Conference & Meetings World Issue 145 | Page 5

“ Let me bring my other half and take us somewhere I couldn’ t have booked myself”

Leader

Are we human?

Managing editor, Paul Colston

T he things our industry increasingly

measures aren’ t always the things people remember. The power of occasion is examined by Hilton’ s James B. Clarke on p58. We hear plenty about dwell time and ROI and the importance of data, but time and again, we are reminded how we are a people business. And people remember the atmosphere, the conversations and the feeling of being part of something that mattered. app engagement and ROI all matter, but they don’ t fully explain why one event stays with people long after another has been forgotten. Clarke rightly highlights the setting, welcome and the smallest details that can change the way people respond to an event. These aspects influence whether guests simply attend or feel that they are part of something genuinely significant. Remember the phrase: anticipation is often better than realisation; well an event’ s sense of occasion often begins long before anyone takes a seat. So, I ask, are we human, or are we delegate‘ dancer’ to steal from The Killers? I, for one, think we are free-willed, beings not simply going through the motions afraid to take a step out of line. When PCMA asked business events strategists across the EMEA region to share their top priorities, human connection landed as the top spot, see p15.
More philosophy on what is meaningful in the incentives world, from Padraic Gilligan on p13, as he examines the latest findings of SITE’ s Incentive Travel Index. The data reveal a widening chasm between what makes people want to go( beach and sunshine) and what stays with them after they have gone( long-term transformational experiences). Gilligan sums it up in the words of an incentive qualifier of many years he met by chance, who said when asked to explain what got him excited:“ Let me bring my other half and take us somewhere I couldn’ t have booked myself.” Hard not to agree with Padraic describing that reaction as“ two sentences that would make a better brief than most RFPs I have read in 30 years”. We are human. For any event, incentive or meeting, find meaningful company and a meaningful place. Many of our association columnists also explore the importance of personalisation and, among the ideas for place, you can read all about Ireland on pages 26-37 and a unique star-gazing proposition from Spain on p44-45. n
MANAGING EDITOR PAUL COLSTON pcolston @ mashmedia. net
PORTFOLIO DIRECTOR IAIN STIRLING istirling @ mashmedia. net
HEAD OF MARKETING JONNY HAMMOND jhammond @ mashmedia. net
INTERNATIONAL SALES MANAGER MYRAN BALASINGHAM mbalasingham @ mashmedia. net
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