An Independent HelmsBriscoe Associate | 636-678-7661 | jstone@helmsbriscoe.com

Jill Stone

Your Meeting Matchmaker Fairy Godmother

Hotels of the Rich and Famous

hotels

Thanks to Steve Lee of the Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, I recently visited Palm Springs and attended their International Film Festival, because that’s just what us Hollywood types do. Along with spotting Kate Winslet, Steve Carrell and Johnny Depp, I got a chance to see the wonderful Indian Wells Resort Hotel (pictured here)[...]

Summer Travel Scams

travel scams

If anyone deserves a vacation, it’s you Meeting Planner! Here is a heads up on what’s going down with the latest travel scams. P2P or Peer-to-Peer: Some folks are opting to rent a house, loft or apartment as a unique and cost saving alternative to hotels. Airnb came about and this trend has caught on[...]

Meeting Planner “Easter Egg” Hunt

Unique Hotels

In a few days we will celebrate Easter with family and friends. If you have kids in the family, an Easter Egg Hunt will surely be added to the mix. It’s so fun to watch the kids find their eggs and then later discover candy, goodies and maybe even some cash inside. You may not[...]

A Hotelier’s View: How Hotels See Third Party Planners

third party planners

I recently caught up with Kris Keesling at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel. She is my contact at the hotel, and was an integral part in creating a win-win meeting for one of my clients. We chatted about the industry, her hotel and third party planners (aka me). Here is what Kris had to share with[...]

Top 10 Contract Items to Know

I read a lot of contracts on behalf of my clients and have learned that there are items you absolutely need to be on top of when it comes to creating the as-close-to-perfect-as-possible contract for your meeting. So here we go: 10.  Service Fees: This includes miscellaneous, administrative, equipment fees and more. Though many of[...]

Haunted Hotel Rooms

In Halloweens past I have talked about haunted hotels – eeeeek! This year we are going to take a trip and go inside to get a peek into the most haunted within the haunted. If you dare, make sure to ask for the keys to these rooms when you check in (Bwahahaha!). We’ll begin our[...]

High Rewards

Traveling can be a rewarding experience in many ways.  Spending time in new lands, learning new things, trying new foods and gathering new experiences that turn into fond memories.  We also travel for business; this is especially true for meeting planners.  Some of you travel more days in the year than you spend at home![...]

The Oldest Hotels Ever!

I reside in Hillsboro, Missouri. We have our historic places. There is the Governor Thomas Fletcher House, which was built in 1851. Sandy Creek Covered Bridge was built in 1872 and has been claimed a historic site.  “Old” in the USA, however, is quite a bit different than old in other areas of the world.[...]