 Hey friends, it's Leanne and my tea time chat guest this week was T'Neal Bogdan with the Regina Hotel Association. T'Neal has actually only been in the industry for about three years, but after today's chat, I bet you can agree with me that she is one of the brightest up-and-comers in Canada's DMO world. She's talking about how her role as business development is now changing into more of an advocacy role during the pandemic, and she has a very interesting viewpoint on how virtual events are impacting events going into destinations. It's really, really interesting. She's got a great energy and a toxic optimism that I want you to hear about. So listen on as I chat with T'Neal Bogdan with the Regina Hotel Association. It's definitely been interesting. I think a lot of our DMO, CBB partners are feeling the same way where our work has shifted from a different type of business development into a lot more advocacy. That's where we're finding ourselves a lot of the time is before the consumer competence comes back into hosting in-person meetings and events and concerts and just live events in general. We need to make sure that government knows that we're the professionals in this realm and we should be consulted on these reopening plans so that when people are ready to start planning again, there's not government imposed restrictions that are going to limit us from helping that economy rebound. So it's been very, very interesting. Nonetheless, I never really saw myself in an advocacy-government relations role. And that's kind of where we've shifted a lot of the work because at the end of the day, it directly affects business development and my usual, my normal day-to-day, it's challenging. It's different. And I mean, there is groups and there is people that want to get back to business and more than anything, like it's heartbreaking to think about the job loss. That's just what keeps me up at night is the amount of people that are just out of work or just on temporary layoff. And like when that temporary layoff ends, what are those provisions look like? And there's so many moving pieces and again, so much more technical than I thought than just having the fun job of selling a destination. So true, right? Well, and you mentioned advocacy earlier. Advocacy is a completely different ball of wax. I help out on the communications committee with Meetings Mean Business Canada, which is the federal advocacy voice for the meetings industry. But then there's all of these pop-ups in each individual province doing their work. So what I found the most difficult is now trying to make rhyme or reason of what everyone else in the industry is doing and how do we align all the voices. But you're right, it's so different from our day to day that we're all learning a new different skill set and trying to make sense of what everyone else is learning so that we can work together towards a common goal. I would say 80 to 90% of my clients, and then this is the answer that I have to give to a hotel sales manager, is my client literally does not know what's happening tomorrow. They literally do not know if they're going to have their doors open. They don't feel comfortable meeting until they see other people meeting, which I get is a vicious circle because we need someone to start meeting to kind of create that momentum. But I would say 80 to 90% of my clients, that is the canned response I can give you for every single one of them, is they have zero confidence signing contracts right now because they do not know what's happening tomorrow. They can't be further along just because we want them to be further along. And that's a message that I hope hotels and destinations understand is it's it's not personal. This is, and it's not even business related either. This is pandemic response and and these people They need to make a lot more heady decisions over what they're going to choose as our destination in 2024. Yeah, and it's I mean I think in in the interactions responses that I've had on my side of things it's I think we're blessed in the industry that we're in to deal with people that are so passionate about what they do that the level of empathy is through the roof in having these conversations because I've had conversations with a lot of planners that it's They're kind of feeling for us and then I'm sitting here like I feel for you and they feel for the hotels and it's it's just having that level of Understanding which I think has been really positive and they know that our hotel years are furloughed right there laid off there's been job cuts they're running skeleton staff. And so it's that's been really refreshing and rejuvenating and kind of understanding that like you know what there's some big, big, big hearts in this industry and that's how we're going to get through it. Yeah, so it's we have a very different model. I mean there's every destination I'll say because there's a billion different ways to fund tourism. And so I work directly for the Regina Hotel Association. So we run out where destination marketing programs are DMP. And so what we do with that DMP is it's our job to flip that money to create higher demand for roommates. So it's my job to look after the meetings and conventions side of things. We have a team member that does sporting and special events. And then another stream of our business is sponsorship. So there's cash sponsorship that's available for when organizers are looking at bringing something to Regina. So it's a slight incentive program. And then the other piece of that is that we provide funding to tourism Regina and economic development Regina who are the official DMO So they are they get funding streams from kind of a whole bunch of different private private sector parties and the city of Regina. So it's very different. How we run, but it's really beneficial having collaboration between the two organizations with the RHA and active Regina who houses tourism Regina I should say they live under the same umbrella. Just to kind of get a full encompassing photo of specifically what's happening in industry and happening within our key sectors and how that applies to meetings and events. But you know that was one of my favorite site visits and it does. It's really come. I mean, there's a it's a combination of factors that feed into a good site visit. Obviously, the people you're with and you guys, your team was so much fun and my client was also a very fun and easy going client. So it was easy and fun to do. But it was one of my favorite site visits because it was the unexpected. And I think anyone who can go into a city. Thinking they're going to see one thing and walk away having experienced something else that that speaks to Not only the quality of venues that you guys have, but the way your team can weave together a story for the client to buy into having an event in Regina and and we both did be both me and my client were like, This is awesome. This is this is not what we had anticipated and we walked away going. Yeah, this is got like it's got everything. Yeah, it's one of the challenges but joys of selling a destination that's very unknown is we have that ability to truly surprise and delight like we hear it. I mean, I'm Regina born and raised. So I'm probably the worst person to talk to about this because I know the city like the back of my hand because this is where I grew up. But it's always interesting to hear people and just the surprise and of like, that's so cool and I'm just it's something like little things you take for granted and it's just like, Oh, wait, yeah, like that is super cool that we can do that here and Yeah, so that's what I'm excited to get back to as well as to the the shock and awe of Regina, which you typically wouldn't hear this in a sentence together. Yeah, and that being said, I mean one of my big ones was practicing gratitude. And that was something we talked about and that's the one that I think it's because it take doesn't take a lot of time in the morning it takes a You know, I usually take two to three minutes just to like sit in silence and to kind of think about what I'm grateful for. That's stayed on the books, even if it's I'm doing it at whether I'm doing it at six whether I'm doing it at seven seven 30 some days right like it's That's one day that's stuck. So I think I just need to maybe build on that one and go from there. But so that's that I take it back. That's one that's stuck. I mean, I'm a toxic optimist in the way where I have rose color glasses on most of the time. So that's why being grateful so much fun. It's going to go back. It's fine. It's fine. Which by Timmy sometimes but what can you do. I don't think that's toxic at all. I think that's exactly what we need right now is more people like you Because it's it's really easy to find the ones that are negative Nellie's and so we need we need people like you to me also yeah please continue to spread your toxic optimism because someone's going to catch it and it might change their day But we attended I attended CSE trillium summer summit and investigated into that it's it's interesting and then I guess we attended just on the leisure side of things the travel and leisure show that was such a week ago. Okay. It's usually yeah I was gonna say it's usually beginning in September so yeah you're right it's probably Yeah, so that was on six connects that the travel and leisure show so I was the first one I had attended with that platform and it was it was cool it was it was neat to actually see a booth on screen like it was definitely the one that I saw that was the most That could be as close as you could possibly get to like an in person trade show But it was it was awesome. It's interesting like it's I think that the the exposition industry had A lot they had a lot of moving pieces as it was pre pandemic and I think with the development in these virtual trade shows it's it's interesting because CSES was great. You had your listing and I'd be really interested to see what the data is because I think that's what's most important to suppliers. So our company hosted a trade show. So we were supposed to have our in person meeting in May in Vegas and so in June we did the virtual trade show and it was one on one appointments. So were the two that you went to were they one on ones. You could have set them up. But I didn't again I attended I was I was kind of the creepy supplier spectator for both of those because I wanted to look at how it all went and and how it went about and everything else. So there was a couple that I just I would pop in and set up a zoom as as that but the one on one appointments and I mean that was pre pandemic that's what everyone wants right is that chance to connect without any distractions. And quite frankly these virtual platforms are now competition to destinations. So interesting. Yeah. No you're right. Yeah. I never considered that before. Yeah. So that's been kind of my job is to monitor what's happening in that space because that's where all destinations are vulnerable. Right. If there's something that makes it super super easy and slick and everything else then what happens to in person which we know we'll never get rid of. We know people have to gather. That's a basic human need. But it's it's an interesting scope to look at it because I get really excited about it and then a little fearful because it's like oh darn that was a really good experience that just replaced a 20 30 person board meeting. Yeah. One of our hotels. Absolutely. And I think that there's plus and negatives to what the argument of engagement just because we know humans have really really short attention spans. So for me personally when I have the flexibility to take part in a program but then also to make my own decisions and what I need to do with my day is kind of outside of that structured landscape. Okay. Personally I love that because that gives me the liberty to do whatever I need to do and not to be honed in or just I have to be glued to my screen for the session that you know I got five minutes in and I'm really not that interested. I'm going to have it on the background and do whatever I want and because I've had a couple of those experiences and all in all I thought it was lovely. I had really great time I was able to get some work done in it without being rude and like leaving a room. Again I probably shouldn't be saying this because this is enforcing the idea of virtual events but it's you're giving humans and you're giving people the opportunity to make their own decisions. And to get outside of that structured realm which again comes into play when we're talking about millennials versus Gen Z and everything else but that's a whole other conversation we could have. But I love that conversation and it's not even millennials versus Gen Z versus boomers and Gen X but for me it's a big introverts versus extroverts too because as an introvert myself and I am a severe introvert where I need a long time. Yes I've missed the in person meetings but in all honesty I have not missed the late night networking I have not missed the trying to be on for 10 hours a day and then trying to find the energy to do it the very next day. That has been what surprisingly I've enjoyed almost the most about this pandemic is I haven't had to be at these shows one or two times a month where I'm completely exhausted and wasted by the time I get home that it takes me another 72 hours to recuperate from that intense in person experience. Yeah and I think that's something that we don't talk about enough in our industry is I know that you've kind of talked about that is the introverts versus extroverts in industry but it's I think that there's there's a lot of glorification on some habits that are maybe a little unhealthy in the work that we do in hospitality and it's understanding and respecting the you know if you're out with a client I think that that client has the ability. They need to respect your time obviously as a supplier you're investing time into this relationship and and to create a partnership with them but at the same time I think that there also needs to be respect given that you know if that person's exhausted. That person's exhausted like there should not be this obligation to stay up and or have an early morning meeting or whatever it is. And I think that that's when you get into the kind of the more the ethical side of it of like just respecting boundaries more than anything. Just prior to the pandemic I was seeing some really positive changes in programming. I came to catering to be it introverts or be it just really really busy professionals where meeting planners were doing a much much better job of incorporating times of unstructure and blocks of time where there was nothing on the agenda. And then one conference and I went to that the they had the busy networking event in the evening but then they also had this quieter hospitality suite that people could retreat to. And that's of course where I went as opposed to the super busy networking party loud music dance floor etc. So event planners were coming around and creating these white spaces in our day so that introverts could and or busy people could find the time to recharge and get ready for the next day. And then the pandemic hit so I'm not sure what the events are going to look like when we come back. But but I would like maybe a trend though is that there is more white space because in creating space then you're also creating social distancing and you're making people feel safer with those white spaces in the schedule. You have the ability to you know hop out of a room or take a call or just take five minutes because you know what the the information that you're absorbing is a lot right to just decompress and and make sure that you're getting everything that you need to out of that experience. I think there's going to be some really positive movement and I mean that opens up a conversation on inclusivity. Yeah and everyone feels welcome and there's just it's an exciting time as devastating as it is.