Meeting Planner Tips to a Successful Meeting

Written by Lori Keene of The Millennium Centre in Johnson City, TN; Lori is a member of IACC's Emerging Trends Committee for young industry professionals under the age of 30. Enjoy these cool conference center tips from Lori!

Attendees see the dreaded invitation to the all day meeting.  Schedules are busy and the meetings are boring. What is most important when holding a meeting? IT MUST BE EXCITING!!!

1. Tip #1 Theme your events – make the event exciting for your attendees.  If you have a group of engineers have someone dress up as Albert Einstein to greet the guest as they enter the meeting.  Develop a specialty drink in this case a Martini and give it a name to coincide with the event – The Einstein’ini!
   
2. Tip #2 Give attendees a memento – take pictures throughout the day and during the meeting.  Have pictures on a screen at dinner (people like to see themselves).  If they have offsite recreational activities provide them with a CD of the activity.  Use pictures and CD’s and post to all of your social media sites.
3. Tip #3 Go directly to the source – find out what attendees want as well as what they need.  Ask your attendees what they want to take away from the meeting.  What they feel is most important- what you may feel is important may be the furthest thing from what is most important to your attendee.
4. Tip #4 Choose carefully how you set the room – if you need attendees to be interactive…set pods.  If no interaction is needed you can feel okay with theater style seating.
5. Tip #5 DO NOT OVER CARB – for an all day meeting you need to keep people energized!
6. Tip #6 Give plenty of breaks – it keeps attendees caffeinated and interactive!  Breaks should be given at least every 2 hours.
7. Tip #7 Who’s your speaker? – Last, but most important, know who your speaker is!  This is the meat of your meeting!  Your speaker must be able to entertain, motivate and captivate as well as achieve your meeting goals!
   
   
   
   What tips do you practice to guarantee that your attendees are excited about the meeting and the content?

UPCOMING IACC-AMERICAS EVENTS

OPIN 2012

Ace Conference Center, Lafayette Hill, PA – October 25 – 28, 2012

 

Enhance Your CMP; learn from Industry Experts, Network with other conference center professionals, tour local member conference centers and see how they operate.  Don’t miss out, register now at  http://events.iacconline.org/OPIN2012/.  Any questions, contact Michele Schurk at mschurk@iacconline.org.

AND

2013 Pre-Conference Study Tour, March 16 – 20!

Make the most out of your Annual Conference experience by attending the 2013 Pre-Conference Study Tour.  The Tour will take you thru Ontario, Canada; visit Niagara Falls; tour local conference centers in both Ontario & Chicago prior to the Annual Conference.  For more information, agenda & pricing, contact Michele Schurk mschurk@iacconline.org.  Minimum attendance 12!

Cool IACC Venue Tips: Special Banquet Set-Up

Written by Purvi Bhatt of the R. David Thomas Executive Conference Center in Durham, NC.

Purvi Bhatt is a member of IACC's Emerging Trends Committee, made up of young industry professionals under the age of 30. Purvi helps in creating and producing the "Cool Conference Center Tips." Enjoy these cool conference center tips and be as creative as possible!
With so many groups looking to have team building/interactive activities and adding some fun to their conferences, offering an option like cooking classes is always a fun idea. Guests can work in groups to create their own dinner and focus on improving their company team building skills. This offers something outside of the usual buffet setup and gives the group the opportunity to have some fun with their food!

Bouncing off of the idea of doing something different from the ordinary buffet setup, conference centers can also offer planners the option of having a family-style dinner with lazy Susan at each table. Planners who want their attendees to bond over longer conversations and make a connection, family-style meals is the perfect idea.

Do you think you're the guru of cool conference center ideas? Share your expert tips with us.

Cool IACC Venue Tips: Themed Break Stations

Written by Purvi Bhatt of the R. David Thomas Executive Conference Center in Durham, NC

This is the first post in the series of "Cool Conference Center Tips." The series of short tips which will feature unique ideas (free) for you to take and implement at your own property.

IACC's Emerging Trends Committee, made up of young industry professionals under the age of 30 will be creating and producing the "Cool Conference Center Tips." Worried about using the ideas of others? The most creative people get their ideas from others and build upon them. So go ahead - enjoy these cool conference center tips and be as creative as possible!

When working with a planner and setting up break stations, conference center F&B should try and make them fun, festive, and creative. Memorial Day is coming up, see if the planner is okay with having a festive break station to go with the holiday. Then work with your team to create customized break menu items.

For instance, during Mardi Gras at the R. David Thomas Executive Conference Center, we put out Mardi Gras/New Orleans themed items like king cake, mini po’ boys and much more. On the flip side, conference centers could go the extra mile to personalize their clients' experience. Imagine,... would any of your clients appreciate seeing something specific to their organization? A company focusing on sustainability would value a break station set-up with eco-friendly products, such as recycled bamboo and greenery. Another great idea is a conference center could offer fun drinks in test tubes for a company in the chemical industry.

Want to share other cool conference center tips? Write us a comment!

2012 IACC Copper Skillet Champion

Johan Heibert, Food & Beverage Manager at Villa Brevik (Sweden) wins the 2012 (#IACC12, @IACCconfcenters) cook-off competition. In second place, Theis Christensen, Executive Chef, Comwell Holte (Denmark) and, third place goes to Sander Westerman, Executive Chef, Blooming Hotel & Conference Estate (Netherlands). 

The other competitors (in alphabetical order by country):
Jesse Huges, Sous Chef, Vue Grand Hotel (Australia)
Murray Hall, Executive Chef, BMO Financial Group Instititute for Learning (Canada)
Katsunori Hirata, Chef de Cuisine, Tokyo Conference Center (Japan)
Abduilah Azzubair, Head Chef, Royal College of Physicians (United Kingdom)
Charles J. Chambers, Executive Sous Chef, Hamilton Park Hotel & Conference Center (United States)