The Renée Review

On the evening of our third day in Amsterdam, good friends, Luc & Jo Maene flew in from France. They are from the charming town of St. Germain en Laye, just outside of Paris and very near Versailles and its famous Chateau. Our jet lag was finally gone and we thoroughly enjoyed getting reacquainted.

I met Luc years ago (1989 – 1993) when I worked for The Arizona Biltmore Hotel as their International Sales Manager. What a crazy life I had back then. I guess things today are still crazy, only in different ways.

The Arizona Biltmore hired me to create awareness of and to bring executive international business to their fine Mobil Five Star, AAA Five Diamond, resort and hotel. My position at the Arizona Biltmore was their first entry into the international market. It was an important new step for creating an awareness of, and a name for, The Arizona Biltmore outside of the United States.

My responsibilities involved, international marketing & advertising, writing & negotiating contracts and marketing “fun in Arizona,” while selling the attributes of The Arizona Biltmore Hotel.

My sales territory covered any country outside of The United States, though most of my time was spent in Europe, Canada and Mexico. During this time, I met many people, did plenty of trade shows, made loads of sales calls, put our hotel into a large number of books and brochures and while doing this, spent 150 nights annually in different countries & cities around the world.

My competition was quite literally the planet. Every luxury resort across the globe was courting this same clientele for their international high profile meetings, incentive programs, association events, CEO & President round tables, product launches, training events, etc.

I think back on my time at The Arizona Biltmore very fondly. I met wonderful people and it was in this capacity that I met my husband Paul …but that’s another story.

Of the many wonderful people I met, Luc & Jo really stood out. Luc Maene, Director General of IFA, was and still is, one of the most powerful individuals in the world of meetings and associations executives. Truly, everyone in the business of meetings and conventions want his ear, his time and his meetings business. Luc Maene has been in THIS driver’s seat for decades and knows the ropes for planning meetings from 20 to 2,000 - In addition to his work for IFA, Luc is the current president of ESAE.  Oh - and smaller programs for under 20 persons - Luc is capable of putting those programs together in his sleep.

I had the pleasure of meeting Luc and becoming friends while negotiating a contract for one of his most senior level meetings programs. I then had the great joy of meeting his wife Jo during one of Luc’s site inspections. Jo at the time, worked for the World Bank. Whew! Talk about a high-powered couple!

Meetings, as a rule, are typically booked 3 to 7 years out. By the time Luc’s meeting came, I had gotten married, moved from Arizona to California & switched hotel firms & industry type. In California, I was booking contracts for the Hollywood studios, film industry, the fashion industry & cosmetics industries for the regional sales offices of Stouffer & Renaissance Hotels & Resorts; are now owned by Marriott. Eventually, with a little help from Mother Nature, I left the hotel industry.

The January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake which hit Southern California forever changed my personal fear factor for living in Southern California. After a month of aftershocks, I was ready to leave California to somewhere less earth moving! Hello Colorado – incidentally, the earth moves here, but for different reasons – wow is this place fabulous!

My friendship with Luc & Jo Maene lived longer than my career in the hotel industry. We never lost contact, continuously catching up through Christmas cards and email. We almost got together on more than a few occasions, but finally in April of 2005, it was my great pleasure to finally, actually see them again! If you are interested in that encounter – go to my Paris Blog.

Now, here we all were in Amsterdam! Luc & Jo had not seen Paul since before we were married & this was their first time meeting our daughter Marlo. I was not concerned about their ease with a young child as they have grandchildren of their own, but they were so unexpectedly gentle and interested in Marlo, that it fostered easy interaction. As such, Marlo warmed to them instantly.

Together we dined at the Amstel Intercontinental Hotel’s Michelin two star, fine dining restaurant, La Rive. Thanks to Luc, we secured a reservation on the last night the restaurant would be open before the chef departed for a month vacation. As could be expected, the restaurant was packed…Luc has secret contacts at mission control, allowing him the best tables throughout Europe, perhaps even – the world! Jo had on the most amazing green dress which I coveted the entire evening and still do to this day.  I've been promised a visit to the boutique it was purchased from in St. Germain en Laye!  If a visit with Luc & Jo were not enough - this boutique has unique & beautiful feminine clothing which Jo modeled during the next few days get togethers!  The boutique is called Barbara Bariggi and is located at 43, rue de Paris in St. Germain-en-laye, no web address - yet!

Luc arranged for the most exceptional location within the restaurant. We enjoyed sitting at a lovely corner round table with windows overlooking the waterfront. This was definitely our best meal in Amsterdam – the food wasn’t bad either!

Luc & Jo, thanks for such a fantastic time! I hope this Blog entry doesn’t embarrass you. It is always a pleasure for me to see and visit with you, but it is not always easy for a 10 year old to sit through a three hour dining experience in a fine restaurant. Thanks to your warmth, Marlo thoroughly enjoyed you both so much, that we never experienced a single bit of fidgeting. Marlo’s big question – why can’t Luc & Jo come on the big trip with us? (Sorry – she felt so comfortable; she never called you Mr. & Mrs. Maene.)

My big question…when will YOU allow for us to host you in Colorado? Our home is and always will be open to you! Hopefully you won’t make us wait to long…