Planner and conference content producer
Cotton Council International
Memphis, Tenn.
Describe your event.
Cotton Council International manages the venues where buyers and sellers meet. This can be at a hotel or it could be at the department store; it can be consumer or business-to-business. This was a business-to-business event at the Caravelle Hotel in Saigon. We brought 28 buyers from brands, retail and trading companies in Japan. We brought them to Vietnam and introduced them in a trade show environment to textile and garment manufacturers in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.
Why did you decide to host the meeting in Vietnam
Vietnam is considered to be an up-and-coming player in garment manufacturing. And buyers from around the world, including Japan, are managing their "China risk" by placing orders in Vietnam.
What surprised you the most?
It was easy. From a hotel perspective, because of my exhibit space requirements there were three possible hotels, and that's it. That brought the decision-making process to a close pretty quickly. In terms of hotel facilities, they were good. From a meeting planner's point of view, the Caravelle's sales and marketing department was very efficient. We negotiated very quickly a deal that was mutually beneficial. But at the end of the day, it's the catering and convention services director and the staff that deliver on the sales and marketing promises, and they were excellent. The banquet captains had been with the property for five and 10 years--they were seasoned professionals. Our program grew substantially, and we had to be very creative and they were hitting on all pistons. We were doing this in real-time-- the curtain was coming up in 12 hours and we were making changes and they didn't even blink.
What did your attendees seem to enjoy the most?
On the opening night reception, we held it in their Opera room [with spectacular views of the nearby Opera House], where they brought a street market inside the hotel. We had fresh-squeezed sugar cane, hand-rolled spring rolls and all the great variety of food they have there. We also did a Bonsai Boat river cruise--it's this spectacular teak boat, and it can easily fit in 120 people in one section. Vietnamese food is cooked a la minute right in front of the guests as you lazily cruise down the river with entertainment on board. That was a very cool experience--you get off-property and have some fun.
Was anybody particularly helpful?
Really, the whole Caravelle crew was extremely helpful.
What other types of groups would fit well with the property?
I think an incentive would work very well there, regional meetings, continuing education meetings. It's a great property for the right-sized networking event, like ours. We had 35 booths. Peak rooms, we had probably 100. Our F&B event was about 140 guests; our seminar was for 120 people. Because of growth, and thanks to the creativity of my team--and when I say my team I include the Caravelle banquet staff--we absolutely maximized the capacity of their meeting space. It was a real collaborative effort.
Would you return?
Yes.
Do you have any advice for other planners who might bring a meeting to Vietnam?
I think it's important to know that I have an office in Vietnam, so I'm working in real time in the local language. It would have been much harder for me [to have booked from the U.S.]. I could not have executed this event as seamlessly without my own prior experience in the country as well as the fact that we have an office there. If it's just an incentive or a small meeting with 25 executives, then I think you can do it all through the Internet. I can't recommend doing a more complicated event without being on the ground yourself or having a very trusted local source to arrange things in person.
