Didn't your mother teach you to share?

One thing that I love most about the IACC website is the Resource Library Guide.  There have been many times in recent months that I've refered to it for best-practice guidelines to help on projects at work.  This has ranged from buffet set-ups, to wine tasting ideas, and  to helping the Sales team at my property try and book more CMP business.  It's an excellent resource for both operations and sales (definitely check it out and spread it around your property if you haven't done so!).

The basis of the Resource Library comes down to one central idea:  sharing.  This is something that we're all taught when we're young -- share your toys with your siblings, share the sandbox with other pre-schoolers, share the cookies that just came out of the oven and so on. 

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I think hospitality is one industry that does an excellent job of sharing information, particularly best practices.  Maybe it boils down to personalities that you often find in the industry -- friendly, welcoming, and always trying to satisfy others.  That being said, I'm a firm believer in continuous improvement.  If you take a look at the Resource Library, it hasn't been updated in quite some time, and I'm sure that you and other team members have generated some fabulous best practices in the past year.

So, I invite you to share new practices!  What are some things that you've done at your property that you think could benefit others?  No, I'm not asking you to share trade secrets about your company -- just new operation or sales ideas that have been implemented that made you as a property and management team perform better.  Sharing ideas is one way to help progress the meeting industry's rebound that I reported on a week ago and also make IACC even more useful to you.
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On a separate but not entirely different note, I also just read a blog post that discussed how Millennials love to share.  Whether is updating a status on Facebook, posting pictures of a recent vaction on Picasa, or Twittering what the plans are for the night, Millennials like to let others know what they are doing and learn how others are staying busy.  This trait has carried into the workplace, and more than likely will not go away as they age.  Read on here to learn more about this trend.

I found this particular comment from one of the blog's readers quite interesting:

"As a Gen Xer I have been slow in coming around to social media. I don't have a Facebook page and for years I have only read blogs. Recently I started my own blog to explore the potential of virtual collaboration. The experience has been liberating. I liked it so much I started a site at work to narrate what I do. The impact has been incredible. People who never would have considered using social media have created their own sites to facilitate collaboration."

So, let's follow suit of the Millennial generation and open up.  Sharing ideas throughout the workplace leads to more innovation, happier customers, and hopefully more business.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

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Written by:
Meghan Bollenback
Food & Beverage Manager
R. David Thomas Executive Hotel & Conference Center

Intern Models are Coming to IACC!

The Emerging Trends Committee is currently developing two internship models for IACC properties to utilize:  a rotational internship model and a departmental internship model.  In the former, the goal is for the intern to intensive management experience in various conference center departments (F&B, Sales & Marketing, Reservations, Accounting, Conference Services, and more) by spending anywhere from one to three weeks per department.  The latter model is designed for properties that would rather have an intern focus on a specific area and then receive a broader knowledge base regarding other departments.  The models will provide goal tasks that the intern should experience and also list ideas for internship projects, which many college students must complete in order to receive credit for their internship.

These models will not only help IACC properties make themselves more marketable to college hospitality and management students, but will also raise awareness of IACC within the univeristy system.  A key concept in both of these models is to teach the interns what the IACC difference is and how it does make a difference in the effectiveness of groups' meetings. 

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In case you are on the fence about whether an intern program at your property is a smart move, here's an article that lists 10 benefits of bringing on interns.  And while most internships take place during the summer, there are many universities that give students the chance to take a full fall or spring semester off to intern.  There are many options out there to make internships work at your property.

Keep checking back for more updates on the models!  The next Emerging Trends call will take place on August 31st.

Meetings Industry Making a Comeback?

There's a good chance that you've already seen this article, even though it was just published yesterday.  However, reading it again will probably make you smile since the article suggests that the meetings industry is bouncing back and is on the rise.  Though the article focuses mostly on major hotel companies like InterContinental and Marriott, the findings provide a positive outlook for conference centers and meeting planning professionals alike.

Are you seeing a similar rise in group business at your properties?  Are you also seeing a rise in transient business?

2010 COPPER SKILLET COMPETITION VIDEO

Here's a teaser for the full video that can be viewed on the VIDEOS page of the association website at http://events.iacconline.org/videos/.

For more information, please contact Jerry White at jwhite@iacconline.org