SPRING 2021 COVER STORY FOOD AND BEVERAGE ANNOUNCEMENT The Elms Hotel & Spa Restaurant Meetings and Events – An Elegant Blend Restructuring – How are Changing – And So of Productivity and One Organization is Missouri Meetings Personal Wellness Transformed its Food & Events Service Model FEATURE Vaccine Distribution – The Extent of its Impact on Group Functions Reconnect, Renew and Recharge It’s why we meet. Central Missouri’s The Lake Is Where It Happens • Missouri’s Top Attendance Meeting Destination • Accommodating Groups From 10 to 3,000 • Voted Best Recreational Lake in the Nation by the readers of USA Today & 10Best • Over $55 Million In Hotel Renovations • A ordable Centralized Location • Unique Team Building Activities Let our sta assist you with all you planning needs. • 14 Championship Golf Courses [email protected] | www.funlake.com/meetings-conventions | 800-Fun-Lake Missouri Meetings Fall.qxp_Layout 1 7/28/20 3:32 PM Page 1 Reconnect, Renew and Recharge It’s why we meet. Oh ManVISITMANHAhaanTTANKS.ORG! 785-776-8829 Our conference center has expanded! Check our website for expansion details or give us a call. Central Missouri’s The Lake Is Where It Happens • Missouri’s Top Attendance Meeting Destination • Accommodating Groups From 10 to 3,000 • Voted Best Recreational Lake in the Nation by the readers of USA Today & 10Best • Over $55 Million In Hotel Renovations • A ordable Centralized Location • Unique Team Building Activities Let our sta assist you with all you planning needs. • 14 Championship Golf Courses [email protected] | www.funlake.com/meetings-conventions | 800-Fun-Lake letter FROM THE PUBLISHER SPRING 2021 As the first quarter of 2021 signifies the one-year marking of large shifts Publisher/Editor Joseph W. Clote within the meetings and events in- Graphic Designer Cris Delli-Zotti dustry and business as a whole, many Contributing Editor Kaitlyn Wallace organizations have made long-term Featured Columnists GBTA St. Louis Chapter reconfigurations to their processes. Contributing Writers Scotty O’Brien These strategic adaptations – that Olivia Orman Kaitlyn Wallace were originally thought to be tem- Astrid Zeppenfeld porary – are here to stay, and the last Bookkeeping Karen Spain issue known as “Missouri Meetings & Office and Event Manager Olivia Orman Events” highlights how meeting plan- Circulation Coordinator Jacqueline Ogina ners, venue/service suppliers, and in- Online Coordinator Janet Mulwenge dustry affiliates are responding to these pivotal times. Account Managers Joseph Clote During a period where meetings and events have been more Victoria Matthews infrequent than previous years, the Elms Hotel & Spa promot- Intern Tanneko Ross ed itself as a destination for productive and leisurely face-to- face functions. “Meet and Retreat”: The Elms Hotel and Spa’s Approach to Stress-Free Meetings and Events (pages 8-11) il- lustrates how this property is well-equipped for holistic group MISSOURI MEETINGS & EVENTS Missouri Meetings & Events is published quarterly business and has implemented ample measures to safely do so. by Publishing Concepts LLC With the Summer 2021 issue marking Missouri Meetings & Advertising Inquiries: Events’ 20-year anniversary, Missouri Meetings & Events will Joseph Clote • [email protected] be rebranded as as MEET Missouri. Meetings and Events are 6590 Scanlan Avenue • St. Louis • Missouri • 63139 Changing, and So Are We (Page 25) provides a glimpse of ex- Phone 314-781-8880 • Fax 314-781-8848 www.MissouriMeetingsAndEvents.com citing new subject matter MEET Missouri will be editorializing in upcoming issues, while still serving as the go-to resource for Regional Editorial Offices regional meeting and event planners. For editorial submissions & inquiries only: Joseph Clote • [email protected] Other companies that contribute to the meetings and events 6590 Scanlan Avenue • St. Louis • MO • 63139 industry have, additionally, made lasting changes that will stay in place following the industry’s rebound. The Paradigm Shift Postmaster: Send address changes to: Missouri Meetings & Events in the Restaurant Industry (Pages 20-21) provides insight into 6590 Scanlan Avenue how So Hospitality Group successfully pivoted its standard op- St. Louis, Missouri 63139 erating procedures over the last year and offers motivation for Copyright 2021 Publishing Concepts LLC Printed in U.S.A. other organizations to implement longstanding business ap- All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be proaches as well. reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission. Unsolicited manuscripts submitted to Missouri Meetings & Events also analyzed what role vaccina- Missouri Meetings & Events will not be returned. tion plays in reviving face-to-face group functions. Injecting Face-to-Face Meetings Back into the Industry (Pages 14-15) conveys how meeting and event planners will need to account Citizen of the Osage Nation, a federally for a variety of decision factors aside from the vaccine that are recognized tribe. Internships available for shaping attendance preferences and attendee comfort levels. American Indian and Alaskan native students. Though the road to our industry’s recovery is long, innovative thinkers – as shown above – have already put solutions in place to encourage and help groups gather safely. It is up to meeting and event planners and venue/service suppliers to take action for the professionals and organizations that shape the industry Follow us on: as we know and knew it. Are you ready to embrace the change? Joseph W. Clote Group Publisher [email protected] MOMeetings_Spring2021_StCharles.pdf 1 1/26/21 4:34 PM C M Y CM MY CY CMY K contents SPRING 2021 FEATURES COVER STORY: “MEET AND RETREAT” FOOD AND BEVERAGE: THE PARADIGM SHIFT The Elms Hotel and Spa’s Approach to IN THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY Stress-Free Meetings and Events. by Olivia Orman by Kaitlyn Wallace 8 20 TECH TALK: DIGITAL MARKETING AND FACILITY FOCUS: BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE CYBERSECURITY: THE LATEST PLATFORMS AND Castle Ridge “Paves” New Standards for RESOURCES Meetings, Events, and Teambuilding . 12 22 by Olivia Orman FEATURE: INJECTING FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS ASSOCIATION NEWS: THE GBTA ST. LOUIS CHAPTER BACK INTO THE INDUSTRY ANNOUNCES EVENT PLANS FOR 2021 The Impact of a COVID-19 Vaccine by Mattie Yallaly, GTBA St. Louis on the Meetings and Events Industry. Chapter Member by Kaitlyn Wallace 14 24 DESTINATION FOCUS: SMALL TOWN FEEL WITH BIG CITY MEETING OPPORTUNITIES Cape (Girardeau). by Astrid Zeppenfeld 16 DEPARTMENTS FEATURE: EVERY PRICE COMES WITH A PRICE PEOPLE UPDATE Upholding Your Company’s Service Rates 26 in Times of Crisis. INDUSTRY UPDATE by Scotty O’Brien 28 18 DIRECTORIES MM&E MARKETPLACE On The Cover: The Elms Hotel & Spa 29 30 ADVERTISERS’ INDEX & WEB ADDRESSES Zero 0Attrition Book with confidence in Springfield, Missouri 1 Zero attrition for new business booked by Plus… December 31, 2021. A fi nancial incentive for new business booked 2 by December 31, 2021. Bring your family and enjoy discounts at 3 attractions and restaurants. Springfi eld companies have the technology to 4 help you produce your next hybrid meeting. Upgraded hotel cleanliness/safety standards 5 to meet or exceed American Hotel & Lodging Association Safe Stay requirements. Dana Maugans, CDME Lisa Perez, CMP Melissa Evans, CHSE Contact us for more information. DMaugans@Springfi eldMO.org LPerez@Springfi eldMO.org MEvans@Springfi eldMO.org 800-678-8767 x. 111 800-678-8767 x. 113 800-678-8767 x. 107 Go to springfieldmo.org/zero-attrition for details A masking ordinance is in place for the city of Springfi eld. For details, visit Springfi eldMo.org. “Meet and Retreat” The Elms Hotel and Spa’s Approach to Stress-Free Meetings and Events by Kaitlyn Wallace re you bored of bleak, boring, and outdated meeting spac- The “Meet” Aes? Do you find yourself stressed and tense after a long day The Elms Hotel and Spa offers 11,000 square feet of re- of presentations and networking, wishing you could find some- stored meeting space, which includes a grand ballroom, an where to relax? Or gazing out the window into a grim, corporate outdoor patio, an outdoor covered gazebo, and more. As Kara downtown? Harrington, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Elms Ho- Located in historic Excelsior Springs, the Elms Hotel and Spa tel, explains: “Our meeting options are more than just a ball- provides the perfect alternative to dull, stress-inducing confer- room with four walls. We have unique and unconventional ences as a venue ideal for mixing business and leisure. With spaces indoors and out, including our oval-shaped Grand Ball- 16 acres of outdoor grounds and a newly renovated expansive room featuring high ceilings, a center skylight, and beautiful spa, the Elms Hotel provides the space for guests to “meet and chandeliers. Our Regent Ballroom offers rustic elegance with retreat” in style, all while providing a vast array of meetings and hardwood floors, exposed timbers and a large stone fireplace. events support and amenities. The Elms’ focus on wellness, The huge windows and French doors offer an abundance of stress relief, and positive experiences provides a unique and re- natural light, as well as views of the grounds and a private laxing backdrop for all types of meetings and events. patio.” 8 MISSOURI MEETINGS & EVENTS SPRING 2021 COVER STORY: “MEET AND RETREAT” These elegant spaces are accompanied by a wide range of The wide variety of spaces available for meetings and events meeting and events amenities such as on-site catering (which also allows for a sense of specificity and personalization that can customize menus, arrange tastings, and accommodate any is usually unavailable in typical corporate meeting and events dietary restrictions), audio-visual support, and arrangements spaces. Arielle Seabra, Chief Marketing Officer for Goodcents for off-site outings such as wine tastings and visits to personal- Deli Fresh Subs, said the following of her experience with the ly-owned eateries. As Maria R. Davis, CMP, Director of Meet- event space at the Elms Hotel: “We were able to really leverage ings and Partner Relations for Missouri REALTORS®, says of all of the spaces in the hotel.