Column Marije Breuker: ‘Living on daily rates’

Almost two months ago my world looked very different than it does now while my surroundings have remained the same even enriched by an increasingly radiant sun. But the horizon for me as an entrepreneur, is far from sunny, let alone bright. It is with great pride that I have been running my incentive agency for 16 years.

Many valleys overcome, many peaks to celebrate. Anyone working in the travel industry has to deal with a kind of law that global calamities have an impact on our business. 9/11, pilot strikes, broken fuel hoses at Schiphol Airport, the financial crisis, the ash cloud and now …the Corona-Covid 19 crisis.

Many colleagues and myself were at the beginning of a very promising MICE year in the first quarter of this year. My assignment portfolio was rich with great assignments in a more than healthy company. And then and then and then.

Then suddenly Corona-Covid 19; the first forced moves to the fall came. A storm surge of action came my way. It was an unprecedented new situation and challenge in which all parties involved within each project under my care had to anticipate.

Regulations, a lot of ambiguity, looking for clarity, leniency, no leniency, who bears what damage if any, what works, what can’t. Many other cultures, other national guidelines, illegal emergency laws from abroad as a fait accompli. Overtime in which one had to play with daily prices that fluctuated (strongly) on a daily basis. The well-known survival mode, full of abandon, just like everyone else. Not even for myself, but for king customer. (hours that, by the way, are hard to bill, ‘part of the job’ thing…) It was, say, an exhilarating introduction to this Corona variety (Covid-19)

The impact of Corona-Covid 19 was rapidly increasing, and it soon became clear that everything would take longer and, above all, become more complex. Fortunately, I have all my groups well insured including pandemics. This alleviated acute financial concerns, but the strength of this confidence turned to turmoil. Could have been added. The insurer began to play the game.

Disbelief, anger, upset, disappointed, embarrassed. Everything I felt. Extremely legal boundaries were pushed. How so? Surely there is no doubt that I (and many fellow competitors with me) have offered highly professional coverage to our clients. This is what we stand for. Unburdening, professionalism, thinking along and covering up. Weeks pass in the legal wrangling. I’m sure it will work out, but the agonizing road to getting even is an extra ballast and, above all, still a daily drain on energy. It -putting it mildly- frustrates, especially since I’m not used to leaving customers in limbo for so long.

In quiet moments, and there really are some by now because of Corona (three more weeks and I really do yoga…), I think a lot and try to feel where I am as a person, as an entrepreneur. My company, proudly built, has been given a huge change of direction with destination unknown without having any influence on it. All fall projects now appear to have been postponed to 2021 or dropped.

Not failed, but then what? A kind of mourning process, no direction of your own, floating around in a boat in a raging ocean and not yet seeing a port in sight. Sort of. And for an event manager, who always has a cast-iron compass and is a planner pur sang, this feels very strange, undefined. Living on daily rates then, and then just sometimes grabbing that ray of sunshine for vitamin D, new energy. Does a person good. On to a new week!

At the request of MICE & Business Travel, Marije Breuker, founder of Motivation Travel keeps a weekly diary about her experiences during the corona crisis. This is part 1.