ebook chiefs

8/12/2019 eBook Chiefs

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CHIEF ENTERTAINEREBOOK
http://www.animajobs.com/http://www.acttiv.net/


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CONTENTS

Prologue 3

Introduction 4

Do you have what it takes to be a good Head of Entertainment? 5

Listening 6

The power of the smile 7

Team organization 8

Are you getting the most out of your team of entertainers? 9

The Organization of the Entertainment Department 10

Do you have a suitable entertainment program? 11

Tourist entertainment activities: The 8-Step Rule 12

Are the guests aware of what is on offer during their stay? 14

Sports-related leisure 16

Entertainment and sports activities 17

Sport Leisure: Sands Beach Active 18

Leisure for children 19

Entertainment for families: 10 aspects to bear in mind 20

Checklist to ensure safety in the Mini Club 21

Leisure for adults 22

Guests look after themselves on holiday 23

Baby Boomers: a growing niche market 24

New initiatives 25

Entertainment and Social Networks: The Entertainer Reporter 26

The day-to-day work of the Entertainer Reporter 28

Creating experiences 30

Holiday Entertainment and the Marketing of Gastronomy and Dining Out 32

Interviews 34

Why is the Head of Entertainment important to Hotel Chains? 35

A talk with Joan Molas on Leisure and Holiday Entertainment 36

Authors 37

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PROLOGUE

We have created this ebook about tourist

entetrtainment focused specially on the interest of

chief entertainers and, also, of all those animatorswho would like to become team chiefs. In July

2010, we kicked off our dream blog, nowadays

it has become the perfect platform to share our

knowledge in tourism leisure.

Over the last months, the blog turned into a

spotlight that challenges us on a daily basis, and

requests our constant improvement. We have

enjoyed this demanding task describing tips,

new activities launched in hotels & campsites,

interviewing some clients and, also, entertainers.

Pleased to have gotten to this point, we consider

all this hard work was worth translating to English

and share it for everybody to learn from it.

In Acttiv we are aware that the tourist animator

job is surrounded by negative topics. We feel

its our duty to place this great profession in

the position it deserves. I have come all the

way from being an entertainer to managing my

own entertainment company, so I know what I

am talking about. We have created this ebook

collecting all the posts I would have loved to have

the chance to read when I was an entertainer.

We know there is still a lot more to write and to

do about animation and we will go on enjoying

this demanding assignment.

From our point of view, the best way to evolve and

keep innovative is listening to our clients, being a

bit risky and sharing advices and thoughts.

And, last, but not least, entertainment is also the

power of spreading good vibes. I really suggest

watching Validation, the short movie that

illustrates the post titled The powerof thesmile.

Please, take good notice of how behaviourgenerates behaviour and as entertainers, lets

transmit the strength of a positive and generous

attitude,

Smile,

Ignacio Gil

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INTRODUCTION


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DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AGOOD HEAD OF ENTERTAINMENT?

Entertainer teams are usually young people, with a range

of languages and from different cultures, who, in many

cases, are experiencing their rst professional role. All

of this means that managing them effectively callsfor more than just knowledge of entertainment

techniques. Heads of Entertainment must also

develop skill sets that will support them in carrying out

their responsibilities that have to do with managing,

taking on responsibilities, fostering teamwork, self-

motivation, etc. In short, a Head of Entertainment must

become a leader.

What are the essential characteristics that a leader must

have?

I will set out 10 points which, as I see it, dene thecharacteristics that a good leader must develop.

In this case we are talking about someone who is

going to manage a team of entertainers but these

characteristics could be applied to any person

who works with a team of people.

1 Denes the objectives clearly at the individual level

as well as at the group level, shares them and corrects

them on an on-going basis with the participation of all

involved.

2Works within a context of trust that allows people to

grow and develop. Delegates, but also offers support,

autonomy and as much control as is necessary so that

personnel can full their tasks and objectives, making

corrections if necessary.

3 Fosters an open and transparent model of

communication that generates trust among team

members.

4 Creates appropriate working conditions such that

each member of the team is sufciently motivated to do

an excellent job.

5Does not presume to be the smartest or the best

instead, builds on the particular abilities of each

team member; strengthens them and is seen to value

them.

6 Empathizes with others, does not give in easily to

frustration and is decisive when faced with complex

situations.

7 Shows consistency on a personal level in his/her

way of thinking, speaking and behaving. Is honest and

committed to the team.

8 Is inspirational and generous but at the same time

demands that all team members gives their utmost.

9Takes accountability to management of the enterprise.

Does not seek excuses or attempt to shift the blame in

the event of possible incidents or errors made within the

team while also giving credit to the whole team for its

successes.

10Contributes to encouraging creativity, teamwork and

enthusiasm.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

5

THE BOSS

Regards authority as an entitlement of ofce

Inspires fear

Says: I

Says: MY TEAM

Looks for scapegoats

Is a know-all

Focuses on things

Takes exclusive credit for successes

Relates to others as subordinates

Prioritizes what is urgent

10 Differences between a Boss and a Leader

THE LEADER

Regards authority as a privilege of service

Inspires condence and trust

Says WE

Says OUR TEAM

Corrects shortcomings in a sympathetic manner

Passes on knowledge to team members

Focuses on people

Shares successes

Relates to others as members of the team

Prioritizes what is important
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Listening: a skill that is seldom

practiced and used even less

A trained team of entertainers should make the

Customer feels that he is listened to.

An entertainment team is group of people with

potential skills among which one is of overriding

importance, the ability to LISTEN. I think we all like

it when people listen to us and take our opinions

on board so that we see an improvement in service

levels. And we all are also other people.

In his book 7 Habits, Stephen Covey writes: In empathic listening, one listens with ones

ears, but also (and this is the most important thing) with the eyes and heart.

According to experts in communication, 10% of what we communicate is through

words; 30% through various sounds we make and the remaining 60% is via body

language.Empathetic listeningis no trivial matter and the entertainer, through his/her

relationship with the customer, plays an important role because he or she knows the

customers language and may even be of the same nationality, which means that greater

trust can be generated. Training entertainment team members in this skill can therefore

produce a productive competitive advantage:

Listento understand preferences, needs and concerns

Listento better coordinate teams Listento correct anything that is NOT currently being done that the customer likes

Listento accentuate all that IS being done that the customer likes

Listento devise new initiatives to forge closer bonds with the customer

And...keep listeningafter they have gone...

Do we know how to listen?

Do we hear what people are trying to tell us?

Do we interpret correctly what they are trying to tell us?

LISTENING

Author:

Ignacio Gil

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My friendJose Mari Cardona,who has been in the management training eld (actually, he

calls it coaching, which is a term that I like) for many years and with whom I have shared

many good experiences, has the following maxim:

Behaviour generates behaviour

It is a simple yet very powerful phrase. If we apply this phrase, we nd that the culture

of many corporations is dened by the values of their executives(see this post by Jess

Fernndez on the Comunidad Hosteltur). The behaviour of these executives inevitably

inuences their teams and so on throughout the organization. This is how we end up with

different corporate models. In companies that operate in the tourism sector, this theory can

be applied perfectly in every respect.

In the Entertainment Department it is crucial to realize the importance of this principle and

the inuence that a particular behaviour can have on the whole team. The power of the

smile, the power of a positive, cheerful, enthusiastic and generous attitude is contagious

and it can spread among guests and fellow-workers. Management has a great responsibility

in this regard and it can have a positive or negative inuence on this phenomenon. Itsbehaviour will generate behaviour accordingly.

A few days ago I came across a short black-and-white lm directed and shot by Kurt

Kuennein 2007 which, acted by the actorsT.J. Thyne(Bones) andVicki Davis,tells a nice

little tale that is very relevant to how little is needed to make someone smile. I like the lm so

much that, having shared it with people on my team, I have decided to use it as part of this

post and share it with you too. We have decided to include this video clip from now on as

part of the materials we use for entertainer training courses.

THE POWER OF THE SMILE

Author:

Ignacio Gil

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TEAMORGANIZATION


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ARE YOU GETTING THE MOST OUT OFYOUR TEAM OF ENTERTAINERS?

Beyond merely having teams and programs of

entertainment in hotel chains, hotels and campsites

in order to meet the requirements imposed on us

by Tour Operators and guests, it is important thateach establishment draws up a strategic statement

as to how it is going to best use the department

within the time available. In every case, leisure and

entertainment constitute an opportunity to identify

differentiating added value.

In this post I will suggest some possibilities to

generate added value by the entertainment team but

of course I have no doubt that someone will be able

to think of more. If so, please dont hesitate to pass it

on to the rest of us.

An entertainment team:

1 Promotes participation: No matter the age,

social background, nor nationality of the guest.

A well-designed program managed by a good

entertainment team makes the guest feel comfortable

when taking part.

2 Creates emotional bonds:Through participation,

the guest is interacting with the entertainers and

creating bonds which foster closeness and break

down the intra-personal barrier. The entertainereventually becomes a friend with whom the guest

can share his/her holiday.

3 Opens doors to new experiences:If the objective

is to innovate, do not hesitate to foster creativity and

cooperation between departments to introduce new

leisure experiences. The entertainment team then

becomes an excellent facilitator for such experiences.

4 The guest feels that he/she is listened to:the

client tends to share with the entertainer everything

that is both good and bad about the establishment.The entertainer becomes an important source of

information for management and an informal channel

for complaints. In the role of friend all of this is less

embarrassing.

5 Promotes internal consumption: It is benecial

to involve the entertainer in all actions that support

the promotion of internal consumption. Coordination

between departments is fundamental in order to

implement such initiatives.

6 Generates content in Social Networks: As

they are working within the hotel environment, the

entertainers can take photos, do interviews and/

or record moving images in a very natural way. It

is therefore very helpful to have someone with this

skill set on the team. One must of course take into

account the Data Protection Legislation.

7 Strengthen the brand image:The entertainment

team is a valuable element of support for the marketing

department. The entire image related to leisure and

entertainment can be utilized to strengthen our brand

image. The availability of new audio-visual tools is an

opportunity that should not be underestimated.

8 Retention: In those hotels in holiday resorts that

have effective entertainment teams, the retention

rate tends to be higher. When making a reservation,

some clients ask whether a particular entertainer is

still on the team. With the advent of social networks

this has all become far more powerful because the

opportunities to chat with the customer are so

much greater. Have you assessed what this could

mean for your establishment?

And, above all and it although it may appear obvious,the entertainment team must create a good holiday

and fun atmosphere in the resort, which is in itself an

important source of added value.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

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THE ORGANIZATION OF THEENTERAINMENT DEPARTMENT

The importance of a rigorous approach when doing this will greatly

facilitate the effective setting up of the department. Above all,

because it will help us to clarify the objectives and needs. If this

groundwork has not been done, the tendency is to fall back on

improvisation.

The points we normally highlight are to:

Establish the mission and the values of the entertainment

department in the context of the resort

Analyze the types of guest that we will be working with throughout

the year and their needs

Dene the leisure and entertainment programs that are most

appropriate based on the needs we have identied

Develop alternative entertainment programs for rainy days or

other unforeseeable eventualities

Set priorities, requirements and deadlines for the implementation

of the entertainment program

Dene the evaluation of the program in both quantitative and

qualitative terms

Determine the source of nancing that will be required

Identify and analyse the various tasks and roles that will be

required to deliver the entertainment program

Assign responsibilities to each role

Establish the appropriate proles for each of the roles

Dene relationships between roles

Recruit suitable persons

Provide training and develop the entertainers so that they

can successfully full their responsibilities

Coordinate the day-to-day activities

Monitor and assess the day to day delivery of the program

Correct any deciencies in the program

We will present an outline in which we will review the stages for getting the Entertainment

Department up and running on campsites and in hotel.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

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DO YOU HAVE A SUITABLEENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM?

HANG ON A MINUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you taken a look at the entertainment program that your

resort offers?

Are you utilizing the facilities effectively?

Does your entertainment team have all the necessary gear to

deliver this program with assurance of quality and safety?

Have the activities been scheduled for appropriate times?

Is the entertainment programintegrated with the image of the

resort??

These may seem obvious questions, nevertheless, I get the

impression that few managers are in the habit of addressing

them or gloss over them silently to avoid having to respond to

them.

Your entertainment program is the result of having factored inthe following aspects:

The season

The guest type and their expectations

The number of entertainerson the team

The environmentin which the establishment is located

The facilities, equipment and materialsthat are

available (by day and by night)

However, once you have devoted the time to evaluating all of theabove, guring out what the ideal program will be is not going

to be simple matter and it will also require a modest injection

of creativity and imagination. The more completely this work is

done the richer the program will eventually be. You will need to

take into account some more factors in consultation with your

Head of Entertainment.

Variety and richness, encompassing all possible activities.

Activities that complement each other and that follow a

logical sequence.

They must have a denite rhythm; that is they must be

distributed well across the schedule and there must not be

any illogical gaps or pauses. The program must be

compatible with the services and timetables of the hotel,

campsite or resort.

It must be exible and open to possible alterations and

alternatives which the guests may come up with or which

may be imposed by circumstances beyond the control of

the entertainment team.

THE GUEST MUST NEVER GET A

FEELING OF MONOTONY

Author:

Ignacio Gil

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TOURIST ENTERTAINMENTACTIVITIES: The 8 Step Rule

Details are important!

It can be very useful to factor in these 8 steps when

running an entertainment activity.

First of all it is a good idea to have an outline with these

steps included until the entertainer has internalized

them and they have become habitual.

Following them helps to avoid unpleasant surprises

that would force the cancellation of an activity, for

example if the equipment is not in working order. It

is also helpful to work in a disciplined manner when

monitoring the uptake of an activity and its outcomes.

This information could be of use to other entertainers

on the team, to the Head of Entertainment and to theManagement of the resort.

Step 1Prepare the equipmentand check thatboth it and the facilities where the activity is to be

done are in perfect working order.

Step 2 Conduct the necessary promotionalactivities to publicized the activity.Point out that

it is very important to start the activity at the exact

time indicated in our entertainment program, so we

can avoid any possible complaints from guests.

Step 3 For maximum convenience the entertainershoulddesignate a meeting pointand communicate

this to the guests, so that they will know where to go

if they wish to join in. This meeting point must be an

easy place to nd, normally: reception, the bar, thepool etc. We should allow enough time for the guests

to arrive and once they are gathered together, we can

proceed together to the place where the activity is to

take place: the pool, sports eld or whatever it is.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

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Step 4 Having arrived there, the entertainermakes a note of all those participants on the

record sheet for the activity in order to work out

how to organize it. The entertainer must know how

to adapt the rules of any activity to the number of

participants without delay, whether they are few or

numerous. If there are only a few guests or there is an

uneven number or them for a team activity, we advise

that the entertainer may take part in the activity as

long as a fun atmosphere and not a competitive one

is maintained: the entertainer must never win in any

activity.

Step 5Explain the rules of the gameor sportin the various languages spoken by the guests.

Entertainment is a service for each and every one of

the guests at the resort, so there may be guests who

are not familiar with them. The explanation should be

clear and brief.

Step 6Carrying out the activity. The entertainermust create a relaxed atmosphere and encourage

contact among the guests, as they are the protagonists

of the activity. The entertainer will maintain, in each

case, the necessary safety measures to prevent any

unfortunate incidents.

Step 7When the activity is over, we announcethe winner(s) and ensure that they are the centre

of attention. In some resorts, currently, a prize is

awarded to the winner and a diploma is given to the

other participants in the evening. For this purpose, it

is important to retain the check list for the activity in

order not to forget the name(s). This is the moment to

promote the next activity and also the activity that is

to take place that evening.

Step 8 Collect the materials and take them

to the storage location (sports ofce, lockerroom, entertainment ofce, mini club etc.). It is very

important to take care of the equipment and keep it

in an organized manner. Should any equipment be

unt for use due to wear and tear the team member

responsible should be informed so that it can be

repaired or replaced in time for the next scheduled

use.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

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ARE THE GUESTS AWARE OF WHAT ISON OFFER DURING THEIR STAY?One of the priorities of any resort must be to inform

the guests of everything that is on offer in an attractive

manner. As soon as the guest has joined us; that is the

best time to let them know about everything that can be

enjoyed during their stay. Success is in the details

and it is very important to maintain your image.

When designing internal promotions in your resort, you

must take into account a number of variables: the type

of resort, the size, distribution of accommodation, guest

type and the routines that guests follow when accessing

the various spaces in order to decide on the best places

to post announcements and notices. Dont forget that

one of the objectives of any internal promotion is to:

Strengthen Points of Sale

Today you have at your disposal an innite range of media

to publicize who you are and what you do and yet, there

are many resorts that could improve on this aspect.

1All signage in the resortshould be dened according

to clear criteria in terms of both design and content.

2The leisure and entertainment program as well as all

the related activities should be meet the same criteria.

If pictograms are used they must illustrate clearly what

activity is involved and the age group it is intended for. I

have found entertainment programs in many resorts that

have been drawn by hand using poor quality materials

that have apparently been assembled ad hoc. Obviously

the impression they make is not a good one.

Normally the entertainment program displayed runs

for one or two weeks depending on guest rotation.

The contents of the program may vary depending on

the season or on variations in the guest type. Activities

may be added or deleted. All supporting media used to

advertise the program must also meet the criteria set for

image and quality.

Example of Activities Pictogram

3Some resorts publish a newsletterthat includes

not only information about activities but also

additional information of interest related to the

establishment itself. This

promotional medium

may be published and

distributed a as often as

is deemed opportune.

There are hotels that

opt to publish a daily

newsletter, others on a

weekly, monthly or even

seasonal basis.

4 As we said at the

outset, strengthening

points of sale is one ofthe objectives of internal

promotion actions. For

this purpose we will

arrange many special activities, days on a special

theme, night time activities and sporting events.

All notices and advertizing material that goes with

these activities must also follow a consistent set

of design principlesand must be displayed in

relevant locations.

These types of activities are one-off affairs, perhaps

once a week, and the intention is that they have thegreatest possible impact, so, from the point of view

of promotion, they must be highlighted. A major

part of the success of this activity will depend on

adequate promotion.

Examples of posters of Theme Days and/or special

events below

Author:

Ignacio Gil

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5Many resorts have set up an internal TV channelthrough which they broadcast information. Sadly, such channels

are not very popular due to the lack of variety and quality of the programming content.

Video-Marketingis a very powerful tool for any type of promotion whether it is internal or external. If we look at internal

promotion, we can see that it has enormous potential for creating content to support out TV Channel.

Also there is the option to display screens in various locations on site, which is becoming more and more common,

thus giving us the opportunity to make our promotions far more exible, personalized and targeted, as the content can

be adapted to suit the specic day, moment or activity.

I will leave you with 2 examples of promotion that use video. The rst is the work of our entertainment team at the Hotel

IFA Buenaventurain Playa del Ingls, Gran Canaria and it was designed to promote a variety show.

The second example is a subsequent promotional piece, in this case not for a particular activity, but for the whole range

of Wellness-related activities at Hoteles Ifa Lopesan,also in Gran Canaria.

Internal promotionis a serious business as it means that the guest receives all the necessary informationand

enhances their perception of what the resort has to offer.

Constantly updating and innovating the internal promotion tools is one of the Steps that every resort must take to

strengthen its market positioning.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

15
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16/3816

SPORTS-RELATEDLEISURE


17/38

{ see poston blog}

ENTERTAINMENT ANDSPORTS ACTIVITIESMens sana in Corpore sano

As part of the Entertainment program that any resort

offers its guests, Sports and Quasi-Sport activities

usually constitute the backbone of the daily leisure

program. This is a very important means for establishing

contact with our guest throughout the day. They are

also a means or hook for getting hold of participants

for other activities. They provide the entertainer with an

opportunity to have more physical contact with the

guest, to kid around and

to listen. They also allow

us to lay a good foundation

for trust. Also, these are the

activities which tend to be

most in demand.

The characteristics and

variety of these activitiesdepends on the equipment

and facilities that each resort

has (tracks, open spaces,

pools, playing elds, sports

equipment etc.).

I think that we have to

give these activities the

importance that they may

come to assume within

the overall range of leisure

activities on offer and Iwould like to set out 9 points

here to bear in mind for your

entertainment teams.

1Be creativewhen offering sports activities and use all

the resources at your disposal, both those that belong to

us and those that are around you. The wider the range

of activities on offer, the more guests will sign up. It is

important to realize that all the guests want to do some

form of physical activity during their holiday. Hence we

need to design activities that have at all levels of effort

from highly strenuous through medium effort and some

that require little effort as well as difculty. We must set

out to ensure that the guest derives satisfaction from

doing the activity

2 In most resorts, the entertainer need not be a

sportsperson to organize these activities. As an

entertainer, his/her responsibility is to organize them

and to know the rules. We are not dealing here

with competition, but sports activities adapted to an

entertainment program.

3It is vital to take care of the image of the facilities

This is part of the image of the resort so sportsfacilities that are in good shape, properly painted and

well maintained, are an integral part of it. The head of

entertainment must report any damage that may occur

so that it can be repaired.

4It is also important to take care of and maintain

sports equipment. Inventory management is one of

the responsibilities of the head of entertainment. This

equipment is a cost for the resort and must be lookedand after and replaced if damaged. It is not conducive

to a positive image to cancel an activity due to lack

of equipment or to carry on an activity with defective

equipment.

5It is highly likely that there will be guests who hesitate

when called upon to take part. They feel unsure of

themselves because they dont know the rules or how

to play the game. It is the entertainers job to lighten

up the situation and encourage everyone to have

a go.

6It is important to choose spaces on the basis of

the objective which is to create a fun atmosphere

in the Hotel. Spaces that are hidden from view of the

public should therefore be ruled out if possible.

7Activities must be promoted with sufcient

advance noticeand must start on time as scheduled.

Punctuality when starting activities is a characteristic

that demonstrates professionalism and commitment

on the part of the entertainer.

8Adapt the duration of the activities to suit the

participantswho have signed up, not forgetting tomake the rules of the game absolutely clear at all

times in order to eliminate any suspicion of foul play.

9 It is also important to provide an incentive for

participation in the form of diplomas, medals or

other kinds of prizes that have an ofcial feel. In many

resorts this custom has fallen into disuse, but it is still

a valid one as it supports the promotion of the activity.

Our guests will return to their country with a souvenir

that they can show to their friends.

There are resorts that specialize in Sports Leisure in

which the entertainers are also sports monitors who

specialize in particular activities. A case in point is

Club La Santain Lanzarote.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

17
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18/38

{ see poston blog}

SPORT LEISURE:SANDS BEACH ACTIVESands Beach has launched,

the project: Sands Beach

Active. This is a resort that we

have been working with forsome years and with whom

we have a very good working

relationship.

I was impressed by the work

that Juan Carlos Albuixech

and his team are doing to

reposition this resort and

design a product combining

Family Leisure and Sports

Leisureso I got in touch with Juan Carlos to invite him

to an interview with us to explain how he is going about it.

Its a classic example of how to make the most of the

resources available in the area to support a change

of image, renew the brand and promote new forms

of sales that are enabling him to improve the range of

activities on offer to the regular guests and enter new

market segments that have very specic needs such

as sports teams and persons with reduced mobility. It

is also an example ofhow to make the most of your

entertainment team through more specialized

products.

I leave you here with the interview and take this opportunityto thank Juan Carlos for his valuable time.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

18
http://www.acttiv.net/blog/ocio-deportivo-sands-beach-resorthttp://www.acttiv.net/blog/ocio-deportivo-sands-beach-resorthttp://www.acttiv.net/blog/ocio-deportivo-sands-beach-resorthttp://www.acttiv.net/blog/ocio-deportivo-sands-beach-resorthttp://www.acttiv.net/blog/ocio-deportivo-sands-beach-resorthttp://www.activelanzarote.com/http://www.activelanzarote.com/http://www.acttiv.net/blog/ocio-deportivo-sands-beach-resorthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSuS4I0RMaUhttp://www.activelanzarote.com/http://www.activelanzarote.com/http://www.activelanzarote.com/


19/3819

LEISUREFOR CHILDREN


20/3820{ see poston blog}

ENTERTAINMENT FOR FAMILIES:10 ASPECTS TO BEAR IN MIND

The family market segment is becoming more and

more important. The leisure and entertainment

product we offer must be handled and planned

with a degree of affection. Our objective must beto ensure that the parents are satised and that the

children enjoy their holiday as well. Once our guests

have selected us we must show that we deserve

their trust. Here are 10 aspects that any hotel director

should consider key:

1 Establish clear objectives. The whole

management team must pull together and tasks

must be properly allocated. With a product/service

of this kind, leisure and entertainment can be a major

selling point. We need to show this to the guests (the

family) to the fullest possible extent.

2 Segment according to age. All ages are not the

same. What we offer to families must cater for the

expectations of children of the age of 6 months up

to teenagers of 15/16. We can provide a Baby Club

staffed by qualied child minders during restricted

hours and also Teen Club centres for older children.

They all have their particular needs.

3 Suitable facilities:A familys expectations include

nding appropriate spaces for activities. If our

objective is to provide a wide range, we must be able

to avail of suitable internal and external spaces for the

various age groups we are catering for.

4 Offer variety in your Entertainment program.

Take all segments into account and design

programs that will appeal to them. They are all

different and equally important. You can integrate

activities that involve a learning element: sports

lessons (clinics), Circus School, Workshops,

etc. New technologies and adventure activities

are especially appealing to teenagers.

5 Ensure having suitable equipment andmaterials to set up the various activities you

plan to run. Be creative with your entertainment

team and design workshops too that can where

you can sell the necessary materials and the

guest can take a souvenir back home.

6 Think about the range of food and drink

on offerconsidering the various segments and

facilitate purchase of such items by means of

sales efforts within the hotel, campsite or resort.

Set up a Minibuffet, design a snackbox that can

be sold at the various points of sale on site.Design food

and drink vouchers (ice creams, hamburgers, drinks

etc.) that can be sold to the guest on arrival. Parents

will be delighted to have this problem easily dealt with.

The entertainment team can handle the promotionalside of this.

7 Create image, support Branding. The entire

image of the resort must be managed. Create a

corporate image that targets the segment will enable

you to have your own merchandising. Design a

webpage where content that goes beyond merely

staying in the hotel is offered.

8 Work on the CRM, as this will help you to get to

know your guests. Perhaps there are some guests

who will celebrate their birthday while they are stayingat the hotel, in which case you can have a birthday

package ready to surprise them with when they arrive.

Find out how many children they have and their ages.

Keep track of what works and what doesnt in order

to continuously improve the range of services offered.

9 Design the entertainment team. How many staff,

which languages, which proles. At the same time,

dene the objectives for them to achieve maximum

customer satisfaction.

10 Create Commitment. All staff must be fully

committed to attending every type of guest. At the

point of entry where staff access communal areas in

one of the Butlins Holiday Campsthere used to be

a large sign that read From this point on SMILE.

Author:

Ignacio Gil
http://www.acttiv.net/blog/animaci%E3%AE%ADpara-familias-10-aspectos-a-tener-en-cuentahttp://www.acttiv.net/blog/animaci%E3%AE%ADpara-familias-10-aspectos-a-tener-en-cuentahttp://www.acttiv.net/blog/animaci%E3%AE%ADpara-familias-10-aspectos-a-tener-en-cuentahttp://www.acttiv.net/blog/animaci%E3%AE%ADpara-familias-10-aspectos-a-tener-en-cuentahttp://www.acttiv.net/blog/animaci%E3%AE%ADpara-familias-10-aspectos-a-tener-en-cuentahttp://www.butlins.com/#http://www.butlins.com/#http://www.acttiv.net/blog/animaci%E3%AE%ADpara-familias-10-aspectos-a-tener-en-cuentahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQL69yKKf_Qhttp://www.butlins.com/#


21/38

{ see poston blog}

CHECKLIST TO ENSURESAFETY IN THE MINICLUB

As with tourist resorts, each Mini Club or childrens

play area is a different world. Apart from the location

and the facilities there are other factors that can

impact on this, such as nationalities, guest type orthe form of resort (AD / MP / TI). However, there are

rules and regulations both within and without the

entertainment department that can help to reduce

risks to a minimum in the Mini Club.

This is the theme of this post. I am going to

recommend a checklist with 15 tips that, from my

point of view, guarantee not only essential quality

standards but also will prevent accidents and

consequent complaints from guests. We all know

that entertaining children is very important in a

holiday resort. At the end of the day, for every childthat leaves us happy, two parents do.

1To begin with, I want to remind you how important

it is to have enough staff to cater for the children.

We recommend a ratio of one entertainer for

every ten children. Having said that, for games to

be held outdoors, we need to double the number of

entertainers and deploy extra staff.

2 The type and conditions of the facilities is

fundamental for providing a safe service. Its

always advisable to use the services of a rm that

specializes in setting up or refurbishing such facilities.

For instance, please take a look at the website of this

company:isaba.

3 The Mini Club must be accessible only by way

of a door with a lock, so that children cannot leave

without letting us know.

4For every ten children there should be an inrmary,

one for children and a separate one for adults.

5 Large windows to ensure that there is plenty of

daylight inside.

6Open external spaces adjacent to the building to

ensure that there is good ventilation.

7A minimum of two square meters of oor space in

the Mini Club per child.

8Air conditioning in internal spaces.

9 Special oor and ground surfaces in play areas,

together with protective barriers and hygienic features

especially designed for childrens play areas.

10 Ergonomic xtures and ttings suitable for

children.

11Covered electrical sockets and connections.

12 Though many resorts already have a Quality

Assurance system in place, I would like to emphasisethe importance of registers and documents. It

is crucial to have all the information on the children

attending activities. First of all, the sign-up card must

contain the data on every one of the children, so that

the parents can always be reached if the need arises.

13When the child enters the Mini Club for the rst

time, he or she is given a passportwith the name,

age and room number. The child must carry this

throughout their stay. Attached are two examples

designed byHoteles OasisandProtur Hotels.

14Personally, I always recommend that the parents

be required to drop off and pick up their children in

person. The entry and exit checklist should be

signed when each child enters and again when they

leave.

15 In order that everyone be happy and that we

also ensure that the parents are satised, it is of

fundamental importance that guests should be

informed of all of these arrangements. The childrens

area must display these documents and notices so

that there can be no room for doubt. In addition, the

entertainment team must inform the guests of all

rules and regulations.

I hope that this checklist will prove useful to you both

as a means of assessing the current state of the

facilities in your Mini Clubs and to assist you if you are

setting up a new childrens play area.

Author:

Joost Kruissen

21
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22/3822

LEISUREFOR ADULTS


23/38

{ see poston blog}

GUESTS LOOK AFTERTHEMSELVES ON HOLIDAY

The video is a Yoga tutorial that

we use for two purposes. Firstly,

to show the resort the option of

offering this kind of activity aspart of the tourist entertainment

program. Secondly, to share it

with the entertainment team as

part of their professional training.

We also have a video tutorial for

Pilates.

Consistent with our strategy for

innovation, activities such as

Yoga and Pilates are examples

of how the guests preferences

may change and how the

entertainment team must adapt

accordingly.

Each person seeks as part of their holiday a different kind of experience and the

demand for wellness and health activities is constantly increasing.

Occasionally, these are people who have always wanted to try out these

techniques but have not been able to nd the time to get around to it. So, during

their holidays they have the chance to give them a try. These activities therefore

tend to have high participation rates.

There are also many individuals who already do these activities and want to

continue doing so while on holiday. A good example of this is the investmentmade by many resorts in this niche market in the form of facilities such as spas

and beauty parlourswhich offer a range of beauty treatments, massage etc.

This new focus on Wellness as part of the holiday package involves several

departments, and also entails a review of the range of food and drink on offer to

cater for the demands of vegetarians and vegans among our guests. Together with

this, tourist entertainment must also adapt and constantly be updated. Activities

like Yoga,Tai-chi and Pilates are normally highly popular and well subscribed.

Also, workshops on Aloe Vera, Aromatherapy and Healthy Eating together with

body toning exercises such as Body pump and Aquatnessare increasingly in

demand. To sum up, the aim is to create a holiday program that has a clear focus

on wellness.

I would like to look at an entertainment program

that is far removed from clichs and has

already been implemented in many resorts. Of

course, it is important that instructors in these

techniques should be persons who are trained

and qualied with previous experience. In any

case, the classes are most often introductory

sessions as these attract the greatest numbers

of participants. We will now take a look at an

example (left) of a weekly program focusing on

Wellness.

Author:

Irene Andrs

23
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24/38

{ see poston blog}

BABY BOOMERS: A GROWINGNICHE MARKETBaby Boomers are the generation born between 1946

and 1964; the demographic explosion that took place

after the Second World War, which in Spain occurred

from the year 1954, with birth rates of 21% up to 1966.As a consequence of this, in 2015, 25% of the European

population will be over 60, rising to 35% by the middle of

the 21st century.Click on this linkfor a moving graphic

presentation showing the European population trends

from 1950 to 2050.

I did a Google search using the term holidays for over

55s (in Spanish) and got 7,260,000 results. When Idid the search in English with the term holidays for 55

plus the gure shot up to 110,000,000 results! Wow!

It seems to be a hot topic. The range of holidays on

offer to this segment is growing all the time and so is the

need to understand better their preferences, needs and

expectations.

In the US the hotel group Preferred Group Hotels

presented a study at the end of 2010 which was reported

inHotel Interactivein an article with the headline: Baby

Boomer. Preferred Hotel Group nds that with

retirement looming, an iconic generation plans

to see the World summarizing some of the studys

conclusions. I would like to highlight two statements by

Lindsey Ueberroth, President of Preferred Hotel Group:

1Anyone who is not focussing on this demographic is

making a big mistake

2As a company we are eager to work with this generation

of Boomers. Its a lot of people. They love to travel, they

are passionate and they want to have fun.

TO HAVE FUN!!!

The Baby Boomer generation has travelled more than

previous generations did; they regard travel not as a

luxury but as a normal part of life and, whats more,they have time to travel; they are restless and they

like to experience adventures but with an element

of control. They believe in aging actively but they

dont want to hear the word aging.

This is not a homogenous generation, hence, their

motivations vary. They are looking for rest and

relaxation, they want to try out new things and have

new experiences, break with their routine, get to

know new people

Designing products for this demographic presents

many resorts with an opportunity. We are not talking

about integrating them as part of social tourism

that already exist in the market. Instead, we want to

develop our own products. In my opinion, creating

such products is based on four key elements: Health

and Well-Being, Fun, Service and Friendliness;

Experience and Learning. Four elements which

should be combined to meet the expectations of this

type of guest.

The Third Conference on Senior Citizens held in

May 2009 produced the bold statement that Senior

Citizens are wealth creators and we categorically

reject the claim that they are a burden on society.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

24

Well-Being

Fun

Experience and

Learning

Service and

Friendliness
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25/3825

NEW INITIATIVES


26/38

ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL NETWORKS:THE ENTERTAINER REPORTEREntertainment teams in holiday hotels are becoming more

and more recognized as a channel for communication and

promotion, thanks in large part to Social Networks. We

must bring innovation to the most basic elements. Andthis is why we have created the role of Entertainer Reporter.

What is an Entertainer Reporter?

As we are an entertainment company with a mission to

innovate, our modest contribution is this new professional

role that we have decided to call Entertainer Reporter

(ER) This is someone who is member of the entertainment

team whose tasks are related to the Communications

and Marketing Strategy of the resort.

Main responsibilities:

1 To generate content for online communication

media in which the resort has a presence: including:

YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. and support

video marketing campaigns.

2To revitalize these online platformsin coordination

with the Community Manager of the resort and/or the

Hotel Chains Marketing Department.

Why do we need an Entertainer Reporter?

The presence of holiday resorts in Social Networks is a

fact. Storytelling is a powerful tool that enables one to

establish channels of communication with the customer

and to enhance retention. Producing a record of all the

guests stories and experiences, to be able to relive them,

is an opportunity that the hotel industry cannot afford to

miss. Since it is the entertainment team who breathe life

into a hotel and who make these experiences possible,why not make the most of it?

26

Author:

Ignacio Gil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xsVDSjRm6CM


27/38

{ see poston blog}

A holiday hotel must general joy, trust, relaxation a

holiday atmosphere! And of course it must tell the world

about it. TheEntertainer Reporteris someone who

can enable us to bring the ofine world online andbring our unique selling points to the market.

Who is the Entertainer Reporter?

In our experience, the professional prole

that works best is of a young person who

is an integral member of the entertainment

team but who, moreover, is familiar with the

basic techniques of reporting. We dont mean

a professional photographer or cameraman,

but we do expect someone to be reasonably

procient in camera operation and

editing. It is vital that this person be fully

integrated into the entertainment teamin

order to build up a close relationship with the

guests that can then be transferred in concrete

form online as photographs, videos, interviews

and comments on the posts themselves by

guests staying at the resort.

Who should hire an ER?

Any holiday resort that has an entertainment

team, whether it be an Hotel, Campsite,

Apartment Hotel, Hotel Chain or Holiday Campwhose Marketing Strategy seeks to position its

product online as well as ofine.

Here at Acttiv we realize that each resort

has its own particular features, and so it is

necessary to dene a plan of actionjointly

for the ER which matches them. Once this has

been dened, our Marketing team undertakes

to monitor the ERs performance and assess

the results.

How does the ER work?

As a member of the entertainment staff with the same

rights and responsibili ties. It is a fact however that to do

the job well certain specic tools are required:

A personalized uniform is key to give the ER a

recognizable identity.

A waiver of privacy/condentiality rights to be signed

by guests who appear in any photograph or video.

A digital camera with a minimum capacity of 10 MP

(Megapixels) and HD recording functionality. A good

internet connection.

A laptop for the ERs exclusive use with the necessarysoftware for video editing. (Premiere Pro Pinnacle and/

or similar)

External Hard Drive (500 GB or 1TB)

Author:

Ignacio Gil

27
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THE DAY-TO-DAY WORK OF THEENTERTAINER REPORTER

To follow on from the post published by Ignacio Gil, I would

like to focus in detail for you on the day-to-day processes that

entertainer reporters have been doing during the 2011 season.

The rst Entertainer Reporter to join the staff of a hotel was

during the 2010 holiday season in the Club Mac in Mallorca. The

decision to hire the rst ER was a joint one between the hotel

management and ourselves as we shared a rm conviction of

two key visions:

1 The importance of a holiday resort having a presence in

Social Networks in order to set up channels of communication

between the hotel and the guests and to promote customer

loyalty and retention.

2 The advantages of having someone on the entertainment

team who could generate content for media platforms including

photographs, videos and news reports. The entertainment team

is the department that is closest to the guest and so is the best

channel of communication between the entertainment

department, the management and the social networks.

At the end of the rst year and having accumulated a total of

2,000 fans, we made a positive evaluation of the webpage and

set out our strategy for the following year with new and realizable

objectives.

A year and a half later and we can see the results: 7,000 followers

on the Facebook page and an average of 100 comments perday. A channel on Youtube with 130,000 uploads and also,

more recently, an active account on Twitter.

Thanks to the excellent results obtained at Club Mac we

introduced ERs in these resorts:Sea Club Alcudia,Oasis Hotels

& ResortsandVendrell Platjaduring the 2011 season.

I would like to reiterate the importance of designing a sound strategy in order to

dene and guide the work of the entertainer and so before we begin the new season

let us dene the basic duties of ERs:

To take photographs

To record images and video clips

To publish news items with information relevant to current and prospective guests

To comment on and respond to uploads and postings on Facebook and YouTube

relating to leisure and entertainment

To moderate comments and inform visitors to the sites on topics that are most

signicant in the hotel

To create and maintain the Entertainment Departments promotional noticeboard

Obviously these functions must be discussed, commented on and modied in

consultation with the resorts management and/or marketing department. It is

of vital importance that the work carried out by the reporter are in line with the

marketing strategy laid out by the hotel management.

Author:

Joost Kruissen

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{ see poston blog}

Undoubtedly these tasks involve a great responsibility; the entertainer reporter must

establish the image (and the rst impression that many people receive) of our product

through these various channels. We, at Acttiv, constantly monitor the pages to ensure that

the work is being done properly and it is vital that the management is also aware of the

development and current state of the pages to identify opportunities for further promotion.

In addition, we must remember that this is not a community manager; it is an entertainer

reporter and a generator of content. For this reason also, the reporter must never

respond to complaints, direct expressions of discontent and/or questions

relating to commercial and operational matters. The ERs job is to create a link

between the guests and the resort, to record holiday moments in the form of photographic

images, to provide information on special events, to keep the guests engaged and to share

their experiences among themselves and with others.

I will add here two small samples of comments: one that the ER should respond to and

one that the ER must NOT respond to:

To conclude, I would like to present some of the actions that have worked best over the

last two years on the webpages of tourist resorts that we work with:

Find your holiday picture: throughout the week the ER takes photos of activities,

events and entertainment. These are then uploaded to a platform from which guests can

download them and in this way obtain a souvenir of their holiday and what they did with

the entertainment team.

Presentation of Staff:a number of staff members introduce themselves and invite the

guests in a mini-video.

Experiences related by guests: we know that the opinion of our guests is very

important today, and this is a mini-video in which guests give a testimonial of their

satisfaction.

I will now show you two video montages that we have made this year and which have

generated a great deal of trafc on our pages

Experiences related by hotel guests: A presentation by one of our team of entertainers:

Comment that the ER should respond to: Comment that the Hotel should respond to:

Author:

Joost Kruissen

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CREATING EXPERIENCES

Focussing our marketing efforts on the creation of

experiences fulls 2 objectives: To create a storyaround the brand to be shared by the guests andto promote an emotional connection with them that,

with time, will help to build a Community. Making this

emotional connectionhelps to strengthen the Brand.This can be useful for a product, and organization or

a holidaydestination.

When we think about creating experiences we also

take into account a number of points. Often, it is not

a matter of making large investments but rather of

getting these points right:

What aspects can we highlight:cultural, natural

or environmental, sports, gastronomic etc.? It is by

no means simple to nd the inspiration required to

identify the specic features that make us unique butit is absolutely necessary to establish a clear strategy

and set objectives.

An experience must be designedin order to be a

surpriseand to this end we must be sensitive to what

is important to our guests, the motivations that have

led them to spend their holiday with us, the reasons

why they have made this choice. Its like inviting

someone to your house and taking an interest in their

tastes. It is connecting the Brand with the desires of

the customer.

We all have stories to tell, it is a question of getting

someone to listen to them. We want to construct

experiences around these stories so that they can

be lived out and the people who live them can share

them with family members and/or their friends.

Theres no added value in doing the same as

everyone else. It must be something authentic,

and it must be interesting. Nobody remembers

run of the mill experiences, what we tend to

remember is something real and special.

We must be innovative when designingthe experience, create something unique and

exclusive. We must also be daring and include

something new and unexpected. We have

to dress up the experience, inject it with an

element of drama and create an environment

that will support it.

Experiences may be simple or sophisticated,

they may be sold individually or they may be

the sum total of various services/products.

In this case, the approach is to produce a

total package experience: design it, set upworking arrangements, set the pricing level,

dene the sales channels and determine all

operational aspects, making sure that no

detail is overlooked.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

30


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Working teams must be active participants in

the experiences we create, and, if necessary, receive

training to sell the experiences correctly and obtain

feedback from the guest with a view to improving

them.

Experiences must be aligned with the holiday

destination.If we are clear about the attributes that

our location enjoys then we will be able to align our

experiences with it, we can strengthen it and we can

support the promotional strategies.

The fact that various enterprises in a holiday

destination indirectly support each othermeans

that when we talk about competitors we are in fact

talking about allies. The idea is to attract the highest

number of people to the destination so that they canmake a choice based on what they can afford, provide

them with information about places to visit, where to

dine, and so on. We want to give them reasons to

come back again or to spend more time with us.

Id like to share with you this simple video (its in

Spanish) that shows an example of the experience

that we designed jointly and took part together with:

D. O. de Vinos de Lanzarote(Lanzarote Ofcial Wines

Association),D O. P. del Queso Majorero(Association

of ofcially recognised producers of Majorero Cheese,

Fuerteventura), Promotur - the association fortourism promotion for the Canary Islands and a group

of tourist resorts in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

This is an experience which indeed does surprise

the guest, reinforces the image of the destination and

promotes the wines of Lanzarote and Majorero cheese

by introducing the visitor to them and including them

in the menu in dining establishments in those resorts

taking part.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

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Given our guests habits and customs, many holiday

hotels experience a rush hour in their dining areas,

which leads to long queues forming at the entry points.

In the Entertainment Department we have learned to

turn this apparent nuisance into opportunities. The

access point to the restaurant becomes a point where

we can meet with the guest. A place where our

Public Relations people can promote evening activities

through little games, frozen gures (whereby one of

our staff dresses up as a character from the evening

show and adopts a static pose for a considerable

interval), displays related to the various theme-based

dishes, or, simply, welcoming the guest witha smileat

the entrance to the restaurant.

Most holiday resorts have a calendar of special days

based on a theme for their buffets. This involves a

considerable effort to decorate the area each day and,

often, we nd that there is a lack of personalization in

this. Since it is part of our job to come up with fresh

ideas to support the entertainment teams and to

enhance ourguests experiences,as well as the image

of the hotel, we have launched this new initiative in a

hotel in Mallorca:

We have created a cast of characters based on a

chef, related to each theme-based day. The schedulingof these days and their content is, logically, up to the

management of the hotel to decide. In this case we

settled on the following: Pirates, La Belle Epoque,

HOLIDAY ENTERTAINMENT AND THEMARKETING OF GASTRONOMYAND DINING OUT

Author:

Ignacio Gil

32


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{ see poston blog}

The Orient Express, Made in Spain, Tex Mex, La Trattoria and Cartoons.

Based on these characters we designed a

photo-call to be located at the entrance toeach restaurant. The dimensions were chosen

to t each entrance, the largest measuring 5.5

m. wide x 2.5 m. high. It is often necessary to

decorate this space and our intention is to

minimize the effort needed to do this each day

and get it out of the way so that we can focus

on the work of the entertainment team in relation

to the guest.

Marcos, our illustrator, has created 7 video tutorials with animated

cartoons in which each character describes a recipe. These are lmed in

English and in Spanish and can be seen on a screen which is incorporated

into the photo-call, as well as placed on the channel on YouTube that each

establishment maintains and on its own website.

The entertainment team is in charge of making the entrance to the restaurant

a lively place and inviting the guests to be photographed with the

photocall as a backdrop which they can then share on social networks. One

way to distribute this beyond the connes of the hotel is through the Entertainer

Reporter, who is responsible for generating audio-visual content for the resort.

The kitchen and catering staff and the restaurant personnel display as part

of their uniforms a miniature image of the character associated with the theme

of the day.

This is an innovative initiative which also enables us to add a touch of

personalization and generates many opportunities for the marketing of food

and drink both in and outside the hotel. It also supports the strategy of theme-

based activities for spaces that can be developed further as much as we like.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

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INTERVIEWS


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WHY IS THE HEAD OF ENTERTAINMENTIMPORTANT TO HOTEL CHAINS?

Taking the opportunity presented by the end of the holiday season, I travelled to the Hotel

Calypso, in Salou, to meet with Mr. Irving Ribot, Head of Entertainment with Med

Playa Hotels.

I was very interested to have the opportunity to hear the views of a professional with such a

wealth of experience asIrving,who has been through the development of our sector since

his days in Cuba with Guitart and has passed through various countries and hotel chains in

his career before settling at Med Playa.

In our friendly chat, Irving sketches some aspects of his work as Head of Entertainment

for the chain, a position which he has held for over 8 years, and which has allowed him

to greatly improve many aspects of the leisure and entertainment services that Med

Playa Hotels offer.

I was struck by the determination with which the chain decided to include this post in its

management structure and the impact it has had over time both on guests perceptions ofa product that is more highly developed and on the opportunities it has given to the Sales

Department for its positioning. Integrating a Head of Entertainment is an essential Step for

the enhancement of the guests experience in resorts. The importance of this post is based

on other functions as well:

Planning Leisure and Entertainment programsmeans establishing a clear and denite

course of action which undoubtedly contributes to an improvement in terms of the stability

of entertainment teams.

Innovation and improvement of leisure facilitiesmeans that the range of programs

and activities on offer can be increased and the guests experience is thereby enhanced.

Coordinating joint actions with other departments of the Chain:F&B, Operations,

Sales and Marketing.

Having a qualied mediatorto work with service providers such as ours contributes to

better management of the resources needed to achieve the objectives set.

There is no doubt that this department, when managed by professionals with the requisite

capacity and judgement for working as part of a team, can bring much to the positioning

of resorts and the Brand.

I will leave you with our conversation. My thanks to Irving for sharing his time with us.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

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{ see poston blog}

ATALK WITH JOAN MOLAS ON LEISUREAND HOLIDAY ENTERTAINMENTWhat do professionals in the holiday business think of

entertainment in holiday resorts? I must admit this is

a question I ask myself pretty often and, beyond our

conversations with executives and managers in the

resorts where we ourselves are involved professionally,

it is a topic that is not much discussed in forums or

conferences attended by professionals of this sector.

In view of this and of our role as a market leader,

we set out to nd out and publicize the opinions of

leading gures in the sector as to how they see their

development and the best possible commercial use

of positioning and communication with customers.

At the FITUR 2012 trade fair, I asked Mr Joan Molas

Chairman in CEHAT (Spanish Tourist Establishment

Association) to grant us an interview in which he could

give us his vision of leisure and holiday entertainment.He agreed, and a few weeks later we went to CEHATs

ofces to record the interview.

I wish to thank Joan Molas for his willingness and

above all for the vision he conveys of the importance of

leisure and entertainment as a differentiating factor. We

take up the challenge thrown down by Joan to go into

greater depth to nd out more about the expectations

of the holidaymaker from the holiday experience and

totransform holiday entertainment intothe sum

total of the experiencesthat our guests expect of

us.

Author:

Ignacio Gil

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AUTHORS

Irene Andrs

She is communication Manager in Acttiv Leisure

Projects. Communication Graduated at the

Navarra University and specialized in Online

Marketing. She has been working in touristic

Marketing in Spain and UK. Always creative and

impulsive and likes sleeping, traveling and doing

sports.

Ignacio Gil

He is General Director and founder of Acttiv Leisure

Projects. Specialist in Tourist Management andhas a Masters degree in Leisure Companies at

EOI in Madrid. He has been working for more

than 25 years in the tourist eld. Always open to

learn, he loves photography and he is behind the

scenes of Facebook/callejeandomadrid.

Joost Kruissen

He is Sales Manager in Acttiv, with a Masters

degree in Strategic Sales Management at ESIC

business and marketing school in Madrid.

Aeronautic Engineer, who made a turnover when

he left his native Holland to work as entertainer

in Spain. His creativity and perseverance took

him from chief entertainer, to coordinator to

marketing & sales today. His free time is mostly

spend doing sports as golf, paddle tennis, ski or

whatever comes around.

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