Your C.A.R.E. QuickConnects Newsletter

April 2020

Monthly News & Updates

Hi everyone, as I write this my heart gets heavy as I think of the economic injury that our entire industry and the amazing people that make it great are enduring, personally and professionally. Please know that you have all been in my continuous thoughts and prayers during these (I don’t even know any more) days in quarantine and I hope everyone is doing their part to shut this pandemic down. I know we are all ready to get back to business, but let’s not do it too quickly at the sacrifice of all we’ve gone through and all we’ve got ahead of us in the long run! So as the stay orders are lifted…continue to stay smart about social distancing! Message brought to you by a friend, not a media outlet or politically driven message. Remember, we are…#CARESTRONG! Please, do all that you can to remain mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially strong as we are (hopefully) on the “other” side of this pandemic.

Although our industry has been one of the hardest hit financially, I think we’ll be one of the first and strongest to rebound, but we have to do it collectively. I read something the other day that I wanted to share. It was a story posted on Search Engine Journel written by Greg Jarobe, President/Co-Founder of SEO-PR. He shared this statement from an ecommerce consultant at STORE360 in Genoa, Italy, Mario Scavia , and stated that although the United States has the most confirmed coronavirus cases, Italy has the most deaths. Jarobe feels (and I agree) that Scavia deserves kudos for sharing his personal thoughts “about this crazy situation and how they feel about it in Italy.”

“We are living completely new days for most current generations. Fear, lack of certainties, insecurity about the future, weigh globally on the entire world population. At the same time, there is a great desire to forget this period and move on, trying to quickly return to the pre-pandemic period. But we know that it will not be the same for quite some time, a situation like this is not easily forgotten. It’s time for new challenges: how will companies win back their customers? How will the tourism sector (today “perhaps” our last priority) regain market share? Mine is only a thought as a tourist and not as an operator: but what I would expect is a ‘globalization of trust’. Airlines, hotels, museums and any other type of destination must rebuild customer confidence. Tourism should give us both fun and new experiences, new points of observation and reflection; exploration and discovery are primary human needs. But if we put aside the category of great explorers, how can we give back the desire to travel to normal people? By offering them a private jet and stays in individual suites of 1,000 square meters? Exciting, but over budget. Once the emergency is over, most likely at the beginning there will be more push towards local tourism (in Italy we are certainly favored and we can plan high quality tourism within the country itself). But trust has no boundaries. And it must be reconstructed with an action of collaboration and comparison at every level: from the big companies to the smallest Airbnb. A diversified offer that no longer sells only dreams but security and support, from departure to return home. A great opportunity to create a quality tourism network that supports travelers with a new awareness of safety. Collaboration, sharing information and joining efforts for common goals, have perhaps never been as essential as they are today. Yes, we can. :)”

We hope to have COVID19 survey results from INTUITION soon that we can share with you. If you haven’t completed that survey for us, please do so! Email us at [email protected] if you need us to resend you the survey link (or use the link under the 'Member News' section of this newsletter). With those impending results and the above inspiration, I think we need another teleforum. Scavia said it best above… collaboration, sharing information and joining efforts for common goals, have perhaps never been as essential as they are today.

So, let’s do it! Let me know ASAP if you are ready and willing to collaborate with other C.A.R.E. members…email me at [email protected]. Even if I only get one email, I will make and take the time to collaborate with anyone who wants to be a part of it! I AM #CARESTRONG, are you?

C.A.R.E. MOVES FORWARD WITH PLANS

TO CELEBRATE 35TH ANNIVERSARY

We're all familiar with the quote " The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. No matter how carefully a project is planned, something may still go wrong with it."

Never in C.A.R.E.'s 35 year history has a conference been cancelled or rescheduled. In 2001, two weeks after the September 11 attacks, C.A.R.E. members ventured to New Orleans for a conference. The city streets were nearly empty, but the cab drivers and the hotel were happy we were there.

Conference planners and Board Members have at times anxiously monitored approaching hurricanes and recently Anaheim conference attendees experienced the ash and smoke of the 2017 California Wildfires. Thanks to the encouragement of our members in California, attendance was great and all enjoyed a successful conference.

Not many would have imagined or foreseen the global pandemic we all are currently experiencing and there's no denying that this is a trying time. However, what is certain is that C.A.R.E. has survived and thrived for 35 years because we know how important travel is and that together we will get through the difficult times. Not only have we survived because we have always come together to help each other, but once each crisis has passed, we have emerged stronger and have found ways to better serve our owners, members and companies.

So while we are working through today's challenges, let's look forward to October in Philadelphia. Time and money might be tight coming out of this pandemic, but think how much more we can do together during this conference if we all show up! It will undoubtedly be a good spend of resources as we move forward united!

HOW C.A.R.E. STARTED, written by C.A.R.E.'s first President, Kathleen Gallardo is

a great read if you're new to C.A.R.E or not aware of C.A.R.E.'s history and purpose. If you'd like to experience or relive some of C.A.R.E.'s past anniversary celebrations , visit C.A.R.E.'s Community Photo Gallery and browse photos

from C.A.R.E.'s 25th Anniversary and 50th Conference Celebration held in 2010 in

New Orleans, LA and C.A.R.E.'s 30th Anniversary Celebration held in 2015 in

Annapolis, MD.

Until we meet in October, stay safe, stay healthy and stay positive!

WYNDHAM PHILADELPHIA HISTORIC DISTRICT

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

OCTOBER 24-OCTOBER 27, 2020

REGISTRATION COMING JULY 2020

BOOK HOTEL RESERVATIONS NOW!

C.A.R.E. HOLDS SUCCESSFUL TELEFORUM

On April 6th, 24 C.A.R.E. member companies, non-member companies that had registered to attend the conference originally scheduled in April, and other industry professionals participated in C.A.R.E.'s first teleconference. The teleforum was was patterned after the 'Meet the Members' session (previously known as Roll Call) traditionally held at conferences.

C.A.R.E. member company representatives were given the opportunity to share information about their companies and offer insights regarding the current global pandemic. Non-member companies were able to audit the call. According to C.A.R.E. President, Linda Mayhugh, "The Contact Group's platform was great for facilitating a remote meeting like C.A.R.E. Meet the Members. Having just postponed our event it was a great way to connect our members that didn't want to wait until October. It was also great to introduce a few new and/or pending new members to some great people in C.A.R.E. Participants were polled while on the live call and 91% indicated they would attend another forum like this in the future so, we hope to do it again!"

C.A.R.E. members in good standing may request a recording of the teleforum by contacting Bonnie Kosco.

Special thanks go out to Bob Kobek, CustomerCount® , and

David Costenbader, The Contact Group , for making the teleforum possible.

HAVE YOU RETURNED YOUR C.A.R.E. MEMBER SURVEY?

Thank you to those that have already completed the short 1-2 minute industry-wide survey by INTUITION. If your company has not completed it, your feedback is valuable and we encourage you to do so as soon as possible so that we can share the data collected with other C.A.R.E. members.

CLICK HERE to complete the survey.

In addition to industry-wide statistics, C.A.R.E. will receive anonymized data specific to our membership group that will help us to better understand the impact of COVID-19 and identify any areas where we may be able to provide assistance or useful information to our members as we come through this crisis and begin to rebuild.