Meeting Planner Careers

Meeting and convention planners search for prospective meeting venues, which may be hotels, convention centers, or conference centers. They issue requests for proposals to all the sites in which they are interested. These requests state the meeting dates and outline the planners’ needs for the meeting or convention, including meeting and exhibit space, lodging, food and beverages, telecommunications, audio-visual requirements, transportation, and any other necessities.

The venues respond with proposals describing what space and services they can supply, and at what prices. Meeting and convention planners review these proposals and either make recommendations to top management or choose the site themselves.

Once the location is selected, meeting and convention planners arrange support services, coordinate with the facility, prepare the site staff for the meeting, and set up all forms of electronic communication needed for the meeting or convention, such as e-mail, voice mail, video, and online communication.

Three common mistakes made by beginner meeting planners:

• Not ordering enough food or beverages – people get very distracted and upset if there is not enough food or drinks to go around.   Typically, the venue staff can advise you regarding the amount of food and beverages needed for any size group. Don't scrimp.
• Not asking sufficiently detailed questions of site personnel and vendors.  Know what you are getting into when it comes to the venue.  Make sure that you do a site walk through several weeks before and then a few days before your meeting to make sure that the facilities will meet the needs of your group.  Be meticulous.  Check every detail.
• Waiting until the last minute to pull everything together.  Don't procrastinate!  Make lists and plan ahead for successful meetings and events.

If problems do occur, act proactively and creatively.  It seems as if nothing ever goes according to plan.  Just stay calm and work through each problem with your staff and the venue staff.  

Organizing events may come naturally to you and in fact you might have helped someone organize an event too! The best example is your own birthday parties or your best pal’s marriage. These are memorable events and there surely must have been some planning involved. The guests’ list, selection of food and drinks, gifts, cakes, and the list goes on. These things require planning, smaller or bigger, skilled or semi-skilled. Similarly, most business events require planning and arrangements in advance. And planning business meetings has indeed become a skilled profession nowadays.

The event planners as we call them, plan conferences and meetings, look after coordination and conventions, and are responsible for smooth functioning of all the activities involved. The meeting planner’s job is to look after every small and big detail of an event. For example, if the meeting takes places out of town, the planner coordinates the flights and accommodation for the participants arriving from outside. Professional event planners are usually hired by the companies that lack time or skills to organize and assist a conference. Read more…