DESTINATION MANAGEMENT COMPANY | 65
Destination management companies, DMCs, have a better status than they deserve. They add costs, not value. They take control from the client, are only useful at exotic destinations or where you can’t speak the language. DMCs are actually glorified bus companies. They’re good at transfers and round tours but know nothing about creative production, audio visual technology, meetings content or which meetings format to use. Furthermore, DMCs are small companies with questionable finances. So summarises Patrick Delaney
the five largest myths on DMCs. He is one of world’s leading authorities on DMCs and is CEO of Ovation, the MCI Group’s own DMC brand. During Meetings@TUR in Gothenburg, Sweden, he gave a lecture on what a truly professional DMC really is. He maintains that there are too many DMCs with too little knowledge of what being a professional DMC actually entails. But they are not the only ones lacking awareness. Even among customers it is low, and to avoid finding a good DMC, who also want to be paid the professional rates their work demands, more and more customers are demanding that convention bureaus (CVBs) include the work of DMCs in their asking price. How do you define a DMC? “The common description is Destination Management Company, but it could just as well stand for Destination Management Consultants, or why not Deep and Meaningful Conversations about Destinations and Results.” Patrick Delaney says that a credible DMC must understand the business realities of an event at a destination, and that the end product is extraordinary events. A DMC must understand that the experience at a destination must be tried and tested,
exclusive and tailored to the client in question. The event is a one-off thing and should be linked to the company’s continued development and long-term goals. “A DMC is a strategically thinking company, not a supplier of an everyday dinner with background music. We have worked this way for many years and learnt that we have to deliver experiences that are in harmony with our clients’ business goals, regardless of whether it’s a business meeting or a medical congress. Delivering something special that nobody has previously done or experienced is what separates a good DMC from a poor. Who wants to experience something they think is unique only to find out that 200 people had experienced it the week before? We cooperate with our clients in creating a total solution, from the first meeting to the customised solution.” A good DMC should also know everything possible about that offered by a destination. A meetings planner should be able to put their trust in their supplier having tested all the latest restaurants and leading chefs, having contact with the latest artists and the most professional catering companies and drinks suppliers. “A professional DMC is like local internet, always connected but with
brain and legs and an understanding of client’s values.” Patrick Delaney highlights fifteen things that a professional DMC can do for their clients. before the event Help the client to market all that is unique at a destination (because the DMC has the best knowledge of the venue). Put together creative input for marketing a destination. Put forward exciting ideas as programme themes. Put together a supportive and broader basis to market the programme. Help to underpin the goals by choosing premises that enhance the meeting and which offer the opportunity to use modern meetings formats. Find good local content for the meeting. Take responsibility for all aspects, legal as well as social. during the event Establish a professional and effective welcoming service at the airport for guests, their luggage and other material. Everything has to run as smoothly as possible. Arrange customised destination experiences. For example, as an
2010 No 4 MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL