RDL Talks!

A final farewell…

2011-12-15T08:06:00.000-08:00

After 23 years of providing comprehensive meeting planning services to clients across the US, RDL enterprises is closing its doors and our staff will be moving on to new projects and adventures.

Thank you for reading RDL Talks! In the past two and a half years, I have received some wonderful feedback on the blog and hope you have found the information useful and, maybe, a little entertaining as well.

Although there will be no further posts on this blog, previous posts will continue to be available. Click on an author’s name in the Authors List to the left to see their contributions to this blog.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • RDL Talks! Editor

What is Reception Seating?

2011-12-14T08:03:00.000-08:00

[This post is the fifth and final post in a series of pieces looking at the different types of room sets in more detail than we have previously. To finish out the series, we’ll take a look at Reception Seating...]

Reception has its own seating style? Really? Yes, really. In the hospitality industry, receptions have their own seating style. Why? Basically because people take up space even if no chairs or tables are provided. Therefore, in order to know how many people can safely fit into a room for a reception, you need to know how much space a single person needs.

Seven to eight square feet per person is the basic space requirement – and that figure presumes no chairs, no tables, no audio-visual equipment, and no other items (such as decorations) that might take up any space. I typically assume ten square feet per person for receptions so that I have a little space built in to provide some seating, a few highboys (chest high tables to put food and drinks on), and food and beverage tables. My estimate also allows space for minor AV.

So, now that we know the basic space requirement, we can come up with an estimate for how many people can safely be in the room at the same time. However, the more space you use for other things, the less space you will have for people. I know this sounds pretty obvious, but I have seen people try to take a room that holds 100 people maximum, then try to add in a dance floor, a buffet, a DJ, and lots of floor decorations – and still want to get 100 people in there at once. That rarely works. Remember: for every item that takes up floor space, you need to reduce the maximum attendance accordingly.

Ultimately, though, Reception “Seating” is the most flexible of any of the seating styles. You don’t have to provide seats for everyone since you anticipate people mingling (tables and chairs discourage that). You can maximize the use of oddly shaped spaces because you are not fixed into any particular placement for tables. Buffet tables can fit into spaces where you would never be able to fit tables and chairs for a meeting and what few tables and chairs you do provide can go almost anywhere. Unlike other sets, your creativity is limited only by the amount of space available.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

View and download a Seating Capacity Chart here.

What is Conference Seating?

2011-12-12T08:09:00.000-08:00

[This post is the fourth in a series of pieces looking at the different types of room sets in more detail than we have previously. Last week, we covered Theater, Classroom, and Rounds. Today, we examine Conference Seating...]

Most people outside the meetings industry consider "Conference" Seating to be the same as Theater, or they might equate it with Classroom seating. This is because they don’t attach any special meaning to the word “conference”. However, those in the industry do have a particular meaning for the word, especially when used to describe a seating style.

Basically, Conference Seating is a style in which all participants are seated around the same table. Conference seating is very useful for small gatherings that need to be face-to-face to conduct their business. Picture a boardroom table: you have perhaps ten to twelve people all seated around a rectangular or oval table. They can easily interact with each other and there is typically a “head” where the most important person usually sits. This style also works well with small work groups. They can easily move around and the table provides ample workspace.

The major drawback of the style is that it requires quite a bit more space than any of the other seating arrangements – I usually estimate 40 square feet per person for this one – and can quickly become unworkable if you have too many people around the table. I have done this set with as many as 50 people seated around the same “table” and they needed microphones to amplify their voices just so they could be heard across the room. As it was, the size made genuine personal interaction difficult to do, if not impossible, for anyone more than one or two seats away from you.

I can just see you sitting there trying to figure out how you make a table that big. The answer is – you don’t. Once you reach a certain number of participants (about 20 or so) that need to sit around the same table, you have to abandon the concept of an unbroken surface all the way across the table and switch to a variant called Hollow Square. With Hollow Square, you use the same tables that are used for Classroom seating to create a square with the center open (or hollow). This allows you to have more people around the same "table".

U-Shape Seating is essentially the same, but with one side of the square removed (making it look like a "U" from above). You lose a quarter of your seating, but gain the ability to use the center space that would otherwise be inaccessible.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

View and download a Seating Capacity Chart here.

What are Rounds?

2011-12-09T08:15:00.000-08:00

[This post is the third in a series of pieces looking at the different types of room sets in more detail than we have previously. Earlier this week, we covered Theater and Classroom Seating. In this post, we’ll look at Rounds...]

Rounds (RND). What is that exactly? Well, in the case of the meetings industry, it is a style of seating where people sit around a table, one that is nearly always round or oval in shape (hence the name). The easiest way for most people to visualize this is to think of a banquet or a wedding reception. Eight to ten people sit around a table and there might be 20-30 tables set in rows to accommodate all of the guests.

• Size: 60” and 72” diameters are the standard options.
• Seating: 8 to 10 people per table
• Space Requirements: 15 square feet per person

Why is this style common? Primarily for one reason that I’ve already mentioned: banquets. Seating in Rounds is a good way to feed people and allows for social interaction during the meal – something which most people, at some level, enjoy most of the time. But, how well does it work for meetings?

Well, it depends on what your goals for the meeting are. Rounds are good for workshops or trainings where participants will need to work together in teams. This style lends itself quite well to creating pre-set teams without any real effort on the part of the speaker or the organizers. It is also good for sessions where participants need a lot of table space to work on projects. Regardless of whether each person is working with others or on their own, Rounds provide ample space for shared supplies and materials while leaving enough workspace open for them to do any projects.

Rounds do not do so well with traditional, presentation-focused sessions. No matter where you are in the room or how you orient the table, at least one third will have to place their backs to the presentation or give up a surface to write upon. Perhaps another third will be sitting with the table to one side or the other, which can create just as many problems for note taking if the table is not on your writing hand side. This means that only one third (or a little over that) of your audience will have a good view of the presentation and an effective surface to write on. However, let’s not write this style off completely just yet…

The variant of Rounds that does work fairly well for meetings is called Crescent Rounds. With this approach, you remove the roughly one third of the seats with their backs to the speaker, leaving six or seven chairs remaining (out of ten originally). Furthermore, you don’t redistribute the chairs around the table to “space them out”. Instead, you keep them in their original spots. That means one section of the table will have nobody sitting in it – but it also means that more people can have both a writing surface and a good view of the presentation.

So, why would you use Crescent Rounds instead of Classroom, for example? Well, use of Crescent Rounds allows you to harness the advantages of Rounds (such as for small group work) while still allowing effective participation in lecture-style presentations. The downside of Crescent Rounds is that, since you have fewer people sitting at each table, you will need more tables and, hence, more space to accommodate the same number of people. The space factor is one reason I think we don’t see this frequently as a room set, though it is still used often enough to be one of the basic sets that all planners should know.

Another alternative, if you have enough space available, is to use a double set. (Check out this post for more information about double sets.) This would allow you to have a presentation in one half of a room and small group activities or meals in the other half. Such a set reduces transition time (no needing to find your way around the hotel if you are just going to another spot in the same room) and can help moderators keep track of participants a little easier.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

View and download a Seating Capacity Chart here.

What is Classroom Seating?

2011-12-07T08:11:00.000-08:00

[This post is the second in a series of pieces looking at the different types of room sets in more detail than we have previously. On Monday, we looked at Theater Seating. Today: Classroom Seating.]

Also called Schoolroom Seating, Classroom Seating (CR or SR) is one of the most common types of room sets used for meetings and conferences. So, what are the characteristics of this type of seating?

• Length: 6’ or 8’ per table
• Table Height: 30”
• Table Depth (width): 18”, 24”, or 30”
• Seating: 2 – 4 people per table

Why is it used so frequently? Well, one of the reasons classroom seating is popular is because it gives attendees a surface on which to write (as well as a place to put snacks and drinks). This makes it an ideal choice for all-day training sessions and workshops in which attendees need to take notes, work on projects, or just need to do a lot of writing.

Generally, the tables are set up in rows facing the front of the room. Since most meeting rooms are essentially rectangular in shape, this basic setup fits quite well into them. For oddly shaped rooms, though, this may not be an efficient style. And, in any case, this is not the seating style that allows the maximum number of seats in the room (that prize goes to theater seating). Since it does not provide the maximum possible seating for a room, you may need to do a double set or a different set entirely for larger groups.

Sometimes, especially in larger rooms, those who sit at the far edges of the room may have trouble viewing the screen (or the speaker) simply due to their angle relative to the screen. There is a way to address this while still using Classroom Seating, though. The planner will angle the rows slightly to create a variant called Chevron Seating. Using this variant requires a bit more space than the basic classroom style to accommodate the same number of people. However, the benefits of having everyone with a direct view of the speaker usually outweigh the loss of a few seats or the extra space needed.

“Basic” Classroom and Chevron Seating can be mixed as well, which is commonly done in larger rooms and with greater numbers of attendees. The seats directly in front of the stage are set square to the front of the room, while the rows that are off to either side are angled. The goal here is to ensure that everyone in the audience is able to have a good view of the presentation.

Classroom Seating, regardless of the variant used, does have one other drawback: it is generally not conducive to interaction among the participants. The focus of this seating style is typically the front of the room. That positioning highlights the speaker and subtly emphasizes the didactic (lecture) nature of most presentations.

So how much space does this style use? You’re looking at approximately 15 square feet per person if the tables are 18” wide and 20 square feet per person if they are 30”. In the rare cases where I have come across 24” wide tables, I use the 20 square foot number to be on the safe side. Here’s a handy-dandy seating chart to help you figure out how much space you’ll need based on your expected attendance (up to 1,000 people).

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

What is Theater Seating?

2011-12-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

[This post is the first in a series of pieces looking at the different types of room sets in more detail than we have previously. This week: Theater Seating.]

Theater seating is probably the most common seating style in use today – especially for large events. Needing just ten square feet per person (eight if no AV), it allows you to fit the greatest number of people into any meeting space (while not violating fire codes). However, that is not the only reason it is popular. It is also flexible and quick to set up or strike, making room changes easier than with many other room sets.

The standard configuration for Theater Seating is to place the chairs in long, straight rows. The area in front of the stage is set with the chairs directly facing it. All of the rest of the rows in the room are set in line with and parallel to those. However, there is much more that can be done with this style and the possible configurations are not limited to just this one method.

For instance, you can change the angle of the rows, or even the chairs themselves, to provide better viewing angles. Better yet, set the chairs in an arc around the front of the stage, giving everyone a “head-on” view of the speaker. You can even place the chairs in a circle to promote sharing and interaction. Placing chairs in concentric rings creates a “stage” in the center, which creates a more intimate space in the room.

If your attendance soars (a great problem to have usually), you may find yourself running out of seats. With Theater Seating, it is easy to bring in more seats (assuming you’re not already at capacity for the room). With many conferences I work on, I will recommend planning to use another seating style first if possible, one that uses more square footage per person, and shift to Theater Seating when the numbers increase beyond the capacity for the original style.

Fortunately, the math for this style is pretty easy to do in your head. Simply multiply the number of expected attendees by ten and you have the approximate total square footage you need (including space for AV, aisles, etc.). If you know the total amount of usable space in a room, you can figure out how many people should fit by dividing the total square footage by ten. And, if you don’t want to do the math, here’s a room capacity chart I whipped up to help you with the numbers.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Signage for the Budget Minded

2011-12-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

We all have clients who are very careful about how money is spent on their signage. We have done everything from large banners and foam core signs to an inexpensive slip-in sign holder. In many cases we have done a combinations of all these options for one client.

If you are looking for an inexpensive way to produce signs for your client try using slip-in sign holders. We use commercially produced sign holders from PC Nametag. These holders are 16X20 inches with a vinyl pocket that holds 8 ½ x 11 inch paper. In addition to having the signs in multiple colors, they also have one that is a large red arrow with the vinyl pocket. The signs are inexpensive and we used our first set almost 10 years. Although we have lost some to shipping, the wind, and even once to a lawn mower, these signs still fill many of our signage needs. We now have a large portfolio case that we use to ship the sign holders to our events and that has increased their survival rate.

The key to making these sign holders look like they belong to the event is the consistency of the message on the insert. The logo and name of the conference needs to be large enough to be recognizable from a distance. Once attendees key into the signs being a part of their event, they know to look for them and the information they convey, either in terms of what is happening in a meeting room, or directions to difficult to find rooms. The vinyl pocket allows room for multiple pieces of paper so, for each session, the old sign can come out and the next page is ready with the new information.

These portable sign holders can be used either landscape or portrait. Sometimes we have arrived on site with our signage produced portrait style to find that the only way an arrow will work is landscape. We have learned to bring some of each style and/or produce new ones on site. We always have the template for our signs with us in case we need to make changes to the information, such a new speaker or a cancellation.

Another cost savings tool we use focuses on the large foam core signs. We set them up to allow for the customization of information by having generic general signage with space to place a smaller sign, attached with Velcro, that makes the sign specific to an event. Our inserts are usually 2-3 inches in height and the width of the sign, though they can be done at any size you need for your functions. The same sign or series of signs can be used to welcome attendees, direct them to a reception or a luncheon, and they can often be moved to off-site events and customized accordingly. We even have had red arrows made for our signs to convert them to directional signs. For local events, the large signs can be reused each year, providing the basic information and design is generic enough.

We find that using these combinations of signs has represented a significant cost savings for our client. The slip-in signs and the inserts for the foam core signs are inexpensive, representing a significant cost savings over custom signs for our clients’ events.

~ Linda Begbie • Executive Director and Meeting Planner, RDL enterprises

So how much water should I drink while at a conference?

2011-11-30T08:14:00.000-08:00

Last week, I talked about the importance of staying hydrated while at a conference – whether as an attendee or an organizer – and gave suggestions for how to do so. However, I did not mention how much you should drink, which begs the question of what the right amount of fluid intake is for a person attending a conference. The answer is – all together now – it depends.

Your body needs what it needs. This seemingly unhelpful piece of wisdom is actually quite appropriate when it comes to water consumption. Many people still believe that you need to consume eight to ten 8-ounce glasses of water each day to stay properly hydrated. However, the science behind that statement is completely lacking and, according to snopes.com, even nutritionists and physicians who specialize in water and hydration do not know where that “rule” came from.

If you lose 80 ounces of water throughout the day, then, yes, you need to take in roughly the equivalent of about ten 8-ounce glasses of water each day because you need to replace what you have lost. But even that figure is somewhat misleading. After all, (1) it doesn’t need to be water, though that is usually the best option; and (2) you actually can get much of your daily fluid intake from food as well.

How much water do you get from food? According to this article by the Mayo Clinic, your food typically accounts for about 20% of your daily fluid intake. If you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, then you are getting a higher percentage of water from your food than usual. The more water you get from your food, the less you need to actually drink.

What liquids, other than water, can you drink? Just about anything in a typical diet. Coffee, tea, juice, soda, milk – even beer and wine – can all count towards your daily intake of water since they are comprised primarily of water. Now, that is not to say that these are optimal replacements for water, nor should they make up a large portion of your total intake, but they do count towards the total – which is something usually ignored or overlooked by those pushing the “eight 8-ounce glasses of water” rule. Water is still generally the best choice, though: it is “calorie-free, inexpensive, and readily available” (Mayo Clinic; italics are mine).

Don’t forget, too, that other factors come into play as well. How physically active are you on a given day, what is the weather like, how humid is it, what physical conditions do you have, etc. are all key factors. These and other factors feed into the question of how much water you should drink daily. And the answer may be vastly different each day… Pay attention to what your body is telling you and, most of the time, you will be on track to drink enough water

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Event Cost Savings: Signage

2011-11-28T16:54:00.000-08:00

Creating signage for events is an easy task that every planner can do with ease. When planning an event, it is important to have the correct information available and an easy-to-read format for attendees. However, the display and choice of materials is widely varied. Often the client budget is a big factor in how elaborate signage is at any given event.

RDL takes pride in working with our clients in all facets of planning the logistics of their meetings, conferences, or events. Client budgets are always very important and looking for cost savings measures for our clients are options that we like to share. Signage can be a huge expense and the message is the same; directions & information for attendees. Signs can be as large as billboards, they can be multiple colors, illuminated, 3-dimensional, magnetic, and in every size and shape imaginable. Banners and large foam-core signs are beautiful and depending on the number of signs needed to assist attendees in getting from place to place and knowing what is happening in each venue can be huge.

Here’s some information for many different and unique options for event signage.

Signage can also be very moderated and still be quite effective, depending on the venue, the client and the number of attendees. RDL planners often reduce the cost of big expensive signs by using slip in sign holders.

The slip in sign holders have borders in many colors that can compliment our client’s theme or colors. These sign holders have a plastic center for a 8/5x11 pre-printed sign. This style sign is easy, efficient and inexpensive for our clients. These slip in signs also have large red arrows to assist attendees with directions to venue meeting rooms and other events. Signage provides directional assistance to elevators, up and down stairs, around corners, and down long hallways.

Just a little bit of information that I thought would be interesting to share. Great to know of something that other planners may not be aware of & to know that this form of signage is cost inexpensive and efficient.

~ Cyndy Hutchinson • Executive Director, RDL enterprises

A New Way to Do Business with the Federal Government

2011-11-25T08:12:00.000-08:00

As meeting, conference and event planners, it is always a challenge to find ways to work with the Federal Government. The newest strategy we have seen in requests for quotes has been for NO COST contracting. This means that the planner is required to recoup all of the costs incurred in planning the event, usually including the meeting site costs. This is done through registration, exhibitor, and sponsor fees. The challenge is to determine reasonableness in building a budget based on anticipated costs and projected income, including no charge to government employees. This is, of course, much easier when you have a meeting that will draw your anticipated number of attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors. Sometimes the government gives you a range of attendees, which is another challenge for budgeting.

I know the government agencies are looking for ways to save money, but we must caution ourselves, not to lose money in the process of contracting with the government. One of the recent bids we did required no more than a 10% profit to the contractor. In building a budget, that is easy to project, in reality I am not sure how that works.

We find this to be a new and interesting trend. We have seen it in the private sector for a long time, but now the government is engaging in this practice, without a full understanding of the consequences. When bidding, you don’t have a contract with a meeting site, an audio-visual vendor, a drayage company, or a caterer. This means that much of what you use to determine a registration fee to propose to the government is based on your experience and best guesses as you are projecting costs.

We will keep you posted on how this trend as we continue in our efforts to work with the Federal Government.

~ Linda Begbie • Executive Director, RDL enterprises

Drink Up! The Importance of Staying Hydrated while at a Conference

2011-11-23T08:11:00.000-08:00

Most people are aware of the basic facts about water consumption – the human body is approximately 75% water, you lose water throughout the day through normal activities and you need to take in a certain amount each day to replace what is lost, etc., etc. [Dehydration occurs when you take in less water than you lose, creating an imbalance.] However, many people are not aware of just how much even a little dehydration can reduce your effectiveness.

We all know that being thirsty is a sign of dehydration but did you know that even mild to moderate levels of dehydration can result in headaches, sleepiness, physical weakness, or dizziness? Higher levels of dehydration can become dangerous: irritability and confusion, low blood pressure, fever, and even loss of consciousness (Sources: Mayo Clinic and Medicine Net). Since we need to remain healthy and productive while managing an event, hydration is a key component that we cannot ignore.

Of course, you’d never let yourself become so dehydrated that you lose consciousness, right? You’d recognize it right away and drink more water, right? Maybe – but are you even aware of the symptoms and that dehydration is the reason you feel “off”? It is surprisingly easy to reach high levels of dehydration without realizing it – especially at a conference, and especially if you are the one “in charge” of the event. Why is that? I chalk it up to self-perception.

When I am onsite and the Lead for a conference, I become focused on all of the myriad details that need to me monitored to ensure a smooth-flowing event. The more details that need monitoring, the more focused I become on the needs of the event – sometimes to the point of forgetting my own needs (like eating and drinking). My focus (something needed, by the way) can get in the way of my ability to self-perceive my own condition. And this is not just something that I face. I have heard from other planners who have had similar experiences – and seen it occur in others as well.

Even attendees can suffer from dehydration. Have you ever been so busy that you “forgot” to eat lunch? (Be honest!) Conferences can be very busy affairs for the attendees as well as for the organizers. Packed event schedules can make even the most dedicated hydrator forget to drink up sometimes.

So, given that even low levels of dehydration can have negative effects on you, your work, and your moods, what can you do to combat dehydration at a conference (or anywhere for that matter)? Here are just a few ideas…

1. Set an alarm on your watch or phone to remind you to drink (and eat!) something. It does not have to be a lot – just enough to make sure that you are staying hydrated (or fed).

2. If you are onsite with other staff who work with you, remind each other periodically to get something to drink and/or something to eat. You may not realize you need it until someone says something to you. This is a technique my office uses with great success while onsite at meetings.

3. Keep a water station at your registration desk, in your onsite office, or wherever you will regularly see it. Having water in sight serves as a subtle reminder to regularly drink up.

4. If you are able, carry a water bottle with you as you make your rounds of the event, checking details, checking in with vendors, etc. Like having a water station in view, having a bottle of water with you can be a good reminder to stay hydrated. I know many planners who use this technique.

Don’t limit yourself to just these suggestions; find other ways to remind yourself to drink regularly throughout the day. Find what works for you – there is no one “right” way…

One final word of advice: don’t rely on just one method to remind you to stay hydrated. A single technique might fail. You could lose your water bottle (setting it down, then forgetting where you put it – or even that you had it) or miss/ignore your alarm. People can forget to remind you. But, if you have multiple reminders in place, the chances are much better that you will remember to drink plenty of water – and avoid any of the nasty effects of dehydration.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

ADA Accessibility & Site Selection

2011-11-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

Americans with Disabilities Act has provided guidelines that came into existence under President Bush in July 1990. This important legislation was put in place to extend civil rights protection to people with disabilities.

Evidence of this legislation is everywhere we go: Federal, State & public buildings, medical care facilities, libraries, and public transportation has been modified to accommodate people with disabilities. Curbs have been lowered at corners for easy access to street crossings, ramps have been added to older facilities & to new facilities to allow easy access to buildings where stairs are the main entrance. Railings have been added to buildings and other public places for easy and safe accessibility. Elevators have been added in old buildings, in attempts to bring them up to code for easy access. Public transportation has added ramps and lifts to their vehicles for access and to transport wheelchairs and walkers along with their users from place to place. Parks have added paved or wooden paths for easy access. In fact, if you just look around you – easy public access is everywhere in our daily lives.

As meeting, conference & event planners ~ we at RDL are always thinking about easy access for all attendees to our venues. In choosing an event, special consideration is given to how easily the space is accessible to all attendees. If someone is in a wheel chair, on a walker or using a cane, can they easily get to each room of the venue?

RDL always keeps in mind ~ how accessible are the restrooms and the elevators. How far way are the meeting rooms from the general plenary sessions? Can an attendee in a wheelchair or on a walker or using a cane easily get from room to room in the time allotted for transition from one event to the next? Are the restrooms easily located and accessible? Are the stalls equipped with doors that open out and does the restroom have an area large enough for a wheelchair or walker to easily get in and out?

There are many things to think about when choosing a venue ~ try walking the property through the eyes of someone is a wheel chair, on a walker or using a cane. See how long it takes to get from one area to another in a limited amount of time. Also keep in mind locations and access to various levels, elevators, restrooms, restaurants, public transportation and other public areas.

Finding the right venue in older cities where construction is very old is a huge challenge. Special attention needs to be devoted to easy public access for all. It is important to keep in mind that no one wants to enter an event through a service elevator in the kitchen or through an alley.

For more information ~ here is a link to many more
http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/checklist/a16.html

~ Cyndy Hutchinson • Executive Director, RDL enterprises

A real paperless meeting

2011-11-18T10:09:00.000-08:00

In today’s meeting environment we are all looking for ways to be digital friendly. Do we use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or do we look for ways to really use our electronic resources? I have been researching the use of smart phones and tablets by attendees as they prepare to attend an event and while they are on-site...

In my research, I have found applications that can be customized by the planner and allows the attendee to log in and gets all the most up to date information about the event. It can include:

Customized logos
Conference Agenda
Speakers
Map of the meeting site
Exhibitors
Map of the exhibit hall
Special Events
Evaluations
Links to social marketing for the event
Last minute changes to the program

Some events are using Bar Code or QR Code Readers that allows planners to embed a barcode with the confirmation information and email it to the attendee. The attendee can print the confirmation with the barcode, or they can scan it directly from their smart phone. They just needed to scan the code on a Barcode or QR Reader and they get a nametag printed. If the attendee has not registered, they can do so on site and get a bar code generated at that time. The QR Reader could also be used as a sign in for attendees registered for continuing education or special events.
This gives the planner immediate feedback as to who is actually in attendance.

The possibilities are limitless and we have only to challenge our creative minds to find ways to move into the paperless meeting environment.

~ Linda Begbie • Executive Director, RDL enterprises

Exhibiting in a Tradeshow – A first-timer’s view

2011-11-16T08:31:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to participate in a small tradeshow as an exhibitor. Given that I am usually either attending the tradeshow as a participant or am part of the team organizing the event, being on the exhibitor side was quite interesting. Although many aspects of the experience were not unexpected, I did come away with a new respect for what exhibitors go through on a regular basis.

Setup time for my table was scheduled well in advance of the event start time – but that is nothing new for me. When I am onsite for a conference, I am always there long before the first scheduled activity (including exhibit setup!). Being a first-timer, though, I was paranoid about missing any of the scheduled exhibit hours, so I made sure I was back at my table well before any attendees would be able to come by. I didn’t want to miss anyone!

The evening reception was nice, though I was too busy manning my table to really enjoy the food much, and I saw enough traffic to feel like it was a good use of my time. What I found most interesting was that not all of the exhibitors had arrived and set up yet. Given that the reception represented the single largest block of exhibit time, I was a little surprised that more exhibitors were not present. However, I suspect that they believed that they would get enough exposure throughout the next day’s schedule.

The next day was a full schedule, too. Again, I am used to long hours onsite during a conference, so the early start and length of the day did not concern me. By the time the day’s first session began, all but one of the exhibitors had arrived and set up (I found out later that the one exhibitor missing had car trouble on the way, which is why they were not there). Flow throughout the day was steady, if slow. Traffic picked up a bit during the regular breaks for exhibit viewing and networking but I was amazed how many people skipped sessions to wander through the exhibit hall. As an attendee, I can’t think of a time when I have done that, though I suspect that I would if I was already familiar with the material being presented… The end result was that I did not get to go to many sessions myself – which was OK since I had heard most of the session content at similar previous events.

Was it worthwhile? I don’t know yet; time will tell. I did not feel that it was a waste of time, though. I got several good leads on potential business (I think) and, knowing that the planning cycle can take quite some time before an agency decides to do an event and hire it out, I do not expect to receive any RFPs from these contacts right away. But, if I can build good connections with them, the potential for work is there.

Would I do it again? Yes. (In fact, RDL will be exhibiting for the first time at CalSAE’s Seasonal Spectacular in Sacramento on December 7th – stop by and say “hi” to our owners: Linda and Cyndy!) Having done this once, I feel that we can only get better at our outreach and marketing by adding exhibiting to our efforts.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Autumn’s Song

2011-11-09T06:46:00.000-08:00

Autumn has graced her presence on most parts of North America. I’m always amazed at how the seasonal equinoxes and solstices take time to peal back their natural layers. There is rhythm and harmony to nature’s slow process as she takes time to unravel her seasonal song. She sings through the wind, “I am seductive and mysterious and I’ll arrive when ready.” September 20th is the first day of fall. It’s early November and certainly feels like fall more than any other day, previous. Trees shed warm, comforting colors of yellow, red, brown, and orange. The dusty, colorful leaves sway throughout the sky. Autumn’s sound is loud and bustling. Her presence is fierce stating, “I have arrived. Pay attention. Transformation is taking place.”

Autumn is a time of nostalgia and letting go. It’s a turning point. Ana Forrest writes, “As children of the earth, it’s easier for us to make changes if we work consciously with the earth’s changes.” It’s about balance. Nature is cycling, harvesting, and decomposing into the earth. It is a transformational process of give and take, clearing and renewal. Naturally our bodies connect to this quintessential time of year, wanting to remove old behavior patterns and break off dried up beliefs that no longer serve a purpose. Earth eases us to slow down, transform, and nurture each other and ourselves. It’s a time for gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving. During this season of harvest ask what needs self-reflection, release, or both? What are you doing in your life now to connect to the planet, to each other?

During this time of year, as business slows down, we here at RDL reflect on the past year and consider the road ahead. I urge each of us to get grounded and connect to the season of change. Take inquiry of our surroundings and to nature’s beautiful rhythm. This is an exciting time of year. Be grateful for everything! Today I am grateful for breath, creativity, and friendship. Bring attention to whatever it is that brightens your spirit and makes your heart sing. Get curious. I challenge you to do something everyday in November that ignites your spirit, connects to your body, and deepens your breath to finding your authentic self - your spirit.

Aho!

Walk in beauty,

~ Tess Conrad • Event Planner, RDL enterprises

Note: Ana Forrest is the author of Fierce Medicine and creatrix of Forrest Yoga.

How Food Can Impact Your Meeting’s Success

2011-11-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

When planning menus for their meetings, most meeting planners focus on what sounds good to serve and fits within their budget (I am usually one of them, too). Rarely do they put much thought into how what they choose to serve can impact the success of the meeting. However, what meals you choose to provide to your attendees has the potential to affect their ability to learn as much as the lighting levels, type of room seating, and the room temperature. The good news is – you don’t have to be a nutritionist (or even play one on TV) to make better choices in your menu selections. So how does a planner take all of the diverse factors into account (budget, dietary restrictions, service time, etc.) and still support the learning goals of an event?

The old adage, you are what you eat, is quite relevant here. Studies have backed up what people have long believed: what you eat affects your moods. And, in a meetings setting, your mood can affect how well you learn and process information and how you interact with your fellow participants.

We’re all familiar with the post-Thanksgiving Feast lethargy, yes? You eat a huge meal, then want to spend the rest of the day on the couch watching football (or otherwise being lazy)… We want to avoid a similar response after lunch at a conference because that “tryptophan high”, while feeling good, also impedes your ability to receive and process information. So what’s the solution? Reasonably sized meal portions can help make sure that your attendees are not dozing the afternoon away when you want them engaged and learning. Fortunately, most chefs already provide reasonably sized meals (for plated meals) so you don’t need to worry about this one too often. Do keep it in mind, though, as it can be a factor after buffet lunches.

Providing balanced meals are also important because the body requires a variety of nutrients to function properly. If you are missing key nutrients in what you eat, then your body is forced to draw from its own reserves to fill in those gaps. Why does that matter? Well, the brain cannot store food energy as the rest of the body can. This means that, if it needs a particular nutrient, the brain will need to “steal” it from another part of the body. Depending on the nutrient needed, we may feel hungry, depressed, tense, irritable, etc. as the brain sends out signals to the rest of the body with its needs. All of these moods affect your ability to function effectively and, with the “negative” moods, can make it impossible to participate fully in a meeting or conference. As with meal sizes, your catering chef will help you with this as they create meals for you. You might have noticed that plated entrees always include a protein (usually meat), a starch (rice, potatoes, or pasta), and vegetables. This “triangle of food” is a basic, roughly balanced meal. While you don’t have to worry about providing every nutrient the body needs in each meal, the more variety you include, the better the results can be.

Let’s talk dessert. We have addressed desserts before (here and here) but, in this case, we’re more concerned about what happens with your attendees when you serve dessert. First off, it usually means they are eating a larger meal than they otherwise might since most people do not eat dessert after lunch every day. We’ve increased the meal size, which increases the chance they will become lethargic afterwards. Secondly, the sugars in most desserts are, in many ways, junk. Yes, your body “needs” sugar; it makes you feel good and provides an energy boost. However, that boost from desserts is short-lived and the good feelings drop off just as quickly. When combined with a large meal, this can make your attendees very sleepy just when they need to be most alert. Candy and soft drinks, often served at breaks, can also cause spikes in energy as they provide short, quick boost to blood sugar, then fall below normal levels before stabilizing. This is not to say that you need to remove all sugary foods from your menus – just be aware of what affect they can have on your attendees. This is one factor that you have a lot of control over in menu planning.

So, from a meeting planner’s standpoint, three things to focus on when providing meals that can affect productivity after a meal are meal size, meal composition (balance), and sugar content. So why not look further into the chemistry of the mood-food relationship? Well, for one, there is too much info out there to easily sum up here (especially since I am not a nutritionist) and, for two, there is another factor in this that cannot be easily addressed here: the attendee. Every person responds to food differently. Yes, there are general responses and long-term health effects that are true across the board, but those are less true when applied to specific individuals. One person may be greatly affected by caffeine, for example, while another could drink a pot of coffee right before bed and have no ill effects. And, those with dietary restrictions or allergies, such as lactose intolerance or nut allergies, may respond very differently to the same meals as those without the same conditions. The examples could go on forever – but the point is that a general awareness of how meals can affect your meeting participants will go a long way in making sure that you don’t sabotage your own event by providing meals that undermine your goals.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

The APEX Initiative

2011-10-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

What is APEX? Well, the dictionary defines apex as “the highest point”, which is appropriate for the Initiative but doesn’t really tell us anything about it. APEX, as an acronym, stands for the Accepted Practices Exchange and is an initiative spearheaded by the Convention Industry Council (CIC) to improve the performance of those in the meetings industry. It is meant to take us to "the highest point" of event planning.

For more information about the Initiative or the CIC, please use this link.

OK, so you have the link – but why should you go there? Here are just a few reasons why I keep their site bookmarked on my computer…

1. The APEX Initiative offers sample forms and tools that can be downloaded as PDFs or as Word documents. These can be very useful if you are new to meeting planning but can also help a more experienced planner to bring their own documents in line with industry standards (if they’re not already).

2. The Glossary. This is my favorite part of the web site – and not just because I’m a word geek. If you are a regular reader of RDL Talks!, you’ll know that there are a lot of terms and acronyms that we have to know and deal with in the course of planning meetings. However, even the most seasoned planner will occasionally come across a term that he or she does not know. I turn to the APEX glossary for the answer when I am unfamiliar with a term.

3. As a Certified Meeting Planner (CMP), I also have access to member-specific sections of the web site (not all of which require certification to access). Though I don’t use this section often, it is the section I direct folks to if they are interested in earning their CMP designation.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Building a Reception

2011-10-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

Many factors – almost too many to mention – go into creating a successful reception for your event’s participants but there are some key ones to keep in mind. Let’s take a quick look at some of the main factors you need to address in order to set the stage for a successful reception.

Define your goals for the event
Consider this to be your “big picture” starting point – what do you want to accomplish with the reception? Your goals for the event will help create the framework around which everything else will be built. And, they will help you answer questions that will come up along the way. The timing of the event, menu choices, themes, and entertainment options, as well as many other details should all work together in support of the goals for your reception. Even a goal of “we just want to have fun” will help define the event and guide you through the planning process.

Estimate the number of guests
You need know how many people are expected to attend – for planning purposes if nothing else. Is every attendee invited, or only a select few? While this does not replace RSVPs for creating your BEO guarantees, it will give you an idea of the size of event you wish to hold. That information will be of great importance to you during the site selection phase of planning.

When and where will your reception be held – and for how long?
Yes, we all know that receptions are typically held in the evening, but will it take place before or after dinner? Or will it replace dinner? As I discussed in this post, the timing and duration of a reception will affect how much people will eat. Before dinner, people will eat more (if dinner is provided). If you intend for the reception to replace dinner, you had better be prepared with more substantial food options and plenty of it! As for the where, it is generally preferable to host a reception near to where dinner will be served so guests can easily flow from one right into the other. If dinner is not served, you have more options available to you. One more note here: a reception held immediately following a general session will draw more people than one held later in the evening with a break in between sessions and the reception. A late-night reception will typically draw even fewer as many may decide that sleep is more attractive than your event. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule and you need to keep the habits of your attendees in mind when planning when and where your event will be held.

Will there be entertainment or a program during the reception?
The presence or absence of an agenda for a reception can make a huge difference in where you hold the event and what kind of equipment you will need for it. A speaker of any kind, even if only for announcements, will need a microphone at minimum. A band or other performing group will have their own AV needs as well that you will need to take into account. Furthermore, including a program of events with a speaker requires people to stop mingling in order to hear the presentation. Similarly, an entertainer will also draw people away from other activities that may be happening at the reception. Not that these are bad things, mind you – they are just items of note to keep in mind as you are selecting the venue and planning the reception.

Choosing the menu!
Once you have the basics out of the way (who, what, where, when, and why), you can sit down to start planning your menus. This is the part that most people like the most and who can blame them? Food is very personal to people and the right choice of menu items can make a statement that is as important as any other aspect of your event. I won’t even attempt to tell you what you should serve, though, as those selections should be tailored as much as possible to the likes and wants of your group and, as I have said many times before, knowing your group is the key to a great event. One group may prefer sushi, while another wants mini corn dogs and sliders. The only right choice is the one your guests will enjoy.

Modifying reception service
OK – this one isn’t really a factor you need to nail down before building your reception. In fact, it is usually done late in the process as you try to get more bang out of your buck. However, knowing what service options exist before you start can be helpful to know as you make other decisions along the way. So, here are a few more posts with additional information for you (if you’re interested): Limiting Menu Options, Open Bars, Ordering Items on Consumption, and Food Distribution and Service Options.

There is one more “factor” that needs mentioning here: the guests. Unfortunately, you can’t really control whether or not they have a good time. Nor can you control whether or not they attend or if they go along with the program as you envisioned it. However, their participation is crucial to making your reception a success. So doing your best to present them with an event that they want to attend and will rave about for years afterwards will go a long way to making your receptions a success for you and for them.

As you can see, there is much that goes into building a successful reception – and this is just the tip of the iceberg! There are two final keys I’d like to leave you with: 1) think ahead – answer as many questions about your event as you can before you begin the actual “building of your reception – and 2) work closely with your partners, be they the hotel, outside caterers, AV companies, or your speakers and entertainers, to make sure that everyone’s issues are addressed as early as possible in the process. Using these keys should help you get off to a great start in producing a successful reception and will make dealing with any changes down the road easier to manage.

Good Luck!

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Placing Images as In-Line Text

2011-10-12T08:20:00.000-07:00

Last year, I wrote an article about placing images directly on a page using the InDesign program. Now, I would like to explain placing images as in-line text. This is especially helpful if you have many images within a document and want your images to stay in place with certain text. That way you don’t have to keep moving images around if you are adding or taking information out of your document.

Placing an Image as In-Line text:
To place an image as in line text, you first need to make sure that you know where on your computer the original file is stored. Make sure to give the file a name that allows you to easily distinguish what it is.

Next, make sure that you have selected your type tool from the tool palette.

Place & click your cursor on the page where you want the image to be placed.

Now select File > Place (Keyboard Shortcut: Command +D)

A dialogue box will pop up and you will then need to locate the file on your computer.

After selecting the file you wish to place, click Place in the dialogue box.

The image will then appear. You can use your selection (arrow) tool to move the image up or down within the text. If you highlight the image using your type tool, you can change the alignment in the control palette like you would with type. In some cases the image will be the wrong size, you will then need to resize the image.

To Resize an Image
First, select the image with your selection (arrow) tool.

Next, hold down the shift key and click any corner or the image to either increase or decrease the image size. (Holding the shift key while resizing is important because it constrains the image.)

Be sure to release the mouse before releasing shift.

Now depending on whether you made your image smaller or larger, you will either see some extra white space in your image box or it will look like your image is cut off. This is an easy fix.

Make sure you have your image selected with your selection tool and then select Object > Fitting > Fit Content Proportionally (KS: Shift + Option + Command +E).

Using Text Wrap
In some cases your image my be very close to or overlap text on another line. To fix this, you will need to select the image using your selection (arrow) tool .

Next, you will need to open the text wrap palette, select Window > Text Wrap. The Text Wrap palette will pop up on your screen. with your image still selected, click the second icon in the Text Wrap box.

When you scroll over this it should say “Wrap around bounding box” (This is the option that you will typically select). You can change the offset for each side of the image in the Text Wrap Bounding box as well, by typing the measurements in or using the up and down arrows .

~ Carmen Zorick • Graphic Designer, RDL enterprises

Adult Learning Styles in the Context of Meetings and Conferences

2011-10-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

While this is not something that many meeting planners need to worry too much about, it is nonetheless an important piece of what we do. After all, one of the reasons people attend meetings is to learn something. In this post, I’d like to take a quick look at adult learning and what that means for training sessions.

There are, essentially, three styles of learning (for adults or children): Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic. Visual and Auditory learning styles are somewhat self-explanatory. These are learners who prefer to assimilate new information either with their eyes or their ears – they want to see or hear the material – and will process information best when it is presented in those formats. Kinesthetic learning is movement based. People who learn this way do best when they can physically interact with the information somehow, such as through discussion or exercises. Sometimes, a fourth style is included: Environmental. Environmental learners do best when they are in comfortable surroundings. How you present material to them is less important that the environment around them when receiving that information.

When I am asked to do a training, I try to make sure that I have, in addition to my lecture (for the auditory learners), handouts or a PowerPoint presentation of some kind (for the visual learners) and, when possible, samples of what is being discussed (for the kinesthetic learners). The environmental learners are harder to accommodate since they may not even be aware themselves of what factors they need to best learn. So I try to make sure that the space in which the training is happening is as comfortable as I can make it – which is tough to do when you may only have folding chairs and limited control of the room’s temperature…

Another piece in all of this that is often overlooked has to do with the differences between adults and children in how they approach learning. Adults typically have substantial experience that they bring with them. That experience shapes how they approach the material. Although they often come to a meeting or training with beliefs and attitudes already set, they can be a great resource for a trainer to tap into. This diversity of experience also allows adult learners to help each other – and not simply rely on the trainer to make it all make sense to them.

Adults also tend to be more outcome-oriented than children. Adults want the training to relate to and address their needs – whether those needs are personal or professional. They also want to see results quicker than children, who are often happy enough to accept the teacher’s word that the information will be useful later.

All of this means, as a trainer, you need to be more flexible in your teaching methods than you might think. Adults come to learning situations with so much more than children – more experience, more beliefs, more tools to learn with, more expectations – and a good trainer will be able to incorporate many of these things into their classes, making the experience more productive for all of the students. They need to be able to find different ways to present the same material since one size most certainly doesn’t fit all when it comes to adult learners. Having said that, keep in mind that everyone is capable of learning using each style. What we’re talking about here are preferences, so if the material is not suited to one style, you don’t have to force it. Prepare for as many styles as you can and be ready to use the knowledge base that your students already have. Your trainings will be more successful the more you can tailor them to the needs of the participants.

At any given conference, you will find each learning style represented. See if you can distinguish what people’s preferred learning styles are by how they approach the sessions, what they say and do, and what they take away. If you can figure out what styles your attendees have, you can help your speakers, presenters, and trainers do a better job of reaching them with the information they have come to the meeting to get.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Why is hotel food so expensive?

2011-09-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

Lately, there has been a lot of chatter in the blogosphere about government excess and the $16 muffins and $8 cups of coffee that the Department of Justice had at a couple of their events (Here is the article that touched it off). Mind you, the article leaves out a lot of details behind the numbers and, instead, focuses on the particular items that are sure to fire people up. After all, they need an attention-grabbing piece to sell the news and including the details explaining how those figures came to be would have turned off most readers. The Meeting Professionals International (MPI) blog posted a response to it here, so I won’t go into that particular issue.

However, I have heard complaints for many years – from conference attendees and funders, mostly – about how expensive hotel food is. It certainly seems that way. $8/person for a coffee break, $22/person for a lunch, $34/person for dinner – you can certainly eat quite well as an individual at those prices, especially when you find out that these prices are “plus-plus”. Let’s examine each of these examples one by one. I’ll start with dinner, since that is the one most often referenced in conversations on this topic.

Dinner, at a hotel, typically includes a soup and/or salad, bread, the entrée (with sides), dessert, and coffee service. All of that is included in the $34/person. Now it isn’t fair to compare this to a fast food joint, like McDonald’s or Carl’s Jr. The two types of meal service aren’t even close. Meals served at conferences are more like eating at a restaurant – and a moderately nice one at that. If I were to get the same menu items at a middle-of-the-road restaurant in the same city as my conference, the prices (before tax and tip) might break down like this:

• Soup (or Salad): $5
• Bread: usually included for free
• Chicken Entrée: $16
• Dessert: $7
• Coffee or Tea: $3

Add that all up and you have…$31. Suddenly, the hotel’s pricing does not seem so out of line as it did before, does it? Yes, it is still a bit higher, but it is not shockingly so, which is what most people react to.

Lunch is very similar to dinner. For a restaurant lunch comparable to what a hotel might serve, you’re looking at prices something along these lines:

• Soup (or Salad): $4
• Bread: usually included for free
• Sandwich Entrée: $10
• Dessert: $5
• Coffee or Tea: $2

The total for a similar lunch at a restaurant is…$21? Yep, we’ve saved an entire dollar compared to the hotel’s pricing. Not much of a difference there…

Finally, let’s look at the $8 coffee. Yes, I know I said I wasn’t going to into it here but this is the one that seems to generate the most ire from certain folks and it is one area where your local coffee shop is way below the prices charged by hotels. Let’s look at in more detail…at $8/person for coffee service, what do you get? You get coffee service for a fixed amount of time (usually 1/2 hour), during which your attendees can pretty much drink as much coffee or tea as they want. How many of them do you think have just one cup?

When I order “in bulk” for coffee (to save money), I know that one gallon will give me 16-20 cups, depending on the size of the cups used by the hotel (see this post for more details). Will I order one gallon, then, for a group of 20 people? Probably not. I will want to have some extra available in case they drink more than I anticipated, even if this results in leftover coffee that no one drinks.

When ordering a break package, such as coffee service billed “per person” instead of by the gallon, the same principle is at work. The hotel does not want to run out of coffee (it makes them look bad), so they need to prepare more than they think people will drink. Plus, coffee service includes tea and decaf. The hotel needs to make sure that there is enough for people with those preferences as well. Your corner coffee shop (even Starbucks) can make coffee one gallon at a time and still promptly serve their customers. A hotel, trying to serve coffee to several hundred people all at the same time, must make much larger batches.

The upshot of all of this is that there is the potential for considerable leftovers (aka “waste”) with coffee service. Since the hotel must, at least, cover costs for providing it, they must take that into account – which results in higher prices. Even your corner coffee shop does this; their level of “lost product” is simply much smaller. In fact, every business that serves food must take wastage into account with their pricing or they will quickly be out of business. That’s basic economics.

So, does this mean that hotel food in not expensive? No, it’s still pricy – and I still think it’s expensive when I compare it to preparing a meal at home. However, when I compare it to eating out, I find that the prices are not too far off from what I would pay in a restaurant. Restaurants and hotel both need to cover not just the cost of the food, but also the costs of rent, equipment, staff wages, maintenance, and a myriad of other expenses that go into providing a service to the public – which means that it will always be more expensive than what it costs me to make the same dishes at home (assuming I even know how to make and have the time to make said dishes…).

So, the next time you hear a complaint about how expensive hotel food is, look at similar options before joining the chorus. You might find that the claims are right on track – or a bit overblown…

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

How much would a Meeting Planner charge to produce my event?

2011-09-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

That’s a tricky one to answer and there is no way I could give a realistic estimate without knowing details. So – let’s look at how the Meeting Planner would come up with an answer for you. It mostly comes down to two main factors…

To begin with, it depends on how the planer expects to get paid. Do they work on commission or do they use a “fee for service” structure? If they are “fee for service”, do they charge by the hour or by the job? Or, do they mix the difference fee options? [For more on how meeting planners get paid, check out this post.] Each approach yields different answers in terms of how much you would need to pay the planner, though the amount earned by the planner often ends up being roughly the same.

The second piece of this puzzle is the event itself and what you items you want the planner to handle. This is, in many ways, the greater of the two factors as well as being the more complex of the two. A couple of things you may recall from earlier posts: event RFPs outline the basic structure of the event and staffing (who staffs the event and how many people you will need) helps determine the planner’s physical presence at your event. But these areas only scratch the surface of what a planner will want (need!) to know about your event before they can give you an accurate estimate of cost… What more will they want to know? Well, once you get past the basic information about when, where, and how many people, a meeting planner will want details about each task that you want them to do. Each task requires a different amount of work and that amount is potentially different for each event – even for the same task.

For example, if you want the planer to handle registration, then information about how many people you expect to attend, what fees they will pay (if any) and who collects those fees, who produces name badges, etc. will all be useful for the planner to know in building a quote for you. Similarly, asking the meeting planner to handle all of your food arrangements will involve needing to know how many food functions you will have, how many people you anticipate attending each one, and meal restrictions or guidelines. And, an event for twenty people will require different things than an event for several thousand (though there are many similarities). Basically, the more information you can provide for each task you wish the meeting planner to do for you, the more accurate a quote they can provide.

When RDL works on a response to an RFP, we examine each task area that the potential client is asking us to do, while looking at how that task fits into the “big picture” of the event. We then start building the estimated “fee for service”, using a grid that outlines each task area with the common jobs within each area (and, no, I can’t share the grid…sorry). The grid allows us to estimate the hours required for each job and for each level of staff expertise, then calculate a total for the event. One of the nice things about this approach is its ability to take in account overlapping task areas when pricing an event. For example, the budget management task area includes many jobs and responsibilities that also appear in areas like site selection, food ordering and management, attendee reimbursements, and audio-visual services, just to name a few. If we are handling multiple areas for a client, we can often reduce the charge for those services below what they would be if you simply ordered services off of a “menu”. The whole costs less than the sum of the parts…

If all of this seems a bit overwhelming, don’t worry about it too much. Remember, meeting planners – especially the independents – are used to doing this on a regular basis. They can get you a cost estimate fairly quickly. However, be ready to answer their questions in as much detail as you can so they can give you a more accurate response.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Negotiating Hotel Contracts

2011-09-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

It is often said that everything is negotiable in hotel contracts. While that is not 100% true, there is still quite a lot that can be negotiated beyond the guest room rates, rental rates, and food and beverage prices. So how do you go about getting what you want and/or need for your event? Negotiation, of course, and that’s where knowing what you can reasonably negotiate in your contracts can make a difference. Let’s take a look at some common approaches…

There are some that believe that, if you want the moon (so to speak), you should ask for the sun and the moon – knowing that your request will be rejected and a counter offer will be put forth. The idea here is that, by asking for more than you need, you will get what you need as well as, possibly, something extra on top of that.

Others take the position that you should only ask for what you really need when putting out an RFP to hotels. This allows you to easily weed out those who cannot provide your basic needs while still giving you some choices among respondents. Anything they offer above and beyond the basics are considered a bonus.

I, and many others, tend to take a middle road of sorts. I outline the absolute minimum requirements for the event in the RFP. [Read this post for an outline of what that should include…] Once those are listed, I then will often add another layer or two of special requests. The first layer consists of the items that are desirable to get as part of the package. By themselves, none of these items are deal-breakers, but they can help make a bid more attractive to my client by providing certain perks that are of value to them. The second layer is made up of the client’s “wish list” items. These are things that will really take a proposal “over the top” but that we really don’t expect to get. This way, I ensure the event’s basic needs are met, without the hotels having to guess what those items are, and gain a few additional extras in the process that I know the client would like to have, without having the hotels offer items that are worthless to the client (and thinking those are deal-clinching incentives).

So, what do I ask for? What do I negotiate on? Well, that depends on the client and, if there are items that I absolutely must have, I am sure to include them in the RFP. Knowing what to ask for means that you, as the group’s planner, need to really know what the group requires, what would be of value to them, and what their ideal, pie in the sky, response would include. The better you can picture those three lists, the more productive your negotiations can be. Although there are those who view negotiations as “how much can I get from the hotel”, I prefer to view the process as one in which I am searching for the intersection of desires that maximizes what my client wants with what the hotel wants (yes, they want something, too – and it’s not always money!). If I can identify what the hotel wants, and can give it to them, then I can get more of what my client wants in return.

Every property is different and that will shape my approach. One may be able to negotiate on room rates but not on space rental, while another may be able to waive rental fees but cannot alter their food prices or guest room rates. As the planner negotiating on behalf of my group, it is up to me to find those areas that the hotel can negotiate on and work with them. Remember, if you cannot find an acceptable intersection of needs, you can always walk away – as can the hotel.

How do I know where the hotel can bargain? Some of it comes down to experience but, ultimately, if you don’t know where they have room to negotiate, ask them. Their goal is to book your business, which means they have an incentive to find a workable middle ground, too, and many sales reps understand that an informed opposite in negotiations can help them make it work for both parties.

While “everything” may be negotiable, I have found that being realistic about what I ask for and expect to receive in return for what I have to offer at the bargaining table is an excellent way to begin – and leads to a successful contract/partnership more often than not… And, a final thought here, if I can make the negotiations work for both sides (my client and the hotel), they are each happier with the results and my value to both of them goes up, too.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

When should I get a second screen for my presentation?

2011-09-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

When I work with clients to determine the audio-visual (AV) requirements for their events, they often consider one screen to display a presentation sufficient. In many cases, they are right. However, there are times when a single screen just isn’t enough. So how do I know when to use a second screen (or more)? There are essentially three factors I consider when deciding to use more than one screen.

     1. Audience Size
     2. Angle of Viewing
     3. Size and Shape of the Meeting Room

Audience Size: Simply put, a large audience is more likely to need multiple screens than a small one. Note: I do not give a specific number. There is no fixed number at which you must have a second screen. A large audience does not, by itself, necessarily demand more than one screen but having higher numbers does raise a red flag for me, warning me that I may need to add screens. You need to take the other factors into consideration.

Angle of Viewing: Given the way light reflects off of screens, it is very difficult to see projected material if you are at too low of an angle relative to the screen. Straight in front of the screen, 90 degrees (or perpendicular) to it, is usually the best spot. Ease of viewing is gradually impacted as you shift away from that prime spot until you hit about a 45-degree angle. Once you pass that and sit at a sharper angle, it becomes very difficult to read whatever is on the screen. Don’t believe me? Try it with your computer monitor and see how far you can get away from 90 degrees before you can’t read your screen. The same principle is at work.

Size and Shape of Meeting Room: This actually impacts more than you might think and, while most meeting rooms are fairly rectangular in shape, there is great variation out there. A single property can have long and narrow rooms as well as square ones and the shape of the one you are using can have a huge impact on your seating and screen needs. Here are just a few of the ways a room’s size and shape can affect seating and the need for more than one screen.

A room that is wide but not very deep might require a second screen in order to accommodate proper viewing angles.
A room that is long and narrow may need a second screen due to distance from the screen (as per the 2x8 Rule).
Ceiling height affects the maximum size screen that can be used, which determines the maximum effective viewing distance.
If there are pillars or other obstructions, you may need to provide additional screens to ensure that everyone has a good view of the presenter’s material.

All of these factors are really about sightlines and making the viewing experience better for the attendees. When I do a site visit, I always take the time to walk the room, testing sound (to determine if I will need microphones or not) and checking sightlines. I am also looking for things that will affect how I can use the room – where “front” can be, where aisles can/must be placed, etc. Permanent fixtures such as doors, windows, fire escapes, and other areas that you cannot block with staging, seating, or screens can also affect set up and you need to take those into account when determining the need for a second screen.

If you do decide to get a second screen for your event, don’t forget to also request a signal splitter. This device routes the signal from a laptop (for example) to multiple destinations – in this case, multiple screens.

I often say that, even after everything else is forgotten, attendees usually remember two things about every event: the food and the AV (especially if bad). If they cannot see the presentation clearly, they will likely remember that fact longer than the content of the session. So take the time to consider multiple screens for your event and provide your attendees with a good AV experience to remember…

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

What size screen do I need at my event for presentations?

2011-08-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

Most meeting and event planners simply let their audio-visual provider decide this for them – and why not? Those professionals often know what will work best in most situations, so it is easier to just let them make the decision. Well, those of you who have followed my posts for a while will know that answer is not good enough for me. I want to know how to make that decision myself – not because I don’t trust them to make the right one – but because I can do a better job of planning the event if I know the answer myself. I can find better event space (or make better use of what we have), I can get more out of my AV provider (by speaking to them intelligently about my group’s needs), and I can better advise my clients about what needs to be done and why. So how do I determine the size of screen needed for a room?

One of the main rules I keep in mind is that the base of the screen typically needs to be at least four feet above the floor [note: some AV companies recommend five feet minimum]. This means that the image projected on the screen (which usually fills the screen) sits at or above head level for a seated audience, allowing everyone to see the presentation. If the audience is standing, then the bottom of the projected image will need to be at least six or seven feet off the floor. Why does this matter? Two words: Ceiling Height.

If you are holding your meeting in a ballroom, then the ceiling is probably between fifteen and thirty feet high. Raising a 10’ by 10’ screen so that the bottom edge is four feet above the floor is not going to be a problem. However, what if the ceiling of the meeting room is only ten feet? Now, you are limited to just six feet of space for a screen once you raise it up four feet. If your audience is standing, then you have, at most, four feet left once you raise the screen six or seven feet – and a six by six screen is usually the smallest size available. You would need to either change rooms or switch to using multiple monitors…

The audience size is important as well in determining screen size. If I am expecting 100 people to attend my meeting and I know that I will be seating them at 60” rounds, I will need about 1,500 square feet to seat everyone. [Download Sizing Chart] Let’s assume the ceiling is 12’ high and the room measures 30’ wide by 50’ long. We can fit an 8’x8’ screen or a 6’x6’ screen in the room, based on ceiling height. Which do we need? I would most likely use the 6’x6’ screen. Why? Well, the 2x8 Rule says that, for a 6’x6’ screen, the closest seat should be at least 12 feet from the screen and the furthest seat should not be any more than 48’. Since the room is only 50’ long, even someone at the very back of the room should be able to easily see the screen. Could you use an 8’x8’ screen? Certainly. But, in this example, I would go with the 6’x6’ unless there were specific reasons to use the larger screen instead. As your attendance rises, so does the size of room that you will need. As the size of the audience requires more space, your screen will have to be bigger as well to accommodate that.

So what happens when one screen is not enough for the number of people you have, or when you have to use smaller screens due to ceiling height? You get multiple screens and sync them so the same image is displayed on each screen. I’ll look at when to use those options in a future post…

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Women Owned Small Business in the Government Market

2011-08-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

You may have heard that the Federal Government has really put an effort into getting contracts into the hands of women-owned small businesses. In February of this year, they formalized their certifications so that women-owned businesses are now required to go through a certification process. You can qualify as a Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) or an Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Business (EDWOSB). The difference is not money, but whether or not your NAICS code (code that the government uses to identify your business type) is underrepresented or significantly underrepresented. Meeting Planning Services are significantly underrepresented so we qualify as an EDWOSB.

If you are registered with the government as a contractor, then go to the SBA login. If you are not registered, go to https://eweb.sba.gov/gls and set up an account. It is populated with the information from your Federal registration with CCR and ORCA. It is on this site that you get the information regarding what is required to qualify as a WOSB. You can upload the required information, or if you are already certified by one of the very few approved certifying organizations, (ours was WBENC) you can upload the certificate. You also have a form to complete. Once you have completed your paperwork, then go to CCR/ORCA and update your status.

I have not seen much in the way of Federal agencies doing set-asides for WOSB, but I keep hearing it will be happening in this next fiscal year. We certainly are hoping that we benefit from this new program. If you have any questions about how we got our certification and/or I can direct you to where you need to go to get started, please feel free to email me at Linda@RDLent.com.

~ Linda Begbie • Executive Director, RDL enterprises

Why would you serve dessert at an afternoon break?

2011-08-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

It is such a simple idea, serving the dessert from lunch at an afternoon break, yet it is a strategy that is often overlooked by novice planners. Indeed, most planners I work with when they are new to the field tend to treat each meal function as a separate event, unconnected to any other on the schedule. Although this is true to some extent, when it comes to lunch and the afternoon break, you have a golden opportunity to save some money while providing timely snacks for your group.

A typical draft agenda schedules lunch from 12:30 – 1:30, with a break (that usually includes more food!) set to occur somewhere around 2:30 or 3pm. Now, I love to eat, especially when someone else is paying for it, but this ends up being a lot of food in a fairly short amount of time. Your attendees will have just had a (hopefully) filling lunch, including dessert, and you are now offering them more food – which is likely to be just as sugary and as high in calories as dessert…

Some people believe that, in a situation like this, people will self-regulate and eat less at the break than they would if the break were served later. From my observations over 17 years, though, that does not seem to generally be the case. People still pile up their plates with cookies (or whatever else is served). They then snack on the pile for a while and end up leaving most of the plate sitting on a table somewhere – uneaten! Not only have we failed to have people take less food but we have also generated a lot of wasted food – and spent a fair amount of money to do so.

The two primary solutions I offer to clients are (1) to change the time of the afternoon break and/or (2) to serve the dessert from lunch at the afternoon break. If they also need to rein in their budget, then I really will push for option #2. In fact, I will often recommend serving dessert at the PM break even if the break already is, or can be, scheduled for a later time.

Pushing the break back a bit in the schedule lets folks have a bit more time to digest lunch (and possibly dessert) before they are presented with more food. However, serving dessert at the afternoon break, in conjunction with a time shift or not, does more than just spread out the calorie intake.

People do eat a bit less at lunch (simply because you are providing less) and their stomachs will not be as full if you omit dessert from lunch. With less calories consumed at lunch, you attendees will more likely be ready for dessert when you serve it later in the afternoon. And, since dessert is typically included in the price of the lunch you provided, you are not spending more to have it brought out at the break. [So long as this option is arranged ahead of time, most hotels are quite willing to work with you on it and do not charge extra for serving dessert separately.] So… not only have we saved some money by not serving a whole new set of snacks but we will also, hopefully, find ourselves with less food left over both after lunch and after the break.

While this solution does not work for all groups in all situations, it is one more option to be aware of that you can use to trim your food costs while still providing your event’s participants with an enjoyable conference food experience – and I frequently recommend it to my clients.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Choosing the Right Venue

2011-08-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

When working with various clients to plan a meeting, conference, or event of any kind, one of the big pieces is the site selection. Site selection is a process with a purpose. The site has to have the correct parameters for the event that will be held there.

The size of the plenary session needs to be adequate to comfortably fit all the attendees in a comfortable setting and one that makes sense for the topic and attendee participation, if any is expected. The meeting planner also needs to take into consideration if any large screens are going to be used, what media will be used, will the attendees be able to see easily, and what room set-up is preferred.

Meeting “flow” is another area that is important for each event. The number of meeting rooms and the size and arrangement of the meeting space to be utilized can have a large impact here. How large is the General Session room? How many breakouts are needed? Where are they located? Are they on the same level as the rest of the event? Can attendees access them easily? Can the rooms easily accommodate the audio-visual equipment needed?

And, how far away is the food? Yes, that is always an important question for everyone! RDL staff never likes to use the same rooms for meals that meetings are being held in when they can avoid it but we do want it close by. (Having meals in a separate space gives people a chance to get up, stretch, and move a bit. Plus, the change of scenery can be good for a mental break as well.) And attendees don’t like to be too far away from the food either. Considering all the flow and potential uses of space before selecting a site is incredibly important.

Another important thing to consider when selecting a venue for a client is the location of the event. Is it convenient? Is it located close to public transportation? For those flying to the event, where is the airport in relation to the venue? How about the subway/train? And, for those driving in, what parking options exist? Take into consideration ADA access & limitations, such as the location of elevators in relationship to sleeping rooms & meeting space. Where are the restaurants and the recreational facilities and how easy is it to access them?

One of the final, but vitally important, considerations for many clients is the price. What will it cost to hold the event there? How much are the sleeping rooms? What is the cost of the food & beverage? Is there a cost for the meetings space? Is the venue willing to work with us to meet budget limits? Can the client afford it?

All of these items are important and will help guide the client towards selecting the most appropriate venue for their event. Keep these suggestions in mind and enjoy your next event!

~ Cyndy Hutchinson • Executive Director, RDL enterprises

Three Types of Presentation Aids

2011-08-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

Although many options exist for speakers, I have found that there are really only a handful of aids that they regularly use when making presentations at a meeting or conference. So what choices are they making? Let’s take a quick look at three of the most common types in the industry today (not in any particular order)…

Flipcharts
Yep, these are still used. They are easy to acquire and set up, and don’t require a lot of space to use. They give the presenter flexibility in terms of what information to post on the page. However, their utility is limited as the audience size grows, becoming ineffective once you hit a certain point. Flipcharts are excellent tools for small groups with high interaction between the audience and the speaker or trainer.

Videos
Videos can be very engaging and powerful, using the combination of images and sounds to evoke strong feelings in an audience. However, lowering the lights to effectively show a video may also encourage portions of the audience to doze off… In all seriousness, though, videos are very much a one-way presentation format with little opportunity for interaction between the presenter and the audience. When properly incorporated into a presentation, videos can work well regardless of the size of the audience.

PowerPoint
Essentially a slide presentation, PowerPoint offers a few advantages over the old slide carousels. Firstly, it allows a presenter to make substantive changes to their presentation very late in the game. In fact, many presenters don’t even complete their presentation until just before their scheduled talk so they can include the latest data or information and reorder the slides for best presentation of the data. A few other advantages PowerPoint has over slides are that it allows for relatively easy “jumping” to other sections of the presentations, it can include video and sound files as part of the presentation, handouts are easily produced from the originally file, and the file itself is much easier to transport than a slide carousel. Unfortunately, the format does tend to get misused by presenters in their attempts to make their presentations more interesting. If you need to prepare a PowerPoint presentation, you may want to check out my Rules for Using PowerPoint.

Those of you who are more experienced will notice that I’ve left off two formats that were once quite common: Overhead Projectors and Mock-Ups (also known as examples or samples). Both of these formats are still in use but neither one is used as frequently as the three types outlines above, if at all. Overhead projectors, once a staple of any AV company’s equipment stock along with slide projectors, have been almost completely replaced by LCD projectors (which are being used to project PowerPoint presentations). I have not seen one used in a presentation for at least five years. Mock-ups are still in use by trainers but they, too, seem to have been supplanted by PowerPoint in many cases and, when they are used, I have almost always seen them used in conjunction with one of the other methods.

Keep in mind that, whatever method you choose to use, make sure that it is appropriate for the venue and audience – as well as for the content. Ultimately, how well the type of presentation aid supports the content and situation is usually more important than which type it actually is and, as always, your content is more important than the aids used to present it.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Things we have learned since getting onto the Federal GSA Schedule

2011-07-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

It has been quite the learning curve, figuring out the best ways to market to the Federal Government, as well as learning how the GSA process works. Here are some of the things we have learned so far…

1. You do get to see bid opportunities prior to the general public, although sometimes they have a short turn around time
2. Your questions often get answered immediately
3. You still have no guarantee of winning the bid
4. You can still ask for a debrief if you are not awarded the bid
5. If you have a positive relationship with a contracting officer and the bid is less than $15,000 they can send the request for a quote out to three organizations on the GSA Schedule and select one of them for the award
6. Relationships, relationships, relationships - they are always the answer for growing your business, even with the government

If you are already registered to do business with the government and are interested in getting onto the GSA Schedule as a small business, check out http://www.gsa-sba.com. There are many businesses that will write up your application for you for a fee, but if you want to do it yourself, there is help. We used the local Federal Technology Center and the gentleman we worked with was more than helpful. It took over a year to finally get approved but it finally happened. It is now up to us to keep up with all the different ways to find opportunities to work with the government. They include:

• FedBizOps
• Ebuy.GSA.gov
• FedConnect.net
• Contacting contracting officers who have sent out bids for services similar to what we offer
• Researching the budget forecasts for agencies that plan meetings and events

If you are thinking of working with the Federal Government, there are some new programs that are being targeted for woman owned small businesses that are designed to be set-asides for those services and products where women are underrepresented. Check with your local SBA office and they can you started.

~ Linda Begbie • Executive Director, RDL enterprises

What is a Post-Con?

2011-07-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

This may seem pretty self-explanatory. After all, if a “Pre-Con” is an event that takes place before a conference or convention, then it stands to reason that a “Post-Con” is an event that takes place after a conference or convention. But, if that’s all it is, then why am I even bringing this up at all? Because that is not all that it could be; there is another use of the term that, just like a Pre-Con, has a particular significance to meeting planners – one that is just as important to what we do.

A Post-Con, in this context, is a meeting between the venue and the meeting planner that takes place right after the event is concluded in which a couple of general areas are typically covered.

Group Performance/Summary of Charges: When I do a post-con, the hotel will typically present me with an up-to-date count of the number of hotel rooms used on each night my group was in-house. Sometimes, I will also get a delegate report listing the names of everyone who stayed that the hotel. In addition, if I have not received them already, I will also get copies of all of my banquet checks to review and sign. Any miscellaneous charges that have been placed on the master account are also reviewed for accuracy. The purpose of reviewing all of these documents and reports is to ensure accuracy in billing. It can be very difficult to correct an error after you have left the property, so anything you can do to minimize the possibility of errors will make your life much easier later on.

Venue Performance: Think of this as an evaluation of the property. How well did they perform for your group? Did meal functions take place as ordered (correct food and times)? If the hotel provided audio-visual equipment for you, was that service provided promptly and accurately? The list of potential areas that you can review here is nearly endless but you can narrow it down to those items that are the most important to you or your group. If you already have feedback from your attendees (good or bad), this is a great time to share that – while it is still fresh.

Although I mentioned that this takes place right after the conclusion of an event, the reality is that many planners are more than ready to hit the door and be on their way home at the conclusion of the event – so it may not happen until after the planner gets back to their office. Even if you cannot (or will not) take the time to do a post-con before leaving the venue, make sure that you do it as soon as you can. The longer you wait, the harder it will be for you to recall details (unless you took extensive notes) and the harder it may be to contest questionable charges on your bill.

Doing a post-con is also a key component of planning for the group’s next event. It is a great opportunity to build history for the group as well as to honestly evaluate how well the group and the venue fit together. This open exchange can bring to light group preferences or behaviors that you may not have previously known about, or point out areas of service that the hotel can improve upon – or it could just confirm that everyone did a great job in supporting your event!

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Risk Management

2011-07-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

Part of the RDL team recently returned from the University of California’s Annual Risk Summit, which was held in Los Angeles this year. As you might imagine, there were workshops on topics spanning all types of Risk Management from Worksite Wellness to Driver Distraction to legal and contractual issues. As the meeting planners for the event, I wonder if there was an adequate assessment of risk for the event itself. We seldom encounter emergency situations but even a “small” emergency such as an attendee experiencing the onset of a mild asthma attack, as happened at this year’s Summit, needs to be handled quickly and knowledgeably.

It could all be a bit overwhelming to think of every possible area of event management. Enter the EMBOK, which stands for Event Management Body of Knowledge and is a project developed by Julia Rutherford Silvers (EMBOK.org). There are five areas of management for an event of any kind, whether it is a music festival, training meeting, a large conference, or tradeshow. They are:

Administration

Design

Marketing

Operations

Risk

Each of these five management domains has what Silvers calls “classes” or subdivisions. Each one of these needs to be considered in a safety plan or risk assessment.

As the meeting planner, it may not be our role to make the decision to evacuate a building but it is our responsibility to have an emergency plan in place. By asking “what if…” or “what could go wrong?” in each of the areas of event management and documenting it, will be crucial in case anything does go wrong and evidence of this consideration is needed in court. Ask the question, “have we done our due diligence?” and discuss this with all members of the planning team, including the venue.

As a natural optimist, I don’t personally look to what can go wrong in life. But as a professional meeting planner, I see this as an important and necessary part of the planning process in which we need to always be thinking two steps ahead. As Silvers states, “We cannot control things; the only thing we can truly control is our ability to respond if problems occur.”

~ Ginger Myrick • Meeting Planner, RDL enterprises

Five Types of Vegetarians that Planners Should Know About

2011-07-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

If meals are provided as part of your conference or event, you should make sure that, somewhere on the registration form, there is a place for attendees to notify you of their dietary preferences. The typical meal at a conference will include a protein (such as chicken, beef, or fish), a starch (potatoes or rice are most common), and a selection of vegetables – but that won’t do for everyone. Though there are plenty of diets out there that all planners should be aware of (and I don’t mean diets to lose weight…), the vegetarian varieties are among the most common. Here is a brief description of each type.

Vegetarian: At this point, I think everyone knows about this option. Essentially, vegetarians do not eat meat but will consume eggs and dairy products. Sometimes, this type will also be called “lacto-ovo-vegetarian”.

Pescatarian: This is a person who abstains from eating animal flesh (meat), with the exception of fish. Depending on the individual, they may or may not eat eggs or dairy products.

Lacto-Vegetarian: A lacto-vegetarian does not eat meat or eggs, but will consume dairy products (such as cheese or milk-based dishes).

Ovo-Vegetarian: This diner does not eat meat of any kind, nor dairy products – but does eat eggs.

Vegan: A vegan avoids meat, dairy, eggs, and every other animal-based food product. Most of the time, they will also avoid eating any food that contains an animal-derived ingredient as well.

The very short list above is hardly the end all be all of dietary restrictions. Add in food allergies such as nuts or gluten, and religious strictures such as those for the Jewish and Muslim faiths, and the list of diets that a planner may need to accommodate at their event can grow considerably. However, becoming familiar with the five types of vegetarians listed here will be a good place to start.

There was a time in our industry when the vegetarian option for a conference was just a plate of pasta in a cream sauce or steamed vegetables on a bed of rice. As diners (and Chefs!) have become more sophisticated, many more options have become available to planners for their conference menus. Use their expertise and let the Chef come up with something brilliant for you – but be sure to ask your attendees ahead of time what their preferences are…

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Ed. Note: Check out these related posts for more event dining ideas.

Creating a Wonderful Dining Experience on a Budget
How to Lower Costs for Small Group Meal Functions
Healthy Meeting Options – Meals & Snacks

Summer Music Festival Celebration

2011-06-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

On June 4, 2011, RDL kicked off the summer by managing their first ever music festival. The air was damp, the American River was breathtaking, and spirits were high at the sixth annual Coloma Blues Live music festival.

The 2011 lineup featured amazing, award-winning talent. Arizona’s hottest blues band The Sugar Thieves, voted best in the state, started the show off with a delta bang! Meridith Moore, lead singer extraordinaire said the band drove up from Arizona the night before. Their grateful presence was exhilarating and got people to their feet to “shake their meat.” They almost stole the show right out of the gate!

John Németh, who recently made the front cover of the Blues Festival Guide*, quickly gathered people to the stage to enjoy his funky, retro-modern blend of blues and soul. The third act and one of the most recognized, award-winning performers, Tommy Castro Band, came out in the middle of the day. His popular performance parted the clouds and stopped the pouring rain at Henningsen-Lotus Park. Hardcore Blues fans by the hundreds huddled around the stage to hear Tommy’s stunning, blues/roots performance. His electric guitar showmanship stole the show during his improvisational stunt coming off the stage and into the crowd, as he ripped and roared through the park playing his famed roadhouse rock. He was certainly a fan favorite! The Taj Mahal Trio undoubtedly filled the sierra foothills ending Coloma Blues Live with a delightful, fun-filled performance. The husky, bear like man shook his booty, telling everyone else to “get wiggling and giggling, dancing and prancing.” A few of the artists shared how much Taj Mahal influenced and inspired the creation of their artistry. You could see through crowd faces how much his illuminating presence inspired everyone, as they watched this legend fill the air with his rich compilation of music and talent.

Coloma Blues Live from start to finish was certainly was a celebration! Everyone involved, from the 150+ volunteers, crew, and the El Dorado Arts Council, who presented Coloma Blues Live, must feel very proud.

~ Tess Conrad • Meeting Planner & Coloma Blues Live Coordinator, RDL enterprises

*Blues Festival Guide is widely known for providing Blues fans with all the happenings in the genre.

All proceeds from the event benefit arts in education.

Advantages of Technology-Based Meetings

2011-06-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

Last month, I wrote about the advantages of face-to-face meetings. In all fairness, I must point out that technology-based, or “virtual” meetings also have some advantages as well, especially in certain situations. Here are the main ones I have come across.

They save time.
They save money.
There is more flexibility in the “when and where” of the meeting.
Allow for multi-tasking and increased productivity.

Not having to travel to a meeting or conference, especially if it requires air, train, or extensive driving, certainly saves time. The time not spent on travel can be put to use in the office or at the job site working on other projects. It also saves on costs since you are not paying for transportation and, if the meeting requires overnight accommodations, it will save you the cost of a hotel stay, as well as meals and other incidental expenses.

In terms of flexibility for when and where the meeting is “held”, this really only makes a difference when the numbers attending the meeting are low. A Board meeting, for example, or a team meeting might be good candidates for making into virtual meetings. Conferences operate at a different level. Even if you were to make one into a virtual event, the sheer number of “attendees” reduces flexibility when considering “when”. As for the “where”, the participant does retain control over that – they could log into the event from work, home, or any location with the appropriate technology (i.e. a computer with internet access) – so I can see that as an advantage, if the participant is able to stay focused on the meeting…

The multi-tasking and increased productivity issues are, to me, a little harder to justify as being advantages. While people believe that they can multi-task, is that really the best way to participate in a meeting or conference? You only have so much mind-power available at any given time. Attempting to multi-task really means dividing your attention. If your attention is divided, how much of the information from the meeting are you really retaining?

I can see an argument for increased productivity being an advantage but that is mostly connected to the time saved by not traveling. Since it can be difficult to get serious work done while on the road, not traveling can increase bottom line productivity – but this seems to be more a function of the “It saves time” position than an advantage in its own right.

Each time an advance is made in virtual meetings technology, I see articles declaring the demise of the face-to-face meeting – and, yet, those meetings continue to happen. Virtual meetings are great for short meetings with few participants and limited agendas or goals. Face-to-face meetings are usually better when you are bringing large numbers of participants together for interactive sessions or networking. The reality is that there is room for both types of meetings in our industry and neither one can completely supplant the other – so keep your options open and find the one that is right for your event…

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

What is “Conference Chicken”? And why serve it?

2011-06-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

Planning a small meeting or a large conference can be a challenge when it comes to choosing the correct food & beverage for the event. So many attendees have various and unusual tastes in foods, not to mention sever allergies to certain kinds of foods. Some of these food challenges may include allergies to glutton, sugar, salt, and MSG. Strict diets that some attendees must adhere to, like diabetic, vegan, and vegetarian. Or all the people that have very specific food dislikes. Often clients want to serve their attendees something that they may personally enjoy without taking all of the above into consideration. Usually, fish & red meat are not the best ideas, although clients do choose them.

We often recommend a safer choice that most people will enjoy and that a good chef can prepare in a delicious fashion. That entrée choice is what has become known as “Conference Chicken”! Now, some of you might think that chicken can be boring, but a good chef can do wonders with flavor & presentation of the conference favorite. So, when planning your next event, here are some delicious & fun recipes from Cooking Light that you might want to think of serving your guests – or to use as ideas for larger meal functions. Share your ideas with the Chef as you prepare the menu. They can be very helpful in making your meal wishes come to fruition. Here’s to the success of your meals!

~ Cyndy Hutchinson • Executive Director, RDL enterprises

Ed. Note: Working with the chef is a key component of producing great meals for any event on a budget. For more of a look at that concept, click here.

11 Hotel Terms Every Planner Should Know

2011-06-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

In the world of conference planning, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of terms that we need to become familiar with. In a previous post, I shared definitions of 10 of the most common acronyms in the meetings industry. This time, I’d like to get a little more specific and look at some terms that you would encounter primarily when dealing with a hotel…

RevPAR: Revenue Per Available Room. The hotel’s financial department tracks how much money the property is bringing in each night. RevPAR calculations take into account the total number of rooms available for sale, how many rooms were sold, and at what rate those rooms were sold. This term is one that many planners have had to learn in recent years as hotels have tried to become leaner in their business operations. A hotel may decline to bid on a particular piece of business because the projected RevPAR on those dates is too low for them to be able to offer the rate that the group desires or needs.

Room Block: The rooms that are held for your attendees at your negotiated rate for specific dates. They are not typically available to the general public. Usually, your Room Block is expressed as the number of rooms set aside on each date and at what rate(s), as well as the total number of rooms contractually committed.

Peak Nights: The night or nights on which your guest room commitment is highest.

Shoulder Dates: These are the dates in your room block that are at the start and end of your Room Block. Typically, the numbers of rooms held on shoulder dates are lower than your Peak Night(s).

Cut-Off Date: This is the last date (and time) that the hotel is obligated to sell rooms to your group at the contracted rate. Once the Cut-Off Date passes, the rooms are released from your block and made available to the general public. A typical Cut-Off Date is four weeks prior to the first night held in the room block.

ROH: Run of House. This term in a guest rooms contract indicates that, when your attendees make reservations, they will be given any room that is available at the time they check-in. In practice, this means that most of your guests will likely be given the basic room type as the hotel attempts to keep upgraded rooms available for sale at a higher price than your contracted rate.

RTI: Room, Tax, & Incidentals. These are the three types of charges for any guest room. RTI is a shorthand notation that helps the Front Desk, as well as the Accounting Department, to know who is paying for guest room charges – the individual or the group. Room is the base room rate, Tax covers all taxes and surcharges on that base rate, and Incidentals covers pretty much everything else.

TOT: Transient Occupancy Tax. Think of this as being a “sales tax” on the price of a room for the night. Convention and Visitors Bureaus typically receive a portion of their funding from the TOT.

Slippage: This term refers to the difference between the number of rooms you have contracted for and the actual number of rooms that are sold for your group (when the actual number is less than the contracted number). Most of the time, slippage is tracked daily. Most contracts will allow for some slippage in reservations, but most will penalize you in some fashion (usually financially) if you have too few actual rooms sold in comparison to your contracted numbers.

Wash: This is the difference in the number of rooms reserved as of the cut-off date and the final number of rooms actually used at the conclusion of your event. Usually expressed as a number (positive or negative), it can be given as a percentage instead.

Walk: This term describes the practice of a hotel relocating guests to another property. You have a confirmed reservation for the hotel, but they put you into another hotel instead because they do not have rooms available. Hotels really don't like doing this – for a whole host of reasons…

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

What are Base Prices and Inclusive Prices?

2011-06-01T08:29:00.000-07:00

The simple answer (to me, anyway) is that Base Price and Inclusive Price are on opposite ends of the same equation – with tax and other charges in between. So how does that work if you are catering an event?

On a typical menu with catering pricing for a hotel, you will see a price listed next to each item or package. Often, that price is followed by a “++”. As discussed in my post on hidden charges, the “++” (or “plus-plus”) represents taxes and services charges that are added to the Base Price that is listed on the menu. If you cannot find the rates on the catering menus, ask your CSM for that information – you need to know it!

Now, let’s look at an example (warning – math ahead!)…

I’ve chosen to serve a dinner that is listed as $50 per person on the menu. Remember, that is the Base Price for my choice. For this example, taxes are 7.75% and the hotel will add a 20% service charge to the bill as well. That gives me an Inclusive Price of $64.65/person to serve that menu option. So how did I get to that number? Here’s the equation:

Inclusive Price = Base Price x (1 + Service Charge Rate) x (1 + Tax Rate)

Plugging numbers in yields…

Inclusive Price = $50 x 1.2 x 1.0775 = $64.65

So, if Base Price is the amount without tax and service charges figured in, then Inclusive Price is the amount with tax and service charge included.

Here is a simple price calculator that I’ve cooked up in Excel that you can download and play with. It will calculate either Inclusive Price from a known Base Price or Base Price from a target Inclusive Price. The only other information you’ll need to know is the tax rate and service charge amount and it will do the rest.

By the way, does the Inclusive Price appear excessive to you? If so you’re not alone. It seems that way to many people when they compare it to the cost of eating out. However, the same dynamic is at play there, too – people usually just aren’t consciously aware of it. The restaurant menu lists the Base Price for each item; you pay taxes on top of that, and tip on top of that. If you were to order a $50 meal, by the time you add tax and tip to the bill, your final tab will be similar to the amount calculated above (though, obviously, you can control how much to tip…).

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Networking Do’s and Don’ts

2011-05-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here’s a great quick and easy resource for things to remember when networking (from American Express’ “Open Insight Guide”). Though the Guide is about marketing to the government, the insights offered actually apply to any marketing situation.

Five Ways to Raise Your Profile

Tap into Social Networking
Attend Events
Become an Industry Expert
Join a Local Business Group
Volunteer in Your Community

Networking Do’s and Don’ts:
Do’s:

Do come with a 30-second “elevator speech” that describes your business.
Do exchange cards with people that you sincerely want to stay in touch with.
Do enter events with a smile on your face.
Do show interest in the person that you are speaking with.
Do listen more than you talk.
Do jot notes on the back of each person’s card for a quick reminder for follow-up.
Do leverage social networking sites to stay connected.

Don’ts:

Don’t just try to collect as many business cards as you can.
Don’t isolate yourself in a corner or hang out with friends or colleagues you already know.
Don’t let your mind wander when other people are talking.
Don’t talk about yourself too much.
Don’t monopolize the conversation.
Don’t stuff people’s business cards in your drawer and forget about them.
Don’t send generic email blasts to everyone your meet.

~ Cyndy Hutchinson • CFO, RDL enterprises

4 Advantages of Face-to-Face Meetings

2011-05-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

When the economy is as tight as it is, many companies and government agencies see meetings and conferences as easy places to eliminate spending. Training budgets are slashed and, in some cases, agencies are outright forbidden to attend or support conferences even if there is little or no cost to the agency. However, this approach is rather short-sighted in my view – and not just because I’m a meeting planner.

True, there is the potential to save time and money by cutting trainings or by reducing or eliminating participation in face-to-face meetings. But, the way I look at it, much more is lost. Here are four advantages of face-to-face meetings that often get overlooked when too much attention is focused solely on fiscal issues.

1. People prefer to do business – and better business deals are often done – with people they have a relationship with and building meaningful relationships is much better done in person. And, the social interactions that take place during a live event help to build those relationships. In fact, in recognition of the importance of social interactions, many conferences build in time for networking and relationship-building. Yes, you can build relationships with others through virtual events but it takes much longer to accomplish than through face-to-face interactions. How much more time (and money) does it take to find and build new, meaningful, business relationships compared to maintaining and strengthening the ones you have?

2. Meeting face-to-face allows you to read body language, see facial expressions, and get a better “read” of others present. Non-verbal cues are important to human interaction: you can look them in the eye when conversing, note changes in body posture, observe what they are doing with their hands, etc. When you can instantly “read” the other person, you can react more appropriately to the conversation – and the situation. This is crucial if you are trying to build consensus, lead a group, or persuade potential partners to agree to your position – or trying to build a professional relationship.

3. Face-to-Face meetings allow participants to engage in more complex thinking, particularly “strategic” thinking, especially when you have more than just two or three participants. In a face-to-face setting, conversation can flow naturally, moving from one topic to another with relative ease as participants share information and build upon ideas and concepts already shared. As the number of participants grows in a virtual meeting, it tends more towards becoming a lecture-style presentation instead of an interactive discussion, which ends up stifling creative and constructive conversations. Conferences, in particular, involve large numbers of people – too many to effectively participate in a virtual event.

4. Fewer Distractions. This may not seem to be the case but consider how easy it is to “tune out” on a conference call, or work on another project at the same time, or walk away from the conversation. The ability to multi-task is often cited as a reason why people like virtual meetings but turn that perspective around. Do you really want the other party (or parties) to set you aside during the conversation so they can work on something else? When you are meeting with people face-to-face, it forces them to be more engaged in the discussion and it is easier to tell if they are no longer engaged so you can move on to the next issue or shift the discussion as appropriate.

A successful meeting is dependent on many things but the manner in which the meeting takes place is an important factor. Do you meet in person, or simply connect by phone or video chat? For many things, a phone call or an email may be all that is needed but, if you want to build long-term, meaningful relationships (whether personal or professional), you need to do more than that. You need to be there, live and in person…

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

How can I get free meeting space for my event?

2011-05-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

I love this question! It is a very common one, especially from first-time clients that I’ve worked with. I think that is partially because it is an obvious cost that impacts an event’s bottom line and it is one that many properties are often willing to waive. However, since hotels (and other meeting venues) are in business to make money, the real question to my mind is – under what circumstances would they give me free meeting space? If I can answer that question, then I just might get free space for my client’s event…

To figure this out, I start with something called the Rooms-to-Space Ratio (sometimes called Space-to-Rooms Ratio). Simply put, this is a comparison of the percentage of guest rooms in the hotel that a group will use, compared to the percentage of meeting space that the group needs. For example, if you are using 50 rooms in a hotel that has 500 total guest rooms, then you are using 10% of the guest rooms. Similarly, if you are using a ballroom that is 5,000 square feet in size and the hotel has 20,000 square feet of meeting space, then you are using 25% of the available space.

A good rule of thumb is that if your guest room percentage is equal to or higher than your meeting space percentage, the hotel will be willing to give you the space for free (or sharply discounted). The greater the difference is in favor of guest rooms, the more willing the hotel will be to give you the space for free. Now, there are some key modifiers to the ratio (such as the contracted rate for the guest rooms, when you want to use the space, and which specific rooms you want to use) but examining the basic percentages is a good place to start.

What happens if the group has a poor Rooms-to-Space Ratio (lots of space and few guest rooms)? Now you have to pull out the big guns – and your group history. Show the hotel that the value of your business is high enough and they’ll negotiate with you on the space rental fees. Your group history can give you the documentation you need to make your argument stick. Remember what I said about them being in business to make money? I know of groups who use a lot of meeting space and fill relatively few guest rooms – but they get good discounts on room rental because their planner could show (from their group history) that attendees who did stay in the hotel would spend a lot of money in, for example, the bar and the restaurant. Hotels are willing to take a loss in one area (space rental) to gain a larger profit in another (outlets). Incidentally, this is also why many properties do not charge a room rental if you are doing a lunch or a dinner in the room. The money they make by catering the event more than offsets the money they “lose” by not charging a rental fee.

OK, so what if the group has a poor Rooms-to-Space Ratio and a small economic impact for the hotel (or no group history)? Here is where you might have to get creative – and flexible with your dates. Can you meet during slow periods at the hotel? This could be a certain day (or days) of the week or certain times of the year. When demand for space is low or nonexistent, a hotel is much more willing to let you have the space for free simply to get some business into the property, even if it is not as profitable as they might like. After all, if the hotel has no events, then those profit centers produce no income at all. Another option to consider is to look for gaps you can fill in the hotel’s schedule. Perhaps they have a group that is using a lot of guest rooms but little meeting space. If that is the case, your large meeting space needs and small guest room requirements might fit perfectly – and they’d be willing to comp the space as an incentive for you to book with them.

I have frequently heard in industry trainings that “everything is negotiable”. That is true – to a point. There are limits but you can always ask... However, if I know what the other side is able and likely to do, then that does give me a slight edge in negotiating. At the very least, it allows me to understand the constraints that my opposite numbers in sales have to work within, as well as allowing me to demonstrate knowledge that reveals me to be a good partner for them to work with (at least, I hope that’s how they see it). I have also found that knowing what is possible and being realistic about the things I ask for when negotiating with hotels has led to more successful contracts (i.e. getting more of what I want) than starting out asking for the sun and the moon.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Marketing to the Government

2011-05-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

In RDL’s continuing efforts to find ways to work with the Federal Government, we recently attended an “OSDBU Procurement Conference” (Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization) in Chantilly, Virginia. This conference was a national conference that fosters business partnerships between the Federal Government, prime contractors, small, minority, disabled veteran, and women-owned businesses. There were over 3,000 attendees, a number of plenary sessions and breakouts throughout the day, and more than 1,000 exhibitors. All opportunities were definitely beneficial to those attending. Throughout the day, though, the main component was “networking”.

Prior to attending this big event, we researched the various government agencies represented at the conference, as well as the prime contractors. The goal was to see who had the need to plan meetings and conferences for the year and who had the funding to make it happen. At the end of the day, we walked away with about 30 new contacts. Throughout the day we met people to follow up with and to make part of our social network. We hope that we will be able to establish working relationships that will be professionally rewarding for all parties. The next step is to follow through. Each of the contacts has received an email, a capability statement, and will be added to our Newsletter list. We will use every opportunity to remind them about our services.

It was a great experience for us to be able to meet and connect with so many large and small businesses across the country. We are all learning that small business teaming together can be awarded Government Contracts where the small business can make a big difference.

Learn more about Government Contracting at www.openforum.com/governmentcontracting

~ Cyndy Hutchinson • CFO, RDL enterprises

What is a Mixer?

2011-04-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

This is a fairly generic term and how you define it will depend heavily on the context you are in – so let’s give it some context. Since this is a blog written by meeting planners, we’ll be looking at defining “mixer” in that light. But, even within the context of meetings and conferences, there is still more than one definition of “mixer” that could apply.

If you were to ask this question during a conference, most people will probably respond with one definition right off the bat: an event, often held in the evening, at which people gather for networking, informal discussions, or just to meet new people. Nearly every meeting planner, though, has also had to become familiar with another kind of mixer that is critical to the success of our meetings – and it is a specific piece of audio-visual technology that anyone with technical experience in a theater will instantly be familiar with… a mixer.

Whenever you order more than one microphone, the audio-visual department (or company) will almost always include a mixer. Why? What is so important about this device that they add one when all you need or want are the microphones?

Well, the short (and not-so-helpful) answer usually given is that you cannot have multiple microphones in a room without a mixer, but that still doesn’t really answer the question of what it does or why you need one so let’s break it down a bit further…

A microphone takes sound and converts it to an electronic signal, which is then sent to a speaker for conversion back into sound, which an audience can then hear. The electronic signal can be sent through a cable (wire) or wirelessly. If you only have one microphone, you usually don’t need anything further to make the system work - the microphone connects directly to the speaker. However, speakers can only convert one signal into sound at a time. So how does a single speaker unit handle multiple inputs and know which input to use? Through the intervention of a mixer. A mixer takes those multiple inputs, manages the signals, and then sends one signal out to the speaker, allowing the audience to seamlessly listen to multiple microphones effectively at the same time. A mixer also allows you to manipulate the signal strength of each input, raising it or dropping it (even down to zero) as needed for your final output.

So what size of a mixer do you need for your meeting? The answer is determined by how many sources, or inputs, you have. You need one channel for each input and every microphone (whether wired or wireless) or audio source counts as an input. So, if you have three microphones, you will need at least a 4-channel mixer. Why not a 3-channel mixer? Well, they don’t exist. Mixers come in a variety of sizes; each one is double the size of the one before it. So – 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128-channel sizes are your choices. There are, I’m sure, mixers out there larger than a 128-channel mixer but I have yet to see one myself and I have never had a need, at any of my events, for more than 128 channels.

What happens if you have, say, 20 inputs from microphones, videos, and so forth – but don’t have a single mixer large enough to handle them all at once? The solution in this case is to concatenate, or “chain together”, two or more smaller mixers to get enough channels to cover your needs. For example, to get 20 channels, I might combine two 16-channel mixers together or pair a 16-channel mixer with an 8-channel mixer. When chaining mixers, you take the output from one mixer and feed it into one of the channels on another mixer – this means that combining an 8 and a 16-channel mixer together gives you a total of 23 channels available for your various inputs. Chaining mixers is a good work-around if you don’t have a mixer with sufficient channels to handle all of you inputs, but it is possible to run into some signal degradation issues if you link too many mixers together, so be careful with this approach. As always with AV issues, be sure to talk with your AV tech about any questions, concerns, or problems you have with the technology and how it relates to your event – they are there to help you.

Though technology stuff can get kind of boring for many people, I hope this brief overview on mixers has shown you how this single piece of AV equipment, while not often asked for (though often provided), is actually a crucial piece in making sure that your presenters sound good and that the audience can hear them clearly. Now, whether the audience is paying attention or not is another question entirely…

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

How can a hotel deliver great service to a meeting planner?

2011-04-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

This is a common question I get from hotel sales managers, CSMs, GMs, and others – both before I book a group and while that group in in-house. In fact, the question comes up so often during pre-cons that I actually have a script I use just for those meetings. So, what is my usual response? Here it is, in a much shorter – and slightly altered form…

The key to delivering great service to a professional meeting planner is to deliver great service to the event participants.

Why is that?

The tendency for many hotel staff is to treat the meeting planner (and any designated VIPs) very well, which makes some sense for a couple of reasons. First, the meeting planner is often a single individual, which makes it easy to single them out for great service. Even when you add in the planner’s staff and event VIPs, you’re still talking about a relatively small group for hotel staff to identify. Second, the planner and VIPs are seen as being the decision-makers for where events go in the future so, as the thinking goes, treat them well and they will return. Both of those reasons are sound enough by themselves but I feel that they leave out the most important component – the attendees. An event’s attendees are, in my view, a main reason the event exists; if they don’t come, there is no event.

Remember, too, not all VIPs are labeled as such. You never know who is attending the meeting. Someone who is attending one event may be a decision-maker for another event that is sponsored by his own agency or company (I have had people like this at some of my functions). Provide great service to that person – especially when they are just a “regular” attendee – and you just gave yourself a leg up to get their business down the road, too.

If a hotel can win over the meeting participants with their service, the chances of getting that group to return to the property in the future go up considerably. I have actually had properties take such good care of my folks that I’ve practically been ordered to use that hotel again, even though my own experience with them was less than stellar.

On the flip side, a planner who takes unhappy participants back to the same venue risks losing attendees – which can have a huge impact on the event’s bottom line, especially if people pay a fee to attend. If they do take that group back to the same property, the planner had better seriously address the issues that made it unpleasant for the attendees – and make that known to the group.

I know the hotel will take good care of me (and my VIPs) – that’s easy – but I want them to take good care of my attendees, too. That is as important to me, if not more so, than just looking out for me and my VIPs.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

What is the difference between a Split Set and a Double Set?

2011-04-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

When this question came to me, I went looking for an “official” definition of the terms and found…none. So – I will present my definitions of the terms and, hopefully, a bit more information about each as well…

First off, definitions. How do I define these terms?

Both sets share the fact that you are placing more than one type of seating in the same room; the difference is in how and when they are used.

Split Set: This refers to a room set in which there are multiple types of seating being used at the same time in the same room. For example, I have a group that uses a U-Shape configuration (a variation of Hollow Square) and Classroom seating in the same room at the same time. The members of the group sit at the U-Shape to conduct their business, while the Classroom seating is for observers and staff who are there to support the work being done. Another example would be setting up a convention hall with Classroom seating in the front and Theater seating along the sides and in the back. Everyone there is part of the same session, listening to the same speakers, but they have more than one seating style to choose from.

Double Set: I use this term to refer to a room with more than one set (but usually just two) where the two types of seating are not used at the same time. As an example here, I may request one half of a ballroom to be set up with Classroom seating for the meeting but have the other half set up in Rounds to be used for lunch service. When possible, I will often create a visual barrier with plants or privacy screens to separate the two spaces. Yes, they share the same room but they are used for two different purposes.

As you can see from the examples, there are certainly plenty of times that you might use either a Split Set or a Double Set. But can you do both? Of course you can! In fact, I have done this myself on more than one occasion. The beauty about most meeting spaces at hotels and convention centers is that they can be used in a wide variety of ways – how you use the space is limited only by your imagination (and certain legal codes…).

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

RDL enterprises Joins the GSA Schedule!

2011-04-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

The staff at RDL enterprises has spent the last year working through the application process with the Federal Government to be awarded a GSA Schedule. This schedule puts RDL on a list that State and Government contractors can go to and locate services to bid on for up and coming contracts, as opposed to posting it on a public website. We are pleased to announce that we received our GSA approval on March 8th, 2011!

There were many steps in the application process and reams of paperwork & Internet searches. We were able to connect with the local Federal Technology Center and can’t say enough about the positive support we got from their representatives. This service is provided at no cost to small businesses.

LD Ventures, dba RDL enterprises, submitted its application last March and were told over and over again, by the GSA office, that our application was in the very tall pile of other applications for review. We finally heard from the GSA office in December 2010, that we had some additions & corrections to make on our application.

Finally, in February, all the paperwork was finalized. Now that has been completed, the next step is to create our personalized GSA Schedule for approval and then we will need to upload our schedule to GSA’s eLibrary. Once that has been completed, our schedule will be available for other federal contractors to locate us for services our company can provide, as well as government agencies.

Now that we’re on the GSA schedule, we have to market, market, & market some more to the federal agencies where we believe our meeting, conference, and event-planning services are needed. On that note, the Executive Directors of RDL will be flying to Chantilly, Virginia in April to the Annual OSDBU Conference (Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization). Attending this conference will be our first big step in networking with many of the federal contractors that may be interested in purchasing our services.

Working with the Federal Government is a huge challenge, but we at RDL are excited about the opportunity to meet that challenge. So, with GSA Contract number in hand, we are off for an adventure in Government Networking! We are going equipped with all of our new tools, so wish us luck! It will boost our confidence even more!

~ Linda Begbie • Executive Director, RDL enterprises

A Closer Look at Space Requirements for Event RFPs

2011-03-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

Time to examine in more detail another area that is a must to include on your event RFPs – Space Requirements.

When I discussed the major areas that needed to be covered by your RFP, I said that you needed to provide an outline of the space requirements for the group and gave a couple of details that go into that outline. Let’s look at those items a bit more closely and see what we can add to them. And, remember, you will need to provide this information to the venue for each function room for each day of your event.

1. How many rooms will you need and how will they be used? This is usually pretty easy to figure out but can throw a couple of curves at you. If you have a general session and four concurrent breakout sessions for your one-day event, you might be tempted to simply put that you need five rooms. However, the venue may want to know if the general session room can be used for one (or more) of the breakouts. The answer to that will change your space requirements. Does your program have the flexibility and time to do a “change-over” from one set to another like that? Will you be providing lunch or dinner or holding a reception – or all of the above? Will those food functions need to be served in their own spaces or can they use rooms already held for the meeting portion of your agenda? All of these questions affect the answer to “how many rooms do you need?” After all, if you don’t know how the space you’re requesting is going to be used, how can the venue properly prepare for you?

2. What types of room sets will each room need and for how many people? This is a critical component of your RFP. Since each type of room set takes up a different amount of space, providing this information allows the venue to figure out how much space they need to commit for your general session, each breakout, or any other function you might hold as part of your overall event. For more about room sets, check out these posts: types of room sets, what is the best room set, and how to calculate room capacities.

3. When will you use the space you are requesting? Do not just assume that the venue knows that you need the space from 8am to 5pm – tell them. Likewise, if you know that your general session is in the morning only and your breakouts are only in the afternoon, let the hotel know so they can block out space accurately for you. If you need a 24-hour hold on a room, you had better say so. Otherwise, you may find that the venue has sold the space you are using during the day to another group to use for their dinner. In many cases, this is not an issue but I will always ask for my “office” room to be held on a 24-hour basis. Another example: if I have an extensive audio-visual setup, I do not assume that the venue will automatically reserve the space for me overnight. I will ask for a 24-hour hold – and explain why I am requesting it.

I also stressed in my previous post the importance of making realistic estimates of your event’s attendance and space needs. This is where your group history is invaluable to you. Even if you do not share all of the historical details you have for the group, that history will guide your requests. You will know what they have used in the past, what trends exist (if any), and when a particular space request is outside the bounds of what the group historically has done.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

What is the best room set for a meeting?

2011-03-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

Well…that depends on the meeting. There really is no one style that is best in all situations. The “best” style of room set is dependent on how much space you have to work with, how many people will attend, and the purpose of the meeting. Take the time to look at your meeting in detail, and the answer will often present itself – especially if you are familiar with the basic room sets and when to use them.

In this post, I examined five “standard” room set categories that are used for most meetings and conferences. Today, I’d like to take another look at them and consider when and why you might use each one.

For a typical meeting, Classroom (or Schoolroom) seating or Theater seating are the most commonly used. These sets work best when the meeting is presentation-centered, meaning that the focus of the meeting is on the presentations. Of the two, I prefer to use Classroom seating since it offers participants a place to set their drinks and a surface to write on. Theater seating, though, is great for maximizing the number of seats you can get into the room.

If you need the meeting participants to be more actively involved in the meeting, then I would consider using a set that allows everyone to sit around the same table as much as possible. This means using either a variation of Hollow Square or a variation of Rounds (Banquet seating). Rounds can be done as “full” or “crescent” and are good for when you have a mix of lecture-style presentations with some small group work – and you need to do it all in the same room.

Hollow Square, as a general category, covers (in my mind) any room set that creates a rectangular workspace with the meeting participants along the outside. If the number of people is small, then you could do this as a Boardroom Table or as “Conference” seating. As the number of people who need to sit at the table increases, you eventually reach a point where the middle of the table “disappears” and you have a Hollow Square. A U-Shape seating arrangement simply removes one side of the square, which then becomes the front of the room. Hollow Square and its variations are good for meetings in which the participants need to engage each other on a regular basis throughout the day and any presentations are there to support their work. Board meetings, planning group meetings, and strategy meetings are all examples of meetings that would use this type of seating. A word of warning, though, about this style of room set… If you get above about 40 or 50 people, it no longer becomes practical for everyone to sit at the table. The set takes up an enormous amount of space and it becomes increasingly difficult for participants to see or hear people on the opposite side of the table. Technology (microphones, video monitors, etc.) can mitigate this somewhat, but you still reach a point at which that fails as well.

For those rare occasions in which you do not need (or want) seating for the meeting, you can use Reception seating. This style allows you to provide small tables, called “highboys” for people to use as writing surfaces. It also encourages shorter meetings since people are less inclined to take a long time if they have to stand through the entire meeting. I have often seen this approach suggested as a way to shorten staff meetings for that very reason.

So, which is best? None of them. As I mentioned at the start, many factors go into making that determination for each meeting. Is this a lecture-type of meeting, with a series of speakers presenting from the front of the room? Will the attendees need to interact with each other to do group exercises? Do you even need seats?

And, how much space does each of these sets take? Check out this post for a discussion about seating capacities, or you can download this one-page cheat sheet showing how many people can fit into a room for each style of seating.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Building a Music Festival

2011-03-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

Over the last 20 years, RDL enterprises’ staff has planned thousands of meetings and conferences from concept to completion throughout the United States, Canada, and U.S. Commonwealth territories. Recently, and thanks to the social networking site Linkedin, RDL was awarded a contract to plan their first music festival. Luckily, one of RDL's planners has the music production experience to draw in this new client. We wrote the bid and won. Suffice it to say, we are all out of our usual day-to-day habitual job duties. I’m reminded of the saying, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” (Neale Donald Walsch)

We have until June to execute this one-day event. In many ways, it’s not that different from planning a meeting. Here, I’d like to use a building metaphor. Before construction can begin, the client/contractor will meet at the site to discuss the basic footprint to ensure the project is understood from each angle. From there, the team will design the layers of the building, determine the responsibilities of the project, distribute the assignments, and the team will begin construction.

Planning a music festival involves the same type of structure. How much space is there? What is the capacity, what permits; codes for traffic and vehicles are needed? How many vendors can we hold, budget, sponsors, advertising, media relations, contracts, volunteers, committees? Most importantly the music! It can be all encompassing. I chuckle at how much is put into a one-day event. It seems to take as much energy to do a three-day conference.

My point is, however broad your event may be, it’s important to remember to slow down, stay organized, ask for help, write down everything, have a co-assistant, and be confident it will all work out. Dealing with the stress of such a harrowing process is crucial. I find that staying in shape is extremely helpful with the demands it takes to plan. Thank you, yoga! [See this post for other ideas. – ed.]

This experience, which is far from completed, has been incredible. I’m thankful to have this opportunity to keep growing and learning, personally and professionally.

For more information on the event, please visit, http://www.ColomaBluesLive.com. Tickets go on sale soon!

~ Tess Conrad, Meeting Planner and Coloma Blues Live Event Manager • RDL enterprises

How long does it take to serve lunch for 100 people?

2011-03-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

When I first heard this question, my immediate reaction based on experience was to say “about one hour” and leave it at that. However, this question actually opens up several issues that I think are important to consider as well when you are planning a lunch (or any meal) for your group. To address those issues, I contacted one of my counterparts on the hotel side of the equation to get her thoughts as well. Megan Chappell is a Director of Convention Services and she deals with timing and staffing issues for banquet services constantly. She was kind enough to share her guidelines with me, which I have incorporated into my thoughts below.

Before addressing how long people take to eat their meal, though, let’s look at plated and buffet lunches and see how those affect staffing. After all, the number of staff working your event can impact how long it takes to serve the meal.

For plated lunches (let’s assume a three-course meal), a hotel will typically provide one server for every 30 people. They may change that figure to one per 20 people for high-end events (such as weddings or VIP lunches). On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve worked with hotels that would staff one per 40 people for larger conferences. So, for 100 people dining, I would expect to see 3-5 servers working the room.

The calculation for buffets works a little differently. Here, a hotel will plan to do a single-sided buffet for up to 75 people. Typically, one server will man the line. For 75-150 people, they will do a double-sided buffet and add a second server to staff the line. So, if you’re planning a buffet lunch for 100 people, I would look to have a double-sided buffet line and two servers to manage it.

Of course, the base calculations for both plated and buffet meals use a default time of one hour for the meal service, so what about the actual serving of the meal? How can that be done faster?

Well, there are a couple of things you can do that can speed up delivery of the meal. The first option is to have certain parts of the meal pre-set, meaning that those items are already on the table when the meal is served. Salad and dessert are commonly done this way when serving plated meals for lunch events on a short timetable. With buffets, there is not much that can be pre-set since the whole idea of a buffet is to let diners choose what they get for their meal. Another option available is to ask the hotel to add extra servers or extra buffet lines – but be prepared to pay for those extra bodies and lines. There are real costs involved in providing those to you that the hotel must recoup. [By the way, if you want to do a buffet and are on a short timeline for lunch, do not do a Deli Buffet! This is the slowest type of buffet for diners to get through.]

So we’ve now sped up the delivery of lunch. Does this mean we can get everyone in and out of there quicker? Interestingly enough, the answer is no, the meal still takes about one hour to complete, regardless of the number of diners. “No”? Why not?

Even if extra servers deliver plated lunches quicker or you can pre-set the entire meal, diners still take about an hour to complete finish up. And, it does not seem to matter how many buffet lines you provide; it still takes a group 15-20 minutes to go through the lines and 30-40 minutes to eat (not counting second or third helpings…). I think some of the reason for this can ultimately be ascribed to human behavioral patterns and what we are mentally “programmed” to do. In the US at least, lunch is generally expected to be 30 minutes to one hour in length (consider your lunch break at work, for example) and I believe that groups of people automatically and unconsciously tend to follow that guideline.

Out of curiosity, I conducted a little experiment at home and at work for a week to see how long my meals would take alone or with company. Eating by myself, I would get through a meal in 15-30 minutes from the time the food hit the table, depending on what I was eating and how much of a hurry I was in. When I ate with others, meals would take longer to finish, especially if there were multiple courses. In fact, the more people present at the table, the longer the average time spent at the meal. Then factor in delivery time from the kitchen to the table, and meals with other people frequently ended up being approximately one hour in length…

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Social Networking – In Person! The Sacramento CVB’s member mixer at Bulls

2011-03-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

Last night, the Sacramento Convention Center Visitor Bureau’s (SCVB) monthly Mixer was held at Bulls Downtown, a western-themed bar complete with a mechanical bull! It was a unique experience in networking, fun, entertainment, and a delightful time for all.

Karl Baur, CMP (left), RDL enterprises & Jeff Dougherty (right), SCVB

Sometimes networking can be a challenge, but last night’s SCVB Mixer was a lot of fun. Bulls Downtown was a perfect setting to relax after a long day, have a brew, re-connect with old friends and colleagues – and meet new ones. Whether is was the perfect atmosphere or my late afternoon frame of mind – I enjoyed myself, totally! I met some really cool people and learned all kinds of things about businesses that I knew nothing about before. For example…

Andrea Martin, owner of Bulls, was a delight. She is a young, inspiring woman who had a fun idea and has turned it into a lucrative business that is very unique to the Sacramento downtown area. Bulls has been in Sacramento for only a few short months, but it is astonishing all that Andrea has done with the place, A-L-R-E-A-D-Y! Bulls is complete with great eats, great drinks, and a very active mechanical bull for anyone who is brave enough, daring enough, or just plain crazy to give it a whirl.

Through our networking, Andrea and I had a short, but great, conversation. In talking about her business, she asked about ours. One key word led to another and, just like that, we have already found an opportunity to work together.

We are pleased to be the logistics planners for Coloma Blues Live! on June 4th in El Dorado County. Check it out if you like beautiful drives through the foothills, enjoy the great outdoors, or just love the Blues. Andrea was excited about this event and, hopefully, may be able to partner with us to share her great food with the Blues crowd.

~ Cyndy Hutchinson • CFO & Executive Director, RDL enterprises

Common Lighting Terms for Meetings and Conferences

2011-02-23T08:13:00.000-08:00

Like so many other professional fields, the hospitality industry uses a lot of terms that are thrown about as if everyone understands what the terms mean. This can be quite frustrating for newer planners, especially when those terms are drawn from a field such as audio-visual technologies. In this post, I will share some of the common lighting terms (and maybe a couple of not-so-common ones) that meeting planners will come across at hotels and other venues.

First off, let’s look at the different types of lighting that hotels often use.

LED: This stands for Light Emitting Diode and is frequently used for accent lights. They use little energy and give of a bright but cool light.

Florescent Lights: This is one of the most common forms of area lighting for meeting rooms. The light tubes contain a reactive gas that emits light when an electric current is passed through it. They come on quickly at their maximum brightness, do not usually emit a lot of heat, and provide a nice, even brightness level.

PAR, aka PARcan or “cans”: A Parabolic Aluminized Reflector, this is your stereotypical “can light”. You usually find them recessed into the ceiling of the meeting room. These lights get pretty hot, which is one of the reasons for recessing them, and the “can” in which they sit helps direct the light down from the ceiling.

Lekos: Also called “ellipsoidals”, these lights are essentially spotlights. They are used to shine a bright light on a specific area and are frequently paired with gobos. One of the neat features with Lekos is that they usually have built-in shutters that allow you to focus the light, widening or narrowing the beam to illuminate only the target area. It is almost unheard of to find one of these lights built into a room’s ceiling or walls, except in a true theater – and it is not common there either, so they need to be mounted on something.

Fresnels: Typically used for area lighting (of a stage, for example), Fresnels produce a soft-edged light, which can be somewhat shuttered by the use of “barn doors”. Colors can be added to the light to create mood lighting. Like Lekos, Fresnel lights require a stand or framework for mounting and are rarely built-in to a meeting room’s structure.

~~~

Now, let’s look at some other lighting-related terms. Though not commonly used for most meetings, each of these terms may show up if you are doing a more extensive production for events, such as for an awards banquet or a major keynote presentation.

Cyc: Short for cyclorama, this is a heavy curtain used as a backdrop for a stage. Images can be shone upon it, or it can simply be used to visually create a space for presentations. It is often used as well to block undesirable objects from view, such as a door leading into a service hallway or all of the AV cables that are connected to the equipment on stage.

Gobo: A term originating with film sets, gobo is short for “go between”. The term refers to anything that is set between a light source and the “stage” to create a shadow or an image on top of a presenter or against a backdrop (or cyc). The most common application of gobos in meetings is to display a logo on a wall, the floor, or even the ceiling.

Scrim: In theater applications, a scrim is a light, gauzy material placed in front of the cyc that can be transparent or opaque, depending on how it is lit and what effect is desired. It can be used to “hide” a presenter (or an object) onstage until the precise moment you want the audience to see them.

Barn Doors: These shutters are mounted on the outside of a light’s casing to allow customization of the light’s beam. With barn doors, you can adjust the light, for example, to keep it off of a curtain, light only to the edge of the stage, or to help define the edge of an area.

As with other audio-visual equipment issues, the question often arises: do I really need to know this as a meeting planner? Of course, the answer is “no”, you don’t need to know it. After all, you don’t need to know what a PAR is to use one and, if you have more extensive needs, that is one of the reasons you would hire AV experts – to have them help you with just this kind of thing. However, I am a big believer in knowing as much about our industry as you can. It makes you more able to understand what the people you hire are talking about and it means you can take a more direct role in ensuring that your event goes off as you envision it.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

How many Registration Counters are Needed for My Event?

2011-02-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

While I’ve not come across a hard and fast rule to answer this question, I believe that we can still give ourselves a good rule of thumb to apply as a starting point.

In a previous post, I examined the question of how many people you needed to staff your event and, if you recall, the rule of thumb given there (1 staff per 100 attendees) was geared towards knowing the number of people you would need to staff your registration counters. But – does that estimate also apply to the registration counters themselves…?

Yes and No.

As with staffing levels, 1 per 100 is a good place to start. In this case, though, we’ll use one registration counter for every 100 registrants. Why? Well, I use this as my starting point mainly because each staff person will need some space within which to operate and it is difficult to have too many people all working the same counter. Another reason, quite honestly, is that it makes the math easy and I can make a quick estimate if necessary.

When it comes to actually ordering registration tables or counters, though, I take a good look at what the check-in process will entail. Will attendees simply come by and pick up a badge then go into the meeting or is there more to it than that? Will they need to sign in and/or sign out of the meeting? Are there additional materials that they will need to collect on check-in? If so, how are those materials to be handed out – as a package, singly, attendee chooses what they want, etc.? All of these questions affect how much space you will need to check people in to your event – and, therefore, how many counters you will need. Even the size of the name badges can affect the amount of space you need.

A good way to roughly calculate the space you will need is to set up a mock registration counter in your office. Just pick a table and lay out ten to twenty badges, plus any additional materials they will need to receive on check-in, as if you were conducting your event check-in right there. That will allow you see how much space you will need for everything. You will need to extrapolate a bit to figure out your total space requirements – but it will give you a rough approximation.

Then, think about how long it will take to hand them everything – time how long it takes you if that helps you. Remember, the longer the process takes, the more people you will need to make the process go quickly and efficiently. If you need additional people, you will most likely need more space. If, on the other hand, you am only handing out name badges and there are no other materials or activities taking place at check-in, you could probably get away with one counter for 200 people – and just need one staff to manage it.

So, as usual for many of my posts, the ultimate answer is “it depends” when we look at how many registration counters are needed for a particular event. However, you can still use the “1 per 100” rule to get you started.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Five Questions to Answer about Guest Rooms on Your RFPs

2011-02-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

Previously, I gave an overview of the kinds of information you should include when creating an event RFP. I did not go into a lot of detail then about each section but, rather, just gave a brief overview. This week, I’d like to look at one of those areas in more depth – Guest Rooms.

Although the only information required for the RFP is how many rooms on each night you need rooms and what nightly rate you are looking for (or cannot exceed), there is, in fact, much more information you can (and should) share with prospective bidders if you know it ahead of time. Here are five additional questions for you to consider when compiling your RFP details.

1. How many ADA rooms do you need and what types of accommodations are needed for those rooms? For example, I worked with a group for a while with two members who were wheelchair-bound. I needed to make sure that they had roll-in showers available in their rooms. If you have attendees who are blind, deaf, or otherwise impaired, it is incumbent on you as the planner to make sure that the facility you choose can accommodate their needs – especially if they are regular attendees to your event. In general, though, you should be sure to select ADA compliant properties just in case any attendee for your event requires one.

2. Will you provide a rooming list or will guests be calling the hotel on their own to make reservations – and who pays for the room charges? While this rarely affects the hotel’s ability to meet your needs, it does help them to understand the relationship that will exist between the venue, the planner, and the guests.

3. Since hotels have some rooms that have a single bed and others with two beds, another piece of information you can share is how many rooms you will need each night in which configuration. In other words, list how many single rooms and how many double rooms will you need? If you also have guests who will stay three or four to a room (triples and doubles), you should share that information as well.

4. Do you need a “pet-friendly” hotel? If so, you’d better ask for that up front or you and your guests could be in for a shock if the hotel does not allow pets and they plan to bring them. [Note: Service Animals are NOT pets and, by law, are allowed everywhere their owner goes.]

5. Will you need any smoking rooms and what is the breakdown of smoking vs. non-smoking rooms? This may seem like an odd one to include these days, with so many hotel chains going completely non-smoking but, if you have a group of smokers, you need to make sure that the hotel knows that you will need smoking rooms (or at least, smoking areas). In addition, many foreign groups or groups traveling overseas still prefer or require smoking rooms.

Make it your practice to gather data on your attendees and their use of guest rooms – not just at your primary (host) hotel but also at alternative sites as well if you have access to that information. As with so many things in our industry, the more you know, the better prepared you are to meet the needs of your group and have a successful event.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

What information should I include in my RFPs?

2011-02-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

Easy answer: Everything.

Realistic answer: Everything that matters.

OK, I realize that the “realistic” answer isn’t much better than the “easy” answer so let’s see if we can narrow down what that really means. And, since a successful event has to begin somewhere, let’s begin with the basics.

To start, you need to make sure you include basic information, such as your contact information (phone, email, address, etc), the deadline for submission of proposals, and when/how a decision will be made. But that is not all that is needed…

When I create a Request for Proposals (RFP), I am looking for a useful “snapshot” of my conference that a hotel sales manager can use to determine if they are able and willing to compete for my business. It needs to include information about what I need, any limits I have on those needs, and when and how proposals are due. Here are the key areas I cover for all of my groups:

Dates – When I want to hold the meeting. This could be a range (any weekday in October), a pattern (a Mon-Tues in October), or specific dates (October 23-26). If you have flexibility on dates or if there are dates you absolutely must avoid, be sure to include that information in your RFP too.

Guest Rooms – Simply put, how many guest rooms over how many nights do I think I will fill with my group. Usually, this is listed as X number of rooms for Tuesday night, Y number of rooms for Wednesday night, etc.

Rates – How much I am willing to pay for various items, such as guest room rates, meeting room rental, or food and beverage functions. In most cases, this is an upper limit (i.e. I can pay no more than a certain rate for guest rooms, or I cannot pay for space rental, etc.) but it can also simply be a way to share what I would like to pay for guest rooms, space, etc. I also use it as an opportunity to let the venue know if I can negotiate on rates or not and how much room I have to do that.

Space – An outline of the space requirements for the group: how many rooms, when they will be used, what types of room sets, and how many people will be in attendance for each event. Include everything you think you will need, but be realistic about your requirements. That especially applies to your estimated counts. If your group history shows that typical attendance for your meeting is 200 people, don’t look to hold space for 500 without some kind of solid reasoning (i.e. wishful thinking is not a good basis for this estimate).

F&B –A listing of each food and beverage function planned and the estimated number of people in attendance for each function. As with Space requests, ask for what you think you’ll need but be realistic about it.

AV – Indicate how much and what kind of Audio-Visual equipment my meeting will use (whether rented or brought) because this impacts the size of rooms needed for the group, as well as possibly representing another source of income for the venue (if they have an in-house AV department). It also helps paint a picture of what the group looks like for the sales rep.

Other Key Decision Points – If you have special requests that will “make or break” a venue’s chances of winning your business, be sure to include those items in the RFP – and this goes for any service or item that will affect your final decision. For example, if you need free high-speed internet access in your guest rooms, ask for it. If you can only book with a hotel that is a union property, state that in your RFP. That way, you will not waste your time, or theirs, by getting bids that you know up front you cannot accept. Similarly, if parking or shuttle rates are important, be sure to ask bidders to include that information in their proposal as well.

Group History – As we’ve discussed previously, having a solid group history helps show that your space and F&B requests (as well as all of the other items on our RFP) are reasonable and realistic for the group. I typically include a minimum of 3-5 instances of the meeting in the RFP, assuming the group has met at least that many times. For each “instance”, I will provide the date and location of the meeting (city and venue) on the RFP. With a typical large conference, this means I am sharing at least 3-5 years of history. For smaller groups that might meet 3-4 times each year, I usually only list the previous year or two to show that it is not just a “one-off” event and that there is a solid basis for my numbers. Believe it or not, hotels do look at your group history – especially for larger groups.

With each area, I will delve into more detail about the group’s needs as appropriate. Where I take each of the areas above depends greatly on the group I am working with and what they need. To go into those finer points here would take up way too much space so I will instead take the time in future posts to look at some of these RFP areas in greater detail. In the meantime, I hope this has given you enough to start thinking about your RFPs and what information you choose to include in them.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

What is a Group History?

2011-01-26T08:11:00.000-08:00

This is another topic that most meeting planners should be familiar with – the Group History. Though the phrase is pretty self-explanatory, a new planner may not be sure what they should include or how long to keep the data. Here is a brief overview…

Simply put, a Group History tracks all of the information about your event. It can be used for several purposes but I believe its real power comes into play when locating and negotiating for space and rates for future placement of that event.

At a minimum, your Group History should include:

· Dates event was previously held

· Locations of previous events (city and venue)

· Actual number of guest rooms used (and type of rooms used) for your event

· Actual number of attendees/participants

· Actual amounts spent on Food & Beverage functions

· Total budget (amount spent) for each previous event

· If you have Exhibits, how many exhibitors did you have each time

When compiling a Group History for an event, I don’t stop there, though. Here are some other good pieces of information to include:

· Function space used (number of rooms, room sets, etc.)

· Audio-visual equipment used

· Reservation patterns (does the group make reservations early or just before the deadline)

· Registration patterns (again, do the attendees register early or at the last minute)

· How much the attendees spent at the venue’s outlets (coffee bar, restaurant, gift shop, etc.)

Bear in mind that the above lists are not comprehensive but are meant to give you an idea of what you should include in creating your own Group History. You will need to create your own list based on your event. The goal here, though, is to get as much hard data as you can about your group. The more you know, the better placed you are come negotiation time. Why is that?

Let’s say I have a group of 500 people for a meeting, need 400 guest rooms, 10,000 square feet of meeting space, and plan to do four meals over three days. As a hotelier (or venue manager), you might be pretty skeptical about my numbers if I have no data to back them up. As a result, you are more likely to build in a “safety net” in the contract to protect your property in case my group does not deliver on its promises – higher F&B minimums, perhaps, or an earlier cut-off date for room reservations, maybe. However, if I can show you ten years of Group History for the group, I may be able to get reduced minimums or a later cut-off date. Having a solid Group History does not guarantee that you get favorable contract offers compared to not having one – but it does show the other party that, yes, you do know what you’re talking about when it comes to the group’s needs and what they can realistically promise to deliver.

Having a Group History also allows me to be more specific in my negotiations because I know exactly what the group needs. And, because I know exactly what my group needs (and have the History to prove it), the venue can give me a proposal that addresses those needs more directly. They can offer incentives that my group would actually use instead of a generic incentive package that contains items irrelevant to the group.

So how much History should you have on your group? When sending out an RFP, you should include three to five years of history (dates, locations, and venues), but I like to hold onto a Group History for as long as the group exists. If the group has held meetings for the past 14 years, then I want to have data for all 14 years. That much history allows me to be confident about their needs, as well as a tool for analyzing trends in the group’s requirements as needs and wants change over time.

If you don’t have that many years of data, don’t worry too much about it. Go back and pull it out of old files if you can. If you can’t, then start a new file where you can track all of that information in one place. Build a Group History for your group and you will find that you have just added one more great tool to your kit. Remember: Knowledge is Power!

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Financial Goals and Funding Categories for Events

2011-01-19T07:51:00.000-08:00

Generally speaking, there are three types of meetings when viewed from a fiscal standpoint: Revenue Generator, Break-Even, and Underwritten.

A Revenue Generator is a meeting in which the primary goal is to make money and to have your income for the event exceed its expenses – the more you exceed expenses, the better. While other goals may also be pursued for the event, the main focus is on ending the event with significantly more money than it cost to put it on.

A Break-Even event is often confused with a Revenue Generator but they are not really the same thing; the main difference is in scale. Yes, income is still important for a Break-Even event but, once expenses are covered, more income is not necessarily desired or desirable. The basic goal here (and what sets it apart from a Revenue Generator) is to have income match expenses, with perhaps a little extra left over to use as seed money for the next event. The event should pay for itself.

An Underwritten event is one in which there is no expectation of turning a profit. The agency or organization hosting the event is not concerned with showing a profit or even necessarily recouping costs. You simply have a budget for the event and, so long as you don’t exceed budget, you’re in good shape.

Funding for any of these types can come from one or more of three categories of sources: internal, external, and self-supporting.

Internal funding is also known as organizational funding and is most common with Underwritten events such as trainings or business retreats.

External funding is derived primarily from sponsorships. The group hosting the event looks outside their own organization for the money to put on the event.

A Self-Supporting event is one in which the money to cover costs is raised from sales of registrations, exhibit space, etc.

While it is nice to be able to say a particular meeting is funded a certain way, most events use a combination of funding streams to reach their fiscal goals. And, as a planner, I find this to be both useful and interesting information to know about a client and their event: what are their financial goals for their event and where is the money coming from to pay for it? Each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses – knowing the group’s goals and funding allows me to better focus my efforts to effectively aid them in creating a successful conference.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Ed. Note: For more information about calculating break-even points, check out these posts: Calculating Break-Even and An Example of Break-Even Calculation

What is a Force Majeure Clause?

2011-01-12T07:55:00.000-08:00

If you’ve done many contracts for meetings or conferences, you are probably familiar with the Force Majeure section (sometimes called “impossibility” or “acts of God” clauses) of hotel contracts. It's purpose is to protect the parties involved in case something catastrophic happens that makes it impossible for them to fulfill the terms of the contract and, if you are not familiar with it, you should be.

A basic clause may run something like this: “The performance of this agreement is subject to termination without liability upon the occurrence of any circumstance beyond the control of either party to the extent that such circumstance makes it illegal or impossible to provide or use the hotel facilities.”

The clause will usually go on to include examples of what qualifies for exercising the clause (disaster, war, civil disorder, government action, etc.) and what does not (such as strikes involving agents of the side seeking protection of the clause). An action date is typically included as well – the party seeking protection must notify the other party of their intent to use this clause within a certain time frame of the circumstance becoming known. The Force Majeure clause can be long and detailed or short and to the point. In either case, it should incorporate a few key elements.

First, the basic wording must be there, acknowledging that circumstances beyond the control of either the planner or the hotel may make it impossible for one or both parties to meet their contractual obligations. Immediately after 9/11, for example, many meetings were canceled due to the grounding of flights nationally for some time after the attacks – people simply could not get to meetings that required air travel. This was an event well beyond the control of the planners that made it impossible for them to meet their contractual obligations to hotels.

Second, including examples is a good idea. That helps make clear when the clause can be used and when it cannot. If there is a specific circumstance that concerns you, be sure to include it if the hotel does not have it in their existing language. For example, if you are concerned about hurricanes, include that in the list of examples. If you work with government groups, failure of the legislature to pass a budget may mean that the group will need to cancel – government action (or, in this case, inaction) could make it impossible for the group to meet its obligations.

Third, do include a “window of action” to make a decision. Once notified that a particular circumstance exists that could be a problem, immediate action should be taken – too long of a delay in activating the Force Majeure clause effectively means that you agree to continue with the contract as written.

Finally, and this one is the most important in my mind, the clause must be reciprocal. This means that it imparts the same protection to both parties. At one time, I saw many contracts with Force Majeure clauses written so as to provide protection for the hotel but none for the group contracting with them. So, a hotel could say that the recent earthquake made it impossible or unsafe for them to meet their obligations to the group but the group had no such option available to them (contractually). Fortunately, this has changed considerably over the years and most hotel contracts now do have reciprocal language here. Double-check it, though. Occasionally, I will still see one that protects one side and not both. When that happens, I make sure to change the clause to protect both parties.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

How do you manage the stress of meeting planning?

2011-01-05T08:18:00.000-08:00

“Isn’t meeting planning really stressful? How do you manage?”

These are just a couple of the questions I often get from people new to the field of meeting planning or from those who really don’t know what it is that we do. That’s OK. Most jobs have some stress – it’s nearly unavoidable in this day and age – so the questions are still valid. So how do I manage to do my job and keep my sanity? Here are my top three techniques:

One: I make sure that I have some kind of physical activity each week, preferably two or three times a week. For me, the main activity here is soccer. I get exercise, some social interaction, and don’t have to think a lot. This offers a much-needed counter to a job that often entails long hours behind a desk, working on my own or in small groups, and exerting my mind for significant periods of time.

Two: I read for pleasure. Yes, you read that right, I read for pleasure. This is a very different mental activity from reading for content or to learn a subject. It is also quite different from the types of mental activity that my job requires. I will often read during my lunch break when the change in mental stimulus will re-energize my mind and help me get through the rest of my day.

Three: I make sure to set aside time for friends, family, and/or pets. I get to relax and enjoy life. I may get together with friends for a game or movie night, cuddle with my cats, or simply spend quality time with my wife and daughter. It really doesn’t matter what I’m doing – so long as I’m doing something with them.

Ultimately, though, what this really all comes down to finding things to do that you enjoy that can offer a mental and physical change from the routine of your work. If variety is the spice of life, then add as much spice as you can – it will make life, and your job, much more fun.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Working with Images in InDesign

2010-12-29T07:07:00.000-08:00

As the primary graphic designer for RDL, I get the opportunity to work on many different design projects from creating signs, brochures, and name tags to creating conference registration packets and programs. As the office “expert” in Adobe InDesign, I am frequently called upon to help with InDesign-related questions and assistance. I would have to say that one of the most common issues is placing and re-sizing images. So, here are the basics of how one would place and resize an image in the InDesign program.

Placing an image directly on the page
To place an image directly on the page, you first need to make sure that you know where on your computer the original file is stored. Make sure to give the file a name that allows you to easily distinguish what it is.

Next, make sure that you have selected your selection tool from the tool palette.

Now select File > Place (Keyboard Shortcut: Command +D)

A dialogue box will pop up and you will then need to locate the file on your computer.

After selecting the file you wish to place, click Place in the dialogue box.

You will now see a small version of your image on your cursor. You can move the image to where you want to set it on the page, click once with your mouse and the image will appear on your page.

Resizing an image
In many cases, images need to be resized after they are placed on the page.
First, select the image with your selection tool.

Next, hold down the shift key and click any corner or the image to either increase or decrease the image size. (Holding the shift key while resizing is important because it constrains the image.)

Be sure to release the mouse before releasing shift.

Now depending on whether you made your image smaller or larger, you will either see some extra white space in your image box or it will look like your image is cut off. This is an easy fix.

Make sure you have your image selected with your selection tool and then select Object > Fitting > Fit Content Proportionally (KS: Shift + Option + Command +E)--

~ Carmen Zorick • Graphic Designer, RDL enterprises

Work-Life Balance 3

2010-12-22T08:36:00.000-08:00

In this series of articles by Molly Gordon, MMC, (geared towards small business owners) there is information that may help you find a process that can help you balance your work time with your business and your life. I have found these to be both interesting and helpful. Each article can be read about in more detail here – and each strategy is highlighted with additional information that is worth a read.

Articles On Work Life Balance
By Molly Gordon, MCC

* Work Life Balance - 9 Strategies to Help You Regain Your Equilibrium
If you are a small business owner, you may have noticed that the relationship between personal and professional life can be rocky. Developing and maintaining a healthy work life balance can be tricky. I know pat success formulas don't help. I also know it is possible to take care of ourselves and our businesses if we are willing to do the work. Read about nine strategies that, taken together, can help you change course without abandoning the destination and help you restore work life balance.

* Work Life Balance And The Power of Positive Thinking
Can we learn how to respond optimistically and hopefully to events that challenge work life balance? According to psychologist and researcher Martin Seligman, the answer is YES. While some folks appear to be hardwired to respond optimistically to ups and downs in life and work, others are wired for pessimistic responses. Fortunately, you do not have to settle for the wiring you were born with. Find out how you can improve your resilience and your hopefulness by acquiring solid positive thinking skills.

* Refine Your Work Life Balance by Setting Healthy Boundaries
Do you think of boundaries as ways to keep something or someone out in hope to maintain your work life balance and protect your time, energy, and resources? What do healthy boundaries look like, and how can you know where and how to set them? Let's take a big breath and take another look at this business of setting boundaries.

* Work Life Balance: Adding White Space
You most probably heard that work life balance is called the ''holy grail of the 21st century.'' In bookstores, the bookshelves groan with books devoted to the topic, yet ironically enough, quite a few people just can't find the time to read them. May this article help you cast a fresh eye on what work life balance means to you and take a further step towards balanced life.

* Work Life Balance: The Gift Of Too Much To Do
People are always asking me how I get everything done. How do I find the time to read so much? How can I travel and attend trainings while keeping up with my practice? How do I manage to write my blog and Authentic Promotion newsletter? How do I maintain work life balance that has become the Holy Grail of our times? In this article, I am gladly sharing one of my "secrets."

* Work Life Balance: 9 Quick Tips for Managing Overwhelm
If you feel that your work life balance is teetering on the edge; isn't it time to make changes before the problems overwhelm you? Whether or not you own your own business, life is often overwhelmingly rich. I wish you joy in the dance as you move with order and disorder, discipline and insight, gracefully maintaining work life balance.

* Your First Step To Balanced Life: Make Room for Enough
Here is the secret that underlies all life balance.

* Calling Your Energy Home
Find out about two main reasons we run short of energy we need to maintain work life balance and call your energy home with an energy inventory offered in this article.

* Work Life Balance: Self Care, Whether You Deserve It Or Not
Answering these simple questions will help you start or resume your journey toward real work life balance.

* Transition to Balanced Life: Do You Have Your Instrument Rating?
There are times in life and in business when it's just not possible to know what to do next based on your usual sources of information. Read about the ways that will help you avoid error, achieve more, and enjoy a balanced life.

So in your busy lives of working and living, I do hope that some of this information that I discovered is insightful and will help you in creating your balance.

~ Cyndy Hutchinson • CFO, RDL enterprises

Food and Beverage Minimums in Contracts

2010-12-15T08:19:00.000-08:00

Those of you who have been in the industry a while will most certainly come up against food and beverage (F&B) minimums at some pointing your career and how you have handled them will likely have been determined by your client’s needs and the particular event’s specifications. For those of you who are new to meeting planning, F&B minimums can be a bit daunting.

So what is a food and beverage minimum and why would I allow them into my contracts? Well, the term itself is pretty self-explanatory – it is the minimum amount of food and beverage your group is committing to in the contract – but does not go far enough to capture all that the clause entails.

F&B minimums in a contract will nearly always be spelled out in terms of dollars to be spent on catering for your event. You are spending at least that amount of money, regardless of what you order or how many people actually attend. If I have an F&B minimum of $15,000, then my final catering bill will be at least $15,000. It is important to note, too, that the minimum is the base price, exclusive of tax and service charges. (For more on these “hidden charges”, check out this post.)

The hotel calculates the minimum based on the meal functions that you have planned and secured space for at the property. They also look at how many people are projected to attend those events. If the number seems unreasonable to you, do your own calculations based on your best information about the group and using the hotel’s own menus, then make a counter-offer to the hotel. Remember, like nearly any other clause in the contract, you can suggest changes and negotiate terms. When I see an F&B minimum in a draft contract, I will always do my own (realistic!) calculation of what I think my group will order – and try to get a lower number in the contract. This leaves me some “wiggle room” in case my numbers are not as high as I expect or if the client reduces the size of or cancels any particular function.

So why are those clauses even in the contract? Basically, this is a bit of self-protection for the hotels that arose out of the days when planners would book the sun and fail to deliver even the moon. Hotels needed to protect themselves from the unrealistic projections of planners. (OK, not all planners did this but enough did that the trend was very disturbing for hotels.) As a result, the F&B minimum was “born”. It allowed the hotel or caterer to make the planner be realistic in their projections of how much food they would actually order once the meeting occurred – and they enforced this by making the planner put their money where their mouth was. If you tell the hotel that you are doing a banquet for 100 people, then you need to be willing to commit close to that amount as the minimum. Planners quickly learned to look at their events a little more critically so that they could be more accurate in booking those events.

Don’t get upset when you see an F&B minimum in the contract, though do check the numbers carefully. Just as we as planners want certain protections in there, so, too, do the hotels and this is one protection I agree with. Though, as I mentioned earlier, I do work to ensure that the minimum requested is a realistic target for my group to hit. If I know my group is only likely to spend $5,000 in F&B, I will not sign a contract for any higher amount. Neither will I argue if the hotel wants to impose a $2,500 minimum, especially if I know my group can easily make that level.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

What is Happening with Federal Travel

2010-12-08T08:09:00.000-08:00

Recently the Federal Government issued a Federal Travel Regulation Bulletin (GSA Bulletin FTR 10-6) regarding Travel Policies and Practices. The stated purpose of this bulletin is to “enhance travel cost savings and reduce green house gas emissions.” This travel policy was established in response to the President’s Executive Order requiring heads of agencies to consider reductions associated with “implementing strategies and accommodations for transit, travel, training, and conferencing that actively support lower-carbon commuting and travel by agency staff.”

The travel bulletin goes on to say one of the ways to enhance cost savings is by reducing or eliminating travel. The new guidance encourages eliminating travel when possible by utilizing technology in lieu of travel. Agencies are encouraged to use teleconferencing, video conferencing, webinars, social networking options, etc. We have heard all of this before. It will be interested to see if we see an increase in demand for electronic conferencing.

Both travel costs and carbon reduction strategies are encouraged in the guidelines when planning any travel. Suggestions include traveling lighter (less luggage), using public transportation, and ridesharing and or walking, to and from lodging and meeting sites. When cabs are used, the traveler is encouraged to use cabs that use alternative fuels. If rental cars are required, the traveler is encouraged to use the smallest, most fuel efficient vehicle or if available under a government agreement, use alternative fuel or hybrid rental.

Lodging should be “Green”. Travelers are encouraged to look for lodging that is LEED certified, or has an EPA Energy Star rating or participates in EPA’s Waste Wise and Watersense program and has a stated commitment to practicing environmentally preferable purchasing in the products and services used. The guidance also asks travel to participate in the hotels reuse of linen to conserve water and recycling programs. It also encourages turning off AC/Heat, radio and TV in the room when leaving. These are good suggestions for all us as we travel for either business or pleasure.

When hosting meetings and conferences requiring travel, the guidance encourages strategies such as offering an alternative for remote conferencing, ensuring the site is easily accessible to public transportation, assuring the property incorporates green principles, and that if possible, schedule concurrently with other meetings so attendees can overlap their attendance and avoid multiple trips.

What does that mean to both government planners as well as independent planners? I think this is the wave of the future and we should all consider these guidelines when working with all of our clients and planning for our future events.

~ Linda Begbie • CEO & Executive Director, RDL enterprises

Ed Note: If you are traveling in or to California, check out this web site for a list of green-certified hotels and learn what it takes for them to become certified. - KB

How to Plan a Gala - Outsourcing for Vendors

2010-12-01T07:57:00.000-08:00

I recently finished planning a 28th annual gala in San Diego for one of our clients. About a year ago, I wrote a blog about how to plan a gala, using the same client’s event as the example. I offered some basic tips, depending on the type of venue being used. This time around, I would like to highlight and discuss a few details I did not mention in my previous gala blog.

Outsourcing for vendors was one of the main tasks this time. San Diego has a huge market so competition was stiff and, in today’s economy, everyone wants a piece of the pie. In sending out the request for proposal (RFP), I noted important aspects of the event, i.e., date, time, location, food & beverage requests, audio-visual, and other considerations. Several venues in the downtown area of San Diego responded. After learning about each vendor’s policies and procedures, the type of space provided, and rates, we made our selection. However, the venue finally chosen did not provide many elements needed for the gala. First, I needed to hire a catering company. Typically, venues have a preferred vendor list for special events. It is helpful knowing these companies have created a great working relationship with the venue, understand the space really well, and can offer discounts. Second, the event needed a professional DJ for the entertainment portion. And third, we needed a beverage vendor to provide bar service. Now, this is working with three different companies, three different negotiations, and three different contracts – outside of the venue contract. Thankfully, the catering company provided tables, linens, chairs, flatware and glassware. That could have been yet another element.

Dedicating enough time to such coordination is important. I started planning 6-8 months prior to the event, due to its size and complexity. Each vendor was extremely helpful offering suggestions to create a smooth and easy event. Overall, I found working with many different vendors was easy and enjoyable. All of who did an exceptional job. The venue coordinator was among the best I have worked with. I am looking forward to planning the 29th annual gala in Atlanta, GA.

~ Tess Conrad • Meeting & Conference Planner, RDL enterprises

Work-Life Balance 2

2010-11-24T08:51:00.000-08:00

Last month, I wrote about keeping a balance between work and life and have been doing more research (and there is a lot out there). Here is another article that I wanted to share.

Work-Life Balance Defined - What it really means!

Despite the worldwide quest for Work-Life Balance, very few have found an acceptable definition of the concept. Here's a proven definition that will positively impact your everyday value and balance starting today. (Average reading time 120 seconds).

Let's first define what work-life balance is not.

Work-Life Balance does not mean an equal balance. Trying to schedule an equal number of hours for each of your various work and personal activities is usually unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is and should be more fluid than that.

Your best individual work-life balance will vary over time, often on a daily basis. The right balance for you today will probably be different for you tomorrow. The right balance for you when you are single will be different when you marry, or if you have children; when you start a new career versus when you are nearing retirement.

There is no perfect, one-size fits all, balance you should be striving for. The best work-life balance is different for each of us because we all have different priorities and different lives.

However, at the core of an effective work-life balance definition are two key everyday concepts that are relevant to each of us. They are daily Achievement and Enjoyment, ideas almost deceptive in their simplicity.

Engraining a fuller meaning of these two concepts takes us most of the way to defining a positive Work-Life Balance. Achievement and Enjoyment answer the big question "Why?" Why do you want a better income…a new house…the kids through college…to do a good job today…to come to work at all?
Most of us already have a good grasp on the meaning of Achievement. But let's explore the concept of Enjoyment a little more. As part of a relevant Work-Life Balance definition, enjoyment does not just mean "Ha-Ha" happiness. It means Pride, Satisfaction, Happiness, Celebration, Love, A Sense of Well Being …all the Joys of Living.

Achievement and Enjoyment are the front and back of the coin of value in life. You can't have one without the other, no more than you can have a coin with only one side. Trying to live a one sided life is why so many "Successful" people are not happy, or not nearly as happy as they should be.

You cannot get the full value from life without BOTH Achievement and Enjoyment. Focusing on Achievement and Enjoyment every day in life helps you avoid the "As Soon As Trap", the life dulling habit of planning on getting around to the joys of life and accomplishment "as soon as…."

My caffeine source is diet cola. But I'm a somewhat fussy diet cola drinker. I don't like cans or bottles, I like fountain. And there is a big difference in fountain drinks. So I know all the best fountains within a five-mile radius of my house and office. My favorite is a little convenience store near my home called Fitzgerald's.

Let's say I'm wandering into Fitzgerald's at 6 in the morning, in my pre-caffeinated state and the implausible happens. Some philosophical guy bumps into me, and says…. "Heh mister… what's your purpose in life?" Well even in that half-awake condition, I'd have an answer for him. I'd say, "You know, I just want to achieve something today and I want to enjoy something today. And if I do both of those things today, I'm going to have a pretty good day. And if I do both of those things every day, for the rest of my life… I'm going to have a pretty good life."

And I think that's true for all of us. Life will deliver the value and balance we desire …when we are achieving and enjoying something every single day…in all the important areas that make up our lives. As a result, a good working definition of Work-Life Balance is:

Meaningful daily Achievement and Enjoyment in each of my four life quadrants: Work, Family, Friends and Self.
Ask yourself now, when was the last time you Achieved AND Enjoyed something at work? What about Achieved AND Enjoyed with your family; your friends? And how recently have you Achieved AND Enjoyed something just for you?

Why not take 20 minutes on the way home from work and do something just for yourself? And when you get home, before you walk in the door, think about whether you want to focus on achieving or enjoying at home tonight. Then act accordingly when you do walk in the door.

At work you can create your own best Work-Life Balance by making sure you not only Achieve, but also reflect the joy of the job, and the joy of life, every day. If nobody pats you on the back today, pat yourself on the back. And help others to do the same.

When you do, when you are a person that not only gets things done, but also enjoys the doing, it attracts people to you. They want you on their team and they want to be on your team.

Simple concepts. And once you focus on them as key components of your day, they are not that hard to implement. So, make it happen, for yourself, your family and all the important individuals you care about…every day for the rest of your life… Achieve and Enjoy.

Jim Bird, Publisher

On thing that I am finding over and over, is that there is not one easy solution to maintaining a healthy work and life balance. Everyone needs to find a way to make this happen for themselves. Opening yourself up to suggestions is only the beginning, but we all have to begin somewhere.

~ Cyndy Hutchinson • CFO, RDL enterprises

Offering Gratuities to Hotel Staff After the Conclusion of the Event

2010-11-17T08:23:00.000-08:00

It is great when you have enough money in your budget to offer additional gratuities after a conference to reward those who went above and beyond the call of duty in support of your event. So how does one go about doing that, short of walking around with an envelope full of cash...?

If you wish to present gratuities to staff at a hotel for exemplary service, I would recommend creating a list of those individuals that you want to recognize with cash payments (gratuities). From there, you can start plugging in dollar amounts. Alternately, you decide on a total that you are willing/can afford to pay and start giving it to various people until you run out. The more someone did for you and/or the group, the more they would receive. The whole process is a back and forth kind of affair as you adjust the list of names, the amounts they get, and the total you are disbursing until you reach a final list you are comfortable with.

Typically, the CSM gets the largest amount, followed by banquet captains or other "dedicated" staff at the hotel, depending on their role in supporting the event. I will sometimes include servers or other line staff if they really went "above and beyond" in their service - though, as often as not, a letter to the General Manager acknowledging their work and expressing thanks serves a more valuable role for them. Only in extreme instances do I include bellmen or anyone else who would have received a cash gratuity on the spot for their services. In any case, my list of folks who received gratuities after the fact is rarely more than six to ten people.

Though various service industries often try to set “recommended” gratuity rates, remember that gratuities here are a reward for service “above and beyond”, not just for good service – and there really is no one right amount to give if you are presenting gratuities. Do what feels right (and is within your budget).

When you have your list finalized, you send a check to the hotel for the total amount along with a list spelling out who gets how much of that total. The list and check typically go to the CSM, though sometimes they will go to someone else instead – confirm who should get them before sending.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

An Update on What is Happening in the Hotel Industry and How it Affects Meeting Planners

2010-11-10T08:15:00.000-08:00

An article in the Oct. 11, 2010, edition of Business Travel News (posted online October 15th) warns meeting planners to expect more difficult negotiations in 2011. According to the author, attrition clauses, demands for room cut-off dates, and deposits will become much less negotiable and planners should be prepared for this new trend. The article goes on to say that planners can still expect to negotiate freely for food and beverage credits, room upgrades, and waivers on resort fees and parking. This is helpful to know as we begin moving forward in sending out RFP’s and negotiating for sites for future meetings.

We have all been reading room rates are rising. One source for the article predicts that we could see anywhere from a 7 – 11 percent increase in room rates. Others have projected a 5 percent increase. I think we have all been expecting this increase and have just been waiting. This can be interpreted as an optimistic move on the part of the hotel industry. We also are encouraged to watch out for the hidden fees such as occupancy tax, resort fees, etc. Some properties have increased those fees in order to keep their rack rate low, yet still raise their bottom line.

The one thing not taken into account is the issue of Video Conferencing. Everyone pays lip service to this type of meeting as it a method of cutting travel and lodging costs. The question is how will this affect the bottom line in the hotel industry? Are they gearing up for meetings that include this component? If not, they need to be developing marketing strategies to the planners with ways for attendees to be video conferenced into a live event. We are constantly dealing with this issue with clients and expect to see an increase in this demand as the government begins implementing their new travel guidelines. An increase in room rates may not deter a client from using a convention property, but not having the facilities to conference others in or do a live feed out could eliminate a property from consideration.

We would love to hear your thoughts.

~ Linda Begbie • CEO & Executive Director, RDL enterprises

Post Traumatic Conference Disorder (PTCD)

2010-11-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

What is Post Traumatic Conference Disorder (PTCD)? It is a new name for the emotional withdrawals and attachment experienced after planning an event that took many long months to coordinate. In this case, I’m offering a light approach to my last experience planning a conference, with hopes others will relate.

As a meeting and conference planner I coordinate many diverse events. Some take a few weeks to coordinate, some a few months, no big deal. It’s the conferences that take almost a year to plan that give me PTCD. Wikipedia describes PTSD nicely, “symptoms that last more than one month and cause significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.” For PTCD, I would add to this definition: exhaustion, over stimulation, and increased levels of carbohydrate, caffeine, and alcohol consumption. Such events often include and were experienced or witnessed onsite during the four-day manifesto.

When all is said and done, the attachment disorder comes from all of the wonderful people I worked with. The attendees I finally met face to face. The travel and amenities, and feeling taken care of by the hotel staff and vendors. It was great to be the omniscient conference director. This reminds me of other events I have coordinated. On some level, there is always something I would have done differently. In this case, it would have been the self-preparation beforehand.

How PTCD is treated? Post treatments usually include rest, recuperation, and relaxation! Next time I will better prepare myself for such an event. Prevention of PTCD will include yoga, meditation, increased quite time, and relying on support from family and friends. In the end, we have to remember we can’t do it alone, nor would we want to – good grief!

~ Tess Conrad • Meeting and Conference Planner, RDL enterprises

When should I open registration for my event?

2010-10-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

Those of you who regularly read my posts can probably predict my answer to this one: “it depends”. You also will know that I usually have a “rule of thumb” that can be used to get you started towards an answer…and, in this case, the rule of thumb is open registration eight weeks prior to the event.

Two months? Really? Yes, really. Two months before the event seems to be an ideal time to open registration for most meetings and conferences. It gives you time to offer early bird rates and still have a registration deadline (if you have one) that is early enough to be valuable to you as the meeting planner without cutting into the registration window too much.

For many events, especially smaller ones, opening registration earlier than two months ahead of time may result in too many people forgetting about the event – unless you constantly pepper them with marketing to keep it forefront in their minds. Opening later (i.e. closer to the event date) may not give people enough time to register before the deadline, make travel or hotel arrangements, or result in conflicts with other personal or professional commitments.

Please remember, this timeframe is not set in stone, nor does it apply to all events. For some events, it simply makes a lot more sense to open earlier. You may need to avoid holiday breaks or just give attendees more time to get agency approval. If that is what you need to do, then do it. And there are occasions when you will open registration later due to the circumstances of that particular event. An event on a recurring schedule (such as monthly or quarterly) may need different lead times throughout the year for each specific meeting. The goal here is simply to give you a starting point. Any adjustments from there are wholly dependent on the needs of your target participants.

Also – just because you are not opening registration until approximately eight weeks out does not mean that you should not start your marketing earlier. In fact, I generally argue that marketing to potential attendees should begin as soon as you know when and where your event will be taking place. Regular reminders can be used to give updates, remind folks of important deadlines, or just to keep your event in the front of their minds when they are considering which events to attend. And, once an event is established for a certain time of year (for example), marketing for it can almost be year-round. Even if you may not have specific dates set, your attendees will still know that it will be “about that time of year”.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Work-Life Balance

2010-10-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

Being a business owner & CFO of RDL enterprises is a very fulfilling job. The daily challenges of managing money are challenging. Working with clients is great and our employees are the best. However, keeping a positive balance in the office and in my personal life is what drives me the most. Recently, we had a staff meeting and the, “RDL Talks!” blog was on our agenda. As I was thinking about what to write for one of my next posts, I started thinking about the work & life balance that we all face each and every day. So, I began to do a little research to see what people do to make this all happen and to see if what I was doing was along the right path. First, I looked to Wikipedia to see if there was such a definition of work and live balance. Much to my surprise there was! I found no reason to change what I found, so I am sharing it with you in the original form.

Work–life balance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Work-life balance is a broad concept which is closely related and derived from the research of Job satisfaction as explained and researched by Farnaz Namin-Hedayati Ph.D from Innovent Consulting a boutique consulting and work-life solutions firm in Orlando, Florida. Within the research of Job Satisfaction, Hackman and Oldham's Job Characteristics Model, had found that there are both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, which affected perceptions of, job satisfaction within individuals. Intrinsic factors referred to job characteristics specifically. However, the extrinsic factors referred to the social and cultural norms the individual holding the job operated by. Hence, Work-life balance was considered one of the inputs of this extrinsic factor. The most researched area of work-life balance and its bi-directional relationship component referring to life-work balance was introduced by Netemeyer et al., which also described the multi-dimensionality of work-life balance (time, strain behavior). One can say that Work-life balance is the proper prioritizing between "work" (career and ambition) on one hand and "life" (pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development) on the other. Related, though broader, terms include "lifestyle balance" and "life balance". This is fine, as long is it is clear that there is a large individual component in that. Meaning, each individual's needs, experiences, and goals, define the balance and there is not a one size fits all solution. Also, what work-life balance does not mean is an equal balance in units of time between work and life.

After reading Wikipedia’s entry – I continued to do more research (the internet is a wealth of information). I found a lot of interesting articles and information that I think is not only informative, but worth a read. This piece below was written by the staff at the Mayo Clinic was one of the articles I found. Check it out, you may learn some interesting tips that you were not aware of before…

Work-life balance: Tips to reclaim control
When your work life and personal life are out of balance, your stress level is likely to soar. Use these practical strategies to restore harmony.
By Mayo Clinic staff

There was a time when the boundaries between work and home were fairly clear. Today, however, work is likely to invade your personal life — and maintaining work-life balance is no simple task. Still, work-life balance isn't out of reach. Start by evaluating your relationship to work. Then apply specific strategies to help you strike a healthier balance.
Married to your work? Consider the cost

It can be tempting to rack up hours at work, especially if you're trying to earn a promotion or manage an ever-increasing workload. Sometimes overtime may even be required. If you're spending most of your time working, though, your home life will take a hit. Consider the consequences of poor work-life balance:

* Fatigue. When you're tired, your ability to work productively and think clearly may suffer — which could take a toll on your professional reputation or lead to dangerous or costly mistakes.
* Lost time with friends and loved ones. If you're working too much, you may miss important family events or milestones. This can leave you feeling left out and may harm relationships with your loved ones. It's also difficult to nurture friendships if you're always working.
* Increased expectations. If you regularly work extra hours, you may be given more responsibility. This may lead to only more concerns and challenges.

Strike a better work-life balance

As long as you're working, juggling the demands of career and personal life will probably be an ongoing challenge. Use these ideas to help you find the work-life balance that's best for you:

* Track your time. Track everything you do for one week, including work-related and personal activities. Decide what's necessary and what satisfies you the most. Cut or delegate activities you don't enjoy or can't handle — or share your concerns and possible solutions with your employer or others.
* Take advantage of your options. Ask your employer about flex hours, a compressed workweek, job sharing, telecommuting or other scheduling flexibility. The more control you have over your hours, the less stressed you're likely to be.
* Learn to say no. Whether it's a co-worker asking you to spearhead an extra project or your child's teacher asking you to manage the class play, remember that it's OK to respectfully say no. When you quit doing the things you do only out of guilt or a false sense of obligation, you'll make more room in your life for the activities that are meaningful to you and bring you joy.
* Leave work at work. With the technology to connect to anyone at any time from virtually anywhere, there may be no boundary between work and home — unless you create it. Make a conscious decision to separate work time from personal time. When you're with your family, for instance, turn off your cell phone and put away your laptop computer.
* Manage your time. Organize household tasks efficiently, such as running errands in batches or doing a load of laundry every day, rather than saving it all for your day off. Put family events on a weekly family calendar and keep a daily to-do list. Do what needs to be done and let the rest go. Limit time-consuming misunderstandings by communicating clearly and listening carefully. Take notes if necessary.
* Bolster your support system. At work, join forces with co-workers who can cover for you — and vice versa — when family conflicts arise. At home, enlist trusted friends and loved ones to pitch in with child care or household responsibilities when you need to work overtime or travel.
* Nurture yourself. Eat healthy foods, include physical activity in your daily routine and get enough sleep. Set aside time each day for an activity that you enjoy, such as practicing yoga or reading. Better yet, discover activities you can do with your partner, family or friends — such as hiking, dancing or taking cooking classes.

Know when to seek professional help

Everyone needs help from time to time. If your life feels too chaotic to manage and you're spinning your wheels worrying about it, talk with a professional — such as a counselor or other mental health professional. If your employer offers an employee assistance program (EAP), take advantage of available services.

Remember, striking a healthy work-life balance isn't a one-shot deal. Creating work-life balance is a continuous process as your family, interests and work life change. Periodically examine your priorities — and make changes, if necessary — to make sure you're keeping on track.

The information in this article, for me, seemed to reflect that I am pretty much on track. I do find that when my balance tips, that is when I feel the most stressed. So, keeping priorities in focus and maintaining those priorities seems to be the key. I always keep in mind that life is not a rehearsal, but a journey; so take time to smell the flowers along the way. Enjoy your day.

~ Cyndy Hutchinson • CFO, RDL enterprises

Is the Service Charge hotels charge the same as a Gratuity or Tip?

2010-10-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

Many hotels and catering venues include a “service charge” on top of their base prices (which came up in this post last year). Typical service charge amounts range from 18% to 22% tacked on to the base price for food and beverage charges. I have even seen rates as high as 25%. It is easy to assume, since these percentages are similar to what you would pay as a gratuity if you were to eat out at a nice restaurant, that the service charge is the equivalent of a gratuity. This would be a mistake.

In spite of how it may appear, the Service Charge that hotels tack onto the bill is not a gratuity – not even close. In fact, a hotel's own documents often explicitly state the two are not that same (though usually in the fine print). Service charges exist to help cover the indirect costs of supporting your food and beverage functions, such as cleaning, last-minute staffing additions, and replacement for broken or otherwise non-reusable serving items (plates, glasses, etc.). And, while the percentages venues use are in line with what you would add your dinner bill in a restaurant as a tip, the money collected from service charges very rarely, if ever, goes directly to anyone who actually worked your event.

A true gratuity, on the other hand, would go directly to venue staff and you determine who receives how much. In a future post, we'll look at ways to do this after the event has concluded.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Why is the transient market important to meeting planners?

2010-10-06T08:33:00.000-07:00

You may think that this is a subject that only the hoteliers out there care about but I would argue that it is one that all planners should pay attention to. In my recent post on meeting planning and the economy, I posited that the ups and downs of leisure travel were an indicator of the how the industry as a whole would perform in the future. Why is that? What is my reasoning for taking such a position?

Primarily, it comes down to the mentality of individuals. Since predicting the behavior of individuals can be tricky, though, it is sometimes helpful to look instead at the behavior of masses – in this case market segments. I combine leisure travel and transient business into one segment. Corporate, association, and government are the others that I typically look at when reviewing trends in the industry. These do not encompass all of the possible market segments but they do allow me to view, in broad brush strokes, the landscape of the hospitality industry. However, each segment is usually treated as separate and somewhat unrelated. So why does the transient market have such an impact that I consider it to be an important indicator of economic trends? Why not one of the others?

My stand is that it is the beliefs and attitudes of individuals that drives our industry. If enough individuals believe that the economy is bad and do not want to travel (whatever the reason), those beliefs have a negative impact on each market segment. The same is true if they believe that the economy is good and feel comfortable with travel and going to meetings. Here’s how I see it working…

Individuals have opinions about traveling, be it for personal or professional reasons. When they do not feel like they can afford to travel personally (usually for fiscal reasons), the transient market drops. The more people who feel that way, the more that market segment is affected.

Then, when they go to work, they carry that attitude with them – maybe not consciously but they carry it nonetheless. That affects their willingness to attend conferences (especially if it involves out-of-pocket expenditures) and their perception of the value of meetings and conferences in general. If enough people carry these feelings into the workplace, then it can cause the corporate market to sag. Add into the mix the fact that such feelings usually have some basis in real economic conditions and you have a situation where companies are already beginning to tighten their belts and clamp down on “extraneous expenditures”. Meetings and conferences tend to get eliminated from the budget along with anything else that is seen as unnecessary or wasteful.

Association events tend to weather downturns in attitudes and economies a bit differently. Because many of these events are voluntary rather than having mandated participation, you often see their events get downsized rather than eliminated completely when the economy sours. Those involved have a personal desire to attend and may work harder to do so. However, the attitudes they carry about personal travel certainly still have an impact here.

On the plus side, these same forces work when people believe that they are secure financially. They are more willing to travel in their personal lives, which translates to more willingness to travel professionally. Since their choices affect the transient market first, then the corporate and association markets, I keep an eye on trends in leisure and transient business at hotels to give me an early glimpse of what the future may have in store for my meetings and events.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

When can I expect to see registrations start to come in?

2010-09-29T08:32:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, I actually get this question fairly often. A client will open registration and then want to know how soon people will start to register. It is particularly common when registration opens particularly early. However, while it is a fair question, a little patience is often in order as it can often take a while before your attendees begin registering.

When folks will register for an event depends on many factors. Think about what would affect your decision about when to register for an event – and extrapolate that to your projected attendees. Do they need to wait for agency approval? Perhaps they need to wait until their next paycheck. When you hit an agency’s budget cycle may also cause people to wait – or to register right away. Similarly, if you open registration while your audience is on vacation, you will probably have to wait a bit longer to see registration numbers pick up. Even with all of the variations among groups, though, I have noticed that there tends to be a “sweet spot” and a few secondary periods in which most registrations come in.

For most events I have done, the sweet spot tends to be four to six weeks before the conference is scheduled to take place. I believe that the reason for this is that it is far enough out that people have time to budget for it and plan to attend, yet it is close enough that they also feel some sense of urgency to complete their registration.

The next two periods that typically result in the next highest numbers of registrants is from six to eight weeks out and two to four weeks out. Both of these time frames share a trait with the sweet spot – but not the other. Six to eight weeks out leaves plenty of time to get registrations through their agencies for payment, but there is sometimes a lack of urgency that it needs to be done right away. On the other hand, those who register in the two to four week period certainly have more of a sense of urgency, but are often faced with challenges in processing payments.

Another period worth noting is event-specific. The deadline for early registration – the date when the cost of registering goes up – often sees a spike in registrations as people scramble to get their registrations in before the deadline. This “early bird bump” is one reason we often recommend to clients that they offer early bird rates: they get more registrations in early enough that we can make meaningful projections about the final attendance. I have also seen smaller spikes in registration immediately following targeted marketing efforts as people respond to the email or phone call reminding them to register.

All in all, there really is no magic period in which a group should expect the majority of their attendees to register. Instead, it is a moving target that successfully predicting requires an in-depth knowledge of your attendees and the specific conditions they operate within and the situations they face. However, I am able to use the “sweet spot” of four to six weeks as a decent gauge of how well an event is doing getting registrants – and whether or not additional marketing efforts are called for.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Our Experience as a Vendor at a Virtual Trade Show

2010-09-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of “Green Marketing”, RDL attempted something new. We participated in a Virtual Trade Show. We built our trade booth using the tools provided, which was fun since it had the potential of being totally interactive, and times were posted for it to be interactive, with an open chat room for folks going through the booths.

As part of the trade show, visitors can pick up a copy of your brochures and other marketing materials. You can post videos, articles, do a giveaway or be as creative as you wish in terms of what you post at your booth. There is a record of who visits your booth, what they took, and if they left a business card so you can do follow-up. This all sounded like great way for us to reach a larger market.

The Trade Show was to a have an interactive grand opening and then was to be open for 30 days with at least one more “live chat” event. The target market was to be the west coast and, as an added bonus, it was being marketed to the Far East. We purchased the booth through a regional organization that is part of a nationwide organization whose mission is to support small, women-owned businesses. We believed in their ability to follow through on their marketing commitment to the booth holders.

Our experience was dismal to put it kindly. Over the 30 days that became 60 days, only one person who was not part of the sponsoring organization or one of the other vendors visited our booth. They were selling, not buying. The marketing commitment from the sponsoring organization was non-existent, so the only marketing efforts made were those we made using our own traditional marketing outreach tools. In our mind, we had a trade show and no one was invited except our closest friends and colleagues and they had no reason to go. They either already knew us or could check out our website as a link in our marketing materials.

In hindsight, there were flaws in what potentially had some great opportunities. Of course the first one was depending on the sponsoring organization to fulfill their commitment. We were new to the organization and did not know the organization’s reputation for offering great ideas with a total lack of follow-through. Some lessons are hard met. Another flaw was having the site up for too long. It needed to be a short-term, highly publicized event, hopefully tied to another event such as a webinar or other electronic marketing activity.

I am not sure that RDL would do another virtual trade show. It was a costly mistake in terms of time and money for us, but I still think it may be viable tool for marketing a business in our virtual world. I would recommend approaching it carefully in terms of who is sponsoring the site, how it is marketed to others, and who else is part of the show. Our partners were a combination of small service providers and large corporations. It should have been a successful mix.

~ Linda Begbie • Executive Director, RDL enterprises

Ed. Note: Linda’s original post on this topic can be found here.

The Current Economy and Three Signs that the Hospitality Industry is on the Road to Recovery

2010-09-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

Like many professions and industries, the hospitality industry has been hurting. We wonder when the economy will turn around, when business will pick up, and how to survive in the meantime. And, these questions represent common themes of discussions in the groups and associations to which I belong. Given my many years in the meeting planning industry, I am frequently asked for my opinion and perspective as a planner on the state of the economy as it relates to our industry. Now, I am no economist and have nothing but anecdotal evidence and my own experiences to support my views but, for what it’s worth, here is my two cents on the matter…

The current economic “downturn” is the third one I have been through in my sixteen years as a meeting planner and it is certainly the longest and most severe. The causes are many and often disputed. To make matters worse, most reports in the news suggest that we may not come out of this for quite some time as the complex interplay of economic forces adjust to the “new realities”. Does this mean that the meetings industry is doomed? Are we condemned to languish for years in economic doldrums? I think not.

Each time there has been a downturn in the meetings industry, it has been preceded by a drop in leisure travel. The typical pattern has been for transient business to drop and, six to eighteen months later, corporate business falls off, which is then followed by the association market. Government meetings have usually gone on more or less unimpeded. They may have slight drops but nothing on the same scale as the other markets. This time, government has also dropped significantly (about the same time as corporate and association). However, it is not all darkness on the horizon. I have noted three signs that indicate that recovery may be on its way for meetings and conferences.

1st sign: that drop in leisure/transient business that seems to appear each time before a downturn? Well, I’ve noticed that it also appeared to rebound ahead of each of the previous recoveries. In talking with the hoteliers I know, they have all seen recent (last six months to nine months) increases in the level of transient business at their properties. And, these increases have been significant both in terms of numbers and duration. Transient business, once it started to pick up again, has remained solid for many of the hotels that I have talked to. In my mind, this is the most important factor in gauging how the industry will fare in days to come.

2nd sign: Inquiries for our services are up. Like hotels and other service providers, we do not win every job we submit a bid for but an increase here is another good sign. I see this an indicator that groups are once more looking to host events. In some cases, it has taken them longer to secure funding for their events; in other cases, they had fired their planners (to cut costs) but now need assistance to produce those mandatory events that were once handled in-house. In either case, it means that the desire to hold an event is there and as the saying goes: where there’s a will, there’s a way.

3rd sign: Last minute hotel bookings are up. This also tells me that people still want to do meetings and events but perhaps they have been waiting to make sure their funding is secure or it is taking longer for meetings to get approved. A year ago at this time, there was nothing happening - many hotels were practically empty - so to see the increase in last minute bookings is encouraging. The uptick in the transient market, combined with high levels of last minute bookings for events has helped carry them through thus far.

As encouraging as the signs may be, though, we are not out of the woods yet. I do agree with the economists that the industry is still in for some rocky times but I also believe that our recovery is already beginning. Where everything last year was very gloomy and all signs were negative, I now have some positive signs to point to that reinforce my belief that things are improving.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Healthy Meeting Options – Beverages

2010-09-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

The food and beverage choices that you make as a planner can have a huge impact on your attendees. In fact, the food that someone has at a conference can be remembered long after the event is done and that memory may even last longer than whatever they learned in the actual sessions! So what can you do to help your attendees to have a healthier meeting? We have previously discussed healthy options for food; this time, let’s take a look and the other half of that pairing – beverages.

1. One of the most obvious ways to help people drink healthier is to provide water for the meeting participants. This may seem like a no-brainer, but I have been to plenty of meetings where water was not provided. Be sure to provide water at your meetings. The next big question is whether to serve water in pitchers or bottles. I will stay out that debate here, though I will say that I have heard compelling arguments for both sides of the debate. Suffice to say that which one you choose may come down to personal preference, event budget, or other factors as much as it may be driven by environmental concerns.

2. Provide non-caloric options, such as tea and coffee. Remember, these drinks are only non-caloric so long as you do not add anything else to them, which brings us to the next option…

3. Choose nonfat or low-fat milk for folks to use in their coffee or tea.

4. While I have never been able to completely eliminate soda from the day’s menus, it is possible to offer healthier options here, too. Vegetable juice, fruit juice (100%, please!), unsweetened teas, and even carbonated waters are all good options here.

5. Finally, exercise portion control. Yes, this is possible with drinks (bars do it all the time). Asking the hotel or caterer for smaller cups (an 6.4 ounce cup instead of an 8 ounce or larger mug, for example) means that, at minimum, an attendee needs to walk a bit more to get the same amount of beverage, which burns that many more calories. It may not seem like much, but it does add up.

Providing healthier options for beverages at a meeting may seem like it would yield only minimal benefits - and that may be true if it is the only approach used. However, when used in conjunction with healthier meal options and increased exercise during meetings, it can greatly support the overall goal of healthier meetings.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Thoughts on Surviving this Economy as a Small Service Business

2010-09-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

After over 20 years in business, the economy finally came knocking on our door, walked in, did a little staff reduction, and found a place to stay for a while. As is true for all businesses, this has been a challenging eighteen months. We are under no delusions that it is over, although we maintain hope that things are easing.

How have we survived? I can only say our survival is based on some tangible and some intangible reasons. Probably the biggest reason is commitment. The staff here at RDL have maintained a commitment to success in spite of the months our client base had dwindled, and we were marketing as creatively as we knew how in spite of our limitations both financially and experientially.

The RDL staff are an amazing group of people. They are absolutely positive that we will continue in our success and are unwilling to think or hear that there are any other options. Everyone has been a part of the belt tightening that keeps us going and although the belt has not been moved up or back a notch, we are breathing a little easier as our hard work has begun to show some results.

Some of our existing clients continue on planning their events, and some have postponed them in hopes of future funding. Our hard work and commitment has paid off in the new clients we have added to our base. One came as a referral from an existing client, one came as a result of good networking, and others have come through following leads.

Whoever said that positive thinking doesn’t work, should spend a day at RDL. We are positive that as the economy gets healthier so will our bottom line and we can loosen that old belt buckle or maybe even just buy a new belt.

~ Linda Begbie • Executive Director, RDL enterprises

What is a CVB and how can they help your meeting?

2010-08-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

CVB stands for Convention and Visitors Bureau. When we looked at common acronyms in the industry, this was one that definitely needed to be in that list and, if you are new to meeting planning, this is one of those terms that you absolutely must learn. Why? What’s in it for you as a planner?

Well, for starters, CVBs exist for the sole purpose of bringing business to their city and region – from individual travelers all the way up through citywide conventions. They have the resources and knowledge to help you find the right venue or the right services to support your event. You do not need to know the region in depth – that’s their job. Every first and second-tier city has one (some areas have more!) and most third-tier cities have them as well.

They can also assist you in selecting a venue for your event – helping with everything from initial determination of meeting specs and lead distribution to collecting proposals and aiding with site inspections.

They are a resource for every kind of service that you could need for your meeting or conference. If they do not have members who offer the kinds of services you are looking for, they can help find them. I will often use the CVB to help me find AV providers, caterers, decorators, and other specialty services – especially if I do not know anyone in that area already who provides the services I need.

If you need information on events going on while you are in town, the CVB can provide that to you – everything from dining options and shopping centers to museums, sporting events, and theaters. Remember, the Bureaus are geared to help individuals as well as groups so, when I need to know what options exist for my meeting attendees before or after my meeting is done, the CVB gives me a great place to start to find the things that will interest my group.

The kicker for me, though, is the cost – free. That’s right, free! How CVBs are financed varies by bureau but, for me as a planner, there is no cost for most of what they offer in the way of assistance.

It is worth noting that Bureaus are usually funded by a combination of taxes on hotel rooms sold and disbursements from their cities so, yes, I do “pay” for the service through taxes on guest rooms for my groups but that tax will be charged whether I use the CVB or not – so why would I not use them? If in doubt, ask them what they can do to help you for free and what comes with a cost. The stuff I’ve mentioned above, though, is all provided for free.

Another bonus is that many of these resources are available online (also free of charge) and the CVB web sites are a great way to get an initial “feel” for a city and what they might have to offer your group in the way of attractions, dining, entertainment, etc. Look for the “meeting planner” links on their sites. You can get valuable information about venues in the region, as well as submit a Request for Proposals (RFP), check out their convention and events calendars, or locate local vendors for the services your event needs.

Check them out. You may be surprised at how much a CVB has to offer you…

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

How do I know if a budget expense is variable or fixed?

2010-08-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

Here’s another question for you: why should you care? After all, many planners never have to worry about this at all. I’ll assume that, if you asked the question, you care about the answer. However, my take on it in general is: if you are going to work with event budgets, then it is your responsibility as a meeting planner to make those budgets as accurate as possible. Knowing whether an expense is a variable or fixed cost is crucial to that goal. It is also an absolute requirement if you are going to do projections and not simply post-event reports. And, one of the most important projections you can do is to calculate at what point your event “breaks-even” and starts making money. [For more info on calculating the break-even point, check out my previous post on that subject (Part 1/Part 2).]

In preparing or working with conference budgets, one area that many novice planners struggle with is knowing when a budget expense is fixed and when it is variable. Fortunately, there is a simple rule of thumb that will help you keep it straight: if the total cost for an expense goes up or down proportionally as you increase or decrease the number of participants, then it is a variable cost. If not, it is a fixed cost.

Some cases are easy – meals, for example. Food and beverage costs are nearly always considered Variable Costs when calculating event budgets. Why is that? Well, meals are prepared, served, and billed “per person”. If your 75 person meeting suddenly jumps to 125, then your total bill jumps proportionally; each person added to the count increases your costs by the same amount. Similarly, the total cost of your meal will drop if your numbers drop (providing you have not already guaranteed a minimum number of meals). Handouts for attendees and confirmation letters are two more examples of Variable Expenses.

Speaker fees are another simple example – this time of a fixed cost. If you are paying $1,000 to a speaker, that fee does not usually change if there is a change in the number of attendees for the meeting. Nor do the speaker’s travel costs change (if you are paying for those). It does not matter how many people actually attend your meeting, the airline will still charge the same for the speaker’s ticket. Other examples of Fixed Costs are meeting space rental, audio-visual charges, and marketing expenses, just to name a few.

So what about tax and service charges – the dreaded “plus-plus”? They count as Variable or Fixed, depending on what expense they are tied to. When calculating tax and service charge on meals, you should include them as a variable cost. If they are being tacked on to room rental, then they should be treated as fixed.

Though much of this may seem to be pretty obvious, it can get confusing. Where most people start making mistakes is when they see expenses that do change as attendance numbers change but are not directly tied to individuals. Audio-Visual charges, for example, can often trick novice planners – these fixed expenses are often misidentified as variable. What the planner says to me is something like: “but I would not have ordered that microphone if my numbers had not grown so it must be a variable expense.” While that statement may be true, adding or removing a microphone on your order is a result of a certain threshold being reached and not a function of each individual added to or subtracted from the audience – therefore it should be considered a fixed expense.

Though the examples provided here are but a few of the potential budget items that you might have to manage, the rule of thumb provided above should aid you in determining how each item in your budget should be handled. If there is an item you are not sure of, or have questions about specific budget items, please send me an email and I’ll be happy to respond to your questions.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

What is a “Pre-Con”?

2010-08-11T08:16:00.000-07:00

“Pre-Con” is short for pre-conference (or pre-convention) and can refer to any meeting that occurs before the main conference or convention. However, for meeting planners and hoteliers, the term has a particular meaning that is instantly recognized by any who have been in the industry for a while. We use the term to indicate a specific kind of meeting that takes place before the conference, one between the meeting planner and the venue. So why is this special meaning important? What happens at these meetings that make the term stand out in the hospitality industry?

At its most basic, a pre-con is a meeting in which a representative for the group producing the meeting meets with a representative from the venue in which the meeting is being held for the purpose of reviewing the details of the event to ensure accuracy and completeness. This meeting gets everyone on board and “on the same page”.

A typical pre-con begins with the venue welcoming the group. Introductions are made of all of those present from the hotel side and their role in making the event a success. The planner will introduce their team as well. I think of this part of the pre-con as the “big picture” section. We review the goals and objectives for the event and discuss the keys to making the event a success. This section is not always needed and whether or not it is included is often a function of your needs and preferences as well as the size of your event. The larger your event, the more likely this will be included in some fashion. For small functions, an informal round of handshakes may suffice before you move on.

The next portion of the pre-con, which I call the “nuts & bolts” section, usually involves a much smaller group than the “big picture” piece. Where the “big picture” piece can involve as many as 20 people, the “nuts & bolts” piece will usually not involve more than five or six – and I have often had just two or three people (including myself) for smaller meetings. This portion of the pre-con is where the details of the event and the BEOs are discussed in…well, detail. Everything is reviewed to ensure that everyone knows what is scheduled to happen when, what goods or services are to be provided, and who the responsible parties are. This portion of the pre-con is the part you should not ever skimp on – take the time to do it and do it thoroughly.

For large events, I make sure to meet with my CSM far enough in advance to make sure that there is time to inform every department of any changes and get them “on board” with my group’s requirements. Typically, holding the pre-con the day before the event starts provides sufficient time for this, though I have seen pre-cons done as many as three or four days ahead of time. If I am managing a small event, do I still do a pre-con? Absolutely, though it may just be a quick review of the BEOs with my catering manager the night before my meeting starts. In any case, though, I never do a meeting or conference without conducting a pre-con prior to the beginning of the event – and neither should you!

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Healthy Meeting Options – Meals & Snacks

2010-08-04T08:23:00.000-07:00

When planning meals and snacks for meetings, it can be hard to provide healthy options to participants. Actually, the hardest part is getting people to choose healthy options but, as the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. So what’s a meeting planner to do? Make sure the options exist. Here are some of the ways I strive to provide healthier meal and snack options for attendees at my meetings.

1. Make sure that fruit and/or vegetables are available as much as possible within the constraints of the menu. For me, this usually means whole fruit for breaks, particularly in the afternoon, since they last longer on display and can easily be taken by those who want a healthy snack later on. I typically include a vegetable-based item for receptions.

2. For any meal where fowl or red meat is a main component, be sure to include a vegetarian option. For lunch buffets, this could mean including entrées that are based on non-meat proteins such as beans or tofu, or alternate meats such as fish, depending on the needs of your diners. At receptions, including multiple dishes that do not contain meat gives participants additional choices.

3. Control meal portions. This is nearly impossible to do with buffets, but is quite easy to do with plated lunches (read this post for more info on plated vs. buffet meals). You can control portions at receptions through choices of items or by having servers walk around the room instead of simply putting all of the food out at once (which I discuss briefly here).

4. Talk to the chef about lean meat options so that those who choose meat dishes still get a healthier meal. The chef can often even work with limited budgets to still make this happen.

5. If possible, choose snacks that are low in fat and salt and that contain no added sugar.

Now, I don’t always use every one of these ideas but even choosing just one or two of them will help you provide healthy meals or snacks for your events. Use the ones that make sense for your budget and particular situation – and, above all else, that make sense for your group. If the attendees won't eat a particular item, then providing it is a waste of food and money. However, that does not mean I can't provide healthy options to that group…it just means I need to work a little more to find something they will like.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Ed. Note: A follow up post on beverages - the other half of F&B - can be found here.

How much dry snack mix do I need for my reception?

2010-07-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

This question has come up for me a lot of late, both online and off, and is one of those areas where your budget can quickly get out of hand if you do not have at least a rough guideline for how much to serve. Dry snacks such as peanuts, pretzels, popcorn, or chips are a staple in bars, very common for house parties, and fairly common for receptions following meetings – especially those receptions with a bar. Why is that? For house parties, it is primarily because they are easy for the host to provide. There is little to no prep time and all you really need is a bowl (though that may be optional depending on the party). In bars, dry snacks are a good way to sell more alcohol. The salts in and on the dry snacks promote thirst, which in turn leads to more sales. Even if you serve “unsalted” dry snacks, people eating them tend to consume more beverages than they would with “wetter” foods.

So how much of the snack mix should you serve? A good rule of thumb is to have one pound of dry snacks for every fifteen people in attendance. You can adjust that figure up or down based on the specific preferences of your group and what you are trying to accomplish with your reception. If nothing else is being served to eat, then you will need more – I’ll usually go with an estimate of ten people per pound in such cases. If you are providing a lot of other food choices, you may be able to get away with twenty people or more per pound. Knowing your group’s preferences will help you gauge how much you need to adjust the figure, too.

For receptions following meetings, dry snack mixes are often chosen because they are usually cheaper than providing other fare. In fact, they can even be cheaper than basic cheese platters or plates of fruit or vegetables and dips – but be sure to double check the venue’s pricing. You may not save as much as you think. Another reason for providing dry snacks is the same as any bar – to drive up drink sales (of all beverages). This could help you meet a minimum sales requirement for a cash bar.

The main reason, though, that I have come across for serving dry snacks instead of other reception items is to discourage people from making the reception their dinner. I have talked before about how much food to serve at a reception and how many different items to provide. If you recall, one of the dangers with receptions is that attendees may try to make the reception their dinner. Many reception items can easily be made into a dinner for someone – not so with dry snacks. Yes, they can still make it dinner, but it is more of a stretch for them to do so. Serving dry snack mixes is a good way to encourage people to leave the reception to find dinner.

Regardless of your reasons for choosing dry snacks for your event, though, start with a ratio of one pound of snacks per 15 people and you should have a decent estimate of how many snacks you will need to provide.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Making Meetings Productive

2010-07-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

When you ask someone to attend an office meeting, a common response is a heavy sigh as an air of resignation settles over the other person. Why is that? Well, most surveys I have read indicate that people generally feel that most meetings are a waste of time. So how can you make your meetings more productive? Here are a few ideas:

Limit meetings to one hour or less. If a half-day or an all-day meeting is necessary, schedule breaks no more than an hour apart to allow participants the opportunity to move around, stretch, etc.

Avoid scheduling meetings over the lunch hour. For a “social” meeting, this may be acceptable, but holding a business meeting over lunch usually means that little actual business gets done.

Start your meetings on time and end them on time. If at all possible, end early. People always appreciate getting done sooner than expected.

Incorporate physical activity into the agenda. This is especially true for longer meetings. If that is not possible, make sure that participants have permission (and know they have permission) to stand and stretch if they need to.

Limit the number of topics to be discussed. This will make it easier for participants to prepare for the meeting, the meeting can retain focus, and there is less danger of “agenda creep”. For long meetings with many agenda items, this means limiting the number of topics you try to cover in between breaks.

Send out the agenda in advance. That way, people can prepare appropriately and know exactly what will be discussed. Afterwards, send out minutes or a re-cap to let people know what was decided or accomplished. This will help “tie it all together” for those who attended.

This short list is certainly not the “end all, be all” of making meetings productive and not all of them will be useful or useable all of the time. Use what you can; even one of these used consistently can help tremendously. If you want more ideas, entire volumes have been written on this subject – just check your local bookstore – but these are some of the main concepts I try to incorporate when advising clients on the structure and content of their meetings.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

What type of microphone should I get for my meeting?

2010-07-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

The easy answer is…it depends. But that’s not very helpful, is it? Let’s take a quick look at the types or styles of microphones that are common for meetings and what they are typically used for. Then, you can make a better guess as to which kind would work best for your meeting.

Essentially, there are two kinds of microphones (from a planner’s perspective): wired and wireless. And, there are two varieties of each of those: handheld or lavaliere.

Wired microphones are those microphones that are connected to the sound system be means of a wire or cord (simple, huh?). The speaker’s range of movement onstage, for example, is limited by how much play or slack exists in the wire. If the cord is only 10 feet long, he won’t be traveling very far from the unit it is plugged into! Most “table-top” mics and podium or lectern mics are wired – they don’t need to travel very far (if at all) from where they are set up. On the plus side, inputs from wired mics are very strong and only on extremely rare occasions will they pick up signals from another source. This is very good when a clear signal is mandatory or if there is the potential for interference from structures or other broadcast signals.

Wireless microphones, on the other hand, are not constrained by a physical attachment to the control/input unit. A speaker can wander anywhere in a room and still be connected to the sound system. The microphone transmits signals to/from the control unit by way of a pre-set frequency. If you have multiple wireless mics, they will each be on a separate frequency. The mobility of a wireless unit does come with a price, however. If other wireless units are operating within range of your receiver, you may pick up those signals instead of the ones from your own microphone – or someone else may pick up your signal!

Handheld microphones are by far the most common. It can be mounted on a stand or actually held by the person speaking. When speaking at a podium or a lectern, you are most likely using a handheld-style microphone that is being held by a stand. Wired handheld mics are most often used for podiums/lecterns, audience mics, and table-top mics for panelists. A wireless handheld unit, though, is more often used for what I call “talk-show” or interview-style presentations.

Lavaliere microphones clip onto the presenter’s lapel – which is why these types of mics are also called lapel mics. This frees up the speaker’s hands, allowing them to gesture, play instruments, or do any number of other things with their hands while presenting. Wired lavalieres used to be quite common and are still used when maintaining a strong signal input (perhaps for a recording) is paramount but, most of the time, ordering a lavaliere microphone means getting a wireless lavaliere. This allows for maximum range of movement by the speaker as well as leaving their hands free.

To determine which one is best for your setting, consider how the microphone will be used. A single, highly mobile, and energetic speaker would most likely need a wireless lavaliere microphone, whereas a series of speakers delivering their presentations from a lectern would probably just need a wired mic mounted on the lectern. There are many other types of microphones out there, some of which fulfill highly specialized needs. However, knowing the difference in capabilities between wired and wireless, and between handheld and lavaliere, microphones will suffice for most meetings. When in doubt, though, I consult with my audio-visual techs. These are the guys I’ve hired to provide the equipment and, since they deal with this topic on a daily basis, I will go to them for advice when I am not sure which approach is best. However, the basic review above should give you a place to start.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

The Case for Face-to-Face Meetings

2010-07-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

As a meeting and conference planner – I am always interested to know what people “out there” are thinking when it comes to the practicality of Face-to-Face meetings as opposed to an electronic format such as web conferences, videoconferences, or another virtual meeting. I personally have a hard time with the electronic type or TelePresence meetings. I can make all kinds of excuses to avoid the meeting, re-organize my priorities, check my emails repeatedly throughout the electronic meeting, surf the web. I get easily distracted or totally forget that it was on my calendar to “log-on”. Depending on what you are reading there are plenty of pros and cons out there to justify both. Your preference is exactly that…a preference for your own style of meeting: Face-to-Face or TelePresence. In my opinion, there is a time and a place for all.

For years, I have heard that the meeting and conference arena will be shrinking and that the new technology will be replacing it. However, even with all the hype and so many agencies still in the throngs of budget cuts & belt tightening, I am still finding that face-to-face meetings are still the preference among attendees and business executives. It seems that the face-to-face meetings are not only preferred by most, but that they are the primary channel for building deeper bonds between people and agencies. It seems to be a style that cannot be readily replaced on-line.

In Forbes Insights’s Business Meetings: The Case for Face-to-Face, the case is made that face-to-face meetings are still important. Furthermore, “…it’s not just one-on-one meetings where face time is crucial. While tides have turned against holding larger corporate meetings, many executives noted the importance of driving profitability and value from these events – where “down” time can be priceless for building bonds with clients and colleagues.” In this article more than 750 business executives where surveyed about their meeting and travel preferences. In many cases, meeting budgets have been the first discretionary expenses to be cut and, as the recession has continued, these same expenses have been the hardest to recover. With all of these cuts, the virtual meeting has become more popular. However, 8 of 10 executives have a preference for the face-to-face meetings. It was felt that the face-to-face meetings build stronger and more meaningful relationships. Meeting face-to-face is better “for persuasion, leadership, engagement, accountability, and decision-making." Forbes went on to say, “There’s more to a business meeting than closing the deal. The benefits of in-person social interaction—from bonding with co-workers to using time at the pool or café to cement a client relationship—are among the more subtle, less measurable advantages executives cited.”

According to John Russell, chief executive of NYLO Hotels and former chairman of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, “People don’t want to sit in their office looking at each other on computer screens. That personal interaction—getting together to talk over dinner, drinks or a cup of coffee—is the foundation on which business relationships are built. It’s what drives business.”

The Forbes article also points out, “With executives under greater pressure than ever to justify the return on business travel expenses, how can they best make the case for greater use of face-to-face meetings and conferences? Clearly, most executives surveyed see tangible benefits to in-person meetings that outweigh the time and expense related to travel. With economic recovery in sight, it may be up to leadership to relieve some travel restrictions and encourage more face-to-face interaction. Web-, video- and teleconferencing have their role, but the executives in the survey do not expect them to make the need for face-to-face meetings obsolete. Rather, many see the ideal as a mix of face-to-face and technology, enabled meetings and conferences.” A realistic middle ground that will benefit everyone would be an ideal compromise. “In some cases, technology may take the place of smaller meetings. Hotels should see this as an opportunity and offer virtual meetings on property. It would be a great way, for instance, to bring branch offices together for virtual regional meetings across five or six different markets. That would be a win for everyone: Hotels would continue to serve as meeting venues, and companies would reduce travel costs.” The majority of those surveyed felt that the virtual meetings will never replace face-to-face time required for building solid business relationships among businesses and the people that can make a difference.

This is great news for those of who plan meetings and conferences, for the airlines, and for the hotel and tourism industry in every state and country. Survival is dependent on the success of all partners involved in travel in the real world.

Interesting additional comments can be found on this LinkedIn Forum.

~ Cyndy Hutchinson • Executive Director, RDL enterprises

Should I order a plated lunch or a buffet for my meeting?

2010-06-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, this is a question even seasoned planners ask themselves on a regular basis. The answer is dependent on factors such as number of diners, budgetary limits, and amount of time available in the schedule for lunch. Let’s take a look at when you might prefer to use one rather than the other…

Plated lunches are often cheaper than buffets, which is one reason why you might choose this type of lunch. Why are they usually cheaper? Basically, it comes down to number of options and portion control. There is more variety in a buffet than with plated meals. A plated meal will have an entrée, and one or two side dishes while a buffet typically has 2-3 entrée options and 2-4 side dishes to choose from. With a plated lunch, the kitchen can control how much food is served to each diner, allowing them to know with some certainty exactly how much each person eating will cost them in terms of ingredients and labor for your chosen meal. Buffets have little to no portion control. Each diner can take as much or as little as they want. These two factors mean that the kitchen has to prepare more food overall than if the meal is plated. After all, you (and they) do not want an entrée choice or a side dish to run out before everyone has had a chance to get some!

Buffet menus, as mentioned above, typically offer more variety to your diners than plated meals. This is particularly valuable if you are working with a group whose dietary restrictions and preferences are unknown to you. With a buffet, you can accommodate most dietary preferences with ease. Accommodating various diets with a plated lunch simply requires special meals to be prepared by the kitchen. This is not difficult but it is one more thing that you, as the planner, need to be aware of and plan for.

Other factors can also come into play in determining which type of meal, plated or buffet, you choose to serve. Time and number of diners are the two biggest ones that come to mind. Buffets work great when you have a lot of time and not a lot of diners. When you have a lot of diners and very little time to feed everyone, plated meals are almost always best.

I have had some people tell me that plated is always better or that buffet is always the one I should choose but the truth is: the better choice is the one that is right for each particular group and to never consider both options is to remove an effective tool from your meeting planning toolkit. Remember, no matter which type of service you choose, the goal is the same: to efficiently serve your guests so that they get a good dining experience that fits your meeting or conference.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Three Rules for Using PowerPoint

2010-06-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

One of the most frustrating things I have encountered when attending workshops at a conference is to have a presenter really misuse PowerPoint. It is a tool that has replaced slides in meetings and, while making it easy for anyone to create presentations, has unfortunately also brought out some of the worst urges in presenters. I have attended many workshops where speakers have flooded the screen with irrelevant images, overwhelming amounts of information, animations, and other “enhancements” that end up just distracting the audience from the full value of the material. With that in mind, here are my three “rules” for using PowerPoint…

Rule #1: 6x6. This helps me remember to not have more than six lines of text on any given slide AND that I should have no more than six words per line of text. When the screen is jammed full with text, the audience cannot pick out what is really important. As a presenter, I should make it so that the audience can easily see what is important in the material. Limiting the amount of text on the slide means I can use a larger font (making it easier to read from a distance) and the audience can listen to what I am saying rather than spend all their time trying to read the slides.

Rule #2: High Contrast. Have you ever tried to read yellow text on a red background? It is not easy. Light colors on dark backgrounds work well, as does dark text on light backgrounds. I have heard some arguments for choosing one approach over the other, but the two sides agree that having high contrast will make the slide easier for the audience to read.

Rule #3: Judicious Use of Images. This rule also applies to sounds, movies, and animations. I am not saying that you cannot use images, etc. but you need to be sure that the images add something useful to the presentation other than “flash”. Content should stand on its own and not need much more to illustrate its value. My feeling is that when speakers overuse flashy add-ons such as animations, those end up being distractions that take an audience away from the content. If you like the flashy stuff, go ahead and include it. Just be careful to not add so much of it that the content delivery suffers.

In many cases, these rules can be bent or even broken (perhaps I should have called them guidelines instead). But it is important that, if you choose to break a rule, you know exactly why you are doing it. If you need some slides to have more than six lines of text to get your point across, then do so. If the animations or images help draw attention to a particularly important part of the material or enhance a theme, then I often consider that a good use of the technique and an appropriate time to bend or break the rules.

A dancer friend of mine once joked about his “flash and trash” routines, observing that the flashy footwork distracted the audience from his rusty technique. When entertaining a crowd, “flash and trash” may be good enough (I certainly have done that enough times, myself) but, when it comes to professional presentations, I want to make sure that the flashy additions do not hide or obscure the information being shared. After all, people generally go to educational sessions to be educated first – and entertained second. Don’t let the entertainment detract from the education in your next presentation.

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Five Factors Affecting the Brightness of Projected Images

2010-06-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

This may seem like a very specialized topic for a meeting planner but it is actually something that all meeting planners need to learn at least a few basics about. As mentioned in previous posts, I will often defer to the expert audio-visual (AV) techs when I need specialized knowledge about AV for my meetings. However, I also make sure that I understand enough to be able to keep up with what they are doing. Learning these five factors has been a big help to me in doing just that when it comes to projectors – especially those LCDs that every presenter seems to want these days…

So what are the top five factors that determine how bright or powerful the projector needs to be? Well, I’ve listed them here in order of importance – from most to least – as I see them.

Ambient Light: Essentially, this is “how much light is there in the room?” The more light there is, the more light (brightness) you will need the projector to put out in order to get a clear image projected on the screen that everyone can easily see.

Size of Projected Image: Effective brightness drops as the image size increases. This is due to the fact that the projector’s light output does not change while the surface area goes up, which means less light per square foot on the screen. A more powerful projector can overcome this. It is worth noting that the light levels can drop precipitously as the image size increases. According to some estimates I’ve seen, doubling the image size can result in as much as a 75% reduction in image brightness!

Aspect Ratio: The standard aspect ratios that people are used to seeing are 4x3 (TV) and 16x9 (widescreen) but there are many more out there... In essence, though, the higher the aspect ratio, the more light the projector needs to produce to maintain image brightness due to the increased area that needs to be illuminated.

Projection Surface: Different surfaces have different refraction rates; that is, light “bounces” off of them differently. Some surfaces reflect more light while others reflect less. This can affect how the eye sees images that are projected – not just the colors of images, but also the clarity and brightness. If you are using a standard screen, you don’t really need to worry about this factor.

Projector Calibration: I’ve listed this one last because it the one factor that I have rarely, if ever, actually seen have an effect on the projected image. It is possible, but very rare. Typically, the other factors make such a difference that this one is accommodated without the audience even being aware it exists. Every projector is calibrated slightly differently. They may be near to identical when they leave the factory but, through use and “wear and tear”, they can become slightly “off” from others of the same make and model. A replacement bulb might also be an issue, changing how the final image looks onscreen – even when all other factors have been accounted for.

When setting up a projector and screen for a presenter, I always try to take these factors into account. I am not always able to minimize the effects of each factor but I can usually adjust for that by selecting a more powerful projector – one that puts out more light. Testing during setup is very important as well, so you can make sure that you have done everything you can to make the presenter look good. If they remember the presenter – and not how the AV looked – then you have done your job…

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

What is Keystoning?

2010-06-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

If you have video presentations of any kind at your meetings, you will eventually run into a problem called “keystoning” or the “keystone effect”. Taken originally from architecture, keystoning is the name given to the effect that occurs when the projector is placed above or, more commonly, below the center for the projection surface (the screen), which results in the image hitting the screen at an angle. If the projector is placed below the center of the screen, then the resulting image looks like a keystone, with the top of the image wider than the bottom.

So how can you fix this?

Placing the projector centered relative to the screen and exactly perpendicular to the screen will solve this but, while it is the optimal solution, it is often not an easy solution to implement. Fortunately, projector manufacturers have two possible technical solutions to the problem and at least one of these will be built into most modern projectors: Digital Correction or Optical Correction.

Digital Correction, or Keystone Correction, is very common with LCD projectors and is easy for the average person to use. In fact, there are often buttons on the projector that allow the user to correct keystoning without needing to go through sub-menus. What digital correction does is compress the image on one side (be it top, bottom, left, or right) while expanding the image on the opposite side. This “squares off” the image, resulting in a box shaped image. A word of caution, though… If the correction goes too far in compressing or expanding, some images could look a bit distorted at the edges of the projection. This is rare, but I have seen it happen.

Optical Correction, also called Lens Shift, physically adjusts the position of the lens to square up the image. This often results in a clearer image than digital correction but is a high-end feature so is typically only available on the more expensive LCD models.

Most of the planners I know find digital correction to be sufficient for their needs but those working with detailed video projections prefer to use optical correction. I also find that, for smaller screens and smaller groups, digital correction works just fine. For larger events, though, where I need a much larger image, getting a projector with optical correction gives me the extra quality that I am looking for. Then again, if the image quality is that important, I will also go to the effort to raise the projector to be closer to the center of the screen. After all, why worry about keystone correction through the projector at all if I can simply move the projector itself and avoid the problem…?

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Computer Applications for Meeting Planners

2010-06-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

“Do I go with traditional, computer-based applications or move into web-based applications for my meetings?” While attending the SGMP national conference in Kansas City last month, I was drawn into several discussions around this very question and it is one that is quietly becoming a hot issue in our industry. While the hype is all in favor of web-based computing, there are advantages to being “offline” as well and I found that many people did not really take the time to look at both options – but nonetheless had strong feelings about it. In my mind, there are strengths and weaknesses to both approaches and to be a good meeting planner requires that you take the time to figure out which approach is best for you and your clients.

In a nutshell, computer-based applications are programs that “live” on your computer. You load them onto your machine and have access to them typically only with that machine. Internet access is not required for most (if not all) of these applications. Web-based applications on the other hand are not loaded on your computer. Internet access is required to use the software, but you can often use the programs from any machine since typically all you need in addition to an internet connection is a user name and password to use them. So what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Computer-based apps are very common, so the odds of finding something that will serve your needs are high. In fact, there are often several options that would meet your needs, which helps keep prices relatively low. If you have a higher budget, you can purchase (or have “built” for you) task-specific software that is more tailored to your needs. Many computer-based applications are easy to install and come with regular updates once you’ve registered the software. On the down side, these traditional programs usually create “flat” files, which are difficult to transfer or translate into other programs. They also tend to be very generalized, especially at the cheaper end of the spectrum. [This makes sense if you think about it: commercial software costs quite a bit to produce. The more potential users who can purchase it means you can sell it for less and still make a profit – but that means you have to make it more general to appeal to more potential users…] Customization is both a plus and a minus here. You can usually customize the software to meet your specific needs from project to project, but you are the one who has to do the customizing. Depending on your level of comfort with that, this could be a big drawback or not much of an issue.

Web-based programs (sometimes referred to as cloud computing) are even easier to install since there is little to no software that is actually installed on your computer. You reduce the need for technical expertise in your organization because the software is maintained by the company who sold you the product. Updates are automatic – you don’t need to do a thing. These programs are also usually pretty easy to learn to use and allow for some customization on your part; it really depends on the product (which is also true of traditional applications). Another plus: your data can easily be updated into new formats, transferred, or translated into another application. The biggest drawback of web-based applications concerns control of your data. Your data does not reside on your computer; it exists only on the servers of the host company and is accessible only through the portal that you access with your user name and password. As with customization, this could be a large or small issue for you, depending on your circumstances.

The issue of internet dependency is, for me, at the heart of the matter. Web-based applications require internet access. While this may be less of an issue as more and more smart phones enter the market and permeate our industry, it is still a factor. Yes, you can access your data from anywhere – so long as you have a connection. I find myself in enough buildings where access is limited (or is available for a fee) to make this an obstacle. Computer-based apps are not necessarily any better since you have to actually have the computer available that has your data (and the software) on it, which presents it’s own set of issues from security to transport.

At this point, my feeling is that web-based applications will not totally replace computer-based apps any time soon, in spite of what the cheerleaders are saying, as there are still many advantages to having offline access to data and software. However, they are correct in that this is the wave of the future and there is a huge potential out there for cloud computing in the meetings industry. We, as meeting planners, need to stay on top of that wave, learning about the products and options that will become primary tools for us as we move forward into the future. I hope this overview was helpful in getting you started…

~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Five Travel Tips

2010-05-26T08:20:00.000-07:00

As a meeting planner, I have made countless trips across the state and the country (and a few outside the US) over the years, and have always found it to be a relatively easy thing to deal with, in spite of the delays and hassles of modern travel. Why? Well, it is partly due to the fact that I like to travel. I get to see new places, re-visit places I have not been to recently, or even just return to old stomping grounds. The main reason, though, that traveling is easy for me is because I have a few things that I do to make my trips more pleasurable. And, having recently returned from a five-day trip to Kansas City, I was considering why I was able to relax amid the stress of long travel days and thought I would share some of those thoughts with you. So… here are five of my favorite techniques for making travel easier.

1) Take a book. It doesn’t matter what you have to read – just have something available. Time passes quickly when you get buried in a good book. I am a book hound and usually travel with two or three of them. If you are not into reading, but have a smart phone, be sure to load up your favorite games, music, or movies to help while away the hours on a long trip.

2) Pack food in your carry-on. As airlines are cutting back more and more, it has become even more important to pack some snacks for yourself. I do a homemade trail mix that gives me some protein, some sugars, and lots of flavor to snack on during long flights. It does not truly replace regular meals, but can be a lifesaver when full, sit-down meals are not an option. Be sure that whatever you take can handle room temperatures without spoiling.

3) Dress comfortably and wear layers. Planes and airports can vary greatly in temperatures, so I always try to layer my clothing. This gives me something I can take off if I get too warm – and something to put on if I get too cold. Comfortable clothing also makes it easier to relax. If you are uncomfortable during your trip, the journey will seem to take much longer than it really is.

4) Give yourself some extra time to get where you’re going. Many people rush to the airport at the last minute, fly along the freeway, or otherwise try to get wherever they’re going in least amount of time possible. While I understand the desire to get to your destination quickly, I find that traveling is much more enjoyable and less stressful when I schedule extra time to get there. When I don’t need to rush to make it on time, I don’t stress about being late or worry as much about delays - and I can enjoy the scenery along the way.

And 5) Keep a positive attitude. This can be particularly hard when there are delays, cancellations, or even (especially!) when you’re stuck next to someone with a massively negative attitude of their own. I try to look at the bright side of the situation and remember that there are very few things about traveling by air that are under my direct control. My attitude, though, is something I can control. If I can “let go” of the things I can’t control, then I can more easily sit back and enjoy the trip…

- Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Do you have favorite techniques for making travel easier? Share them with us! Send your “ease of travel” ideas to RDLplanners@gmail.com and we’ll share them with everyone in future posts.

RDL Talks! Completes Its 1st Year!

2010-05-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to have completed one full year of posts for our blog – but the future beckons…

To date, the majority of our posts have been generated in-house. We look at our various areas of expertise and the questions and issues we deal with on a regular basis and try to select topics that can be explained without launching into full dissertations. But are we selecting topics useful or interesting to you?

One of my goals as editor of the RDL Talks! blog is to address the interests and needs of our readers more directly – which means I need to hear from you! Please email me with questions or meeting planning topics you’d like to see discussed and I will work to get responses posted. In your email, please let me know if you are willing to have your name and/or company listed in connection with the post (Note: being willing does not guarantee that we will include it…). If you are not willing to have your name listed, that is OK too.

If the topic you suggest is one we have covered before, that is fine with me – sometimes a fresh perspective on an old topic or question can provide new insight.

Your topic ideas and questions can be sent to me at RDLplanners@gmail.com. Any other feedback you may have about our blog is also welcome.

I look forward to hearing from you and expect to publish many more posts to shine a light on the world of meeting planning!

- Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

How much coffee do I need for my group?

2010-05-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

This is an excellent question, especially for anyone planning a meeting that has an early morning start. Figuring out how much coffee (or tea, or decaf, or any beverage really) to serve a group is one of the most common tasks that meeting planners are asked to do – and the answer can be more art than science.

First, the science…
One gallon (of coffee, decaf, or tea) contains 128 ounces of your chosen beverage. The typical hotel coffee cup is usually either 8 ounces or 6.4 ounces. This means that, on average, you should get 16 to 20 cups of coffee per gallon. If everyone attending your meeting has just one cup of coffee and the coffee cups are 6.4 ounces, then you will need one gallon of coffee for every 20 people attending. So, my group of 100 people needs 5 gallons of coffee, yes? I wish it were always that simple.

Now, the art…
There are many factors that can influence how much coffee you will need but I find that they can be condensed down into essentially three main areas: the time the coffee is being served, the length of time the coffee will be available, and the group’s “coffee preference”.

1. What time is coffee being served? Are you serving coffee first thing in the morning, later in the morning, or at some point in the afternoon? People will generally drink more coffee first thing in the morning than at other times. Afternoons are often the next highest time of coffee consumption as attendees look to combat the post-lunch lull.

2. How long will coffee service be available? If people only have 5-10 minutes to get their coffee, then most people will just drink one cup and may even choose to not have any coffee at all. On the other hand, if coffee is available for a half-hour or more, then your coffee drinkers will go back time and again for refills. The longer the coffee is out, the more refills they can get. A typical break is 15-30 minutes, which is plenty of time for people to have one or two cups of coffee.

3. What is the group’s “coffee preference”? This can be the trickiest to answer. Basically, it comes down to what percentage of the group drinks coffee, tea, or decaf (as opposed to other beverages, like water or juice) and how many cups will the average member of the group drink. I have some groups who drink very little coffee (or tea for that matter), so I adjust the total order for caffeinated beverages downward. For my hardcore coffee fiends, I increase the order significantly since I know that they might average 4-5 cups of coffee during a 30-minute break.

Also consider other possible impacts on your coffee needs… How about the coffeehouse across the street? Or, does your group like to stay out late the night before the meeting?

In any case, the more you know about your group’s behavior and preferences, the closer you will be able to estimate how much coffee you will need to provide to them so that they can be satisfied with the service yet not have a large amount left over.

When I don’t know much about a group’s preferences or behavior – such as when working with a group for the first time – I fall back on the “science”. Using an estimate of one cup per person and 16 cups per gallon gives me a solid number to start with. I can then adjust the figure up or down from there based on the timing of the service and any other information I can glean by talking with my client about the group’s coffee habits.

- Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2010-05-05T08:21:00.000-07:00

No matter who you are, holidays are important. As a meeting planner, though, holidays take on a whole new dimension. They can be the inspiration for themes, the reason for an event, or even dates to avoid.

When working with any group, it is important to know which holidays you can embrace and which ones you need to avoid. In the United States, for example, scheduling a conference on or near Thanksgiving or Christmas can be very risky. Most people make plans for those holidays that most definitely do not include going to a meeting. However, holding an event in the weeks prior to either holiday (and using it as a theme) can still be successful. The timing of the event is critical. If you are too close to the holiday, you lose participants (mentally and/or physically). And, if you are too far away, then the holiday as a theme becomes less relevant.

Dealing with major holidays is not usually an issue for meeting planners, since the event sponsors are well aware of those dates and want to avoid them also. The tricky part comes in dealing with less well-known or culture-specific holidays. Do you need to avoid Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur? If you have a group with Jewish participants, you may need to. If you have Muslim participants, be aware of the restrictions imposed by that faith during the month of Ramadan as that could have a great impact on what food you serve for your event and when.

So, enjoy this holiday but spend some time learning about how any holiday can impact your meetings and conferences. [Incidentally, May 5th is also Boys Day in Japan. I think I'll celebrate with some sushi...]

- Karl Baur, CMP • RDL enterprises

The Value of Meetings

2010-04-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

Meeting “different” has been the theme for the past couple of years. Meeting professionals have always known the meeting in person is a far more effective networking tool than meeting electronically. When meeting and conference evaluations are compiled, often the highest rated component of a meeting is the networking opportunities. Now we can quantify the value.

Oxford Economics USA recently completed a study for the U.S. Travel Association. The focus of the study was to determine the return on investment for business travel when workers travel for meetings, conventions, training, or as an incentive. Studies show that businesses spent over $200 billion dollars in 2008. The findings for this study show that for every dollar invested in business related travel, $12.50 in incremental revenue and $3.80 in new profits is realized. Check out the U.S. Travel Association website http://PowerofTravel.org for more information.

In other news, legislation was introduced in Congress this February by Representative Sam Farr (D-California) called The TRIP Act (Travel Regional Investment Partnership). This legislation creates a matching grant program in the U.S. Department of Commerce that will promote domestic tourism through local and regional partnerships between convention and visitor’s bureaus and other community tourism entities. Hopefully this will be an incentive to get tourism back on track in the future.

Those of us in the meeting industry are eager to see a return in business travel and especially the return of business meetings and events. Hopefully studies like the one done for the U.S. Travel Association and legislation offering incentives for travel will help.

- Linda Begbie, Meeting Planner • RDL enterprises

Basic Principles of Layout & Design for Meeting Planners

2010-04-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

Many meeting planners are asked to do things that they may not actually be trained to do – so we go out and learn them. One of the most common tasks planners are assigned is to create flyers, web sites, brochures, newsletters, and all other manner of printed documents to promote their event or provide information to attendees. As one of the areas in which planners have little formal training, I have found it useful to take a few classes and do some reading on the subject. To help you get started on your own layout and design work, here are four basic principles that everyone seems to agree on. I will also share two additional principles that some include, which I find to be useful ones as well.

The four Basic Principles (in alphabetical order) are:

Alignment
Contrast
Proximity
Repetition

Alignment is the idea that everything on the page should be connected (visually) to something else on the page. Left-justification and lining up image centers are both examples of alignment.

Contrast is about differences. The greater the difference, the greater the contrast. In fact, too little contrast often looks like a mistake and can actually create conflict on the page as the reader subconsciously struggles to figure out why things don’t quite look right…

Proximity deals with how close objects or text are to other objects or text on the page. The strength of the relationship between two objects is implied by their proximity to each other. Things that relate to one another should be closer than items that do not relate to each other.

Repetition is simply about having some element of the design repeat throughout the document. Let me say that again…you should have some elements repeat throughout your document. The repeated element could be a font type or style, a graphic or picture, a spatial orientation, or even just a thick line.

The two additional Principles that I use are:
Balance
White Space

Balance is a measure of equilibrium and “completeness”. Does the page (or document) flow smoothly? Does the eye track cleanly across all elements, or does it stop and start while trying to find the important information?

White Space refers to how much “unused” area exists on the page and is not necessarily white in color. Use of white space provides the eye with a nice rest while it tracks over the page, allowing the reader to take in what they have read before moving on to the next piece.

When I am designing a brochure or other document for a client, I always try to keep these six principles in mind. There is no hierarchy to the principles and none of them is more important than the others. It is also not always possible to use each one to its full extent. You will have to make some choices about which principles you choose to emphasize based on your specific needs.

If you are looking for more information about layout and design principles, there are many great books and resources out there. I use as my reference a book recommended to me in one of the classes I took: “The Non-Designer’s Design Book, 2nd Ed.” By Robin Williams (not the comedian). The 3rd edition is available through Amazon.

- Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises