Along with finding out why their next meeting should be in Anchorage, the audience was treated to a history lesson by “Professor” Jim Henderson, Vice President, Convention Sales. The city of Anchorage got its start as a tent city in 1915 when the site was selected as the base for the construction of the Alaska Railroad. Slides depicting Athabascan fishing camps, Captain Cook’s discoveries in 1778, Russian winter trading posts, Native cultural groups and gold rush riches illuminated details about Alaska’s largest city.

Marlene Geils, Convention Sales Manager, represented the Convention and Meeting, Sales and Service Team. This group of committed professionals knows the industry, is passionate about Alaska and can help make your next meeting easy, successful and fun.

Watch for the Springtime Grand Prize of a trip to Anchorage including hotel and ground arrangements provided by the CVB and air transportation by Alaska Airlines!

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Wyndham Hotel Group
ConventionPlanit’s newest member!

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As a meeting organizer, would you ever think of staging your event in a storage container or present your attendees with a lounge chair so they could stretch out flat in order to watch a screen mounted on the ceiling? If not, you need to dust off your imagination and be aware that creating innovative spaces will be an important component of meeting planning moving forward.

At a panel discussion during the Meetings Industry Council of Colorado’s Annual Conference, attendees were treated to ways you can work with venues to re-design meeting space to ensure innovation, collaboration and participation. Jeff Hurt of Velvet Chainsaw Consulting, Gary Schirmacher of Experient talked with moderator, Glenn Thayer about how space matters to meeting attendees.

When they enter an area, they feel and internalize what that environment tells them about how to react and respond. Consider the difference between the standard theater style set-up designed for efficient transfer of information from the stage (which doesn’t necessarily guarantee learning) versus a creative space with beanbag couches grouped to encourage informal engagement by participants.

Studies showing that kids work better in teams have resulted in a typical classroom format being composed of groupings of small tables with 4 chairs each to foster participation. When you consider that today’s younger audiences have the same attention span as children due to the influence of technology on their communication skills, perhaps this concept of “edutainment” is the right path to follow!

How are spaces changing? Here are some examples of new design elements:

• “Brainwave Lounging” instead of upright seating

• Beanbag chairs

• Furniture on wheels

• See-thru walls

• Entire conference on mobile apps

• “Tiered” spaces -large spaces mingled with small

As competition to draw attendees to your conference increases, planners will need to look towards a different designing of attitudes and behaviors to create deep and meaningful collaborations to attract this audience. To assist in this endeavor, reach out to your colleagues as follows:

• Budgets: work with Sponsors to direct their funds from just providing logos to helping you to design experiences to move attendees towards being active participants. They will be seen to be on the “cutting edge” for a better ROI.

• Venues: communicate with hotel and special event venue managers to explore how they are envisioning and re-designing traditional spaces – i.e. using conventional venue furniture to design new room sets to foster learning and one-on-one connection.

Space matters. It’s no longer just a room but a valuable tool to help you stage a successful event. Storage containers may not be the ideal alternative but it does get you thinking!

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Held at the Colorado Convention Center, the event attracted a combined audience of 900+ planners and suppliers for education and networking. General Sessions produced varied  presentations ranging from one acrobatic speaker tumbling across the stage in order to exhibit “how to be your best when it matters most” to a more “staid” panel discussion  on “The Changing Space of Meetings.”

Even Denver Mayor, Michael Hancock, dropped by to address the attendees. He’s totally committed to supporting the role that meetings and events play to our economy. We just have to hope that his beliefs make their way east to Washington!”

Speaking of which…next stop on my itinerary – Springtime in DC! See you there…

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Meeting planners from across the nation shared their favorite tricks of the trade when it comes to saving on food and beverage costs by posting them on the popular ConventionPlanit.com Stellar Tips list.

Beverages

*        Serve pitchers of water with and without slices of lemon. Attendees love the twist of lemon and it cuts down on wasted, half-drunk bottles of water and attendees grabbing two or three bottles “for the road” which can add up to big costs. Plus it is more environmentally friendly. (Linda Testa, A O North America)

*        Use self-serve soda stations instead of cans. This saves on waste and also keeps attendees for taking extra cans with them. (Susan Neff, APICS)

*        When serving wine, ask if there is any dead stock, that is, discontinued varieties. They are usually sold at a discount to help clear out inventory. This works especially well when the wine bottles are at the table. No one will know that          different varieties are being served. (Diane Aquino-Medina, Nestle Professional)

*        Ask to be with the beverage manager when the bar count is done. Inform your hotel convention manager in advance that you would like to do this. Being       present keeps the manager honest, especially when having to measure out tenths of bottles (how liquor is measured) and can add up to big savings.

Food

*        If your budget is really tight, consider giving out snack vouchers instead of setting      up a break table. Attendees get a certain amount of money ($3-5) for the snack shop in the hotel. You pay only for the vouchers that are redeemed. (Kathy Craig, Ecumenical Stewardship Center)

*        Don’t be afraid to get creative with banquet menus. Work with the hotel staff to combine items from various menus (lunch, dinner, special events) to create the meals you want. (Carol David, Axcelis Technologies)

·         If you are on a budget and need to plan a full day of meals, provide the total amount you have to spend to the chef or catering manager and request that they customize menus based on the specific requirements for each event. This allows the chef to be creative with dishes and to utilized local products, which should be less expensive.

*        Keep breakfast budgets in check by asking the catering director to cut pastries (danish, muffins, bagels) in half. They go farther and many people want only half. (Laura Johnson, Market*Access)

*        At a reception, pass/butler more expensive items. They will last longer and it will save money. Another trick is to use only napkins (not plates) on the table. This will keep people from loading up a plate.

*        Instead of serving dessert at lunch, save it to serve at the coffee break. This will provide a yummy treat and keep calorie-conscious attendees from indulging in two sweets during the day. This is a good tip if there isn’t enough money in the food and beverage budget for food at the coffee break.

Miscellaneous

 *          Make sure the banquet or catering manager has the final meeting agenda to ensure   that breaks and meals are in sync with that agenda. (Lori Schwarze, RTI International)

*        Plan ahead with hotel staffing to make sure that bars and restaurants are     adequately staffed to handle attendees during free time, especially if those times     don’t coordinate with normal meal/bar times.

*        Prepare for all special dietary needs. Some people are shy or overly considerate to voice their preferences. Offer lo-carb, vegetarian, gluten free, etc., fare to please all. (Susan Neff, APICS)

Lucky enough to have surplus funds in the F&B budget?

*        Have a continuous all-day refreshment break outside of breakout rooms. This will save attendees from having to search for staff if they need something outside    a scheduled break time and will keep them from going hungry. (Nancy Williams,         Plan Ahead Events)

*        Use the money to combine food with a team-building event such as putting together food boxes for charity, having a wine-making event, or having teams create their own ice cream flavors.

These helpful hints can help to maximize or trim a F&B budget, allowing you to enjoy your just desserts!

Want to make some money? Visit the ConventionPlanit.com Stellar Tip Contest and submit your best tips. If your tip receives the most votes from fellow meeting professionals next month, you will win a $100 American Express Reward Card!

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Getting Started: Do Your Research

Culture
Familiarize yourself with the location(s) you will be visiting. Research the city, especially any cultural differences that may exist. Regardless of the location, you will want currency information, time zones, a list of holidays, metric conversions and a language translation tool handy. Tip: all of these tools are listed in the Global Tools section of ConventionPlanit.com.

Hotel Options
Global hotel chains tend to cater more to North American clients, and most will have an advocate based in the U.S. to aid communication. Utilize your existing representatives and connections to expand your choices. Tip: don’t forget to consider non-U.S. chains!

Rating Systems
Rating systems are different from country to country. Just because a hotel website says it is a 5 Star hotel does not mean it is a Forbes rated hotel. Ask what the rating criteria are, and conduct research on travel websites to obtain a greater understanding.

Down to Business: What’s Different?

Food and Beverage
For international meetings, breakfast is typically included in the room rate. Language will vary, so look out for these terms: ddr (daily delegate rate), standing luncheons, and private meal space instead verses restaurants.

Meeting Space
For North American planners, you will typically always have to pay a rental fee for meeting space. The larger the room, the greater the cost.

Financials
Because exchange rates are constantly changing, your budget will need to have flexibility to change with the rates. Deposits are non-negotiable when securing space for an international meeting. Many countries also require the costs to be paid with a corporate credit card. Be prepared with this prior to entering contract negotiations. Investigate your options regarding foreign taxes and VAT reimbursement. You are in luck -surcharges often appear only in the U.S.! Some vendors prefer to issue a “rebate” instead of a commission.

Contracts
The process takes much longer, so have patience. Conducting the appropriate research comes into play here; make sure you are an educated partner. Your U.S. advocate, GSO or NSO can setup a conference call or virtual tour of the property.

For more assistance planning an international meeting, consider using ConventionPlanit.com’s RFP Organization^SM. Your responses are tracked on an organized spreadsheet, and ConventionPlanit.com staff conducts the follow up. Comparing your responses in one format sounds like a language everyone can understand!

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ConventionPlanit.com is expanding into new territories and is looking to hire both part and full time sales staff.

For more information, please contact info@conventionplanit.com or click here.

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I can’t help but wish I was on my way to enjoy a tropical meeting at one of AMResorts hotels instead!

The Dreams Tulum Resort & Spa offers 29,066 square feet of meeting space.

AMResorts, who manages the luxury brands Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resorts and Secrets, Dreams, Now and Sunscape Resorts & Spas, all of which are members of ConventionPlanit.com, continues to expand its focus on meetings and incentives business with the introduction of new promotions across all of its five brands.

The new promotions will reward planners while offering added perks they can extend to their clients, like spa treatments; TUMI, Movado and Maui Jim goodies; themed receptions; and more, to offer an even more exciting travel and event experience.

Check out all of the available promotions here, or lust after tropical paradise photos here.

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The PCMA Education Foundation funded an investigation into what this key audience wants in their meetings, conventions and events. The goal is to provide opportunities for planners to more effectively market to and satisfy this group of attendees.

The findings were certainly interesting. Here’s an outline of the results:

What do Millennials value in meetings?

• “Edutainment” – education with entertainment
• Engaging events and activities where participation will personally benefit them
• Simple/concise meetings and service projects to an (often) short attention span

What drives Millennials to particiate in meetings?

• Career networking and job opportunities
• Rewards/incentives
• Financial support

How do Millennials wish to see technology used in their meetings?

• Internet integrated into presentations via visual effects and interactive games
• Having Wi-Fi available
• Using technology for team building

Which channels of communication do Millennials prefer?

• Face-to-face
• Email
• Texting

This may be the most surprising result of the survey. In spite of their love of technology, Millennials prefer face-to-face communication and interaction over email or texting. They want to attend events in order to benefit from the obvious and immediate results that come with personal introductions and energetic discussions.

What does all this mean for meeting and event organizers? Just that you can put the following strategems into action to attract and retain the newest generation of attendees:

1. Stage short, simple and structured meetings
2. Help them connect via Wi-Fi at their meetings
3. Make learning fun by employing gamification and visual learning
4. Ensure individual impact by guaranteeing job opportunities and career coaching if they register
5. Segment your audience as needs and expectations vary at opposite ends of the millennial age spectrum. Older members are less interested in social activities and more interested in being mentally challenged

For interested planners, complete results of the study can be found at go.pcma.org/GenYstudy.

Have you implemented any of these tactics? Are you a millennial? Do you agree or disagree with these findings? Comment below and let us know!

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RFP Organization is now completely accessible to meeting planners via the ConventionPlanit.com website.  The service, now a year old, saves meeting planners time by having all of their RFP responses compiled on a spreadsheet.

Now, these same RFP responses are displayed in real time on an easy to read chart.

The response charts display only the criteria the planner requests, and can be customized for each meeting. Planners can even view responses from past meetings with the new online component.

The RFP process has been streamlined for hoteliers, as well – they can now respond to RFPs virtually, saving them valuable time.  This means planners will receive responses more quickly!

Planners interested in using RFP Organization for their meetings can get started here, or by calling 866-922-8988.

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