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

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

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

Why would you serve dessert at an afternoon break?

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

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

What are Base Prices and Inclusive Prices?

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

How can I get free meeting space for my event?

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

A Closer Look at Space Requirements for Event RFPs

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

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

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

What information should I include in my RFPs?

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

When should I open registration for my event?

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

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

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

What is a “Pre-Con”?

“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

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?

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

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

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

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

The 2x8 Rule of Screen Placement

Have you ever gone into a theater and sat so close to the screen that you felt like you were at the base of a cliff? Or maybe you’ve been at the back of a room trying to watch something on a small TV screen?  Both of these situations make it difficult for you to enjoy the presentation – and we, as planners, want our attendees to be able to comfortably see and hear the presentation.  So how do we do that?  Well, in the world of meetings and conferences, there is actually a rule that guides planners (and others) towards rooms sets that do not place an audience too far from or too near to the screen for a presentation.  It is called the 2x8 Rule.

The 2x8 rule states that the first row of the audience should be seated no closer to the screen than twice the height of the display (which is usually the same as the screen height).  The second part of the rule says that the last row should be no farther away that eight times the display height.  So, if we are using a screen that is ten feet high (and filling it with our display), then the first row should be at least twenty feet away and the last row should be no further than eighty feet away. Simple, isn’t it?

This rule can be used with any type of seating, from theater to classroom to rounds.  Your Convention Services Manager and the AV technicians will automatically work to make sure your audiences are appropriately placed relative to the screen but it is useful for me to know what ratios they are using as I work on the room set ups with them.  I have found this to be an important tool in my meeting planning toolkit.

Now, there are always exceptions out there to any rule and this one is no different.  I have had groups that wanted closer or more distant seating and I’ve worked in spaces or with special sets that did not allow me to apply the rule effectively – but it at least gave me a place to start and I knew when I was creating a set that included less than optimal seating.  Even if your group falls into one of the exceptions, though, I recommend keeping the 2x8 rule in mind anyway.  Stick to the rule as much as possible, and your audiences will have a much more comfortable view.

- Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Creating a Wonderful Dining Experience on a Budget

So, you’re on a limited budget but need to create a menu that will blow your attendees away? The hotel’s set menu just doesn’t cut it for you? And with so many food and cooking shows on TV nowadays (and whole channels devoted to them), it seems as though everyone has become a food critic and more meeting attendees are expecting more from meals at the events they attend. So what can you do about it?

I have just four words for you: Work. With. The. Chef.

The Chef can design a menu for you, based on your budget and your group’s dietary needs, which will impress your guests while providing a balanced meal – but you have to ask. By bringing the hotel’s Executive Chef into the discussion early, you can get a fabulous meal for your attendees that is within your budget. The key items to share with the Chef are your budget, the “goals” of the meal, and any special dietary restrictions for your group.

Sharing your budget is simple (but may not be easy!) and can be given to the Chef either as a per person cap or as a total amount that you can pay for the entire meal or event. He (or she) can then give you some preliminary ideas of what meals he can create within that amount.

The goals of the meal can include food themes (Southwestern, Asian-Pacific Rim, Locally Produced Foods, etc.), what you want people to feel (full, satisfied, impressed, etc.), or your event themes. I also include in this category the types of people who will attend. Are your guests used to steak and potatoes or do they prefer certain kinds of fish, or are they epicureans who prefer new flavors and combinations? All of this is useful to a creative Chef.

In terms of dietary restrictions, the most common one for a general audience is vegetarian and the Chef can easily include vegetarian options in the menu. But what if your group is predominately vegetarian? You need to make sure the Chef knows that, as he will plan a different meal for you than if only a few of your guests are vegetarian. Other meal concerns that I have incorporated into or used as the basis for menus include: vegan, diabetic, gluten-free, food allergies, organic, and kosher. Occasionally, certain food groups might be “off the table”. [For instance, one group I worked with could not have any grapes anywhere in the food or used as garnish. This was to protest the use of pesticides in the production of the grapes, which was harming the field workers.] You must let the Chef know of any such restrictions before he begins planning your meals or you will not be happy with the outcome.

Working with the Chef is just one way to get a provide a wonderful dining experience for your attendees - but it is probably one of the most important ones.  Remember, too, that this is an interactive process. You need to be willing to take the time to sit down with the Chef to go over options, discuss your wants and needs, and listen to the Chef’s concerns and ideas as well.

- Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

Who Staffs Your Event?

Last week, I shared the “1 per 100” rule, a method for estimating how many staff you should plan to have to handle the registration desk and, by extension, how many staff you will need to manage your event. So, now that you have decided how many people you will need to have helping you, “who” are they?

To begin with, you need to decide what jobs need to be done while you are onsite for your event. Each of those jobs will need a different type and level of expertise. Some jobs, such as passing out nametags, can be done by folks with little training and knowledge of meeting planning. Others, such as audio-visual sets, require specialized knowledge that not everyone possesses. And, of course, there are also those jobs that require a lot of knowledge about your event and all of the details that went into putting it together. Make sure you have people with the skills to handle the jobs you are assigning to them and your event will go much smoother.

When were planning staffing levels for events we produce for clients, we start with the “1 per 100” rule and then look at the tasks that need to be handled. The numbers and assignments will be different for each event, but here is one example…

We once did a conference for 900 people that covered two days and had eight concurrent breakouts happening at different times throughout the conference. Registration/check-in opened the day before the conference began (they had pre-conference sessions), so about 200 people would arrive that day. Approximately forty speakers would take part in the program over the course of the conference and we needed to collect presentations from all of them. The program also included an exhibit hall and a high-tech “show” to open the conference.

The “1 per 100” rule would suggest nine staff, but the complexity of the program indicates a need for a couple more than that. But did all of the staff need to be trained meeting planners? Nope. For this event, we scheduled 2 meeting planners and needed 9 other positions to cover the conference. We filled the non-planner positions with temps hired though the local CVB and with trained support staff. Here’s how it broke down:

1 Lead Planner (this person is the one who planned the event – they know everything! – they work with the client and handle any tasks they do not specifically assign elsewhere, such as the caterer)
1 Meeting Planner (to process onsite registrations and collect fees – this involves handling money and requires a higher level of responsibility)
1 Trained Staff (to interface with speakers and the AV company)
1 Trained Staff (to interface with exhibitors and the drayage company)
1 Trained Staff (to oversee the registration area staff)
6 Temps (to hand out conference materials and welcome people to the event – they only stayed until noon the first day. Once the majority of registrants showed up, we were able to manage from that point on without them.)

Now, this doesn’t cover every single job that needed to be done during the conference, but should serve to illustrate the types of jobs handled and what level of training or knowledge is needed for each one. We also had volunteers for the conference, but they were on board specifically to monitor the workshops and take care of any issues that came up during sessions, so I’ve left them out of my counts above (though we did train them!). If we’d been responsible for monitoring the sessions, we’d have had to provide the staff to do that as well.

This subject is too complex and varied to effectively cover in the short amount of space I have here to deal with it but I hope this brief overview is enough to get you started. Just remember the “1 per 100” rule and you won’t be too far off.

- Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises

How many people do I need to staff my event?

Obviously, that will depend on the specific needs of your event but there is a nice rule of thumb that you can use to get a rough idea of staffing levels needed. When we need to estimate staffing levels, we begin by using the “1 per 100” rule. This means that for every one hundred people attending (rounded off), we need one staff person. So, if there are 475 people attending, we expect to need about five staff. If there are 312 people attending, we’d need about three staff.

Now, as I said, this is where we begin. This rule of thumb is geared to determine how many people you will need at registration, so we also need to look at how simple or complex the event is and how many people will be present for any given piece of it before we can settle on a final number for the event as a whole. In most cases, the staff assisting with registration of attendees can also handle other duties at the event, especially at larger events, but we do need to make sure that no critical areas are left out.

Some of the factors that would cause us to lower the estimate are: very simplified check-in process, timing of registration, no breakout sessions, limited AV requirements, and so forth. For example: if our 475 attendees arrive over five days so that only 100 check in on any given day, then we’d probably only need one or two people to staff the registration desk instead of the five that the rule suggests.

Factors that may require more staff that the estimate suggests include: handling payments onsite, complex check-in process with many items or issues to resolve, large number of breakout sessions, etc. If payment for your event is being collected onsite, then you will probably need an extra body or two at registration in order to keep the line flowing smoothly.

If you have never staged the event before, use the “1 per 100” rule and you will have approximately the right number of people. Common sense will often dictate if and when you will need more or less than that.

Note: we rarely modify the estimate by more than one or two people and we never reduce it to zero. After all, someone still has to manage the event!

Also, bear in mind that the staffing estimate is about number of staff – not their skill set or knowledge base. While that can be just as or even more important as how many staff you need, it is a discussion for next week…

- Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises