On a warm spring day in 1986, 55 women from the ranks of meeting planning and hotel sales met at the golf club at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta to embark on a journey few women had ever taken before. That day, the ladies took over the golf course and held their own networking tournament, calling it the Meeting Industry Ladies Open (MILO).
Later this month, the 20th annual MILO event will take place right back where it started, this time with more than 200 ladies in attendance. JoAnn Hoffman, president of both MILO and The Golfe, the meetings industry's golf organization for both men and women, says that back in '86, "a few of us saw that other tournaments were blooming around the hospitality business. But we also saw that so many women in our business felt intimidated to play with men that there were hardly any of us at those events. So we decided to start something for ourselves."
MILO's success, plus the rise of other organizations such as the Executive Women's Golf Association (EWGA), has helped change the dynamic at business golf tournaments in the 21st century. "I've been to some events lately where the field is as much as 40 percent female," Hoffman notes. "This means that these women now have a professional advantage by interacting with business counterparts in the informal atmosphere that golf provides."
Over the 20 years that MILO has existed, several other ladies-only hospitality-industry golf events have come about. Hoffman's group created the MILO Institute in the early 1990s, where for three days attendees not only compete in a tournament but also receive playing instruction, as well as guidance on etiquette and rules, golf course design, and clubmaking. There's also the Meetings Industry Ladies Invitational (MILI) tournament, which began in 1997. This year, the two events might be combined into a single October event. And while MILO has no affiliation with the EWGA, Hoffman says "We often push women to attend that group's events as well, if they want to play golf regularly with other business women in their home area."
One other ladies-only hospitality golf event soon to celebrate an anniversary is HyTee, Hyatt Hotels' annual event that brings about 50 meeting planning clients together with female sales reps from throughout the Hyatt chain. The 10th annual HyTee, a two-day event offering both instruction and tournament play, will take place in mid-2006. And to personalize the event to its female attendees, HyTee's organizers always try to match the gifts to the demographic. So on the first night, the women may find a specialized sleep shirt in their rooms; the second night, mesh gym bags; and the third night, sleeveless women's golf shirts in soft colors, as well as chocolate golf balls, fruit, and small canvas makeup bags.