SPIN: The Senior Planners Industry Network

Issue #13

September/October 2011

If you are going to be at IMEX America, stop by the SPIN Booth (1108) and say "Hi!" to Shawna.  You can refresh yourself with flavored water and other goodies.

SPIN is participating in Hosted Buyer Programs all across the U.S. and overseas: click here to be notified when we head to cities of interest to you.

• Do you have a success story?
• Do you want to be featured as an In-Transition Member of the Month?

Send your story to Shawna at shawna@spinplanners.com.

If you have suggestions on how to make this newsletter more beneficial, please let us know.

by Shawna Suckow, CMP, Founder/President of SPIN Planners

Never in a million years would I have thought Telluride would be an option to host SPINCon, until I went there to see it.  As they say, nothing beats face-to-face!

Simply put, we visited and we fell in love. With their down-to-Earth vibe, with their unusual mix of innovation-meets-history, with the whole town’s obsession with –and abundance of—dogs, with their big city cultural offerings wrapped in a cozy mountain village.  Clearly, I drank the Kool-Aid while I was there, because ever since my visit, I’ve been like a snake oil salesman, pushing Telluride for whatever ails you.

See all our photos

It doesn’t hurt that there’s a former SPIN member at the helm of Group Sales for the Telluride CVB.  Todd Gehrke, CMM, CTIE, was a senior-level planner before crossing over to the supplier side, and he knows how we planners think.  Todd’s mission as a former planner is to rethink the value proposition of the traditional CVB, and reinvent the services they offer from the ground up.  He just may have found the winning formula, according to our small group of hardened, wizened, skeptical old planners who recently visited Telluride for a mini-fam.

There are a lot of you SPIN members out there who don’t use CVBs because you’ve been burned before by a bad one, or you don’t see the value.  After you visit Telluride, though, you will be a changed person who sings the praises of Todd and his team.  “I never say ‘This is Telluride and how can I fit your program into it?’ I say ‘Tell me about your goals and your attendees and let me see what I can help you create,’” said Todd.  

I commend the city of Telluride for giving Todd and his team the freedom and trust to reinvent the wheel .  You’re the kind of innovative destination that SPINCon SHOULD be partnered with, because we both agree that the tired, traditional way of doing things in our industry could use a little reinvention.

Read about Telluride's meeting space and restaurants further down in this issue.

For the first-ever conference, the sessions were examined and chosen by a group of SPIN members—nearly two dozen members! What a program they selected; very highly rated by those who attended.

For 2012, we want to take advantage of the brain power of the group again, this time focusing people on several projects, as follows:

• For the conference breakouts, we’d like a baker’s dozen to review the submitted sessions during a specific time frame, and then vote on the ones that fit the best.
  
• For the charitable project(s), five or six members can determine how SPIN members will give back to the community. There are two open evenings, but both do not have to be used. The CVB has some great ideas on how to help one (or two) of the more than 100 non-profits within the Telluride/Mountain Village area.
  
• If you like to work with sponsorships, we’d love to hear from you! We’ll take as many members as we can get for this project!
  

Send your specific interest by October 1st to Tracey Smith at tracey@spinplanners.com.

The knowledge that sat in the room with us at this year’s SPINCon was amazing! It was an honor to be a part of that experience. It really does take a village, so we’ll start with you and build from there. 

Sessions need to fit one of these categories:

• Solution Village – Either show us how you innovated your meeting or submit your meeting to be reviewed for a solution. This category is all about finding answers.
  
• Technology Village – What are you really using and how is it affecting your ROI? Has technology helped you achieve your goals and objectives in a better way? We’d love to hear how you did it!
  
• Strategy Village – What strategies are you using to counter decreasing budgets and waning faith in your department’s services?
  
• Marketing Village – What are you doing differently to attract and engage your attendees? How is it affecting your ROI?
  

If you don’t want to present a session, but know a really good speaker within the industry (not a professional), submit their name (tracey@spinplanners.com) and we’ll follow up. 

To submit a session in one of the above categories, go to http://spincon.spinplanners.com/speakers.html

Dates for upcoming SPIN Think Tanks
Registration links and more details can be found at www.spinplanners.com/live-think-tanks.html

by Tracey Smith, CMP, CMM, Vice President of Programming for SPIN Planners

When we arrived in Telluride and Mountain Village, I did not have any of the expectations prior research usually gives me. I was somewhat of a blank slate, but was soon filled with ideas and possibilities.

The Conference Center was built for the Telluride Film Festival, so it has a full projection booth and several green rooms surrounding the open ballroom. Seating is very flexible. It would make a great gathering room, especially if you want to do a hybrid meeting with remote locations included, or just need streaming of the session. They have a flexible boardroom that seats up to 32 people. There is plenty of room in the lobby for pre- and post-event breaks. Right outside is a large plaza that can be tented for up to 452 people banquet-style. Another plaza is just steps away and it can be tented and staged for up to 650 people theater-style. 

Hotel Madeleine has a great library for those cozier gatherings up to 40 people. Then, they have a three-section ballroom with a large lobby that would work for one main session or a couple of breakouts for a smaller meeting. Then again, there’s Spa Linnea just down the hall when you need a break from the meeting!

The Peaks Resort is probably the largest property in MV and it has the most meeting space in one location. On the ground floor is Big Billie’s Ballroom, named for one of the infamous madams during the mining heydays. Two smaller rooms are nearby with good space for breaks right outside. The ceilings are only 11’, so this would be a good time to fling open the curtains and whip out the iPads rather than use traditional AV. Seriously, as long as the visuals aren’t incredibly detailed, a PowerPoint presentation will look just fine in these rooms. 

Downstairs at the Peaks are more options. They have repurposed a bar into a gathering spot for in between sessions, checking email on the complimentary WiFi or to gaze into yet another spectacular view. The perfect room for a small trade show connects to an outdoor turfed deck, which can be tented and heated as necessary. Break for lunch on the deck and allow attendees to mingle with exhibitors—once they’ve stopped taking photos of the mountains and the airstrip!

On the lower level, you can walk out to golf in the summer or ski in the winter. Next to the pro shop is another room, once a restaurant, which can be used for meal service. All in all, many configurations for your meeting!

Just a 12-minute gondola ride from Mountain Village, Telluride is a Victorian mining town with a 21st-century mindset. Each of the smaller, boutique hotels has a room or two for very small meetings. For up to 240 people, you can use the Sheridan Opera House, a historic landmark, for a general session, a video or satellite showing, or just some good old theater. The Sheridan Hotel and Chop House next door offer a couple of small rooms with some great history, but mostly for social gatherings.

The Palm Theater is the high school’s auditorium, but also acts as a theater during the Telluride Film Festival. It seats more than 650 and has state-of-the-art video equipment.

For groups under 100, you can use the Ah Haa School of the Art open spaces and patio. The group can also do some team-building art projects. The Telluride Historical Museum is a must for everyone, but also recently added outdoor space for events. There’s one “basket case” in residence, but it won’t be you!

In addition to the great local restaurants, the whole of Telluride and Mountain Village had a warm, welcoming feel.  The people were friendly and helpful.  Without fail, when you talked with any of the locals, they told you how they came to be at Telluride.  Their stories went something like this, “I came here to visit and when I left, I knew I had to find a way to move to Telluride.”  One of the most interesting things about Telluride is the history.  Did you knew that Telluride was the place where Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank?  We learned this and more when we spent time with Ashley Boling (Historic Tours of Telluride) who walked us thru Telluride while telling us about the mining days and the red light district.  He even threw in a ghost story for Shawna.

You need to visit Telluride and Mountain Village to fully get the feel of this unique mountain town.

Sushi at the Hotel Lumiere – located in Mountain Village.  When I think if sushi, I think of the typical rolls that most restaurants offer, never did I think of the creative and fun rolls presented to us the first night of our visit.  The chef combined flavors and had fun with the presentation that delighted us all.

Amy’s Mini Donuts – located on the Gondola Plaza in Telluride.  This donut stand makes fresh donuts for you while you watch.  Not only do they sprinkle them with powdered sugar, they also can dip them in homemade chocolate. 

La Cocina de Luz – located on Main Street in Telluride.  If you like fresh Mexican food, this is the place to eat.  We knew we were in for a treat when we started the meal with fresh salsa.  Each of our entrees looked beautiful on the plate and tasted great.  This meal kept us going as we explored the rest of the town.

Rustico Ristorante – located on Main Street in Telluride.  From the charming décor to the extensive wine list, dinner at Rustico was a delight.   The menu showcased traditional, homestyle favorites, including woodfire pizzas.  

Floradora Saloon – located on Main Street in Telluride.  This was not a place I would have chosen first for brunch, but it turned out to be an excellent choice.  Between my omelet and Tracey’s French toast, we saw just how unique this restaurant could be.  We also spied a burger on the neighboring table and it looked fantastic too!

Brown Dog Pizza – located on Main Street in Telluride.  We were told by locals that this was the best place in town to catch a game on TV and a pizza, and we totally agree.  The menu consists of traditional options, like pepperoni, and more adventurous choices like the white pizza, which consists of ricotta and mozzarella cheese, olive oil, garlic.  The even have gluten-free crust!

M’s at Hotel Madeline – located in Mountain Village.  The breakfast menu was unique at M’s consisting of various different benedicts.  I had the Trout Benedict and instantly fell in love.  Sitting outside and enjoying a delightful breakfast was a great way to start the day.

The Butcher & Baker Cafe – located on Main Street in Telluride.   This quaint restaurant is a great place to get salads or sandwiches on fresh bread.  They have a catering menu which might be perfect for an event lunch.

Palmyra Restaurant at the Peaks Resort – located in Mountain Village.  We ate at this restaurant for breakfast and for dinner.  The menus were diverse and offered local ingredients like venison and halibut.  I think all three of us decided that the breakfast potatoes were some of the best we had ever tasted.