02 Aug 10 Cruise Ship Meeting Secrets
While many people planning cruise ship meetings simply make the meetings on cruise ships somewhat similar to landlocked meetings, this does not have to be the case. In fact, planning meetings and events on a cruise ship that do not take advantage of the inherently unique nature of a cruise ship are missing the point. Follow these helpful tips to take full advantage of even the secret features available to planners of cruise events:
Alternative meeting environments – want to book a large meeting room? Ask about the theater or onboard dining halls. Chances are good that one or two such rooms are reserved for possible meetings, but may be freed up once the ship leaves port.
Super-alternative meeting environments – want to have a face to face while getting a massage in one of the onboard spas? Go for it!
The menu is not necessarily limited – cruise ships are extremely competitive when it comes to dining and lodging. This virtually assures that any ship is likely to have a wonderful assortment of top notch chefs are always on hand and are probably climbing the walls wishing that somebody would order something that is not on one of the many menus.
Compensation – Booking larger groups and venues can result in special forms of compensation once the hard price limit is reached. Free cabin upgrades, exclusive access to a little known VIP gym or club could be the result for those that know to ask.
Tags: Assortment, Case In Fact, Chefs, Climbing The Walls, Cruise Events, Cruise Ship, Cruise Ships, Dining Halls, Environments, Forms Of Compensation, Helpful Tips, Large Meeting Room, Meetings And Events, Menus, Missing The Point, Planners, Secret Features, Spas, Top Notch, Vip
26 Jul 10 Themed Events, Colors, and Relaxation Are All Important Aspects to Consider
Companies do not have to ensure that all meetings and events are completely bland and uninteresting, even if that does have a certain old-guard appeal. Instead, consider the possibility that meetings can have elements of a party and that events could be given a theme to follow. The following ideas are not necessarily appropriate for all businesses at all times, but they may just make the daily grind a little less stressful for some:
• Holidays can be fun – Holidays can be fun, but do not go overboard. Not everyone seems to agree that celebrating holidays is fun, and some people seem more interested in complaining about cultural and religious influences than they do on having a good time. Colored napkins and other basic items that lack iconography could be appropriate and thematic.
• Colors for other purposes – There are many different non-holiday applications for colors as well. Colors can be chosen by departments or as part of promotions, and placing those colors everywhere can help build a sense of visual continuity.
• Events – Remember to take a break from the norm and relax a little bit. Some companies have discovered that short rest periods built into meetings or other events actually improve productivity instead of taking away from productivity as one might normally assume.
Tags: Applications, Break, Colors, Continuity, Elements, Fun People, Having A Good Time, Holidays, Little Bit, Meetings And Events, Napkins, Norm, Productivity, Promotions, Relax, Relaxation, Religious Influences, Rest Periods, Themed Events
23 Jul 10 Can Your Company Afford NOT to Hold Cruise Events?
If you have been looking at cruise meetings as an alternative that is not cost-effective, then you may be missing out on some of the math. Here is how you should be looking at the whole picture: even if your company does not pay for the meals and entertainment of participants at a meeting or event, then someone else might. IF given the choice between a cost effective cruise or a compensated hotel with continental breakfast, which would you choose? That’s right, you’d go with the cruise ship, and that is exactly what other people would do 9 out of 10 times.
When you consider all that cruise ships offer, they are truly a bargain destination for meetings. Those that look only at hotels and conference centers might forget this, and may be completely insensitive to the fact that they are actually costing their customers, partners, clients, suppliers, colleagues, or even branch offices to incur expenses simply to participate. This might be the cause of barriers to successful events and productive meetings, so be sure to evaluate your strategy carefully in this regard.
Also remember that cruise events are typically cost effective when measured against landlocked alternatives. The all-inclusive prices can often be lowered when booking multiple cabins, and there are plenty of compensated bonuses to be had. These bonuses, such as a massage in the spa, can be used as incentives to further enhance the profitability and success of a cruise.
Tags: 9 Out Of 10, Bargain, Colleagues, Continental Breakfast, Cruise Events, Cruise Ship, Cruise Ships, Hotels, Incentives, Massage, Math, Participants, Productive Meetings, Profitability, Regard, Spa, Success
21 Jul 10 Meeting Planner Self-Assessment
If you are a meeting/event planner that needs to have a way to perform a self-evaluation, consider the following points:
• Don’t look at success – The success of a meeting can, and probably will, be claimed by other parties. When an event or meeting does not go as planned, the onus of responsibility tends to land on the shoulders of meeting planner. This is certainly unfair, so look at the matter analytically and discover why some things and other things do not.
• Don’t look only for failures – It is easy to think that it is easier to learn from failures than success, but this is not necessarily true. Learn from everything you can.
• Create checklists – Create checklists and try to quantify the steps to what your organization considers to be a great meeting. Isolate those factors that you can control, and focus on those. Keep records in case the blame starts to roll downhill in an unfair manner, but be wary of pointing fingers uphill.
• Compare notes – Ask others for honest feedback and ideas for improvement. Remember that doing a good job is less important than finding subtle ways to remind others that you do a good job. Show your professionalism by looking for ways to improve your performance and add to your job-related skills.
Knowing how you stack up in these ways can help you negotiate raises and bonuses more effectively.
Tags: Event Planner, Good Job, Honest Feedback, Meeting Planner, Onus, Pointing Fingers, Professionalism, Rsquo, Self Assessment, Self Evaluation, Shoulders, Subtle Ways, Success
19 Jul 10 How to get planning help by asking for it
If you are in charge of planning meetings and/or events for a company, you might quickly discover that is seems impossible to please everyone. This is certainly true, especially when those people all have wildly different expectations. There are ways to navigate this potential minefield, such as:
• Ask participants for feedback and suggestions on how to implement that – Sometimes people expect their meeting planning budget to go further. Show them the figures (if appropriate) and ask if they have any suggestions on how to do more with less. Be honest and do this without any emotional investment or hurt feelings for the best results.
• Always remind people of budget concerns – If participants wonder why the Starbucks coffee got replaced with a Cuisinart and some Folgers, just explain that resources are limited and ask for suggestions on further cuts or ways to do more with less.
• Anonymous tip box – Sometimes people are wary of leaving negative feedback, especially if their name is attached to it. Find a way to make an effectively anonymous method for providing feedback and chances are good that honest feedback will start flowing.
• Thank those with helpful hints and tips – Anyone that does take the time to provide tips should be heartily thanked. Anyone that has to swallow their pride and admit that their gripes were unfounded should be similarly comforted.
Tags: Anonymous Method, Anonymous Tip, Budget Concerns, Cuisinart, Emotional Investment, Feedback And Suggestions, Feelings, Folgers, Gripes, Helpful Hints, Honest Feedback, Meeting Planning, Minefield, Negative Feedback, Participants, Pride, Providing Feedback, Starbucks, Starbucks Coffee, Swallow
16 Jul 10 Meeting at Sea: The Perfect Meeting Destination and Surprisingly Affordable
Planning meetings can be fun, but it tends to be more fun whenever the meeting is someplace exotic or interesting. What is more interesting than a meeting on a cruise ship? Possibly a meeting on the International Space Station, but at around $20 million a ticket, it is probably better to go with meetings on exotic cruise ships bound for sun drenched destinations. Surprisingly, meetings at sea are not only more affordable than blasting off into low-orbit, but they are often more affordable than meetings held at hotels. Consider the following:
Hotels are forced to compete with many restaurants in terms of quality and offerings. Today’s cruise ships bring the restaurants and hotels with them, reducing the competition and overhead associated with advertising while simultaneously increasing the power buying authority of the vendor.
Safety is job number of all cruise ship employees, while job number two is ensuring that you and your business guests have a great time. This means you get more bang for your buck on a cruise ship than you would with a hotel in virtually any city.
Top quality business meeting rooms and chambers are available on cruise ships, big and small. Most cruise ships have rooms that can be easily converted from theaters to huge meeting rooms to dance floors with relative ease as well as standard meeting rooms. It does not matter how big or small your event is, a cruise ship is perfect!
Tags: Business Guests, Business Meeting Rooms, Chambers, Cruise Ship, Cruise Ships, Fun, Great Time, Hotels, International Space Station, Job, Low Orbit, Meeting At Sea, Meeting Planning, Offerings, Quality Business, Restaurants, Sun, Theaters, Top Quality
08 Jul 10 Pitfalls on the Road to a Successful Meeting/Event
The following is a list of sentiments and ideas that many people have when planning meetings and/or events that should be avoided whenever possible:
• Who needs to eat? The answer is that everyone need to eat, and letting stomachs rumble is a sure way to ensure that nobody is paying attention to anything but the planning of their next meal. If you are planning a lengthy meeting or event, plan on talking to caterers or buying snacks.
• I get up at 4 A.M. so can everyone else! Just because you get up at the break of dawn to exercise and live a healthy lifestyle does not mean that everyone else does or even can. In some cases it may truly be a case of different lifestyles, but in other situations the early bird may be offended those taking care of young children and/or the infirm/elderly by implying that a 7 A.M. meeting is reasonable.
• Caffeine is a stimulant, and that is akin to offering a drug. Those that need caffeine to make it through their day can be indulged at very low prices. Imposing unwanted ethical beliefs on meeting and/or event participants is unlikely to go over well. At best, it will look cheap. At worst, it may look preachy.
• A penny saved is a penny earned. True, but it takes money to make money, so be willing to make an honest assessment of whether or not buying folding chairs instead of office chairs for a meeting is a good idea.
Tags: Break Of Dawn, Caffeine, Caterers, Early Bird, Elderly, Ethical Beliefs, Exercise, Folding Chairs, Healthy Lifestyle, Honest Assessment, Lifestyles, Money, Office Chairs, Participants, Paying Attention, Pitfalls, Sentiments, Snacks, Stimulant, Stomachs
23 Jun 10 Meeting Planners Are in High Demand
With the economy not being in the best of shapes, many people are looking for new jobs that are less disposable and/or difficult to outsource. Meeting planners are actually both. The two primary reasons for this are fairly simple: humans have a basic need to meet over business issues, and competition for lucrative business options continues to increase year after year regardless of the economic situation.
The best reason is arguably the fact that humans have a basic ability to measure honesty, intent, and integrity. That ability can only be used in person, and no technology has come up with a workaround for this. Even the latest video conferencing technology is simply no substitute for an in-person meeting. For this reason alone, meeting planners will always have a job in modern business culture until technology can manage pull off a modern-miracle.
As business continues to become increasingly competitive, meetings become increasingly important. This means more competitive meetings that do not skimp on the polish and niceties, and that in turn means that meeting planners will not only continue to be essential but also a valued part of the company. Since few companies can cut off their noses despite their faces, it would seem that meeting planners are likely to stick around and be valued parts of companies for the foreseeable future.
Tags: Business Culture, Business Issues, Business Options, Economic Situation, Economy, Faces, Foreseeable Future, Honesty, Integrity, Job, Lucrative Business, Many People, Meeting Planners, Miracle, New Jobs, Niceties, Noses, Shapes, Video Conferencing Technology, Workaround
18 Jun 10 Frugal Meeting Planners
Meeting planners that are looking for ways to find cost-effective meeting locations are often under a lot of pressure. After all, the boss probably wants an unreasonable number of people to be hosted in a large area for a price that is entirely unreasonable by most standards. There are a few options, however, and these options are perfect for meeting planners with bosses that happen to be a little too frugal.
Consider local parks – Many local parks have shaded areas that are both scenic and free! The lawn chairs might be expensive, and make the meeting less than formal, but it would be hard to beat the local park for a location that is both affordable and unique.
Movie theaters – Believe it or not, many movie theaters offer weekday morning access to their theaters for a fairly reasonable price. Deposits tend to be a little on the high side if the projection equipment will be used, but you can generally get it back immediately after the projection equipment is inspected.
Libraries – Many public libraries also have small conference rooms that range from free to very affordable, but you will have to keep the noise down.
Coffee shops – If the meeting or event is not going to be packed with secret information, a local coffee shop or restaurant can be an affordable location and makes choosing a catering service much easier!
Tags: Boss, Catering Service, Coffee Shop, Coffee Shops, Cost Effective, Effective Meeting, Lawn Chairs, Local Park, Meeting Planners, Movie Theaters, Noise Down, Projection Equipment, Public Libraries, Secret Information, Shaded Areas, Unreasonable Number, Weekday Morning
14 Jun 10 Meeting Planners That Save Money Can Earn Big
Meeting planners are often called upon to schedule meetings and other events, but there is often a sub-surface conflict that rarely gets addressed. The issue is the bottom line: money. Simply put, meeting planners that learn how to go about their tasks cost effectively can become very popular with the powers that be. Here are some tips:
Skip the Starbucks and buy and cappuccino machine – Spending money for coffees at a meeting seems like a great idea, and it is if it is a rare treat. Instead, look into purchasing a cappuccino machine and make delicious caffeinated beverages on the spot. It saves money in the long run while simultaneously making the business look as if it cares a lot about the comfort level of its staff.
Colored markers – Markers are great tools, but they do not all have to be black or red. It is easier to express many different statistics with many different colors, and colored markers are not very expensive. More lively presentations and a lack of confusion at prices comparable to what people pay for black or red markers is a bargain by any definition.
Whiteboards and rubbing alcohol – School districts on a limited budget already know this truck, but not all businesses do; wiping down whiteboards after a meeting is important, but water alone will not do the trick. Instead, use rubbing alcohol for a deep clean that will extend the life of a whiteboard substantially.
Saving money in these ways is a great way to justify a promotion for any meeting planner.
Tags: Bottom Line, Caffeinated Beverages, Cappuccino Machine, Coffees, Colored Markers, Conflict, Confusion, Different Colors, Great Tools, Lively Presentations, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planners, Rubbing Alcohol, Saving Money, Schedule Meetings, School Districts, Spending Money, Starbucks, Whiteboard, Whiteboards
Advertisement
Corporate Meeting Planner Resources
- What Makes Travel Events and Meetings Amazing?The act of hosting a meeting in an exclusive or interesting location can be made more impressive with a little planning or can be ruined as a gesture with carelessness. Here is what you need to think about in order to keep your travel events purely amazing: Events – Going to an exotic destination and failing [...] […]
- Best Plan for Meetings at SeaPlanning a meeting at sea is not as difficult or as different as it might sound on the surface but there are still a few key differences to be aware of. Some of the best meeting planners keep the following advice in mind: Equipment and space for equipment is at a premium – It might be [...] […]
- Factors to Consider When Shopping For a Cruise EventAnyone planning on hosting a cruise event should certainly check to see which cruise companies can get the job done at the best price, but there is often more to consider than just the bottom line. In fact, some customers that have not given a lot of thought to the logistics and organizational side of [...] […]