Leveraging Your DMO, Entirely

Time, the non-renewable workplace resource.  Streamlining tasks has become a top priority for organizations no matter their business focus.  In the meetings industry, it has become critical to use time effectively; to be a savvy industry professional.  Over the year’s professionals that have been marketing destinations in Canada, your DMO (Destination Marketing Organization) has bared witness to the lack of meeting planners drawing on their services actively.  Incorporating the DMO is the most time-saving tool that any planner can leverage in their toolkit for a successful event.  Education on the role that the DMO plays and what services are available has been an area that the destination professionals have not placed a lot of emphasis on, until lately. DMO leveraging is the trump card for event organizers. When you draw in the DMO, you’re holding the best poker hand, the Royal Flush, unbeatable.  I use this reference so you can realize the impact that these individuals can extend to any organization looking for a location to hold their event. What they do and how they can help is vast, they are the key to the city they represent.  Planners that have a request for proposal (RFP) can share this with their preferred destinations; then partner that RFP with a conversation to your DMO to allow for an in-depth collaboration into what you need to have sourced at the destination.  Once completed, the planner can lean back in that office chair and know that they have just taken the first step in removing a large chunk of work off their desk and relocated it onto the destinations.  RFP’s are what excite destinations, we are the city landscape experts, and this is our job. Just as each destination offers a unique and individualized experience so does the DMO residing there; we all offer the same core features. However, some locations offer additional services solely based on the needs required to support groups exploring and hosting there.  For the majority of destinations across Canada they will distribute your RFP to any number of hotels or venues, based on what has been itemized for facility requirements or brand preferences. Ensure the proposals are customized and address any specific key needs. Present recommendations about offsite venues or entertainment. Offer insight to dates that align with all parties; our role allows us to advise when there are a need or high demand periods occurring in our Cities. Education on funding, familiarization tours and personalized site visits to give you a first-hand look at potential venue locations are all features that you can access.  Your destination professional is there is educate, support and be the liaison between you and the stakeholders residing there. If planners adjust their path to purchase just slightly and start with DMO you are including the inside source to everything that is critical to the success of an event.  They are in tune with local developments, can speed up response times from stakeholders, and streamline the information collection process.  Sourcing out the Destination Marketing Organization is the most sensible route to travel.  Take what could just be another generic meeting or conference selection process and make your contact with the destination personalized to fit you. - Hotels Red Deer