As I was growing up, I remember watching scenes on television of people traveling on airplanes that seemed to make it very glamorous. In the last 12 months, I have been on planes nearly 50 times and can most assuredly guarantee you that it is not glamorous.  It really may have been at one time, but nowadays it is anything but.  Unfortunately, over the past year, I have developed some pet peeves about being on an airplane or in an airport.

• Are there really any adults that don’t know how to fasten and unfasten a seat belt?
• I was lucky enough to fly business class on a trip to Barcelona and was somewhat surprised when I was the only one boarding the plane when business class was announced.  I was even more surprised, upon boarding the plane, when I discovered that every other business class passenger went on during pre-boarding.  Just because you spent the extra dollars for a business or first class ticket, you are not that special than those that truly need the extra time…
• When getting out of your seat for the fifth time to head up to the lavatory, how about pushing up from the armrests on both sides of you, rather than grabbing the seat in front of you where I am trying to read.  If you insist on grabbing the seat, just grab it and not my hair (I need to keep what I have left). Also, try gently releasing the seat back, rather than just letting go and catapulting me forward two rows.
• After I turn down the offer of peanuts from the flight attendant, don’t ask them if you can have mine in addition to yours.
• If you fly Southwest Airlines, understand their boarding procedures and don’t act surprised that the three of you probably won’t be sitting together when you get on the plane in boarding group C.
• If you press the call attendant button more than twice on a flight, federal marshals should be allowed to take you into custody.
• You are allowed to take two carry-on bags onto the plane.  Learn how to count and stop at two.
• I understand the desire to carry on your luggage to avoid the fees that some airlines charge (hey, check out Southwest….) but they really should fit in the overhead bins and not be the size of my Mini Cooper car.
• Learn how to walk down the aisle of the airplane without hitting every person sitting in an aisle seat with your carry-on luggage.
• When they told you five minutes ago that all electronic devices needed to be turned off, that was your clue to end the cellphone conversation.
• While walking through the airport concourse with your rolling luggage, walk in a straight line rather that weaving about like a navy ship trying to avoid a submarine attack.
• Don’t be complaining about the delay at security screening checkpoints and then have to take items out of four different bags when you get to the x-ray machine.
• TSA, I am sorry but I am still not convinced that a small jar of Jif Extra-Crunchy Peanut Butter is a liquid.  You might have convinced me if you were able to pour it out.
• If you are going to rip pages out of the in-flight magazine, just take the copy with you when you arrive rather than leaving the remnants behind for the next passenger.
• Last time I checked, all U.S. currency contains the statement that “This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private,” yet most airlines won’t accept it when I want to have an adult beverage.   I’m thinking class-action lawsuit on this one….

My friend, Bill Geist, has posted a series of Air Laws over on his excellent blog that you really should check out if you have any interest in tourism and destination marketing.

What have I missed?  Feel free to add to this list by making a comment below!

Enjoy your flight! As they say as you are deplaning, buh-bye!

The recent tragedy of the cruise ship Costa Concordia serves as a vivid reminder to those of us in the events industry that we need to prepare for possible emergency situations at our events. I’ve been involved with events since 1978 (there were no child labor laws back then).  Since that time, I’ve seen a plethora of incidents occur: Heart attacks, Childbirth, Injuries, Suicide, Public intoxication, False Fire alarms, Fires (with real flames), Property damage, Flooding, Public fighting

First step – Analyze what risks are likely to occur during your event.
You are not going to be able to plan for every contingency. I was working at an event this past August, when the east coast earthquake struck. To be honest, we hadn’t planned for the earthquake as one of the possible incidents. But we were able to adapt our planning that we had done on how to evacuate in case of other emergencies.

Second step – Develop an emergency procedures plan.
What is the chain of command? Where is all of your event team staying? What steps need to be done to mitigate further damages or injury. Be sure to share this plan with your supplier partners as well. There are several simple steps that you can take to minimize your risks in several areas.

While on site at an event, walk the necessary evacuation routes to ensure that all are passable. This should be repeated daily. One time, we had a room change overnight and this is what was found the next day. Medical emergencies are probably the most common situations that occur at events. Most venues provide or require organizers to have some medical coverage.

If you do multiple events a year, consider purchasing a portable Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) machine and get trained how to use it. Have you considered taking a basic first aid course? The Red Cross offers training at many local community colleges at minimal cost.

I am going to let you in on a little secret. I am out of shape (really). My family has a history of heart disease. I really, really would not mind having many people, who know basic first aid and how to use an AED, hanging out around me at most industry events. One more thing, there are Good Samaritan laws to protect those that come to the aid of others.

Do you serve alcohol at your events? Depending on where you are located, there could be laws that could make you liable as the host if the guest were to cause harm to others due to intoxication. Make sure that your servers have had some form of alcohol awareness training. Better yet, consider taking the course yourself – approximately $50 and 4-5 hours will get you a three year certification from a program like TIPs (Training Intervention Procedures). Spending some time prior to your events to minimize risks and plan for contingencies will save you time and money in the long run.

Note: This post was originally published by me on January 20, 2011 at Liz King Events, where I am a guest blogger.

With 2011 now in our rear view windows, I would like to take a minute to reflect on a few items that happened last year:

THE GOOD

PCMA unveiled its Learning Lounge at last year’s Convening Leaders in Las Vegas to rave reviews.  Featuring a behind the house look and short, interactive presentations on a variety of topics, the Learning Lounge was the talk of the event.  Kudos to Dave Lutz and Jeff Hurt for partnering with PCMA to create this new look educational project.  I look forward to this year’s version in San Diego!

Congratulations to Steve Knight and Reed Travel Exhibitions on the successful launch of AIBTM – The Americas Meetings and Events Exhibition in Baltimore.  TSNN honored AIBTM as Best in Show for their Events Excellence Awards.  It is very rare for a new launch to be recognized immediately as one of the best shows in the industry.  AIBTM returns to Baltimore this June 19-21.

The Baltimore Orioles announce the return of the cartoon bird logo to their caps for the upcoming baseball season.  While the Orioles wore a similar logo during the 1966 – 1988 seasons, they won 3 World Series, 3 American League Championships and appeared in two other playoff series.  During the other years with the other cap, the Orioles have only two playoff appearance.  Let’s hope this leads to the Orioles first winning season this century.  Please.

THE BAD

The tendency of the major associations in the meetings and events industry to bog down thier general sessions with a endless procession of sponsors and propaganda before the speaker ever appears on stage.  One group went over an hour into the 90 minute time slot allotted for the general session before we even heard the speakers name.  Rumor has it that PCMA is going to buck this trend with their upcoming event in San Diego.  I can only hope so!

Another troubling trend is that many of the major industry events insist on including a “State of the Industry Panel” on their agendas.  I sat through three of these sessions in 2011 and walked out of one.  It was original a few years back, but it now has been overdone and needs to be given a rest.

THE UGLY

Prior to the start of the 2011 NCAA football season, the Terps of the University of Maryland unveiled new uniforms and helmets that could be mixed to create 32 different uniform combos.  After warming up before the home opener versus Miami on Labor Day, the Terps changed into a unannounced 33rd uniform they called Maryland Pride.

Based on the Maryland state flag, the uniforms caused a great deal of discussion and nearly brought down Twitter with all of the comments it generated.  That night was the highlight of the Terps season unforuately.

Yes, this uniform is ugly.  I also like them and since the University of Maryland system is my alma mater, you better not say anything bad about them….

During the next several days, attendees of this year’s Professional Convention Management Association’s Convening Leaders event in San Diego may see many of their fellow attendees playing FourSquare on their smart phones.  Hopefully, this little article can offer a few pointers to those of you who may wish to play along.

FourSquare is a location based application that you will need to download to your mobile device.  Points are earned when you “check-in” that you are at a venue.  Whoever checks in the most at a venue (only one check-in per day counts) becomes the Mayor of that venue.  The mayor is only awarded after someone has checked in at a venue for a second time.

Some venues, such as restaurants and bars, offer specials to whoever becomes the Mayor.  Plus, there are bragging rights when you are the mayor.  In addition, you can connect with friends to keep track of where they are located and offer tips about what to try or not to try at a particular venue.  My favorite part of Foursquare is that badges that can be earned by checking in at different categories.

When you check-in at a venue, you can share comments about your check-in on Twitter and Facebook.  This is a very nice thing to do if attending an event and you wish to create some buzz about what is going on.

I had my introduction to FourSquare at the Convening Leaders in Dallas in 2010.  Jeff Hurt arranged a dinner for Mike McAllen, MikeMcCurry and myself who had only met on Twitter via the #EventProfs community.  After dinner, we returned to the hotel lobby for a few beverages.  Everywhere we went, Jeff was checking in on FourSquare and letting folks on Twitter follow our adventures.  People started coming by to say hello, have a drink or two.  Someone jokingly commented that we were holding court and nicknamed us the Godfathers of #Eventprofs.

So where should you check-in during Convening Leaders?  For starters, there are the following PCMA specific locations available:

• PCMA Convening Leaders
• PCMA Learning Lounge
• PCMA Party with a Purpose
• PCMA Student Union
• PCMA Fun Run
• PCMA General Sessions
• PCMA Luncheons
• PCMA Hospitality Helping Hands

Check-in at your hotel, the San Diego Convention Center, any venues, restaurants or shops that you visit during your stay.  So let’s see what badges we can earn while you are at Convening Leaders!

After your very first check-in, you earn the NEWBIE badge.  After your 10^th, 25^th and 50th different check-ins, you earn the ADVENTURER, EXPLORER and SUPERSTAR badges respectively.

If we can get 50 or more folks to check in at one venue at the same time, we can earn the SWARM badge.  It would be awesome if we could do this at the Learning Lounge or General Sessions!

Check in 3 times at the same place in one week and earn the LOCAL badge!

Find your friends on FourSquare and connect with them.  If you check-in to a venue where 3 of your friends of the opposite sex are currently checked in, you get yourself the PLAYER PLEASE badge.

Are you planning to attend Party with a Purpose?  Before checking into the PCMA specific venue for the party, check-in to the USS Midway to earn the I’M ON A BOAT badge.

If you get carried away and check in 10+ times on FourSquare in a 12 hour period, you earn the OVERSHARE badge.

Hang out 4 nights in a row and earn the BENDER badge!  Check-in 4 or more times in a single night (it’s easier than it sounds!) and earn the CRUNKED badge.  Check-in after 3:00 am on a Sunday thru Thursday and earn the SCHOOL NIGHT badge.  For help earning these three badges, hang out with ****** and ****** during Convening Leaders (names edited to protect the innocent…).

These are just a small sampling of the over 100 different badges that can be earned on FourSquare.  Join in the fun during Convening Leaders and I hope to see you there!

Well, once again the Christmas holiday season is upon us.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for putting up with my rantings here. In honor of the season, I thought it would be interesting to highlight a few of my favorite holiday songs. I would love to hear from some of you as to what are some of your choices. I think I might change this list after I get a hold of Michael Buble’s new holiday album.

You can never go wrong with the Boston Pops version of Sleigh Ride. Every time I hear this song, I can picture myself in a sleigh, going through the woods with the wind blowing through my hair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kYEK-pxs_A

When I was a small #eventprof in elementary school, I would always try to have our music classes sing The Twelve Days of Christmas during the holiday season, as it would take up a good amount of time in the class.  This interesting version by Straight No Chaser has a unique flavor to it and usually has my friends laughing when they hear it.

There are many fine versions of Jingle Bells out there.  This particular version always brings a smile to my face.  While growing up, I had small dog named Skeeter that would go absolutely beserk whenever he heard this song.  It would have been interested to see how Skeeter would have reacted during the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl season when they adopted the Baja Men’s Who Let the Dogs Out!

The next song is a local Baltimore classic that was done in the early 1980′s, Crabs for Christmas by David DeBoy.  This video was captured off a comedy sketch show called Crabs produced by Maryland Public Television in the mid to late 1980′s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXSHyqO0SZQ

Growing up, my parents had a Christmas album of songs performed by the guitar virtuoso Chet Atkins.  I would eventually wear that album out by continually playing it to hear this version of Jingle Bell Rock.

Deck The Halls is another classic and this particular version is by Mannheim Steamroller, a group mainly known for their recordings of Christmas songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9lpSlo7zHY

Our next Christmas song is performed by the Velvet Chainsaw, Dave Lutz. Scratch that, I mean the Velvet Fog, Mel Torme and it is the Christmas Song. Torme would often be in Baltimore over the holidays for the work he did with Maryland Public Television when they were producing a New Years Eve telecast for the PBS network.  This is a personal favorite, and Nat King Cole’s version is not too shabby, either!

Until just a few years ago, Bing Crosby’s White Christmas was the best selling song of all time.   This song never gets old and for many people I know, this is THE song for the Christmas holiday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SzjDOk_u9I

The Waitresses 1981 version of Christmas Wrapping has a decent beat and some clever lyrics.  Bonus points for the play on the word rapping, which had only started a few years earlier.

Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You has grown on me over the years as I have gotten older.  The original video for this song is fun to watch as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moF9ZXsPKGI

Last, but not least, here is Boris Karloff with You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch from the 1960′s cartoon How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  I have always enjoyed watching this movie that was produced by Chuck Jones, who also directed the very best of the Bugs Bunny cartoons at Warner Brothers years earlier.

I would welcome your comments on my selections and would love to hear about your choices.  To my readers, subscribers, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, creditors and anyone I might have missed – Best Wishes for the Holiday Season and Merry Christmas to you and your families.

Small legal disclaimer:  All musical works featured in this blog post are the property of the various artists, songwriters, publishing houses that created the works.  I claim no ownership of the musical works featured and really would prefer not to be sued for any copyright infringements, especially since I have no money…. Feliz Navidad!

Ummm, Greg?   Psst!  That photo of actress Jeri Ryan – her character on Star Trek: Voyager was called Seven of Nine.  It really has nothing to do with the title of your post.

Greg?  Me again.  That song by Meat Loaf?  It’s called Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.  Once again, you are oh so close but yet so far away.

So what point are you trying to make?

Yesterday, the Convention Industry Council (CIC) announced that eight of the nine APEX/ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Meeting standards are complete.  The ninth standard is currently undergoing final balloting through ASTM. 

Let’s take a moment to let this settle in.  Four years ago (2007, to be precise), the CIC issued a call for volunteers to join their Green Meetings and Events Practices Panel, as part of their APEX initiatives.  An oversight committee was formed (I jokingly referred to this as the Mother Ship) that was chaired by Amy Spatrisano, along with 9 subcommittees on various topics:

• Audio-Visual
• Communication & Marketing Materials
• Destinations
• Exhibits
• Food & Beverage
• Meeting Venue
• On-Site Office
• Transportation
• Accommodations

I was lucky enough to serve on the Meeting Venue task force and would like to think that I made some meaningful contributions to the project.  There would be countless emails, conference calls, heated discussions, drafts, revisions and more changes over the next eighteen months. At one point, I remember commandeering a computer at the internet station for IAEE’s Expo! Expo! in Miami for a 90 minute conference call as we were making the final revisions before sending the draft off to the Mother Ship.  I got a few strange looks from some of the other attendees at the time.

Discussion groups were held in cities throughout the United States to review what had been prepared by the task force and to get input from the industry at large.  This input was funneled back to the various sub-groups and the proposed standards were further tweaked and revised.

Somewhere in the process, the decision was made for the APEX Green Meetings and Events Practices Panel to partner with ASTM International.  ASTM is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards.  This action really gives these sustainable events standards some “teeth” and gives them more credibility around the globe, rather than just a United States based focus.  This decision also slowed down the process, as ASTM had their own systems and processes that had to followed.  In addition, ASTM was not familiar with our world of meetings and events and looked at our issues through the eyes of mainly engineers.  So this accounts for the name change to the APEX/ASTM Sustainable Meeting Standards.

The ASTM membership was sent the standards for their review and comments.  These were incorporated into the standards and again were sent to the ASTM membership.  Any negative concerns had to be addressed on an individual basis to try and convince the disagreeing party to sign off on the proposed standards. Take into consideration that you had some industries trying to protect their special interests during the process. This is an incredibly tedious process and a huge round of thanks should go to Karen Kotowski and Lawrence Leonard from the CIC for their patience and diligence in walking through this political minefield.  I probably would have had to bitch-slapped someone during this process.

For the past 18 months, if you asked when these standards would be released, the answer was “soon.”  Back in May, the Green Meetings Industry Council held Train the Trainer sessions that I attended to have the first wave of instructors available for when the standards would be released to the public.  Well, finally 8 of the 9 standards were approved in October (only the Accommodations section remains to go through the balloting process) and it is believed that the approved standards will be published this month by ASTM.  I am looking forward to putting this training to use in the near future now that the standards have been approved.

Are these standards perfect?  Heck no!  It is a start and a good one at that.  These are the first standards that places responsiblity squarely on both the planner and vendors shoulders – in the past, this mostly was the planner’s headache.  No longer will it be a one-sided equation.  As we go forward, these standards will need to reviewed and tweaked as they are put in process.  Having read drafts of the various standards – they are not sexy and are rather dry.  They also can be very intimidating at first.  This is why the GMIC training program will need to be a major factor as the standards are rolled out.

Many folks throughout our industry and various government agencies gave of their time and efforts for this project to come to fruition.  You can find a listing of these people here.  I am proud to call many of them as my friends.

My thanks to Nancy J. Zavada’s excellent Pretentious Musings of a Meet Green Martyr blog for sharing the good news about the first wave of standards being approved.  It’s one of the few blogs I have been proud to include in my blogroll, which you can find over in the right hand column.

One last attempt – how about Eight Standards Out?

A few hours have passed since I have returned home from this year’s BizBash Expo & Awards in New York.  Overall, I thought it was a very successful event and look forward to attending additional BizBash events in other cities.

I can count the number of times I have been in the Big Apple on one hand (my next trip there will change this) and was looking forward to seeing the Jacob Javits Center.  I can now cross that off my bucket list.  Note to the Javits Center – you may want to reexamine your policy on accessible wi-fi in the venue.  I am extremely pleased that I had the 3G service on my iPad.

David Adler and Liz King had invited me to participate as a Social Media Coach in the Social Media Lounge on the BizBash Expo floor and I was happy to do so.  The Social Media Lounge was packed with attendees as the show first opened and it was so nice to meet so many other #eventprofs that I had never met face to face before and only knew from conversations on Twitter.  I truly believe that social media helps facilitates meeting in person and my experiences at BizBash just reaffirm that.  The folks who run BizBash “get” social media and were heavily promoting its use on the show floor and in it’s pre-show marketing – many other events industry organizations could learn a thing or two from the BizBash team.

Two hours had flown by with me participating in many coaching sessions with various attendees with questions on LinkedIn, Twitter and blogging.  I was very impressed with the quality of the questions being asked and the willingness they had to try new ideas out.

Finally had the opportunity to walk around the expo floor and check out the various offerings from different entertainers, party venues, prop providers and other various suppliers.  There was an energy on the expo floor that was very upbeat and had a positive vibe.  Music was blaring from a variety of deejays and it was fun to walk around.  In other words, it was the exact opposite of what I expect to find when I am on the trade show floor for IAEE’s Expo! Expo! in a few weeks (a good event I enjoy attending, but not the most exciting either).

I was very glad to see that Brad Wilson was able to accept the BizBash Readers’ Choice Award on behalf of The Three Waiters as Entertainment Act of the Year during the closing awards ceremony. Those of you who attended the original EventCamp in February 2010 may recall Brad and The Three Waiters entertaining us during lunch.  I’ve had the opportunity to see The Three Waiters at a few other events and they are always entertaining.  A well deserved honor!

On a personal note, I was pleased to get a few direct messages on Twitter and a few emails from folks who were able to earn FourSquare badges while attending BizBash.  I am glad that my post was able to assist you (A big thank you to Liz King for posting that article on her blog as well!).  I was able to earn five FourSquare badges while I was in town.  If it was raining after BizBash was over, I might have jumped on the subway over to Brooklyn for quick tour and possibly another badge – maybe next time!

Congratulations to David Adler and the entire BizBash team for a job well done!

I am pleased to present our first Guest blogger here at The Gems – Shawna McKinley.  Shawna is a true dynamo when it comes to creating sustainable events and I am very thankful that she has agreed to make a contribution here!  – GR

An Alphabet soup of standards you greet,

When starting to green how it is that you meet.

APEX, ISO and BS eight-nine-oh-one,

Reading them you’d think event sustainability’s not fun.

Carbon is something you’ll count a lot,

But that’s not much if an offset is all that you’ve got.

Donations are great, better than landfill indeed,

But reduction is really the action we need.

Equality and ethics you add to the pot,

(And if you do be sure to ask Joan Eisenstodt.)

Food waste is something that should be a crime,

One third of what’s picked goes to rubbish in time!

GMIC’s there to help with people who know

How far sharing your green event story can go.

Haggle for compost and recycling for your event guests,

But remember: making sure they sort is a real test.

For some planners ISO can show that you care,

Although flexible objectives and targets may not seem fair.

Environmental justice counts too, but what does it mean?

Ask a housekeeper whose chemical cleaners are often unseen.

A trip into the kitchen gets my vote.

Spy enough food packaging to make you choke?

Local is good for signs, swag and food,

But if it’s grown in a hot house it might spoil the mood.

MPI mentions the importance of “CSR”.

My advice to you: be clear what the words’ meanings are.

Be careful of ‘natural’ and ‘organically grown’

When you buy it you might be unclear what you own.

When it comes to organic or offsets for that matter,

A third party label helps silence greenwashing chatter.

And what exactly is PLA, PET or PVC?

Recycling plastics takes a master’s degree!

Quality is really what sustainability is about:

A luxury experience for which no guest will pout.

Rethinking is what we all need to do.

The important step after? Reducing, by me and by you.

Sponsors may grumble, but are possible to convince,

With a virtual collateral rack you’ll be their new prince.

Let’s admit transportation is what’s really the bitch

We need less. Now. And a hybrid sales pitch.

Unrenewable and unsustainable is our energy use,

It will put us at the back of the economic caboose.

Virtual is catching on, the technology advancing,

If you’re not experimenting now it’s your future you’re chancing.

Water is something to conserve, although use we accrue,

Just ask Texas, Las Vegas and those in Africa, too.

Xeriscaping might sound like a new extreme sport,

Meeting venues might want to look up a report.

Because the youth of the world will look back and see

The stuff that we waste doesn’t come for free.

Our zen and theirs: that’s the real cost,

So green your event now, before opportunity’s lost! 

Shawna McKinley is Director of Sustainability for MeetGreen where she helps diverse organizations navigate the challenges and opportunities of the sustainable event alphabet. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.  Please check out Shawna’s blog – Sustainable Destinations - which is a wealth of information for those who wish to learn more about sustainable events.

I’m looking forward to seeing many members of the Eventprofs community at the upcoming BizBash New York Expo and Awards on October 19th. I have not been to New York since the original EventCamp that was held at the Roger Smith Hotel in February 2010. Many of the attendees at that conference were playing FourSquare on their smart phones and I was hooked on that app after that weekend.

Want to play FourSquare along with some of your fellow BizBash attendees? First off, you will need a smart phone (iPhone, Droid or Blackberry) and have downloaded the FourSquare app. Secondly, where do we check in at? Staying at a hotel, check in there! Then head over to the Javits Center, site of the BizBash Expo, and check in at that facility. You can even check in at the Social Media Lounge! Knowing this bunch of attendees, I can imagine there will be some impromptu gatherings at local restaurants and watering holes, and you will be able to check in these locales as well.

Whoever checks in the most at a venue (only one check-in per day counts) is rewarded by becoming the “Mayor” of that venue. It will be unlikely that any of us will check-in enough at any place while we are in town to become mayor. The mayor is only awarded after someone has checked in at a venue for a second time.

What badges can I possibly earn while I am attending BizBash New York? I can think of three possible badges off the top of my head.

There is the PLAYER PLEASE badge that is earned when you check into a place where three of your friends from the other sex have already checked in. Ladies, become FourSquare friends with at least three guys who are attending. Likewise, guys become FourSquare friends with three ladies who are attending. Your friends must be checked in before you do in order to earn the badge.

The next badge is going to take an effort from a majority of the folks attending BizBash to earn. The SWARM badge is earned when you check into a place where 50+ folks have checked into a venue, so we need participation from almost everyone attending to help folks earn this badge. Can we get enough people to check in at BizBash to create a swarm?

Are you planning to attend the BizBash Social Media Soiree on Tuesday, October 18th? Well then, you are 1/3rd of the way to earning the new 7-10 SPLIT badge for bowling. This badge can be earned by checking into a bowling venue for three consecutive days. Guess what I did on Sunday and will be doing again on Monday night!

If you have the opportunity to do some sightseeing while in New York, or live in the area, there are many other FourSquare badges that are specific to New York! I am just going to touch on a couple here, there are many more.

Follow the Wall Street Journal on FourSquare and check in to all five boroughs of New York to earn the WSJ URBAN EXPLORER badge.

Follow Time Out New York and check in to four venues they list on their page to earn the TIME OUT – HAPPY HOUR badge. Just be responsible while trying to earn this badge.

If you like to eat, consider following Mario Batali on FourSquare and check in to three of his restaurants to earn the MARIO BATALI badge.

Check in 25 times or more in Brooklyn and the BROOKLYN FOR LIFE is yours! Who wouldn’t want to check into Brooklyn over 25 times in just a few days?

Check in 3 times above 59th Street and the FAR FAR AWAY badge is yours for the taking.

That is just the details on a few of the New York specific badges. There are additional badges to be earned from the Wall Street Journal, Bravo, Today Show, New York Public Library, MOMA, Brooklyn Museum and the Whitney.

Do you have additional questions about FourSquare? Stop by the Social Media Lounge on the BizBash and ask me or one of the social media experts for assistance. I hope to meet many of you there!

Existing Convention Center / Sheraton Hotel

Back in May of this year, the Greater Baltimore Committee revealed plans for a proposed new 18,500 seat arena, 500 room Sheraton hotel and enlarged Baltimore Convention Center at its Annual Meeting.  The key part of this proposal is that Willard Hackerman, a large Baltimore real estate owner/developer and current owner of the Baltimore Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel, would form a partnership to privately fund the construction of the arena and new hotel.  Hackerman’s investment is contingent on the city of Baltimore and state of Maryland financing the enlarged convention center.

The overall project is estimated at $900 million dollars and would take four to seven years to totally complete once the project starts.  The arena is expected to cost $325 million and the hotel $175 million.  Those costs would be paid by Hackerman’s team, again provided the city and state fund the $400 million for the expansion of the convention center.  The timetable would be to demolish the existing Sheraton hotel and erect the new arena on that site.  A new Sheraton hotel, with an additional 150 more rooms than the current version, would be built above the arena.  The original east building of the Baltimore Convention Center would then be demolished and construction would begin on the expansion of that venue.

Let’s take a look at the existing arena.  It was out of date in 1960.  Unfortunately, it was not opened until 1962 as the Baltimore Civic Center and designed to fill three roles – sports arena, convention space and performing arts facility.  It did none of the three roles well and created more headaches than it solved.  When the National Hockey League decided to expand in the mid 1960′s, they wanted to come to Baltimore rather than Philadelphia.  NHL President Clarence Campbell visited the Civic Center for a site inspection and when he saw the permanent stage on the south wall that would only allow for seating on three sides of a hockey or basketball game immediately disqualified Baltimore as a NHL expansion city.  With the current seating configuration, the NBA relocated the Baltimore Bullets to the Washington suburbs in 1973 and the NCAA will not even consider the venue for 1st or 2nd round games of the March Madness basketball tournament.  Concerts that come to the venue do not utilize the permanent stage and build temporary staging in front of it, which eliminates even more seating.  The meeting facilities were no longer needed after the Convention Center opened in 1979 and were eventually demolished in the mid 1980′s to facilitate construction of a parking garage.  Today, the arena is still owned by the city and operated by SMG.  The main tenant is the Baltimore Blast of the Major Indoor Soccer League.  SMG and its current management team should be applauded for keeping the venue as actively booked as it currently is the top venue its size in the country for dates booked.

The third piece of the puzzle is the Baltimore Convention Center, which opened in 1979 with 115,000 square feet of exhibit space.  In 1996, the Center expanded to 300,000 square feet of exhibit space when it opened its west building.   This proposed expansion would increase the exhibit space to 630,000 square feet.  Having worked in that venue for nearly 10 years, I know how hard the staff works to keep the facility from showing its age – there were times when it seemed like a losing battle, however (I also have the benefit of working two years to staff events at the 1st Mariner Arena, so I know of the issues they deal with as well).

Visit Baltimore, the city’s destination marketing organization, touts that hospitality and tourism industry supports nearly 75,000 jobs in the metropolitan Baltimore area.  In addition, over $1.1 billion is generated in additional tax revenue (For the record, I occasionally do some training for Visit Baltimore’s Certified Tourism Ambassador program).

Proposed Arena/Hotel from southeast Conway Street

Is this project guaranteed to be a slam dunk of a success?  No.  In my opinion, it is much riskier to “stay the course” and do nothing to get additional convention business in town.  Go back to the last paragraph and re-read the economic impact of tourism to Baltimore.

By going forward with this project, Baltimore gains: (1) construction jobs on this project; (2) the current site of the 1st Mariner Arena becomes available to help with the revitalization of the west side of downtown; (3) a more vibrant street scene along Pratt Street, which currently has bunker-like emergency exits for the convention center; (4) more hotel rooms to help accommodate groups that are currently not considering Baltimore due to not enough hotel rooms currently; (5) a state of the art arena that would attract more concerts and sporting events; (6) a “greener” convention center; (7) a major private investment of $500 million rather than the public financing the entire $900 million cost; and (8) the ability to compete with nearby Philadelphia and Washington, DC on a more equal footing for convention business.

I have travelled the past 18 months to various conventions around the country and have seen what other destinations can offer.  I worked in the major venues that will be replaced by this propose project.  Baltimore has a great package to offer to the various associations that hold trade shows and conventions, but our facilities are beginning to be held against us.  If we go forward, we once again become a serious player for conventions and trade shows.  More conventions means more heads in beds, more folks eating in our restaurants, touring our attractions, and pumping money into our local economy and tax coffers.

Now is the time for people with leadership and vision to come forward to lead this proposed project to reality.  Too often in the past, Baltimore has thought too small and wound up paying a much steeper price in the long run.

Photo Credits: (1) Aerial shot of Convention Center / Sheraton from the Greater Baltimore Committee. (2) 1st Mariner Arena – Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun (3) Proposed complex by Ayers Saint Gross