StarCite Blog Space

At gate 15 of San Jose International airport, Virgin America recently launched service from Los Angeles to Silicon Valley.  There will be 4 trips a day in each direction, with the service being branded as “The Nerdbird,” and hopefully there will be more service to other destinations to come. 

The public and Silicon Valley corporations gladly welcome the competition -- especially since Virgin America’s product is so unique, comfortable and special versus the standard airline service currently offered.  Besides the local politicians like San Jose Mayor, Chuck Reed, the stars of the festivities launching service were Sir Richard Branson and Virgin America CEO David Cush.  And by the looks of the media present, it was clear San Jose was happy to see Sir Richard and Virgin America!

We got a tour of the plane, lavish refreshments and some of us even got a special group VIP photo shot with Sir Richard (that's me in there!)

After years of begging for more competition and a quality but great-value carrier like Virgin America to come to San Jose (SJC), they finally landed and we’re all thrilled to have their unique and special service as part of Silicon Valley.  Thanks to my friends at Virgin, especially LaDonna Whitaker for inviting a small group of us to participate in the launch festivities. 

What a great day for SJC and for me!

My good friend Betsy Bondurant of Bondurant Consulting wrote one of the best commentaries on the current excess volume of eRFPs that I’ve read so far. 

Betsy’s perspective really resonates because of her understanding of the situation largely due to her extensive meetings management background at Amgen.  Betsy provides a great overview of the current situation and why hotel suppliers are being flummoxed by the sheer increase in eRFP volume.  Here's the Clift Notes version of Betsy’s 3 “SiMMPle” tips:

1. Ask about seven key questions that will "short list" the number of potential hotels. This will eliminate the need for all hotels to respond to the entire eRFP, which will increase productivity for everyone.

2. Tell the hotels how many RFPs you have sent out for the piece of business meeting. If they have a one in ten chance of getting the business versus a one in forty chance, you will likely get a more timely response.

3. Put an eRFP policy in place for your organization. Many people need guidance on how many to send out. Many best-in-class companies suggest identifying 3 cities and 5 to 6 hotels per city to send the proposals. 

If you currently do not subscribe to Betsy’s SMMP newsletters, write to her at:  betsy@bondurantconsulting.com and request to be added to her mailing list.

I just spent a few days at an educational retreat for Chief Compliance executives, and in my various conversations it became apparent that they are an additional stakeholder and executive sponsorship group that must be included in any SMMP initiative. 

Most of them were only vaguely aware of the inherent risks involved with corporate meetings and events, and when I went through the various areas of risk mitigation, they all became concerned that they were not being consulted nor informed about their respective corporate meetings and events programs or any consolidation efforts.  They are not receiving data and they are not able to fully audit meeting and events expenses.

Just like our industry had a lot of educational efforts targeted towards procurement executives to get them to understand and support SMMP, in my humble opinion, the same amount of effort and education needs to be targeted towards corporate compliance executives. 

Imagine the power and authority of getting them on board to support your SMMP initiative!  So whether you have already launched a SMMP at your company or are in the planning stages, you should also consider adding your Chief Compliance Officer to your stakeholder list.  It will only give you more authority in your SMMP launch.

Are you including compliance executives in your SMMP initiative? If so, please share how you secured their backing!

Download this additional resource: The ACTIVE Network whitepaper "Successful Methods for Mitigating Risk."

Are you still trying to make sense out of the “Sunshine Act” and what it means to you and your medical meetings program? In this blog, I’ll spotlight five ways that you can successfully incorporate new controls and processes in order to comply with the federal legislation.

Last time, I focused on knowing the details of the Sunshine Act. Now, we’ll discuss:

Tip 2: Finding out how much of your meeting spend is related to healthcare providers (HCPs).

Here’s what I recommend:

• Survey meeting planners and your Sales and Marketing teams;
• Ask Finance or Accounting how much you spend in honoraria to HCPs;
• Don’t forget to ask any third parties you use, such as independent meeting planners or travel management companies, how much is spent on HCPs on your behalf;
• Review all of the data regularly and consistently.

Also, it’s important that you assign individuals to not just collect all spend data, but to review the data for compliance tracking purposes.

We’ve created a quick tip sheet, titled “Five Ways to Comply with The Sunshine Act for Medical Meetings,” for your reference and can easily be shared with others. 

I’m back in my hotel room after an incredible evening that still seems surreal to me.  Tonight I was inducted into the University of Hawaii Travel Industry Management Hall of Honors (that's me to the left giving my speech), celebrating lifetime career achievements.  The whole evening was a wonderful milestone moment in my life.  To be acknowledged for the things you have accomplished in your career is unfathomable, especially if you still feel that you have much more to accomplish, which is what I am feeling at this moment.  It’s ironic as I have received more than my fair share of awards and recognition during my career, but this one was very special because I got to celebrate it with classmates, family and friends including my 86 year old mother.

Current State of Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie gave a very positive speech and endorsement for education and the University.  There were many officials and politicians who were present and even Miss Hawaii -- who danced several lovely hula numbers.  The whole affair was beautiful and memorable and I will cherish the memory for the rest of my life.

To be inducted into any Hall of Honors is a surreal experience.  Having your name in the same company of legendary professionals in this industry is a very humbling experience.  I don’t feel deserving of the recognition, and am wondering where the years went?  

It seems like yesterday when I was a struggling student working two jobs while carrying a full load of classes.  I saw in the young faces of the student volunteers from the University of Hawaii, my own reflection from years ago -- starting out in the business world and wondering if I would ever become successful at anything.  So my speech was focused on them, the young and fresh-faced graduates and undergraduates.  I shared with them the life lessons I’ve learned in the hopes it could help them post-graduation.  I shared how not to squander time and opportunities, as time waits for no one.  I spoke of not living a life of regret ... and living each day like it was your last.  I talked about change and how life is a series of changes and those who embrace change ultimately are the most successful. 

I spoke of meeting challenges head on, of philanthropy and paying it forward and always striving to be your best.  I spoke about my own experiences facing the "glass ceiling" and denying its existence so that it never negatively impacted me and any of my career goals.  And lastly, I spoke of loving what you do and being passionate about life ... to never stop dreaming because the dreamers of every generation become the ultimate innovators and change makers.

So what was the most memorable point of the evening for me?  It was at the end when several undergraduates came up to me and said, “Thank you for being here and inspiring us to dream big.”  .Somehow I think the future of this industry is in good condition, because the future belongs to these undergraduates, and I feel privileged and honored to be part of this amazing world of meetings and events. 

I want to extend a heartfelt "Thank you" to the University of Hawaii School of Travel Industry Management, TIM School Dean Juanita Liu, the TIM alumni leadership and all the volunteers and undergraduates for this wonderful experience and recognition.  

Mahalo and Aloha for an evening celebration that I will never forget!

I just flew back from the UK after doing a masterclass presentation and case study on SMMP with Paul Wakelin of IBM at this year’s ITM conference at the Beaumont Estate in Windsor.  I have always enjoyed ITM as a professional association for UK procurement buyers because they always have great conference content. 

I remember presenting about SMMP at a previous ITM conference and most of the audience of procurement buyers and suppliers were barely aware of SMMP.  Fast forward to 2013. Now SMMP is the subject of a masterclass session and a widely accepted discipline embraced by UK procurement buyers and suppliers.  In fact this year, ITM gave out a handful of industry awards for the first time, and I was thrilled to see they actually had a category for it, “Best SMMP” which was won by Chris Watterson of Deloitte UK.

I can’t help but feel extremely gratified and satisfied that all of the early years spent evangelizing strategic meetings consolidation all over the world has paid off -- as more global companies realize that cost savings, risk mitigation, process consolidation and compliance is becoming a must have via SMMP  vs. a nice-to-have proposition. 

Thank you to all my UK friends and acquaintances, but a big thanks to Paul Wakelin of IBM, who orchestrated the other half of our session. Most importantly, a sincere thanks to Diane Steed and all of the ITM team for organizing yet another brilliant conference and inviting me to participate.

Attention meeting managers! It looks like it’s time to update meetings travel budgets and strategies again. 

The Global Business Travel Association has just upped its prediction for where business and meetings travel spend will go in 2013. Now, the GBTA sees a 5.1% increase in spending this year versus last year. That’s higher than the 4.6% 2013 growth it forecast back in January.

For meetings travel, the GBTA sees a 6% rise in spending in 2013, up from a late 2012 forecast of 5.2%.

Why the increase? “Business confidence is up, and the need to compete in the global economy is driving companies to invest in business travel," noted GBTA executive director and COO Michael W. McCormick.

Are you increasing spend in meetings travel? Let us know!

We’re staying on top of the latest meeting trends, too. For a look at how the meeting planning landscape has changed since 2008 – including smaller and shorter meetings, as well as less lead time for planning events  – read “Event Trends: 2008-2012, ACTIVE Network’s study of eRFP patterns in five key meetings destinations across the U.S.

Additional Resources:

Article: Business Travel News

Article: Meetings & Conventions magazine

Recently, I saw an interesting blog posting from Sue Pelletier’s face2face blog (a frequent stop for me).

Sue featured some great tips and insights from Scott Steinberg, a top-ranked international event speaker, and best-selling expert on leadership and innovation, and the head of strategic consultancy TechSavvy Global. They were very useful tips to consider about effectively using technology for event planning.  Scott’s comments and advice resonated with me because I, myself, have often lectured and presented on the same things to diverse industry audiences.

I won’t steal Scott’s thunder as you can read his comments via the link above, but basically:

1. Design programs using mobile devices:  The ship has already sailed on this and the future belongs to mobile devices—Gartner predicts more than $1.2 billion in smartphone and tablet sales in 2013 alone;
2. Leverage Cloud Computing Solutions:  So many amazing cloud based solutions that can help plan efficiently – why wouldn’t you leverage this?
3. Capture and Share Content:  If you’re thinking that video filming content and traditional AV solutions are too expensive to use, think again!  With the advent of HD in smartphones, tablets, etc., you can produce high quality video clips online at little to no cost.
4. Capitalize on Inbound Marketing:  With so much availability of social media avenues out there and relevance engines, again, why wouldn’t you use them to market your event?
5. Invite More Audience Participation:  Use gamification, social media, mobile apps, and other ways to engage your audience.  The number one complaint feedback from almost every conference, meeting and event is the “Death by PowerPoint” one-way presentations…time for an industry-wide change and today’s technology and new generation workforce is forcing this rapid change!

What kind of event management solutions are you using that incorporate the above technology into meeting planning? Please share here.

Take a look at this free whitepaper from ACTIVE Network: 5 Ways Mobile Technology is Re-shaping Events

With tax time just around the corner, we’ve got deadlines and compliance on our minds. Speaking of compliance, are you still trying to make sense out of the “Sunshine Act” and what it means to you and your medical meetings program? To help, ACTIVE Network presents a new tip sheet on 5 ways you can successfully incorporate new controls and processes in order to comply with the federal legislation. In this blog, I’ll spotlight each of the tips in a series of five monthly posts.

Tip #1: Know the details of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act.

First some quick facts:

• THE WHAT -- The Physician Payments Sunshine Act, Section 6002 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, requires drug, medical device, biologics and medical supply manufacturers operating in the U.S. or its territories, possessions and commonwealths whose products are covered by federally-backed medical insurance, to track and publicly report what they spend on health care providers (HCPs) at their events.
• THE WHY – The Sunshine Act was passed to make the relationships between physicians and pharmaceutical and medical device companies more transparent.
• THE WHEN -- Beginning on Aug. 1, 2013, you will be required to collect information on all payments or transfers of value of more than $10 to physicians and teaching hospitals. On March 31, 2014, you must report the data to the government.

Knowing the what, why and when of the Sunshine Act sets you on firm ground for beginning to set in place programs and procedures for collecting and reporting data … in short, staying compliant.

Surprisingly, there’s still a lot of mystery surrounding the Sunshine Act out there. More than half of the 1,025 physicians surveyed in January by global communications technology company MMIS Inc. and healthcare information services company Health Data Solutions didn’t know that the Sunshine Act requires pharmaceutical and medical device companies to track any payments or “transfers of value” to physicians and teaching hospitals as of August 1^st.

Do you know why it’s so important to comply?

If you don’t, the penalties can be brisk (If you knowingly fail to report, you could be fined up to $1 million). Familiarizing yourself with the fine print can also save you a lot of unnecessary work. For example, the rule exempts buffet meals, snacks, soft drinks, coffee, or other refreshments available to everyone (non-healthcare providers) at an event. Individually plated meals must still be reported. Also, continuing medical education providers (CMEs) are exempt from reporting on accredited or certified speakers.

Up next month: Step #2: Find out how much of your meeting spend is related to health care providers.

Are you ready for the Sunshine Act? Tell us about steps you’ve implemented to comply.

We’ve created a quick tip sheet, titled Five Ways to Comply with The Sunshine Act for Medical Meetings, for your reference and can easily be shared with others.

Other Resources:

Text of Legislation: S.301 — Physician Payments Sunshine Act of 2009

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the latest issue of MeetingsNet to read about IBM’s success in bringing a strategic meetings management program to China. Paul Wakelin, strategic sourcing specialist with IBM’S Global Travel Council in the U.K., drove the eight-month-long process – and even traveled extensively within China to kick off the program in face-to-face events. MeetingsNet calls him a modern day Marco Polo!

I’m so happy for Paul; I had the good fortune of working with him – discussing ideas on how best to implement IBM’s SMMP in China, I shared with him some of my own experiences in global program deployment during my years at HP Global Procurement.  The Chinese marketplace is a unique one, in that all Westernized creativity and ideas for “out-of-the-box” thinking really doesn’t work in China.  The Chinese government has rules and regulations that all foreign companies must follow in order to do business in China.  That requires some research and sensitivities toward programs, supplier management, policy creation and adherence, etc.

In China and the rest of Asia Pacific, the value of a hand shake, and proper exchange of business cards and polite socialization is critical to any business-to-business relationship and development of that relationship.  While most companies today “phone in” or “Webex” program kick-offs and initiatives, that simply doesn’t work in the Asia-Pacific region.  In order to get compliance and support not only from internal stakeholders but your supplier-base, one must make a physical appearance, at least initially or at kick-off in order for program deployment to succeed.  It’s not even an option to “phone it in.”  I shared with Paul my experiences and lessons learned.  Together we approached his manager to get budget released for his trip to China to spend time reviewing his SMMP plans and launch with all his local internal stakeholders and most importantly, his local suppliers and NSOs.

His subsequent success in China speaks for itself.  I can tell you that anyone wishing to deploy their SMMP or any other initiative in China and Asia-Pacific is going to have to do it the regional way, as any other way is just not going to work.  If you want to hear Paul and I talk about SMMP Maturity, we will be doing a session at this year’s ITM Conference 2013 in the U.K., on Wednesday, April 17.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Are you expanding your SMMP regionally or globally? Tell us how you’re meeting the challenges that come with differing cultures!

I found it interesting that according to a recent article in Fox Business News, The job of Meeting, Convention and Event Planner is listed as one of the top "Eight Secure Jobs" to land this spring and beyond. 

The profession is expected to grow 44% from now until 2020.  You need a Bachelor’s degree, and salaries average around $45K -- although we all know that professionals with medium- to senior-level experience can earn some serious dollars. Check out the article here.

My nephew who recently graduated from college is experiencing some challenges in finding his first job.  I’m forwarding him this article link and am going to “encourage” him to pursue a meeting planning job to gain valuable experience while he decides what he wants to do with the rest of his life.

I was fortunate to attend Macworld/iWorld this year, and imagine my delight in registering our group when we encountered no lines and literally had badges in a minute.  Enjoy reading the account below of the smooth experience at Macworld/iWorld!

How annoying is it to be stuck on a conference registration line that’s so long you miss the first session you'd planned to attend?

For years, long snake-like lines were an issue for Macworld/iWorld, the ultimate annual iFAN event. But, in February 2013, attendees, speakers and exhibitors checked in five times faster than in previous years. How’d that happen? Event organizers IDG World Expo used ACTIVE Network’s Conference^TM onsite Scan and Go technology and expert advice from ACTIVE’s a Professional Services team.

First Impressions: Event Registration Experience

Why is improving the registration experience so important? Because that’s what the event industry wants: 88% of event producers, exhibitors and event marketers interviewed in a study, The Connected Event: Insight into 2012 Event Technology Trends, said improving the attendee experience was “important or very important. “

Look at other ways Macworld/iWorld benefited:

• Dashboards and timed reports enabled each stakeholder – from marketing, to registration to general management – to quickly access the info they needed to optimize the show;
• One online self-serve portal and iOS lead retrieval made life easier for exhibitors. The Exhibitor Resource Center replaced four separate exhibitor solutions allowing exhibitors to sign-up, manage their orders and staff and access leads.
• Centralized content and data management reduced headaches for staff. Speaker submissions and exhibitor information were easily collected online and flowed directly into the online event agenda and Mobile App.

Read more about how ACTIVE Network improved the attendee experience and boosted efficiency for Macworld/iWorld show management and exhibitors.

Resources: *The Connected Event: Insight Into 2012 Event Technology Trends,” a study by ACTIVE Network and the Event Marketing Institute.

Susan Dupart, Senior Director, Global Travel, Meetings, Corporate Card & Mobility for McAfee, and I, did a SMMP Case Study for the 100 or so members of the Bay Area Business Travel Association (BABTA) the other night in downtown San Francisco. 

I provided an industry and SMMP update and high level overview, and Susan generously provided her “lessons learned” on how she managed to sell establishing and funding of her company’s global SMMP, which is about to launch this month.  The audience of buyers and suppliers were all engaged in the presentation and discussion afterwards, and throughout the presentation there were a lot of nodding heads. 

The bottom line is that more and more companies realize they really do need some program and process that can provide key information and data around their meetings and events spend.  With supplier costs rapidly rising, a company can quickly fall behind the eight ball in terms of Op Ex versus their competitors who may have an established SMMP in place -- generating cost savings, risk mitigation and spend transparency at an enterprise level. 

Many thanks to BABTA President, Gary Murakami of MGM Resorts and Programs VP Mark Ziegler of NetApp for inviting Susan and me to do our SMMP Case Study.  Also, sincere thanks to Peter Gamez, VP of Global Sales for Commune Hotels & Resorts for the fantastic venue, the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco.

I just read a great article in BTN about two friends of mine and their opinions on the feasibility and applicability of Travel 2.0 -- online airfare booking. 

Bruce Finch who is an industry veteran and very knowledgeable travel manager, wondered if Travel 2.0 would benefit his company, Autodesk.  He went to Topaz to validate whether having a managed travel program is more cost effective than just having travelers book the lowest options online.  Topaz validate that his managed travel program derived better financial benefits as well as safety/security.  Scott Gillespie who is an industry procurement and travel guru still advocates that Travel 2.0 does work but did concede that it isn’t for every company.

The bottom line is this, do your own research and check if the current trends are harmonious with your company’s programs and processes.  One size doesn’t fit all!

If you allow business and meetings travelers to book online, versus through a designated agency, which do you find saves you the most? Which better supports your overall management goals? I'd love to hear from you on this!

We’ve got some really exciting technology product updates to share with you!  I encourage all of you to review what’s the latest and greatest below!

Izania Downie is Director of Strategic Partnerships at ACTIVE Network Business Solutions in the EU. We work very closely together on ACTIVE Network’s industry relationships -- especially associations. Looking for validation that in-person meetings are still the most valuable form of interaction?

In our RegOnline blog, Izania writes about a new IMEX and Yougov study that provides some great evidence of the notion that the “Value of a Handshake” as we refer to it at ACTIVE Network, remains the most effective form of communication.  Check out Izania's post here! Enjoy and thank you, Izania!

I follow green guru Nancy Zavada’s blog, Pretentious Musings of a MeetGreen Martyr to stay on top of what’s happening in the area of green practices in our industry.  MeetingsNet just published an article from Nancy, "When It Comes to Green Meetings: Never Assume" that was really interesting and insightful.

I recently experienced something similar in a site tour and was shocked to find out that the venue also didn’t continue to recycle in the back of the house where it counts most -- versus visibly in all the public areas.

I mean, what’s the point if all the trash is going to a landfill?  This was a highly disingenuous attempt at presenting themselves to be green, when in reality, they were not.  Bottom line is, unfortunately you can’t just take a supplier’s word that they have green initiatives in place, you need to do audits like everything else.  Support the suppliers who really do practice green initiatives and avoid those who are faking it!

To help you spot eco-friendly practices at hotels during sourcing, listen to this webinar from ACTIVE Network: "What is a Green Hotel?"

Having the right intelligence about your meetings is important for your business.  That's why I’m happy to highlight new reporting enhancements to our Strategic Meetings Management solution that will provide customers with real-time meetings intelligence.  Here are the official details:

We believe that customers need to have access to data and insights from either a single event or portfolio of events in order to make smart decisions for their business. Today, we are making this easier with new reporting features for our StarCite Strategic Meetings Management solution.

In conjunction with our Business Intelligence platform, which provides organizations with trends and analysis of their event portfolio over time, organizations now have a total data offering – real-time data for instant event decisions via meetings intelligence and long-term trend analysis for strategic planning purposes.

Here’s a quick overview of the new features:

• Customize key reports to get the meetings intelligence organizations need in real-time;
• Export the data into formats to quickly share with colleagues and stakeholders (formats are CVS, Excel and Pdf);
• Access these reports with the Attendee Management module with a single sign on process – no need to access another module to view these reports.

Learn more about our strategic meetings management solution.

Just finished reading all about market conditions in an article in HotelMarketing.com.

In light of this article and all the recent surveys, reports and studies conducted by GBTA, American Express, Carlson Wagonlit and others, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that, if you’re managing travel and meetings spend for your company, you are going to have a very rocky road ahead.  Even the larger multinational corporations won’t be able to use their volume as much of a weapon during upcoming and on-going supplier negotiations.

In fact, that very volume may make them less attractive to suppliers who are trying hard to maximize their revenue yields, whether that be on a hotel room or airline seat.  What we have here people is buyers and suppliers on a collision course with opposing goals -- buyers trying to save money and suppliers trying to maximize the demand for their products with higher profitability.

Add to all of the above, the burgeoning cost of oil and its impact on goods and services costs and you get the picture; this will not be the year for corporations and consumers to save any money.  So the strategy then switches to: How can we minimize rising costs ...  versus how am I going to beat my savings targets and goals from last year’s performance?

So here’s some tips for buyers of all different sized companies:

1 - Analyze your spend and try to use a limited amount of preferred suppliers to deliver incremental share and revenue to weather the current storm.  The suppliers are still seeking incremental market share and spend so you can’t be all things to all suppliers, but being more of a strategic and supportive partner puts you in a better position to get any kind of cost break.

2 - Now is the time to maximize that magical and difficult to quantify “supplier relationship.”  Your managers and senior execs may not believe in something that is challenging at best to quantify, but believe me, we all know the “relationship” factor makes a huge difference in a challenging marketplace where demand far exceeds supply and costs are going through the roof.

3 - Analyze and make recommendations on where to scale back for your company. Become an internal hero and develop a strategy for your management to use to mitigate costs. This would include, limiting the number of attendees, trips, meetings, hosting them closer to headquarters or offices, picking venues and destinations with competitive negotiations still in play, etc.

Everyone will need to be smarter and more strategic versus reactionary to weather these rough times. Be smart and pro-active and you will be doing the best that you can despite the perfect storm of supply – demand cycle that we’re currently dealing with for the immediate foreseeable future.

Check out the latest buying trends here as you're negotiating with your suppliers!

Kudos to journalist Sue Pelletier for her super-thorough review of The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services long-awaited final rule on the Sunshine Act provisions of the Affordable Care Act on February 1, 2013.  In MeetingsNet, she breaks down the final rules about the Sunshine Act and what ensued when the CME received an exemption.

My favorite piece, however, is in her blog, where her opinion weighs in on several areas of this regulation and its impact not just to the life sciences industry, but as a “canary in a coal mine” warning to the rest of the meetings/events industry.  I happen to agree with all of Sue’s commentary, especially towards the end in her face2face blog  when she and others have challenged meeting planners to stop being planners and be more focused on the experience of the engagement. 

I too, have challenged meeting planners to become event architects and engineers and focus on enhancing the engagement experience.  Use technology to handle logistics and focus more on creating unique experiences that surprise and delight the attendee. 

Like I’ve said to many professional planners, if you focus on the tactical you can be outsourced.  If you focus on the strategy and experience, you will be golden.