Printed materials are not extinct.

This is according to a new study commissioned by The International Association of Professional Brochure Distributors and conducted by The Center for Marketing Technology at Bentley University. The study included 1,560 hospitality professionals in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and Greece.

I went on vacation last month.

A real vacation.

With no laptop.

For anyone that knows me, you understand what a big deal this was. BIG. DEAL.

It required stepping WAY outside of my comfort zone and trusting those around me to handle things as I would want them handled. BIG. DEAL. AGAIN.

I set my out-of-office notice saying that I wasn’t checking email and who to contact if the request was truly urgent and couldn’t wait 1 week until I plugged back in.

A client shared the recent article "15 Predictions About Future Conferences And Shifting Attendance Part 1" with me, and a few of these predictions really stood out from the rest:

“In the 21st Century, Wi-Fi represents an essential on-ramp to the Internet. Personal Wi-Fi networks, or “hot spots,” are an important way that consumers connect to the Internet. Willful or malicious interference with Wi-Fi hot spots is illegal. Wi-Fi blocking violates Section 333 of the Communications Act, as amended.1 The Enforcement Bureau has seen a disturbing trend in which hotels and other commercial establishments block wireless consumers from using their own personal Wi-Fi hot spots on the commercial establishment’s premises.

It was right around this time last year when we blogged about not saving planning details until the last minute because you never know what can happen at that last minute.

We’re back to say that we were right.

Planning a repeat event?

No brainer, right?

We’ve done it before so there are no surprises, no unknowns.  Just rinse and repeat. Right?

Sure. If you don’t want to keep that client, or your job, for much longer.

On the surface, it may appear that repeat events are the easiest to plan, but that’s not exactly the case.

Yes, We Have History, But Don’t Get Too Comfortable

Repeat events do give us history, but that’s all it is … history. 

We recently shared some over-the-top amenities that hotel are using to lure guests, and it's fun to take a break and think about how wonderful any of these would be to enjoy.

But let's be realistic ... when do business travelers like us have time for royal carriage rides, impromptu picnics, a sleep concierge, or a sunshine butler?

Never, right?

Top image of Cheval Blanc Randheli

We have been spending a lot of time on sourcing properties for upcoming events and so we’ve been talking to a lot of people about sourcing and site selection. The conversations typically boil down to two factors: price and location.

The calendar says it is spring, but today sure doesn’t feel like spring. After the winter we’ve had, most of us are beyond ready for spring to REALLY be here.  We’re getting into the spring spirit by thinking about all of the wonderful events coming up in the Philadelphia area over the next 2 months.