I was on an Olympics panel during 2009 PCMA annual and a woman in the audience asked me how I felt sitting in the VIP section of the Bird’s Nest watching Beijing bidding farewell to the 2008 Olympics.

Her question brought me back to the night of [...]]]>

I was on an Olympics panel during 2009 PCMA annual and a woman in the audience asked me how I felt sitting in the VIP section of the Bird’s Nest watching Beijing bidding farewell to the 2008 Olympics.

Her question brought me back to the night of August 24,2008, a night that will stay in my memory for the rest of my life. I remember as I was watching the Olympic flame from the “memory tower” being extinguished followed by a magnificent fireworks display (see photo), I heard thundering hailing “glorious” from the more than 90,000 people inside the stadium. All of a sudden I could hear nothing and I reached to my cell phone and quickly dialed my dad in Shanghai.

“I did it dad! My event was flawless,” I said calmly.

“Yes you did. Your mom and grandma will be very proud of you in Heaven,” he said.

My eyes were welling and I simply let tears drip down my face…

Ping He, Before Closing Ceremony with Caterpillar's CEO couple

Fall 2006, Caterpillar came to me and wanted to hold a high-end customer experience to recognize their top dealers. I proposed the idea of holding the client event in conjunction with the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The proposed idea was held in favor by Caterpillar’s executive leadership. I was then asked to help secure accommodations, design an agenda and manage the event, both in advance and onsite.

My challenges

Olympics are considered as the single largest events in the world. Beijing Olympics was the largest Olympics ever and also commonly acknowledged as the most difficult Olympics event for sponsors and planners alike. Amongst the countless challenges; the most notable ones I had to deal with were:

• Accommodation – BOCOG (The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad) was in control of all 4-star and above housing in downtown Beijing
• Tickets
• Traffic and landing passes for private jets
• Inbound Visa
• Access to venues that were only allowed to dignitaries for special events
• Communications

My Solutions

As a native of China, I know the significance of “Guanxi” – connections in doing business in China. For CAT Olympics event I helped select FESCO DMC as our local partner. FESCO DMC is a division of FESCO, one of the Fortune

200 companies in China. FESCO DMC’s unique strength was their close ties

with the Beijing government. FESCO was responsible for providing human resources and security for the Olympics. I served as liaison between the client and the FESCO DMC, traveling twice to China for site selection and planning meetings before the event.

Commune by the Great Wall - a Kempinski Hotel

I negotiated the use of 10 villas for the group at the Commune by the Great Wall managed by Kempinski Hotels (http://www.communebythegreatwall.com/en/), a private collection of contemporary architecture designed by 12 Asian architects. This hotel was exhibited at the 2002 la Biennale di Venezia and bestowed a special prize. In 2005, Commune by the Great Wall was hailed by Business Week as a “New Architectural Wonder of China”.  Most of the rooms in this hotel pride themselves of having a Great Wall view (see photo). I personally was very fond of the Bamboo Wall villa (see photo) which is considered the most photographed villa of all.

Bamboo Wall Villa

Securing tickets for the games especially for the closing ceremony tickets; the most sought after tickets which was the most challenging task of all. Fortunately Mr. David Spain, our strategic partner from the Luxury Partnership (www.luxurypartnership.com) connected me with a US-based marine ticket broker and got tickets and thus avoided the cancellation of this entire event for Caterpillar.

Diaoyutai State Guesthouse

I also planned the meal functions for the Top Dealer Program, including a banquet at the exclusive Diaoyutai State Guesthouse (The name “Diaoyutai” means “angling platform”, and is so named because the site was a favorite fishing spot of Emperor Zhangzong of Jin China. The Guesthouse is now used to house visiting foreign dignitaries (see photo). In one of the receptions I planned we showcased four different Chinese cuisines complete with education on the significance of different foods in shaping different Chinese people’s behaviors from different China regions .

As for the communications, I suggested my client purchase 80 Nokia cell phones for our guests to use during their stay to ensure their safety and security and then following the Olympics to donate them to China’s earthquake relief as part of the corporate social responsibility.

Cell phones for China's earthquake relief

Results

Caterpillar was able to purchase a total of 486 Olympic event tickets including 70 closing ceremony passes in 5 Luxury Skyboxes. Using connections with top Chinese government officials and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Committee, I was able to secure Special Olympics license plates for the client vehicles which allowed access to the Olympics lane on all major highways and parking outside of the famous Bird’s Nest. While many overseas groups had to cancel their Beijing 2008 Olympic Games plans due to China’s rigid inbound Visa policy during the Games, our partner, FESCO, worked to ensure admittance for all the client employees and guests. FESCO’s connections also allowed the client to obtain private jet landing permits, documents sought after by state heads, royal families and celebrities.

From inception to execution it took a team of people almost a year and a half’s hard work and sweat.

For Caterpillar, it was the most successful and prestigious high-profile event in their event history.

For me, a native of China, I can proudly say “I was there. I was part of the Beijing Olympics!”

As the world converges on South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, there are many parallels that Americans can draw between the two. For many, soccer, or football as it is known around the rest of the world, it is a captivating sport [...]]]>

Maribeth Oberheide and friends at the Cheetah Reserve at Spier, S.A.

As the world converges on South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, there are many parallels that Americans can draw between the two. For many, soccer, or football as it is known around the rest of the world, it is a captivating sport that invokes both love and passion. However, to the mainstream American public, it remains an intriguing sport, largely surrounded by mystery and misconception. Much the same can be same about the World Cup’s host, South Africa, a captivating and passionate country that remains unexplored and a relative mystery to mainstream America. South Africa is a diverse country that offers both the culturally refined and business savvy, an experience that American businesses have come to expect from their European and Asian partners, but also a wild, untamed spirit that few countries can rival.

This past February, I was lucky enough to attend Meetings Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is a three day tradeshow the showcases products and services from across the region’s meeting, incentives and events industries. Johannesburg is an interesting city that had everything you would need for a meeting or conference. There are direct flights from all over the world here. Even if you are not staying in Johannesburg, you will likely fly through on your way to other locations in South Africa. They just completely renovated the airport for The World Cup. Meetings Africa was held in Sandton. Sandton is an area in Johannesburg that has a great convention center and several top hotels such as The Radisson Blu Sandton, where we stayed. There is still a safety concern outside of this area in Johannesburg. I would use caution in booking an event here with participants that are not very well traveled.

Maribeth Oberheide with Table Mountain behind in the distance

I was invited on a post tour FAM (Familiarization) trip to both Cape Town and then on safari in KwaZulu-Natal. Cape Town was our first stop.  I cannot talk enough about what an amazing city this is. It is a complete contrast to the hustle and bustle of Johannesburg. The city is dominated by a towering, table-shaped mountain, set on a peninsula where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. Cape Town would please everyone. There are wine tasting, shark diving, visits to Robbins Island, cheetah reserves and so much more. The hotels we saw were amazing. We stayed at the elegant Cape Grace Hotel which is right on the V&A waterfront. The service level at this hotel was truly the best I have ever seen.

The Mount Nelson Hotel by Orient Express is another one worth mentioning. It is downtown Cape Town but you would never know it by the gorgeous landscaping throughout the property. It is great for groups up to 200. The Westin Grand Cape Town Arabella Quays is a great meetings hotel right across the street from the Cape Town Convention Center.

Wildlife abounds at Phinda Mountain

The last two days of my trip were spent at Phinda Game Reserve on Safari. Phinda is located in KwaZula-Natal. This was beyond my expectations. This Reserve is absolutely amazing, from the game drives, to the rooms and the food. Oh the food… don’t expect to lose weight at Phinda. If you are not on a game drive you are most likely eating. Phinda is perfect for groups because it is one of the larger game reserves. A lot of them do not have more than 8 rooms. At Phinda, you could accommodate up to 80 people throughout the six lodges.

Prior to my trip to South Africa, I thought it was a “once in a lifetime” destination. After getting a small taste of what it has to offer, I cannot wait to get back.

Cape Town offers something for everyone in a glorious setting

The explosion of the information age has left many of us with the thought process the world has become a much smaller place.  While as a society we can communicate with few hurdles stopping us, there are some truths that still exist.   I found that out first hand while providing services [...]]]>

The explosion of the information age has left many of us with the thought process the world has become a much smaller place.  While as a society we can communicate with few hurdles stopping us, there are some truths that still exist.   I found that out first hand while providing services for a client in Prague.

We have all become accustomed to tapping away on our Smartphone to people all over the globe.  Since we are talking through IM, Twitter, Skype, Facebook or rating something on Yelp, we feel the world is at our finger tips.  In many ways it is – until you get on that plane…  until you fly for 10 plus hours across six time zones. Until you find yourself four thousand miles from home and speaking a foreign language.  Then you realize all of that is a bit out the door, and your communication paths have to change.

But for so many of us as planners, adapting is our life.

This was something I kept saying to myself throughout the trip.  I will have to be honest; this was not my first attempt at an event across the pond.  But it was the first one outside of the European Union.  The account team spent countless hours testing and thinking through every possible scenario.  We even flew with the equipment to insure it arrived safely to Prague with us in one piece.  Sometimes even the best-laid plans can be flawed by unforeseen circumstances. 

Upon arrival some of my coworker’s bags were lost; this could so easily have been the equipment.  But would Fed-Ex have been any more reliable in this case?  We were “walked” from our hotel. Unpreventable in spite of the fact we paid in advance.  But the scariest issue happened the following morning.  Despite IT’s involvement and consultation with the manufacturer, the voltage on the printer was too much for the European outlet.  It immediately blew the primary power source and left us with only one printer for the next four days.

After scouring most of Prague, I realized that the chances of finding a voltage converter were growing slim.  As a last ditch effort I asked the AV company from the U.S. that was onsite.  They had one extra and were so kind as to provide that for us.  We made it through the rest of the event and it was deemed a success by the client.

As this problem happened, we had several challenges of our own.  Although my client and I had international plans and GSM on our phones, nothing worked.  I was able to get on my laptop and IM one of our tech support people.  He happened to have IM tethered to his phone and allowed me to essentially text him about our issues.  We created a plan and came up with the idea of the voltage converter.  While we could have come to this conclusion our own, there was comfort in being able to communicate with someone from home  and verifying our thought process.

While we had several challenges, as I said the event was a success.  We learned a lot and will no doubt have a whole host of items to use in preparation for our next international event.  What I wouldn’t do is trade one moment of the experience.  The whole time I was able to communicate with my friends and family through a host of web tools.  I could describe my adventure through my blog .  Upload the pictures to my Facebook account and even IM them every night.  So this world that seemed so big only a couple of hours earlier, where everyone was so distant; in the course of a couple of key strokes had once again shrunk.

When you take your event to Europe there are many things to consider.  Lean on the people who have been there before.  Not only can they help with the big concepts, but also with the fundamentals of just making day to day life easier while you are there.  But don’t be scared, in today’s information network you have nothing to fear.  Assistance is only a key stroke away as long as you keep yourself connected.  Feel free to reach out to me if you have any additional questions about anything you have read in this article.