When in Spain…
Our intern Mary Grace Thomas is spending her fall semester in Spain and will be sharing with us over the next few months her thoughts about Europeans, meetings, events and the hospitality business in general. Here’s her first report.
After being in Madrid, Spain for several weeks now I have become accustomed to the cultural differences from the United States. The biggest adjustment that is evident in Spanish culture is time. Time is of the essence here. Nobody is in hurry and things are done at a leisurely pace. Spaniards clearly take their time. This is something new for me, seeing as everyone is always rushing around, trying to do multiple things at once while at home.
The Spanish time differs in the fact that each meal is pushed back by several hours. Breakfast is served in the morning hours before work and lunch is not served until 2:00 at the earliest. At this time, most of the stores and restaurants close for several hours because it is “siesta time”. People should be resting, napping, and relaxing for these middle hours of the day, to be fully energized for the evenings. Dinner is around 10:00 pm and usually lasts until midnight. Of course, after eating this late, one typically doesn’t go to bed until several hours after midnight.
Relating this back to corporate meetings and events, Madrid is a wonderful place to visit for this type of occasion. There are countless places to sight-see and learn about the Spanish culture and history. If hosting an event here, allow the guests time to settle down into the time difference. Be sure to set-up the events and meetings so that the afternoon is free for rest and leisure. Start the day a bit later, so that they are able to sleep in several hours after being awake late at night. Provide a list of places to visit and see, if time permitting, that may correspond with the event theme. For an evening event, visit a local tapas bar for the clients to have the opportunity to experience Spanish cuisine. This type of meal is fun for socializing and tasting new things. This is a great way to get the clients to network with one another without even realizing it.
The time difference in Spain has a large impact on the day’s schedule of events. When planned accordingly, your time can be used to fully enjoy all that the Spanish culture has to offer.
