December 21, 2007 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

I wasn’t sure what to give you, my faithful reader (yeah, right!) for Christmas this year. But then I hit on it…two cool tools I’ve come to rely on on a daily basis! I think you’ll like one or both of these, and find them very useful (and addictive!).

If you know me, you know I can be very organized on some things, and very unorganized on others. It’s a dichotomy I’ve learned to live with, and I make as many lists as I can. But I don’t always remember to have paper along with me…and now, I don’t need to! I’ve found two online tools that I’ve fallen madly in love with, and they’ve changed a lot for me. Both are free, at least while in Beta testing, but even if they start charging for them, I’ll pay whatever they want!

First is Jott (http://www.jott.com). Jott is a simple service…you call it from your cell phone, and record a short message. It is converted to text, and emailed to you, or to whomever you want (provided you set them up in advance on the site). What a great thing…inspiration strikes, I dial Jott, tell the system I want to Jott myself, and start talking. When I get back to the computer, there’s a nice little email from me to me about my idea! OK…the speech to text conversion can be rough, especially if you’re in a noisy place, but for reminders to yourself, you’ll remember the context when you read the email, and the misinterpreted words won’t bother you much.

Hand in hand with Jott is my new discovery, Sandy. Sandy is my new personal assistant…she keeps track of my schedule, reminds me of meetings, things to do, and all of that. And she’s online, and can work hand in hand with Jott! Sign up with Sandy (http://www.iwantsandy.com), and then go to Jott, and use the link to Sandy. Now, for a reminder, I call Jott, tell it I want to Jott Sandy, and it records my message, and submits it to Sandy. I get a reminder at the time I requested, and it’s really cool.

I know, some of you are saying “geez, what hoops to have to jump through!”. Just try it once, and you’ll see how easy and helpful it is. Nobody else sees it, it’s for me, and I can remind myself of the stoopid stuff that slips through the cracks. Sandy doesn’t criticise what I’m doing, or make comments in any way. One phone call from the road for a reminder is all it took to completely sell me on it.

Sure, I’ll still use Outlook, and pad and pen, but this is a great way to capture those wild hare thoughts when pen or computer are not handy. If you’d like a “formal invitation” for either service, let me know, and I’ll submit it for you (you don’t need to be invited, as both services have signup forms on their pages, but I don’t mind helping!). Give ‘em a try…I think you’ll be surprised how easy it is!

And from everyone at the “Crash Course” Seminar program, our very bestest wishes for an absolutely amazing Christmas, and a bus-filled New Year!

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

December 12, 2007 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

I said something in the last entry about Group Leader Shows, and the scheduling thereof. So I’ll tackle that topic here, and go ahead and rant a bit!

The discussion started when I received a letter from Sam Shea, President of the Maryland Motorcoach Association, confirming that they are moving their annual Group Leader Marketplace back to March, immediately prior to the Pennsylvania Bus Association’s Marketplace. I shared with them all (either on the phone or in letters) that I think this is a bad idea, and I’d love it if some of you would join in the discussion. It all comes down to the Group Leaders…after all, aren’t these shows for them, and to help encourage them to book business with all of us (including the Operators)? Baseline fact — there are only three groups of people that participate in a Group Trade Show: Suppliers, Operators and Group Leaders.

Let’s dig in a bit more. These shows aren’t for us Suppliers. We’re there to sell, not to be sold to (even though that happens, too!). And they shouldn’t be about the Operators. Sure, it’s their buses that bring the Group Leaders to the Marketplace, and it’s their buses that will bring the Groups to their destinations. But these shows are for the Group Leaders, pure and simple. They are the people making the wheels turn and keeping the coaches on the road.

We’ve got to keep that fact in mind, and schedule these shows when they will benefit the Group Leaders. After years in this business, I’ve learned a simple fact. Group Leaders don’t care, except for when they care! For the first six months of the year, except in very early January, Group Leaders aren’t as interested. Their planning for this year is over, and it’s too early to think about next year. But in the second half of the year, they are in planning mode, and very interested in information, itineraries, and planning materials.

Real world example: For years, Maryland Motorcoach had their marketplace in late March/early April.  And, no offense to my friends south of the Mason/Dixon line, it was not good.  Probably 3/4 of the Group Leaders attending were just there for the freebies.  I lost count how many would say “Oh, we’ve already planned all our trips for this year.”  Sorry, but not worth the money, lodging, travel, and expenses to give away some pens.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago…MMA moved their Marketplace to August.  And it was AMAZING!  Almost no “trick-or-treating”!  Group Leaders were asking for our next year’s schedule as soon as they saw who’s booth it was, and before I could say anything beyond “Good Morning”.  They nearly didn’t care about goodies…they were working on planning, and were genuinely interested.

And that’s what’s important…when the Group Leaders are genuinely interested, it means business for us all!  For the suppliers, and moreso for the Operators.  So we need to schedule these events for a time when it’s going to work for our customers…and that’s the last five months of the year! This theory has been borne out time and again, with shows in September (VMA, Fun Tours) and November (NJMCA).  If we hold these shows when they are planning, we all benefit.

I have written and encouraged MMA to reconsider moving their Marketplace back to March.  And I’ve already asked it to be added to the agenda for the next Pennsylvania Bus board meeting.  I’ll let you know if it works, or if we consider to schedule these shows for the wrong reasons.  And if you’d like to send along your comments, I would be happy to pass them along to the powers that be!

“Of course, that’s just my opinion…I could be wrong.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

December 5, 2007 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Just talked with my friends in Maryland about their plans for Maryland Motorcoach’s Marketplace in 2008 and beyond. They’re planning to move it back to March, right before PBA’s Marketplace, and I’m trying to talk them out of it! Now, I don’t want to get off on a rant here (Thanks, Dennis Miller!), so I’ll save this topic for a future posting here about what I’ve learned about Group Leader shows, and the right time of the year.

But, in the course of the conversation with Carol from MMA/Jubbs, my favorite topic came up again…the lack of a single “Show Calendar” for the group industry. There are now so many trade shows, conventions, marketplaces, Group Leader shows, conferences, and the like, someone needs to step up and maintain a “master calendar” of show dates and locations.

I’ve lobbied ABA to handle this for quite a while now, but have never heard anything back from that august body. I think it makes sense…they’re the Big Dog now, and this is a great service to their membership, and to the Group Sales Community as a whole. Everyone sends in their dates as soon as they have them, and ABA creates an online calendar showing every show, from the big national and international shows, right down to the single company Group Leader shows. It would make planning and budgeting so easy for us all, and would help prevent the overlap that’s occurring more and more often.

C’mon, Pete…step up and offer to do this for the industry!

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

December 3, 2007 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Sorry…the boys were asking about wrestling the other night, and I ended up sitting with them watching some great old WWF videos on YouTube. Nobody could cut a promo like Duane Johnson (except maybe Chris Jericho)…

I guess that’s why I found myself standing on the Boardwalk last Monday evening, in a driving rainstorm, yelling that phrase into the wind. Hey, nobody was around, and it somehow seemed fitting, since I was in Atlantic City for the first time in quite a few years! I was there for the Greater New Jersey Motorcoach Association’s show, and had a wonderful time!

Given how close NJ is to Lancaster County, and how popular of a destination we are for the entire East Coast, I was surprised that nearly half the group leaders I spoke with had not heard of us (and some were shocked by how many Lancaster County suppliers were there…”Guess we should think about going back to Lancaster County, Martha!” Love it when they say that!). It’s about 3/4 daytrippers, so I told some of my hotelier friends to think twice about going, but for attractions, dining, shopping, and tours, this is a good show! Everyone visited nearly every booth (don’t you love it when signature cards work!), and they were mostly genuinely interested.

The only downside for me was the hotel itself…after reading about, watching, and hearing about The Donald for years, my first experience in a Trump Hotel was not impressive.  Maybe it was AC as a whole, but the property just seemed like it needed a serious cleaning!  Nothing overly filthy, but just a general sense of lack of upkeep.  Burned out (and arcing) neon on the Boardwalk, lightbulbs out (Tom Groff would have gotten out a ladder and gone to town…he taught me that part!), and just a lack of something I really can’t put my finger on.

All in all, apart from the Trump experience,  GNJMA is excellent, and we’ll be back there next year.  Maybe at the Trop, or Harrahs?

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »