http://blog.meetingsintel.com Tim Ryan's Blog Tue, 06 Apr 2010 05:19:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I had lunch with a pretty sharp insurance executive the other day. She was in the process of contracting a $700,000 meeting with one of our member hotels. Like many she drastically reduced their meetings over the last two years to reduce expenses and avoid the “negative publicity of meeting.” She ... http://blog.meetingsintel.com/?p=108 I've had a bunch of our members ask if I think the meetings industry will see a recovery soon. I answer with a confident "yes." Here are a few of my leading indicators (some are more scientific than others:) -Ford announced a $2.7 billion profit for 2009 vs. a loss of ... http://blog.meetingsintel.com/?p=104 Wolfgang Jilka from Meadwood just emailed me an interesting article from the WSJ. "Don't use the R-Word: Hotels Find Trick to Business Bookings." Tell us...if a property removes “resort” from their name are you more likely to book it? http://blog.meetingsintel.com/?p=97 It's the week after New Years, I've been hustling all week getting all kids of projects done. It'll be at least 6 months before the best of this weeks work starts to pay off. I also had some time to reflect on how wild and wacky the meetings business has ... http://blog.meetingsintel.com/?p=94 While I was pouring over the recent hotel reviews and intelligence that our meeting planner members have shared my mind wandered from the “the good, the bad and the ugly” of hotels and meetings to “In-N-Out Burger.” Not because I was hungry for a double-double, but because I was reminded ... http://blog.meetingsintel.com/?p=86 Walking into my first meeting last Friday morning I was pulled into the office of a very excited and animated Director of Sales (of one of the higher rated hotels in the Meetings Intelligence Exchange.) As I entered her office I realized she was on the speakerphone with a woman ... http://blog.meetingsintel.com/?p=83 I was recently reminded why we need to over communicate and execute as promised during challenging times. I planned for a long travel day across the country that started with a two-hour ride to the airport then two connections that would take me from coastal North Carolina to Monterey California. ... http://blog.meetingsintel.com/?p=80 Some of you know my daughter. She’s 7 years old, going on 15 and she’s got me wrapped around her finger. Earlier this year she asked, “Can I spend the summer at Grandmas house?” (Grandma only live 3,000 miles and 3 connections across the country…but I thought what the heck ... http://blog.meetingsintel.com/?p=77 Whether you agree or disagree with Republicans or Democrats (and politics is a subject I try to avoid) you have to agree "the times they are a changing." Not the same way Bob Dylan saw it, but changing none the less. And the meetings industry is changing too. We've ran ... http://blog.meetingsintel.com/?p=75 I feel like I've been in a boxing match with a fighter who's much stronger than me. I've played by the rules. He's on steroids. 1st Round: The economy begins to slow down, but I'm holding my own. 2nd Round: AIG accepts government bail out money then gets slammed for conducing a ... http://blog.meetingsintel.com/?p=66