Hotel & Motel Management: HOTEC structure means business

CARLSBAD, CALIF. -- About 200 attendees will network and participate in individual appointments at HOTEC North America, a meeting forum for hotel management. The three-day event is scheduled June 2-5 at La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

The forum's itinerary consists of a series of prescheduled meetings, which give attendees opportunities to conduct business and exchange ideas, according to Daniela Gusman, sales manager for McLean Events, which runs the event.

HOTEL & MOTEL MANAGEMENT and HOTEL DESIGN are sponsors of HOTEC North America, which is in its second year.

"The trade-show environment, where there is a lot going on, may not be very conducive to doing face-to-face, very in-depth business discussions," Gusman said. "Therefore, we launched the idea of inviting a fixed number of buyers and vendors."

Buyers are designated a meeting table where vendors visit them during 20-minute time slots. Buyers and vendors are given a password before the event and are able to enter their company profile on the HOTEC Web site, which all the attendees have access to. Before the event, buyers can read up on product information, and vendors can read about the buyers to see what new construction or renovations they have planned and what their budgets are.

Then vendors and buyers can request meetings with one another in order of priority, and the meetings are scheduled accordingly so that both parties are able to prepare before the event.

June 3 and 4 feature seminars with panel discussions. June 3 will feature an industry overview by Mike Malley, publisher/editorial director, HOTEL & MOTEL MANAGEMENT. Panelists will include a hotelier, a designer, a purchasing company and a management company.

The seminar on June 4 is titled, "Changes in the Industry: New trends in hospitality design and specifications." A panel will discuss issues such as quality, international projects, chain hotels trading up and how manufacturers can help differentiate brands with products and marketing. Panelists will include hoteliers, timeshare and casino executives and designers.

After the meetings on the afternoon of June 3, attendees will be split into groups of 10 to participate in a team-building event. Last year, a boat-building competition was held on the beach.

"It works extremely well and builds strong rapport and relationships," Gusman said. "Participants were a bit skeptical in the beginning because it's different from what they're used to doing. But I've had a lot of comments on how fantastic it was."

The schedule for June 4 also includes a vendor showcase.

"The event has had a phenomenal response rate because people found it so different. There are other kinds of networking opportunities in the industry, but none of them have the same structured format, where vendors and buyers can choose who they want to meet with," Gusman said. "The uniqueness is the reason so many people want to attend, because they find they can do a lot of business and see a lot of key people that will save them time during the year."

hgunter@advanstar.com