Smart Meetings | Blog

Over-Fed Meeting Attendees

Talia Salem, Assistant Editor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

During our recent Smart Mart, one of the planners commented that she added up the calories from one day of meetings and found that the daily caloric intake of her attendees was 5,000. (For those of you who missed our Smart Mart, read yesterday’s blog here.) This is more than two times the daily recommended calorie intake, but I could easily see things adding up (see my past blog “The Convention 15”. And while this might seem like a lot, add it up in your head. Let’s perform a little mental math. Breakfast of some sort of bacon and egg situation or buttery croissants, add in orange juice, milk and sugar and possibly the added “oh I have never had that before” on your plate. Then two hours later, when you have had the chance to work up a hearty appetite, coffee, tea and more pastries are set out. Two hours later its lunch time and the calories keep adding up. At meetings you are kept on the likes of an infant feeding schedule—with grub sessions every two hours or someone will end up in tears.

And while the calories you consume per day depends on your age, height, weight, activity level and other factors, this is far greater than what an average adult should consume. Sitting down in a meeting room all day sucking on hosted hotel mints in cellophane wrappers is hardly at the level of the Michael Phelps swimming regimen, so I doubt your body needs his level of calorie consumption. It is common knowledge America has an obesity problem that is growing faster than French fries can be served up, and has been exported to our international neighbors through our hunger for fast food and a fast-paced life. But the good news is that you as a meeting planner can change this for your event attendees and in the process you may be able to cut costs.

First of all you could cut out the snacks between meals and just have beverage breaks. If your attendees will strike without their Pavlovian instinct to eat at every 20-minute break, consider replacing pastries, chips, pretzels and the like with fresh fruit which will more likely create a nice display. Consider adding in a simple yoga or exercise break—nothing too complicated so it suits people of all activity levels, but something to get your attendees blood pumping. At our three-day Smart Meetings, we offer a morning exercise component to each day and at our most recent Smart Meeting we organized a morning nature hike through the preserve at The Grand Del Mar.

For meals, try as much as possible to serve people while they are seated. People register the calories they consume to a better degree when they are not distracted by standing or conversation. Consider offering smaller portions or fewer courses. Many studies have shown that people eat what is put in front of them, so if you put less in front of them, naturally they will eat less. This will also save money on your overall F&B costs, which everyone wants to do these days.

The Perfectly Seasoned Smart Mart

Macie Schreibman, Associate Editor — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Our first Smart Mart is complete, and there’s only one word I can think of to describe it: WOW! With the combination of the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco as our location, the décor courtesy of Blueprint Studios and Got Light?, and the highly qualified attendees, there was little doubt that The Smart Mart was going to be anything but extraordinary—yet, somehow it still exceeded expectations.

   The view from the terrace off of the ballroom.

Beginning yesterday in the late afternoon, our guests were welcomed into the Four Seasons just off of Union Square in downtown San Francisco. And after a quick stop at the registration desk and a clip of a nametag onto their business suits, The Smart Mart was officially underway. Allowing our attendees to mingle, we offered watermelon-, pineapple- and cantaloupe-infused drinks and appetizers as everyone chatted before they entered their one-on-one appointments in the ballroom. For the next few hours planners and suppliers networked in 10-minute conversations and were only interrupted by the occasional ringing of a gong along with several impressive giveaways graciously donated by our hotel and destination partners. (Oh yes, and if the attendees got a little stressed, therapists from The Spa at The Sports Club were standing by).

   The entrance to The Smart Mart.

As the afternoon turned into evening, the appointments came to a close and we all entered into the dining room, which, when unveiled, was absolutely stunning and met with several “oooohs” and “ahhhs”. After a wine-pairing dinner with a few of Smart Meetings’ closest friends (they go by the names O’Brien Estate Winery, Cakebread Cellars, Pine Ridge, Silver Oak Cellars and Twomey), there was nothing left to do but say goodbye over chocolate soufflé and pastries—so that’s just what we did.

   The meeting room.

Designed to connect meeting planners, hoteliers and CVBs in a concise format, The Smart Mart proved to be beneficial for all parties. And although the group had less than a full business day to get to know each other, relationships certainly took off and partnerships were formed.

With another event behind us, Smart Meetings would like to sincerely thank everyone who participated in The Smart Mart and made it possible. And so that we don’t keep you waiting, here are a few photos our team took on-site yesterday from our smart phones, but stay tuned because we will have professional pictures from Orange Photography posted shortly.

But wait! We’re not stopping there. Here’s the line-up of our next few events coming up:

February 4, The Smart Mart at the Montage Beverly Hills

March 14-16, The Smart Meeting at the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas

Thanks again and hopefully we’ll see you soon!

Social Sense

Talia Salem, Assistant Editor — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

It’s no secret that social networking has exploded in our society as well as in the meetings industry. Practically every hotel releases specials on Facebook and attendees are tweeting about events as they happen. And whether Twitter is here to stay, I can’t answer (although the office 8-ball predicts that it is not likely). The important thing to know is that tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more are here now. Getting the most out of social media is vital for staying relevant in the industry today and reaching a wider audience, but keeping a handle on proper communications is key. Mr. Smart E. Pants discussed social networking security in his column in September (click here to read “Safely Navigating Social Networking.”

If you are just starting out on social media networks, as many of you are, getting the most out of your communication can be trial and error. It will take you a few weeks to get the flow of posting regularly, responding to feedback and monitoring the activity of your followers, fans and friends activity. (TweekDeck helps, people, download it! There are plenty of resources for getting you started out there, so just google it.

And while social networking can have great returns if executed properly, monitor what is said about you and your company and what you say personally or professionally. I have read numerous articles about people posting that they were bored at work, or home “sick,” on Facebook or Twitter, which ended in their termination. You do not want this to happen to you. Likewise, if you are using social media in a professional sense make sure it is just that, professional. If you think that the post or tweet is questionable, don’t send it. Once it is out there you can’t take it back.

To keep a handle on communications, it helps to keep the involvement on networks limited to a few people. These people can communicate a uniform and consistent message; they monitor the networks frequently so they know how to respond and what can be gained from them. (It’s also easier to tell who is using Facebook to stay connected with their friends at work if they are not part of the social networking crew.)

Protect yourself personally as well. Don’t reveal too much information about yourself online. Once you sign up for something, adjust your privacy settings! Do you want everyone in the world to see the pictures of your kid’s fifth birthday? What about your trip to New York? Keep your personal things, personal. That’s all my advice for now, but I am sure there will be more to come as I tweet my way through another day.

If you have any questions, comments, tips or just want to say hi to our Social Networking Crew, e-mail us at socialnetworking@smartmeetings.com.

Out of This World

John Anderson, Managing Editor — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

We recently blogged about the first orbiting space hotel, The Galactic Suite Space Resort, expected to, uh, launch in three years, and I’m sure the first question that came to your mind was “how’s the airlift?” Fortunately for all you “space” planners, there should be a number of space flight options available as soon as 2012, well in advance of the hotel’s debut.

First up is Virgin Galactic, sister company to Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America (and a dozen other companies spawned by founder Richard Branson). Founded in 2004 and with the usual Virgin fanfare, the company is licensing the technology behind Paul Allen’s Spaceship One, with the idea of taking passengers into suborbital space as soon as late 2009. A seat aboard SpaceShipTwo will run $200,000. There’s no word yet on baggage fees, or if meals are included.

Developed by the company SpaceX for NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, the Dragon is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft developed in 2005. It’s shaped much like the original Apollo capsules, attached to the front end a rocket, with room for seven passengers.

NASA’s next generation of spacecraft is the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, designed for three types of missions: flights to the International Space Station, weeklong missions to the moon and long-term missions to moon for up to 120 days. A weekend getaway option is still in the works.

Overheard on LinkedIn this week

John Anderson, Managing Editor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

We're going to share some interesting things we've came accross in our daily combing for information. If you're not active on the LinkedIn forums, here's a rundown of some of the noteworthy comments recently.

A question was recently posed on the MPI Discussion forum on LinkedIn.

"Who is going to MeetDifferent? Will you be staying at the host hotel (the Moon Palace)?"

Sharon Marsh, Meetings Group Manager at Medtronic, replied:

“Not attending primarily due to location. Negative perception issues are still rampant in Corporate America and the appearance of this being a "boondoggle" does exist (though we may believe/know differently). The time is just off to go [to] a resort destination right now. Enjoy and have fun.”

From the PCMA Group, in response to the discussion thread question:

"Hybrid Events — What is the Revenue Model?"

Mike Burns, CMP Executive Vice President at DMI Hotels, said:

“My opinion, I would hope the revenue model for registration treats each attendee equally. There should be no discount to register to attend remotely or discount to attend in person. As an attendee if you put greater value on the content of a session opposed to someone who sees the value of the networking you might attend on-line and therefore only "go to sessions". Conversely someone who registered and attended the show/event in person may choose to skip half the sessions and enjoy the networking aspects.”

On the same group, the question was posed:

"Holiday season dilemma: would you rather send a hard copy printed holiday card or an electronic e-card to your clients?"

Perry Hacker, CMP, Director - Guest House & Conference Services at University of Utah, wrote:

“As the recipient, I like receiving holiday cards that are personalized. Mass produced cards with no personal message are just a waste of money and paper and really don't make me feel better about the company that sends it. I would actually prefer a personal email to a mass produced card.

On the flip side, as the sender our company does not send cards, we invest in a small gift and hand deliver the ones we can and send out the others with a personal note. The gift adds value to the exchange and in many instances costs about the same or just a tad bit more. That additional cost goes a long way.”

We will be sharing what we see and hear out there in the social media world with you. Stay tuned. Got some hot "industry gossip" to share, e-mail us at socialmedia@smartmeetings.com.