MICE Conversations: a podcast for the Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conferences and Events industry
MICE Conversations: a podcast for the Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conferences and Events industry
#1: MICE Conversations - Marie Lawlor, Ovation Ireland DMC
Episode #1. 'MICE Conversations'. Michael Collins, TravelMedia.ie, in conversation with Marie Lawlor, Director of Sales & Marketing at Ovation Ireland DMC. Interview recorded Monday 15th March 2021.
About Marie Lawlor, and Ovation Ireland DMC
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-lawlor-cis-citp-6b255a11/
https://ovationdmc.com/meet-ovation-ireland-dmc-team-arthur-marie/
https://ovationdmc.com/destinations/ireland/
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:00 - How are you? How is work life at Ovation Ireland?
03:01 - Post pandemic, will we all rush back to the office or will the future be hybrid?
04:48 - Incentive travel. How will it open up? Micro-groups.
06:44 - Safety and standardisation with MICE.
08:41 - What is the mood in Ireland today?
11:16 - Stop, start pandemic? Are we now cautious trying to plan for the future?
12:57 - Outbound trends?
TravelMedia.ie run Ireland's only outbound MICE networking event, the MICE Meetup Dublin.
https://www.travelmedia.ie/mice-meetup-dublin/
(bright music)- Hello, everybody. My name is Michael Collins. I run TravelMedia.ie. We are a travel and PR agency based in Ireland. 20 years in the travel industry and never have we seen a year like this before. This series of talks is called MICE Conversations. As some of you know, we run an event called the Dublin MICE MeetUp, which is an outbound event for the MICE industry in Ireland. And of course, 2020 we did not get to host that event like many people watching, everything was put on hold. And for 2021, April was meant to be our date but that has been pushed back again. So, today in our MICE conversation I am talking to Marie Lawlor, Marie is Director of Sales and Marketing at Ovation Ireland DMC. Marie has 20 years experience in the travel industry, organizing events, conferences and experiences. She also spent five years at the Dublin Convention Center. So Marie, thank you very much for joining us today. I wonder if we can just start on a personal level. And I start with that because I spent the last many months talking to many convention bureaus around Europe who we normally do business with and the first question that they always ask when we're talking is, how are you? How are things in Ireland? And what's going on there? And I think people are starved of information because we've all been living in these little bubbles at home. So, I wonder if you could maybe talk to me a little bit about how you're getting on personally in terms of actually trying to get up and do a day's work every day, be it from home or in an office and obviously Ovation Ireland, how that is panning out for you all?- Yes, thank you, Michael. It's been a full year since we left the office and in that time I've been to the office twice. So, yeah. So, I'm here working away from home. I think the first sort of 12 weeks was trying to do our job, some of us were homeschooling, we were dealing with cancellations, postponements and just that absolute unknown. So that was probably the first sort of four to five months of trying to do that from home, trying to keep connected with our colleagues. And we started in the first few months of every morning.
At 10:00 a.m. we'd all get online and have a chat until it got to the stage where we had actually nothing to talk about and we've now brought that down to twice a week. But also as well, I think for us, we find we're from such an industry where human connection is what we're all about and we really miss each other. That and meeting in the office, feeding off each other's reactions, the brainstorming together, I feel that needs to be done face to face. But we've done our best with Microsoft Teams to create that environment. But yeah, it has been difficult and challenging for the last year.- So, do you think the fact that we've all had to work from home and work remotely and I'm the same, I haven't been to the office in over a year now, do you think that makes us appreciate the industry that we had and the events industry, broadly speaking, and we'll be rushing straight back out as soon as we can or do you think we're gonna end up in a, I suppose, a hybrid where we work from home two, three days a week and then we go into the office a little bit?- I think there will be a mix. I have to say in our office, the women seem to work from home and the men have been going to the office. So, it's really weird.- Right.- But I think that we will... I think it will be hybrid. I think we've always wanted to work from home on a Monday and Friday anyway, and then go into the office Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Because we need to feed off each other. I felt at times when I've been trying to think of a good idea before I could have just shouted across the office, what do you think of that? Now, I have to see if they're available and I look and it's do not disturb. I think it will definitely be hybrid, but one thing that people will be jumping up is, we all talk now about how when that first tradeshow will happen, which looks like it might be IMEX America, we are all dying to go. And you know, before you get to a stage where you gotta be jaded of all of the travel that you have to do as part of your job or the site inspections and we sit there and talk to each other now. It's like I would do anything to begin a site inspection or a tradeshow, or to be having dinner in a restaurant with people I've never met before and I'm trying to sell my country to them.- Absolutely. I mean, obviously you mentioned tradeshows there and that was a good example in terms of, you know, tradeshows are still happening. You know, ITB Berlin has just finished, it was virtual, there are hybrid events happening. I've been to some of those hybrid events, but you're in the incentive space and you know, incentive travel I think would be fair to say has probably been hardest hit and is most difficult to operate in this virtual world. How do you think incentive travel is going to start again when things open up?- This talk, I was at the SITE Global Conference virtually in January and they were talking about the microgroups, so those smaller groups. And the people are a little bit unsure about what size a microgroup will be. I thought microgroup would be 10. One of the US speakers said 50. 50 is a decent size group in Ireland for incentives. But yes, I think... In the early days, I think people will be looking for smaller boutique hotels, castle and stately home buyouts because we can create a controlled environment then from when they arrive at the airport with the (mumbles) arrivals, straight into transfers that we know have passed the Forge Ireland safety charter and so forth. And in creating experiences where there won't be 40 people on a bus, it will be small numbers, which in the incentive world, we have been doing well before this because nobody has the same experience with a guide with 40 people, then they deal with a guide and maybe six to 12 people. That's when they're getting that real incentive hands-on experience. So, it won't be a new world to us, but behind the scenes it there'll be all around the safety and ensuring that people feel safe with us.- And you mentioned safety, it's a good question cause we've all been discussing this and we've been looking at what airlines and airports have been doing. They're the first, I suppose, port of call, no pun intended. But... And I know for example, Ovation, I read recently you've created a 12 step methodology. But the challenge and we've seen this at an EU level is standardization. We have the traffic light system designed to open up travel last summer and it just didn't work because every country started doing its own thing. How do you think the MICE industry is going to deal with that? I mean, do you see steps happening already? Convention bureaus coming together and working cross border to try and find standardization?- Well, within Ireland, we... Forge Ireland have rolled out the COVID safety charter. So, all suppliers have to pass that charter, which means that they've done a course with Forge Ireland and they followed the protocol on the showing that they can deal safely with COVID when guests come back to us. And as you probably say, innovation, we've always had risk assessments and safety statements for any events. That's something that we've always done as a company to ensure the safety of our guests. So, when as Ovation across the world are running that near the 12th step. And I think that any client wishing to come to Ireland like we all put down our USP's and what we will do for them, that will be a new USP for the client to ask us, what are you doing around COVID and how are you dealing with it? And that's just going to be part of that tick list but a huge part of the tick is that. But as I said, this isn't anything new to Ovation. We've just adapted the way that we do our risk and safety statements to approach the new COVID world.- And in terms of... How is the general mood in Ireland? Because... And I asked that because our MICE event, we looked at running it April. We spoke to all our different partners and what we got back was that even the mood wasn't necessarily there or the timing wasn't correct to run a virtual event. So you know, it's not just the fact that we have go online with a lot of these events, it's the fact that timing is everything. Do you see the mood changing in Ireland? Do you think it's going to take much longer? Where do you see things going from here?- Yeah, it's a bit of a strange one because we... I feel we've been very up and down in Ireland. We saw a bit of light last summer and actually the event industry in Ireland run an event, a live event within Dublin and we were like 50 people, there were 38 guests and 12 crew. So, a little bit of the light at the end of the tunnel. And then we were stopped again in September. So, a lot of clients that felt that they may well could have had a live sort of end of year Christmas event that was stopped. Then we had Christmas and then we thought there was light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccine. I mean, as we currently stand now, there is going to be an update on April the 5th, but they feel that our current lockdown will be in place and probably until may. So that does affect the mood. I mean, we're lucky in the fact that we do do domestic business, so we are doing a lot of online events but you're having to be more and more creative on how you can engage. And that's all people are talking about, how do you engage with your guests? So, the mood is a little bit... I think everybody is now looking at Christmas. Our Christmas inquiries are increasing again for live events. So, everybody is in the hope that there will be domestic business this summer where we will be holidaying within Ireland.- [Michael] Yeah. But at the end of Q2 international guests coming back into Ireland. But I mean, you know, everybody's trying to stay very positive because of the vaccine roll out, but we really would love to get a roadmap like the UK or the US on dates, on when we can truly, truly turn around. And I think that's the feeling around everybody in sight and in ITOA as well, the Irish Tour Operators Association. If we just had a plan and we can work towards this.- Yeah, and I suppose I should mentioned in the intro you're a board member of SART Ireland this year. So, what a challenging year to be a board member. You mentioned one thing there, which is that, you know, we've had a stop start process and I don't think we're unique in that, but you think that's made people even more cautious because to a certain extent I'm surprised to see or hear, you mentioned Christmas as, you know, when you think things will start. Do you think we've become, I suppose, once bitten twice shy or burned by the fact that we've had so many starts and they've all been failed?- Yeah. I mean, I think if it wasn't for the vaccine I think we'd have a very different mindset, but it's giving people hope. And they know from talking to their teams that people are just feeling really isolated and they want to get together. And the hope is that people will be vaccinated by September, October, that it will allow them for those face-to-face. But what we're suggesting to our clients assuming that we've done before, if you're not comfortable bringing two or three people... Two or 300 people together, sorry, in one space that we go forward. What we actually do, which is what they've taken from the incentive side of our business, is a dine around type of events. So, you're not 300 people in a hotel ballroom, you're actually 20 people in that restaurant and 20 people in that restaurant and we're running them all simultaneously. So, you're in almost like safe bubbles in that sense. So again, it's just having to think of creative ways where you're looking after those that really want to mix, those are cautious about mixing and making sure that we have the solution for them.- Very interesting, so it's going to be a slow start. And then last question for you, Marie, what do you see or do you see trends? And interesting if there are not any trends for buyers in Ireland's PCOs in terms of outbound travel and convention bureaus. I mean, what questions are they asking? Are they engaging with convention bureaus at the moment or do you think the convention bureaus have been very quiet on the need to reengage again?- No, I think the... I have to say just one of the things about when you were in an unusual time like we are now, people have a lot more chance to actually chat and liaise with each other. So, I have to say the SITE Global Conference was amazing in January. I haven't actually attended physically, but there I was attending the virtual one and mixing. And the great thing about it is that you're there with the bureaus, you're there with DMC, hotels, anybody within the industry. And it was a real sharing of knowledge and thoughts and best practice because other countries haven't had the opportunity to open up. Our office in Rome, run an event on our behalf as a strategic partnering can. So, I really do think that there is a great deal of communication and I think that people are dying to travel. And once they feel they've got their vaccine or that they can get tested and that they haven't got it, I think it will come back really, really quickly because you know, we want to travel and when you speak to anybody the first thing they want to do is get on a plane safely and go somewhere else. So, I think the numbers will be large once we can go to anything. Well, that's a wonderful positive note to finish on, Marie. So, thank you for that and I couldn't agree more. I've traveled almost nonstop since last July. And initially, I must admit I was nervous for that first flight, but once I got traveling again and so how safe it was and I think that will happen when everybody gets out again. So, a positive note to finish on. So, thank you again, Marie. My name is Michael Collins. I'm from TravelMedia.ie and the Dublin MICE MeetUp today in our conversations or MICE Conversations we've been talking to Marie Lawlor, who is Director of Sales and Marketing at Ovation Ireland. So thank you again, Marie.(bright music)