April 17, 2008 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Someone said to me the other day, “So, how much does ABA pay you to be such a shill for them?”. They don’t pay me a penny, but I’m an idea person, so I tend to gravitate towards those with fresh ideas! Lately, it seems, all the good ideas are coming from ABA!

Like the next Marketplace in Charlotte…we received the first EMail Update from ABA a couple of days ago, and I spotted something (as did several people who emailed me to ask about it). This coming year, each category (DMOs, Hoteliers, Attractions, and Local Receptives) is going to get a meeting with their category, and their representative on the ABA Board. It’s a chance to talk “amongst ourselves” about ABA, the industry as a whole, and to see what new ideas, new strategies, and new concepts are floating in our world. They’ve offered it to DMOs for several years now, and other categories asked for a similar meeting.

It’s not a revolutionary idea (I’m already helping with similar meetings for suppliers at a couple of the state conventions), but it is another way to meet our needs. And that’s where this industry must keep going…to meet not just the Operators needs, but Suppliers needs as well. I think the days of “this organization is here for the Operators — we don’t care what the Suppliers think” (yes, that IS a real quote from an Operator!) are fading away, and both sides of the table realize that it’s a partnership working together to serve the real customer, the group leader and his/her followers.

You can bet I’ll be at the Attractions meeting, and I really encourage you not to miss the meeting for your category. If you do miss it, don’t plan to complain about anything for the next year. You had your chance, and dropped the ball!

Then there’s the staggering of registrations, with Operators and DMOs registering the first day, hoteliers registering the second day, and us lowly attractions <grin> having to wait until the third day to register. At first, I thought it was kind of irritating…but given the server issues ABA had last year with about 3,000 people trying to register at one time, staggering the registration makes sense! So, even though I’d love to try to register on Monday, I’ll curb my hacking and wait until Wednesday to register (but I’m still reserving my hotel room on Monday, so I don’t feel left out!). I’ll still be sitting there at 11:50 Wednesday morning, ready to go, but after being involved in all facets of running websites for many years, I can understand trying to spread out the activity on the web server.

So kudos once again to ABA, and I guess I’ll continue to be accused of being on your payroll! Keep the new ideas coming, gang, and I’ll keep on shilling for ya!

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April 9, 2008 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Pennsylvania Bus is now over…as always, I love the trip to Harrisburg (or York before that). I’ve done this show over ten years now, and I know a lot of the “regulars” by now, so we spend more time sharing stories than writing business. But I know that the business will follow.

The PBA Seminar went very well…I miss Marc, Jeanne and Connie, but the newbies on the faculty did a great job. Julie was great, Linda was equally great, and Jim Palmieri was his usual impressive self…very funny, very insightful, and he really did his homework! I may just have to borrow a few things from his presentation for the Crash Course program. He really dug in to the whole ROI question, and had some insights I’d never heard…which is the goal!

And then there’s the award banquet. I had heard rumors that I was in the running for Travel Supplier of the Year, but honestly, I thought Lois would get it. She’s worked very hard on the Marketplace committee for several years now, and has done a lot for PBA, and the industry as a whole. So, when Jeanne Vice wanted to go get some fresh air, I walked out with her. And that, as I heard later, started the firestorm! The PBA staff grabbed Rich Gilbert from Maryland, and sent him in search of us. He pulled Jeanne aside, and told her she had to get me back in the room.

We were already sitting with Amy Books (inside joke) and Debbie from Susquehanna, and their Driver of Distinction award winner, so we knew how rude it would have been to not be there for the awards ceremony. But it was funny after the fact seeing how many hoops people jumped through to make sure I would be there at the end!

Thanks very much to those who nominated me, voted for me, and supported me. The clock will sit on my desk for a long time to come. Winning in North Carolina and Virginia was a delight…to win something like this at home is amazing! I love this industry, and to be the first ever recipient of an award like this is a real thrill for me.

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