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Event Planning in the Age of Terrorism, Are You Prepared?

April 24, 2013 By Comments
emergency preparedness for an event planning checklist

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In light of last week’s Boston bombings, I began to reflect on how the event planning industry has changed since 9/11. Unfortunately we live in an age where terrorist attacks are an ongoing threat. Emergency preparedness, it seems, is becoming a “must include” component to an event planning checklist. Any meeting or event planner that is not prepared to react to a terrorism threat is, quite frankly, leaving their group vulnerable.

The Terrorist Attacks of 9/11 Had a Huge Impact on Event Planning

Back in September of 2001 I was part of a full service Destination Management Company (DMC). Anyone involved with event planning knows that September can be a very busy month for our industry. Like everybody, I remember exactly what I was doing when I heard the awful news on that fateful Tuesday morning.

We had a group that was just getting underway (they were from Chicago). Of course in those days, we all had the false security that terrorist attacks didn’t happen on North American soil. Needless to say, it became obvious to us that this group’s activities, and the meeting itself, would not be proceeding. But, as air travel was shut down for days, the task for us was to get this group back to Chicago. Because of our supplier contacts in Toronto, we were able to secure coaches to transfer the attendees home. My company kept in contact with our local CVB, Tourism Toronto, as well as Canadian and American border officials. This coordination, albeit in the middle of chaos like we’ve never seen before, enabled us to get this group home within a couple of days.

My advice to any event or meeting planner working with a DMC would be to ask, upfront, what are their emergency plans. If they don’t have one, don’t use them.

An Event Planning Checklist Must Include Emergency Preparedness

Like many businesses, my company’s revenues were devastated after 9/11. After all, that was the goal of the terrorists. According to a study group that was put together by New York City officials shortly after 9/11, some of the economic losses hit the event planning industry hard. For example:

  • over 138,000 jobs were lost in the airline industry
  • roughly 15,000 jobs in the travel industry (hotels and service companies) were lost
  • hotels, restaurants and theaters in the greater New York area lost an estimated $2.3 billion because of 9/11

Since 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security has issued guidelines on how to prepare for an emergency situation. On their website, The National Terror Alert Response Center, are excellent tips on how to prepare for a terrorist attack as well as many other types of emergencies.

Some of the topics on the website include:

  • creating an emergency communications plan
  • having a disaster supply kit
  • an evacuation plan
  • what to do if disaster strikes (and you are not injured)

Event Planning and Emergency Preparedness, Did the Boston Bombings Reflect a Change?

What we did see during the reaction to the Boston bombings was a city prepared. From the emergency services personnel, to the good Samaritan citizens, Boston reacted in a way that made us proud. While a tragic loss of life did occur, the citizens stood strong, the businesses pitched in where necessary, and best of all they brought the hunt for the culprits to a quick, successful close.

While there’s no doubt there was economic loss to the area, what’s nice to see is that people got back to their normal lives quickly. While we will always remember those that did lose their lives from this horrible crime, the best that we can do to honor those lost souls would be to stand up and fight the fear.

Additional resources:

Unfortunately we have not seen the last of terrorist attacks. But we have learned that the best way to deal with terrorism is to not allow the fear and therefore major economic losses that these criminals are trying to achieve. It is vital that your event planning checklist includes a contingency plan for an emergency. Plan for it and then pray that it never happens.

 

 

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Have You Joined a Meeting Planner Association to Further Your Career?

March 1, 2013 By Comments
become a member of a meeting planner Association

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Ask a seasoned meeting planner what they would recommend you do to further your career and, more often than not, they will tell you to network. Networking is a great way to meet industry leaders as well as to keep on top of the latest and greatest event planning trends. Think of it like organic growth. You won’t necessarily start to see the results of your efforts until you have attended several networking events. But, by becoming a member of a meeting planner association, what you are doing is establishing a long lasting reputation for yourself as a meeting or event planner.

For a Meeting Planner, Establishing a Relationship with a Potential Client Is Key

Let’s face it, obtaining customers is a never-ending task. Most of us do not like cold calling. While sometimes necessary, cold calling can be deflating. How many times have you been trying to get contact information when it was obvious that the person on the other line could not wait to get off the phone?

The key for attracting a new customer, or to retain current customers, is integrity. A potential customer wants to know that the event planner has their best interest in mind. So how do you inform a potential customer that they would be in good hands working with you? Well, again, it boils down to establishing a relationship. And by attending an event planner association’s function you’ll be introduced to many colleagues as well as potential clients. But be careful, the last thing you want to do at these events is to jump into a sales pitch. Wait for the client to ask you for that information. Otherwise, you should be discussing common interest items. Not only will you be nurturing relationships with potential clients but you’re also going to gain valuable industry information from your peers.

Related article: Networking Is a Big Part of Event Planning-But Is It Done Right?

An Event Planners Association Is a Great Place to Start Networkingevent planning association logos for MPI, PCMA, ADME

When I first started in the meetings and events industry, I was part of a young, upstart, DMC (Destination Management Company). What I and my partners quickly learned was that we needed to join industry associations so that we would start to be recognized.

The first association was our local CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau). Being a member of your local CVB is crucial. Not only will you be listed as an event supplier, you will also get great exposure to meeting planners that are bringing groups to your city. Next we joined two of the industry’s largest associations; Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). We also joined the Association of Destination Management Executives (ADME). ADME is great for developing and standardizing codes of conduct, contract language, best practices, etc.

Most meeting planner associations also have local chapters. This is a great way to meet all of the key industry players in your area as well as to have an active role in the local management of the association.

A meeting planner association is a great way to develop new contacts and learn key industry information from your colleagues. Many customers prefer to select their event planning companies once they have developed a relationship. In other words, Integrity is crucial for repeat business.

 

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Convention Center Signage

October 17, 2012 By Comments
convention Center signage

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Convention centers play a major role in the meetings and events industry. Typically thought of as venues for large conferences, convention centers are now repositioning themselves to attract small to medium sized groups. I spoke to a few colleagues that work for tier 1 convention centers (centers that have greater than 250,000 ft.²), and they tell me that there has been a concerted effort recently to attract groups of all sizes. Of course one of the main issues with the smaller groups is that they tend to think their delegates will not get the attention that larger conferences might get. Perhaps one way to address convention center sizes is to talk about signage. If you have ever attended a conference at a large convention center then you will know what I’m talking about. It’s also an area, according to my colleagues, that conference service staff are fully aware of and, more importantly, able to jump in and offer assistance.

Three Tips When Considering Your Convention Center Signage

The following three tips are a result of my conversations with colleagues working for convention centers. Obviously when meeting planners are executing their programs meeting room space and location play a huge role when determining where to host their meetings. That’s why newer convention centers (or ones that have been recently updated) are now paying particular attention on where to place meeting rooms that are attractive smaller groups. The first rule of thumb is that they do not want the group to feel as if they’ve been pushed to the side.

Tip number one – walk the space yourself. We’ve all heard the expression “you can’t see the forest for the trees”. I love that expression because it’s the perfect metaphor for describing many situations without saying that the people involved are incompetent. Rather, it simply means that some employees are so used to their surroundings that they sometimes don’t see the same issues as somebody viewing the facility for the first time. Now don’t get me wrong, I strongly suggest that you take the advice of a convention center’s conference services department. But, in addition to their consultation, walk the space yourself. And as you’re doing that, envision your delegates trying to get from one room to the other in a set amount of time. In other words, put yourself in their shoes. I have found this tip to be beneficial in a number of locations. Coupled with the advice of the season conference services manager, your own input, by walking the floor space, will have a dramatic impact on where you need to place signage for your meeting.

Tip number two – signage colors. You might have to address this one at the very beginning of your conference planning. Obviously colors can be restricted by the meeting’s official colors. But the point I’m trying to make here is that it would be wise for you to allocate colors that don’t blend in with the convention center’s colors. The take away here is that you want your signs to stand out.

Tip number three -use people. I have used this tactic many times for many groups. Quite often I would get a bit of pushback from some event planners. Their initial reaction was that they thought the cost of having staff stationed at strategic points would cost them a fortune. Well I’m happy to tell you it does not. Sometimes we’re only talking about two or three personnel here. And we’re not talking 15 hours of labor. Staff members, that are familiar with the location and layout, can be vital by helping delegates get to the next meeting room or by simply answering some general questions from confused attendees. The feedback will make the nominal cost associated worth it.

Convention centers are typically large. But it’s what designers are now doing with that large space, in addition to signage layout, that may alter how smaller groups (or larger groups for that matter) feel towards convention centers.

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Event Planning and the Convention Center

September 26, 2012 By Comments

Convention centers are a big part of the meetings and events industry. Pretty much every city has one. A convention center is primarily utilized by, but not limited to, associations and trade shows. The centers usually consist of one or more large open spaces with several smaller or “breakout rooms”.

The groups that will utilize a convention center tend to be larger in size. That’s where the smaller rooms, or breakout rooms are attractive to the event planners. You see, quite often with larger groups the event planner is tasked with providing smaller meeting rooms as well as a meal function. And if the facility does not have a variety of rooms to accommodate that, then the room turnover (switching a room from a meeting set up to a food and beverage function for example) would chew up valuable meeting time. And the smaller break out rooms are ideal as quite often there are many meetings for the group occurring simultaneously.

The Convention Center is about Location, Location, Location

A convention center is, most often, a standalone complex. They are also in close proximity to the city’s major hotels. So close that, in some cases, they are attached by underground tunnels or overhead walkways. Today, most convention centers are designed to be a focal point for the city that they are in. Not only visibly appealing, convention centers are also designed to handle large volumes.

Today’s convention centers, while attracting large conferences, are also structured to accommodate smaller groups without them feeling lost in a large sea. That’s where the architecture and design features come into play.  Event planners have often expressed concerns about using a convention center for a small group. Their concerns are that the attention that their group will be given will be overshadowed by any larger conferences occurring at the same time. Most of the newer convention centers, or ones that have been upgraded in the last decade or so, have addressed concerns that the smaller groups have expressed.

Event planning for large conferences usually involves coordinating shuttle transportation. Basically a planner has to coordinate moving the conference delegates from their hotels to the convention center. And, because of the group’s size, it’s quite common that they’ll be occupying more than one hotel. Convention centers are designed to accommodate multiple buses, arriving and departing, that are required to shuttle large groups.

Event Planning Tip – you can save a bundle off of your transportation budget by not providing shuttle transportation to any of the hotels that are in the immediate area of the convention center (say a two or three block radius).

A Convention Center is up to Date on Technology, Sustainability and Service Providers

Typical departments in a convention center include; technology (i.e. AV suppliers), security, guest services, housekeeping, catering and food and beverage, sales, convention and exhibitor services, and sustainability.

For many of the larger conferences, or trade shows, it’s vital that the service providers are able to accommodate their needs. Most convention centers will house the major suppliers in-house so that there is always an on-site person to deal with any needs that arise.

Green meetings are also becoming quite commonplace. Today a lot of event planning involves sustainability. In other words, meeting and event planners are becoming more and more aware of what can be done to improve their meeting’s sustainability requirements. And many convention centers are now receiving LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Sales and conference services departments are equipped to help meetings go green with easy to implement sustainable solutions.

Convention Centers and CVB’s (Convention and Visitors Bureaus) Go Hand-In-Hand

Most convention centers are associated with the cities’ CVB. Many are as busy as major airports, having a few million delegates a year move through them. When the city’s tourism arm (the CVB) goes out on sales missions, they are quite often accompanied with convention center sales staff. This is usually a win-win for meeting planners. This relationship gives the convention center additional marketing capabilities as they are quite often in a position to provide incentives to lure highly sought-after groups to their cities. Additionally, many will have in-house marketing assistance that they can offer as a value added service.

At industry networking events you may have heard the term tier 1 or tier 2 convention cities. And unless you’re responsible for the event planning of a large group you probably don’t have a clear understanding of what those terms mean. Some groups are so big that their selection of cities is limited by the size of the convention centers. That’s why the industry has categorized convention centers in this manner. A tier 1 convention center has meeting space greater than 250,000 ft.² . A tier 2 convention center will have meeting space between 100,000 to 250,000 ft.². A tier 3 convention center has meeting space under 100,000 ft.².

For an Event Planner One-Stop Shopping Is Attractive

Of course event planners want their conferences to go off without a hitch. Event planning is like a director’s job. There are many components that need to be successfully executed in order for the one main conference to be a success. And that can be a logistical nightmare at times. So when an event planner has an opportunity to put their conference under one roof (except for the hotel portion of the planning) that can be a huge bonus. Especially given the fact that the centers have crucial suppliers (i.e. AV, caterer) housed in-house.

Convention centers also happen to be located in the best areas of their cities. This is an ideal situation for a meeting and event planner. If there are any down times, their delegates are able to walk out the door and find a multitude of restaurants and attractions at their feet.

It is always recommended that, as an event planner, you walk the space in the convention center that you are considering. Because of convention centers sizes, a planner will want to make sure that their delegates can find the meeting rooms without hassle. Most often meeting signage will be required to help direct delegates.

If you’re considering a convention center for your conference, it’s recommended that you book space as soon as possible. Many convention centers will hold space for up to 10 years in advance. But you had better be serious about your booking because there will be a deposit schedule presented.

A convention center has become a focal point, or hub, for their city. Convention centers tend to be a showcase for the city, quite often because of their award-winning designs. They are centrally located next to most major hotels, attractions and restaurants. Event planners love convention centers as they are able to coordinate a multitude of suppliers that are housed in-house. As most convention centers are associated with the CVB, they are able to package themselves with nearby hotels and restaurants. It makes an event planners job all that much easier if they are able to house most of the conference activities in one location – the convention center.

 

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Las Vegas CVA Shows Us How to Promote an Event

August 29, 2012 By Comments
how to promote an event Las Vegas CVB style

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*Note – this article has been updated to correctly portray the Las Vegas CVA (we previously called it the Las Vegas CVB) Thanks to reader Candy Adams, from “The Booth Mom®” for alerting us.

We all know the famous slogan; “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas”. Well almost everybody that is. You see apparently some of Prince Harry’s confidants broke the code and distributed, how shall we say it, compromising pictures of the Prince recently in Las Vegas. Well, as you can imagine, the Prince has been royally embarrassed by situation. And by his so-called confidants selling those pictures it became rather obvious that they broke the Las Vegas code.

And That Did Not Sit Well with the Las Vegas CVA (Convention and Visitors Authority)

It’s what the Las Vegas CVA did about the situation that I’m going to talk about here. In my opinion, to borrow an old cliché, they took lemons and made lemonade. The brilliant marketing department took the opportunity to promote the city’s, now very famous, code; What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas.

On their website, they created a page asking potential visitors to take a pledge that says you will honor the code and promise not to distribute any compromising pictures of activities that may have occurred during a visit to Las Vegas.

And it’s working brilliantly.

They have literally taken a negative situation and have turned it positive. By doing so, the Las Vegas CVA has shown us how to promote an event that would have normally been rather negative coverage of the destination and have turned it into a very positive marketing campaign. On their website they have close to 100,000 pledges by people declaring that they promise to protect the code to its fullest.

Promoting an Event from a Negative to a Positive Position Takes Talent

The CVA is demonstrating how to promote a negative event into a positive spin. What it is also showing us is the power of branding. It’s obvious that Las Vegas has successfully termed the slogan “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas” into a brand. In other words, when you hear that slogan you think of all of the activities that Vegas has to offer. From its famous casinos to its many nightclubs and restaurants, Las Vegas is a city that you associate with having fun. And sometimes when we are having fun we all get a little carried away. So rather than highlight the negatives of such activities, the tourism officials decided they would have a little fun and encourage people to be discreet.

So maybe the next time your organization gets a little press coverage that isn’t exactly rosy consider promoting an event that can take the negative side of the event and turn it into a positive spin. And if you’re wondering just how you would go about doing that, refer to the way Las Vegas handled Prince Harry’s recent situation.

 

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This Week’s Top Event Planning Tweets-CVB Edition

August 17, 2012 By Comments
top event planning tweets

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As many of you know, each week we like to scour our twitter followers for relevant event planning tweets that we feel may be of interest to you. And each week we tend to put a theme on the types of tweets that we present. This week we monitored tweets that were related to CVB’s (Convention and Visitors Bureaus).

CVB’s Are Great Resource for Event Planning

This week’s top CVB tweets include; a webinar on August 27 that will teach hotel and CVB sales executives about technology that not only captures prospects but allows you to engage with them (this one sounds interesting), how Google’s purchase of Frommer’s will affect the CVB industry, Meeting Max presents a comprehensive study on marketing practices of US DMO’s today for 2012 (note that there is a fee to purchase this report), and a poll aimed at CVB and hotel sales reps to determine if they are victims of lead spam (hopefully you are not).

 

 

 

 

 

As always we hope that these tweets have helped you in your job as well as saving you a bit of time by letting us do the research for you. Enjoy the weekend everybody. Here’s to next week’s discussions.

 

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Promote Your Event with a Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB)

May 10, 2012 By Comments

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Anyone involved with planning an event knows all too well the challenge of making the event popular. In other words how are you going to promote your event? And there are many aspects to promoting your event. For example, at the beginning stages you’re more interested in hearing from potential suppliers as they are going to be instrumental in ensuring your event is a success. Of course, once you are set up and ready to go, you now want to promote your event to potential attendees.

CVB’s Can Be Very Helpful with Ways to Promote Your Event

We have talked in the past about how to promote your event potential attendees. There are a few related articles below that’ll provide you with information for attracting attendees whether it be through social media, your contact list etc. For this post were going to focus on how you can use the Convention and Visitors Bureau in the city where you are planning your event.

Some people that I have talk to said they haven’t used a CVB because they thought their groups were too small. So I talked to a couple of my contacts that work at CVB’s to ask them for their opinion on group sizes. I’m pleased to tell you that CVB’s are there to help groups of any size. And having been a member of a CVB I can tell you firsthand that they are very instrumental in helping match planners with hotels and suppliers that are necessary for a successful conference.

One of the first ways a CVB will help promote your event is to put any RFPs out to potential suppliers. Communication is the key with your CVB contact. From the information that you provide, your CVB rep will then go out to its members and ask them to provide a quote for you to review.

CVB’s Promote Your Event to Related Suppliers

Another way that CVB’s are helpful is that they can also alert the various sub industries that should be aware of groups that are in their cities. A great example of this is when I was once in a taxi in Chicago. The driver asked me if I was with a particular group. I wasn’t but I asked him to tell me a little bit about that group. He knew their dates and what hotels they were using. Then he picked up his clipboard and handed it to me to take a look (I guess he realized I was in the industry and he wanted to share how he got his information). On his clipboard was a sheet of paper with the date on it. It had a list of all of the groups that were in the city on this particular day and what hotels they were staying in. I noticed that the top that it was provided by the Chicago CVB. He told me that it was common practice that his cab company provided him with a group list each day so that he could be prepared to be in particular parts of the city as needed.

If you have an event that you’re about to get underway then I strongly suggest you consult the local CVB for assistance. Whether it be for a list of suppliers that you can have your request for proposal sent to, or maybe it’s just for a few attraction flyers, a CVB is there to help you promote your event. Think of a CVB as the local ambassador of the city that they’re in. They are there to welcome you, provide you with the information you require to promote your event, and make sure that everybody in the industry is aware that you are there and they’re ready to serve you.

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How a Meeting and Event Planner Uses a CVB

March 7, 2012 By Comments

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There’s no doubt that a meeting and event planner wants a CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) to assist them with their planning needs when bringing a group or convention to a particular city. A CVB is basically a marketing division for the city that they are in. It’s their job to promote their city in such a way that a meeting and event planner wants to bring their group to the CVB’s city. A CVB will spend mind boggling marketing dollars to brand their city. What exactly does branding a city mean? Well the best example that I can think of, when trying to demonstrate a city that has branded themselves well, is New York City. If anyone comes up to you and asks if you been to the “Big Apple” you most definitely will know that they’re talking about New York City. That’s branding.

A Meeting and Event Planner Uses a CVB to Start the RFP Process

Let’s assume that you are a meeting and event planner. And also let’s assume that you have selected a city to take your group of 50 to. So now what you do? Well obviously you want to develop a meeting planner template or checklist and start listing all of the steps that will be necessary for you to execute a successful meeting. For more on meeting planner templates or checklists see the related articles below.

CVB’s are a free service for a meeting and event planner. So the first thing the meeting and event planner should do is contact the city’s CVB and get their meeting put on the books. Your CVB contact will spend a little time getting to know you as well as a little bit of information about your group (i.e. the type of people, what they like to do, where they like to go and what they like to eat). Following that meeting, the CVB will then send out a request for proposal (RFP), usually to hotels first, indicating how many rooms you are seeking and for how many days (otherwise known as room nights) plus any food and beverage and meeting room requirements. Then the hotel salespeople get to work. They’ll look at their books to see if they can accommodate your request and then send you a summary of rooms available and at what rate. Depending on your food and beverage and meeting requirements you may have some wiggle room as far as room rate negotiations. A meeting and event planner can tell their CVB contact how many hotel properties they want their RFP to go to. The CVB will manage the RFP process from the hotels (although it is the norm that the hotels will communicate directly with the meeting and event planner). Once a hotel has been selected the others will be notified that they did not make the cut.

A Meeting and Event Planner Will Consult with the CVB on Which Service Companies to Hire

A CVB also has an extensive list of service providers. Whether it be a DMC (Destination Management Company), a transportation company, and attraction or restaurant, a good CVB will be able to point the meeting and event planner in the right direction. I usually recommend to meeting and event planners that they ask their CVB contact not to have service companies contact them until they know which hotel they are using. Sorry service providers this is not an attack on your operation at all. It’s just that a meeting and event planner can be inundated with sales calls and e-mails from service providers. And having been a service provider in the past I can tell you that these calls and contacts are all well intended. However the reason I advise meeting and event planners today to hold off on having service companies contact them is so that they are allowed enough time to make the proper decision on their hotel and meeting facilities. Then, once the hotel and meeting facility has been finalized, initiating contact with service companies would proceed. Of course if a meeting and event planner has the budget a DMC is recommended to help with all of the other service aspects of their program (disclaimer – I have worked for a DMC in the past – so I know how valuable their services can be).

While this is usually not a major issue it is worth noting that a CVB can only put forward companies that are members. I say this is not a major issue because most reputable companies do belong to their local CVB. When selecting smaller parts of the program, such as restaurants, you may want to consider talking to your hotel contact as there may be excellent local restaurants that are not a member of the CVB.

A CVB is a great tool for a meeting and event planner. It can help provide the local expertise to execute a successful program. One that has the attendees talking for some time. A CVB can also be assistance by offering city guides and other tourist information to the meeting and event planner.

 

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How Do I Choose Between Event Companies? – Focus, Focus, Focus

February 21, 2012 By Comments

So, you’re the lucky person who’s been chosen to create this year’s holiday party.  Or, your company’s president wants this year’s executive retreat to really “blow the team away”.  There are literally thousands of meetings and event companies out there. How do you choose?

The meetings and events industry tends to be segmented with many event companies specializing in one or more market segments – corporate events, association meetings, conventions and events, social events, fundraising for not-for-profits – to name a few. So start by searching for a company in your city that specializes in the segment that best reflects your company or organization.

Who’s Already Using the Event Companies

Obviously most of us will start by searching through websites to see what type of events the event company has already created.  Search the list of existing clients to see if they “match” your company/organization’s culture.  Reputable event companies will give you a list of client contacts so that you can speak with people who are actually using the planner’s services.

Price is Important when Selecting Event Companies – But It’s More about Value

Reputable event companies understand and respect the fact that you’re on a budget.  The better planners will work creatively to ensure that you get value for your dollar.  They won’t necessarily just recommend the cheapest option but rather they may suggest you cut back in one area so that you can spend more in another area. For example, décor is very important but so is the food. Cutting back a bit on the lighting or special affects may mean a higher quality meal.  The planner will help you with these decisions to ensure your event is memorable, for the right reasons, even if you’re working under tight budgetary restraints.

Look for Event Companies on Business Directories and CVBs

There are a number of convention, meeting and event companies directories out there.  Industry sites such as mywelcometothecity.com will give you a good overview of the meeting and event companies operating in your area.  Also, take the time to visit your local Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB).  A good CVB can direct you to the very best industry suppliers – including meeting and event companies – in your city.  If you’re planning an event in another city – again, the CVB is a good place to start your search for qualified event companies.

 

 

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Do You Work with Event Planning Agencies?

January 3, 2012 By Comments

Planning an event takes a great deal of skill – in particular organizational skills. Working with event planning agencies can help lessen the burden of event planning. Event planning agencies offer experience and have the know-how to make any event a success. That is, of course, if you’ve selected the correct event planning agency. Like any industry there are good and bad event planning agencies.

What to Look for When Selecting Event Planning Agencies

For this post were not going to mention any specific event planning agencies by name. From time to time you may have noticed that we do profiles on reputable companies in the event planning industry. And we will continue to do that as we feel it’s important to highlight the leaders in our profession. But for this post were going to deal mainly with the type of characteristics that you should look for when selecting event planning agencies.

There are a few key characteristics that I look for in event planning agencies. Now this isn’t to say that an event planner without some of the following characteristics are bad companies and shouldn’t be hired. Rather, it’s just that we believe that any serious event planning agency would have at least one of the following attributes or characteristics.

Some attributes or characteristics of top event planning agencies are;

They are members of the industry’s leading associations. Aurora cable company should belong to an association that is recognized by the industry. Two of the largest associations in the meeting and event planning industry are MPI (Meeting Professionals International) and PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association). These associations provide education for the industry as well as certification programs (MPI).

They are members of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVB’s). A CVB is one of the first places that someone bringing a group to the city contacts for planning assistance. Most reputable event planning agencies are members of their local CVB’s. CVB’s provide sales initiatives, often in the forms of FAM (familiarization) trips. FAM trips are great ways that CVB’s bring potential business groups to the city. Members of the CVB’s participate in these trips by offering services to those clients.

Past client lists. All reputable event planning agencies have a long list of clients. Ask to see that list and, more importantly, contact a few of those clients to see how their event was handled. Have a list of questions or concerns done up ahead of time. As the answers to these questions will help you make your decision about which event planning agency to work with.

Event planning agencies can help make your job a lot easier. However, you do want to make sure that you match yourself with the correct company for your needs. Do your due diligence on any potential event planning agencies that you’re considering. Make sure that they have established themselves in the industry. Doing a little bit of homework on event planning agencies will help you have a stress free event.

 

 

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