The State of Corporate Travel and Expense 2022 34 SKIFT + TRIPACTIONS continuously f rom exhibitors is the high quality of who they are meeting and conversing with at shows. With one group generating their highest revenue ever f rom a trade show, the value of delivering business content live is undeniable. We are hearing this f rom organizations that had anticipated staying digital or hybrid longer. The feedback f rom their sales and field teams? Doing business in person has the greater impact. Massari: Remember that United Airlines TV commercial where the CEO talks about the business they have lost by not seeing their customers in person as he hands out airline tickets to every member of his team? The reason for business travel is getting in f ront of prospects and clients. Because business is all about being productive, right? It’s about spending the least amount of time getting the most amount of benefit. I believe that communication improves as you move along an axis that goes f rom email to phone call to video conference to meeting in person. As the importance of the business discussion or objective increases, you want to be in the northwest quadrant, not the southeastern quadrant. Whether it’s about getting back in f ront of customers, launching a product, or closing deals, this is a major impetus behind the confident return to transient business travel and in-person meetings. Allison: After 17 months of video calls, the biggest demand driver for business travel we are hearing is the ability to network and develop relationships, followed closely by talking real business and closing deals. Connections between people are just stronger in person. Skift: How are you and your sales team getting back out there to meet customers and sell your venues and services? What are you hearing from the field? Allison: Many of our customers are still working remotely because of corporate travel bans or organizations yet to bring people back to the office. That has limited direct calls for our team of 35 salespeople in Vegas and in markets around the country. In the meantime, we are devoting our travels to site inspections, pre-planning, and attending trade shows and industry events. And we are seeing a huge uptick in site inspections coming into our property. Massari: Caesars Entertainment’s national team of 130 sales managers live in-market where our customers are, so we are in the car or on the train more often than in the f riendly skies. While we are not quite back to pre-pandemic levels, we are in f ront of customers way more often now than nine months ago. The team is motivated—as I always say, it’s easy to say no to an email or phone call, but much harder when somebody is sitting in f ront of you. It’s easy to say no to an email or phone call, but much harder when somebody is sitting in f ront of you. “ ” Glanzer: Our 100-plus-member team has been traveling regularly since this spring, seeing customers both in-market and in cities around the country. In addition to being highly visible at industry events and trade shows, we have ramped up creative ways to meet outside, such as using the outdoor patios at restaurants and other venues. We’ve had strong participation, which is a measure in part of people’s comfort level in traveling. Staying closely connected to our health and safety teams, I keep up-to-date with positivity rates and other critical information