Design Challenges

2007 AMTA Cincinnati Ohio - Massage and Crime

I'm sitting at the airport ready to depart, finally!!!! I hate traveling, well maybe is just the flying part. Refer to this entry for more on that.

We got in this past Wednesday and it all started out alright. We took off from Jax in a small aircraft, 12 rows 48 seats to be exact. The ride was great and we meet some nice folks in the air. The landing wasn't the most gracious, but we made it to the ground which is what counts.

Our company had arranged for a limo for pick up, a nice 12 people stretch which barely accommodated our suitcases and is obviously designed for a night on the town and not for seven folks traveling with fully packed suitcases. At any rate, we check in to the hotel with very little hassle and off to the races we go. Had dinner at an excellent fish chain, and went back to the room to catch some zzz's.

Conference starts with a bang! Large crowds in the aisles, lots of buzz and noise and great meetings all around. This being my first massage conference, I was eager to learn about the industry. I got quite a bit of insightful knowledge from all the vendors and attendees. This is a fantastic industry full of personalities from all parts of the spectrum. Very few folks didn't seemed to fit into such a welcoming industry, but there were two individuals that really pissed me off. One being a marketing ASSHOLE who when I was introduced to barely lifted his hand to be shaken and when I proceeded to hand him my business card simply reply "thanks but I already have it." Dude, I have never met you in my life how can you have my card, if you think I'm that unimportant to you, simply say "thanks, but email me your contact info at some point" or something of the sorts. No wonder everyone if talking about you and frankly, I don't think you will be around long term. I don't need to mention your name, but you know who you are, and you need to work on your people skills if you wish to keep that six figure salary.

The bottom line is that Cincinnati, Ohio seemed like a fun place. We never left Elm Street and it seemed that this conference should have been labeled Nightmare on Elm Street as the city is just a nightmare in the Duke Energy center area. The center however is well designed and quite safe. The hotels were also very safe and surrounded by cops in every corner. We stayed at the Hilton and were impressed by the Egyptian designs, the rooms were contemporary decorated, but the reminisce of old designs still surrounded the atmosphere. I'm bigger than average, but I will not consider my self obese by any means, and found the tub was designed for small people and it seemed that I had to shower almost sideways to fit. I heard very poor reviews about the Millenium Hotel and would definitely caution folks about staying there. If I had to make a recommendation I would suggest the Hyatt, it is located diagonally across from the Duke Energy Conference Center and fully connected, via the Skywalk, so that you don't have to step onto the street to get there. Overall, this was a very productive conference, both mentally and financially (for the company), but I'm glad to be home.

Labels: AMTA, Cincinnati, hotel, hyatt, Massage