Cyber tools for meeting planners: planners should do their homework before surfing.

• Author: Kavanaugh, Sheila J.
• Position: Meetings & Conventions

In the mid-1990s, I was asked to consult on a project in New Orleans. The idea was to get several successful "outside the box" thinkers together in a room for a few days to brainstorm our way into an epiphany that would inspire a revolution in the way hotels sell meetings. After three days, we managed to come up with some pretty impressive possibilities based on computer hardware and software solutions and the positive impact this technology would have on hotel sales operation. Little did we imagine, that in less than a decade, the subtly emerging Internet would revolutionize the entire meetings industry far beyond anything we could have imagined.

At that time, it would have been thought stranger than fiction to imagine that meeting planners would do anything other than contact hotels directly. In fact, most hospitality sales distribution solutions were based on that flow paradigm excepting, of course, contact with national brand sales offices or to a city's visitor bureau for larger events. But new technology forced a shift in the way everyone does business and the hospitality industry was no exception.

With a new distribution channel archetype beginning to emerge, it's safe to say that we don't exactly know what it looks like yet. We may have found our sea legs on the ocean of cyberspace, but what we have learned is that the waves never stop. This cyberspace is a living, breathing entity that changes in a fluid manner. No matter how much we may curse it at times, it is still the closest thing we have to direct instant access of the information we all seek. While some things will eventually shake Out as tried-andtrue methods is almost certain, no one really knows what the distillation process will ultimately reveal. All we can do is keep up with today's developments.

Professional meeting and event planners need to know what is available on the Internet and that requires keeping up with the newest offerings. If you haven't already spent some time learning to navigate your way around the brand sites, you should. They're pretty easy to find. Just search by typing www. crowneplaza.com or your favorite hotel brand. Once you are there, you can select the city of interest...