The location of your off site meeting, conference or incentive trip can be as important as the content.  Consider this top ten list before beginning your search for a hotel or conference center.

1. LENGTH OF STAY – The number of nights / days of the program will help to determine the location. For example, a two night program will likely not go more than two to three hours of flying time but a four night stay could go five to six hours of flying time.  You also do not want more than a 30 minute commute from the airport to the hotel for a shorter program but can stretch it to one hour for a longer conference.

2. PURPOSE OF TRIP – What kind of trip are you planning?  Is it an incentive reward, a board meeting, a training class, customer appreciate event, new product launch, regional / national / global sales meeting?  You would not select an airport hotel for an incentive trip anymore than you would book a Caribbean resort for a one day training class.

3. FORMAT OF PROGRAM – What is the day-to-day agenda for this event?  Are the attendees at leisure all day every day?  Are they in meetings all day?  Do you need time / space for a trade show?

4. TIME OF YEAR – Keep in mind the season and weather at that time of year.  This is not only for the destination selected but also the time of year can affect your departure cities.  For example, if you have a two-day training session in February with most of the attendees coming from the Northeast, you can almost certainly expect flight delays due to winter weather.  Similarly, heading to the Caribbean in August, prime hurricane season, you should make sure you have trip cancellation insurance that covers a possible storm.

5. DAYS OF THE EVENT – Some destinations are slower and offer better rates over weekends while others are peak on weekends and slower during the week.  You should also consider local events taking place that may affect your program I.e. Mardi Gras in New Orleans or the Marathon in Boston.

6. REGIONAL ACTIVITIES – If you are planning an incentive reward trip or a customer appreciation event, be sure that there are enough off site tours and activities to entertain the group for the number of days you are at the destination.

7. TYPE OF PROPERTY / PERCEPTION – A.K.A the AIG effect!  There are all different hotel types such as resort, airport hotel, city hotel and conference centers but you can also have a variety of service levels.  Be sure that the type of hotel and the service level offered meet the needs of your attendee and company policy.

8. BUDGET – We are still in a buyer’s market with regards to groups and conventions but the industry is on the upswing.  The luxury segment has seen the largest rebound in the first quarter of 2010 and the remaining segments are expected to rebound by the end of 2010.  Even though rates are down, I encourage my clients to buy up and lock in for multi-year if possible.  If you have historically paid $200 room rates for a 3 star hotel but the 3 star hotels are now at $100, don’t just try to save money.  Spend that same $200 and move up to a four diamond service and lock in. When that four diamond hotel recovers and is once again charging $300 rates, you will be the hero for getting a good deal.

9. PASSPORTS – Know who the attendees are. Are they well-travelled?  Does everyone have a passport?  Be sure that if you select a destination with passport requirements and an attendee does not have one, who is going to pay for it?

10. HOTEL CHAIN / BRAND LOYALTY – Many of the major hotel chains have loyalty programs in place with rewards and points awarded to both the planner and the individual guests. Find out if this is a determining factor in your decision and what the company policy is with regards to the points.  There are some companies that mandate that they will not accept points as they see them as a “kickback”.

I cannot stress enough the importance of having a set of eyes, from your staff, pre-walk a room before an event.  I attended a conference this week at a downtown Orlando hotel. At my table of 8, we had 2 coffee mugs on the table, with left over lipstick.  I understand that with new formulas for “long lasting” lipstick, it is hard for even the best industrial dishwashers to get the stuff off.  That being said though, the stewards and wait staff have so many things to do to prepare for your banquet that on occasion, these kind of things get overlooked.  This is where your staff comes in.  Doing a quick walk through, glancing at the table set up should be a given.  Make sure every table has the correct number of chairs.  Make sure that salt and pepper, sugar and creamers are on the table.  I’m not saying you need to examine every knife for water spots but something like these lipstick tainted mugs would most certainly have caught your eye.

SMMP is the latest buzz word for the meetings industry, kind of like Web 2.0 is for tech people.  It stands for Strategic Meeting Management Program.  I have heard a great deal about it but have yet to have any of my customers take full advantage of it and experience the full benefits it can offer.  In the simplest of terms, what it does is allow the right hand to know what the left hand is doing.   

Case in point…this week, I have been working on a new meeting for a customer of mine.  In this particular company, there are many different departments and many people responsible for meetings in each of those departments.  As it turns out, one of the hotels I sent the request to called me to ask if it was the same person who already has a meeting contracted at their hotel for a different set of dates. It is not.  This new meeting may not end up at the same hotel but if the two departments talked to each other or had all the meeting requests going through a central clearing house so to speak, their buying power would just have doubled. 

An SMMP is also helpful when a conference is not meeting their contracted room block.  If the company is using an SMMP, the shortfall could very well be picked up another meeting from within that same company and thereby save the original meeting any attrition fees they may incur.

The SMMP model has been fully embraced by some of the larger corporations but smaller companies either have not heard of it, don’t think they need it or think it will cost them money to implement one.  Well, now you have heard of it, I can tell you that they need it if they hold multiple meetings and there are multiple people booking them and it will save them money in the long run.

A while back, I wrote a series called “Want Hotels To Want Your Business”. These blogs gave insight into ways to make your business more attractive to hotels bidding on your meetings and events.  However, before they even bid on your business, you need to send the hotel a Request For Proposal (RFP).  Here are a few tips on how to write a great RFP that will get the attention of your hotel sales manager.

1. Days / Dates / Pattern

State the days of the week with the corresponding dates of your meeting or event.  Be sure to double-check that these are accurate, especially if they are for future years.  Let the hotel know if you have alternate dates, flexibility on the dates noted or the pattern of the days of the week.

2. Meeting Space Needs

The more information you can provide on your meeting space needs the better. Give start and end times for all events.  Include the estimated number of people for each meeting or banquet room needed.  Specify the set up for the room along with any audio-visual needs. 

3. Meeting / Attendee Profile

Give the hotel an overview of the meeting this will help them understand your needs even more.  Tell them about the organization, the purpose of the meeting and some demographics on the attendees such as age and gender.

4.  History

Include on your RFP where the group has stayed in previous years along with the dates, room block with final pick up and the room rates paid. If you have past food and beverage spend, and you should, note this too.  You may be tempted to not include the room rates from previous years but keep in mind that in the current economy, hotels will likely be less than what you have paid in the past.

5.  Concessions / Wish List

Hotels want to know up front what is important to you with regards to concessions and “hot buttons”.  Are you more concerned with savings for your bottom line or for the out-of-pocket expenses for the attendees? The more you can let them know up front, the better.  Hotels don’t like it when you spring on them two or three months into the process that you need a Presidential suite or complimentary shipping and handling.  Don’t ask for things for the sake of asking. 

6. Decision Process

Include on your RFP the decision process with a timeline.  Let the hotel know if you need to do a site inspection prior to making a final decision.  Are you looking at other destinations?  Does a board need to vote on the options and if so, when will the board meet next? 

There is still more information that can and should be included in your RFP.  The Request For Proposal does more than communicate your needs to a hotel, it is a tool to show the hotel the value of your business.  The more you can tell them about your business, the more aggressive the hotel will be to earn it.

I just returned from a four-day cruise on board the beautiful Radiance of the Seas, an RCCL ship.  This was my first “real” cruise. I had done a two-day cruise to nowhere on a pre-inaugural sailing of the Oasis of the Seas but in my mind, that does not count.  In the past, I have not faired well on ships - crossings throughout Europe and ferry boats, so I did not know what to expect.  Thankfully, the seas were not too rough and the wristbands I bought were great and I had an amazing experience!

A cruise offers something for everyone.  All ages, all desired levels of activity and all interests.  For anyone who has not been on a cruise, it is impossible to be bored, unless that is what you want to do.  Our shipboard activities revolved around food and more food but thanks to the gym and outdoor track on deck 12, I only gained a couple of pounds. 

What amazed me most about the experience is how functional the ship can be for hosting a meeting.  As a meeting professional, I was on the trip not to eat, drink and be merry but to view it as a potential location for my clients and their meetings.  If I took a hotel check list and walked a cruise ship, I would find that most ships have every amenity and service that a hotel / resort has to offer. 

* Several types of guest room accommodations including suites

* Designated meeting space and business center

* In house A/V equipment

* First class food and beverage

* Dining outlets for private group dining and / or dine arounds

* Entertainment / Optional Tours and Activities

* Spa and Gym

* Shopping

The biggest difference is that on a cruise ship, almost all of the above is included for one price.  What would it cost you to bring in Blue Man Group or an off Broadway production of Chicago for your entertainment? This is included in the cost of the cruise.  All of that staging, lighting, sound system etc. is available to groups to use for their sessions, at no additional charge.  Some groups spend in the tens of thousands of dollars on A/V and productions.  Plus, there are no resort fees, all meals are included and for those who allow families to travel with the attendee, the children’s programing is free as well. 

I did not want to pay the roaming fees for my phone so I went four days without my Blackberry.  This could be viewed as a positive or a negative for groups.  Not having the distraction of text messages and e-mails will help to focus on the content of the meeting. And for those who really need to be connected, there is an internet cafe and WiFi can be found on the ship for a nominal fee.

There are over 70 cruise lines in the world with sailing around the globe starting from as few as three nights.  Just as hotels vary by location, brand, and level of service so do ships.  If you have never thought about cruising as an option to a land based meeting, you should!

When looking at a specific city or region for a meeting / incentive trip, there is always the question of whether you should utilize the services of the local Convention and Visitors Bureau.  In my opinion, the answer is yes.

Here are just a few reasons why I feel this way.

• Site inspection planning – If you need to do a site inspection the CVB will assist with the coordination and help with everything from airport transfers to dinner reservations.  They have destination sales people who will give you tours of the city / area so you can see what kind of venues they have for offsite events as well as local tours and excursions for the group.
• Request for Proposal (RFP) Distribution – If you do not have personal hotel or global sales contacts, or even if you do, the CVB can make recommendations to you for hotels that meet your needs and send the RFP on your behalf.  They can do the same for other services like ground transportation, entertainment and team building companies. My one caution here is that some CVB’s will send your RFP to their entire membership, even those whose services you do not need or hotels that would never have a chance of winning the business.
• Room night dollars – One popular promotion from CVB’s is to offer a credit the group’s master account with a pre-determined number of dollars per room night.   For example, if your group is 50 rooms for 3 nights that is 150 total room nights.  If the CVB is offering a promotion of $10.00 per room night, your hotel master account would get a credit, courtesy of the CVB for $1,500.00.  This kind of promotion is usually limited to off season periods and need dates and a minimum number of total room nights is sometimes required but free money is still free money.
• Promotional items - Need maps of the local area? How about brochures on what there is to do?  Want to display posters in your regional offices to motivate sales people about the incentive trip destination? What about some little knickknack type items to promote next year’s destination at this years convention? The CVB will often give you these for free to help promote the destination and increase your attendance.  The group wins because they will get good attendance and the CVB wins because all of those attendees will spend money in the local economy.
• On line Marketing – Many CVB’s have a great marketing team.  They sometimes offer customized e-mail blast cards or physical post cards with the group and host hotel names, dates and a custom message.  Some will even create a micro-website for the group with group specific tabs for items such as links for car rentals, the day by day agenda and even a welcome message for the group from the city’s mayor.
• Convention Assistance – When the convention is taking place, many CVB’s have staff that can assist with your registration / hospitality desk.  They are a great asset as they know the local area inside and out and can answer all the questions that the group’s own staff may not know.  Some CVB’s will charge an hourly rate for this onsite support staff, others will negotiate it in order to get the business to their city or region.

 

In my experience, I find using a CVB extremely helpful, especially if it is in a city that I am not too familiar with or have not visited for some time.  Every CVB offers a variety of services and support so be sure to ask what they can do for you.  With budgets getting smaller, free is always a good thing!  They just want you to come to their city and they will work hard to win your business!

Think about the last conference or event you attended.  What do you remember most about the experience?  Most people will say it was the food. The room can be nice, the golfing great but if the food was good, you will remember that the most. If the food was horrible, you will tell everyone you know about it. 

In many cases, the food and beverage portion of a conference budget is in the top three expenditures, along with room and audio-visual.  Here are some suggestions on how to get the most value for your food and beverage dollars and create a positive and memorable experience for your attendees.

Meals – Buffet and Plated

As a general rule, buffet menus are more expensive than plated menus.  The reason for this is that every item on the buffet is prepared as if every attendee will eat that dish. For example, if you have 100 people in your group and there are five items on the buffet menu, the quantities prepared assume that all 100 people will eat all five items.  Many times, the planner will ask the kitchen to take off some of the items in an attempt to reduce the costs only to learn that the cost really does not change significantly.  That is because, you are still feeding 100 people; they are not going to eat less, just fewer choices.  To save money, see if you can substitute a higher priced item for a more economical item. 

This substitution rule holds true for plated menus.  If you want to serve surf and turf, change the filet and lobster tail for a skirt steak and shrimps on a skewer.

The set up of the buffet can make or break an experience.  Always try to have it set double-sided if the room size will permit this.  No one likes to wait in line for 20 minutes to fill their plate when it is single sided.  Also try to have the utensils rolled up in the napkins so that there is less clutter on the table. This works especially well when the attendees will come on a flow basis as opposed to all at one time.  Again, if the location size will allow for the meal to be spread out set up the plates and utensils at one table, the salads at another, the entrees and side dishes on the main line and then have a separate station for coffee and desserts.  This makes the experience feel more interactive for the guests. It will also alleviate long lines at any one station.

Should you add more to the menu?  The answer is quite simply…that depends!  Trust the chefs and catering managers on their recommendations.  They are professionals and do this ALL THE TIME.  However, it is also important to know your group.  Are they light eaters or heavy eater?  Are they real “meat and potato” kind of folks or are they health conscious?  If you know you have a number of vegetarians or vegans, be sure you have options for them. Food allergies are also becoming more and more prevalent and should always be asked about early on in the registration process so you can plan accordingly. 

If you want to add an extra dish, an action station is usually the best bet.  Try to add something that will offer a food group that is not already on the main menu.  Stations such as a pasta station (be sure to offer both a red and cream sauce for those who are lactose intolerant), or carving a roast, turkey or ham.  An Asian Stir-Fry station preparing veggies, rice and / or noodle dishes is also nice. For breakfasts, an omelet stations is always a hit. One of the best things about adding a “station” is that it engages the guests and the hotel associate; makes them feel like more than just a cook or chef. They are now helping to create an experience for the guest and they like that.  Stations also add to the atmosphere of the event and can be decorated to incorporate a theme if one is used for the meal.

Don’t be afraid to add an action station for a plated dinner.  Have a coffee station set up so the guests will get up and stretch and mingle, then head over to an interactive dessert station.  How about offering a variety of fresh fruit for the healthy people, mini donuts for those less health conscious and then to top it off, have a chocolate fountain to cover your fruit with?  Having a chef fire up some Crème Brûlée is also a great interactive dessert station.  Again, consult your catering manager; they know what has been successful at their property and can make great suggestions.  Chefs by nature are creative people.  They really do like it when a planner says they don’t want the regular banquet menus.

Receptions

As a general guideline, plan on serving 3-4 pieces per person, per hour for a reception.  You have a variety of both hot and cold choices for canapés and hors D’oeuvres.  If the reception is going to be their dinner, add on some items with substance or maybe a pasta or stir fry station.  If you have expensive items like jumbo shrimp or mini lamb chops, have them passed to avoid “campers” who stand in front of the food and eat it all.  Having some of the items passed will help keep your costs down because you won’t run out and have to order more, everyone theoretically will have the opportunity to have some and the passing service adds a touch of elegance to the event.

The Bar

Should you provide a hosted bar by the hour, a cash bar or be billed on consumption?

1. Best bet is most generally consumption. This means you are paying for exactly what was served. Which by the way, you can limit what is offered at the bar. You can set it up to be just beer, wine, and sodas.

2. By-The-Hour is only good if you know that the majority of your group members will order the higher priced cocktails and wine or if they are heavy drinkers.  (Some companies do not consider this to be socially responsible anymore.)

3. Another good control is to offer the first hour as paid by the company/organization/etc and then change to a cash bar for the remaining hour(s). Or, if it is a casual affair, give your guests drink tickets to use. Agree before hand with the hotel/caterer on the price for each turned in ticket. For example, if the highest price of a drink is $9.00 and the lowest one is $4.00, suggest that the “flat ticket” price be $5.00 to $5.50. Thus you control the bar cost and after the tickets are used, the guests can pay as they go.

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my good friend, a conference service manager extraordinaire, Ms. Torre Newman.  Torre and I worked together many years ago (I was in sales and she serviced my groups.)  She has worked at seven hotels in her career over a geographic area that covers the Caribbean, Florida and Washington DC.  She is a true professional and my “go to” person when I have catering questions. Every planner needs a “Torre” in their life and I am grateful to have mine!

As a woman, my quick fix for everything is what I refer to as man’s greatest invention – Duct Tape.  No matter what the item is, no matter how broken it is, I guarantee you, I can  fix it with a little (or sometimes a lot) of that magical silver sticky stuff.

This is not always the case  in a work place setting.  Most organizations have some aspect that needs improvement, or “fixing”.  Many companies follow my ideology for fixing things – get out the duct tape!  But as great as duct tape is, it is really just a temporary fix for a permanent problem.  Using this approach to fix work related problems is not the best solution. 

In these situations, it is better to trade in your roll of duct tape for shiny bell and think like Pavlov.  To find a permanent fix to a permanent problem, you need to retrain the behavior.  This is not always an easy task as we humans are sometimes resistant to change, but change we must.

The same holds true when designing the content tracks or themes for your next conference.  Are the attendees going to be given a roll of duct tape and taught quick fixes for long-term challenges, or will you give them a shiny bell to learn new behaviors?  The choice is yours….choose wisely.

This is the last of a three part series on lingo you should know in the meeting and events industry.  The following are some hotel specific terms.

• Walk – When a hotel is oversold, yes….this happens, they need to move guests to a nearby hotel.  When an airline is oversold, they ask for volunteer to be “bumped” to another flight, but when a hotel “walks” a guest, you are not asked.  You generally arrive at the front desk to check in and are told you will be sleeping somewhere else.  The airlines give compensation for being bumped, hotels will generally offer the guest room at the alternate hotel complimentary.  There are some great “walk clauses” that can be added to your contract.
• MOD – This is the manager on duty.  The hotel general manager is not always there.
• Back of the House – Hotel guests see the lobby, bars, restaurants, meeting rooms etc., but there is a whole other side to a hotel that guests do not see.  This included service elevators, kitchens, laundry room, employee meal room and much more.  Planners are generally not welcome to wander the back of the house areas but on a case by case basis, they are granted access depending on their needs and the reasons why they want to be there.
• ROH – Run of House – when you contract a room block, the hotel will usually call it run of house.  This is a combination of all types of room categories with no set percentages or promises.  It is a true mix of all rooms in their inventory.
• Rack rate – this is the full, highest room rate a hotel will charge for a guest room.  Look on the back of the door in a hotel room and it likely shows the rack rate.  A hotel may actually charge rack rates when they are almost sold out or over peak periods like Christmas in the Caribbean or when a city hosts Super Bowl etc.
• Tiered rates – if your attendees are paying for their own rooms and you have a variety of economic demographics attending, you may want to have the hotel quote tiered rates.  This will give you several rates to offer attendees based on each of the different room types the hotel has in inventory.  For example, you may get a standard room courtyard view, standard room, city view without a balcony, standard room city view with balcony, deluxe room, concierge floor, junior suite and one-bedroom suite.  Be sure to have the contract state how many rooms in each category they are allotting to your group as well as what happens when one category is filled.  Will they add more or does reservation need to sell up to the next highest category?
• Booking pace – When you track your history (room block pick up / revenue and F&B spend from previous years) you should also have your booking pace from reservation.  This shows you historically when your attendees booked their rooms.  This information is valuable so that you know when and if you should release any unsold rooms at your cutoff date.  For example, if your block is 100 rooms and you have filled the 100 in the past, you need to know that by 90 days out you have historically had 30 of them reserved, at 60 days out you have historically had 40 of them reserved and then at 30 days out, you have historically had 90 of them filled. This shows that your guests are last minute bookers. If however, they always book as soon as registration opens and so at 90 days out you have 75 rooms booked this is good information to have.
• ADR – Average Daily Rate – the revenue manager or yield manager at the hotel will use this figure, along with a bunch of other numbers, to determine what the group rates should be in order to make budget.  For example, if the budget is to have an ADR of $200 and a group got a $99 rate then the leisure guests or other groups booking over those dates will have a rate much higher than the $99 in order to achieve the budged ADR of $200.
• CSM – Conference (or convention) Services Manager – this is your best friend when planning your meeting.  Once sales has a signed contract to secure the sleeping rooms and meeting space, the file will generally be turned over to the operations team and your point person is the CSM.  This person will live and breathe your meeting with you. 
• War room – Also known as the office for the meeting on site staff.
• Pre Con / Post Con – This is a meeting between the meeting planner and the hotel CSM along with key department staff.  The pre con is your opportunity to address the hotel staff about any last minute changes, put faces to names, review who the VIPs are, the reason for the meeting.  I encourage planners to have a pre con no matter the group size.  You can do a mini pre con if it is a small group but don’t ever pass up the opportunity to get their team together to meet you before the program.  The Post Con is the same people but after the program has ended.  This is a key opportunity to discuss any issues that came up that need to be addressed.  It is much harder to get resolution after you have left the hotel and gone back to the office.  Review what worked and what did not work.  Hotels are usually open to learning how they can improve.
• BEO – Banquet Event Order – this is a document that you will sign for every event on site that involved catering or meeting room set up.  Read it carefully before you sign.  Check for additional charges you may not have budgeted for.  Check the guarantees for attendance and times for set up.  Check the menu items are correct.  At the function, the banquet staff works off the BEO. If you tell them that you and your CSM discussed a change, it will not matter.  Whatever is on the signed BEO is what they go by. 
• Resume – This is an internal document that outlines what your program needs as it relates to each department.  This is what should be reviewed at the Pre Con. 
• Housekeeping Notes – These refer to last changes to your agenda on a daily basis.  For example, when the morning general session is about to end, someone may go in front of the group to let them know that the pool party that night has been moved to ballroom #3 due to inclement weather.  This is a housekeeping note.
• Call Sheet – Your CSM should have a copy of this document if you have a big production. It is a line by line, minute by minute account of the event or session.  For example 9:00 am – introduce CEO, 9:02 am – CEO welcomes group, 9:10 am key note speaker takes the stage, 10:00 am CEO thanks speaker and starts power point of year end numbers, 10:20 am CEO ends power point presentation…..you get the picture.  The audio visual and production technicians will also have copies of this.
• Tracks – Your breakout sessions may follow different learning paths or tracks.  For example, you may have a technology track, a sales techniques track, a personal development track and a human resources track.
• “X” wide sessions – replace X with a number and this tells you how many breakout sessions you have at any one time.  Using the above example, you have four tracks.  If each track offered one session at a time, you may have 4 wide sessions going on for your program.
• DMC – Destination Management Company – this is a local vendor that can provide everything for your program from ground transportation and optional tours to photography  and theme décor.  They will sometimes subcontract the services but since they are local, they have the relationships with vendors in the area that you may not have.  Some hotels have an in house or preferred DMC so ask your CSM for a recommendation if you need these services.
• CVB – Convention and Visitors Bureau – These folks are great partners to have at any given destination.  They never charge for their services and can direct you to all kinds of vendors in the destination, assist with the RFP process, assist with site inspection visits as well as marketing material to drive attendance to their destination.  Generally speaking they are either funded by their members or by the government and their sole purpose is to bring business to the destination without bias as to which hotel is awarded the meeting.

I was recently driving in a community here in central Florida when I saw this site and just had to stop and take a picture.

What we have here are two beautiful Siberian Huskie’s, tethered to a three-wheeled bike.  As you know, Huskies by nature are working dogs who pull their sleds for long distances.  Since there is not a need for a sled and even less snow in central Florida, their owner decided to think outside the box and have them pull a bike instead.  Brilliant!

The dogs are still exercising their bodies and their minds, doing what their “purpose in life” is but in a non-traditional way.  What tasks or learning processes do you do in your daily life that are done in a non-traditional way?  Do you think outside the box when planning your educational sessions and booking your key note speakers?  Think about it and the next time you have such a task at hand, remember this photo of two Huskies pulling a bike on a warm Florida morning.