Solutions for Events

Registration sServices

2009-07-12T05:31:45Z

If you're an event organizer, you know that registration services make your leader's work faster, easier and more trackable.

Make Online Event Registrations

Online tools make event registration management
easier for volunteer teams.

Online tools apply the speed and convenience required by dispersed teams, and they meet the assumed warp speed that members require in their professional lives.

Registration services are core to good meeting management. Special events happen once a year or occasionally, but ongoing meetings, seminars and workshops also require quality communications of program details, organizational opportunities and revenues involved.

Online event registration services automate and smooth the reporting functions that help with organizing meetings, big, small and in-between. With online fee processing, registration services make it easy for members to reserve their place with the click of a button, and makes it easy for leaders to track attendance for meeting management metrics.

Event registration systems typically are broken out by "special events" and "meeting management" of regular meetings for membership groups. EventBrite is an example for special events. SureToMeet.com is an example of an online meeting management, promotion and registration system for group meetings.

Greener Meeting Registration at Colleges

2009-07-12T05:19:36Z

Online solutions use less natural resources (and energy) than mailings, phone trees and even face to face planning meetings. Online meeting registration software saves time and provides flexible access when it uses the power of the Internet to connect volunteer officers and committee leaders who organize meetings and events for their dispersed members.

The Internet has make almost instant communications possible for professional groups and association officers.

Web-based administration systems help colleges improve and streamline course planning and scheduling, and make the best use of classroom space and teaching resources. All this has another bottom-line payoff as well: immense savings and increased profits.

Colleges aren't all about administrative solutions. Volunteer leaders abound on the college campus!

Volunteer leadership involves continuing coordination of member involvement and the communications that makes collaboration possible. Meeting registration software, especially when hosted online can ease those meeting organization details.

Features of online meeting registration software include:

Online registration forms
Online member information administration
Event and meeting announcements
Community calendars
Registration fee collection
Payment processing
Letters and emails
Discussion forums
Badges and tickets

By automating time-consuming tasks, staff and leaders of membership organizations and automate recurring meeting communications and announcements, and concentrate of collaborative and person to person service.

Professional staff and leaders need to spend their limited and valuable time developing new classes and programs, supporting new leaders, administering legal and accounting records, marketing educational offerings and membership to potential members.

Association Management Software

2009-07-12T05:15:24Z

Member relationship management is a vital and ongoing part of trade and professional association leadership. Bringing new board members and committee chairs into effective association management includes orientation about what members expect, the organization's programs, membership benefits and of course, meetings and how they benefit members.

There are many companies such as LocalVoice and Sure To Meet that provide software and hosted, member relationship management solutions that are designed for the special needs of associations and local professional chapters.

Hosted association solutions enable staff and volunteer leaders to manage member databases, membership registration, email communications, event registration, event calendars, and get those communications to members in a fast and "green" way.

Event registration is even easier with e-marketing automation. E-marketing features include software enhanced functionality such as personalized sorting of interests and profile characteristics, as well as timed release of e-mail announcements of meetings.

Sure To Meet's Internet-hosted meeting and member management solutions make it possible to affordably automate member subscriptions and profile choices that can shape quality communications based on member preferences.

MemberClicks provides association management software that automates the membership experience that includes membership management, dues renewal, event registration, and website design.

Wild Apricot membership and database management software offers Web 2.0 technology, to create member websites with online application and event registration forms.

Group membership is the knowledge infrastructure for American business and public careers. Providing association leaders with easy to use and affordable tools that help members participate in the organization are an important asset that is possible with new software and online hosted information tools such as association management and membership database services.

Event Ticket Sales Software

2009-07-12T05:09:49Z

How many times do your members miss a meeting because of a miscommunication?

Online meeting registration can solve this problem with flexible, repeat email communications to clearly communicate dates, times, programs, costs and locations.

Have your members skipped your event because the ticket line was too long...because attending is a hassle and wastes too much time?

Online event management, event registration, online donations, and ticket sales software can help professional group leaders communicate effectively with their members. People work at the speed of light these days...globally and 24/7.

Some online event registration services specialize in big, special events. The ability to set up online ticket sales for those events. Services such as TicketU can help organizations sell tickets and make seat reservation.

PC-based software is often one-platform specific. TicketU is one such platform specific platform. If the organization doesn't have distributed leadership that needs to be involved in meeting organization or receive immediate management reports, a standalone software can be a good solution. But when event teams use different platforms, are geographically dispersed and need to monitor reservations and revenue streams, online hosted applications might be helpful.

Creating new events can be easy on some systems, and complex on others.

Calendars and online scheduling on some systems can be used on the organization's own website, or distributed to member websites.

Running reports can provide timely transparency and updates to refine meeting logistics such as number of tables, audio visual equipment, and revenue updates.

Online Web Meeting Registration

2009-07-12T05:00:47Z

Online web registration of meetings and events is the cutting edge of organization management. Online services offer a mixed variety of features, with fee processing and management being an essential differentiator.

Online Meeting Registration with SureToMeet.com

SureToMeet is an online meeting promotion and registration system that makes it easy to accept credit card payments online for membership group event registration.

Encouraging invitees to register early via credit card has many benefits for both the members and the organization. Early planning can reduce costs and it encourages members to invite additional members and prospects to attend (and register online) so they can more effectively network at their face to face encounters.

The benefits of online event registration with credit cards includes:

Event management helps meeting organizers and association leaders have an accurate count of registrations and manage each event's budget.
Data management using online registration and payment also makes data management much easier with spreadsheet organization of people who paid using their credit card. This online, digital roster allows the custom printing of nametags and registration lists.
Registration management that process credit card payments online allows meeting leaders to increase attendance at events, meetings, webinars, and conferences. In addition, online registration reduces the time and effort in managing your payments and registration information.

SureToMeet's credit card system makes it possible for organizations to avoid the monthly bank charges of handling credit cards yourself.

Encouraging invitees to register early via credit card is a flexible management advantage.

Attendees can respond to special event pricing and make it easy for event and meeting organizers to offer discounts for early payment online using a credit card. In addition, discount coupon codes can be preset to give select attendees such as guests, sponsors, and promoters unique fees.

Unlike stand-alone event registration services, hosted event management systems such as SureToMeet are designed to help manage a broad array of an organization's events, meetings, and activities. SureToMeet has a full set of membership management and online networking features designed to create a community of an association's members.

Meetings can fall short when they stop at the end of the meeting. Effective event networking extends beyond face to face meetings. Online services provide a robust Internet-enabled platform for continuing member networking and building member relationships. SureToMeet provides member networking solutions in several ways:

Online survey during event registration to build member profiles
Online directory for attendees to use before, during, and after the event
Pre-event online networking with personal profiles and interaction
Nametag coding to indicate interests, affiliation, positions etc.
Personal contact management that helps attendees benefit from networking long past the event

Easy online event registration

SureToMeet makes it easy to track online registrations and credit card payments with helpful reports that are updated in real-time.

Meeting organizers don't have to hassle with the monthly costs of obtaining a credit card merchant account. Sure To Meet collects the online credit card registrations and send the organization a check to deposit each month.

The changing pricing landscape of online hosted registration services is evolving to make economical credit card processing rates available with no setup fee and no per registrant fee. Just a simple percentage of the fee is charged to cover credit card processing fees, This simplified costing means it's easy to budget exactly what registration costs and revenues will be.

Sure To Meet contributes their services to events and meetings that are free, with no charge to accept RSVPs. This makes SureToMeet's solution right-sized for meetings, events, and activities of all sizes and shapes.

With an easy startup process, a professional organization can start accepting credit cards for event registration immediately with one consistant registration system for both paid events and free meetings (such as committees, boards, etc.).

SureToMeet
(310) 593-4534
www.suretomeet.com

Membership Management Software

2009-07-12T04:58:29Z

The power of getting together in a purposeful organization is the basic infrastructure of professional continuing education and collaboration across industries, communities and the global market.

But today's professional membership is a diverse group. They are geographically dispersed. They are on the go. They expect instant communications. And they expect interactivity with their professional leaders.

Membership management software provides a convenient platform with a well-known interface that allows broad member participation for not only meeting registration, but profile sharing, directories, fee processing, and even member forums that allow ongoing conversations beyond face to face meetings.

Hosted software and online services bring members together online. And online membership management software such as that provided on Sure To Meet provide a host of features that foster membership growth and effectiveness such as:

Online registration forms
Online member information administration
Event and meeting announcements
Community calendars
Registration fee collection
Payment processing
Letters and emails
Discussion forums
Customized Badges and tickets

Sure To Meet provides an online event management solution that

Publishes events with registration forms and upcoming events
Promotes events with email invitations for events and meetings
Provides search-friendly event lists to attract prospective members
Accepts credit cards for events and seminars
Management reports track RSVPs for meetings and activities
Automates email signups
Target events to meet member profiles

Online Conference Management

2009-07-12T04:53:24Z

Webinars and web conferencing offer many benefits:

Time savings by reducing travel
Speedy communications for event logistic changes
Green meeting features with reduced travel, right-sized meeting supplies and clean mailing lists and mailing services
Time savings for online presenters
Ability to save presentations for access on demand

Online event registration software and attendee management services are now easy to turn into collaborative leadership. With breakthrough webinar services, Internet hosted meeting and membership software and 24/7 access by members, Internet hosted tools are powerful tools for processional organizations whose member and leaders are on the go and dispersed across wide geographical regions.

Virtual conferences are now possible with online and phone communications tools.

Element Eco-Travel Index, annual index of green travel habits

2009-06-01T15:38:25Z

The Element Eco-Travel Index is an annual index of green travel habits among frequent travelers.

The faltering economy--not the fragile environment--is the biggest motivator for frequent travelers who have become "more conscious of waste".

Eco-conscious habits slip during trips.

46% of frequent travelers say they "always" recycle glass and plastic at home, that number dips to 36% on the road.
Conserving water matters at home - more than 34% say they limit shower time or lawn-watering - but only 20% watch water consumption while traveling.
Only about one-third of travelers surveyed consider themselves "outstanding" in their personal "green programs," with most feeling more like "green beginners."

Element is Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.'s newest lifestyle hotel brand and innovation lab for environmentally sustainable construction, building and operational practices. Element is the first major hotel brand to mandate that all its properties pursue the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for high-performance buildings.

The Element brand's green features are cleverly designed to be as aesthetically appealing and eco-friendly. Element Hotels are equipped with

Energy-efficient, stainless steel appliances and lighting,
Amenity dispensers in the showers to reduce waste and water-efficient faucets and fixtures. Guests can continue daily routines such as recycling paper and plastics,
Those driving hybrid cars are rewarded with priority parking.
Even the ubiquitous "Do Not Disturb" sign has been replaced with an environmentally-friendly magnet.

For more information, visit www.elementhotels.com.

Green Lodging Certification comes to Conn., Mass, and So Carolina

2009-06-01T15:30:39Z

California and Florida were early states to adopt green lodging programs...and more states are joining the move to reduction of wasted water, energy and pesticide in hotel and restaurant facilities... Connecticut and Massachusetts have modeled their programs after Maine's. In Connecticut, for example, a property is asked to complete a workbook which includes a list of environmental practices.

As reported in Green Lodging News...

Connecticut
The Department of Environmental Protection in Connecticut and the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism just launched its green lodging certification program.

Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism is expected to roll out its program as early as the end of June.

South Carolina
The South Carolina Hospitality Association, in partnership with the Division of Waste Management of that state's Department of Health and Environmental Control, is hammering out the final details of its green hotel and restaurant program. That self-certification program is expected to launch in July 2009.

The programs are good for the environment, encourage properties ranging from B&Bs to resorts to start environmental programs, and are good promotional vehicles for the states and individual properties.

According to Green Lodging News publisher, Glenn Hank's count, there are now 20 states with some form of program in place--or pending--to help hotels reduce their environmental impact while cutting costs at the same time. Not all of the 20 states offer complete certification programs.

Superbowl sized sustainability

2009-05-14T14:50:45Z

Greening an event requires a lot of pre-planning and post-work -- not just for taking care of waste that naturally happens, but how to reduce waste, how to turn materials into recyclable resources, reduce idling vehicles, reduce electricity use, reduce travel, make the food healthful and make the intrinsic value of the event worth the effort...

Greening Huge Events

The obvious lesson learned from the Superbowl, America's sports extravaganza, was to "never count your chickens before they hatch" ... or some such folk saying.

The not-so-obvious learnings have to do with greening huge events. Here are some thoughts and ideas generated by the people involved in the big game of the season.

"Bowlpooling." That's when you watch the Superbowl with as many friends possible on one television; thereby reducing the amount of overall electricity used this gameday. (Source: Blog.nau.com)

Enviromental Impact of Events: Recycling, Planting Trees, Reusing Food

The environmental impact of supersized events got attention first through recycling: recycling trash, planting trees, and reusing food. But no one knows if this is enough.

A local group in Anaheim started the conversation about the environmental impact of the Superbowl 14 years ago.

Environmental Impact of Big Events

Scientists are studying the longterm effects of these mammoth events. Calculation of the environmental impact requires models ... which are rare. Impacts include extra carbon released from extra travel, extra energy use and spikes in extra sewage and utilities.

About 1500 trees are estimated to be needed to offset the event's carbon footprint. Adding fiber through a tree's natural growth takes carbon from the air and sequesters that carbon.

High visibility is seen as a benefit that offsets the impact of the carbon footprint. Huh?

25-50,000 lbs of prepared food will be recovered and distributed to local people in need.

Sand used for the hospitality suite was re-purposed to resurface local playgrounds.

The International Olympic Committee is concerned -- they are requiring an environmental impact study of the China-based games coming up.

Audio NPR report on the Environmental Impact of Superbowl sized events

How do we measure intrinsic worth of an event?

Greener Events

2009-05-14T14:37:51Z

Gathering people together has required many not-so-green ingredients:

Transporttation
Invitations and promotion
Too much food
Disposable flatware
Decorations
Energy for lighting, food storage, etc.
Disposable name tags
Speaker gifts
... and on and on

Today, event planners are taking a look at ways to reduce their waste, and concentrate of the real, sustainable values of getting people together.   "Green events" now consider each element of a meeting more carefully and find lower-impact alternatives. Here are a few ideas for your next events:

Transporttation
    Encourage carpooling and make public transportation easy to use.
Invitations and promotion
    Use online communications and email invitations and online registration
Too much food
    Take RSVPs so you know the right amount of organic or locally grown food.
    Give members a reusable mug and provide refreshing water in a jug
Disposable flatware
    Use fingerfood, or reusable plates and silverware. Caterers make these available.
Decorations
    Use live, organically grown plants and give them a good home afterwards
Energy for lighting, food storage, etc.
    Open the drapes, use energy-efficient appliances when necessary
Disposable name tags
    Provide permanent nametags and set up a system for reusing them.
Speaker gifts
    Provide the ultimate liquid asset -- an honorarium

With a little thought for your "system" approach to meetings, you can reduce your costs as well as your impact on your environment. And that makes our communities more stable, more healthful, and our groups can focus on what they really want -- great relationships!

SureToMeet.com Makes Event Management Easier for Groups

2009-05-14T14:24:47Z

Event planners for membership groups such as trade associations, local art groups... or any membership group have a number of tasks that are complex and repetitive:

Tie down a mutually agreed upon date for the event (without conflicts)
Find a location
Plan the content of the event - speaker, networking, food, etc.
Write the promotional announcement
Invite members
Invite prospects and the community
Take reservations to know how many will come
Collect fees for attendance
Set up the room
Make sure the meeting runs smoothly
Follow up with members for networking value
Take a breath!

Cliff and Chris Allen founded SureToMeet.com based on their need for organizing local interest meetings -- business networking and ultimate frisby! Very different meetings, venues, frequencies and groups of people... but both having the same core needs. An easy way to get the message across and bring people together at a tangible meeting.

SureToMeet.com provides a number of online tools that help membership groups easily handle repeat meetings such as Board Meetings, Membership Meetings, Workshops, Committee Meetings, and even "onsies" -- special events.

Free meetings can be promoted to the group or to the public. Your choice. Fees can be handled through the SureToMeet system...or onsite. You can send multiple reminder emails. You can take RSVPs. Members can carry on a dialog before and after the meeting.

Part of event success is the logistics. But the most important part is for attendees to get real value from the meeting, and SureToMeet.com is designed to help event managers concentrate of the value of the meeting by making the logistics easier, timely, and effective.

Guided Tours

2009-05-14T14:06:48Z

We travel...and we travel a lot -- on the job, weekend trips, vacations, jaunts home, and evening outings. Have you noticed that when you journey to a new place, a place you don't know much about, that you learn very little by yourself? Encased in your vehicle, the local lives of people and rich communities meld into "just" scenery.

But have a friend from that area ride with you and suddenly that scenery comes alive. It becomes a rich, living, breathing colony of relationships and history and possibilities. That's the value of a guided tour.

Fallen Fruit is a collaboration between David Burns, Matias Viegener and Austin Young. Fallen Fruit (http://wwwfallenfruit.org) (facebook), is an international urban activist art collective that encourages us to question our surroundings and interact deeper with our community through guided tours of places in Los Angeles where fruit is available in public spaces.

Using fruit as our lens, Fallen Fruit investigates urban space, ideas of neighborhood and new forms of located citizenship and community. From protests to proposals for new urban green spaces, we aim to reconfigure the relation between those who have resources and those who do not, to examine the nature of & in the city, and to investigate new, shared forms of land use and property.

Guided tours can be for a cause, for tourism business or for visiting family -- but the essence of guided tours is green and sustainable -- share connections and make every action vital, living, connecting and a practical use of the energy expended!

Green Operations Provide Superior Service, Invisibly!

2009-03-09T20:38:06Z

Long before Florida's Green Lodging program was established, Rosen Hotels & Resorts has made efforts to be responsible stewards of the area's resources.

Each of the hotels offers guests the opportunity to use linens and towels more than once, and each has water-efficient toilets and washing machines.
Outdoor lighting and back-of-house lighting is operated by sensors.
Programmable thermostats, Energy-Star appliances and paper and newspaper recycling programs are among the many ways the hotels lessen their eco-footprint.
Rosen Shingle Creek goes as far as to convert used cooking oil into bio-fuel to operate its golf course maintenance equipment.

Rosen Hotels & Resorts also offers its associates the opportunity to conserve resources by offering Lynx bus passes via a payroll deduction program, posts a directory of associates interested in carpooling and offers alternate work schedules of four 10-hour days in certain departments to help reduce gas costs.

These energy-saving programs are imperceptible to hotel guests, proving that upscale accommodations don't have to waste resources such as water and energy, to provide a superior guest experience. "Guests may never notice the small changes we've made to help save our planet, but we do them because it's simply the right thing to do," said Rosen. "Those guests who do take note applaud our efforts because they, too, are socially responsible citizens who are concerned about the effects man has on his environment."

For more information about Rosen Hotels & Resorts, visit www.rosenhotels.com.

For more information about Rosen Hotels & Resorts' Green Meetings program, visit www.rosengreenmeetings.com.

Regional Conservation Benefits Lodging Properties and Sustainable Business Practices

2009-03-09T20:22:58Z

President & COO of Rosen Hotels & Resorts, Harris Rosen has taken an active role in conservation of the business' neighborhood's natural resources.

In March 2007, Rosen, in partnership with the Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection, launched a first-of-its-kind wilderness trip entitled: Expedition Headwaters, An Everglades Journey to Remember.

Embarking from Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, two teams of kayakers and hikers traversed 140 miles of the Kissimmee River to Lake Okeechobee over 12 days. In keeping with the purpose of the expedition -- to increase awareness of the hydrological and ecological connection of the Orlando metropolitan area with the Everglades ecosystem -- team members observed the state's extensive restoration efforts, viewed restored portions of the Kissimmee River and recorded their observations through online journal entries and photography. In addition, the team, along with DEP's Environmental Education Office, conducted field labs with students from elementary and middle schools in the region, teaching them about watersheds, wetlands and aquatic ecosystems.

Rosen Shingle Creek, which opened in Sept. 2006, was designed with the environment in mind. "We made it a point in the design phase of Rosen Shingle Creek to conserve water and energy and to reduce waste as much as possible; as a result, we save valuable resources," said Rosen. "Guests may never notice the small changes we've made to help our planet, but those who do take notice applaud our efforts, because they too, are socially responsible citizens concerned about the effects man has on the environment."

Green business practices are as much about operations as they are about marketing messages. When a hotel reduces water and energy use, and chages the behavior of staff and guests, they can save a tremendous amount of water and greenhouse gas emissions.

Techniques such as electronic transmission of meetings to minimize travel to key members who find it essential to attend and network is one of those difficult choices of convention clients. Hotels can help by making affordable electronic options available to meeting planners.

Together, the three Rosen convention hotels offer the largest number of guestrooms, largest combined square feet of meeting/event space and closest proximity to the Orange County Convention Center of any Orlando convention hotels. Combined, they offer more than 3,600 rooms and more than 611,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and one of the nation's largest column-free ballrooms.

New techniques are also being implemented by forward-thinking property managers such as replacement of toxic fertilizers and herbicides with organic landcaping strategies and green chemistry. Grounds management can reduce water impact by using recycled water and smart irrigation systems. It's important to ask venues about these kinds of green and conservation practices, and encouraging them to offset their impact with creative business strategies.

An 18-hole golf course and golf academy, world-class spas, nearly two dozen dining, entertainment and lounging options, state-of-the-art fitness centers, a variety of tennis and sport courts, provide meetings attendees and leisure guests unparalleled convenience and amenities.... all with green strategies, I assume.

Operations policies change with time, and it is important for meeting planners to ask -- every time they consider a venue about key green strategies.

For more information about Rosen Hotels & Resorts, visit www.rosenhotels.com. For more information about Rosen Hotels & Resorts' Green Meetings program, visit www.rosengreenmeetings.com.

Launched in March 2004, the Florida Green Lodging Program establishes environmental guidelines for hotels and motels to conserve natural resources and prevent pollution. For more information about the Florida Green Lodging Program, visit www.dep.state.fl.us/greenlodging.