Airbnb Could be a Good Option for Conference Travel

What do you do when you're going to a conference and can't find a hotel nearby? Try Airbnb or Airbnb for Business if you and your co-workers travel frequently. I recently took over coordinating a hotel room block for a conference a few months prior to the event. Confirmations of when people were actually arriving and departing were all over the place and because of the proximity to the conference, I had to schedule some people at two different hotels during the conference. Not the ideal situation.

Airbnb had some options in the same proximity as the convention center, at a fraction of the price. Now it may not be ideal for your colleagues to share a house, but take a look at different options, even if it's just for one person. There are a variety of options: anything from a shared room, to a private room, to an entire house.

Here are some things to consider if you're out of traditional hotel options and want to try Airbnb:

• Read the reviews on Airbnb and check the response rate and time of the host. 
• Look at all of the costs that you'll incur with your stay. Cleaning, deposit and extra people are a few of the charges that could be added. When you go into a specific listing, it will add up all the fees for you on the right.
• Read the cancellation policy carefully. If you don't have a definitive schedule, Airbnb may not be the right fit. Hosts will need to give you access to their home or shared space. 

It's always good to have options when you're limited because everyone seems to be descending on a city at the same time as you. Keep Airbnb in your back pocket.

Book Review: The Sell: The Secrets of Selling Anything to Anyone by Fredrik Eklund

Let me first admit that I am a fan of Fredrik Eklund of Bravo tv's Million Dollar Listing: New York fame. Knowing his adorable Swedish accent made reading The Sell even more entertaining.

The history of Fredrik's life helps illustrate how his foundation helped set him up for his future successes. He does discuss his tactics for negotiating and keeping the upper hand; something extremely important in your professional and personal life.

The discussion of personal brand and how to maximize your time for PR items (social media mainly) was a great reinforcement of other business books I've read. It's hard to implement advice sometimes, no matter how much sense it makes, but it was great to see the effect with a personal example. This example is also seen in Million Dollar Listing: New York.

Read this book for a different perspective on negotiating and selling yourself. If you buy it for your Kindle, get the "deluxe" version so you can watch videos of the endearing Fredrik.

The Evolution of Integrating Work Travel With Home Life

In the February/March issue of Collaborate magazine, there was an interesting brief about a conference that provided onsite child care for participants. It can be tough to be away from your family, especially if you're also the primary caregiver for your children. In a 2014 study conducted by The Council of Economic Advisors, 49% of parents said they passed up a job they felt would conflict with family obligations. Traveling for work, including attending a conference, would count towards that conflict.

Providing assistance for childcare onsite is a great way to give flexibility to the parents to still do their jobs well, but also know that they can travel with their child as well. Child care isn't just popping up at conferences, golf courses like Province Lake Golf Club in Maine are beginning to provide this service too!

By understanding the needs of your demographic and their psychographics, you can offer additional services to either draw more people, or enhance their experience. Providing child care is just one example of how you can help remove barriers from people partaking in events or using your product or service.

Shoes That Repair Your Feet

All road warriors know what to expect on the road: long hours standing or walking. This is especially true when you're a trade show road warrior. At the PGA Show in Orlando, I stopped by the Telic footwear booth.

They promised comfort and recovery for any trade show goer's aching feet. After being on the floor for 10 hours that day, I went back to my hotel room completely exhausted. I popped on my bright pink Telic flip flops and it felt like a massage on my feet.

The next day, I didn't have any issues with my feet - they weren't sore, they weren't achy. Believe me, that has never happened before. It helped with a blister I had developed after wearing high heels one day, and even just standing on my feet all day. Road warriors - check these shoes out!

Book Review: The 4-Hour Workweek

This book has been sitting on the Etap Communications library shelf for a long time. The title has

always been very intriguing to me, but for some reason I hadn't read it. I wish I had read this book first when I was ready to start my professional career. Author Timothy Ferriss doesn't just focus on the professional aspect of how to work more efficiently, but really encourages you to re-evaluate your lifestyle, your wants, needs and desires and how to focus your energy on achieving the things you want to do in life.

I share my love of traveling with the author, which is why I could instantly relate to the ideas in this book. Your dream may be to do something that does not include travel, but the fact of the matter is, nearly everyone has to work. We need money in order to live, however, Timothy argues you don't need as much money as you may think. He also gives examples about how these ideas can apply to couples and families, not just a single guy or gal wanting to "live the dream."

Here are some highlights of what you'll take away from this book:

• Focus on being productive instead of being busy
• Ask yourself if you're inventing things to do to avoid doing the important
• Maintain a low information diet
• Split your dreams into Having, Being and Doing - the Having category should have the least amount of things

Even if you don't own your own business, or enjoying working 40+ hours a week, reading this book will give you a good perspective on your dreams.

Adapt to Your Customers

In a recent trip back to my alma mater, I realized a lot has changed in seven years. As businesses, we have to be open to that change. I went back to the University of Kansas during homecoming week for the Journalism School's activities. I had the opportunity to walk around campus and see what's new and what has changed. I'm sure you can say the same when you go somewhere you haven't been in many years.

Let's take one of the libraries on campus, for example. They've removed the individual chairs in the lobby which reduces the noise and distractions. They're now encouraging food by having a coffee shop and packaged food available for purchase. They've also reorganized the furniture on the main floor, giving more seating options for groups and individuals. 

They listened to their customers. How do you do this? How do you implement change?

By asking or observing. Surveys are great to get feedback on specific things and to be able to quantify things. The better way is to observe. People may tell you they want one thing, but their actions speak louder than words. 

Changes can be anything from ordering new furniture, updating a process, upgrading software for end users, improving customer service calls, etc. I always look for things to implement that can be more efficient, but improving the quality or functionality of something can be just as important.

Stop Calling Yourself a Social Media Expert!!!

When clients ask me about something related to social media, its functionality or how it can be used as part of a marketing communications mix, I usually have the answer off the top of my head. Why? Because I use social media sites for business and personal reasons everyday. Does that make me an expert? No - it just means I have more knowledge than you do because of how often I use it.

Why am I not an expert? Because there are more than 200 social media sites currently available, connecting people online right now. I don't know if there's anyone in the world who could keep up on the functionalities, updates, and changes of more than 200 social media sites! 

It infuriates me when social media managers try to tell people they are experts - they aren't. If you are looking for someone with an expertise in social media for your business, consider these things:

• The branding and sales goals of what you want social media to help achieve.
• What social media sites are you competitors, or your industry colleagues, using?
• Who will be responsible for social media content, posting and scheduling?
• Does your crisis management plan include provisions for social media communication?
• Does your business have social media profiles because "everybody else does?"

A true social media manager with a marketing background can help guide you through those questions to decide whether your business needs to be on social media or not, and which profiles make most sense for your business.