1. TTGmice October 2015 • 16
Racing against the clock
“I was really surprised by the popularity of the Batik painting that MyCEB provided.
Before we did the event, I was nervous that adult men and women would not enjoy the
painting and had MyCEB not generously provided it, I would never have selected it as an
activity. To my amazement, everyone loved it.”
Pia Harries, executive assistant, Honeywell Building Solutions
Event
2015 Circle of Excellence to Langkawi
Client
Honeywell Building Solutions
Venue
Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa
Date
April 20 - 23, 2015
Number of participants
116
Event brief
This April, the Asia-Pacific branch of global
organisation Honeywell Building Solutions
(HBS) organised the 2015 Circle of Excellence,
an overseas incentive trip to Langkawi for its
overachieving employees, who were picked
from over 10 countries.
Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel
(AOS) successfully bid to be the ground
handler in Langkawi and helped with the meet
and greet at the airport, as well as organised
sightseeing tours and dinner functions.
Challenges
The first challenge was the short lead time to
organise the event. Pia Harries, executive as-
sistant at HBS, was the sole person organising
and had only six weeks to put things together.
She said: “Short lead times have become
typical for Honeywell, partly due to internal
processes. I have organised numerous events
outside of Australia in the past, so I knew the
importance of roping in Malaysia Convention &
Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) as well as getting a
reliable ground handler.”
Harries’ plans for the delegates to travel on
the former Malaysia Airlines (MAS) had to be
scrapped after two MAS tragedies, as half the
Solutions
Despite the late hotel bookings,
Harries described the rates she
received as “very good”, at-
tributing it to the slowing MICE
market.
She added: “With my
budget blown on extra room
nights, MyCEB’s provision
of room drop gifts, Malay
dancers, Batik painting and
partial sponsorship of the din-
ner was a great help. I could
relax knowing that the entertainment on
welcome night was going to be good.”
Wong said the balls had to be brought
from the capital city while three synchro-
nised swimmers, together with a coach,
were brought in from Penang a day earlier to
rehearse performing inside a ball. The balls
were pumped with oxygen to sustain the
performers within.
Key takeaways
Looking back, Harries said: “MyCEB was ef-
ficient and easy to deal with. Their reminders
and timelines were of great help.”
On advice to readers, she said: “If you have
any control over timelines, try and have more
than six weeks to organise!”
Recalling the performances at the gala din-
ner, Wong said: “We never used the entertain-
ers before. So we took extra care to check their
background and references before engaging
them. It was also important to have a rehearsal
prior to this event.”
delegates felt more
comfortable flying on
SilkAir.
She said: “This was
a bit of a blow to the
event timeline and
budget as it meant an additional two nights ho-
tel stay and meals in Langkawi because SilkAir
only flies from Langkawi to Singapore
on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. This change
meant for the first time in over five years of
running events, I had to request a budget
increase. Fortunately, my senior managers
understood the circumstances and were fully
supportive of the change to SilkAir.”
For the pre-dinner entertainment on the
third day, Harries wanted to create a ‘wow’
experience. The previous year’s incentive event
in Thailand had been a real spectacle and she
needed to match or exceed that. For the fire
and water-themed performance by the infinity
pool at Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa, she had
to source for 2m-high transparent balls and
look for talents who could perform inside these
balls that would be floating on water. This was
the first time that Wong Kee Yen, AOS’s project
manager, was putting this act together and her
challenge was to ensure that it went well.
Organising an overseas incentive in six
weeks isn’t as daunting when there is
good ground support to ensure things
run smoothly. By S Puvaneswary
Case studies