A Continuing Success Story: Ritz-Carlton’s “Meetings within Reach”
Interview with Chris Gabaldon
Vice President, Global Sales for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company

Amid all the gloom and doom in 2009, there have been a few stand-out success stories when it comes to meetings and events. One example is the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and its “Meetings within Reach” promotion, launched last July as a value-added opportunity for meeting planners that incorporates remote meeting services. Whether it’s executive retreats, on-site seminars or other corporate events, the message is: “It’s Not Extravagant, If It Produces Results.”

FocusEd: What has been the response to your “Meetings within Reach” promotion and what insights have you gained? Do you have plans to continue this in 2010?

Gabaldon: The Meetings within Reach promotion has been incredibly well received. Meetings, as you know, serve to promote products, educate business partners, recognize and motivate top performers, network and support customers, and educate and train employees as well as a host of many other business critical objectives. Our clients want to use Ritz-Carlton to help them achieve their objective. They trust us and know we will not compromise our standards. However, the past year was unprecedented. Meetings within Reach has given us the opportunity to help our customers to continue to operate critical meetings through an incredibly difficult time. They find value, not just through price, but in the expertise Ritz-Carlton provides in executing events and in the value-added items that can help them reduce costs.

One of the most important insights has been how smart our clients are about their meetings. Another critical insight has been that even in times of adversity, customers are seeking quality and want to use Ritz-Carlton because they know we can execute at such a high level which in turn supports their business objectives and ultimately profitability.

We are happy to report that Meetings within Reach is extended into 2010.

FocusEd: What impact has the current market environment had on your meetings business? Did you see an impact earlier last year from the so-called “AIG” effect?

Gabaldon: It was too bad that meetings became a target last year, but the business leaders have really rallied around the importance of meetings in executing their business strategies. We took a noticeable hit as did the rest of the industry. The high-end market was clearly the hardest hit. The demonization of events was a strain on the economy and had a substantial impact on jobs and profits.

FocusEd: What do you anticipate in 2010 in terms of your meetings/events business?

Gabaldon: Events are clearly returning. As I mentioned earlier, meetings are an integral part of executing any business plan. Clients did retract in 2009 and are in the process of preparing for expansion. As competition rebounds and conditions improve, our clients have indicated that they are starting to re-invest in growing their businesses and meetings; communications and promotions are critical.

I don’t expect a return to peak years in 2010. It certainly will be a recovery year with great emphasis on clearly identifying the value that each event adds to business objectives. This however, is a good thing for our business. Events were an easy target earlier last year. They clearly won’t be this year. C-level executives are far more educated on the critical role that meetings and events play and will easily defend future attacks.

It’s a little early to say what the growth will be in 2010, but it will be a growth year.