< Previous10 March 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com T he Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) formally kicked off its golden anniversary with a sold-out, record- breaking Global Conference in New York City. The 2023 SITE Global Conference took place in February at the New York Marriott Marquis with over 800 delegates for three days of connecting, learning and discovering this hallmark, incentive travel destination. “We welcomed so many members of our global SITE community, whether they’ve been with us for decades or are making this their first SITE event,” SITE CEO Annette Gregg says. “We celebrated 50 years of incentive travel excellence in the company with 30 past presidents of SITE traveling to New York from Buenos Aires, Cape Town, New Delhi, Rome, London, Athens, Dublin, Edinburgh, Brussels, Toronto and from all over the USA.” The 2023 conference showcased the best of SITE’s legacy, while also providing plenty of inspiration and opportunities to shape the future of incentive travel. “Incentive travel demand came roaring back last year with new opportunities for our sector exploding,” Kevin Edmunds, 2023 SITE president, says. “Corporations know that incentive travel will always drive ROI and hard dollars, but now they see how it can also ignite soft-power benefits like better workplace relationships, esprit de corps and company culture. As part of a reward and recognition program, incentive travel can play a transformational role as part of company’s commitments to ESG, DEI and sustainability.” | C&IT | SITE GLOBAL CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 17-20, 2023 | NEW YORK, NY SNAPSHOTS // Francesco Lo Campo Photography Francesco Lo Campo Photography Specialty Imaging Specialty ImagingTheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | March 2023 11 Francesco Lo Campo Photography Francesco Lo Campo Photography Francesco Lo Campo Photography Francesco Lo Campo Photography Specialty Imaging Specialty Imaging Specialty Imaging Specialty Imaging Specialty ImagingSonia Cheng holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Applied Mathemat- ics with a concentration in Economics, from Harvard University. After graduation, Cheng joined Morgan Stanley and Warburg Pincus working in their U.S. and Hong Kong offices. In 2008, she joined New World Group and became Chief Executive Officer of Rosewood Hotel Group overseeing five distinct brands: the ultra-luxury Rosewood Hotels & Resorts in North America, Caribbean/Atlantic, Europe, the Middle East and Asia; the upper- upscale New World Hotels & Resorts in Greater China and Southeast Asia; KHOS, a dynamic global business lifestyle hotel brand; Carlyle & Co., a modern and progressive private members’ club; and Asaya, an integrative wellness concept. As a visionary business leader, Cheng promotes environ- mentally-friendly and sustainable policies, such as Rosewood Impacts, a corporate social impact initiative embracing a sustainability approach. Sonia Cheng CEO of Rosewood Hotel Group Amber Asher serves as Chief Executive Officer of Standard International, the company behind The Standard, Bunkhouse Group and The Peri Hotel. Ahser started her work with The Standard over 10 years ago as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Andre Balazs Properties. In 2013, she led the sale of a majority stake in the brand to Standard International, where she became the Executive Vice President and General Counsel and went on to become President in 2017. Over the last five years, she has built and led the Standard International team in the accelerated growth and international expansion of the Standard Brand. It will open hotels: Melbourne and Singapore in 2023, Lisbon in 2024, and Brussels and Dublin in 2025. Asher has led all corporate transactions, as well as negotiating all agreements for new hotel developments. Amber Asher CEO of Standard International Leading The Way INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS // 12 March 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.comWith over three decades of experience, Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Volkart, Market General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach and The Ritz-Carlton, Bal Harbour, has honed her hospitality and management expertise across the world in leadership positions at world-class, luxury properties. Volkart has been with Marriott International for 32 years. Originally from and educated in Switzerland, her tenure has been characterized by innovative approaches that prioritize the quality of the customer experience and the wellbeing of her employees. She recently won the 2021 Ritz-Carlton Global General Manager of the Year, a prestigious brand honor. Through genuine care and mentorship, Vol- kart helps her teams and properties thrive. She is a savvy, multilingual businesswoman fluent in English, Swiss, Ger- man, French, Spanish and Italian. Kalia Konstantinidou was born in Athens and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Maritime Studies & International Transport from the University of Wales in Cardiff, while she also holds Master of Sciences degree in Busi- ness Communication and Public Relations from the European University in Switzerland. Her path in hospitality started when she met her husband, Antonis Elio- poulos, at a shipping event while she was working in PR for a think-tank. Eliopoulos had decided a few years ago to buy a rustic vineyard, which he turned into a hotel in 1993 – Vedema, a Luxury Collection Resort, a unique village-like setting in the medieval village of Megalohori. Konstantinidou debuted her career in the family business, as a Public Rela- tions & Communications Manager, and as the company grew, with the addi- tion of more properties in their portfolio, her role has evolved. Jacqueline Volkart, General Manager, The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach and The Ritz-Carlton, Bal Harbour Kalia Konstantinidou Vice President & Owner, Kanava Hotels & Resorts March is Women’s History Month, so check out these women who lead in the hospitality industry. e Way TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | March 2023 13SNAPSHOTS // 14 March 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com D MCs are back in a wonderful way, and that was evident in Florida last month, when 171 DMC professionals from nine countries gathered at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay for the ADMEI Annual Conference. Ninety-one first-timers brought their electric energy to networking events, educational sessions and especially the four teambuilding events. There was great food, great entertainment, interactive education and high engagement. ADMEI is fortunate to have a great relationship with SpotMyPhotos, who worked in tandem with incredible photographers to capture the moments. | C&IT | ANNUAL CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 2-4, 2023 | TAMPA, FL ADMEI All photos by SpotMyPhotos / Courtesy of ADMEITheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | March 2023 15B etween continuing economic volatility, ris- ing geopolitical uncertainty, and a seemingly endless parade of unexpected events, meeting and event planners increasingly face a world of growing disruption. Thankfully for MICE industry pros, and the many vendors and sup- pliers which support them, learning to successfully navigate today’s topsy-turvy business environment doesn’t have to be as difficult as it seems when you apply a few helpful shifts in strategy and thinking. Moreover, as a keynote speaker and workshop presenter who’s helped hundreds of organizations and meeting plan- ners adapt to change and emerging trends, I’m pleased to report that you don’t need psychic powers or superhuman intuition to see ahead of the curve either. In fact, as much as we all love talking about the Elon Musks and Steve Jobs’ of the world, as it turns out, succeeding in a business environ- ment that’s as fast-changing and unpredictable as today’s marketplace isn’t about having to be a single-minded or visionary leader anymore. Rather, it’s about becoming more of an anticipatory leader – and simply learning to apply a little bit more forethought and advance planning to every effort. If you’re feeling like your head is constantly spinning as an event industry pro, and you’re looking to improve your skill at practicing the art of futurism (actively contemplating future events), fear not, however. You can begin to better plan for tomorrow, and become more of an anticipatory leader, just by asking yourself three simple questions: • Financial gains aside, how can you always ensure you’re finding ways to win with every opportunity and gain new capabilities that can be applied to other business ventures? For instance: Despite initial up-front invest- ment costs, perhaps it makes good sense to launch a series of new educational salons to introduce your- self to industry leaders in new verticals your company would like to target. • Just how adaptable are the biz strategies and solutions that you’re considering pursuing – and if they fall short, just how readily can you repurpose tools, technologies, and insights gained from these ventures in new and novel ways, or use them to pivot to new opportunities? For example: If you put on an online event, and sales are lower then anticipated, perhaps you could leverage the technology platforms, content formats or speaker relationships you developed, to underpin a program on another more marketable topic. • Where and to what extent could your efforts in any given business area quickly translate to other indus- tries? Case in point: Maybe all of those events you’ve been planning for C-suite leaders in the medical space could also appeal, with some slight tweaks and adjust- ments, to executives in the chemical engineering or consumer products world as well. In effect, before making business investments of any kind — including time, effort or energy — the key is to look beyond financial opportunities alone and consider: How well do these initiatives support us in the pursuit of our over- all goals and strategies? And if sudden, unexpected devel- opments call even the best-laid plans into question, how quickly can we use them as a springboard to other ventures? Other helpful questions that you may want to ask your- self as a MICE industry pro, as you work to adapt to change and emerging events are as follows: • Can you or your associates learn from a given opportu- nity, and/or leverage your existing capabilities in novel How to Make Better Business Decisions BY SCOTT STEINBERG PERSPECTIVE // You can begin to better plan for tomorrow, and become more of an anticipatory leader, just by asking yourself three simple questions. 16 March 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.comways, by pursuing it? Will doing so help grow your orga- nization’s capabilities or introduce you to new contacts, markets or audiences? What additional upsides, such as new training, skills or contact introductions, might you gain as the result of pursuing this option? • At what expense will any given opportunity come? Will you lose the chance to pursue alternate opportu- nities (e.g. putting on other industry events), limit your capacity to take on new work or explore other develop- ments? If you choose to pursue a given opportunity, will you achieve one-time, recurring or permanent benefit by participating? • Are competitors pursuing similar opportunities to good effect? How so? Is there a way to do so in a similar — or, better yet, quicker, more impactful or cost-effective fash- ion? Who can assist you in your efforts to innovate here, and are there preexisting resources, capabilities or solu- tions that you can repurpose to speed up your efforts? • With regard to any given business dealings, are the deal’s terms acceptable? Where do potential pain- points lie? What leverage does each party involved in the transaction hold? What terms need to be negoti- ated, and what are you willing to compromise or con- cede? Which terms are deal breakers? • When competing against others for a specific oppor- tunity, how does your relative pricing and value stack up? What unique sales-points and value-proposi- tions set you apart? • Can work created as part of any given project be repur- posed for other projects? In what other ways? How do these options align with your overall objectives, and how much more effectively can they help you accomplish them? As you can see, for meeting and event planners in every field, learning to make smarter strategic decisions in busi- ness is largely a function of your willingness to exercise a little more forethought. Likewise, picking the right strategic option for your firm is simply a function of being a bit more proactive and pointed in the questions that you choose to ask. As any experienced event planner can tell you, build- ing a winning game plan in a fast-changing MICE indus- try starts with defining big goals, then working backwards to break them down into specific tactics and action steps. Achieving this goal becomes much easier when you take a few minutes to pause up-front and ask yourself some crit- ically-important questions, and leave yourself a little more room to maneuver. C&IT Adobe Stock Hailed as the world’s leading business strategist, award-winning expert witness, strategic consultant and professional speaker, SCOTT STEINBERG is among today’s best-known trends experts and futurists, and the bestselling author of “Think Like a Futurist;” “Make Change Work for You: 10 Ways to Future-Proof Yourself, Fearlessly Innovate, and Succeed Despite Uncertainty;” and “Fast >> Forward: How to Turbo-Charge Business, Sales, and Ca- reer Growth.” The president and CEO of BIZDEV: The International Association for Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, his website is FuturistsSpeakers.com. TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | March 2023 17E mployee burnout is one of the greatest chal- lenges facing the U.S. economy to the tune of $300 billion each year, according to the Ameri- can Institute of Stress. Its studies show that a majority (83%) of U.S. workers suffer from work-related stress, with over half (60%) of worker absences directly related to that stress. Not only is this a significant drain on resources, it’s also a major contrib- utor to both mental and physical health problems of valuable employees. While any number of interventions can address and resolve the employee burnout epidemic, one solution is within earshot...literally: active listening. Today’s modern management must take a top-down approach to support staffers, and not just hear what is being said but rather actively listen to it. For one, a Harvard Busi- ness Review study found that active listening is a key fac- tor in improving leadership effectiveness, which, in turn, improves employee productivity, engagement and reten- tion. Conversely, failing to do so presents a missed opportu- nity to address, and resolve, root causes of workforce stress and burnout. With employee burnout so widespread, aptly addressing the issue can seem daunting for managers. How- ever, the overwhelm of the issue can apparently be mitigated with a clarified understanding of common challenges that cause, and exacerbate, employee burnout. Here are five red flags that can readily be identified and resolved through active listening, according to Adi Segal, CEO of Hapi.com, an app that supports active listening. • Social Isolation: When employees feel isolated, their emotional state is compromised and they are more likely to experience anxiety, stress and burnout–fac- tors that can erode a company’s growth. The work- from-home culture has only exacerbated the issue. In fact, Airbnb’s CEO warned that “the most danger- ous part of remote work isn’t lost productivity; it’s loneliness.” Active listening can help leaders iden- tify employees who are struggling with this issue and take concerted steps to help them feel more connected to a manager and the team. Knowing that you “belong,” feeling that you are an important “part of something” and understanding that your con- tributions are valued can produce a powerful and positive mindset. • Relationship Issues: Whether with respect to friends, colleagues, family or a significant other, relationship problems can cause significant pain, trauma and strain that promotes burnout. By actively listening to employees, leaders can identify these kinds of issues and take proactive measures to address them before they become major problems — for the worker, department and the company overall. • Mentorship Deficits: Mentoring is an essential part of career development, but it can be challenging to navigate for both mentors and mentees. Many com- panies today are stretched thin and workdays are overwhelmed with tasks and to-do’s that make “free time” elusive, if not seemingly impossible. Even so, it’s imperative for leaders to engage in active listen- ing moments to help identify these guidance gaps and provide the necessary support, direction, assess- ment and praise to keep staffers on the right track. • Socioeconomic & Financial Strife: Often, an employee pool represents a variety of socioeconomic factors and income levels. No matter one’s real or self-per- ceived stature or actual salary, everyone is at risk of struggling culturally and economically. Active listening can be a profound form of activism. One report underscored the extent to which active listen- ing can offer much-needed support to help people deal with distressing emotions in relation to these particular issues. • Subpar Problem-Solving: It would be an understate- ment to say that problem-solving is a critical capa- bility to uphold in the workplace. In fact, problem- solving skills were cited as the most important soft skill of 2022 with fully 86% of employers reportedly seeking this attribute on student resumes, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employ- ers Job Outlook 2022 survey. Given this vital skill is hampered by communication breakdowns, active listening can help leaders identify these shortfalls, and bridge those gaps by providing the necessary understanding, explanation and guidance to ensure everyone is on the same page. Segal says, “Even the most significant issues individuals, families and organizations face can be resolved with active 5 Reasons American Industry Needs ‘Active Listening’ Now More Than Ever BY MERILEE KERN, MBA PERSPECTIVE // 18 March 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.comlistening, which needs to be more deeply embedded into our society— especially as most facets of our professional and personal lives move at lightning speed. Relative to corpo- rate culture, better listening training is a quick and tactical way to demonstratively and quantifiably improve company culture, increase staff retention and boost the bottom line.” Immediately Accessible Solutions Addressing employee burnout and related productivity pitfalls need not be rocket science, according to Segal, there are numerous tactical strategies to start addressing the issue right now. These include the following: • Practice Makes Perfect: As with any skill, listen- ing ability is correlated with frequency of use. Like working a muscle, it will get stronger over time. Sim- ilarly, leaders should regularly schedule and conduct sessions with their employees to actually practice “the art of listening,” rather than just “hearing what someone said.” People must embrace the notion that listening is not just a concept, but rather something that requires intention and action. • Train Your Team: There are numerous emotional- intelligence and active-listening courses leaders can provide individuals or their team. Just as the state mandates harassment training, business executives should make listening certification an important part of their own, and their team’s, professional develop- ment. Go a step further and make it a requirement for the job. When needed, expert trainers can run active listening exercises, either in-person or virtually. Such professional resources can help expedite the learn- ing needed to put this skill into meaningful practice and start postively impacting people and the busi- ness bottom line. • Recommend Resources: Analysis by the National Safety Council and National Opinion Research Center at University of Chicago reveals organiza- tions that support mental health see a return of $4 for every dollar invested. They have built a Mental Health Cost Calculator that can demonstrate and quantify the financial impact on your own company. Also notable is research making it clear that talking to strangers can supercharge happiness. With the advent of Certified Listening as a Service, managers can promote mental health apps and resources that increase access to care and human connectivity with 24/7/365 availability, lower the bar to entry and sim- ply provide a safe space for team members to vent, relieve stress, get advice, bounce ideas or just have company when feeling lonely. Such anywhere, any- time access, makes mobile health platforms a boon for employee retention, recruitment and organiza- tional transitions. “Many psychologists even admit that, often, people deal- ing with work and life issues don’t need therapy, but rather they just need someone to talk to,” Segal says. “Someone who will truly listen and provide the space for support, vali- dation and exploration.” Organizationally, leaders need to establish and build upon a culture of engagement, collaboration and trust — the kind that can only be compelled through true active listen- ing, so that employees feel heard, valued and supported in a way that impedes burnout. In turn, businesses will realize an array of benefits, from increased productivity and higher staff retention rates to lower absenteeism and presenteeism, as exemplified by the “quiet quitting” trend. Employee angst, stress and burnout is a significant busi- ness problem. By committing to this learned and nuanced skill, active listening allows leaders to address the root causes of these issues and ultimately facilitate a potent cul- ture of caring. Executives will quickly see the ripple effects as these improvements drive employee satisfaction and rev- enue growth. C&IT MERILEE KERN, MBA is a brand strategist and analyst who reports on industry change makers, movers, shakers and innovators: field experts and thought leaders, brands, products, services, destinations and events. Merilee is also founder, executive editor and producer of “The Luxe List,” as well as host of both the “Savvy Ventures” business TV show that airs nationally on FOX Business TV and Bloomberg TV, and the “Savvy Living” lifestyle TV show airing in top U.S. markets. Connect with her at TheLuxeList.com, SavvyLiving.tv, at LuxeListReports on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and on LinkedIn at MerileeKern. Even the most significant issues individuals, families and organizations face can be resolved with active listening. TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | March 2023 19Next >