Meeting Planner Careers

Meeting planners are always looking for new, innovative ways to improve their services, lower costs, satisfy their clients and make their jobs easier. It turns out that there is a simple way to do all of these things effectively without reinventing the wheel. Breakfast meetings and events are making a comeback and offer several advantages over lunch and dinner events. One of the most significant advantages is the cost savings associated with serving breakfast, rather than lunch or dinner. Breakfast events are far more cost-effective when it comes to food and morning meals are easy to plan. Whether you opt for a traditional breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, an easy-to-plan continental breakfast or a healthy spread of yogurts, granolas and fruits, you will delight in the ease of planning breakfast events offer.

Planners will also discover that booking venues for breakfast events can be much easier than booking a space for later in the day. Due to the lower demand for morning events, planners will likely have increased options for dates and venues, and may even be able to negotiate better pricing.

Breakfast events are a great way to start the day and to harness the attention of attendees before they begin to wear out later in the day.

If you are planning a winter meeting or corporate event for clients located in colder climates, opting for a sunny destination will likely increase attendance and enhance attendee satisfaction. Attendees will appreciate the chance to get away from the rain or snow for a short time, and are sure to get excited about visiting a warm, inviting destination that is far from the dreary conditions in their hometown.

Here are four hot destinations that are sure to appeal to meeting attendees and corporate clients who live in areas that experience inclement winter weather:
 

1. San Diego, California – San Diego is well known for its year-round sunshine and warm weather. With plenty of enticing attractions, historical and cultural sites and numerous meeting venues, San Diego is always at the top of the list for meetings any time of the year.
2. Orlando, Florida – Orlando is another southern city that offers sunshine throughout the year, as well as a wide variety of entertainment opportunities that are sure to appeal to meeting attendees.
3. Atlanta, Georgia – Gorgeous winter weather, the world’s largest aquarium and a vast array of resort hotels and meeting venues make Atlanta an easy choice.
4. Los Angeles, California – Los Angeles is always a solid choice as a destination and offers unique attractions, as well as year-round sunshine.
5. Caribbean Cruise - Cruise events and meetings at sea are a great way to motivate employees, and save money too.  An all inclusive Caribbean incentive cruise can save as much as 40 percent over land based venues.  In addition, the ROI on cruise events is among the highest. 

You already know that attending networking functions and connecting with local businesspeople are an important part of increasing awareness of your meeting or event planning services. You also know that networking events are a great way to meet both potential clients and vendors that you might like to work with in the future. But, there is more to making the most of networking functions than simply showing up and shaking a few hands. To get the most out of social networking events, you need to plan ahead, be prepared and have a plan in place for following up with the folks you meet at the function.

Planning ahead and being prepared includes making sure you have enough business cards and written materials to distribute to everyone you meet, practicing your elevator speech and making sure that your appearance and demeanor will appropriately display your professionalism and personable nature. You want attendees to feel comfortable in your presence, to want to know more about you and your services, and to quickly become confident in your ability to provide professional, reliable meeting or event planning services.

Aside from planning ahead for the event, you should also plan tasks for the days following the event. These tasks should include following up with everyone you spoke to with an email or handwritten card expressing how pleased you were to meet them, scheduling lunches with people who might be particularly helpful to you and visiting the websites of attendees to learn more about them.

One of the best things to happen during the first decade of the 21st century is the prevailing idea that we need to be better stewards of the earth. As an event or meeting planner, you can contribute to the betterment of our planet by following these five simple steps.

1. Recycling – Check with the garbage company that services your event venue and find out whether or not they recycle. If they do, decide on which materials should be separated. If they do not, determine a way to collect the recyclables and find transportation to a recycling facility.

2. Packaging – Speak with vendors and ask for their cooperation in this matter. See if they are willing to sell items with less packaging or recyclable packaging. Another step to take is to recycle palettes and boxes that are used for the event supplies.

3. Easy Access – Communicate with the event staff to ensure that trash receptacles and recycling bins are placed in easy-to-find places and in plain view.

4. Promote – Be sure to place “green” messages within all of the promotional materials. This will ensure that the attendees know the event is a “green” event.

5. Volunteers – Roughly 10 to 20 volunteers are needed per 1,000 event attendees. Be sure to recruit enough volunteers to help with the event and if the event takes place over several days, determine how many volunteers will be needed per shift.

Going green can be as easy as you want it to be and in the end, you’ll know you’ve had a positive impact on helping the planet.

Most events planners might scoff at the idea of Disneyland Resorts as a meeting destination for hardcore business groups, but Paul Garcia would like event planners to think a bit more magically.

“What sets the Disneyland Resort apart as a meeting destination is that it’s an inspiring, iconic place. We want groups to be inspired,” says Garcia.

And inspiring it is. With roughly $1 billion worth of inspiration being poured into this concept, Disneyland resorts is determined to become a meeting and events destination.

One such feature is the Disney Institute, which is Disney’s professional development company. While this institute isn’t new, the program that is at the heart of it has been revamped with a new emphasis on innovation and learning. The institute gives attendees an insider view of how the Disneyland Resort works on a daily basis. In essence, they want people to see the “magic”.

Obviously, $1 billion is a lot of money to spend and not all of it is going toward the Disney Institute. In fact, much of the money is being spent on expansion of the resort, itself. The expansion will add 200 new rooms and 50 villas for vacationers at the Grand Californian Hotel.

Overall, the future looks more than bright for Disneyland resorts. In fact, it appears to be magical.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. That’s what the old folks used to tell us as we were coming up. Like many of our grandparent’s old sayings, this one is right on the mark. Event planners need to consider the down time activities in order to make business meetings the most productive possible.

It doesn’t matter how many people gather for a seminar or conference, they are all going to need some time to de-stress. At the Claremont Resort and Spa attendees can take advantage of a number of physical activities and spa treatments to revitalize body and soul. Imagine how refreshed conference goers would be with a fitness break sandwiched in between sessions. A quick dip in the pool or a bit of yoga could give them a new perspective on the meetings.

The Claremont is located 12 miles from downtown San Francisco in the Berkeley Hills. This makes it far enough away to keep everyone’s mind on business, but not so far away that the thrills of San Francisco aren’t readily available.

Your clients don’t have to travel to downtown San Francisco to have a good meal or indulge in an adult beverage. The Four Diamond Jordan’s and the Paragon Bar and Café are located under the Claremont’s roof. The Claremont’s Real Deal Incentive package could be just what your next conference needs.

An all-new educational training program, named as “Meetings Excellence”, has been started by Marriott International. This program caters to the needs of intermediary group of meeting executives.

This online course incorporates theory and practical knowledge for meeting professionals eager to hone their skills in the art of event planning. The learning material includes tools, new age strategies, resources, and lots more.

Those who successfully complete this course will be rewarded with a special certificate stating their proficiency in the meeting industry.

The special learning program is divided into three categories: Read more…

The overall success of an event or meeting can be dictated by the size and layout of a room. This may seem like a very obvious statement to many meeting and event planners, however, it’s a detail that can be easily overlooked when addressing the multitude of other items associated with event planning. If a space isn’t large enough or set up appropriately, it can cause problems with everything from the cost of the food and beverage to the comfort of the attendees. When selecting a room, ask yourself this simple question: What purpose does the meeting or event serve?

Movement is Critical
Corporate meetings can be set up in many different ways. If a meeting is presentation-based, a classroom or theater style set up should be utilized. However, if the meeting’s focus is interactive, small clusters or a U-shape might be incorporated. The most important aspect of setting these types of meetings up, though, is making sure that there is enough space for the attendees to move around comfortably. One rule-of-thumb is that a standard 20 by 20 inch chair should be placed two- to three-feet apart in order to allow attendees enough room to scoot back. Additionally, there should be about 48-inches between rows of chairs to allow people enough room to walk down an aisle.

Dining in the Round
If dinner is being served at your event, using round tables allows participants to talk with each other and creates a comfortable atmosphere. Standard banquets should be set up in rounds of 10, however, if you need more seats, 12 is acceptable. If you’re looking to fill up space, rounds of eight are suitable.

Bottoms Up, Where’s the Bar?
Avoiding bottlenecks at your event is key. Two of the prime areas for bottlenecks to occur are near the main entrance and the bathrooms. With this in mind, consider setting the bar up in the back of the room as far away from these two areas as possible. Another benefit of a bar in the back of the room is that it brings people further into the room, thus avoiding the tendency of people gathering near the main entrance.

Video over the Web is nothing new. With the advent of YouTube and the ever-growing trend of “reality” TV, using video to push a message to the masses has gained worldwide appeal. If you think there is a need for viral video as a way to promote your next event, you may want to consider these ideas.

Pre-conference Shorts
Ask presenters to provide a short video clip that outlines what they’ll be presenting. Upload the videos to YouTube and post links from your site directly to these clips.

Skype Interviews
Prior to the event, use Skype and a Skype video capture program for capturing interview footage with your presenters. Post the videos to your Web site to help promote the event.

Event Venue Videos
Acquire video footage of the event venue and post it on YouTube, iTunes and your own Web site.

Stream the Event
While hosting the event, broadcast a live stream of the keynote presentations through your site. This can also provide two forms of revenue: First, provide a secure login that can be purchased at a reduced price for Web attendees. Secondarily, you can find corporate sponsorship to help underwrite the streaming and bandwidth costs.

Streamed Interviews
During the event, interview speakers and attendees and stream them live through your site. You can also archive these interviews and utilize them, with permission, as testimonials.