The newly formed Malaysian Society of Association Executives (MSAE) is looking for an association management company (AMC) that is willing to run it in exchange for access to MSAE’s connections.
MSAE president Zaliha Omar said: “We don’t have the means to pay for an AMC, so we are looking for one that is willing to do it for free. In return, we will connect them with associations that wish to organise meetings, workshops, teaching sessions and conferences.”
Zaliha: this will create a partnership that is beneficial to both parties
Zaliha said the role of the AMC would be to organise a membership drive, create sustainable funding, create activities that will appeal to members, and run the day-to-day operations.
MSAE currently has 23 members from diverse sectors including trade, medical, construction and petroleum associations.
The association was set up in September last year to advance the stature and professionalism of associations in Malaysia through advocacy, education and advisory services. Among its objectives are to promote the profession of association management, to accord networking platform for members, and to conduct educational and training courses to uplift members’ knowledge, skills and standards.
The latest DMC to enter the playing field, Xperience Singapore Events & Travel is keen to bring a host of in-depth and immersive activities for and business travellers.
Owned by Xperience DMC – a partner of Destination China – Xperience is headed by director Jane Goh, a veteran in hotel conference services and tourism with more than a decade of guiding experience.
Goh: more to Singapore than man-made attractions
She remarked: “There’s a lot of focus on man-made attractions (in Singapore), but the soft (experience) is not there yet. I wanted to show another side of Singapore that a lot of incentive visitors have not seen.”
She opined: “There are many other things we can do to sell the country as a destination, but they’re not being done yet. There’s a lot of focus on man-made attractions, but the soft (experience) is not there yet. I wanted to show another side of Singapore that many travellers and incentive visitors have not seen.”
Activities offered include learning and performing the Chinese lion dance, tracking and photographing otters in the city, and rowing across Marina Reservoir on dragonboat.
Goh shared that many of these activity providers do not have the means or knowledge to market themselves to overseas planners.
“Activities like dragonboat racing can be done for conferences and teambuilding. We would like to promote this (activity) to event planners so that they know there’s something different they can do here,” shared Goh.
Being a smaller DMC puts Xperience at an advantage as opposed to bigger players, said Goh, as the outfit offers clients “direct contact” with the management and assurance to meet any request that they have.”
I recently had the pleasure of sharing my thoughts on MICE venue management with a group of fellow industry professionals who were aspiring leaders in their respective MICE venues around the world. The conversation inevitably centred on topics such as how big our respective exhibition halls are, how many meeting rooms / plenary rooms / ballrooms we have and how we deliver F&B service.
When I described venues as essentially being one big box, some looked at me as if I was crazy. However let’s take a step back and think more about it.
Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre
MICE venues are an integral part of the MICE industry. They are the facilities that host the many tradeshows, conferences, product launches and incentives around the world. In essence, regardless of its form or structure, MICE venues are essentially big empty boxes. It is the events we host that gives us life, colour and purpose.
In the week that we host a major maritime tradeshow, we are the home of the maritime industry; and in the week that we host a mega banking conference, we become the home of the finance community. We are shape-shifters, albeit one that transforms with a combination of willpower, creativity and expertise. Once we have this in our minds, our approach to business engagements will naturally evolve.
At this sharing session, I also cited an example of my first meeting with one of our clients during her first site visit. She was surprised that the first question posed (after all the pleasantries) was: “How does your event make you money?”
She assumed that I would be asking the usual questions such as the square metres and number of meeting rooms required, and catering needs. I smiled and explained that the information is critical so that we can advise her on the best opportunities to meet her business objectives – be it sponsorship, delegate numbers or tradeshow sales.
The conversations we had after that initial moment were rich and rewarding. Conversations like these allow us to focus on what is truly important for our clients in order to help them grow.
We should not be a mere four-walled solution and should stop thinking merely in terms of square metres or pax. As a partner in the business events industry, venues should think of ourselves as an important business platform with numerous varied assets which our clients can pick, leverage upon and meet their business objectives.
MICE venues are part of the knowledge, information and business networking industry. People meet at our venues for face-to-face engagements and to transact knowledge, networks as well as business in their respective fields.
In the current modern world where one can easily access all the information and data needed online and across multiple content channels, face-to-face events will have to stand out and deliver more value. Face-to-face events will have to be about delivering engaging and unique experiences; they have to create engagement opportunities for peers in the community to gain valuable insights, networks and relationships that other channels do not have.
Enabling peer-to-peer engagement will slowly become the new baseline for venues. In real estate terms and traditional venue speak, this lies in the creation of small, open semi-private spaces to enable delegates and trade visitors to connect freely and facilitate peer-to-peer engagements.
In technology terms, this lies in the availability of a secured, high-speed connectivity network to enable our client communities to connect with each other.
In F&B terms, this lies in the re-invention of institutional coffee snack spots or conference lunch setups and menus to drive delegate conversations by serving as interesting cultural talking points.
Today’s delegate learns differently and wants different things from his fellow delegate. They are no longer satisfied with an institutional and cookie-cutter product. They want to be engaged, to have experiences that they can amplify to their wider personal and professional communities, and to derive value in their involvement and to be ‘wowed’.
The curation and personalisation of the delegate experience enhances engagement within each client community during each event. These unique unforgettable experiences are then amplified to the wider delegate communities and these wider communities become our audience.
The convention centre of tomorrow has to start thinking “out-of-box”. We have to see our clients as partners and more importantly be the enablers to drive innovation and their success. Are you ready?
Wee Min Ong serves as the vice president of MICE at Marina Bay Sands (MBS). He is responsible for the overall management of the Sands Expo & Convention Centre. He also currently serves on the board of directors for PCMA, on a three-year term which started in 2017. He was the first Asian meeting professional to be appointed to the PCMA board. Ong is also active in the Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organizers & Suppliers (SACEOS).
Messe Frankfurt’s Hall 12 commences operations
Messe Frankfurt’s new Exhibition Hall 12 has been completed on the western grounds of the exhibition centre.
The hall boasts a total exhibition area of 16,800m2, with a hall height of 10 metres. The space can be divided further. The second level holds 13 offices. Other facilities include a multistorey carpark with 800 spaces, as well as two bistros that can seat 75 and 135 people respectively, and two restaurants that can seat around 200 each.
Air France debuts new lounge in Paris
Air France has opened a new business lounge in Hall L of Terminal 2 E at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Facilities in the 3,158m2 space include a Clarins spa, two private saunas, sleep suites and a detox bar that offers massages for a fee. In addition, a bespoke cocktail menu created by Hotel Lancaster in Paris is available at Le Balcon – the lounge’s centrepiece dining room created by designer Mathieu Lehanneur.
Andaz to set up camp in the Caribbean
Hyatt Hotels has announced plans for Andaz Turks & Caicos at Grace Bay, a hotel and residences development expected to open in 2021.
This is the Andaz brand’s first property in the Caribbean, and it will be situated on the western end of Grace Bay Beach.
The resort will comprise two buildings – the 59-key hotel and the 74-unit branded residences – with co-located amenities. Andaz Turks & Caicos Residences at Grace Bay will include studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units, as well as penthouses with four bedrooms. Facilities include a gym, outdoor yoga studio, spa, four restaurants and bars, as well as a function venue featuring panoramic views.
Event brief
The annual Philips Asia Pacific Customer Event is targeted at customers and business partners from South-east Asia and Asia-Pacific. It is usually held overseas and for the first time, the 2017 event was staged in Singapore at the Philips APAC Center.
The theme of the event was Made to Perform, based on the concept of healthy living through sustained performance. Every touchpoint of the event would have to allow attendees to experience sustainability “live”.
The client also wanted a paperless event with no disposables, to recycle and to reuse; and to convey an impactful tone-of-voice.
The event was held on April 10 and 11, with the first day focusing on Health of the Body, and the second on Health of the Mind.
Challenges
A major challenge was how to conceptualise the event. Daniel Tay, director, corporate meetings & events with Destination Asia Singapore, said: “An immense amount of time was spent on this and how to conceptualise the event theme Made to Perform, which also revolved around sustainability.
“We had to abandon traditional ways of organising events, like not printing large amounts of collaterals, and had to intensify our brainstorming to come up with new ideas to reduce, reuse and recycle.”
Another challenge was to convert the Philips APAC Center into an event space. He explained: “Due to major space constraints, we had to make sure the selected breakout rooms were appropriate and large enough to accommodate the carousel groups which were divided into nine groups.”
The DMC also had to convert the office space of Philips APAC Center into an event venue in four days.
Solution
The DMC used digital LED walls, developed an event mobile app, and utilised recycled pallets to display the products and biodegradable corn ware disposable tableware during meals.
The event app developed covered important information such as the event schedule, health analysis (tracking of steps taken daily) and useful contacts. It consisted of a photo gallery and attendees were encouraged to take photos throughout the event and to upload them. This allowed the attendees to engage and communicate both effectively and efficiently. At the same time, it acted as a sustainability initiative of going paperless.
Key takeaways
Philips has worked with Destination Asia for the last five years and in the fast-paced world of retail marketing and sales, new product releases containing innovations and value improvement are key to success.
This often means that new products are released at the very last moment and are only available to be showcased days, sometimes hours, before an event. This creates the need for the DMC to be very flexible as key information is often only known the day before the event, requiring additional showcase design and build.
For the 2017 event, the DMC had to work with one hotel, five venues and the customer’s own regional headquarters. This required good teamwork and coordination among a broad range of individuals at Destination Asia.
Tay commented; “One of the key takeaways from the event was our ability to come together as a team, which consisted of internal and external staff, to deliver the event successfully within the tight time frame.
“Each and every individual team member was important as we had our own specific roles to play. We were pleased that we managed to deliver our very best and live up to our logo tagline to “exceed expectations.”
Event: Philips Asia Pacific Customer Event 2017 Organiser: Destination Asia Singapore Venue: Philips APAC Center, Singapore Date: April 10 to 11, 2017 Number of participants: 386 Challenges: A need to bring the client’s concept, Made to Perform, to live through multiple touchpoints; a sustainable living experience must be conveyed throughout the event; major space constraints at chosen venue
InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay has appointed Tania Getzova as general manager.
An accomplished hotelier with over 20 years of experience, Getzova has held various general manager and leadership roles across luxury and boutique hotels in New York, bringing with her a wealth of knowledge in luxury hotel operations, strategy and business acumen. InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay is her first foray into Asia.
The Bulgarian native joins the hotel from Hotel Indigo Lower East Side New York, where she was the opening general manager since 2014.
Greenwood Fish Market in Dempsey Hill is the fourth and currently largest outlet in Greenwood’s repertoire, and dining in this restaurant was akin to dining in a rich friend’s home. The blue-painted space is tastefully decorated with ocean-inspired memorabilia, accentuating the wooden furniture and furnishings.
Greenwood Fish Market
The spacious and light-filled restaurant allows for 80 indoor dining, 52 lounge seating and 40 al fresco dining – that faces a wall of verdant greenery, a rarity in the city state.
The event possibilities are endless for this 790m2 flexible space, from a cocktail party to a seafood barbecue cookout after a teambuilding session. When asked if there was a minimum spend, Greenwood was unable to give any answer as the team is open to playing host to any type of event or function.
This particular outlet is also the brand’s first multi-concept restaurant featuring Western, Japanese and Chinese selections. Seafood predominantly features on the extensive menu, and can be tweaked to one’s liking. Desserts and bread are also baked in-house.
Aside from the dining space, there’s also a retail area to stock up on wholesale seafood and meats, wines, and various imported ingredients. Part of the retail space is taken up by Fleurs & Buds, the in-house florist. The team is looking at organising flower arrangement or cooking classes in the future, which can form part of teambuilding events.
Predatory conferences – illegitimate conferences created purely for profit and feed off eager academicians and PhD students looking for short cuts to get their works published or to speak at international conferences – are jeopardising attendance and and performance of legitimate ones.
This warning came from Noor Ahmad Hamid, regional director Asia Pacific of ICCA, who spoke at the recent Union of International Associations (UIA) Associations Round Table Asia-Pacific 2018 in Kuala Lumpur.
Noor: beware of predatory conferences
Noor explained that predatory conferences would naturally present poor quality content, the fact masked by glossy websites that imitate the real thing, thus fooling sincere delegates who would pay for registration fees.
Noor identify examples of such conferences in his presentation, but had asked for attendees to refrain from taking the information beyond the room.
While ICCA had come across various “questionable conferences” by dubious organisers and had alerted its members, Noor noted that there is no authoritative body to monitor predatory conferences and therefore data is lacking to indicate how extensive their impact is.
Offering tips on identifying predatory conferences, Noor said to look out for missing contact information or organisers that have scheduled several conferences on different fields of expertise on the same day but at different locations.
Check if conferences are legitimate by looking for missing event information
Speaking to TTGmice after the presentation, Jeffers Miruka, president of the African Society of Association Executives, shared an example of a predatory agriculture conference in July this year. It had a website very similar to the legitimate conference but used a different URL and venue. Registration fees were also collected from interested parties.
“The minute the organisers knew that they had been discovered, they shut down their operations. However, organisers of the legitimate conference were (affected). The turn-out at their conference was poor as damage had already been done,” Miruka elaborated.
He said demand was fuelled by academicians who were desperate and were willing to pay money to have their scientific papers approved with guaranteed publication in a short frame of time in order to qualify for further academic funding. In the case of PhD students, attending a conference in their area of expertise or having their research published in a journal would be a step closer towards getting their doctorate.
Miruka added that such conferences have poor quality presentations and those who pay to attend such conferences in order to gain knowledge end up disappointed.
Cyril Ritchie, UIA president, shared that he had received invitations to attend UN Conferences in the past but the email return addresses were never an official one.
TTG Asia Media has embarked on its next phase of organisational re-structuring to consolidate business development efforts of its publishing and events arms.
Sales of both TTG Travel Trade Publishing and TTG Events solutions will be headed by a centralised business development unit led by Pierre Quek, publisher and head, integrated solutions, and Chimmy Tsui, publisher and head, integrated solutions (China).
From left: Chimmy Tsui, Pierre Quek, and Cheryl Tan
With the consolidation, the expanded team of business managers now offers clients a singular touch-point to TTG’s full suite of integrated solutions for the travel industry.
In a statement, TTG Asia Media said that this would enhance the company’s servicing strategy by industry and geography verticals implemented at the beginning of this year.
In line with these changes, business group re-structures along with new appointments also came into effect yesterday.
Ooi Peng Ee has been named head of TTG Global Commerce and Development, while Cheryl Tan has stepped into the role of head, TTG Events. In addition, Jonathan Wan now assumes the post of head, operational support services.
TTG Travel Trade Publishing, TTG Events and TTG Global Commerce are three of four business groups under TTG Asia Media. The company’s other business group is TTG Maps & Guides Publishing.
The inaugural Asian MICE Cruise Conference, organised by TTGmice and presented as part of the IT&CMA 2018 programme in Bangkok, Thailand, on September 18, saw more than 400 business events stakeholders in attendance.
The half-day event featured high-level cruise company representatives from Royal Caribbean Cruises, Genting Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises and Worldwide Cruise Associates who openly shared cruise development plans and expectations for the Asia-Pacific region. They also offered advice on how corporate groups can benefit from hosting their events on a cruise ship.
The conference will return in 2019, again as part of the IT&CMA programme.
Meanwhile, videos of the full conference sessions can be viewed here:
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