Conference Director In The Hospitality Industry

What is your job title and what industry do you work in? How many years of experience do you have in that field?
The job title is Conference Director. I have had over 10 years experience in the hospitality industry.

Would you describe the things you do on a typical day?
On a daily basis, the job can be quite varied. It would include working with conference groups, supervising staff members, overseeing food service operations, and prospecting new sales leads and taking care of necessary paperwork and contracts.

What's your ethnicity and gender? How has it hurt or helped you? If you ever experienced discrimination, how have you responded and what response worked best?
I am a white male and this has never helped or hurt me in my career to the best of my knowledge.

Do you speak any language other than English? If so, how has it helped you in your job?
I do not speak any languages other than English. As there are conference groups and clients from other countries, knowing additional languages would be helpful.

On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your job satisfaction? What would it take to increase that rating?
I would rate my job satisfaction as an eight on a scale of one to ten. To be able to increase that rating would be difficult, but I believe if I was able to work at an impeccable facility with top-notch staff, the rating would be higher. That is hard to come by, as no business is perfect.

What did you learn the hard way in this job and how did that happen?
The one thing I learned the hard day way to not rock the boat too much when it comes to returning guests and conference participants. When I was relatively new to the position, I changed some of the programs and specifics for a conference group that had a long history with the facility. The changes were too sweeping and the group leaders were not happy with what I thought were improvements. If it works well, there's a reason why it's not changed.

What don't they teach in school that would've been helpful to you?
The one thing that would have been helpful to learn in school would have been on how to prioritize and work efficiently with multiple groups and all of their needs. Overseeing several groups on site and their entire program can be overwhelming at times.

How did you get started in this line of work? If you could go back and do it differently, what would you change?
I got started in this line of work by doing some part time work at a resort. From here, I got interested in working in this industry and moved my way up the ranks to oversee a conference facility. If I were to go back and do things differently, I would have gained some varied experiences at different types of facilities before becoming a Director.

What's the strangest thing that ever happened to you in this job?
The strangest thing that happened to me at this job would a particular group that simply had a lot of strange requests. They had odd meal requests, wanted programs done at strange times and constantly kept my staff jumping. We were able to get through their oddities and they seemed pleased with the service.

On a good day when things are going well, can you give an example of something that really makes you feel good?
When things are going well on a good day, one thing that makes me feel good would be getting return business and repeat groups. This shows me that my staff members and I did the best possible job.

When nothing seems to go right, what kind of snafus do you handle and what do you dislike the most?
There are snafus that can happen on those days when nothing seems to be going right. Some of the problems that pops up would be to have problems with equipment throughout the facility, issues with staff members and unhappy group clients. The one problem that I would dislike the most would be when the staff members are not up to par.

How stressful is your job? Are you able to maintain a comfortable or healthy work-life balance?
The job itself can be stressful when there are a lot of groups on site and a lot to keep running smoothly. Even with this, I am able to keep a good work-life balance.

What's a rough salary range for the position you hold? Are you paid enough considering your responsibilities?
The salary range for the position would be from $18,000 to $30,000. This varies greatly depending on the size of the facility as well as the location. With the responsibilities I have, I believe that the salary is acceptable.

What's the most rewarding moment you've experienced in this position? Of all the things you've done at work, what are you most proud of?
The most rewarding moment I've experienced in this position would have been after my first successful group departed. I received a lot of positive feedback from the group and this gave me the confidence and reassurance that I needed. The one thing that I was most proud of would have been when I was able to add a significant number of groups and events to the calendar in the first year of being in the position.

What's the most challenging moment you've experienced? What would you prefer to forget?
The most challenging moment I've experienced so far would have been when there was a participant who got seriously injured. It was frightening, but went well due to the fact that everyone was well trained in what to do. There is no difficult, frightening or frustrating moment that I would wish to forget. Even if it was challenging, it was a learning experience.

What education and skills do you need to get hired and succeed in this field?
To get hired and be successful in this field, having a degree or background in management is beneficial. Being familiar with the industry and having a well rounded background is important.

What would you tell a friend considering your line of work?
If a friend was considering this line of work, I would tell him that it should be considered only if he loves working with people and is not afraid of long days.

How much vacation do you take? Is it enough?
I take one week of vacation time a year. The busy times for the Conference Director are often the spring and the fall, so vacations can be taken in the summer which is nice. The week is usually enough, but more would be better.

Are there any common misunderstandings you want to correct about what you do?
There may be a few misunderstandings as to what the position entails. People do not often understand the level of planning and preparation that goes into running conference programs.

Does this job move your heart? If not, what does?
This job will sometimes move my heart. This will generally happen when I see a family or a young child that is truly having a good time. This gives me reassurance and I know that all of the hard work that was put into the programming was worth it.

If you could write your own ticket, what would you like to be doing in five years?
If I could write my own ticket, in five years I would like to see myself managing a larger property and overseeing all of the operations.

Is there anything unique about your situation that readers should know when considering your experiences or accomplishments?
I don't believe that there is anything unique about my situation that readers should know about.