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INCENTIVETRAVEL
The Un-Vegas
It's time to take a chance on a different gaming destination
One question that was often asked about Gulf Coast tourism
prior to Hurricane Katrina was, “When will there be land-based casinos?” The witty reply, says Steve Richer, Executive Director of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and
Visitors Bureau, was, “When God puts them there.”
That, of course, proved to be true when Katrina hit in August 2005 and the massive barges that housed the area’s only casinos were tossed ashore. The thriving Gulf Coast gaming market – the country’s third-largest after Las Vegas and Atlantic City – was devastated.
About one month after the hurricane struck, Gov. Haley Barbour signed a measure allowing casinos to build on dry land within 800 feet of the waterline, a decision that Richer says saved the region. “Without it, developers would have gone away.”
Those casinos continue to rebuild and expand, and new ones are under development. As many as 15 are expected to be in operation in Biloxi alone by 2010. Rebuilding is ahead of schedule, but it’s never fast enough to meet demand, Richer says.
“We’re getting rediscovered. We were on our way to becoming a top-flight destination when Katrina hit, and we’re headed in that direction again.”
The Gulf Coast’s impressive rebound is partly the result of increased demand for gaming destinations, including the business world’s embracing gaming as a great means of combining business with fun. Meetings at gaming destinations are more popular than ever, in large part because of the additional destinations to choose from.
When we spoke with Richer in February, the Beau Rivage and the IP Hotel, both in Biloxi, were the only Gulf Coast resorts with meeting space available post-Katrina. Other resorts moved casino operations into their available meeting space because it’s more profitable. Richer says additional meeting space will be available later this year.
Consider the Options
Las Vegas and Atlantic City remain the Big Two when it comes to U.S. gambling destinations, but more companies are taking their business meetings to gaming destinations like the Gulf Coast and the large casino resorts that continue to be built on Indian reservations throughout the United States.
For the past two years, Tom Vrabel, Director of Franchising for Benihana, has staged his annual meeting for about 30 franchisees at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. He held previous years’ meetings in Las Vegas, and says both locations have their advantages.
For starters, the Seminole Hard Rock is conveniently close to the restaurant chain’s Miami headquarters. What’s more, Vrabel says, there is a “service first” attitude from the staff there that he hasn’t always received during his Las Vegas events.
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“Las Vegas resorts can fall back on selling Las Vegas. At the Seminole Hard Rock, there is a ‘We try harder’ approach that’s definitely noticeable,” he says.
His group accomplished what it needed to during the day and found plenty of entertainment options at night, even without Cirque du Soleil. “You can never fault South Florida nightlife,” he says. “There’s always something to do in terms of music, theater and other entertainment.”
In fact, says Mark Tascione, Director of Sales and Catering for the Seminole Hard Rock, the property’s ample meeting space, 11 nightclubs and restaurants, 22 shops, 24-hour casino and state-of-the-art fitness center ensure that your event participants need not leave the ground for their entire stay. “It’s a one-stop shop when you come here,” he says.
Decidedly Not Vegas
Tascione says the Seminole Hard Rock, which opened in May 2004, drives 40 percent of its revenue from group business, drawing mostly from around the state and companies in the Northeast that want to escape the winter. January through March is the busiest season, with an average stay lasting three to four nights.
Tascione, Richer and others say their properties rarely compete directly with Las Vegas for business, but that could change as the non-Vegas venues broaden the boundaries of who they market to.
“We have more diversified offerings than Las Vegas or Atlantic City,” Richer says, ticking off the region’s renowned cuisine, outstanding fishing, and the proximity to beaches and New Orleans as important draws to the Gulf Coast. “People are more likely to combine a business meeting with a family vacation because of that.”
If your sales group makes Las Vegas an annual pilgrimage, a non-Vegas site may be a refreshing change. Richer, sounding like a Gulf Coast marketing brochure, says, “If you haven’t been here, you haven’t traveled.”
If you really want to inspire a sales team to evolve – to rise above the competition and drive extraordinary results – the first place that management should look is in the mirror, Beveridge says.
“The day management makes a commitment to a sustainable and consistent and cumulative effort, I guarantee you that’s the start of making lasting growth happen in an organization.”
It’s also likely the end of hiring quick-fix artists – those “Let me tell you a story” types who have more entertainment value than educational.
“Is there a role for the keynote presentation? The answer is yes. But the No. 1 role of a keynote has got to be to support management’s direction and management’s vision,” Beveridge says. If you haven’t got the vision for a guest speaker to support, then you’re not ready for the guest speaker.
Beveridge says he has “reengineered” his business over the past two years to reinforce this concept. When he is asked to make half-day or even 90-minute presentations, he limits himself to addressing one or two specific strategies that can help salespeople get better.
He emphasizes that no matter how much time he’s allowed to work with a client, each program is customized to that client’s industry and their means of going to market. A business should expect as much from any outside trainer or speaker.
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To get people to come to meetings, maybe you should let them leave A nagging concern when staging a meeting at a casino (or any site that has tantalizing leisure activities) is losing half of your attendees before you even begin. Jeffrey Phillips, a blogger who bills himself simply as “a process-oriented marketing guy interested in innovation,” asks, Why not let them leave? He calls it just-in-time meeting attendance. In a nutshell, it requires the facilitator to stick to a prepared agenda and allows participants to arrive during their portion of the agenda and leave once their segments are completed. “If Toyota can have axles and door frames show up exactly when they are needed in the manufacturing process of your next Camry, and can coordinate thousands of suppliers to have parts delivered just when they are needed on the plant floor to minimize investment and cost, why can’t we do the same? In a time when labor costs are the largest cost element in most businesses, are we being as efficient as we can be with meetings?” Theoretically, each attendee will be more committed to his or her role and prepare better if you provide this leeway. Jeffrey Phillips blogs at: http://workingsmarter.typepad.com/my_weblog |
Just-In-Time Meeting Attendance.
View all online articles from the
May/June 2007 SalesForceXP magazine.
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