Ten Questions, Ten Minutes, One Event Planner
By Fern Glazer
Andrea Strauss
President, Classic Conferences
What prompted you to become a planner?
I didn't know what I wanted, but I wanted to be in the travel industry [in the early 1980s]. I went to American Airlines School in Dallas to become a flight attendant. I met a man on the plane on my way home for the weekend, who asked me to come work for him as a planner. That was my foot in the door. The next day I started with him. I was the company's director of meetings without any experience. I think it's about personality. I just lucked out. I worked for him for four and a half years…I resigned to go out on my own.
What is your educational/work background?
I finished high school and went to a two-year business college on Long Island. All I wanted to do was work. I didn't want to spend four years in school. I wanted to get my feet wet. That's the way I was brought up. Do I have regrets? Sure. I wish I had gone to school.
What are your main responsibilities at work?
I oversee every meeting that every single employee is working on. I have a staff meeting no matter where I am. I no longer plan meetings, but I take care of the VIPs.
How large is your department/staff?
We have 14 full-time employees and 36 part-timers that are known as trip directors. They are on the road 40 weeks a year. I really don't want the company to get any bigger. I don't want to lose the personal touch we're known for.
What personal and work skills do you think are most valuable in doing your job?
Personality and organization. You have to have a fantastic personality to do this. You have to be fun…jovial…happy. You can't have an attitude to do this. You never say no, ever. If there's a problem, you find a way to do it. You cannot be sloppy at this. It's all about the details.
What are some of your regular day-to-day challenges?
Not having enough space in your hotel. Or you book a hotel and find out another (competing) group has booked it. Reviewing RFPs. Who are we going to give that to? Who's not working on something? Finding good help is hard. I interview all the time. I love taking in college interns. If you want to get in the business I will take you in, pay you and train you.
What is the most challenging event you have ever organized?
Five years ago for 1,500 people in Los Angeles. It was the first time I was doing a meeting of this size for this particular client. I remember saying, 'That's big, can I do this?' I said, 'Sure, I can.' We needed to book the Shrine [where they hold the Emmys] and bring in Sheryl Crow. When they said we have 10 districts, I almost died. We had 101 breakout rooms! We ended up building a floor over the pool with a tent to feed them all. We had 27 dine-arounds. I will go into every restaurant, so I had to do 27 in three hours! It was a great meeting. We've done all of their meetings since.
What do you like best about this industry?
People. I love people. I love living in hotels. Because I'm very much taken care of. Being away from my family…that's the hard part.
Who in the industry inspires you?
Very high-up people. I had the pleasure of, not meeting, but seeing, Mr. Marriott in Ft. Lauderdale. I heard he was eating at the hotel, so I went snooping around the restaurant. The staff saw me and said, 'What are you doing?' I told them and they said, 'There he is.' The next day they brought him up to see me, but I was already gone. GMs of hotels also inspire me.
What advice would you offer someone entering the industry?
The best advice is being detail oriented and happy.
Classic Conferences is a Hackensack, New Jersey-based meeting planning
company that specializes in large gatherings. www.classicconferences.com
