18 Aug 10 Planning Meetings Abroad
Planning large scale international gatherings/meetings is complicated, but the fact that they are held abroad makes them even more complex. Here are some tips for planning the perfect meeting abroad:
- Start planning early – Planning early is the best way to get everything ready and prepared properly. Be sure to look around online forums and search engines to see if the venue(s) and/or hotel(s) being considered are reputable. Remember that reputable might mean different things to different people, and some countries allow establishments to rate themselves in terms of stars. Consider an all inclusive cruise meeting. Cruising to foreign ports is a great way to save money and still offer a fabulous itinerary.
- Passports and visas – Some countries have very laid back standards for entry, while others have very strict rules that are dutifully enforced. Know the rules of the country you plan on visiting and follow them fastidiously.
- Start slow – Jet lag is unpredictable, and thus it is best not to put critical meetings at the break of dawn on the very first day. Instead, schedule mixers and other light events on the first day and let the second day start a little slow.
- Book early – Let participants know what to expect in terms of jet lag, and suggest that people be on the ground and ready a day early. A few early bird cocktail mixers or other events could be held for these people, but remember the previous tip.
- Guides – A good host will prepare guides for their guests. Include basic language and custom tips when appropriate as well as a list of important numbers.
Tags: Basic Language, Break Of Dawn, Cocktail Mixers, Different Things, Early Bird, Establishments, Important Numbers, International Gatherings, Itinerary, Jet Lag, Laid Back, Online Forums, Participants, Passports, Ports, Search Engines, Strict Rules, Tip Guides, Venue, Visas
16 Aug 10 How to Choose a Venue for Your Next Big Event
Planning your next big event almost always involves picking a venue near the beginning of the process. With so many different venues, there must be an easy logic flow for determining how to pick the venue for your next big event. Try this logic flow:
- Size counts – Venues that are too small are not worth looking into and venues that are too large will look empty and deserted if unfilled. Determine a reasonable number of participants and use that as the basis for a venue.
- Look for deals – The number one reason why many people do not attend events and/or seminars is that they feel it is too expensive. If a deal can be arranged that includes the event and meals/accommodations, participation generally increases. Hotels often have large meeting facilities and/or deals with local meeting halls/convention centers and many such centers have deals with reputable hotels.
- Themes and art are important – If your event has some sort of theme, then assign additional importance to venues that work well with that theme over money if it is feasible. A seminar about online art and graphics design would be ideally located in a venue with an artistic theme, and perhaps offer all-inclusive stay options at an art-deco themed hotel or another hotel with a noteworthy sense of style.
Tags: Artistic Theme, Event Planning, Graphics Design, Hotels, Logic Flow, Meeting Facilities, Money, Participants, Participation, Seminars, Venue
09 Aug 10 Keeping Group Cruise Planning Simple
Planning a group cruise can seem like a logistical nightmare at first, but is not actually a complex as it might seem on the surface. Follow these three basic tips to keep your sanity and composure while simultaneously planning a great group cruise:
- Create lockdown dates – If last minute changes drive you crazy, then eliminate them simply by letting everyone know that the cruise line has a lockdown date for final planning. This works even when cruise lines do not have such a date, or if you put your lockdown date a little bit ahead of theirs. Remember to stick to whatever date you provide participants via e-mail or memo.
- Get help – Most cruise lines have concierge services that can take a fair portion of the planning and logistics off of your shoulders, but they need to know what you want. It might be a good idea to contact the concierge service/planner and make a point of contact that can provide you with options and details that can be passed on to participants/decision makers.
- Have alternatives ready – If you suspect that Bob Jones from sales is going to request something that is unavailable, having an alternative that is acceptable is better than a no. Be sure to explore alternatives before using those terrible two little letters: N and O.
Tags: Bob Jones, Composure, Concierge Service, Concierge Services, Cruise Line, Cruise Lines, Decision Makers, E Mail, Group Cruise, Little Bit, Logistical Nightmare, Logistics, Minute Changes, Participants, Point Of Contact, Sanity, Service Planner, Shoulders, Terrible Two
05 Aug 10 A Media Player an Investment in Your Career as a Meeting/Event Planner? Maybe…
It was not long ago that meeting and event planners were taking notes with pen and paper, but those days might just be over thanks to some of the modern media players on the market. Most modern media players have the capacity to record conversations or voice memos, and that could save a lot of time. Just image:
- Never having to ask the boss to slow down – Some bosses or participants talk so fast that details often get lost. Your brain is processing Detail A and they are already discussing Detail Z! Nothing escapes the attention of a voice recorder.
- Never forgetting a detail – Juggling hundreds of details is difficult, and sometimes notepads get lost or sloppy writing done in a hurry foils later attempts to remember what was covered. Media players with voice memo features ensure that nothing is left out of a critical planning session.
- The ability to have instant and total recall of conversations – This is exactly what media players offer. You can recall and review a memo on the subway, bus, or even while driving home.
- Looking impressive using technology efficiently – Humans are innately tool-using creatures, and digital tools are the future. Demonstrating proficiency with those tools is a great way to earn your keep.
All you need to do is look for a media player with a voice recording features to guarantee that your look impressive while being an impressive meeting/event planner.
Tags: Boss, Creatures, Digital Tools, Event Planner, Event Planners, Foils, Hurry, Media Players, Meeting Planners, Participants, Pen And Paper, Proficiency, Record Conversations, Subway, Total Recall, Using Technology, Voice Memo, Voice Memos, Voice Recorder, Voice Recording
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
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
12 Jul 10 Choosing Destinations
When it is time to plan a meeting, there are plenty of possibilities. The brochures and promotional materials make sound arguments in favor of many different venues, but ultimately a single venue must be selected for a single event. Here are some ideas to help you effectively reduce the number of options being seriously considered:
• To go all the way or not – If you are too busy to plan every little detail, look for all-inclusive options that handle some or all of the planning for you. This can lead to significant time savings and surprisingly, as well as a tangible amount of money saved.
• Local or long distance – There are both local venues and venues in other cities. If all the participants are from your city, then a local venue might make sense unless travel and attendance is to be considered a perk. If customers are the focus of the meeting/event, then go where they are.
• By land or by sea – Do not discount cruise ships as venues for meetings and events. In fact, cruise ships make amazing destinations for many different kinds of events. Remember that cruise events are more appropriate for certain audiences and companies than other.
• Consider price – Price is important, but that makes apples to apples comparisons difficult.
Tags: Amount Of Money, Apples To Apples, Attendance, Audiences, Brochures, Cruise Events, Cruise Ships, Different Kinds, Discount Cruise, Long Distance, Meetings And Events, Might Make Sense, Participants, Possibilities, Promotional Materials, Significant Time, Sound Arguments, Time Savings, Venue
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
11 Jun 10 The Importance of Seating in a Meeting
Many new meeting planners might overlook the importance of proper seating, but veteran meeting planners already know that seating can be everything. The problem is that many participants in the meeting have their own ideas about how seating should work, and few of those ideas tend to be compatible.
For example, everyone wants to be on the boss’s right hand side, but nobody wants to sit near Steve from accounting due to the fact that his gout medication gives him indigestion. Unfortunately, someone has to sit next to Steve and not everyone can suck up to the boss at the same time.
Here are a few things to consider when arranging seats:
- Bosses traditionally go on the end of the table, but consider suggesting a more central location. Better yet, it might be wise to plan two or three seats that will change for different stages of the meeting so long as the boss is amenable to such an idea.
- Keep seats arranged in such a way that everyone is facing the same direction whenever possible. Unity is hard to achieve when people are opposing one another even in the manner in which they sit.
- Those who do happen to be somewhat unpopular might be a good person to seat next to the boss. Getting close to one means getting close to the other, a balance few will ignore.
Tags: Accounting, Boss, Central Location, Different Stages, Good Person, Gout, Gout Medication, Indigestion, Medication, Meeting Planners, New Meeting, Participants, Same Direction, Sit, Suck, Unity, Veteran
09 Jun 10 Group Cruising Planning
Anyone considering planning a group cruise event can easily be overwhelmed, especially if they do not realize that there are many resources ready and waiting to help them. Here is a good workflow for anyone seeking to simplify group cruise planning:
Check with the Seasite.com first – they have online tools and services that can make planning virtually everything a one-stop process. Nothing is simpler than an all-inclusive group cruise planning at Seasite.com.
Failing that, start with travel – Participants will need to get to and from their hometowns to the port of call for the cruise ship, and that will often entail flights. Many airlines offer special pricing in such situations, so avoid using sites that specializing in shopping amongst airlines and make direct contact.
Cabins – Try to keep everyone appeased when it comes to cabins, but be aware that some people develop sea sickness based on the side of the ship they are on. That is to say that some people will rarely get seasick if their cabin is on the port side, but the same may not be true if they are given a cabin on the starboard side of the ship.
Meeting rooms and events – Remember to schedule at least a few events, even if they are less than formal. A group meeting in a spinning class or during a game of Marco Polo are interesting alternatives to conventional meetings.
Tags: Airlines, Cruise Ship, Cruising, Direct Contact, Flights, Game, Group Cruise, Hometowns, Marco Polo, Meeting Rooms, Online Tools, Participants, Port Of Call, Sea Sickness, Shopping, Workflow
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