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What's New with IARE?     return to top

The IARE's Regional and International Meetings Committee launched its first ever international meetings in Australia and Germany. Read more about these exciting new developments in this issue of IARE-News!

Conference Update           return to top

International Association of Reservation Executives
19th Annual Conference
April 24-28, 2004
The Westin Grand Hotel, Washington, DC  U.S.A.

Start making plans to attend the IARE Annual Conference in 2004! 

Click on the flag for information about next year's meeting

• More content-rich sessions
• More interactive learning opportunities
• More expert speakers
• More facilitated discussions 
• A broad selection of discussion topics
• Valuable take-aways

In fact, we encourage you to bring your call center teams to experience the unequaled benefits of networking and idea-sharing, expert-led education workshops, tailored product demonstrations, facilitated call center forums and terrific teambuilding activities – all in ONE place! 

Click on the flag to learn more about registration fees, accommodations and information. We appreciate your participation in this growing organization and we hope you'll make plans now to join us in DC. 

Regional & International Meetings

IARE... downunder!                      return to top
by LeAnne Gough, Director of Reservations-Pacific, 
Hyatt International Hotels and Resorts

For too many years, we at hotel level here in the Pacific region, have played second fiddle at call/contact center conferences, which seem to be dominated by banking institutions, finance houses and insurance companies. While we can share some very generic aspects of our business, the reality is we have had no organization where we can discuss the real nuts and bolts of our industry. Until now...

Through some diligent lobbying by members, IARE has extended its family to incorporate regions outside of North America. When approached to see if we were interested in participating "downunder" to the extent that Hyatt is involved in the USA, we jumped at the opportunity to meet like-minded industry executives who experience the same challenges as we do. (In the old days we knew them as "problems", however the power of positive language means we now use the word "challenges"!)

A chance to compare "apples to apples," brainstorm new ideas, exchange non-competitve data to ensure we are all in the realms of achieving what we should be, made joining IARE all the more attractive. 

The first meeting outside of North America was held August 20 in Sydney, Australia at the Best Western International offices. Nine of the major chains attended and we were honored to have the meeting facilitated by Will Jansen, past president of IARE. The meeting lasted four hours and we could have talked all day! The interaction, enthusiasm, motivation and sheer energy in the room from everyone re-emphasized the need for such an organization downunder!

On October 21, IARE organized its first Regional Meeting in Europe. Fourteen participants from call centers around Europe made their way to the Hyatt European Reservations Centre in Mainz, Germany. Hotel companies represented were Accor, Best Western, Hilton, Hyatt, Lindner and Maritim, as well as reservations services providers Trust International and Call Domain GmbH.  

Rob Clabbers, Corporate Director of Reservations of Hyatt International Corporation provided an introduction to IARE and led the conversations. Following a presentation by the event's sponsor, Quality Track International, the participants joined in interesting and lively discussions about topics at the heart of call center management, such as quality control, human resources and technological developments. The meeting was concluded with a brief explanation about Hyatt's consolidated reservations set-up in Europe and a tour of the call center.

All participants agreed that they would benefit from a more frequent get-together of call center managers within Europe and look forward to an increased international participation in IARE. 

Membership Update    return to top

Click here to complete the IARE International Membership Survey

Take the IARE Membership Challenge!
Recruit a new member to join IARE in 2003 and your organization can earn up to $500 off IARE's 2004 Conference registration fees!

Your company can earn a $100 conference registration discount for each member that you refer who joins IARE in 2003!

Can we count on you to help IARE grow?

Pledge your support now! 
Please email the names of people and companies you will call to invite to join IARE. We’ll send you an email reminder and links to information and resources that will help you achieve your goal.

Click here for more details about the IARE Membership Challenge

Member Profile    return to top

Janice Grant, Reservations Manager, 
Callaway Gardens Resorts, Inc., Pine Mountain, Georgia

Callaway is an award-winning, 14,000-acre garden, resort, preserve and community nestled in the southernmost foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

Callaway is a family–friendly getaway with a mission of land stewardship and environmental education.  The Virginia Hand Callaway Discovery Center, Birds of Prey shows, Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center, John A Sibley Horticultural Center, Mr. Cason’s Vegetable Garden, Callaway Brothers Azalea Bowl and Overlook Gardens provide beautiful surroundings and many educational opportunities for the whole family.  There are miles of nature trails for hiking and biking.  Golf, fishing, tennis, racquetball and the Gun Club with sport shooting are available to guests. 

Callaway also is one of the South's finest meeting facilities. We have 96,000 square feet of meeting space. Our newest conference facility, The Southern Pine®, is the first business conference center in the nation to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Medal of Certification. This is another example of how Callaway carries out our mission of land stewardship and environmental education. 

There are three types of accommodations to choose from:  Mountain Creek^® Inn, Southern Pine^® Cottages and Mountain Creek^® Villas.  This is where Janice Grant, reservations manager for The Resort at Callaway™, and her staff provide that all important first impression to the guests.  

The call center at Callaway is staffed by 27 agents.  Our hours of operation are 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.  The average tenure for agents in the center is two years.  With the variety of accommodations and packages offered, training can be a real challenge.  Our training program lasts four weeks (20 days).  We start by visiting the various accommodations and all the attractions Callaway has to offer.  Our philosophy is that an agent cannot sell what they have not experienced; therefore we make a point to have each new agent experience the many aspects of Callaway.  During the four week training period, we learn the technical skills of our job in a designated training room four days a week and spend one day each week on a field trip to visit the different areas offered to our guests.  

I have been a member of IARE since 1996, and it has been a great learning experience.  The conferences have allowed me the opportunity to meet other people in my field and to borrow ideas from them. The tours of the call centers are invaluable; they show me ways to improve our center.  Periodically I receive a call or sometimes have to make a call to another member asking a procedural question and to me that is what this is all about: learning from each other and using one another’s experience. 

Members Only    return to top

On-line Bulletin Board
See new postings on the IARE On-line Bulletin Board

Have you ever wanted to gather some information from your peers quickly on an incentive program? Maybe you are shopping for a new scheduling system or looking for an outside training program on customer service. The best place to find this information is from your peers in the travel industry.

You can do these easily through the IARE web site. The Bulletin Board is a great way to send a message out to the membership and get feedback from the people in the know.

To improve the response rate on the feature, IARE will send an email message to members each time a new question is posted on the bulletin board. Watch for these email alerts and let's help each other out by responding. 

Note: The information posted on this Bulletin Board is available for all to see. Please take care in composing the content of your message so you do not post comments that may offend or criticize any person, company and/or product.

On-line Member Directory
See the current list of IARE Members

Password Changes in Store
If you've forgotten your user name and passcode to the IARE Members Only section, please email to iare@assnoffice.com. The access information is changed periodically; please watch for email notices when changes occur.

About IARE-News

The IAR E-News is a quarterly publication distributed electronically to provide ongoing communication and information for IARE Members. IAR E-News is produced by the IARE's Communications & Technology Committee:

• Michele Rowan, Hilton Reservations Worldwide, London, England U.K. -- Co-chair
• Ronda Trog, Best Western International, Phoenix, Arizona U.S.A. -- Co-chair

Articles may be submitted via email to iare@assnoffice.com and are subject to acceptance and editing by the Communications & Technology Committee. The deadline for the next issue is December 15, 2003.