Building a Reception

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

Negotiating Hotel Contracts

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

Summer Music Festival Celebration

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.

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

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

What is Collaboration?

We all use the word collaboration pretty freely. As meeting planners, we say we "collaborate" with the client to plan an event or we "collaborate" with a team to determine an outcome. What does this really mean?

I thought I would Google the word "collaboration" and see what I found. According to Wikipedia, “collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together in an intersection of common goals — for example, an intellectual endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus." I knew immediately I was in trouble since I had no idea what recursive process meant. So I looked for a reasonable explanation.

Back to Wikipedia I went, to learn that recursion is the process a procedure goes through when one of the steps of the procedure involves rerunning the procedure. This sounds like a circular definition if ever I saw one. An analogy Wikipedia provided was that a procedure is like a menu in that it is the possible steps, while running a procedure is actually choosing the courses for the meal from the menu.

The question for me now goes back to, do we typically use the recursive process when we are collaborating with a team on a project? I believe the answer is “absolutely!”

Let's use the menu and the meal analogy again. When we work collaboratively with a team, we are looking at the many options available to us to come to consensus on an issue or to produce an outcome. By listening to input from all members of the team, coming up with the options (menu), analyzing those options, and then selecting the best solution or plan (meal), the team has used the recursive process to reach consensus. I think we all know this as “Brainstorming” but it is a process that can be utilized throughout the entire project, not just at the beginning.

I think if I were to define collaboration, I would also include words like: communication, respect, trust, knowledge, experience, and negotiation. It is clear to me that, by truly collaborating with others on a project, we have the opportunity to glean the best of everyone’s expertise and come to consensus on the optimal conclusions.

- Linda Begbie • Executive Director, RDL enterprises

Thinking Outside the Box for Small Meetings

It is amazing to see how the current economic situation is bringing out great new ideas in many industries. I recently read an article in Corporate Meetings & Incentives that described a process for meeting planners and administrative personnel to help their companies save two very important resources – time and money – with regard to the meetings they do on an ongoing basis.

It is becoming known in the business as “Meeting in a Box.” The article is a bit lengthy and may be somewhat confusing to someone not directly involved in the meetings industry. However, the concept is basically that the planner and hotel partner to create pre-negotiated packages for a client who does many small meetings. You can read the full article here.

We have done something similar in the past with a series of small trainings held throughout California which involved developing pre-negotiated packages with preferred hotels that included set menus, meeting space, basic audiovisual, and standardized contracts. “Admins can then choose a package that meets their needs and book the program without having to negotiate costs or review contract terms and conditions.”

This relationship is a benefit to everyone involved – the planner and hotel are able to provide their services to more companies and the client (admin person and their company) is able to more accurately track the expenses, save money, and increase efficiency. I’d say these benefits are always important, no matter the economic climate!

- Ginger Myrick • Meeting Planner, RDL enterprises

How Do Meeting Planners Get Paid?

There are essentially two ways for a meeting planner to be paid for their services: fee for service or through commissions.

Earning a commission is a very common way for meeting planners to be paid for their services. Their fees are typically determined as a percentage of the guest room rate negotiated with the hotel or hotels that are hosting the event – and the hotels pay that percentage directly to the planner after the conclusion of the event. So, with a 10% commission and a negotiated rate of $150 per night, the planner would earn $15 (from the hotel!) for each night someone paid to stay at the hotel. For small groups, this does not usually result in a very large fee but, with large groups, this can add up to quite a tidy sum for the planner. A major advantage of this fee structure is that the client does not pay for the planner’s services out of their event budget, which can help their event’s bottom line.

“Fee for Service” is the other method commonly used and it can be calculated either on an hourly basis or for the whole project.

A planner who is paid by the hour simply determines an hourly rate for their services, which may vary by service or be a set amount across the board. In either case, there is a menu of services for clients to choose from. The main advantage here is that it is easy for the client to approximate the planner’s fees even before putting the project out to bid. They can also easily compare those costs against the staff time they would have to allocate to the project if they were to do it in-house.

Planners who are paid a fixed amount for the project determine how much to charge for a given event based on the size and complexity of the project – each job is different – and then works with that client to refine the scope of work and the fee until both parties reach an agreement. Though determining the final fee and scope of work for the project can be tricky, once they have been determined, an agency then knows exactly how much they will be paying for the planner’s services and exactly what those services will be.

While this brief overview does not give all of the ins and outs of each method, it is worth noting that most planners will work with you to find the approach that is right for you and your event. RDL typically sets a fee for each event or series of events that we do for our clients. However, we do still work with hourly rates and, occasionally, commissions to create the best fit to our clients’ needs.

Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Thoughts on Collaboration and Cooperation

In these challenging times in which we find ourselves, it is more important than ever to work together to achieve not only our own goals but really keeping in mind the helpful, service-oriented attitude to help the other person or organization reach their goals as well.

As John Donne wrote back in 1624, “No man is an island ...” So while the “power of one” can and has accomplished seeming miracles, consider that the “one” was actually standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before.

By blazing your own trail you may just end up in the weeds or even off a cliff! How much better to have a map and some companions (or experts) to bounce around ideas with! Self-confidence is a great thing but use your wisdom and sensitivity to guide yourself away from arrogance.

You may not think my reflections apply to you but I’m just saying…

- Ginger Myrick

Teamwork

Everyone is for it, everyone professes to do it, everyone agrees it is vital to business.

But what is it really? Is it sharing information? Is it being pro-active in office manners? Is it treating colleagues with respect? Is it being truly fair?

Yes, all of this and more.

It is more than just a word to be bandied about. It is about morale.

Teamwork is self-explanatory. It means helping your co-workers, sometimes before they ask for help. It means deep listening; understanding them, getting vested and caring. It means respecting your co-workers. It also means understanding various ideas around a subject and being mature enough to not take rejection personally.

Each individual is a unique being, yet all are brought together into a specific environment to work: to pull in the same direction, to give up personal conceit for the common good.

Teamwork means treating all employees with equal dignity and attention.

Teamwork means follow-through: it means being dependable.

Too easy it is for all good will to be swept aside in the jumble of the day. Do unto others, not as has already been done to you, but how you would be done to in a perfect world.

Talk to your colleagues. It shows you care.

Look at yourself with fresh eyes.

Here is the link to a wonderful article that gives 8 steps to building teamwork in the office.

- Alex Zabelin, Meeting Planner