Obligatory TBEX 2011 Round-up, CG-style

HA! Just when you thought the TBEX 11 articles were over….BAM you get another one! Enjoy :)

So…jumping right back into work after 3 high-speed days of TBEX wasn’t easy.  Its kind of like cooking Thanksgiving dinner and then getting up the next morning to make brunch for 30 people.   I dreamt about TBEX.  I shamefully played hooky from yoga class to start uploading pictures.  I made lists on the train to and from work of all the minutiae I needed to work on to step up my blogging game.  I bought maple-flavored oatmeal.  And I read everyone else’s TBEX 2011 reviews before thinking about exactly what I wanted to say in mine.

Photo ©KirstenAlanaPhotography/Galavanting

I’m still not sure I know.  As a PR professional, I’ve attended oodles of well-planned, thought-provoking, smoothly-run conferences.  But as a hotelier, I’ve seen plenty of jittery conference planners who nervously move about like those wind-up chattering teeth, running into glitches, trying to wrangle groups of people remotely via mobile phone and e-mail, mediating quibbles between venue, vendors and sponsors and generally trying to get their arms firmly around an enormous endeavor.  It can be done, but it isn’t easy. 

For Kim, Courtney and Joseph – who by the way are NOT professional conference planners - I’d say they pulled off quite a feat.  I’ve read a lot of criticisms, both stringent and legitimate, and while constructively useful for them for future years, I think it’s still important to remember that this is new for them.  They’ve jumped in with both feet, and it is to their credit that TBEX has doubled in attendance each year.  We all went, didn’t we??  Hiring a conference planner may be something to consider, but with a ticket price of $80 (easily 1/5 of what I usually spend to attend a conference) it is a STEAL.  Once they hire someone, that fee will skyrocket. 

I had little to no expectations about what TBEX would be like; I didn’t attend last year so I can’t compare.  But I knew that whether it was staggeringly wonderful or kind of lousy, there was little chance I would go home NOT having accomplished something.  I knew I’d meet some prolific, fascinating people with equally compelling stories to tell; I knew I would learn something about what it means to be a blogger and how to be a better one.  Plus it was the perfect excuse for a weekend getaway – they picked a city (a great one, at that) and gave me a solid reason to get off my arse, book a ticket, spend some money and explore it.  And whether TBEX was good OR bad, I’m thrilled that I got a chance to get a taste of Vancouver.

For me it was a wake-up call weekend.  I need to take better photos – and I learned ways to do that.  I need to concentrate more not only my site’s purpose but on streamlining the focus of my stories – and I learned ways to do that, too.  I need to be a better writer – well, I got some pointers ;)  I met people who gave up everything to see the world.  I met people who have full-time jobs like me, but who make it a point to prioritize travel in their busy lives.  I met people who have backpacked across Iraq, ridden the Trans Siberian Railway and moved to Thailand just because they felt like it.  I was inspired, excited and alive.  If any conference can make you feel that way, it’s a success.

So my recap?  I began by missing the free tours for blogger attendees, hosted by Tourism Vancouver, on Friday, since I arrived mid-afternoon.  Disappointing.  So instead I spent the afternoon getting settled, exploring downtown on foot and prepping for the opening night reception at the Vancouver Art Gallery, an affair that brought out all the TBEX speakers in full Canucks gear – foam fingers and all.  That evening I slogged woozily and happily back to my hotel with some fellow attendees, watching the revelry from the hockey win pour into the streets (mostly polite revelry, I may add).

Saturday was a hurricane of sessions, and I was a travel media sponge - Evelyn’s inspiring talk on her experience building Journeywoman.com, a panel on creative ways to monetize your blog (in essence: don’t expect advertising and banner ads to make you money – partner, partner, partner!) and a talk on how to write non-narrative travel stories and great top 10 lists – it was a lot to absorb (even for a sponge).  I almost started to panic realizing how much I need to improve on!

I was fortunate at lunchtime to run into my LA-based pal Johnny Jet, who invited me along to lunch at the Fairmont Pacific Rim‘s incredible restaurant Oru, along with the Vail Resorts crew, Rich Beattie from Travel + Leisure and Spud Hilton, the travel editor at the San Francisco Chronicle.   Quite an illustrious group!  An afternoon of more sessions, a rousing afterparty hosted by Tripadvisor at Smiley’s Pub and the now-infamous Men of TBEX calendar photo shoot party at Kingston Taphouse (a delightfully tasteless affair), followed by a late-night Guinness at a bar I STILL don’t know the name of with blogger pals including Ryan from The Savvy Traveler and Bob & Jade from Vagabond3.

at the Men of TBEX party with, who else....Mr. December

Patrick, Jade & Bob

I was tired Sunday, but desperate to see more of the city I’d flown all the way to visit, so I skipped the morning sessions (oops?) and walked aaaaaaall the way down Georgia St. to Stanley Park.  It was a lovely sunshine-y day, but renting a bicycle with my free excursions media pass (thanks, Tourism Vancouver!) was a no-go because I couldn’t FIND the bike rental place.  Rather, I contented myself with a long walk around the sea wall path, which offered lovely views of downtown, awkwardly making use of my camera’s self-timer to take pictures of myself in front of the Vancouver skyline (which, to visibly confused passersby, looked more like I was grinning  idiotically at a guano-encrusted park bench 10 feet away).

Back to Canada Place for a session on travel photography, I compiled an amazing list of tips for iPhone apps to help people on the go take effective, creative and visually unique pictures – it turned out to be one of my favorite sessions!  By now weary of networking (yes, you can overload), I took lunchtime for myself and wandered into lovely and historic Gastown for a delicious vegetarian meal (and wine!) at Water St. Cafe.  At the final session – the winsome Robert Reid’s engaging and funny talk on how to be a better writer (quotes, people, quotes!) – I took more notes than any other session of the conference.  We could ALL use tips how not to publish…well…word vomit.

baked portobello mushroom with veggies, pesto and marinara

I wandered around Gastown a bit more before heading back to the hotel (owww my feet…) and then to the airport for my flight home (unfortunately missing the AM Resorts-sponsored harbor cruise, which I hear was a quieter, casual way to enjoy the last evening of TBEX).  All in all it was an incredible weekend – memorable, vivid, and dare I say knee-slapping.

As for TBEX 2012…I couldn’t be more pleased that it is being held in Colorado.  My only problem is that in contrast to how walkable Vancouver was, how easy it was to travel from the airport to downtown and how much was at my fingertips with little cost attached, I fear that Keystone will be more spread out, more difficult to reach and more difficult to traverse on foot.  So TBEX planners – I leave it up to you to make next year as smooth, convenient and fun as I found 2011…

…with perhaps better A/V services at the conference venue.  Cheers, jourblists!

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