Las Vegas: Bigger, Shinier Strip

“We’ve seen how passionate people are about the industries they’re part of when you get everyone together. You get collaboration, you get spontaneity. Those who are passionate about the industry all in the one place, kind of get to build off of each other and they get to do business together. That’s where we’ve really seen success.”

A Reflection of the Industry

“CES has grown from year to year. That is a reflection of the industry growing. What we consider technology has grown over the years and we’re now focusing on sustainability within technology,” said Forrer. “Tech touches so many different industries, which is why we love getting those industries together and kind of seeing the growth across all of them.”

CES From Home

Despite the resurgence of in-person events, CES remains accessible for attendees unable to make the trip. Hybrid attendees can view all sessions and speaker events from the comfort of their couch.

New Tech: Smell the Metaverse

Some interesting features to look out for in the New Year being showcased at CES include: sustainable boat technology from Brunswick Candela Marine Technology and OVR Technology that allows people to smell the metaverse.

The success of an event includes many factors. One major aspect is the engagement among attendees. Where event profs hope to give event attendees a vibrant, appealing and informative session, it may come off more as an information dump for some. Smart Meetings spoke with several event experts whose main goal is to craft a personalized, engaging and educational experience.

Make Your Attendees Feel Like Co-creators

For the most part, when event planners engage with attendees it is primarily after the event, in the form of surveys to see how attendees felt about the event. However, Naomi Clare, founder and CEO of Storycraft Lab, believes planners should be reaching out much earlier to the event’s kick off, at least six to eight weeks prior.

“We were able to identify that the audience was looking for a hands-on kind of workshop, quick sprint type of activities where they got to articulate what they had learned,” said Clare, “People are telling us what they want. If we introduce this into the program, then that’s a win-win. We’re giving people what they’re here for.”

Clare also notes the importance of allowing attendees to feel like they had a part in the experience. “If you’re asking those questions ahead of time, people feel like they’re engaged as co-creators. If you can demonstrate that you’re listening to what they’re telling you they’re super psyched about it. They turn up and they’re fully engaged because they feel like they’ve had some involvement in the design of that event.”

Remote Flexibility and Autonomy

According to Greg Bogue, chief experience architect at Maritz Global Events, event professionals need to break from the traditional linear way of looking at event planning. “We force remote people into this linear experience when maybe that’s not the best thing,” Bogue offered, “[Attendees] desire flexibility. Don’t make me sit in front of a computer for four and a half hours.”

Bogue points that the hybrid experience has not allowed attendees a sense of autonomy in their meetings experience and that event planners should seek to find those key event moments that they want remote attendees to feel a part of that promote “Those emotional elements that really connect people and allow that connection to occur regardless of where you might be.”

Engage and Listen

Liz Lathan, co-founder of The Community Factory, advises meeting organizers to be more conscious of the small group blueprint when hosting larger events saying, “When you’re going to be a big mega conference and you have all your people in the room, maybe don’t make that room for all hundred thousand people.” Lathan suggests offering the small studio audience, for example. “Have other areas around the event where groups can hear and listen. If it gets livestreamed out to them so they can have conversation pods; areas where they want to talk about the keynote.”

Re-imagine the General Session

Knowing the audiences’ wants and needs gives meeting planners the chance to reconfigure the usual general session. “All of the information that we would have traditionally shared in a general session was shared pre-event in a nine-minute video,” Bogue said. “We focused on what people are really looking for, and that’s connecting, having rich conversations.”

More Space, More Engagement

Lathan believes that giving attendees more leeway with the day’s events will ultimately work out in everyone’s favor.

“Give people more space, more white space,” Lathan said. “The engagement in the sessions will go up more when the people out of the sessions are bringing their own energy back up through conversation. The more they sit in a room the more the energy is going to lag.”

Human Invitation Is Vital to Engagement

Clare highlighted how important and effective it is to engage attendees when it is a human-to-human interaction. “Human invitation is very rare that you can just plunk something in the middle of the floor and without any facilitation people will volunteer. When you’re investing in making it interactive, you got to have humans there to actually say, ‘Hey come on this is a fun activity,’” Clare continued, “I’m a human face. It’s not just kind of printed on an 8 ½ by 11” stuck on a frame. The power of invitation, or participation is so important.”

As the events industry recovers from the incredible blow of the pandemic, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become more important than ever. Smart Meetings has collected some examples of how corporations can organize to support Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), the ways in which corporate gift giving can pay it forward and how the event industry can give back to their environments through partnerships with charities and nonprofit organizations.

EIC Fights for DEI

The Events Industry Council (EIC) partnered with its global EIC Equity Task Force to conduct its 2022 Equity Benchmarking Study as it launches its cohesive Equity Acceleration Plan. In a press release in October, the EIC revealed there was “widespread DEI dissatisfaction amongst event professionals, minority groups and women.”

The EIC’s Equity Acceleration Plan measured the DEI experience of event professionals on specific criteria—ownership, accountability and power of influence, delivering change and sustaining change. Jason Dunn, EIC Equity Task Force Co-Chair and past chairman of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals, was disappointed with the results. The survey reports 83% of all survey respondents who were employed event professionals were dissatisfied with DEI in the industry.

“Bottom line, the events industry propels the global economy, through thoughtful high impact events,” says Dunn. “It’s time for us to apply the same commitment, resources and metrics at an accelerated pace to intertwine DEI principles in all that we do.”

Caesars Entertainment’s Atlantic City Resorts and AVANZAR

Caesars Entertainment’s Atlantic City Resorts has partnered with Avanzar through the company’s Caesars Foundation grant to donate $40,000 and to bring awareness to the nonprofits cause to raise awareness and bring support to the efforts to end human trafficking. Joe Lodise, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Caesars Atlantic City, explains how “people, planet and play” are the focus of Caesars Entertainment’s Atlantic Resorts when discussing CSR options for events.

“Under this CSR framework, we are committed to supporting social equity, education, climate change, food security, responsible play and mental health,” says Lodise.

Caesars partners with several other local organizations to give back to the community, including Food Bank of South Jersey, Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City and American Cancer Society.

“We believe that with a focus on service, a willingness to forge new paths and a commitment to moving forward together, we can create incredible experiences, cultivate opportunities and make a difference for our guests, team members and the world around us,” says Lodise.

ETHOS Event Collective

ETHOS Event Collective teamed up with Bombas at IMEX 2022 to utilize CSR in aiding the homeless issue Las Vegas has been facing. For every person that stopped by the ETHOS Event Collective booth, Bombas and ETHOS both donated a pair of socks to Las Vegas Rescue Mission. Socks are the most requested item from those affected by homelessness, and the ETHOS partnership with Bombas doubled the results to produce over 500 pairs of socks for the cause. Smart Meetings sat down with Joe Fijol, founder of ETHOS Event Collective, to discuss the importance of CSR.

“I think it defines a company,” says Fijol. “Identifying in your backyard, the local communities and most in need.”

In 2023, ETHOS will be collaborating with Chapman Partnership in South Florida to invigorate the community that has been affected by homelessness. “My passion project is the kids,” says Fijol. “There are 13,000 kids in South Florida that are orphans that need a home.”

Fijol says charitable “passion projects” like this are what make CSR so important and what makes ETHOS stand out in the corporate gifting options.

“I think you would work with us because we’re doing our due diligence on some of these charities and we know what the impact is going to be long term because there’s a lot of need right now.”

Sonesta and Best Friends Animal Society

This roundup of CSR has highlighted some of the amazing ways in which companies in the events industry give back to the communities, and a voice should be heard from the opposite side of the partnership to understand the impact and meaning of CSR. Sonesta has paired with Best Friends Animal Society in their efforts to save homeless animals. Their goal is to stop the killing in shelters and breaking the cycle of breed discrimination. Anne Travous, Brand Partnerships Manager for Best Friends Animal Society, expresses her gratitude for pet friendly Sonesta seeking to team up with the organization.

“I think we’re very fortunate and Sonesta has been wonderful as a partner in being really authentic and being really excited to support us,” says Travous. “Corporate Social Responsibility is hugely important to the work that we do…a lot of the work that we do has had the capacity to be impactful because of the funding we receive from those corporate partners.”

The partnership with Sonesta has become a way to bring awareness to the organization through more than just donations. “They (Sonesta) developed coasters for all of their lounge and bar areas,” says Travous. “The coaster had four or five different stories of pets that have been saved through Best Friends Animal Society.”

Tips and methods for producing greener events

Sustainability is now required at meetings as attendees are demanding an environmentally conscious event. Curbing pollutants has become part of the meeting professional job description, but how does one do so at in-person and virtual events in a meaningful and cost-effective way? Partnering with event technology and destination experts can help cut through the green myths by taking an action-oriented, big-picture approach.

The Issue with Virtual Events

It’s easy to assume that meeting remotely is the more sustainable counterpart to in-person meetings, but what about the energy required to power the massive server farms that enable the technology? It turns out that that method of meeting isn’t as environmentally friendly as we’d all like to assume, according to a sustainable event guide produced by Universite Concordia University Montreal. The report states that “the climatic impact of virtual components of events are not trivial.” In fact, approximately 4% of greenhouse gasses in 2019 were caused by “infrastructure, equipment and data centers that allow our digital activity,” exceeding that of global waste disposal by double.

This is the result of a dramatic increase in video conferencing and the amount of electricity required to store and send it around the globe. While in-person meetings have been returning in force since 2022, hybrid and remote meetings will likely be a fixture in the meeting landscape indefinitely, but there are some simple methods for reducing the carbon footprint created by remote and hybrid technologies.

Request that virtual attendees turn off their cameras when not presenting or interacting with other participants
Use a cloud-based service when sending documents or videos
Include a short note in the signature line asking the recipient to delete the message after reading to eliminate unnecessary digital storage.

These measures aren’t likely to save the polar ice caps, but they’re small steps in the right direction.

Being mindful of the pitfalls of seemingly harmless technologies (ones that we’ve become helplessly dependent on) is a great start and helpful for educating attendees and demonstrating a concerted effort to combat climate change, but the big picture requires so much more—and let’s face it—it’s often difficult to know where to start.

Eco-friendly Designs Take Shape

Bluewater Technologies Group operates with the mission to provide planners with sustainable solutions across the board when curating an event. First launched in a garage as “Bluewater Visual Services” in 1985 by two brothers who set up TVs and VCRs for local companies, Bluewater Technologies Inc. has since blossomed into a full-service AV and staging service focused on providing clients with sustainable solutions.

Bluewater Managing Partner Scott Schoenberger suggests that planners consider the following when producing sustainable events:

Intent—all parties involved, including the event team and stakeholders must be on board
Planning—create a strategy focused on making sustainability the guiding principle by deciding which format (in-person, hybrid or virtual) is the best option for an event and being mindful and asking questions of the technical team
Design—including what the stage set is, the location of the event venue, what materials will be printed and what technologies will be used

“[Sustainability] has definitely become part of our DNA over the last 10-15 years,” says Schoenberger. “When we go about designing a show, we always design with a reasonable infrastructure first.” Schoenberger notes that industry standards such as shifting from incandescent lighting to LEDs, along with other types of more sustainable hardware, have aided in reducing the carbon footprint of larger events and tradeshows. “If you want to be sustainable, there needs to be intent to start with in mind as you’re planning and as you’re designing,” Schoenberger suggests planners select pieces made from materials with a clear path to a second life.

Visual displays and other fixtures are important aspects of the design of an event but selecting pieces and hardware to create displays can be done in a sustainable fashion if there’s an effort to select reusable parts during the fabrication phase. “We always look to use reusable pieces and hardware,” he says. The same intentionality can be applied to signage. “Wherever we can use a digital display, we will do that over a printed piece,” he says, adding, “The cost of technology is coming down to the point where this is becoming a viable option for many brands and businesses.”

Some of these technologies can have multiple purposes, Schoenberger says, including LED walls that in some cases won’t be used to display any graphics at all, but can be used as a set piece that can be taken down and reused during other events. An even more aggressive strategy in sustainability can include the exact color of lights used in displays, opting to exclude white LEDs due to the increased amount of energy needed to produce that spectrum of light.

While virtual events are not free of creating carbon emissions, Schoenberger suggests that planners consider hybrid or virtual events to offset the carbon emissions produced by extended air travel due to the location of a proposed host city.

Civil Sustainability

Local destination organizations have begun pitching in on the effort to assist in the curation of sustainable meetings as well. Visit Oceanside in California is spearheading the first sustainable master plan in the state following the criteria provided by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). The blueprint of the new sustainability plan follows a 10-year roadmap with the goal of ushering in sustainable growth in tourism for the San Diego County-based destination, placing an emphasis on benefitting the economy, environment, residents and visitors.

“Over the last 10 years, Oceanside has realized so much of its potential as a visitor destination, and our goal is to nurture future progress in a way that continues to impact the community for good,” according to Visit Oceanside CEO Leslee Gaul. “This process is really a reflection of our love for this city and our desire for it to thrive for many years to come.”

Visit Oceanside’s Sustainable Tourism Master Plan aims to achieve four specific goals to support a sustainable future for the destination with an initial phase of conducting a sustainability assessment, destination assessment, competitive analysis and stakeholder engagement, according to an announcement released in early January.

Bringing the goals outlined in the Sustainable Tourism Master Plan to fruition through a collaboration between Visit Oceanside and the City of Oceanside will likely ensure an elevated meetings experience for attendees that will boost the local economy, preserve the quality of life of residents and protect the environment. Planners can take advantage of Oceanside’s wide variety of meeting facilities, lodging options and a fantastic selection of activities, while actively contributing to a sustainable future—all on the beautiful California coast.

“The pandemic shed a light on the importance of a holistic approach to tourism that balances economic benefit with quality of life for residents and health of the destination,” Gaul said. “We are proud that Oceanside has not only taken a lead in formalizing this effort, but also committed to measuring our future product development, policies and achievements against the leading standard for sustainability in the world.”

Historically, incentive trips are typically reserved for a company’s sales team. These trips serve to motivate the team to exceed sales goals, with those achieving the highest-level revenues receiving company-wide recognition and access to an amazing getaway. While these programs are still extremely valuable, a new type of “incentive” trip trend is on the rise.

As attrition continues to occur in the workforce, companies are establishing programs that recognize more than just profit-earning outcomes. They are instead acknowledging the hard labor and commitment of their teams with “Thank You” trips. These trips help refresh organizational workplace culture to promote company-wide recognition and reinforce the importance of work-life balance. The more an organization focuses on its members’ well-being, the more everyone in the ecosystem benefits.

Recently, a major energy operator asked one of its teams to go above and beyond, spending longer than normal working offshore away from home. The operator wanted to recognize the team’s sacrifice, so upon their return, they arranged a “Thank You” trip. The company treated every member of their team and their family to a weekend-long getaway. They identified Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake Conroe | Houston as a place for their team to enjoy an island-inspired escape with plenty of fun and stress-free activities. The trip provided employees with a well-deserved break to refresh, reconnect and re-energize.

Investing in Human Connection

Everyone wants to know they are a valued member of the team. When an employee spends most of their days on work-related activities and feels as if they are neglecting other important components of their lives, stress and unhappiness result.

The height of the Covid outbreak was an extremely stressful time for retail teams across the country. Employees were being asked to work long hours and fill in wherever staffing shortages occurred. In addition, supply chain issues created unhappy customers, which the frontline teams had to manage.

A major home-improvement retailer recognized their management team was on the verge of burnout. To alleviate the stress and recognize their months of dedication and hard work, the company arranged a “Thank You” trip for their employees. The goal was to provide an environment that encouraged relaxation and comradery. The trip enabled coworkers to bond together through teambuilding activities and work-free social interactions.

A key requirement underscored by both companies when booking these trips was the need to find a fun, stress-free environment. Both companies sought a place that provided a waterfront retreat and offered their teams access to a variety of activities that aligned with each individual employee’s desire to either play or unwind.

Hosting these “Thank You” trips brought teams together beyond tangible work-driven requirements. It showcased each organization’s commitment to an employee-centric culture that goes beyond the bottom line.

Creating a Successful “Thank You” Trip

The goal of these trips is to provide recognition and gratitude for a job well done, mission accomplished, goals met or exceeded. Here are some tips to create a successful program:

To personalize and customize the employee’s experience; the use of individual “Resort Credits” is advised. This this way each employee can participate in the experiences they prefer. Some may want to go to the spa, some to play golf and others may prefer to enjoy a poolside margarita!
Aim for an appropriate balance between personal time and group activities. Companies will want to ensure that each participant enjoys time pursuing their personal passions while planning group activities to recognize and celebrate together as a team. Team-building activities are an effective way to achieve the latter goal; having fun, working as team and achieving a collective goal while enjoying the dynamic of “team power”!

By showing the employer truly cares about the employee, the employee begins to truly care about the organization.

—

Tom Faust is the vice president of sales and marketing for Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake Conroe | Houston.

What attendee doesn’t love the red-carpet celebrity treatment? Last week, Visit Greater Palm Springs restarted a tradition interrupted by Covid of providing meeting professionals with VIP treatment at the International Film Festival at Palm Springs Convention Center.

The celebration of storytelling started 33 years ago when then-resident Sony Bono thought it would be a good idea to attract attention to the area. Now it brings A-list celebrities such as Viola Davis, Kate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser and Steven Spielberg to town for recognition that is seen as a precursor to the Oscars two months later.

actor Austin Butler accepting an award on stage at the vanguard awards in palm springs, california — Actor Austin Butler

“Elvis” actor and Breakthrough Performance Award, Actor, recipient fondly recalled Palm Springs during his speech as a place he went on vacation with his family every year to his grandparents’ timeshare at Palm Springs Tennis Club. He called it some of the happiest memories of his childhood.

Steven Spielberg, director of “The Fabelmans,” who was introduced as the Vanguard Award winner by a very candid Sally Field, accepted the award with the cast of his semi-autobiographical show at his side and thanked his mother and father, inspirations he called his greatest supporters.

The celebration continued at the exclusive after-party at Parker Palm Springs where professional dancers got everyone kicking off their shoes and Champagne flowed in the fun, funky surroundings of this unique, world-class property. It was a master class in delivering glam.

Behind the Scenes

The red carpet, anxious crowds, flashing cameras and spotlights from the colorful stage were only the tip of the hospitality iceberg. Visit Greater Palm Springs won the award for making everyone feel special with themed gifting, dining and activities all week starting with a reception and dinner at the host property, La Quinta Resort & Club. The property’s celebrity roots go back to 1926, when it opened as a retreat for the rich and in need of an escape.

The dinner was staged in the Capra room to honor Frank Capra, a frequent guest who wrote “It’s a Wonderful Life” in a suite on the property. Executive Chef Andrew Cooper pulled inspiration for the dinner served at a long, candle-lit table for 45, from recipes found on the property dating back to the 1920s—walnut and Caesar salad, scalloped potatoes, lamb and the cutest little desserts imaginable. General Manager Dermot Connolly shared stories of Greta Garbo’s time on property and how her casita is now the backdrop for events on the surrounding lawn.

La Quinta has grown in stages over the years with big expansions to guest rooms, meeting space and amenities in the 1980s and early 2000s as new ownership arrived in the desert. But the focus on helping people relax has remained. The pink and purple peony-lined paths wind through 41 pools, a celebrated golf course and tennis club with 21 hard and clay courts, some of which have been converted to pickleball courts by popular demand.

Also preserved, the cool Spanish/California Mission style of architect Gordon Kaufmann and the La Quinta blue of the doors and window frames said to ward off evil spirits. Although the rooms are being refreshed this year, look for the white and colorful hand-painted tile details to remain. Also recently updated were two ballrooms that preserved the heavy carved wood doors, but updated lighting and AV capabilities.

Personalized gifting was the order of the week as advance questionnaires about shoe size and snack preferences resulted in gala accessories and iced tea materializing in the room. Signature scenting and parting gifts were an extension of a robust retail program that is often integrated into programs with everything from exclusive fashion shows on the Plaza to co-branded giveaways.

An Interactive Stage

two men and two women singing on a stage, wearing black shirts that read "sitcom"

After an evening of short rib entrees and celebrity sightings, the group went off-site for a more interactive experience and retro fare. PS Underground, a theater, musical and culinary troop started as a pop-up and is now a nightly themed dining adventure available for buyouts.

On this night, the trope was sitcom memories with fan favorites such as I Love Lucy, Brady Bunch, Seinfeld and even Sesame Street projected on the walls, used as fodder for singing and kazoo playing and inspiration for the prix fixe courses of pork chops and applesauce, mulligatawny soup, turkey and potatoes and a peanut butter and chocolate confection. Guests competed to name the floor plans of favorite television shows and everyone went home a winner, dancing out the door.

Smart Meetings is proud to announce the eighth annual Smart Women in Meetings Awards.

This annual awards program recognizes uplifting industry forces in a special issue of Smart Meetings magazine and at a bespoke event, custom designed to advance careers, create powerful networks and pave the way for the next generation of women in meetings.

From visionaries and industry leaders, to entrepreneurs, stellar performers, innovators and rising stars, join us in recognizing the top women in the meetings industry who continue to open new doors for all with creativity, passion and drive. Nominations close Jan. 20.

Vote for Your Favorite Smart Woman!

Bryan Miller, CVE

Miller is general manager for the recently expanded Charlotte Convention Center in North Carolina, effective Jan. 23. Miller comes from Virginia Beach Convention Center, where he worked for 16 years, most recently as general manager. He has been a member of the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) mentor program and is current chairman of IAVM’s region five chapter meeting committee.

Colleen Birch

Birch is chief operating officer for Fontainebleau Las Vegas, scheduled to open Q4 2023. Birch comes from a 13-year stint with The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, where she helped open the resort and worked as senior vice president of revenue optimization. During her 25 years in hospitality, Birch has worked in hotel operations, revenue optimization and customer relationship marketing.

Annie St-Yves

annie st-yves wearing black blazer, and black and green top

St-Yves is sales manager for Quebec City Convention Centre, focusing on the American and international markets. St-Yves brings 25 years of experience in tourism and hospitality to her new position.

Didem Ozgen

didem ozgen wearing white top with black collar

The Bodrum Edition in Turkey promoted Ozgen to director of communications and marketing. She joined the team in February 2022 as marketing and communications manager. She has also worked as F&B business development manager for Sofa Hotel Istanbul, Autograph Collection.

Markus Puereschitz

Puersechitz is The Driskill’s general manager. He joins Austin’s oldest operating hotel from Hyatt Regency Dallas, where he worked as director of operations. He has an extensive history with Hyatt Hotels Corporation, having also worked in leading roles with Park Hyatt New York, Park Hyatt Chicago, Grand Hyatt DFW, Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando, Park Hyatt in Toronto and Hyatt Regency Dearborn in Michigan.

Mitchell Doren

mitchell doren wearing a dark blue sport coast and light blue dress shirt

Doren is general manager of Rum Room and Venu, Miami Beach Convention Center’s new restaurant and event space, slated to open early 2023. Doren is a certified sommelier has more than 20 years in the food and beverage industry.

Justin Wilk

justin wilk wearing black sport coat and white dress shirt

Wilk is vice president of business development for creative agency and production house Switch. Wilk most recently worked at Freeman as vice president of brand experience, where he ran the company’s McDonald’s and Gap accounts.

Before this, he worked with Escalate/Mosaic, where he was managing director for its New York City office and co-lead of new business development for North America, and HBO, where he worked on custom events for shows like The Sopranos, Sex and the City and Band of Brothers.

Aaron Kaupp

aaron kaupp crossing arms while wearing blue suit. consisting of blue tie and shite shirt

Kaupp is regional vice president and general manager for Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab in Dubai, scheduled to open in 2023. This new position follows his role with Jumeirah Group’s The Carlton Tower Jumeirah, where he worked as regional vice president of Northern Europe and general manager.

He has also worked as general manager at Le Royal Monceau, Raffles Paris; and Belmond Villa San Michelle in Florence, Italy. In 2011, he worked with Giorgio Armani to help open and manage Armano Hotel Milano.

After a firestorm of criticism over the way Southwest Airlines handled the holiday season and weather delays and cancellations, the airline is getting broiled on the fires of internal critiques.

In an open letter posted this week on the Southwest Airlines Pilots Union (SWAPA) website, Captain Tom Nekouei, Southwest Airlines Pilots Union 2nd Vice President, wrote: “How did we get here? How did we go from the most stable and profitable airline in history to the greatest meltdown in airline history?

“As with most organizations, the answer can be distilled down to one word: Leadership. Actually, in our case, it’s three words: Lack of leadership. While we continue to receive saccharine corporate-communications-department-written and legal-counsel-reviewed ‘we’re sorry’ and ‘I love you’ meaningless and generic messages from SWA corporate executives, they obscure a genuine cancer within our Company that has been an ever-growing existential threat that must be excised before it becomes terminal.”

He went on to say, “System-wide meltdowns at Southwest Airlines have been increasing in frequency and magnitude over the past 15 years.”

Nekouei blames the meltdown on “conscious operational, manpower, or tech infrastructure investment decisions…” and the fact that “there has never been any real accountability for the decision-makers” in regard to similar breakdowns in service.

Finally, he laid the blame at the feet of “corporate automatons whose defining skills are sheltering the boss from bad news from below and never disagreeing with him.”

He blamed former Southwest CEO Gary Kelly for padding his and shareholders wallets while “there were aspects of our operation that were in desperate need of significant investment and upgrade.” He cited Kelly as “The airline darling of Wall Street who Gordon Gekko’d his own company from within through greed, ambition, and neglect for the operation itself.”

Buttigieg at the Barricades

The airline was also the recipient of a verbal rebuke from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg who commented on FoxNews Special Report that “…what we’re doing right now is using the full force of this department to make sure customers get taken care of—I made clear to Southwest Airlines that they will be required by our department— by the way, this is something that wouldn’t have been possible before the work we did this summer—They are now required to cover lodging, to cover ground expenses, to cover hotels for these delays and cancelations that were their responsibility.”

Southwest Responds

The airline’s CEO Bob Jordan posted an update on the site’s press room on Thursday, Jan. 5, saying: “Our Leadership team is focused on a thorough review of the disruption with all the needed resources involved, and I expect that work to be completed swiftly. We’ve already taken immediate actions to mitigate the risk of this ever happening again, and the review work will inform additional actions and investment as well. We’ve asked our unions to participate in this review effort as well, and likewise we are in regular communication with our Board of Directors.

“As a company we spend about $1B a year on technology. And we’ll will continue to upgrade the tools and processes our Employees use to serve you, our valued Customers, and make sure those items deliver on our mission: to connect People to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel. We have a proud 51-year history of doing just that, and I’m confident we’ll continue to deliver on this all-important Promise.”

Corporate retreats have long represented occasions for staff members to gather in relaxed settings to conduct work duties. But organizing such gatherings poses a challenge for companies that switched to operating remotely during the pandemic, as they strive to find the right balance between staff bonding and work.

Whether you are coming together for team building, training or strategizing about near-term goals, corporate retreats are a great way to deepen employee engagement, provide workforce development and kickstart your planning cycle—all while having fun.

This timeline and checklist of eight areas to address will help you plan and execute your best event ever.

8 Company Retreat Steps

1. Nine months before: Develop a plan and gain approval for your budget.

How many people are you going to invite? Is participation mandatory? How far will people be traveling? Are you going to extend virtual participation? All of these decisions will impact your budget. Here are the main items to budget for:

1. Transportation costs (Flight, train, drive, ground transit to the hotel)
2. Parking
3. Accommodations
4. Meeting room or rooms
5. Outdoor space, if applicable
6. Technology (Wi-Fi, AV, large display for virtual, smartboards)
7. Facilitators and presenters
8. Food and beverage
9. Team-building activities
10. Off-site excursions

2. Eight months out: Get it on everyone’s calendar.

While it will take time to get a suitable date, this process is well worth it. Getting everyone at the meeting will ensure buy-in for the agenda.

3. Seven months before: Visit venues that meet your criteria and book one.

Have a list of must-haves and nice-to-haves for a facility. For example, let’s say you work for a technology company. A must-have is lightning-fast Wi-Fi, while a nice to have is a pool and fitness center. In this case, conduct a bandwidth speed test while you’re on the premises, and confirm the Wi-Fi connection. Should the bandwidth test not meet your requirements, or if the venue is in a rural location, consider renting a Wi-Fi hotspot. Also, check out the pool and fitness center.

In addition, you may want to consider alternatives spaces to the standard box. Look at outdoor options and rooms that include natural lighting, especially if your meeting is several hours long.

Book the flights now or schedule the corporate jet if you are flying.

4. Six months out: Schedule fun activities.

The new trend with retreats is a 50/30/20 formula.

Fifty percent is free time and relaxing, 30% is coordinated fun activities, and 20 percent is work. Here are a few activities to consider:

Wine tasting at a local winery
Cooking class with the hotel’s chef
Shopping
Visiting a local attraction
Hosting a spa afternoon
Kayaking or going to the beach
Playing arcade games
Hiking or cycling

5. Five months out: Hire a skilled facilitator to spice up your agenda.

Suppose you bring together individuals who don’t know each other. Be sure to include icebreakers, team building, and networking time. Working with an outside facilitator will bring new ideas that can be infused into the retreat.

6. Two weeks prior: Give homework to attendees.

Be transparent about your retreat’s purpose by asking employees to think about and share their thoughts and ideas about the agenda items ahead of time or at the event. Draw out opinions via anonymous polls while in the meeting.

7. At the event: Task the event planner to keep everything and everyone on time.

Make sure people know when and where to meet for coordinated activities. They are your point person for all questions, challenges and changes.

8. One week after: Send a follow-up email.

Start by thanking attendees for taking the time to attend the retreat. Summarize the following:

The goals for the next year
How will they be accomplished
Who’s responsible for them
Target date to get back to the group with a status update (even if that is remote)

This process allows the good feelings from the retreat to keep going and makes them feel like they are part of an ongoing effort to improve the company. Consider moving the to-do list to a collaborative platform such as Slack, Dropbox or Google Drive.

Key Takeaway

As the saying goes, “the devil is in the details.” To succeed, you must have a well-planned event executed accordingly, with timely follow-up.

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De-de Mulligan is a regular blog contributor for Rentacomputer.com, a nationwide provider of laptop rentals for meetings and events.

As a former meeting planner who has received Ohio MPI’s Planner of the Year award twice (2006 and 2012), she brings a unique perspective to the events industry. You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn, where she welcomes followers and connections.