BEHIND THE SCENES | Developing staff to foster local MICE industry

Fion Lai and Gene Capuano

As the MICE sector evolves, organizing an 8,000-person conference is becoming the new normal for casino resort employees.
From turning a 15,000 seated arena into a large conference venue, to preparing thousands of meal boxes, or setting up special venues for breakfasts, a casino resort like the Venetian Macao has to call on at least 15 different departments to put on large events.
The Times took a tour to learn more about all the ‘behind the scenes’ operations prior to an event.
The casino resort this week hosted a conference for a Chinese healthy products company accommodating a total of 8,000 participants.
The Venetian Macao’s executive director of convention & exhibition, Fion Lai, said that 15 departments had worked together to prepare and host the event this time around. As larger groups eye Macau to organize conventions, exhibitions and conferences here, casino resorts look for solutions to ensure that their properties are all geared up to receive larger groups of participants.
“This is the first event where we had to partner with five hotels, including the Venetian, Holiday Inn, Sheraton, JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton [the last two located within Galaxy properties],” she said.
Ms Lai acknowledged that the casino operator is expecting more large groups looking to organize events in Macau.
Looking back, she recalled how the industry has evolved since she joined the Venetian in 2007.
“Group sizes are getting bigger and bigger. We are hosting larger events now. When Venetian opened, 1,000 to 2,000 people were considered big groups. But since Sands Cotai Central opened we started getting 4,000 to 5,000 people. When we reached 6,000-person events, we needed to start thinking about logistics,” she said.
Challenges inevitably arise when trying to put on ever-larger conferences.
According to Ms Lai, from the operations side, preparing venues for different kinds of events while meeting tight deadlines is one of the challenges often encountered.

The Cotai Arena being prepared for this week’s event

“With very limited time we sometimes need to change the setup of a room completely; to first prepare the room for a meeting and then turn it into a dinner venue. It involves a large number of teams. We have to take care of all logistics, because there’s a lot at the back that we need to handle,” she stressed.
Succeeding in passing on crucial information internally is another key aspect. “Because there will be changes; it never stops. So I think that to communicate the latest information, and how to communicate the changes to internal departments is a challenge the team has to face. We always need to find a very effective way to communicate with all departments,” she acknowledged.
The vice president of convention & exhibition operations, Gene Capuano, recalled at one point a group coming over for an event that had 500 name changes. “You can imagine a group in the process of being checked for 500 name changes under reservations as they’re coming in. It’s a big adjustment for a hotel, especially if it’s Chinese names, because of the similarities. We figured it out, but that’s one challenge I remember,” he conceded.
Hosting larger events has added a few more challenges in terms of human resources, with the resort having to hire part-time workers in addition to its in-house staff too, in order to get the job done. “We need to give them a very clear briefing and monitor their work step by step,” said Ms Lai.
Although human resources are a challenge the industry has had to deal with in recent years, Mr Capuano stressed the need to develop professionals already working within the industry. “The next couple of years will be interesting but it’s really going to be based on the experience, growth, and development of the people here to be able to execute bigger and bigger events,” he said.
Mr Capuano described how many working for his department have started at entry-level but managed to progress in their careers. “When I started I was a banquet server, and I learned the most about the industry when I was serving food to people. It’s taken me 24 years to go from banquet server to Vice President,” he recalled, adding that the path of growth in Macau is fast-paced.
He recalled how, for instance, Ms Lai started working for the company as a manager and after seven years made it to executive director. Mr Capuano indicated that it is crucial for fresh graduates to understand the operation as a whole.

MICE to grow gradually

Gene Capuano believes that Macau’s MICE sector will grow gradually in the coming years. He recalled that the local government has been pushing for economic diversification, and that MICE is often highlighted as a key sector.
“We understand that more buildings are going to open; the labor force will have to expand [so that Macau] becomes an international MICE destination for 20,000 or 25,000 groups coming in. That’s going to gradually grow in the coming years—it’s not something that will happen suddenly,” the executive acknowledged.
Looking back, he said that, so far, the industry has grown steadily in recent years. “The first couple of years after the opening, 1,000- to-2,000-person events were a lot, then we’ve seen a gradual increase. It hasn’t been something that has really hit us to the point where we haven’t been able to handle it,” Mr Capuano assured.