Chapter News
by Eileen White, Chapter Administrator
HSMAI, Greater Los Angeles Chapter
eileenw@hsmailax.org (323) 469-9304

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2004 Chapter Board Nominations
This year, both the nomination process as well as board elections will be handled via online ballots and is open to all HSMAI members in good standing. An email link calling for nominations will be sent at the end of September and I encourage every member to participate in the process by casting a vote. Thank you in advance for your participation and support. -- Tom Weber, Nominations Chair

Calling All Charities!
Our December Holiday Party is only a few months away and we are compiling a list of needy charities. If you know of a charity that needs holiday toy donations please email us the name of the organization and contact information. We will announce the recipient at our October luncheon. Thank you in advance for helping us spread the holiday cheer!

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Industry News ~ Snapshot

TRAVEL BOOKINGS FINISH SUMMER STRONG
The third consecutive strong month of cruise bookings -- up 13 percent from 2002 levels -- spurred AAA's overall travel bookings to a 3 percent increase this August compared to August 2002. The monthly AAA National Travel Barometer indicates the third straight month of increased overall travel agency bookings, spurred by double digit increases in cruise bookings and significant increases in tour packages. Overall AAA travel agency bookings -- cruise, tour packages, car rental and hotels -- increased 3 percent in August (136,600) as compared to a year ago (132,400). A summary of the AAA National Travel Barometer's measurements shows: Cruise bookings (25,700) were at 113 percent of one year ago (22,700). Tour packages (37,100) were 106 percent of the August 2002 total (35,000). Hotel bookings (52,300) were at 99 percent one year ago (52,800). Car rental reservations (21,500) were at 98 percent of a year ago (21,900).

VISA WAIVER PROGRAM HOLDS
Everyone in the hospitality, travel and tourism industries are pleased that the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security decided to delay the implementation of the Machine Readable Passport (MRP) requirements for nationals from the 27 countries that participate in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. The requirement was postponed until Oct. 1, 2004. However, the MRP requirement for Belgium nationals, which was instituted on May 15, remains.

MPI SURVEYS SHOW INDUSTRY OPTIMISM
Signs of recovery are visible in the meetings industry—planner salaries and expectations are inching up according non-scientific online polls recently conducted by MPI. In what is probably the most heartening piece of news, out of 266 people who responded to a June poll, 43 percent said their income increased in 2003 vs. 2002, 31 percent said it stayed the same, and 25 percent said it decreased. Based on 220 votes in a July poll that asked, "In your experience, which most influences the decision-making process when it comes to site selection for a meeting or event?" The majority of respondents, 41 percent, believe that the meeting planner/meeting department has the most influence, followed closely by senior -level executives, which 38 percent of respondents believe has the most influence over site selection. When 181 people responded to a June poll to the question, "How much confidence do you have that the economy will recover in 2003-2004?" 41 percent of them said "moderately," 32 percent said "a little" confident, 14 percent were totally confident, and 11 percent had no confidence at all in a recovery.
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National Events & News

International Travel Awards Call For Entries
The HSMAI

   • Boston - Sept. 30, 2003 ~ Sheraton Boston
   • Atlanta - Oct. 7, 2003 ~ Hyatt Regency
   • Chicago - Oct. 30, 2003 ~ Holiday Inn O'Hare
   • Minneapolis - Oct. 23, 2003 ~ Millennium Hotel
   • Dallas - Nov. 6, 2003 ~ Hotel InterContinental
   • Washington, DC - Nov. 25, 2003 ~ Hilton Washington & Towers
   • Anaheim - Dec. 11, 2003 ~ Paradise Pier

Contact: HSMAI Meetings Quest
c/o JTDunn Enterprises, 513 Commerce Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774
(301) 249-4600, Email: meetingsquest@jtdunninc.com; www.meetingsquest.com

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Selling Tips Marketing to Many Cultures by Kevin Nunley www.drnunley.com (888) 429-6203

America used to be called "the melting pot" because it was considered a place where many cultures came to exist together and melt into each other. Today the more PC term for America is the "salad bowl," implying that we exist together, but don't really blend.

I would say we are somewhere in between; different cultures affect each other, but maintain their own traits, characteristics, and beliefs.

But in such a vastly diverse environment, how is a marketer to reach such a varied audience?

For one thing, you have to understand that no ad, article, or release is going to be appropriate for everyone. If you want to reach out to multicultural markets, try a series of ads, each focusing on a different audience. If that's too expensive, make an effort to incorporate elements of what would appeal to different cultures into an ad. But be careful not to go overboard.

The most important thing to do before you try to reach multicultural audiences is to understand them, just as you would any target demographic. What do different cultures value? What do they want? Don't rely on stereotypes and never make assumptions. Educate yourself before you attempt any marketing.

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Email Tip of the Month Close Your Hotmail Account by Heinz Tschabitscher www.email.about.com

If you are fed up with all the spam arriving at your Hotmail account regularly, or if you're temporarily off to Austria for a secret mission, Hotmail doesn't care why you want to close your account. But it may be one of the easier exercises on your way to Austria.

To close your Hotmail account, Visit the Close Account page and click Close Account.

If you close your Hotmail account, it becomes inactive. This means that you can no longer send messages from it, and it won't accept any new mail either. Messages to your Hotmail account then bounce back to the sender with an error message. And keep in mind that closing your Hotmail account deletes all mail that you may have in various folders.

If your Hotmail account is inactive for 90 days it will be completely erased and your Hotmail user name can be taken by somebody else. You can reactivate your Hotmail account at any time within those 90 days by signing in.

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