Working in the meetings and conferences industry has given us insight into the essential role that technology plays in nearly every group event held today. Whether the company you are catering to is a Silicon Valley Fortune 500 or a smaller, independent business, properties that think big in terms of their technological ambitions while remaining detail-oriented in execution will maintain the upper-hand in booking and planning successful, smooth meetings that have the ability to literally bring attendees 'out of the box'. The following are some tips for ensuring and maximizing meeting success through the use of what I see as the most important technologies and technological services available today. Investing in a varying scope of technological upgrades is a prime way to simultaneously ensure happy clients and to add valuable amenity draws to your property. READ MORE

As service providers, those of us in the hospitality industry are limited to how much of a meeting's content we can successfully and reasonably affect. But after 28 years in the meetings and conference industry, we have observed and applied some valuable insights on how to guide our clients as they decide the content, tone and agendas of their meetings and conferences. What we have learned is that it doesn't have to require big budgets, world-renowned speakers or even a purpose-built meetings and conference facility to pull off a meeting that will leave the attendees inspired and motivated to meet their business and organizational challenges with gusto. What it actually takes is proper planning and a conference service staff that is intelligent, savvy, intuitive and driven to exceed its client's expectations. The following are some best practice tips to help your clients meet their team building and motivational goals. READ MORE

While food trends may come and go, meeting planners always need to feed their attendees. With travelers' tastes expanding to more global flavors, today's successful meeting hotels must go above and beyond the typical banquet fare to wow today's finicky groups. As hospitality leaders, we have a responsibility to address health and nutrition concerns of our guests. In addition, we need to ensure that we are purchasing items from local vendors when possible and selecting items such as organic meats and sustainable fish. Aside from providing sustenance, culinary experiences for groups can be great team-building activities in both "Top Chef" and "Survivor" scenarios. The value of bonding over a home cooked meal cannot be underestimated. Read on to learn about five hot food and beverage trends in the meetings industry. READ MORE

While minor earth tremors are not unusual for California, in 1991, the California Appellate Court sent shockwaves across the fault line upon which Hotel management agreements rest when it issued its decision in Woolley v. Embassy Suites. The Woolley decision set the tenor for the way the courts, and consequently the industry, would view the legal relationship between hotel owners and management companies for the coming years. Essentially, Woolley stated that the relationship between an owner and its management company would be governed by principles of agency, where the owner is the principal and the manager is its agent. Over and above the contract relationship between them, the Court held the management company, like all agents, owes its principal fiduciary duties. READ MORE

The point of this article is that hotel executives and meeting planners can benefit from working with CSMs who have achieved the CMP designation, because they take pride in their work and are the best at what they do. ACOM's goal with every Hotel Executive article is to show how hotel executives and meeting planners can utilize and work together with CSMs to ultimately service the customer more efficientley. This quote used in the article pretty much sums that sentiment. Keith Patrick says: “We're all in the same little boat and the more we standardize meeting planning practices globally, the easier it is to produce consistent and efficient meeting planning results.” READ MORE