Challenge Accepted: 360DG’s Managing Partners Get Real on Mastering the Mayhem
We all agree: COVID was rough (now that’s the understatement of the century). As an industry, we all weathered huge cancellations, staff layoffs, rebuilding teams, and the myriad of challenges that came with ramping up smaller teams to meet huge spikes in demand. At 360DG, we also navigated through ownership changes, a determination to retain staff across each of our 17 destinations, and keeping morale high all while continuing to keep the belief in the hospitality and live event industries alive. Yeah, that was tough, but we’re tougher. So, challenge accepted. In this blog, 360DG Managing Partners Shelly Archer and Trevor Hanks chat about facing the challenges of a post-pandemic world head-on and never shying away from the tough stuff. After all, it only made us stronger.
Once Upon a Conference…
360 Destination Group was born from an impromptu “What if?” conversation during an industry event. In 2011, on the heels of the Great Recession and on the cusp of the DMC world changing for good, Trevor and Shelly saw an opportunity to combine forces. From that partnership sprung an unexpectedly unique organization that enabled us to navigate through a really (no, really) crappy time. Hmmm… does this sound familiar? Reinventing and reimagining ourselves during a historically challenging period? Yeah, we’ve made the unexpected feel like the day-to-day since day one. Don’t get us wrong, it wasn’t easy. But, the best things in life and business seldom are.
Introducing: The Elephant in the Room
So, you may have heard through the grapevine that 360DG has been through some ownership changes in the past year. The pandemic brought a lot of challenges, but it also presented us with inspiration and the opportunity to build a better, more nimble company. When our leadership roster began to change, Trevor and Shelly found themselves once again asking: “What if?” What if we could have the company we’ve always dreamed of? What if we could not just survive these challenges, but thrive because of them? After all, isn’t that how this all started: by asking the big questions and discovering the answers together? That kind of reinvention has always been at the core of who we are and it continues to drive us forward today.
So, Where Do We Go From Here?
The future of 360 Destination Group is bright, we feel that in our bones. You can trust that that’s true because, at this point, we’ve pretty much seen and dealt with it all. We’re telling you this because we know you’re in the same boat. As an industry, we’ve persevered, we’ve made strides, we’ve kept going, and now’s our time to really shine. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for our clients, partners, vendors, hotels, and all those who may not have our logo in their email signature, but still feel like part of our team. We know that no matter what, we will soar. Thanks for being along for the ride!