Meeting News - January 25, 2010 - (Page 6)

Newsmaker New Gaylord Sales Head Sees Cos. Move To ‘Strategy Mode’ After about nine years working on the proper- short-term booking window for a lot of it is going ty level for Gaylord Entertainment Co., Kemp to stay. If you go back to 2001 and 9/11 or back to Gallineau on Jan. 1 began his new role as Gay- the S&L crisis, no matter what the economy lord’s senior vice president and chief sales officer, comes back to, it changes the way we do business. leading the national sales office as well as sales Companies have found efficiencies they’re not teams at each property. going to let go of. You used Gallineau most recently to send five people to a meetserved as general manager of ing, but I don’t know that Gaylord Palms Resort & companies will go back to Convention Center in that when they’ve found Kissimmee, Fla. He also has ways to make the decisions held leadership roles at Gaywith one or two. But they’re lord Opryland and Gaylord still going to meet. National near Washington, D.C., and positions with the MN: What are meeting Walt Disney World Swan planners focusing on in and Starwood Hotels & negotiations? Resorts. Gallineau: We’ve seen a He spoke this month with lot more people ask around MeetingNews associate ediattrition and cancellation tor Michael B. Baker about clauses and food and beverGaylord’s Kemp Gallineau his new role and his outlook age minimums, those things for 2010. that add risk to them long-term because of the unpredictability of the economy and potentially MeetingNews: What expectations do you their own business. You still see people asking for have for 2010? more flexibility on those things. It doesn’t mean Kemp Gallineau: 2010 we’re looking to be like they’re not going to spend. You have to ask more 2009. What will be different: 2009 was a reactive questions than in the past so you know who’s state for most people. When you look back at the signing on the dotted line. first, second and third quarters, we didn’t know what the economy was going to do. With 2010, MN: Will remote conferencing technology you’re prepared. As companies, you’ve regrouped affect demand? yourself. Our customers have rightsized, we’ve Gallineau: People are using the technology to rightsized and we’ve refocused. be better prepared, to share ideas before you get to the meeting so the value of the meeting is MN: Will overall bookings and booking win- much stronger. The networking, from an dows rise again? attendee’s perspective, is the number-one reason Gallineau: You’ll see some of that. Associations, you go to meetings. People are still going to want as we know, have the longest lead time on the to network and share best practices, especially booking window. In 2009, a lot of companies coming out of a down economy. Everyone wants were in survival mode, whether they were public to hear the story of how they survived differently or private. In 2010, a lot of companies will be in or got a little more upswing or sold their product strategy mode: ‘We survived 2009, so where are differently. There’s still a lot of that momentum we taking our company? How can we grow the there as we go into 2010. value of our company?’ That creates people getting together. Whether it’s training, networking MN: What does your prior experience bring or strategizing, I think we’ll see more of that. The to the new role? 6 MeetingNews January 25, 2010 Gallineau: Before this, I was the senior vice president and general manager of the Gaylord Palms, which arguably, along with Vegas, is one of the destinations that through the last months have been stretched the hardest, not only from a competitive nature but from the supply and demand model. I was in that position for four years with a huge focus on customers and providing flawless service. One thing I bring to the role is the balance of operational knowledge that it takes to provide products customers are willing to buy and the psychology behind the sell. MN: What are your goals in your new executive position? Gallineau: Our focus is to stay in alignment with our customers, providing those exceptional experiences, continuing to partner with them in a way that’s meaningful instead of just allowing meetings to be a commodity buy. We are assets, but we’re really geared to make great experiences, and if we lose the thought of being a partner with a customer or an advocate of what they’re tying to achieve, then we have no chance to make a recovery, whether the economy does or not. MN: Are any new properties in the works? Gallineau: No. All our projects that we announced in past years are on hold, like we announced in the beginning of 2009. MN: Which properties will have the strongest performance? Gallineau: Our newest gem, the Gaylord National, still has a lot of upside. It’s in a great market for the government business, Washington, D.C., and it’s the home of associations, which are a very stable part of our industry. Texas continues to be the leader in a lot of what we do from a short-term booking perspective. Within the brand overall, when you look at what the economy has done, each hotel has found a way to customize their delivery to the planner’s meetings. You’re going to see that continue to be in the forefront of what Gaylord does. We will not sacrifice the culture of our company for our stars. ❍ www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - January 25, 2010

Meeting News - January 25, 2010
Contents
Newsmaker
Meetings Spotlight
Association Watch
Meeting People
Ad Index
Dateline: Las Vegas
Construction Cites
Dateline: Florida
South Regional
Golf Meetings

Meeting News - January 25, 2010