Below Deck should be mandatory viewing for your events team. It’s one of my favorites. For the uninitiated, the premise of Below Deck is basically MTV’s Real World, but the cast all work together hosting charters on a mega yacht; a stressful, high-pressure environment.
At first, the attraction was watching (mostly) beautiful people in (mostly) beautiful places providing mega yacht levels of service. Now, the fascination has evolved. Over time, we’ve realized there’s a ton to be learned from Below Deck, especially around leadership and excelling in a service industry like ours.
Mermaids: The charter guests are already staying on a massive 54-meter superyacht in Ibiza. Private chef, access to every water toy imaginable, and their every need catered to. How do you top that? Mermaids. While the crew is taking full advantage of all that Ibiza has to offer (think Vegas, only more everything), producers cut to Captain Glenn lying in his bunk, giggling at a YouTube video explaining a local legend about mermaids. The next day, he asks Chief Stew, Daisy, to arrange for a mermaid to visit the boat during dinner. Brilliant!
Back to terra firma for a moment, attendees have more options than ever. Everything we do should be about making THIS experience the one they remember this year. A simple idea and quick action became an unforgettable experience for a group of people who were already having the time of their lives. Brilliant yet simple ideas are out there, waiting to be acted upon – you just need the right team to find them and make them happen.
No Task is Too Small: Captain Glenn from Sailing Yacht is my fav. He carries guest luggage, cleans wine stains from teak flooring, unloads provisions, and even shares a room with this season’s Chief Engineer, Davide. I was on the show site two weeks ago with EMP’s Chief Experiential Officer, Mark Snell. It was 11 pm on Day 1. Attendees were long gone, yet Mark was straightening chairs and picking up trash in an outdoor theater. The real crew members know no task is too small.
Preparation and Anticipation: This season is set on a gorgeous sailboat. There’s nothing Captain Glenn loves more than sailing. It’s a massive boat, and a lot of work goes into setting ropes and sails topside before they can sail. Inevitably, the boat heavily keels to one side whenever they sail. The point being; it’s never a surprise and, yet, pretty much every single time, the boat’s interior gets trashed. Wine bottles, knives (yes, knives!), crew members, guests, anything you can imagine goes flying. It’s fascinating: no amount of preparation prevents the looming disaster. The entire interior crew anticipates what’s coming and leaps into action. No matter how much you prepare, you can’t see the future. Things will not go exactly according to plan, so understanding what can go wrong, having a plan for those possibilities, and the flexibility to address the totally unexpected are important for success. It’s what separates a good events team from a great one.
Interested in talking Below Deck? Or how EMP can help you level up your events program? Reach out, I’d love to catch up with you but no spoilers please.
