Chapter News
By Margie Sheffer, CHME, CHA
Director of Chapter Relations, HSMAI Americas Region

Volunteerism: The Gift with Great Returns

I have often said, and continue to say, that I have the best job in the world! The premise for this strong statement is simple. I work with 395 volunteers! These are the board members of HSMAI's 42 chapters in the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Volunteers are special! In most ways they're just like everyone else, but in truth they do have something more ! They have the ability to make time to give back to their industry even though they have the same family and work obligations as the rest of us.

In the nine years I have worked with our chapter boards, there is one glaring consistency that permeates all volunteers, whether they came on-board kicking and screaming or thought it a compliment to be asked, and that is the gratitude they experienced when it was all said and done. They were truly surprised at how much came back to them in so many different ways. The sense of well being and job well done not to mention new friendships and fun memories with their fellow board members, other winners like themselves.

Do yourself a favor and talk to your board members. Ask them why they volunteer and then consider the opportunity you have with your own chapter. In August of each year the chapter past-president forms a nominating committee to create the slate of officers and board members for the next year. This slate is presented to all chapter members in September and voted upon in October or November. The installation of your new board and recognition for outgoing board members is normally held as a chapter event in November or December.

If you are hesitant to volunteer to become a board member because the commitment of time may be too much but would like to give volunteering a try, offer to serve on a committee or get involved with just one event planning project for your chapter.

There really isn't a down side to being a volunteer. Becoming a volunteer is an action, not a position! Challenge your leadership skills, sharpen your people skills and enjoy the rewards that come with doing something of choice amongst your many obligations. I leave you with the words of Winston Churchill: We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.

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Industry News ~ Snapshot

--- ECONOMIC INSIGHTS ---

SMITH TRAVEL SEES DEMAND FLATTENING:
The increases in demand in the first half of 2004 appear to have flattened in July and August. While demand grew at approximately 4% in quarters 1 and 2 according to Smith Travel Research, the gains in REVPAR in July and August to date have come from increases in ADR. This is in alignment with a slowing of economic growth in the country in the third quarter.

MULTICULTURAL TRAVELERS GROWING SAYS YPB&R SURVEY:
The number of trips taken by multicultural travelers is currently growing at the rate of 11% annually, approximately seven times faster than the rate for the general leisure travel market according to a recent report issued by the Travel Industry Association. Much of this increase is being driven by the sustained growth in the size of the multicultural population which today represents an estimated 30% of all U.S. adults. Decidedly family-centric, multicultural travelers are significantly more likely to be family travelers than their white counterparts, with "family reunions" frequently stated as a primary motivation for leisure travel. Not surprisingly, 60% of multicultural travelers express interest in organized kids clubs and/or family activities when on vacation (compared to 37% of whites). Multicultural travelers also have a significantly higher degree of interest in a number of vacation attributes than their white counterparts. These include: an opportunity to try different and unusual cuisine (75%), nightlife and entertainment (66%), staying in hotels and resorts that have a distinctive theme or atmosphere (61%), going to theme parks (58%) and shopping (56%). They are also significantly more interested in owning vacation time. -- YPB&R/Yankelovich Partners 2004 Multicultural Traveler report at www.ypbri.com.

PWC HOTEL RECOVERY SEEN AS SHORT-LIVED:
Hospitality industry guru Bjorn Hanson delivered good news and bad news to meeting planners--and vice versa to hoteliers--in his keynote speech to attendees at Meeting World, the annual conference and trade show sponsored by Meeting News and Successful Meetings. First the bad news: The market shift toward sellers will continue through next year. The good news: The market shift may prove short-lived, possibly only through next year or not much beyond. "We're in a truncated recovery cycle," said Hanson, global hospitality industry leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers. In a normal hotel-industry recovery, Hanson explained, revenue per available room, or RevPAR, is initially driven by increased occupancy and then by increased rates, with a few years for each. But in the current hotel recovery cycle, which really took off only this year, rates will drive RevPAR as soon as next year, he said. In addition, lodging demand, or room nights sold, continues to lag behind economic growth at historic lows despite the hotel recovery that is now underway, according to Hanson. - Meeting News

--- HOTEL HIGHLIGHTS ---

HOTELS GETTING MORE AGGRESSIVE WITH YIELD MANAGEMENT:
"Hotels are going back to aggressive yield management," said Bjorn Hanson, global hospitality industry leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers. To comply with the demand of hotel owners to get more profit while the getting is good, hotel managers are bringing back surcharges in a big way, according to Hanson. Among the more, perhaps unexpected, surcharges that may turn up on the final bill, according to Hanson, are the following: fees for in-room safes, whether or not the guest uses the safe; mini-bar restocking charges; a fee to check into the hotel and another one to check out; handling charges for delivery of packages; and fees for housekeepers, porters and doormen, regardless of whether any service is rendered. --Meeting News

J.D. POWER RANKS FOUR SEASONS HOTELS AND RESORTS HIGHEST:
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts received the top ranking in the luxury hotel segment in the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Domestic Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study. In addition to scoring highest in annual guest satisfaction, Four Seasons also led in another key measure of guest loyalty.

HOTEL RATINGS CONSIDERED BY TRAVELERS:
More and more travelers are considering hotel ratings when selecting a hotel or resort, according to the annual National Leisure Travel Monitor by Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell/Yankelovich Partners (YPB&R). Over half of the active leisure travelers in America consider hotel or resort ratings very important in selecting lodging accommodations. This is an increase of 20% over 2003 figures. Mobile Travel Guide and AAA are trusted as independent sources of information on hotels and resorts. --Tourism Intelligence International

--- INTERNATIONAL INFO ---

CARIBBEAN GETS MORE TAX BREAKS FOR MEETINGS:
A report issued by the U.S. Treasury Dept. lists 14 Caribbean nations, plus Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as tax-deductible meetings destinations under the U.S. Tax Information Exchange Agreement. The tax deduction is a result of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) Convention Tourism Tax Credit that enables U.S. companies to hold business meetings in eligible Caribbean countries or territories and to take applicable expenditures as a tax write-off. The countries are: Aruba; Antigua & Barbuda; the Bahamas; Barbados; Bermuda; the British Virgin Islands; the Cayman Islands; Dominica; the Dominican Republic; Grenada; Guyana; Jamaica; St. Lucia, and Trinidad & Tobago.

--- BIZ/LEISURE TRAVEL ---

CORPORATE TRAVEL BUDGETS RISING:
Travel budgets at more than 60 percent of U.S. companies have increased this year over last year, according to the National Business Travel Association's mid-year survey of corporate travel managers. The increased spending amounts to no more than 10 percent for about three-quarters of those companies that are spending more on travel this year, the survey found. More than 70 percent of corporate travel managers expect their companies to book more hotel room nights in 2004 than last year, and nearly one in five said their companies are holding more meetings that involve travel, according to the survey. Travel managers expect prices in each segment of the industry to rise slightly for the remainder of 2004. Nearly 70 percent of respondents foresaw increases in air travel prices; nearly three quarters said that hotel rates will rise; and almost 60 percent expected increases in car rental prices. More than 65 percent of respondents said meetings costs will also grow. - Meeting News

REGISTERED TRAVELER PROGRAM AN INITIAL SUCCESS:
USA Today reports that the TSA's "Registered Traveler" program is enjoying significant initial success and is meeting its goal of speeding participating frequent flyers through the airport security process, prompting officials to suggest that the program may be expanded soon.

--- CRUISE NEWS ---

BALTIMORE PORT LOSES CRUISES:
Carnival Cruise Lines says it will not be sailing out of Baltimore's port next year, as it originally intended. Norwegian Cruise Lines is also eliminating Baltimore as a departure point next year, as well. But Royal Caribbean, one of the most popular cruise lines sailing from the port, plans to increase its number of Baltimore cruises. About 30 cruises are confirmed out of Baltimore for 2005 - about half this year's number - but the port is working to bring additional departures, McCabe said. --USA Today

--- ONLINE ISSUES ---

New in HSMAI's searchable online research and resource clearinghouse, information on research from:
» Forrester Research - Best Practices in Travel CRM
» Market Research - The State Of Marketing 2004: Recovery In Q2
» First Research - Hotel and Motel - Lodging

And new supplier links to:

» Blizzard Internet Marketing
» Resort Data Processing, Inc.

Click Here to go to eConnect, log in, and connect today. The first-ever, all-encompassing, online source for information, research, contacts and best practices, eConnect is an HSMAI Foundation program hosted by the University of Houston's Conrad N. Hilton College.

INTERCONTINENTAL GETS TOUGH WITH 3RD PARTY WEB SITES:
Intercontinental Hotels Group took its first action to enforce an online distribution standard unveiled in April, vowing to cease selling all inventory, whether merchant or agency, through Expedia and sister company Hotels.com in 30 to 90 days. At the same time, InterContinental, which has InterContinental, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express among the brands in its portfolio, embraced and "certified" Travelocity as an online agency whose business practices mesh with its core values. The hotel chain gets about 2% of its room revenue from online distributors and about half of that, about $100 million annually, comes from Expedia and Hotels.com. Until now, InterContinental had an umbrella contract with Expedia, and InterContinental franchisees were free to negotiate their own merchant agreements with the online agency. That kind of freelancing led to widespread discounting and a lack of pricing control for InterContinental. The chain intends to kill these side agreements. - Travel Weekly

NBTA PREDICTS ONLINE AGENCIES WILL SIPHON CLIENTS AWAY:
Corporate-travel Web sites were a big topic at the National Business Travel Association Convention where NBTA published a report predicting Web sites such as Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity would continue to siphon clients from conventional agencies. Soon, booking trips online "will become as traditional a method of procuring business travel" as calling a travel agent was a few years ago, the report predicted. Online corporate-travel management companies didn't exist a few years ago, but Orbitz and other consumer sites are now trying to expand by reaching out to business travelers. Besides making it easy for travelers to book trips, the Web sites offer businesses special features so that managers can track spending and keep up with employees. Consulting firm PhoCusWright Inc. predicts that online corporate-travel bookings will climb from $18.8 billion in 2003 to $36.5 billion in 2006. Cost is a big reason that companies are going online.

SATISFACTION HIGHEST WITH GUESTS WHO BOOK ON A HOTEL'S SITE:
Guests who book directly on a hotel chain's Web site report significantly higher satisfaction with their stay than those who make their reservations through an independent travel site, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study. The study finds that the number of consumers who booked a hotel reservation online has increased more than 50 percent over 2003 among those who have Internet access. More than one in three (36%) guests booked their hotel reservations using the Internet in 2004 -- up from 20 percent in 2003. Guests at extended stay hotels are the most likely to book online (43%), while economy/budget guests are least likely (33%). Overall, guests are more likely to book through the hotel's Web site than an independent travel site.

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National Events & News

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Marketing Tips But We Tried Everything! by Kevin Nunley www.drnunley.com (888) 429-6203

Nothing gets sales like good targeted direct marketing. Targeting is the key. If you send your sales letter or postcard to only those people who are intensely interested in what you sell, you will have more customers than you know what to do with.

Here is an easy way to get super-targeted names. Contact clubs and associations who have members who would be very interested in what you sell. Show the leader of the club why his members would love to hear about your business. You can often get a list of members and addresses for cheap or free.

Anika designs and sews costumes for dance students. She has an attractive web site and can work with customers just about anywhere.

Using a search engine, Anika finds several associations of dance teachers and their students. Two are in her city, one covers her state, and several more are national.

She first calls the presidents of the clubs in her city. She explains over the phone how her service can benefit teachers, students, and their parents. She schedules an appointment to visit with the club leader, show samples of her work, and leaves a brochure filled with enthusiastic comments from past customers. She will also leave with the club's mailing list.

Many national groups sell their member list at low cost. One business man I know does exceptionally well getting member lists from the local chamber of commerce in cities he wants to target.

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Email Tip of the Month Add Members to a Distribution List in Outlook by Heinz Tschabitscher www.email.about.com

If you are receiving your Yahoo! Mail email in Outlook, you have certainly noticed that you're receiving all the spam, too. Fortunately, this is not necessary. Yahoo! Mail offers some great spam filters, and there are two ways to make use of them if you download your Yahoo! Mail to Outlook.

You can disable downloading all the messages in your Yahoo! Mail Bulk Mail folder completely, or reproduce this folder locally in Outlook. Here's how to do the latter.

To filter Yahoo! Mail spam to a special folder in Outlook:

• Select Tools | Rules and Alerts... from the menu in Outlook.
  • If you use Outlook 2000 or 20002 and have no Rules and Alerts... menu item,
  • Choose Tools | Rules Wizard from the menu,
  • Click New and
  • Skip the next two steps.
• Click New Rule....
• Make sure Start from a blank rule is selected.
• Now make sure Check messages when they arrive is selected.
• Click Next.
• Make sure With specific words in the message headers is selected.
• Click on specific words.
• Type "X-YahooFilteredBulk" (without quotes).
• Click OK.
• Click the Next button.
• Make sure Move to specified folder is selected.
• Click on specified folder.
• Select or create the folder you want Yahoo! Mail spam to be moved to automatically.
• Click Next.
• Click Next again.
• Give the rule an appropriate name (like "Yahoo! Bulk Mail", for example).
• Click Finish.

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