So here I am about to write about day 3 in Whistler. I planned to talk about the great activities, the wonderful food and the great village where our group strolled after lunch.

And then I thought………No.

What is the point. Whistler has activities, but then again so do Napa, Orlando and Boston.  In fact, anywhere I could mention will have fantastic activities.

Activities are very important but they are not what will make your meeting or event a resounding 5 star success. They are merely a part of a larger picture.

Making an event come alive and truly become 5 star takes something special. Something I have mentioned before, something called Vibe, although in this case it may be Spirit.

By whatever name you call it, Whistler has it.

From Karen at the CVB, Victoria at the Fairmont to Jack and Company at the local DMC. Brad the photographer had it and so did the great young lady who checked us in. Suzanne at the Delta had a bunch of it and Marianne at the Westin shared hers as well.

What is the Vibe or Spirit or whatever you want to call it? It is the desire of the entire community of Whistler to make your event a success. Now, you can go to any city and find a hotel that has it, or a group of people that have got Vibe, but rarely do you find an entire place that has it.

Everyone we met wanted our program to be a success, every last one. Now, I am sure that this sounds like a load of Malarkey……..I can hear it now……I even know what a couple of colleagues will say! ”Keith Man, what is all that crap about Vibe….that some new hippie event planning thing!”

Nope, it is not something weird, odd or crazy. It just is and I know everyone understands what Vibe is when they experience it.

Here are a few examples.

• The Fairmont shuttle picking up Four Seasons guests who needed to get home.
• A Hilton Hotel Employee who still works part time at the Delta because he did not want to let them down when they were short handed.
• Multiple Staff members coming in on days off and on a holiday because they thought it was the right thing to do.
• The sales and marketing manager of one hotel, standing at a podium saying that his event would not be such a success if it were not for the help of 3 other properties.

This example illustrates the point best. Our shuttle bus driver. This girl did not know me from Adam, and when I mentioned that if my group stayed in the Village too long, we would miss an appointment. I was merely asking what time she would swing back around so I could leave us enough time to get back to the bus stop.

This young lady did not hesitate when she pulled out a piece of paper and jotted down her cell phone number and said “you guys call when you need to get back, I will make sure someone is here to get you” (which she did!).

That is ownership of a job with the desire to make a difference.

We witnessed this time and time again while in Whistler. Those people that are working when you go to bed and still at their post when you wake up; with a smile at both ends of the day.

These are the things that will make your program 5 star and that is the Vibe you get from the folks in Whistler. A strong sense of community and a true desire to make your program the best it can be.

I can think of no higher recommendation for a destination than that.

You can visit www.tourismwhistler.com to learn more.

By the way, our third day activities were the best of the bunch in my opinion…..

Morning Bear Watching (fantastic) and ZipTreking (so exhilarating I nearly wet my pants).

Just a thought

Keith