It’s business as usual in the Shasta Cascade region of northern California, following a summer of high-profile wildfires in the state. While the fires did cause problems throughout the affected areas, less than two percent of the Shasta Cascade region was burned.
The area boasts stunning natural beauty and one-of-a-kind outdoor spaces for group activities—including 50 nearby waterfalls, national forests and parks, historic mining towns and more. The focus on this impactful component is being highlighted in the Redding CVB‘s new “What’s on the OUTSIDE counts, too!” campaign. Connected to this, the CVB is offering complimentary site visits to planners, new incentives and personalized tours.
“The industry trend right now is finding those nontraditional venues for conferences and meetings,” said Jennifer Fontana, group coordinator for the Redding Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Redding not only fits perfectly into that mold but it will leave a lasting impression. Redding’s distinct outdoor beauty and local flavor provides the opportunity for attendees to add variety and depth to their experiences that can only come from outside the usual conference room.”
You’ll likely need what’s on the inside, as well. For that, Redding alone offers more than 55,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, more than 2,500 hotels rooms and hundreds of restaurants.
For more information about the Redding CVB’s “What’s on the OUTSIDE counts, too!” campaign, to schedule a visit or to learn more about the area’s meeting and event options, contact Jennifer Fontana (530-225-4105), the CVB’s group coordinator.
As reports continue to fill the meeting/event industry media and the social media posts of its members, in the wake of the record-breaking IMEX America last week, it’s worth examining the opportunities available to you through hosted buyer programs.
What did you miss by not attending IMEX America? First off, they were immersed with more than 13,000 industry colleagues and 3,500 exhibitors representing 150 countries. Education on offer—including Smart Monday, Powered by MPI, and daily keynote speakers—ran the gamut through more than 250 sessions and 150 speakers. (To explore a thorough, on-site experience from this year’s IMEX America, read Rich Luna’s MPI post.)
There is a litany of live events that planners can attend for free thanks to the hosted buyer format. Find the one best suited for your needs (suppliers you may legitimately work with in the future, education sessions/keynote speakers, location, etc.), sign up and start planning.
Starting with “Identify your priorities,” the above post offers advice for planners to be prepared entering the hosted buyer realm. If you qualify as a fully hosted participant, sure there will be no (or minimal) direct out-of-pocket expense for you, but your time certainly has a value—and to get the most out of going to a massive event such as IMEX America, you need to do your homework and actively engaging with the community before, during and after the event.
So, you missed IMEX America 2018. Well, now’s the perfect time to start planning a hosted buyer visit to IMEX in Frankfurt next spring (May 21-23) and/or MPI’s World Education Congress next June in Toronto, which will also have a robust hosted buyer element.
Great meeting planners always have the best interests of their attendees at heart. However, many fall short of creating a truly memorable experience by leaving attendees hanging at the end of the day (no Halloween pun intended). Often, event attendees are not local and don’t have anything to do at night after the event wraps up. This void can be particularly noticeable for events held in cities that can’t rely on their tourist attractions to entertain guests.
Go the extra mile for your attendees and plan fun, local, after-hours activities for them to enjoy. These are great bonding experiences for all involved, and lead to lasting connections.
In Connecticut, where I am located, there are so many fall activities going on that it got me thinking about seasonal activities set the perfect stage for localized, unique after-hours experiences for conference attendees and exhibitors. These offer the perfect opportunity to take customers out after hours without going to a bar or club, can be packaged into VIP-branded admissions for your group, and create memories that attendees will keep talking about long after they return home.
The following focuses on after-hours activities in New England in the fall because that’s where I’m located, but these types of activities can cross over into any location and season. Here are a few of my favorites.
Frightening, unforgettable memories at haunted houses
Create lasting memories (or nightmares) by being terrified together. “Haunts,” as we call them in New England, are abundant in the fall leading up to Halloween. There is no better way to bond with your colleagues than by screaming and jumping in terror together. One of my favorites is Fright Fest at Six Flags New England. Only 20 minutes from the Mass Mutual Convention Center in Springfield, Mass., and 30 minutes from the Connecticut Convention Center, this famous attraction is open until 9 p.m. during the week and 11 p.m. on the weekend. This activity will definitely leave an impression on attendees, sponsors and others who love new experiences!
Hay is not just for horses
Hay rides make for a unique after-hours activity for which everyone can get on board. They are perfect for a small group and promote engagement and participation through their close quarters. Sitting side by side with your customers and colleagues for the duration of the ride can be great for business. Nobody will want to fall off of this wagon!
Hit the wine trail
There are many vineyards in New England that offer wine tasting and wine pairing menus with fine-dining cuisine. Take a group to one of Connecticut’s 24 vineyards just for tasting, or treat them with a chef-inspired dinner that features local ingredients. This is an intimate dining experience guests will appreciate. Information can be found at the Connecticut Wine Trail website.
That’s right, it’s a thing. This may be just as terrifying as the haunted house, but possibly more rewarding at the end. There are several zip-lining adventure parks in Connecticut that will have your group soaring through the trees. Take your group to one of the Halloween-themed zip-lining adventures for extra after-hours exhilaration. Glide through the trees at night while bonding with your team.
Get lost in a corn maze
This is the perfect activity to ditch your group of troublemakers from the conference. OK, maybe don’t do that, but it is a great networking activity that your attendees are sure to enjoy. Bring flashlights, form teams and see who can find their way through the corn maze the fastest. Just be sure everyone makes it back to the bus at the end of the night. One of my favorites is at Sonny’s Place because you can cover more than one activity if you like. Your guests can move onto a hay ride or mini-golf after they conquer the maze.
Sunset dinner cruises
If all this fright has your group ready for some R&R, head to the coast for a sunset dinner cruise. There are also lobster dinner cruises where your event guests can dive into the local cuisine. Most of the cruises last about two hours and are a unique, locally themed way to provide a private dining experience for your after-hours group.
It is well worth the investment to plan after-hours events for your guests. The bonding and memories that personalized activities produce just can’t be achieved in traditional bars and restaurants. Go the extra mile to plan something special, and show your guests you are committed to providing them with a memorable experience.
Suppose you thought of departing your current organization to start your own company. Or, you want to develop some news skills, but it will take considerable time and effort to do. In case you’ve already passed a certain age and are thinking, “I have this big dream, but I’m too old,” take heart. Even if you’re in your thirties, forties or fifties, mile-high achievement could still be in store for you—even if you’re past 60, 70 or 80.
Across the board, meeting professionals are living longer than their counterparts of just one generation ago. In particular, you are likely to live longer than you think you will. There’s no telling what you’re capable of two, three or four decades hence. The legendary Grandma Moses became famous as a painter in her seventies and eighties and was still creating notable works of art past age 100.
When Ronald Reagan was re-elected as U.S. president in 1984, he was already 73 years old, and he left office when he was 77. Someday, an octogenarian—someone in his/her 80s—will be president of the United States.
In Reagan’s career, he spent 25 years in the motion picture and entertainment business before entering politics. Challengers frequently belabored his show biz background, yet, because of his longevity, his political career was often longer and more distinguished that that of his challengers. He had simply lived more years, and hence, had done more things.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg, now 85, is a beacon of senior service to America, and hailed as a hero in many sectors of society. We could all cite many others.
For my second career…
Perhaps you’ll remain within the meeting industry or end up in some new venture that is largely unrelated. In Age Wave, Dr.Ken Dychtwald explains how it’s likely that you’ll have several careers within a lifetime—for you this could be in and out of talent development—with some careers totally unrelated to each other. After all, if you graduate college at age 22, you can work for 15 or 18 years in one industry, not even hit your forties, work 25 years in another industry, and even get your pension, and still work another 12 to 15 in another profession and only be in your 70s.
As average lifespans extend beyond 80 and 90, and the health and well-being of the typical career professional continues on at an advanced age, it’s not unrealistic to assume that you might achieve some spectacular goal in some arena of your life that is not even a consideration at this moment.
Many people believe that the seeds of what you might be doing 20 or 40 years from now are already in formation, if only at the cellular level! When I took the course “Technologies for Creating,” designed by Robert Fritz, author of The Path of Least Resistance, I encountered one of the most powerful affirmations of my life to this point. Imagine, Fritz encourages, that everything that you’ve ever done is preparation for what’s coming next…
All the successes, all the failures, all the things that went well, all the things that went up in flames and all of your experiences and learning might well be applied, or at least drawn upon, for the highest good, for what is coming in your life.
With that perspective, you’ve incurred no down time. Whatever roles you’ve taken on in your organization, whatever projects you’ve handled, all if it adds up to no wasted efforts. Your career up until now and your life has been a laboratory of sorts, helping you to prepare for some grand good the likes of which might still not be clear to you.
As the philosophers say, the pattern of the universe (or, more specifically for your purposes, the pattern of your career and life) is right there, visible in everything you do. You have only to recognize how to work with your strengths and limitations, aptitudes and blind spots so as to transcend yourself.
You can boldly go where you’ve never gone before and eventually set and reach goals that in an earlier time might have seemed beyond your essence, yet on some level, were within you all along.
If you’ve been swayed a bit by some of the points in this article, here are suggestions for things you can do in anticipation of a longer life and a more diverse career path.
Undertake some exploratory reading via books, magazines and online articles about the path, and field of endeavor that, for whatever reason, has lingered in the back of your mind. You’re merely exploring, so there is no right or wrong direction. What you learn is all grist, or not, for a future mill.
Talk to people in alternative fields to gain first-hand accounts of what it’s like to be a bee keeper, bank loan officer, forest ranger or what have you. There’s nothing like hearing from those in the know.
Take a sabbatical if your current employment position allows for it, and actually spend time in the potential future job/trade/endeavor. You might decide that you don’t like it or that it’s worth keeping in mind for the future.
Talk to your spouse or partner about your potential aspirations. Who knows, maybe you’ll garner strong support!
Friday, Oct. 5, marks the one-year anniversary of what has been dubbed the #MeToo movement. It’s been a rocky year. Viewing #MeToo and the implications for the meeting industry, there are a number of aspects of our professional lives that require scrutiny:
The emphasis on appearance in hiring.
The use of “booth babes” at trade shows.
The vulnerability of hotel housekeeping staff to sexual harassment and assault.
The excessive consumption of alcohol at some trade shows and corporate events.
The pressure on women to wear revealing attire when working at or hostessing certain events.
It is significant that the day after this anniversary, there’s likely to be a crucial vote in the U.S. Senate involving an aspiring Supreme Court Justice and cases of alleged sexual misconduct. What will be the fallout from the testimonies of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh before the U.S. Senate?
Clearly, thorough background checks need to be conducted during the hiring process. One controversial aspect of the Judge Kavanaugh case is that his actions as a minor have been scrutinized and tried in the court of public opinion. It is a slippery slope when organizations start digging into the behavior of individuals when they were minors. In Canada, where I am based, this would never have been permitted. With few exceptions, there are strict publication bans on:
Information about offenses or alleged offenses committed when someone is a minor.
The names of complainants in sexual assault cases.
Even in jurisdictions where these bans are not in effect, trial by media should be avoided.
Another area of concern is any practice that would involve hiring private investigators to interview former classmates and colleagues. This would open the door to hiring decisions based on rumor, gossip and innuendo.
Best practices need to include the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. There have been a number of instances in which individuals have been immediately fired as the result of allegations. A fairer approach would be to have individuals placed on suspension with pay while an investigation is completed. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, a decision can be made about the appropriate course of action.
Any allegations of sexual assault should immediately be referred to local law enforcement for investigation, rather than reported to the media. Statutes of limitation can be short in some jurisdictions, so delays could result in fewer options for complainants. Also, while there are many who believe that women should automatically be believed, there have been instances in which false allegations have been made. Investigation should always precede publication. All organizations within the industry need to ensure that they provide:
Clear channels for employees to report incidents involving sexual harassment, misconduct and assault.
An investigation process that ensures due process for those who are accused and the protection of complainants from punitive action.
Here is an example of what has been done in the film and television industry.
The #MeToo movement began in the U.S. but the fallout is global. It is time for our industry to review current policies, practices and procedures to ensure that best practices are identified and followed. This won’t be easy, but it is necessary.
Two years ago, my startup team and I were looking for events to attend to get the word out about our company. We settled on two events that charged no registration fee for attendees, thinking we’d save much of our meagre marketing budget by walking the trade show floor and handing out literature about our company. We thought we’d do after-hours networking in the bars and hotels surrounding the convention center, and we created t-shirts that advertised our fledgling brand.
None of us was a member of the event industry before creating the new company, so we had no idea how harmful our practices were to the event planners. In fact, it took another year or two before one of us happened upon an article that made us cringe. We had been suitcasing—but we had no idea that was a prohibited practice.
Some of us had been attending trade shows and conferences for years. Some were veteran suitcasers. Not one of us had ever heard that it was prohibited or unethical. Had we missed the fine print in the registration form? Maybe we had. But can you blame us? Who reads that stuff anyway? We’d heard about events, had decided to put ourselves out there to hustle some sales and branding awareness for our startup, or our company was going to fail. We didn’t have a budget for a booth and even if we had, our company was too young and immature to do formal presentations to customers. We were still in the “market research” phase of development. The value of the booth couldn’t be calculated. And we’d never been kicked out of an event for soliciting outside a booth, so we didn’t know it was wrong.
But we are much more aware now. I suppose awareness is the first step in any behavior change, and please know that we’ve changed our behavior. We’ll affirm, though, that we had no idea how harmful our tactics were—and no exhibitors called us out on our actions. I suspect that many others are in the same position. They continue to attend shows as registered attendees because the cost of exhibiting is too expensive or the idea of standing behind a booth all day doesn’t sit well with them.
I have a recommendation. I think organizers should consider a new kind of hybrid registration that allows non-booth-renters to engage in marketing and solicitation, but in a limited fashion. Maybe allow them in the hall to solicit only at predefined hours. Maybe restrict their access to educational sessions. don’t hire them as speakers or only let them speak at one session. Definitely restrict advertising for them on the event website and in marketing collateral, and don’t list them as exhibitors in your directory. Print their marketing material as part of the package, and maybe limit how much they can pass out. And maybe by describing this hybrid registration on your form, you’ll help to create awareness and understanding. You’ll more easily telegraph the value of your meeting, and you may even raise some additional revenue. And the end result will be a mutual understanding between you, the organizer, and the industry participants who are your future five-figure customers.
We don’t think being a bad cop will achieve the results you look for. If other hotels are willing to host hospitality events for unofficial exhibitors, I suggest you let them. If those events earn higher attendance levels than your official event, learn from them. Marketers are going to do whatever they can to make the most of their marketing spend—and they’re going to discover channels that you haven’t even considered. Market yourselves as partners, though, and you’ll win their trust and loyalty. And that means you may have many more official exhibitors in the future.
Publicity can dramatically change any event, whether a team-building exercise, presentation or quarterly meeting. With media support, corporate training can easily be transformed into a social occasion. A company’s anniversary will become a big celebration for the local business community and a new product presentation will be an important industry event. Media, often called the fourth estate, can be responsible for tens of thousands of people talking about your business.
At ArtNauka, we can say for sure that working with the media is easier than it seems. At the same time, it isn’t obligatory for you to have media friends or “useful acquaintances” in media—you just need to know some important rules. Here are 9 ways to drive media interest for your event.
1. Prepare your strategy before distribution
Before sending the first press release about an event, consider your overall strategy for working with the media. It is very important to understand which media editors will be interested. If it is a social project or a particularly large-scale project, then the news media will want to write about you. If the project is connected with the internal tasks of the company, influential industry magazines and blogs may be interested. If you know just a couple of suitable media outlets, but need more, then you can use SimilarWeb, which is able to find websites that cover similar subjects (scroll down after searching).
Each publication writes in its own style: Some use loud headlines, only publish texts shorter than three paragraphs or insert professional jargon, which can be unclear for a wider audience. You can save an editor’s time by adapting your press release for mass media. It is not necessary to rewrite the text every time, rather make minor edits to get to a couple of versions for different sources. If in doubt, read a couple of the publication’s articles then re-evaluate your text. If it doesn’t feel out of place, send it.
If you need to get close to or make friends with a certain publication or editor, you can get even further. Find a social media profile of the publishing editor. Explore their pages: What do they like or repost? Who are their friends? Where have they been? Make a virtual “portrait” of the person and write to them.
3. Follow the hierarchy
Generally, the media falls into two categories: mass (tabloid) and professional. The rule of the food chain works for both categories. When sending material to mass media, first write to those with large readerships, then write to smaller ones. If your press release interests larger organizations, then lower-ranked websites and publishers may repost the materials with reference to the original source. You’ll save time and effort, plus secure the trust of the large mass media because uniqueness of the original publication will belong to them.
The situation is slightly different with professional publications. In this case it is important that the information is presented individually to each publication—never send the same text to multiple media outlets. The best way around this is to dispense information to a variety of sources. In one release you can discuss the event’s VIPs or speakers, in another add other event schedule highlights and in yet another, describe an interactive element.
4. Make plans and follow them on time
You will need to outline the approximate plan of action before sending the first press release about your event to mass media. How many qualitative press releases (containing real information) can you prepare before the event? How often are you planning to send them to the media and to which publications are they going to be sent initially?
Make a schedule of the press releases, list the planned topics and never confuse matters with post-event press releases. The news that dispatched a day or two after an event will have long been “spoiled” and only dilute the newsfeed. Present your story as something hot and actual. Only then will it be interesting to mass media and readers.
5. How many emails will be enough?
The most important question often occurs after long preparation: How do you write to mass media editorial offices? If you can’t find any individual editor contact details, simply write to a corporate email—this is usually found under “contact us” on the organization’s website. Social networks can also help: Journalists and top bloggers sometimes include their email addresses there.
But please don’t send a press release as a personal message on Facebook or LinkedIn. Public people appreciate their personal space—for work they use email, for chatting with friends and for operational issues they use instant messengers or social networks. Do you like receiving promotional mailings in WhatsApp? At best, the material will be sent to the recycle bin; at worst you will be blacklisted.
Learn to write personalized messages to reach journalists and editors, otherwise your messages may be blocked by mail spam filters. Don’t be lazy: Send press releases in separate messages rather than mass mailing 10 addresses. Ideally, it is worth writing personally to leading journalists or editors, addressing them by name in the greeting. If there are no such contacts, it is appropriate to send it to a general editorial email address.
Try to make your letter a little bit different to the hundreds of press releases that editors receive every day. Begin with a personal greeting or a simple explanation as to who you are and why you are reaching out to the publication. It is important that your letter stands out from the general stream and that editorial staff immediately understand that it is an interesting subject worth working on.
7. Don’t dilute your brand with plugs
A logo on each photo and a long list of partners at the end of a press release can become a stumbling block for publication. Most media clearly separate advertising and editorial content, therefore they will remove info about commercial partners or even ask you to pay to have the news published. But what if you have already promised partners that you will mention them in the publicity materials? Our advice is simple, make the event interesting for the media, regardless of brands. The more you push the media to mention your partner companies through press releases or at the event itself, the less likely they will be to want to share it. Take an organic approach: Let the catering be so good that visitors and journalists want to know who is responsible for the buffet reception, and let the sponsor provide gifts.
The same rule applies concerning photos with company logos. Even if such photographs are published in the media, “advertising blindness” will affect readers and the logo will remain unnoticed. In this case, bold colors and striking color combinations, simple symbols and fonts will create the strongest identity. Just remember, mobile operators have already discovered this and have created strong brand identities without even mentioning their own name in the branding.
The final photo report or video from an event does not always show the real picture. Go slightly further and show another side of the action: the preparation process, final rehearsal, first guests meeting, etc. Backstage is often perceived as something very personal, because you show what wasn’t seen by active participants at the event. In addition, these shots are valued by trade publications for which off-screen material is more important and more interesting than a traditional multimedia report.
9. Build relationships
Working with the media is a relationship. Start building that relationship right away. To start, simply show care and a serious attitude: Save an editor’s or journalist’s time by sending prepared and crafted material which corresponds to the style of the publication. Don’t try to include all the info about the event in a single press release. If additional info is needed, they will write or call to get details.
And, of course, keep a database of friendly media, including personal email addresses and phone numbers of editors and journalists that are open to you. They have to be first to receive the details of hot and fresh news about your projects. After all, the one who possesses information rules the world!
Now that Labor Day has passed, and summer is drawing to a close, event and meeting planners are settling back into their routines. With the return of students to classes, it’s time for event industry professionals to devote quality time to reflecting on their own professional development—and creativity is such an important competency when planning meetings, events and conferences. For this reason, one area of focus should be tapping into your creativity.
Are people born creative? Can people learn to be creative? There has been considerable debate about this. One thing is certain: It is possible to flex your creative muscles by using a range of strategies. Pick one or more that appeals to you.
Improv involves responding with spontaneity through a range of exercises and situations. The dynamic at play is very similar to the environment in which event and meeting planners operate daily. Through improv, you’ll learn how to spin on a dime and develop greater comfort in responding to curves that are thrown your way without panicking.
3. Explore the culinary arts
Catering and menu planning are such an important part of meeting conferences and events that it makes sense for event professionals to explore the culinary arts. Whether it’s a semester long course at a community program or a series of one-day workshops, the skills that are acquired will have immediate benefits. The possibilities are endless. Select form grilling, baking, cake decorating, pastry making and more.
Select something that appeals to you. Whether it’s drawing, painting, pottery or sculpture, honing your creative skills will spill over into your work in the event and meeting industry. You don’t have to be naturally gifted to explore the visual arts. For example, a museum in Toronto regularly offers a course called “Drawing for Those who Can’t.”
5. Learn to play a musical instrument
If you’ve ever wanted to learn to play the piano, guitar or drums, there is no time like the present to get started. Select an approach that is compatible with your learning style. Group classes, private lessons and workshops are available in most locations.
Music and movement have a way of freeing people up. So, take your pick from salsa, reggae, line dancing, ballroom and even capoeira (Brazilian non-contact martial arts through music).
7. Set up a creativity corner in your home or office
Assemble sketch pads, adult coloring books, colored pencils, drawing pencils, poetry books, Bristol board, scissors, magazines, tape, glue, music, candles and flowers to create a space to explore your creativity when you and, if it’s at work, your co-workers need a break. The next time you have to come up with a theme for an event, create a mind map or treasure map using photos and text. It requires no skill to cut and paste photos on a Bristol board and this process can transform your brainstorming.
These are just a few ideas. Any of these strategies will help you approach your work with greater creativity. Brainstorm and come up with seven more tactics to flex your creativity before selecting what appeals to you.
MPI’s Meetings Outlook 2018 Summer Edition planner responses indicated that while “66 percent predict favorable business conditions, only 3.1 percent say negotiations are becoming simpler.” In contrast, 54.9 percent of respondents claim contract negotiations are becoming more complex. Today’s hotel meeting contracts are getting longer and longer and that would certainly indicate more specificity, if not more complexity. Whether contract trends are new or old, it is the meeting professional’s responsibility to read every single word of the contract carefully and seek advice from their legal counsel as warranted.
What should be keeping you up at night?
In August, Electronic Arts (EA) secured the GLHF Game Bar, for its Madden Football Gaming Tournament. Someone planned that event, but no one checked to see if the pizzeria/game bar complied with local ordinances. It had not, failing to secure building plans and being issued three fire code violations. A 24-year-old gamer walked into the venue with a gun, killed two, injured 11 others and then took his own life. Lawsuits are beginning to surface, naming both EA and the pizzeria as defendants, claiming that it was the responsibility of both to provide a safe place for the participants. This is not the first time a venue has been sued for failing to provide a safe place. In 2012, in Aurora, Colo., a man walked into a movie theater and killed 12 people, wounding more than 70 others. Victims sued but ended up owing the venue hundreds of thousands of dollars. Because of the building and fire violations, these lawsuits may yield a different decision.
What does your contract say about safety and security protocols? Do you have procedures in place to ensure compliance? This is a complicated issue and most likely one you should seek professional guidance to protect your organization.
What about boilerplate clauses?
Attrition, force majeure, cancellation and liability clauses are just a few of the clauses considered by most to be boilerplate clauses. When you receive a contract, is your inclination to start reading a clause and stop part way through it because you are sure you know what the rest of it says? Don’t glaze over them. Read them thoroughly and check them against clauses in other contracts you manage. Is there something different between the two?
For instance, if the attrition clause in another contract sets out your room nights as cumulative, does the draft contract describe them as being on a “per night” basis, such that you could oversell your room block on three of four nights but undersell one night and face attrition penalties?
2018 has seen a fair share of weather-related deadlines, with many meetings and events affecting around the globe. Do you know what your force majeure clause contains and whether it is adequate to deal with storms, hurricanes, volcanoes and other weather events? With weather reports being delivered to inboxes daily, are your attendees more likely to cancel attendance for fear of a projected weather event? Even if you don’t want to cancel the event, is there wiggle room in your force majeure clause to minimize or waive attrition and/or food and beverage minimums.
How does the venue handle cybersecurity issues as they deal with your attendees’ personal information? While our industry has been focused on GDPR and related privacy policies, where does the venue stand on your guests’ personally identifiable information? Hotel privacy policies are quietly changing. If you don’t think so, check their website for their privacy policy and the next time you check into a hotel as a transient guest, pay attention to what you are signing—you may be signing away your right to pursue action against the hotel in the event of a data breach. If you are asked to sign anything at check-in be sure to pay attention to the 5- or 6-point type at the bottom. Does it say something like this?
The hotel and its providers of products and services are not liable for injury, loss or damage to your computer, or interception or use of our credit card or other personally identifiable information.
Take special care to ensure, as a meeting organizer, you are not similarly being asked in the contract to assume responsibility for responsibilities that clearly rests with the venue or its owner. Other, similar concerns arise when your draft contract contains language that shifts responsibility for damage to the property from the individual attendee to the meeting organizer.
Do you know who owns the venue you have chosen for your event? While a property may have a well-known hotel brand’s name, it may be a franchise, owned by another company. Ensure that ownership of the property is spelled out in your contract and what the property’s obligations are to notify you should the ownership change.
Once a contract is signed, revisit it every year to ensure that things have not changed at the property since the contract was executed. That gorgeous spa you were counting on to wow your attendees may no longer exist. Likewise, monitor your chosen venue to ensure there are no new fees the property has instituted since your contract was signed. A good practice is to ensure the property discloses all mandatory fees at the time of the RFP and a statement included in the contract that no fees can be added or modified without being agreed to in writing.
One of the newer irritations is the urban destination fee which is not a resort fee but acts like one. A bundle of items such as a specified dollar credit in a restaurant, an internet fee and similar, so-called enhancements are added to the daily room rate—enhancements you may never use but are charged for. Be sure to include a request for disclosure of these fees in your RFP and detailed in your contract as to whether they will be charged and in what amount.
In the end, how successful you are in getting the contract you want depends on establishing a relationship with your venue partner so that both of you work in unison for the success of your event and satisfaction of your attendees. Successful events are founded in successful partnerships between the meeting professional and the venue representative.
Marriott International disturbed the status quo earlier this year by cutting third-party planner commissions by three percent. Other brands followed suit, while some brands refused to do so. Is that a bellwether of other hotel-favorable changes to meeting and event contracts? In a seller’s market, anything could happen. Be vigilant!
MPI’s Meetings Outlook 2018 Summer Edition planner responses indicated that while “66 percent predict favorable business conditions, only 3.1 percent say negotiations are becoming simpler.” In contrast, 54.9 percent of respondents claim contract negotiations are becoming more complex. Today’s hotel meeting contracts are getting longer and longer and that would certainly indicate more specificity, if not more complexity. Whether contract trends are new or old, it is the meeting professional’s responsibility to read every single word of the contract carefully and seek advice from their legal counsel as warranted.
What should be keeping you up at night?
In August, Electronic Arts (EA) secured the GLHF Game Bar, for its Madden Football Gaming Tournament. Someone planned that event, but no one checked to see if the pizzeria/game bar complied with local ordinances. It had not, failing to secure building plans and being issued three fire code violations. A 24-year-old gamer walked into the venue with a gun, killed two, injured 11 others and then took his own life. Lawsuits are beginning to surface, naming both EA and the pizzeria as defendants, claiming that it was the responsibility of both to provide a safe place for the participants. This is not the first time a venue has been sued for failing to provide a safe place. In 2012, in Aurora, Colo., a man walked into a movie theater and killed 12 people, wounding more than 70 others. Victims sued but ended up owing the venue hundreds of thousands of dollars. Because of the building and fire violations, these lawsuits may yield a different decision.
What does your contract say about safety and security protocols? Do you have procedures in place to ensure compliance? This is a complicated issue and most likely one you should seek professional guidance to protect your organization.
What about boilerplate clauses?
Attrition, force majeure, cancellation and liability clauses are just a few of the clauses considered by most to be boilerplate clauses. When you receive a contract, is your inclination to start reading a clause and stop part way through it because you are sure you know what the rest of it says? Don’t glaze over them. Read them thoroughly and check them against clauses in other contracts you manage. Is there something different between the two?
For instance, if the attrition clause in another contract sets out your room nights as cumulative, does the draft contract describe them as being on a “per night” basis, such that you could oversell your room block on three of four nights but undersell one night and face attrition penalties?
2018 has seen a fair share of weather-related deadlines, with many meetings and events affecting around the globe. Do you know what your force majeure clause contains and whether it is adequate to deal with storms, hurricanes, volcanoes and other weather events? With weather reports being delivered to inboxes daily, are your attendees more likely to cancel attendance for fear of a projected weather event? Even if you don’t want to cancel the event, is there wiggle room in your force majeure clause to minimize or waive attrition and/or food and beverage minimums.
How does the venue handle cybersecurity issues as they deal with your attendees’ personal information? While our industry has been focused on GDPR and related privacy policies, where does the venue stand on your guests’ personally identifiable information? Hotel privacy policies are quietly changing. If you don’t think so, check their website for their privacy policy and the next time you check into a hotel as a transient guest, pay attention to what you are signing—you may be signing away your right to pursue action against the hotel in the event of a data breach. If you are asked to sign anything at check-in be sure to pay attention to the 5- or 6-point type at the bottom. Does it say something like this?
The hotel and its providers of products and services are not liable for injury, loss or damage to your computer, or interception or use of our credit card or other personally identifiable information.
Take special care to ensure, as a meeting organizer, you are not similarly being asked in the contract to assume responsibility for responsibilities that clearly rests with the venue or its owner. Other, similar concerns arise when your draft contract contains language that shifts responsibility for damage to the property from the individual attendee to the meeting organizer.
Do you know who owns the venue you have chosen for your event? While a property may have a well-known hotel brand’s name, it may be a franchise, owned by another company. Ensure that ownership of the property is spelled out in your contract and what the property’s obligations are to notify you should the ownership change.
Once a contract is signed, revisit it every year to ensure that things have not changed at the property since the contract was executed. That gorgeous spa you were counting on to wow your attendees may no longer exist. Likewise, monitor your chosen venue to ensure there are no new fees the property has instituted since your contract was signed. A good practice is to ensure the property discloses all mandatory fees at the time of the RFP and a statement included in the contract that no fees can be added or modified without being agreed to in writing.
One of the newer irritations is the urban destination fee which is not a resort fee but acts like one. A bundle of items such as a specified dollar credit in a restaurant, an internet fee and similar, so-called enhancements are added to the daily room rate—enhancements you may never use but are charged for. Be sure to include a request for disclosure of these fees in your RFP and detailed in your contract as to whether they will be charged and in what amount.
In the end, how successful you are in getting the contract you want depends on establishing a relationship with your venue partner so that both of you work in unison for the success of your event and satisfaction of your attendees. Successful events are founded in successful partnerships between the meeting professional and the venue representative.
Marriott International disturbed the status quo earlier this year by cutting third-party planner commissions by three percent. Other brands followed suit, while some brands refused to do so. Is that a bellwether of other hotel-favorable changes to meeting and event contracts? In a seller’s market, anything could happen. Be vigilant!
For more information about the Redding CVB’s “What’s on the OUTSIDE counts, too!” campaign, to schedule a visit or to learn more about the area’s meeting and event options, contact Jennifer Fontana (530-225-4105), the CVB’s group coordinator.
As reports continue to fill the meeting/event industry media and the social media posts of its members, in the wake of the record-breaking 
Starting with “Identify your priorities,” the above post offers advice for planners to be prepared entering the hosted buyer realm. If you qualify as a fully hosted participant, sure there will be no (or minimal) direct out-of-pocket expense for you, but your time certainly has a value—and to get the most out of going to a massive event such as IMEX America, you need to do your homework and actively engaging with the community before, during and after the event.
Hay is not just for horses
Get lost in a corn maze
All the successes, all the failures, all the things that went well, all the things that went up in flames and all of your experiences and learning might well be applied, or at least drawn upon, for the highest good, for what is coming in your life.
I have a recommendation. I think organizers should consider a new kind of hybrid registration that allows non-booth-renters to engage in marketing and solicitation, but in a limited fashion. Maybe allow them in the hall to solicit only at predefined hours. Maybe restrict their access to educational sessions. don’t hire them as speakers or only let them speak at one session. Definitely restrict advertising for them on the event website and in marketing collateral, and don’t list them as exhibitors in your directory. Print their marketing material as part of the package, and maybe limit how much they can pass out. And maybe by describing this hybrid registration on your form, you’ll help to create awareness and understanding. You’ll more easily telegraph the value of your meeting, and you may even raise some additional revenue. And the end result will be a mutual understanding between you, the organizer, and the industry participants who are your future five-figure customers.
Publicity can dramatically change any event, whether a team-building exercise, presentation or quarterly meeting. With media support, corporate training can easily be transformed into a social occasion. A company’s anniversary will become a big celebration for the local business community and a new product presentation will be an important industry event. Media, often called 
5. Learn to play a musical instrument
