When a presidential suite wasn't presidential

One of the first things I do when I travel with an international speaker is arrive before he does. My work doesn't start when the plane lands. It starts long before that.

I once traveled to Boca del Río, Veracruz, to prepare for the arrival of a former European head of state and several international speakers taking part in a major event. My job was to check that everything was ready: the hotel, the conference rooms, the routes, and — of course — where our guests would be staying.

I asked where the presidential suite was, the one where the former president would be staying.

—The penthouse, they told me.

I went up to check that everything was in order.

What I found was not what I expected.

The suite was enormous, with spectacular ocean views, but it looked like it hadn't been used in years. The walls were dirty, the furniture looked neglected, and the whole space felt far from what a head of state — even a former one — should be welcomed into.

I looked at the hotel director and said:

—Our guest arrives tomorrow. This can't be how we receive him.

His answer was so calm I thought he hadn't understood how serious this was.

—Don't worry. We'll take care of it.

And they did.

Within minutes, painters, maintenance staff, electricians, carpenters, cleaners, and decorators started arriving. There must have been forty or fifty people working at once.

For several hours, the suite became a race against the clock.

They painted, repaired, cleaned, replaced furniture, and left every detail spotless.

When I came back a few hours later, I could barely believe it was the same room.

The transformation was complete.

I half expected it to still smell of fresh paint, but everything was perfectly ventilated and ready to welcome our guest.

That experience reminded me of something I consider essential to this work.

A talent advisor doesn't just accompany a speaker.

The real job is to anticipate problems so the speaker never has to face them.

The better everything is prepared before they arrive, the more invisible our work becomes.

And that, precisely, is how you know it was done right.

Written by Felipe Gallardo, a business development consultant and talent advisor helping organizations worldwide find and book the right keynote speaker. Learn more about LATINMINDS →