Meeting Planner Careers

Miami, FL (Jan. 28, 2010) – Planning a meeting at sea requires searching for detailed ship information and not always finding what you need. Now, with Seasite.com, the first cruise portal for meetings and events, incentive cruise and group travel buyers will find all the ship data they need in one place – at no cost.

“Everyone who procures group travel should bookmark Seasite.com to simplify cruise sourcing and planning” said Jo Kling, CEO Seasite.com.

Seasite.com provides 24/7 access to all cruise brands, so that you can: 

1-   Search and compare cruise options; then create an online RFP and submit it to multiple cruise lines.
      (Seasite’s group pricing is the same as booking direct.)

2-   Find ship data never before offered online or in print, such as:
      - Meeting/function room capacities
      - Details about private group dining
   

3-   Identify the cruise lines most committed to groups, and search their mini-sites (all laid out the same —
      when you’re familiar with one, you’re familiar with all.)

4-   Search for a cruise anywhere in the world by any date range. Sort your results by meetings-specific
      criteria.

5-   Refer to the Knowledge Center to answer all your questions, e.g.
      -  What will your group travel budget buy?
      -  What’s a typical budget for an Association cruise?
      -  How do Cruise vs. hotel costs compare, including tax deductibility?

For cruise sourcing, visit www.seasite.com

From the Civil War to Civil Rights, Alabama is a state filled with the history that forged a nation. Interestingly enough, Alabama is also a state that makes meeting and event planning easy. From the multiple Convention and Visitors Bureaus to the hotels and golf courses scattered along the gulf coast, Alabama provides a venue that functional, memorable and educational.

Groups, whether small or large, are perfect for Alabama. Affordability ranks high on the list of most meeting planners in today’s economy and Alabama comes through with flying colors. Group rates on hotels and discounts on many of the amenities make it an extremely attractive venue. The Gulf Coast CVB has become a favorite destination for meeting planners. Over 87,000 square feet of meeting space and more than 15,000 condominium and hotel units provide ample accommodations for any group.

Attractions in Alabama include the Alleyway, which is an entertainment area along the riverfront in Montgomery. Birmingham features the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. The sister cities of Auburn and Opelika are both home to major universities and excellent golf courses. Huntsville touts its new Davidson Center for Space Exploration and the coastal venues pull attendees into the Mardi Gras tradition. Alabama beckons to groups of any size.

Are you a good negotiator? Do you have the skills necessary to get what your client wants and what is in her best interests? Most people learn their negotiation skill from life experience rather than a class. Let’s face it; we’ve been negotiating in one way or another since we could talk. Every kid knows that curfew and allowances don’t change without some fancy footwork.

A good negotiator comes to the table prepared and with as much knowledge about the subject as she can gather. This is especially important when pounding out a contract regardless of how well heeled your client may be. Listen carefully to what the other party offers and take a breath or two before you respond. It never hurts to paraphrase the offer back to her before you agree. If you respond too quickly, you may wind up bidding against yourself. Get everything in writing.

Keep an open mind and be flexible. It would be great if things always went smoothly, but they won’t. Sometimes you have to give a little to get a lot in return. Be persuasive and know what you want and stick to your guns. No contract is worth losing your integrity. Above all, be patient and persevere. Stay detached and focused and keep things on a business not personal level.

Some clients have special needs or desires. That’s all part of event planning and you learn to go with the flow.

Most hotels can adapt to any physical or dietary need with enough advance notice. A small number of clients will insist on accommodations that totally fit in with their lifestyle. What if your client is vegetarian and prefers a vacation with like-minded people?

This can be an interesting challenge. Many omnivorous restaurants offer vegetarian alternatives to their meals but finding a resort that actually caters to vegetarians gets a little tricky. Veggie Snow is a good resource for finding resorts that specialize in ski trips especially for vegetarians and vegans. You can book a trip in Austria, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, or the United States.

Wait, France? The French are known for many things but not their vegetarian cuisine. La Source Ski and Adventure Ltd. promoted and sponsored the first Veggie Snow tour. Just because it is vegetarian does not mean the chef has to forsake his beloved cream, cheese, or butter.

Special needs are not insurmountable problems for the experienced meeting planner. It may take a bit more web surfing to accommodate these clients but it’s well worth the effort.

It is not difficult to start a career in event planning. In short, an event planner is responsible for the logistical details of planning parties, luncheons, and other organized events for both individuals and businesses. A professional image, both personally and as a company, is far more important than a college degree or formal training in event planning. There are a number of steps to help you get started with your new career as an event planner right away. The good news is it does not take a lot of startup cash to open your new business.

1) Decide on a business name and get a domain name. Image is everything in the world of event planning. Pick a catchy name and buy a domain for a web site. Your design can be simple and done using a Web template, or you could pay a few hundred dollars for the services of a web designer to create a really snazzy page. Read more…

It is impossible for an event planner to control events such as natural disasters and pandemic flu outbreaks. What the individual can do is to create back up plans for as many scenarios as possible.

Begin with the words “what if?” and create a back up plan around the answer. What if one or many of the guests at your event had a medical emergency? Do you know which hospitals or minor emergency centers are closest to the hotel or convention center?

No one likes to think of natural disasters, but even a temporary power outage can ruin an event. Do you have the cell phone numbers for the key speakers and event leaders? Is it better to text key personnel rather than speak into a cell phone when privacy is hard to come by.

Keep a cool head. Conference with hotel personnel well in advance and find out what the procedure is in case of a bomb threat, tornado, hurricane, or flooding situation. Chances are you won’t need to use any of this information, but forewarned is forearmed.

In a time of crises, the event planner needs to be a leader and have the resources and knowledge to help clients over the rough patches.

Are you tired of the ordinary conference center or hotel event space? The world has some creative answers for you, and all you have to do is look around a little. Brussels is one example of a city where you can find all kinds of unusual settings for your conference or meeting.

Belgium is one of the countries where beer grew up. This means that there are breweries galore in every major city and at least one in lots of the smaller ones. Some of them have been turned into event centers. One of those is the Brussels Events Brewery. To check out their space for yourself, go to www.eventbrewery.com.

Some cities offer event space in their museums. The Van Buuren Museum is an example of this–many of the great masters are on exhibit there, and participants can use the lounge or garden for events.

Some other ideas are historical homes and mansions, old schools that have been turned into multi-use facilities, and office buildings that have been renovated for everything from weddings to educational seminars.

So how do you find these great venues? Sometimes you just need some experience in the field, which brings you connections through word of mouth. However, most of these will show up on internet searches as long as you know what to look for–and often all this requires is knowing a little about what the client wants and needs.

During your educational experiences, you may find that you love being involved in meetings but being a planner responsible for the whole enchilada is too much at first. You want to ease into it but don’t know where to start. Here are some ideas to consider.

Culinary Arts

If you enjoyed learning to plan the dinners and receptions the most, you may want to consider more education in the culinary arts. There are lots of culinary institutes around, sometimes several in one city. Community colleges also offer various courses of study, including a pastry chef specialization. Read more…

Lots of people have offered advice on how to handle the recent turmoil during the world economic crisis. Some are saying, though, that there are signs it is letting up. Although it’s easy to jump back on the profitability bandwagon, some businesses may be holding back just a little. What will you do when things start looking better? Here are some ideas to get you started thinking about it.

Pricing

So your clients are making more money and you should, too. However, would your clients appreciate a bit longer reprieve from escalating costs? You can help them by continuing your pricing structure from the recession months.

Ask for Favors

Once you have determined that you are going to keep prices down even though clients are making more, you are in a position to ask a small favor–that they let others know what you did for them. At the risk of sounding like you have Ayn Rand managing your business, you can be straight with them on this. “I’d be happy to keep my rates where they were during the recession if you wouldn’t mind offering some word-of-mouth advertising for me.” You might also ask them to link to your website–backlinks are a great way to add respectability to your website.

Value

If you find that you cannot keep recession era pricing, offer a little more value whevever possible. If you can book a hotel with a spa available instead of a hotel without one, get it for them. If you have a choice between a beachfront property and one a little father away, choose the one near the beach. If all things are equal, go the extra mile to get little extras for your clients.