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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
Showing posts with label Guidelines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guidelines. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
When should I get a second screen for my presentation?
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.
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
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
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Women Owned Small Business in the Government Market
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
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
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Three Types of Presentation Aids
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
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
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Five Types of Vegetarians that Planners Should Know About
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
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
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
What is the best room set for a meeting?
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
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
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
How many Registration Counters are Needed for My Event?
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
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
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Five Questions to Answer about Guest Rooms on Your RFPs
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
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
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Offering Gratuities to Hotel Staff After the Conclusion of the Event
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
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
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
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
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
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
When can I expect to see registrations start to come in?
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
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
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
How do I know if a budget expense is variable or fixed?
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
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
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
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
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
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
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
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
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Three Rules for Using PowerPoint
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
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
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