Meeting space glut 5

Book review 6

American loses pillows 7

Ascending in sales 8

Creativity 10

Datebook 11

Attitude 12-13

Hotel News 16, 17, 19

Canadians lack focus 18

March 2005Edition

VOL. 3ISSUE 2

A MONTHLY DIGEST TO INFORM AND ENLIGHTEN MEETING PLANNERS

BY NATHALIE CARON

AND ANNE BIARRITZ

The latest offering from theStarwood Hotel chain, the WHotel opened its doors in

Montreal on November 16, 2004.Located in the old Bank of Canada

building and adjacent to the new Caisse dedépôt tower, it wants to become the trendi-est hotel in town where one can see localand international celebrities as well as itsown eclectic clientele. We had our first Wexperience during a cocktail party

organized by the sales department followedby a visit of the premises. Several modelrooms and suites were open for our visit.

An exceptional site

With 152 rooms including 22 urbansuites, 6 Wow suites and 3 Extreme Wowsuites, we discovered a new concept: uponsetting foot in the elevator, the vocabularylesson begins. The W hotel is not a boutique hotel, it is totally a style hotel.

IN THIS ISSUE The W Hotel...as in Wow!

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

At the edge of Old Montreal, the W is an impressive deluxe hotel that will seduce refined travellers from all over the globe.

Need to change your address?Want to receive The Planner?

Next issue: April, 2005

Email us at:info@theplanner.ca

Published by:

2105 rue de la Montagne, suite 100 • Montreal, Quebec • H3G 1Z8Telephone: (514) 849-6841 ext. 333 • Fax: (514) 284-2282

We welcome your comments: info@theplanner.ca

Editor: Leo GervaisAssistant Editor: Nathalie Caron

Proofreaders: Maya Kramer, Keith MottonTranslator: Dominique Lamarche

Administration: Patrick Galvin, Julie BoisvertSales: James Paulson, Camille Lay

Contributors: Mike Auctor, Anne Biarritz, Thomas Chalmers, Sharon Danley, Peter De Jager, Brent Finnamore,

Harriet Wezena

The Planner is a monthly publication distributed to 11,000 professional meeting planners and growing.

Another 1,000 copies are distributed to individuals working in the service industry.

Poste-publication No. 40934013

Our Mission and GoalOur mission is to inform and enlighten meeting

planners. Each edition will have no more than 30 to35 per cent advertising (all of which will be inform-ative) with the rest of the publication dedicated toarticles to help meeting planners in their day-to-dayactivities. Our goal is to give out the accumulatedprofit as educational grants to planners.

My recent trip to the MPI conference in San Diego illumi-nated a basic, undeniable truth: you can never have

enough education. If there was a constant theme at the PEC-NA, it was that education is the foundation to a long and suc-cessful career as a planner. Indeed, a lifelong training planshould not only be desirable but necessary.

When you make an investment in training, you not only increase your productivity but also your value to yourcompany and the marketplace. In most cases, your employerwill be happy to pay for the training courses as it will help youprofessionally, and by extension the company as well.

However, if this is not the case , if your employer does notwant to pay for the training, it may be time to look for a newemployer who will provide you with what you need to succeed.

If we don’t move forward, we fall behind in a world thatseems different every passing year, therefore we must advanceor we will be passed over by the sea of change.

Our goal at The Planner is also education-based: we try toprovide articles that will inform and help you increase yourproductivity. And we will donate profits generated by the pub-lication towards courses that will empower you to be all thatyou can be in this challenging field.

As always, we appreciate any comments and suggestionsyou send our way.

What would you like to read about?Please e-mail me at:lgervais@theplanner.ca

Education is tops

NOTES FROM THE EDITOR

MARCH 2005

2

Mobile technology pays offIn 2004, Research in Motion of Waterloo, Ontario askedfor an independent survey by Ipsos Reid on the ROI(return on investment) relative to the Blackberry. It wasdemonstrated that the average user was able to convert54 minutes of dead time to productive minutes each day.Assuming a work week of five days, 50 weeks per year,that recovered time was equivalent to about 196 hoursannually (about 5 work weeks) increasing the productivityof work teams by 29 per cent according to informationgathered on the international productivity of workers. On the web: www.blackberry.com

• • •

Other stuff: If you would like to be a monthly correspon-dent for The Planner providing 150-200 words a month forthe Industry News section, please e-mail us at: info@theplanner.ca.

Here, we don’t talk about rooms in categories like superior ordeluxe, but instead in terms like “Wonderful”, “Spectacular”,“Mega”, “Urban Suite”, “Wow Suite” and “”Extreme Wow Suite”.

The doors open to a corridor with very subdued lighting to re-create the impression of the aisles in a cinema, reinforced by thedecor elements on the walls. The room numbers were indicated bya blue light, shining through an oval metallic plaque with theroom number punched in it.

Then the show starts: Act One is when you enter the room,where the tones are neutral: black, white and gray but with a hintof electric blue to bring the decor to life. In certain rooms, a window“painting” gives you a view of the bathroom when you take yourfirst steps in the room. The first people who walked in believed itwas a painting or an alcove with decorative elements until themoment when the last visitors came in and saw the first people inthe bathroom. According to the room, the bed is either large or verylarge, and a large black chair, made exclusively for the W Hotel inMontreal by a Quebec designer, offers relaxation close to the bed.

The shape of the chair varies according to the room. And surprise! Thebathroom is revealed when the blue curtain is pulled back: sink, bath andshower are in full view to the guests.

In all the rooms and suites, the bathrooms definitely hold yourattention. A shower in blue glass overhangs the living room witha view of the city in one suite, a built-in bath raises the floor by afew feet a few steps from the bed in another, so there’s lots of vari-ety to seduce any visitor.

Some suites provide a balcony allowing a small reception to beheld outside during the warmer months. Another offers plasma-screen televisions. The cost for a stay at this hotel is morethan at most other similar establishments in Montreal.

An exceptional site for eventsSituated between Old Montreal and Downtown, this hotel is

the apex of chic urban style, a hot commodity these days. The new,trendy location of Square Victoria is praised for its impressivemodern furniture.

Service is a priority, and benefits guests around the clock. The building is of contemporary design with lots of space.

Done in a cutting-edge style, with sophisticated materials (such asrich woods, stone, glass, subtle textiles, fur, etc.) and has a decorrich in fluorescent colours that play between light and shadow,colours that mix with natural ones predominated by red andbrown, so the lines, however sobering, bring back a sensation ofundeniable comfort.

With attention to the smallest details, the W offers an impres-sive location for the business world. In effect, Le Branché is a multi-purpose room open 24/7. Located on the mezzanine of the hotel,this sumptuous 3,000 sq. ft. location offers six meeting rooms ded-icated to corporate activities. It is equipped with the latest technol-ogy and outfitted to make any event held there exceptional.Satisfied planners who will use the space will awaken their sens-es: their sight, captivated by the delicate furniture, practical andwell organized; the smell, stimulated by different natural floralperfumes and diverse spices dispersed in the rooms; and finally,the taste is tantalized by an amazing personalized banquet servicefor breaks, breakfasts or organized lunches.

In another part of this unique universe, the bar-lounges are eas-ily accessible from the living room. A large staircase brings you toPlateau, an airy space punctuated by a long bar and mini-salonsthat permit comfortable receptions. Audio-visual systems can bebrought in to provide an unusual dimension.

More eccentric but still attractive, the Wunderbar has a VIP cor-ner, extended by seats and sofas. Overhanging the DJ station is ananimated wall.

Finally, the Otto restaurant offers fine Italian fusion, with exqui-site dishes, served in a room with trendy decor. The room can holdup to 150 people, and is interspersed by alcoves that hold up to 12people for more intimate dining.

The design of the bars and restaurant are the result of a col-laboration with celebrated world-renowned architect MiguelCancio Martins.

The W is the ideal location to stay if you appreciate luxury andrefinement during a business trip. It is equally valuable for meet-ings and special events, and it will quench the thirst of any plan-ner thirsty for innovation.

For more information, contact Philippe Champagne, Directorof Meetings and Banquets at (514) 395-3136 or Conrad Doucet,Director of Sales and Marketing, at (514) 395-3134.

MARCH 2005

3

The W: A place that evokes all the sensesCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Maintaining altitude or climbing

Business travel this year will match or exceed last year’svolume, according to a survey of 300 major North Americantravel managers commissioned by Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

More than 80 percent of the corporate and third-party travel managers polled said they expected their 2005 businesstravel spending to increase (34 percent) or stay the same (49percent). The survey, which also polled 1,200 individual trav-elers, found that the top two pet peeves on flights were peoplewho carry on bulky bags that should have been checked (32percent cited this) and babies who cry (13 percent).

Managers thought the main problems would be long securitylines (29 percent) and resentment that others were paying less onthe same flight (19 percent). Travelers put those at 15 and 5 per-cent, respectively.

Rejuvenate yourself- A simplestretch can boost your energy for the rest of the day

Long meetings wearing you down? The Ragdoll Pose, cour-tesy of Darrin Zeer (Office Yoga Chronicle Books, 2000), is asimple stretching exercise that will help you re-energize for therest of the workday. Here’s how it works:• Take a deep breath. • Lift your arms straight up and stretch• Exhale, bend your knees and drop your hands to the ground. • Relax your head and shoulders and take deep full-bodybreaths. • Let everything sag toward the ground while still bent over.• Return to standing position by slowly walking hands up legs.

4

�Industry TrendsYou can avoid Chicago’s O’HareAirport, and you should

Chicago’s O’Hare Airport finished last among the nation’s31 busiest airports for on-time departures and arrivals lastyear, according to a report released by the U.S. Department ofTransportation.

A record 305 flights through O’Hare arrived late, and only735 departed on time. The previous year, O’Hare was next-to-last, just ahead of Newark Liberty International Airport inNew Jersey.

Denver International Airport was first in on-time arrivals,with 83 percent of the flights arriving on schedule, whileHouston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport was No.1 for on-timedepartures, at 87 percent.

O’Hare and Atlanta’s airport compete for the title of world’sbusiest. Any congestion at O’Hare can swiftly affect air trafficnationwide.

In a move to reduce congestion, the Federal AviationAdministration reached an agreement with the major airlinesin August to cut peak-hour arrivals, and the city is hoping forFAA approval of a $15 billion plan to add new runways andreconfigure others at O’Hare.

Nationwide, the 19 airlines that reported their on-time per-formance to the Transportation Department said 78 percent offlights arrived on time last year, down from 82 percent in 2003.

There are only two things that bringhappiness: faith and love.

Charles Nodier

MARCH 2005

75 %Percentageof all emails

that werespam in

2004SOURCE: NUCLEUS RESEARCH

5

MARCH 2005

Report: Cities have glut in spacefor meetings as attendance fallsAmerican cities are spending hundreds of millions of

dollars to build convention halls at a feverish pace,even as the convention industry is contracting and

attendance is falling, according to a new report by theBrookings Institution.

The report comes as more than three dozenAmerican cities, including New York City,are seeking to expand their exhibit spaceor build new convention centers tocapture new business, jobs and rev-enue, according to the New YorkTimes. Last year, the New York StateLegislature approved a $1.4 billionplan to add 575,000 square feet ofmeeting and exhibit space to the JacobK. Javits Convention Center.

According to the NY Times, the Brookingsreport raises questions about the wisdom of join-ing the convention hall space race.

“You’ve got cities around the country building new orexpanded convention space at a very rapid rate in a market thatis already glutted and oversupplied,” said Heywood Sanders,author of the Brookings report, “Space Available: The Realitiesof Convention Centers as Economic Developments Strategy.”

In an environment where every major center around thecountry is sharply discounting rental rates or giving awayspace and throwing in incentives, Sanders said, the likelihoodof any succeeding is remarkably dim.

According to the Brookings report, the amountof exhibit space in the United States has

jumped 51 percent since 1990, to 60.9 mil-lion square feet from 40.4 million. And

today about 40 cities are planning toadd a total of up to 7 million squarefeet of space.

Yet the report indicates that atten-dance at the nation’s 200 largest trade

shows has been falling since it peakedin 1996 at 5.1 million. Computer and technology shows, the

glamour segment of the industry in the1990s, as well as mainstays like the National

Hardware Show, have suffered declines. Even with recentupturn, the report said attendance only reached 4.1 million in2003.

“Almost every convention center in the country is operationat a loss, not even counting construction costs or debt,” thereport states.

Tourism Vancouver recently unveileda new brand identity to enhance the

city’s marketing of the 2010 OlympicGames and expansion of the VancouverConvention and Exhibition Centre. Thenew Tourism Vancouver logo—a “V”formed by two exclamation points—accompanies a brand promise to “exceed

visitors’ expectations” and “deliver asuperior value within a spectacular des-tination that is safe, exciting and wel-coming” to all. “The new brand identityencompasses the promise that we’remaking to visitors about how we wantthem to feel,” said Tourism Vancouverchair, Paul Tilbury.

FACTS ABOUT VANCOUVER• It is Canada’s largest port city• Some have called it a "city of neigh-bourhoods," each with its own distinc-tive character• Its climate is mild by Canadian stan-dards, about the same as Seattle,Washington

Vancouver gets branded for the 2010 Olympic Games

BY HARRIET WEZENA

Drawing from hilarious storiesabout growing up, BarbaraCorcoran, a well-known figure

New York City realtor and founder ofThe Corcoran Group, recounts how hermother’s unconventional lessons helpedher build her billion-dollar company inher new book Use What You’ve Got.

She starts her book chronologically,from the birth of the Corcoran real estateagency in 1978 with $1,000 borrowedfrom her boyfriend, to its sale. The chap-ters are organized around 24 life lessonsshe gleaned from her mother’s dinner-time advice over the years.

Some of the lessons imparted to hereinclude: “If you don’t have big breasts,put ribbons on your pigtails”; “Offer thebigger piece and yours will taste evenbetter”; “Put the sock in the sock draw-er” and “You’ve got to bully the bully,”just to mention a few.

In chapter eight, she recounts how hermother got her dad to record theirfavourite songs on a reel-to-reel tapedeck in order to lull all of them to theirvarious rooms, which gave her mothertime to prepare their lunches for the nextday. Her mother’s lesson “If you want tobe in two places at once, borrow a reel-to-reel,” enables her to delegate someresponsibilities to her assistant in hercompany. She says great leaders oftenhave the conviction that no one can dothe job as well as they can. “You have gotto accept the imperfect copy in order tobuild a big business,” Barbara writes.

She offers a few tips for hiring: alwayschoose people with the right attitude;make jobs for people — don’t squeezethem into jobs; and have confidence inyour employees and let them know it.

Barbara says her mother’s insistenceon “put the sock in the sock drawer”taught her how to be organized andeffective in her own business. She intro-duced what she called the “check thebox” system which allowed her to get anunprecedented amount of information

from sales agents, independent con-tractors and real estate agents.

She stresses the importance ofinformation to her business becauseit helped predict emerging markets,and positioned her company as areliable source of facts and figures asthe Corcoran agency became a “veritable research center for thenumbers-hungry New York Press.”

Like her mother who made herand her brothers and sister “Go playoutside” she applied this to her busi-ness. According to her, “conductingbusiness is usual business, but play-ing together creates extraordinary busi-ness.” She explains that good feelings onthe playfield find their way into the office,break barriers, unite differences , andsocialize people to find common groundbeyond the workplace.

She writes that when she started herreal estate business “I saw myself as the‘Queen of New York Real Estate’ “ andit’s with such confidence and risk-takingthat she did business with real estatetycoon Donald Trump, fought him incourt, and won. She advises not to be

reluctant to innovate because you will bemissing an opportunity to make a million bucks out of your hand. “Youhave a right to be there just as everyoneelse and play the game by your ownrules,” she states.

Growing up in a shared three-familyhouse in New Jersey with her parentsand nine brothers and sisters, sherecounts humourous stories andevents—with the help of BruceLittlefield—that provide hilarious coun-terpoint to this informative tome.

Most importantly, irrespective of youroccupation, Use What You’ve Got has auniversal appeal that will work for any-one who wants to learn from the humblebut bold steps that Barbara Corcoran tookto create the Corcoran real estate empire,an organization that now brings in over$2 billion in annual revenue. Obviouslyshe used what she’s got to the max.

For more information on the book, go towww.chapters.ca, search by title orauthor.

Book:Use What You’ve GotAuthor: Barbara Corcoran with Bruce LittlefieldPublisher:Portfolio (Penguin Putnam Inc)Price on Chapters.ca:$26.25 (Hardcover)

BOOK REVIEWUse what you’ve got by Barbara Corcoran

6

MARCH 2005

☛ THE MARCH 2005

ISSUE OF O (THE OPRAH

MAGAZINE) HAS AN

INTERESTING ARTICLE ON

BARBARA CORCORAN’S

NEW CAREER AFTER

SHE SOLD HER COMPANY...

7

MARCH 2005

Courtesy Charm Character Calm Cuisine - Canadian

Redefines life in the CountryLangdon Hall offers escape into a world of gracious hospitality, elegant amenities andexemplary service. An excellent meeting and entertaining venue. For 2005 AAA/CAAhas awarded Langdon Hall the coveted Five Diamond Award for dining.

Relais & Châteaux has set a worldwide standard for elegant hospitality defined by the five C’s. Now a select group within the family has added a sixth: Canadian.

LANGDON HALL IS ONE OF 13 R&C MEMBERS ACROSS CANADAWWW.RELAISCHATEAUX.COM

R.R. 33 Cambridge, Ontario N3H 4R8 519.740.2100 1.800.268.1898 www.langdonhall.ca

Perhaps this will soften the blow ofAmerican Airlines removing its pil-

lows from most domestic flights lastmonth: the blankets stay.

The Fort Worth-based carrier, ownedby AMR Corp., said recently that itwould no longer offer pillows on mostflights starting Feb 15, in a cost-cuttingmove expected to save another $370,000.

“Almost all of our domestic aircrafthave adjustable headrests, and we’ll stillprovide blankets for lumbar support,which is what the pillows were used forby customers a lot of times,” saidAmerican spokesman, Tim Wagner.

American announced in Novemberthat it was removing pillows from itsMD-80s, which saves time and moneyby enabling workers to clean cabinsfaster. Pillows will be absent from 737s,757s and Airbus A300s on nearly allfights within the continental 49 states,Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico andCentral America.

The Airline said, it won’t affect inter-national flights to Europe, Asia andSouth America and pillows will be sta-tioned on Hawaii and transcontinentalflights as well.

The Airline received some initialresistance when it removed pillows fromthe MD-80s but complaints droppeddramatically after a few weeks, Mr.Wagner said.

First the food —Now no more pillows onAmerican Airlines

PCMA Space Verification looksto become standard for themeetings industryThe Professional Convention

Management Association (PCMA)has partnered with MeetingMatrixInternational, Inc. to develop an interna-tionally recognized event space manage-ment standard: PCMA SpaceVerification. This strategic alliance willprovide meeting professionals with themost accurate, streamlined and efficientevent space communication tool in theindustry.

Through this new programme,MeetingMatrix provides both eventplanners and facilities with PCMA SpaceVerified room diagrams, ensuring thatevent setups which fit on paper willactually fit in the room. A facilities meet-ing space must first be “Certified” by aMeetingMatrix Installation Manager byphysically measuring the area.Measurements are guaranteed to beaccurate within one-quarter of an inch.

“PCMA’s commitment to providingthe hospitality industry with the besteducational programs, standards, andtools is the true validation for PCMASpace Verification,” explained JohnSecord, Vice President, Sales andOperations for MeetingMatrix. “For thepast decade the event planning commu-nity has benefited from PCMA’s verifica-tion programme and MeetingMatrix isexcited to apply its 15 years of world-wide accepted practices to this incredi-ble program.”

Hotels, convention centers, confer-ence centers, and venues alike will beable to use the PCMA Space Verificationprogramme to guarantee the accuracy oftheir event space. Meeting planners canaccess these diagrams via web down-load or CDs during the site selectionprocess. Once MeetingMatrix has meas-ured and “Certified” the space at a facil-ity, the property can display the official“PCMA Space Verified byMeetingMatrix” seal on its marketing col-lateral, and web site. In addition, “PCMASpace Verified” plaque can be prominent-ly displayed in each facility, and the offi-cial seal will be seen in all MeetingMatrixCertified Room Diagram files.

Professional meeting planners world-wide can receive a free version of theMeetingMatrix software and access to allPCMA Space Verified facilities. They canthen communicate their exact eventsetup needs to the properties boththrough traditional floor plans and vir-tual walk-thus, experiencing the space inthree-dimensional reality. Advancedroom diagramming software allowsplanners to create to scale diagramsetups with the use of simple pull-downmenus and toolbars and experimentwith different seating arrangements inevery size and shape imaginable.

For additional information, please visitthe PCMA Web sit at www.pcma.org.

8

Ascending in sales

Take one hundred salespeople in any $10 million organiza-tion; Eighty of them are “Good”, earning $20-80,000. Sixteenof them are “great”, winning $90-200,000. Four of them are

“Extraordinary”, raking in $1-2 million. The secret to ascendingthrough the ranks from “Good” to “Great” to “Extraordinary” iswhat everyone wants to learn. In twelve years of psychology, sales

training and performance coaching I’ve found there are six behaviors that allow sales-people to ascend to that coveted Top 4 position:

Appeal to their emotions.Good salespeople appeal to the prospect’s logic. Extraordinary salespeople appeal totheir emotions - in five simple steps: 1. Get the prospect to tell you a story about agood buying decision they made for a similar or identical product or service toyours. 2. At the peak of their story, amplify their emotional state by saying, “good foryou!” 3. When the story is done, condition their emotional state by saying “Wow -that’s great!” and use a “OK” gesture with your fingers and thumbs. 4. Once youhave asked and found out their needs, get them to picture the positive outcomes ofworking with you. As you describe the very same results they said they need, say,“Can you picture how that kind of result would help you? I mean Wow - that wouldbe great!” and use the hand gesture. 5. Now they are back in their emotional buyingstate, positively associated to your product or service and you can close more readily.

Seek out their wants. Bait the hook to suit the fish. 1. Ask: “What’s important to youin a…?”, which tells you their perceived needs and reveals their preferred languagetriggers. Then ask, “Why is that important?”, which tells you their reasons. 2. Play itback: “So what you’re saying is…” This step makes the prospect consciously awareof what they want and why, and also forms a subtle contract agreement. 3. Connect:“You just described my product…” Now you marry the needs they identified to therelevant benefits of your product or service.

Change their beliefs. Prospects resist buying your products because they hold abelief that prevents them from acting. A belief is an idea we no longer question ortest. Question a belief enough times and you create doubt. If the prospect believesshe can get better quality somewhere else you say, “What if I were to tell you that infact there is no better quality available on the market today? That we are that high-er quality provider you’ve been hearing about?” If the prospect says, “It’s too expen-sive,” you ask, “Compared to what?” or “Is it really?” or “Are you sure you’re com-paring apples to apples?” Questions like these create momentary doubt in theprospect’s mind, opening them to consider your point.

Encourage immediate action. Do you know how to create a sense of urgency in yourprospects? Instead of showing them only what they’ll gain by taking action now,show them what they’re losing every day they delay. Extraordinary salespeopleknow that some people are motivated to gain payoff, while others are more motivat-ed to avoid loss. As you build your case, get them focused on the cost of not buyingfrom you. The $500 they can save each month may not be as motivating as the $500they’re losing each month they delay buying from you.

Never let them forget you. One of the biggest barriers that keeps good salespeoplefrom ascending to the top is the OOSOOM effect (out of sight, out of mind). In work-ing on trade missions to the United States, I observe many of them giving up aftergetting a No in the first meeting.

MARCH 2005

M o n t r é a l c e n t r e - v i l l e

◆ 5 dynamic meeting rooms for 5 to 300 people

◆ In the heart of the action, close to public transportation, ample parking

◆ 180 rooms, special rates for conferences

◆ Unique ambiance and international style service

◆ Complete catering

Isabelle TremblayT: 514-866-6492 poste 894

F: 514-861-4089sales@europahotelmtl.comwww.europahotelmtl.com

1240 Drummond. Montréal, Qc H3G 1V7

WANT TO ADVERTISE INTHE PLANNER?

CALL (514) 849-6841EXT. 331

BY BRENT FINNAMORE

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

Leadership in Project Management

Project ManagementJune 15 - 17, 2005

This seminar explores proven techniques to create effective project teams, meet critical

deadlines and avoid cost overruns. Learn how to set realistic budgets and schedules in the

project planning stage, and the importance of human relations and communications

throughout the project life cycle. You will also benefit from the instructors’ diverse knowl-

edge and personal experiences in managing projects within numerous industries. Conforms

with the internationally recognized framework and terminology of the Project Management

Institute and represents 21 PMI® professional development units.

Faculty of ManagementMcGill University1001 Sherbrooke Street West, 6th FloorMontreal, Quebec Canada H3A 1G5

T 1 514 398 3970 or 1 888 419 0707

F 1 514 398 7443 or 1 888 421 0303

E executive@mcgill.cawww.executive.mcgill.ca

9

MARCH 2005

Extraordinary salespeople understand that No today isn’t forev-er - so they stay in touch. That doesn’t mean being in their face,it means being on their minds. Send them a local newspaperwhen visiting their hometown. Drop a note to them on LordBaden-Powell’s birthday, wishing their son a great day at BoyScouts. Give them a good-humored condolence call when theirfavourite team loses. Someday their current provider will dropout of the picture, and you want your face to be in their minds.

Discover your people-purpose.Why are you here? What’s the purpose of your life?Extraordinary salespeople not only find these questionsimportant, they can answer immediately. Discover your ownpersonal purpose and let it drive you to make a difference. Toadd value to other people’s lives; To help solve problems; Tomake people’s lives easier. Once you discover your own pur-pose, you will feel it pull you. You will instantly find every-thing you do in your sales cycle more rewarding, fulfilling andmeaningful. There is simply no greater source of motivation.

The author: Brent Finnamore is an in-demand motivational speak-er and human capacity coach delivering seminars and keynotesthroughout Canada and the U.S. since 1993.

He is the President of Finnamore Weir Inc. and author of two booksand an audio CD on personal development and performance improve-ment. To book Brent for your next event please, call 877-374-7325 or visit www.brentfinnamore.com.

Natural Vitamin E softgels

Travelling frequently on long-haul flights increases theamount of background radiation you are exposed to.

At high altitude, the earth’s atmosphere is thinner and there-fore offers less protection against radiation. According to theFederal Aviation Administration’s Civil AeromedicalInstitute, every 4.1 hours spent at 37,000ft, the amount of radi-ation an air traveler is exposed to is said to be equal to that ofan x-ray.

Frequent fliers are therefore strongly advised to dose up onantioxidants, such as vitamin E, for two to three days after flying.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

Discover your purpose

8 oz.Quantity of water that a

passenger should drink each hourwhile travelling on an airplane

Source: www.flyana.com

Creativity resides in all of us andsimply needs to be encouraged

There isn’t an organization on theplanet which couldn’t prosper froman increase in creative thought by

both their employees and their clients. Acustomer who asks for a new product tosolve a problem is offering you an entire

new market. An employee who finds a new way of doingthings might reduce your costs a hundredfold, or create a newindustry. Creativity is an asset.

When beset by problems and challenges, all organizations seekinnovative solutions. To this end, we search for strategies whichmight lead us to those new ideas. When we think of “Creativity”we usually think of words like “Spontaneous” and “Inspired”,not “Rote” or “Mechanistic”. The very notion that repeatable,mundane processes can deliver creativity is blasphemy.

What is the source of Creativity? If we believe the ability tocreate a new idea is a gift received atbirth by a select few, then regardlessof the techniques we might use toinstill it within the masses, we aredoomed to failure. For what can meremortals do, for those whom the Godspass over?

On the other hand, if we believethat creativity resides in all of us, thenthe problem becomes one of encour-aging, and releasing it, and not ofinstilling or teaching it.

It doesn’t take much effort to prove we’re all incredibly cre-ative. All we need do is pay attention to what happens in thedarkness of the night. Regardless of how uncreative you mightconsider yourself during the day, at night, when you relax andshut your eyes, your creativity blossoms into fantastic dreams.Things you could never imagine in your waking momentscarry you on wild adventures, making the best Spielbergmovies pale in comparison.

Our challenge is to unlock that ‘ability to create’ in our wak-ing hours. To channel our midnight dreams out into the day-light where they can do us greater benefit.

Creativity is doing that which hasn’t been done before. To‘create’ is to produce the new, to bring into being for the firsttime a new idea, product or service.

Those definitions suggest part of the obstacle facing creativ-ity. Doing something new requires courage. Courage to protectus from ridicule as people around the meeting table, scoff,laugh, or smile condescendingly when we offer a new idea forconsideration.

It’s been pointed out before, it needs to be pointed outagain, the surest way to kill a new idea is to laugh at it. It is dif-ficult enough to drum up the courage to voice a new idea;

add laughter and ridicule to the challenge and soon, nobodydares to be creative.

Here’s a rote behaviour which is guaranteed (or yourmoney back) to increase creativity in your organization is: Giveall new ideas respect… even when at first glance, they don’tseem to deserve it.

While this almost trivial strategy, makes Creativity easier tovoice, it still does little to generate new ideas. So… let’s go backto one of those definitions; Creativity is doing that which hasn’t been done before. Depending on how you look at this,this is either incredibly difficult, or an almost trivial exercise.For most people it is the former. Their question is “How do wethink of something that hasn’t been done before?”

Here’s a mechanistic response to that question whichrequires little thought, never mind any ‘Creative’ thinking.

Attribute Manipulation: Take your product/service and list everyattribute it possesses – then manipulate thatlist of attributes.

e.g. Product: Radioa) Delivers broadcast sound to the lis-

tenerWhy not capture sound as well?Why not deliver pictures as well?Could it deliver smells? Could it tell the listener the tempera-

ture?Their Pulse rate? Blood Pressure?Phone calls?

Text information about what they’re hearing?Why not pre-recorded sounds?b) Receives radiowaves from radio stationsWhy not TV stations?Satellite stations?Why not Wi-Fi?Why not the Internet?

If you notice a similarity between some of the ideas above,and products already on the market, then you could say themethod doesn’t work… or it is proof it can generate differentproducts…sometimes they just happen to have been imple-mented already.

Naturally, it takes some practice to think in ‘attributes’ of aproduct, but it’s not a difficult skill to acquire. Whether yourresults generate a useful new product, will depend on bothluck and the number of new things you’ve managed to create.

• • •© 2005 Peter de Jager - Peter is a speaker, writer and consultant on

Management Issues relating to Change. Read more of his work atwww.technobility.com or contact him at pdejager@technobility.com

BY PETER DE JAGER

10

MARCH 2005

The surest way to kill a new idea is

to laugh at it

Wanted!Change Management Case Studies

When it comes to Change Management, what works?What fails? What's more difficult? And what do mostof us do when it comes to large change projects?

Enterprise columnist Peter de Jager and The Planner are collaborating on a large survey to answer some ofthese questions. Over the coming months we'regoing to collect somewhere between 20,000-25,000Change Management case studies from all over theworld. If you'd like to participate in this massivestudy, then visit: http://www.technobility.com/docs/sisyphus.htm

This survey will take 15-45 minutes to complete,depending on how much you're willing to contribute.Your personal contact information will not be madeavailable to anyone, for any reason.

If you have questions regarding this survey, pleasecontact Peter at: pdejager@technobility.com

Just because you can putyour boots in the oven

don’t make ’em biscuits.

Old Southern saying

11

— Upcoming Events —

APRIL 6-7Hospitality Sales and marketing AssociationInternational, Affordable Meetings Mid-America, NavyPier, Chicago. www.affordablemeetings.com (914) 421-3200.

APRIL 10-12Society of Independent Show OrganizersCEO Summit, Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas, Henderson,Nev. Contact: SISO, (877) 937-7476; www.siso.org.

APRIL 10-12MPI, 2005 Professional Education Conference Europe,Grimaldi Forum, Monaco; www.mpiweb.org.

APRIL 19-21IMEX, Worldwide Exhibition for Incentive Travel,Meetings & Events, Messe Frankfurt, Germany.www.imex-frankfurt.com, (011) 44-1273-227311.

MAY 1-3Association of Corporate Travel ExecutivesGlobal Conference, Vancouver Convention & ExhibitionCentre. www.acte.org, (703) 683-5322.

MAY 18-21Society of Government Meeting ProfessionalsAnnual Conference, Sheraton Grand Sacramento, Calif.www.sgmp.org, , (703) 549-0892.

DATEBOOK

MARCH 2005

357 guestrooms and suites18 meeting and function rooms that can

accommodate up to 350 peopleConnected to the Montreal Convention Centre

Inquire About Our Winter Promotions

360 St-Antoine Street WestMontreal, Quebec

H2Y 3X4514-987-9900

www.montreal.intercontinental.com

Ed. Note: This is the first in a series of articles by the RBC.

Everybody has social attitudes, and everybody isexposed to them in others. It is wise to be aware ofthem, for they can be dangerous things. We shouldkeep a close eye on our attitudes lest they lead us totransgress against our fellows. And lest we abdicate

our responsibility as thinking beings...The introduction of the word “attitude” into American

slang has piled confusion on top of confusion. To the “gangstarap” performers who apparently started the trend, “havingattitude” means having only one kind of attitude - the belliger-ent kind. The phrase has since been snapped up by hip adver-tising copywriters to describe any number of interesting condi-tions. In the process, “ attitude” has become one of those wordsfrom the land of Humpty Dumpty that means whatever itsusers want it to mean.

It was already confusing enough that there were two differ-ent classes of attitudes that are often mistakenly thought of asone - the personal and the social. The former contain an indi-vidual philosophy of life; the latter, a view of society. It is per-sonal attitudes that make optimists and pessimists, idealist,and cynics, mavericks and conformists, high achievers andhigh school drop-outs. It is social attitudes that make liberalsand conservatives, moderates and radicals, pros and antis, bigots and bleeding hearts.

In this essay we shall confine our comments to social atti-tudes, which exert an immeasurable influence on humanaffairs, both positive and negative. For instance, the economicrise of the Japanese people from the wreckage of World War IIhas been attributed largely to their attitude towards working

hard together in the national interest. In contrast, recent eventsin Eastern Europe have shown the horrible things that can hap-pen when ethnic and religious attitudes drive communitiesapart.

In countries such as Canada, attitudes underwrite the socialcontract that is the basis of a working democracy. Most of usbehave decently in line with an attitude which decrees that thepublic good must ultimately be put before private impulses ordesires. We abide by the laws of the land because they broadlycorrespond to our own “mindset.” We elect our governmentson the basis of how closely their declared policies match theattitude of the majority.

But it is beyond the formal boundaries of the law that atti-tudes have their greatest effect, in the day-to-day relationshipsamong people. They can make the difference between a placewhere people live together in harmony, peace and justice, anda place racked by ill-will, suspicion and tension, if not actualstrife.

In our personal lives, we all carry a package of social atti-tudes into the world around us. At the same time, the attitudesof others may weigh heavily on our own affairs. Some people,for instance, may refuse to play by the established rules, or tryto impose their values or enthusiasms on us against our wish-es. Others may discriminate against us, or discriminate againstthird parties and try to make us do so as well.

Even in an apparently enlightened society such as Canada's,all too many of our fellow residents are subjected to harmbecause others have attitudinal objections to some feature oftheir identities. This could be their colour, religion, sex, disabil-ities, or something else that is equally inconsequential to theworth of a human being.

It might be argued that such overt discrimination couldonly come from a person who has passed the point of holdingan attitude and moved on to bare-faced prejudice. Still, theseeds of any prejudice are to be found in common attitudes.

Moreover, people are likely to lull themselves into believingthat their prejudices are really only attitudes. The words havedifferent connotations; a prejudice is often—though not always—reprehensible. An attitude? Well, doesn't that sound innocu-ous and benign?

12

It comes down to a matter of attitude

MARCH 2005

In•no•va•tionThe startling new “big idea” or business model that’s not

just unique but also a dramatic leap from solutions that existed before.

❖ ❖ ❖CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

13

MARCH 2005

Attitudes: whole systems of thinkingThe collective beliefs that make up attitudes are often sheer mythology

In this regard we should all be aware that “there is nothingrespecting which a man may be so long unconscious, as of theextent and strength of his prejudices,” to quote the Scottishjurist and editor Lord Francis Jeffrey. The reason for this phe-nomenon is that seemingly mild attitudes may serve as a maskfor strong prejudices, even in one's own mind.

But then, nothing about attitudes is as it seems, beginning withour fundamental conception of them. Our own attitudes seem tous to be logical points of view based on knowledge, experience,insight, and ideas. We would, of course, concede that not all atti-tudes are so purely rational. Being human,we would say that anyone else might holdunreasonable attitudes, but never ourselvesor those who agree in detail with us.

In fact, however, whether an attitudeis your own or your worst enemy's, it islikely to be equally irrational. A group ofScandinavian and American psycholo-gists said as much a few years ago whenthey developed a working definition ofthis confusing word. An attitude, theypronounced, is “a persistent, emotional readiness to think aboutand behave toward people, institutions, social conditions andso on, in a particular manner.” Note the sequence of this scien-tific choice of language: first we have an “ emotional readiness”to proceed one way or another; only then do we proceed.

If questioned on how they go about forming their ownpoints of view, most people in western cultures might arguethat the psychologists have got the order backwards. Theywould say that people first think about a thing, then theydevelop their feelings about it. Whether they approve or disap-prove of something - whether they “like” it or not - dependsupon their considered opinion of it (or of her or him or them).

This view is consistent with the background of a peoplebrought up to value intellectual independence. Having beenconditioned to keep an open mind, we operate on the assump-tion that we arrive at our opinions by observing or discoveringa body of facts and systematically placing them in logicalorder. We then check the facts and conclusions against inde-pendent criteria to make sure that we have got things rights.

We may indeed take such a dispassionate approach to ques-tions in which we have not emotional stake, but when it comesto social attitudes, the impression that we have thought thingsout logically on the basis of verified facts is almost always adelusion. Psychological research shows that only a small proportion of the so-called information that goes into formingattitudes comes from personal observation or fact-gathering.

Attitudes establish a predisposition to think and act a certain way by first establishing a set of beliefs that steer thosethoughts and actions. Beliefs by definition need to be

objectively true, as long as they are true in the believer's mind.In the formation of attitude, they are passed along within a group, and are subject to both embellishment and over-simplification in the process. Often they are sheer mythswhich celebrate a group's past glories and perpetuate its enmities.

There is an especially high mythological content in the atti-tudes of families and traditional closed communities. In the olddays, the religious, social and political beliefs acquired in thefamily and homogeneous communities were more or less fixedfor life. This is still the case in many parts of the world, but thecoming of pluralism in western societies has meant that tradi-tional attitudes may be altered or abandoned. Exposure todiverse cultural and intellectual influences has caused manyotherwise dutiful sons and daughters to refuse to go alongwith the inhibitions and taboos of their native groups, particu-larly in affairs of the heart.

In places where the influence of thefamily and the traditional community haswaned, the urge to adopt attitudes hasfound new outlets. Some of the strongestsocial attitudes in Canada, for instance,are regional, generating loyalties whichtranscend ethnic and other social differ-ences. As people go through life, theyadopt the attitudes of the groups theyjoin: associations, labour unions, politicalparties, corporations and what-have-you.

When people talk about “corporate cultures” and “partylines,” they are really talking about attitudes.

Our occupations may also affect they way we view theworld; there are, broadly speaking, a set of farmers' attitudes,artists' attitudes, physicians' attitudes, and so on. The opinionsthat arise from these are no less sincere for supporting the prac-tical self-interest of the group. We can also adhere to the atti-tudes of groups that are so amorphous that there is no formalmembership in them. Still, belonging to a particular age groupor income group can profoundly effect your approach to life.

“The race of men, while sheep in credulity, are wolves forconformity,” the biographer Carl Van Doren wrote. Peoplehave a natural desire to associate with one another. Thisinstinct makes them reluctant to assert themselves for fear ofbeing excluded from groups. Hence individuals may ignoreknown facts and suppress independent judgment when theirgroups are discussing questions or attitudinal thinking.Experiments have demonstrated that group members willchange their conclusions to avoid disagreeing with the majori-ty even when they know that they are right.

But attitudes are more than just a matter of “like thinkingalike.” They are really whole systems of thinking. They deter-mine how individuals interpret all the information theyreceive. They act as the sentries of the consciousness, allowingimpressions that support them to pass in, and rejecting orignoring impressions that do not support them. This selectionprocess can play some strange tricks on the mind.

Reprinted with permission from the Royal Bank of Canada.Visit their website: www.royalbank.com

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Nothing about attitudes is as it seems

BY THOMAS CHALMERS

Bill Gates admits to using hisoften. You probably use yoursmore often than you think. Iused mine recently in a funnysort of way.

I am referring to intuition: thosehunches which lie just below consciouslevel. Intuition defies logic. Allow me toexplain . . .

Last Sunday morning my wife wentto church with our two eldest sons leav-ing me and our fifteen-month-old sonhome alone. As well as the prospect ofsome serious fun with our baby son, Iwas looking forward to the fact that acomputer technician was calling to putthe finishing touches to my systemupgrade.

Yes. Everything was going swimming-ly. And then the unthinkable happened.Baby son decided to dirty his nappy withexcruciating faces (expressions that is!).It was time to open a window or two. But

as the odour began to permeate everyroom in the house it became apparentthat the diaper would have to bedumped. Otherwise the computer-repairman would probably feign illnessrather than walk over the threshold.

Settled then - the nasty nappy wouldneed to be neutralized. At this point andquite unexpectedly I had a gut feeling –an intuitive insight. That no matter whenI changed the nappy, the computer tech-nician would call at exactly the wrongmoment i.e. when I was up to my elbowsin it!

I decided to hang off. Maybe hewouldn’t call. After all it was Sundaymorning. He was already late. I waitedanother fifteen minutes, just to be sure.No sign of him and yet my intuition hadtold me otherwise.

It had to be done. I checked the roadoutside. No cars. O.K., let’s do it junior. Icollected the changing mat and bag andplaced baby son in position. One morecheck for any vehicles. Nope. Baby shoesoff then trousers and socks. I listenedintently. No engines. Here goes then. Itook a deep breath and ripped off thevelcro nappy. Wow! Knock me downwith a feather. You’d think I would beused to this by now!

As if by magic and with immaculatetiming the computer supremo pulled upat the front door. Well how lucky can adoting dad be? I had known it. I don’tknow how. I don’t know why. I just knewthat the computer-guy would arrive atthe worst possible moment. Another finemess . . .

INTUITION AT PLAY

Ever been to the supermarket andwondered which queue to join knowingintuitively that whichever one you dochoose will be the slowest moving?

Ever arrived at a bank of ground floorelevators and wondered which one to gofor knowing fine well that whatever oneyou choose will be the last one down?

This is intuition at play. It defies logic.You know the outcome. There is no

rationale or reasoning. You have a hunch.A gut feeling. An inkling. An insight.

Intuition is a powerful tool. So why nottap into it and turn it to your advantage?Be aware of that small voice. That firstthought. That knowingness which disre-gards logical analysis. That feeling of syn-chronicity, of effortlessness, of unexpectedinspiration, insight or elation.

THE QUESTION METHOD

Stop for a moment and write down aquestion: a question to which you havebeen searching for an answer. Now readit aloud, close your eyes and let thethought go as if you were posting a letter.Allow it to simmer on your back burner.Carry on with your life and allow theanswer to come to you intuitively andperhaps when you least expect it.

Intuition travels to us through oureyes, our ears, our feelings, symbols,events and even the universe. And it is auseful exercise to identify those timeswhen you are at your intuitive best.Perhaps when you are facing a challengeor sitting in silence or taking a walk orinspired by music, people or events.

Intuition is like a muscle. It developsthrough regular use. And once youappreciate the value of using your intu-ition, it may, in certain circumstances,undermine your logic, without reason,and yet fast forward you to a higherplane, a deeper insight and ultimately, abetter decision.

Tap into your intuitive positive self inthe present moment and you will per-haps know whatever it is you need toknow or find the answer to that elusivequestion.

Channel your intuition like an eternalspring. Use it to change your life. Use itto change your nappies . . . and smell thedifference!

Look after yourself and nurture yourintuition.

Website: www.idealife.co.uk

• • •

14

FIVE-MINUTE LIFE COACH

MARCH 2005

Ed. Note: This is the fourth part in a series onimage.

Your external package is impeccable.You have a commanding and open

body language and use state of the arttechnological and presentation tools. Is your tone of voice andchoice of vocabulary equally competent? 45% (almost half ofyour presentation) is relegated to the auditory channel - YOURVOICE.

Do you speak so you’re hardly heard.......or toin a fwaze likenutin ya ehva hoid.....or maybe your bravado blows ‘em backlike a tornado......or prolly ya dop yer ens uv wrs.

This can be just as difficult to read as itis for an audience to understand a speak-er that doesn’t command their voice orarticulation.

SOME FACTS & TIPSMost people speak too quickly and

don’t articulate - usually due to nerves.Knowing your presentation or being

clear about what you want to say, in anysituation, will go a long way to address-ing this issue. Do diaphragmatic, facialand vocal warm-ups prior to everyrehearsal and presentation. Practice intoa tape recorder. Most people don’t likethe sound of their own voice at first -practice till you get over the audio shock!Note - you sound different when youhear your voice outside your headbecause of your internal resonatingchambers. Solve the problem by practice, practice and morepractice. You will accomplish two goals with one action - moreconfidence and a clear, robust and compelling voice.

One of the most overlooked skills that has the most impactis giving every vowel, consonant and diphthong (secondarysound in a vowel) its full, intended value! Practice this skillevery time you talk throughout the day. Over-emphasizeevery word while you practice your speech or read out loudfrom the newspaper. You will find that your voice becomeslyrical and very pleasant for your audience to listen to. Andthe next time you hear yourself on audio or video tape you’llhave a rewarding experience.

Sing your way to a robust voice. Practice projecting yourvoice by singing to your favourite tunes. Sing in the shower,the car or any time any place. Deep breath into yourdiaphragm 10 times, 3 times a day every day - also in the show-er or the car - its fun, easy and the side benefit in many healthbenefits is well documented.

Beware the dangers of up speak (sentence tag that is turnedup like a question). Nothing does more to undermine yourexpertise than this habit, and that’s all it is. It’s usually coined asthe “valley girl” sound. Avoid it at all cost, unless of course youare speaking to a group of teenage girls you need to influence.

MOST WOMEN’S VOICES ARE TOO SOFTSpeaking from the diaphragm is the best way to achieve

good projection and sustained sound. Do what Mom alwayssaid, stand up straight. Breathe deep into what might feel likethe pit of your stomach, not the upper chest, as most peoplewant to do. Keep your mouth and jaws relaxed and push fromyour abdominal area when you speak. Voilà, a commandingvoice.

As men age their voices rise in tone - for women they drop. Know what age groups are you presenting to and match

their general pitch levels. In otherwords, if you are a senior femmeaddressing a young crowd, raise yourpitch by half a tone. If you are a juniorfemme and presenting to senior manage-ment, then drop your pitch by 1/2 or fulltone. You can change your vocal age bychanging your pitch. Know your audi-ence and adjust accordingly. It’s simplya matter of matching and leading.

Most people use less than500 words in the Englishlanguage

One of the simplest ways to soundlike the expert you are is to make a life-long friend of your Thesaurus. Whenyou express your ideas more clearly youincrease your ability to inspire and influ-

ence significantly.When you take advantage of your full range of vocal tools

you greatly enhance your overall presentation, increase yoursense of self-esteem and project an honest confidence that’shard for your audience to resist. Seek out a competent vocalcoach. Its well worth the investment in that 45 percent audito-ry aspect of your presentations—your voice!

The “Voice of Your Choice” comprehensive manual is availablewith fun exercises designed to work with hectic schedules. It’s agreat gift for you or someone who needs to sharpen their vocalskills, bring confidence to their presentations and be outstanding— even as a beginner. Mention The Planner and save 20 per cent.

© 2003, Sharon Danley. Reprinted with kind permissionfrom the author. Sharon is an educator, designer and consultantwith 30 years experience in perspective, image, performanceand voice mastery.

Visit her at www.presentation-management.com or e-mailher at: info@presentation-management.com

15

MARCH 2005

BY SHARON DANLEY

Vocal presence is important

MARCH 2005

16

Hotel News from around the worldHilton Fourth-quarter net income slips

Hilton Hotels Corp. has announced fourth-quarter earningsfell as onetime items, such as impairment charges, offset arecovery in business and leisure travel, but the company stillbeat analysts’ estimates. Net income fell to US $65-million fromUS $67-million a year earlier. Revenue rose 7 percent to US $1.054 billion, and earnings before interest, taxes, deprecia-tion and amortization rose to US $267-million from US $239million a year earlier. Analysts had expected revenue of US$993.3 million, and EBITDA of US $259.96 million. Revenue peravailable room, a key measure of health in the lodging indus-try, rose 8.3 percent as a strengthening economy put more trav-elers into hotel rooms.

Canadian Hotels look for banner year in2005, lobby group says

A hotel industry lobby group is predicting the best year forCanadian hotels since the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

The Hotel Association of Canada expects an occupancy rateof 62 percent for the year with an average room rate of $120 perday. The RevPAR, a key industry performance measure, is pro-jected to be $74.

The Association’s figures represent a 4.5 per cent increaseyear-over-year with occupancy rates well above the 59 percentreached in 2003—the lowest rate since the early 1990s. SARS,mad cow disease, and the after-effects of 9/11 business all com-bined to make 2003 a dismal year. “It didn’t get much worsethan that,” Tony Pollard, the association’s president, saidrecently. He added he is optimistic for 2005.

About 90 percent of survey respondents said they wouldlook at acquiring assets this year, and hotel operators areexpecting profitability to increase 5 percent this year and 9 per-cent next year. In 2004, losses were 27 percent or $2,700 a room,the study found.

In related news, Colliers International Hotels is predictingthe increase in profitability will help turn around the 10-yearlow witnessed last year in transaction activity in the lodging

sector. Hotels are usually priced on the income they produce,so sellers have been wary to unload properties in the poorpost-9/11 economic climate.

Their data shows investment activity nose-dived in 2004 to $339million, down considerably from the high of $1.3 billion in 1998.

Colliers is also forecasting occupancy of 61 percent acrossCanada in 2004, up from 58.7 percent in 2003. Occupancy lev-els peaked in 1998 at 67 percent.

Note: All amounts in Canadian dollars.

Soaring Canadian dollar sending Canucksto southern hotels

Americans used to take advantage of the soft Canadian dol-lar when it was worth just US 0.62 two years ago and stay inCanadian hotels. Those days are over.

With the loonie hovering around US 0.81, it’s Canadianswho are flocking south to the United States to enjoy the fruitsof a surging economy and dollar. Every 10 percent gain in theCanadian dollar against the U.S. currency translates into a 15-percent increase in the number of Canadians traveling state-side, according to the Canadian Tourism Commission.

Knights of the round table, we give you….Surcharge

Mini-bar restocking. Meeting room set and reset fees.Automatic tips. These are just some of the inventive (somewould say dishonest) surcharges hotels are asking guests topay in 2004.

After the boom of the 1990s, hotels were forced to abandonsurcharges in the wake of the 9/11 recession. At the mini-bar,for instance, guests are increasingly being charged not just forconsuming an item but also for its replacement. One meetingplanner said two of the extra charges one of her clients paidrecently was a mandatory maid gratuity of US $8 and bellhopcharges for a group who mostly carried their own bags ($3 per person).

Spice Up your Corporate Event - Just Add Salt.

From the beginning of time lakes and rivers, harbours and oases have inspired writers, artists, scientists and explorers.

It’s no wonder that more meeting and special event planners are jumping ship -- from hotel rooms to vessels that float. It's ‘full

steam ahead’ for team-building exercises, board of director meetings, product launches and educational seminars.

Call us to inspire your team - 2 to 7 day expeditions onboard the tallship cruise vessel Caledonia

www.cansailexp.com / 877.429.9463 / 902.429.1474

Conrad no longer a weak cousin in theHilton family

Conrad is about to flex some muscle. Hilton Hotels is planning to launch a major expansion of its

little-known Conrad chain of luxury hotels. The goal is to putConrad into direct competition with luxury rivals like FourSeasons and Ritz-Carlton.

With only 17 hotels worldwide, Conrad lags behind the 59Ritz-Carltons and 65 Four Seasons around the globe. Hilton,based in Beverly Hills, Calif., plans to bring the number ofConrads to 50, and new hotels are planned for Las Vegas,Tokyo, and Dubai (United Arab Emirates). Even investors inLibya are interested. To avoid the stratospheric cost and highrisk of luxury hotels, Hilton doesn’t plan to own the newConrads but will instead seek rich individuals or investmentfunds that want to own them. Hilton will run the hotels, and insome instances have a small investment in the property.

One reason for the bold move: To give the 17 million mem-bers of HiltonHonors, the company’s customer-loyalty pro-gram a place where they can earn and spend points. Starwooddoes something similar with its Sheraton and Weston loyalistswho can use their loyalty points with the posh St. Regis chainin places like Hawaii or Florence, Italy.

The luxury hotel business is in a boom, with some deluxehotels reporting 85 percent occupancy rates and the term “pric-ing power”—travelers with rich expense accounts who don’tscrutinize the price of a room—is back in vogue.

The new Conrad strategy, which was approved at a Miamiboard meeting in late January, is also an attempt to correct astrategic error made in 1964 when Hilton spun off its interna-tional operations into what is now the separate publicly-tradedHilton Group in London.

Marriott reports gain of 12% in 4Q

Boosted by higher rates at its hotels in New York andBoston, America’s largest hotel chain Marriott InternationalInc. said fourth quarter profit rose 12 percent.

Net income increased to US $189 million, up from US $169million the previous year, the Bethesda, Maryland-based com-pany said in a recent statement. Revenue climbed up 9.6 percent to US $3.14 billion and the company raised its ADR 6.1percent in North America as business and leisure travelincreased. Marriott added 166 hotels to its system in 2004,bringing the total to 2,632 hotels and timeshare resorts.

MARCH 2005

17

Hotel News from around the world

CONTINUED ON PAGE 19

MARCH 2005

18

Canadians lack focus

According to Harold Taylor, a time-management consultant,Canadians aren’t overworked—they simply lack focus.

For example, Canadian Secretary magazine once reported thatclerical workers spent only about 55% of their working day actu-ally working. The other 45% of their time on the job was spentlooking busy, but not really accomplishing anything productive.

Through experience he found this to be true among manytypes of employees.

Disorganization and poor time-management practices candouble the amount time it takes to get the important thingsdone, says Taylor.

Among other elements, lack of goals, procrastination, self-interruptions, perfectionism, shuffling papers, searching forthings and inadequate planning are just a few of the reasonswhy people think they are working too hard, he explains.

When individuals claim they have to work longer hours toget things done, in many cases working overtime simply

extends their current inefficiency to cover longer periods oftime, Taylor notes.

“In other words, the problem isn’t how long they work, butthe way they work,” he emphasizes.

He cautions that, people will continue to appear over-worked until they give time the respect it deserves. A RoperStarch Worldwide survey showed that most individuals, whenasked to choose between time and money, would choosemoney. In fact 61 per cent of the Canadians interviewed chosemoney, while 32 per cent chose time. With so little respect fortime, Taylor says, it’s no wonder they waste it.

According to him, if Canadians were more passionate abouttheir jobs, prioritized their tasks, used a planner to schedulespecific times for the major activities and focused on thoseactivities as though they were watching a Stanley Cup final,they would accomplish a lot more in lot less time!

By way of illustration he points out, you don’t see hockeyplayers wandering around the rink during a game, chattingwith the crowd while taking their shift or signing autographswhen they’re on the bench. They are focused on the goal: to putthe puck in the other team’s net. They have a goal, a plan forachieving it and time frame in which to get it done. And theyenjoy the process.

He leaves us with the question, “Should we do less?”

Taylor: The problem isn’t howlong they work, but the waythey work

Tipping is not in China... or Cuba it would seemIn an effort to defend the purity of social-

ism, the Cuban government has orderedtourism workers not to accept tips fromforeigners, a move that threatens to slashearnings of employees whose work pro-vides Cuba’s main source of hard currency.

According to a report from theReuters news agency, some Cubans saidthe order is a throwback to Soviet-stylecontrol that existed before Cuba openedup to tourism and foreign investment inthe early 1990s.

The new policy may also furtherundermine the quality of service atCuban hotels, where tourists frequentlycomplain about cockroaches and blandfood and don’t return, said the head of aU.S.-Cuba trade group.

For two years, the the government ofFidel Castro has moved to restore centralcommand over Cuba’s economy and curbthe “corrupting” influence and creepinginequalities brought by foreign business,tourism and access to hard currency.

The Cuban government reluctantlylegalized dollar possession in 1993 as itopened up the country of 11 million totourism to keep afloat, after losing mas-sive subsidies and aid when the SovietUnion collapsed.

Before then, Cubans used their dollartips to ask foreigners to buy them con-sumer goods in “diplomatic shops” theywere barred from entering.

More than two million tourists visitedthe Caribbean island in 2004.

MARCH 2005

19

Wyndham selling 25 propertiesWyndham International Inc. has agreed to sell 25 American hotels for U.S. $366-

million to an investment fund managed by Goldman Sachs and Co. and affiliatesof Highgate Holdings.

Fifteen hotels will retain the Wyndham name including properties in Illinois,Texas and Ohio. The Dallas-based chain has sold 180 hotels in the past five years,raising $2.5 billion to repay debt and invest in managing and franchising proper-ties on behalf of other owners. The sale of the 25 hotels will be completed in thefirst quarter the company said in a recent statement. For more info: www.wynd-ham.com

Starwood chain shows very healthy earningsStarwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. has checked in with fourth-quarter

earnings of $0.57 per share—$0.15 higher than for 2003. The better results reflectstronger-than-expected results in Starwood’s time-share division, as well as lowertaxes and stronger revenues in the spa, online and catalogue segment. AnalystDavid Anders sees Starwood benefitting from improvements in its balance sheet,as well as expansion in EBITDA margins.

In related news, Robert F. Cotter, president and COO of Starwood HotelsWorldwide, announced Feb. 14 he will retire at the end of the year. Cotter, whojoined Starwood in 1973 and is only 53, was named president of the company inNovember 2003, just two weeks after Barry S. Sternlich announced he was step-ping down as chairman and CEO. Cotter has been COO since 2000. Starwood hasnot yet named his replacement. For more info: www.starwoodhotels.com

NYC’s Plaza Hotel to close on April 30The Historic Plaza Hotel on Fifth Avenue in New York will be closed on April 30 and

transformed into fancy apartments, stores and a scaled-down hotel operation by fall 2006.In conjunction with the closing of the 805-room luxury hotel, which has been

host to royalty, millionaires, movie stars since Oct. 1, 1907, the hotel is offering$100 off of the total bill on a minimum two-night stay if you bring a story, picture,or a bill from a past Plaza stay.

The hotel, located next to Central Park, has changed hands many times over theyears, from original owners like financier Bernard Bienecke, hotelier Fred Sterryand Harry S. Black to Conrad Hilton and Donald Trump. The first guests were Mr.And Mrs. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt and several famous movies were shot onlocation there, including: Hitchcock’s North By Northwest (1959), Barefoot in thePark (1967) and Crocodile Dundee (1986).

Elad Properties bought the famous hotel last year from the Fairmont chain forUS $675 million and plans to reopen late next year with about 150 hotel rooms, 200condominiums and new retail space.

The Plaza’s most famous restaurants, including the Oak Room (now closed)will remain largely unchanged and will reopen in 2006, but they could have newnames and menus. A huge ballroom will also survive.

The Plaza’s exterior was named a city landmark in 1969 and listed as a NationalHistoric Landmark in 1986, but the interior never received landmark status, leav-ing Elad relatively free to complete its renovations.

The City Landmarks Commission will review Elad’s plans for the Plaza, butCommission Chairman Robert B. Tierney has been quoted as saying he believesElad Properties understands the importance and history of the building.

On a sour note, 900 union members of The New York Hotel Trades CouncilLocal 6 stand to lose their jobs when the hotel closes for renovations.

For more information:The Plaza 1-800-759-3000 or www.fairmont.com

Hotel News from around the world

20