1. Empty your water bottle.
2. Remove your laptop from its sleeve before you get to the conveyor belt.
3. Have your ID and boarding pass in hand before approaching the TSA Agent.
4. Wear socks and slip-on shoes.
5. Stay polite and positive. We’re in this together.

Safe travels, friends!

Get to know your audience:

Millennials, or anyone between the ages of 19 and 36, account for twenty-five percent of the US population (that’s 80 million!). In turn, the millennial generation makes up the majority of consumers and workforce. Millennials are deemed the most educated generation, mainly because they are constantly connected to digital information. Over 76% of this generation owns a smartphone, while more than 90% are on social media.

Market your event with striking digital content:

Aesthetics and creativity matter well before your event begins. Millennials are drawn to visual content, which is why they are particularly active on social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest. Raise awareness for your upcoming event by developing branding with quality designs using bright color, animation, and filtered images.

Engage with efficiency and purpose:

Be tech-friendly and fun; this is a no-brainer knowing how active Millennials are on their mobile devices. Create an event hashtag, commission an adoptable mobile app, display digital signage, and offer charging stations. These platforms are ideal for sponsorship ($$$) and environmentally conscious alternatives to traditional disposable event materials. Millennials are socially conscious and appreciate green initiatives.

Maintain a personal connection after your event:

Engage Millennial audiences post-program by asking for feedback, first and foremost. Then, listen and respond to feedback once it is received. Millennials like to feel involved, so speak to them directly by personalizing correspondence instead of using general terms. Lastly, show them how they made a difference. Post photos from the event after it concludes, and let them in on the planning portion of your upcoming program by posting behind-the-scenes sneak peaks on social media.

Peter Neffenger, TSA Administrator, suggested changes are coming to the program in wake of the EgyptAir Flight 804 disappearance last week. At a press event in Chicago on Saturday, he expressed that TSA staff should be increased to meet the demand of the growing travel population. He went on to mention this staff increase is especially imperative as we may learn more about the happenings leading up to the EgyptAir disappearance. While investigators have not yet reached a conclusion about the fate of EgyptAir Flight 804, many experts believe it may have been bombed by terrorists. Regardless of investigation outcomes, Neffenger acknowledged the importance of TSA and prioritizing passenger safety.

Newsfeeds have been flooded with complaints from wary travelers who missed their flights due to major delays at US airport security checkpoints. Are you one of them?

Hopefully, things are about to change. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and TSA Administrator Pete Neffenger developed an aggressive TSA improvement plan that will slash security checkpoint times while continuing to provide aviation safety to the American people. The ten-point plan includes:

1. Maximizing the use of overtime for TSA officers to meet checkpoint demands
2. Expediting the hiring of more TSA officers, adding another 768 this year
3. Deploying additional K-9 teams
4. Allowing Federal Security Directors at airports to use “increased flexibility” in providing additional trained TSA staff for screening
5. Developing specific plans to alleviate wait times at the nation’s busiest airports
6. Reducing the size and number of carry-on luggage
7. Asking airlines for help in non-security tasks
8. Increasing research and development in technology to increase passenger flow
9. Encouraging air travelers to sign up for TSA Pre✓
10. Working with Congress to get additional resources for the TSA

What are your thoughts? Do you think this plan will effectively cut wait times? Or create other inconveniences for travelers?

You think your meeting is planned, but the devil is in the details. Ask yourself these questions before program launch to make sure you are set up for meeting success:

What Is My Risk Management Program?

Have you thought about the worst-case scenarios? Acts of nature and (unfortunately) terror threats are real-life, potential obstacles for the execution of your big event. Do you have a back-up plan? And more importantly, have you communicated that plan to your suppliers, stakeholders, and team? This should be a top priority. MeetingsNet’s Risk Management tools are a great place to start.

Do My Attendees Feel Empowered?

Make sure attendees feel like their voice is heard. Ask for feedback throughout the event and utilize creative solutions for engagement. Successful meetings incentivize attendees to participate rather than presenting consequences for lack of participation. Another important follow-up question to ask is “do my attendees feel included?” Cultural inclusion is paramount. Planners  must focus on accommodating participants from all walks of life despite the scope of a meeting.

Is My Onsite Support Team Meetings-Savvy?

Many Meeting Planners know they need a lot of hands on deck, but often turn to under-experienced hourly staff to run their meetings onsite. Does your onsite execution team know the difference between a BEO and rooming grid? If the answer is no, you should consider hiring Travel Directors. Travel Directors come from Meeting Planning and DMC backgrounds, so they “speak meetings” and have destination knowledge. They offer pre-program planning assistance and onsite logistical execution. TDs serve as an extension of a Meeting Planner’s team, and/or stand in as a Meeting Planner when you can’t be in ten places at once.

TREND 1: Planners focus on security and risk management plans, especially in light of recent terrorism threats.

TREND 2: Incorporating wellness activities and healthy meals into programming keeps attendees alert and engaged.

TREND 3: When planners view attendees as participants, they are given a voice.

TREND 4: Successful meetings incentivize attendees to participate rather than presenting consequences for lack of participation.

TREND 5: Attendees need their space, so booking a venue with natural light is just as important as not over-programming a meeting.

TREND 6: Cultural inclusion is paramount. Planners focus on accommodating participants from all walks of life despite the scope of a meeting.

The US requires visas for visitors from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland, and Romania. Canada requires visas from Bulgarian and Romanian visitors. Meanwhile, citizens of 38 countries can travel to the U.S. with merely a passport. Visa-exempt nations include 23 EU countries, Australia, Andorra, Brunei, Norway, Iceland, San Marino, Singapore, Japan, Chile, Liechtenstein, South Korea, Switzerland, Monaco, Taiwan and New Zealand.

According to CNN, the European Commission must propose reciprocal visa requirements for countries that don’t allow visa-free travel for EU citizens two years after being notified of the situation. The Commission will discuss the potential suspension of the visa-waiver program for the US and Canada at a meeting next week. If the European Commission, European Parliament, and EU member states agree to move forward with the suspension, it will take effect by autumn of 2016.

The European Union has put forth several proposals in recent weeks to tighten European border controls as part of an effort to combat terrorism. The EU is also looking to introduce a system that will log visitors’ photos and fingerprints.

Executive Travel Directors has been providing onsite support staff to meeting professionals in the pharmaceutical industry since 1988. As such, we are thrilled to be an Exhibitor at Pharma Forum 2016 for the first time ever! With a registry of 2,500+ pharma-experienced Travel Directors (not your average convention staff), more than eighty percent of our business is working with meeting professionals in the life science industries. Our clients range from independent planners to Fortune 500 companies. Compliance is our specialty- Get Great Staff. Run Great Meetings.

MIC of Colorado’s 16^th Annual Conference is here!

The Meetings Industry Council (MIC) of Colorado is hosting its 16^th Annual Conference tomorrow, Thursday 3/17/2016, at the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver. Executive Travel Directors is thrilled to be an exhibitor at this year’s event.

We look forward to all the fantastic programming the conference has to offer. Check out the full conference agenda here.

Will you be in attendance? Come say hello at booth 1003!

Can’t make it? Follow us on Twitter & Instagram  for #MIC2016 live updates.

In today’s recovering but still uncertain economy, planners are looking for ways to do more with less. Those who want to increase productivity and flexibility during busy times might consider building an alternative staffing model that includes non-employee assistance. Here are some things to think about.

Examine Staffing Needs
First, figure out how industry trends apply to your own workload. For example, a few years ago, planners could expect at least three months of lead time. Now they are lucky to get six weeks. From travel time to content lead times, leaner meetings with shorter lead times are the new normal. In fact, as the pace at which new research and medical information is published continues to pick up, lead times for medical and pharma industry educational meetings are likely to also continue to shrink. And with more cash in corporate coffers, the number of corporate meetings has been increasing.

Look at your internal planning department. Many companies cut meeting-department jobs at the height of the recession. Many of those positions remain unfilled, even as the meetings industry picks up again. How will you handle your current workload and plan for new bookings?

See the Alternative Staffing Checklist for more questions to help you decide if alternative staffing is a good option for you.

Build an Alternative Staffing Model
If you decide you do have auxiliary staffing needs, you then need to determine what model is right for you.

1. Decide whether to outsource directly or hire a company to do it for you. Finding your own team can give you control over every part of the process. This approach works best when you’re looking to fill a few positions and have the time to recruit and manage the human resources administrative process.

Hiring an agency to manage your contracted meeting staff works best for companies that want to partner with small teams, want several contractors on call, or simply don’t have the time to do it themselves. Ensure that the agency is experienced in alternative staffing for the meetings industry and has access to personnel within your key practice areas.

2. Whether you plan keep it in house or hire an agency, take your industry’s unique needs into account. Medical meeting planning presents myriad strategic and logistical hurdles that can be daunting even to seasoned professionals. Always seek to match the appropriate on-site skill set and background in the industry in each area.

3. Protect your organization against any legal risks that may be associated with working with independents. For example, contract planners often work for the same company multiple times, at the same agreed-upon wage, and for a set amount of hours dictated by the company. All of these factors can be used to make a legal case that the planner was treated as an employee instead of an independent contractor. Minimize your risk by explicitly denoting the planner as an independent in any documents, and always include an attorney in all independent contractor decisions.

4. Determine your geographic scope and client priorities. With a static staffing model, you use the same staff for every meeting you plan. Whether the meeting is in New York or Philadelphia, you always know who to expect. Companies usually choose this model when they are working with clients with a great deal of security who don’t appreciate variation and are willing to pay to use the same staff, no matter what the travel costs. This model also is useful for companies that plan multiple meetings for multiple clients in a small geographic area, because it reduces the costs by using the same staff repeatedly.

If your meeting locations tend to be unpredictable, having a large number of contractors available and based in far-reaching areas can be helpful. A dynamic model that allows for lots of switching and substituting across a large contractor base, yet always ensures a vetted candidate will be available, would work best in this situation.

Companies with regular meeting locations across large areas benefit from a combination of dynamic and static models. They build several small teams specific to each region. Then they use the same teams for meetings in each region. By retaining teams locally, the model allows for consistency at a lower cost.

Whatever model you choose, schedule pre-conference phone calls and meetings to go over final program specs so your contractors can hit the ground running.

Manage Supplemental Resources
As you refine your model, continually revisit it to ensure your agency is taking staffing and management tasks off of your plate. If you’re staffing yourself, build in regular evaluations of contractors to assess their performance and do post-program evaluations of the events they are part of.

In need of temporary planning assistance? Give us a call today!

312 836 1339

info@traveldirectors.com