Marriott Buys Delta Hotels - Initial Thoughts from #Eventprofs

The news hit the meetings industry like a bomb last week: Marriott Hotels and the B.C. Investment Management Corp. made public plans for the American hospitality giant to buy Delta Hotels & Resorts.

Still subject to approval by regulators until April 1st of this year, there was little doubt in anyone's mind at the CSAE Tête-à-Tête Show in Ottawa: the sale, most said, will go through.

Some of the show attendees I spoke with were saddened to see the "last true, pan-Canadian hotel brand" be bought out by a large American concern.  They had wanted Delta succeed on its own, offering an alternative to the big global brands, especially after Delta's hard-fought battle to re-brand and upgrade its facilities and services across its 38 properties.  Others felt that it was inevitable, "hotel management is really all about real estate these days," observed an association planner.

Some of the Delta sales reps I spoke with were quietly welcoming the news, especially those who have sales responsibilities in the US.  "No one knows what a Delta is in the US.  They think we're part of the airline!  This at least will give us credibility," declared one rep, clearly delighted at the opportunities this would also present to her professionally.

A seasoned site selection specialist heartily welcomed the announcement. She said she hopes that Marriott ownership will mean Delta will apply Marriott's rules about paying commission only to planners who have gone through Marriott's training and qualification program.

Officially both Marriott and Delta sales leaders say it's "business as usual" until April. And even then, they say, Marriott likely will keep Delta as a stand-alone brand.

Time will tell how Canadian meeting professionals will be affected by the sale.  What are your thoughts, Eventprofs?

Attention Tradeshow Exhibitors: I Am NOT Your Target Market!

The 2014 Meetings Industry tradeshow season has begun.  Before I get into this post, yes, our company will be attending and exhibiting at numerous conferences this year. 

As a business members of several organizations, Greenfield Services' sales team (Meagan Rockett and Doreen Ashton Wagner) works hard to attend as meetings industry events, thus we end up on the delegate list, as well as the exhibitor list.

The problem is that there are still companies out there who are sending us offers, including free trips, to stop by their booth at a tradeshow.  It happened again in the days leading up to the CSAE Tete-a-Tete Show.  We were invited to "explore how our association can benefit from XYZ..."  BUT WE ARE NOT AN ASSOCIATION….

We have talked about this issue in the past, focusing specifically on how exhibitors should not waste their time, why member profiles are important and how to ask the right questions to get the segmentation you need, and how lazy sales reps bank on emails making their brand a success.

Thankfully, in a few months, with the application of Canada's new Anti-Spam Law, we'll be able to tell these people, "stop it, you're breaking the law!" 

We are not even sure how we got on the distribution list for the two most recent emails we received.  The delegate registration list for this year has not been provided.  Where did you get our name from?  Must be from last year’s list….

At least the first email received did not assume that we would be in attendance.  It clearly stated that “IF you plan on attending, come see us…”, BUT their message was drafted and sent with association executives in mind.  Nothing to do with us.

The second email did not even go that far – it was a “Win a Trip/Looking forward to seeing you” email, as if they received the list pre-show.

Why annoy the industry with these messages in their inbox?  Instead:

•  Move this type of messaging to Twitter, using the event hashtag.  Stop by our booth, or Win a Trip types of messages can reach a wider audience there.  AND, you can do the event organizer a favour and include the links to register and get more info…
• (PLEASE) Segment the List:  IF you were lucky enough to receive the delegate list pre-conference, or pre-tradeshow, REVIEW it.  Half of the list may not be your target market, so remove them.  Why decrease your brand reputation?
• If you MUST send email, give value.  You may think a free trip is valuable, but you will likely get a lot of traffic with no potential for you, and are just having a meet & greet that will enter them in the draw.  These “shrimp eaters” as we lovingly call them likely will not do business with you in the future.  Instead, offer tips, best practices, demonstrations, bring a planner or client who can offer testimonials on the client experience, etc.  Shake it up a bit!

We encourage ALL companies attending meetings industry conferences and tradeshows this year to elevate the conversation, instead of, or in conjunction with, a flashy offer.  What will YOU do differently this year?