Those pesky indiscretions

I'm not quite sure why, but it seems that meetings and events can bring out
all of sides of people --those that you want to see and definitely those that you don't. Could it be that temporary feeling where you just throw caution to the wind because you may never be in that situation again? Or could it that air of intrigue or adventure to see how far you can push the envelope....are you wondering yet where I'm going with this?

We all know that hotels and other meeting venues are not public places. However, there are some that treat them as such. I had a colleague share with me that their hotel hosts a considerable number of events with teens as the main attendees. While some young people may be known for many things, being discreet was not one of them in this hotel.

It was mentioned that the host had to be informed to be more vigilant in checking the bathrooms...especially if select groups or individuals had disappeared for a period of time....

Now granted, this may not be unique to young folks, but it was apparently very common in this particular venue. In many situations, room monitors can go a long way to help thwart any little indiscretion that's eager to emerge.

Is anyone listening?

Have you ever been to an event where the speaker was speaking, but no one was listening? I attended a reception not too long ago that was the opening event for an organization's annual meeting. The group was fairly large -- at least 500+ or so -- and they were all a pretty lively bunch. However, when the time came to deliver some remarks, no one stopped their conversation to listen.

I do have to say, the room was fairly large so I was not sure if the sound truly carried to all parts of the room. So that too could have been some of the issue. But the host proceeded to deliver remarks, even noting various sponsors, which did not seem to phase the crowd one bit into listening -- or showing their appreciation. The remarks also seemed to last for a good while, which of course did not help improve the situation.

Needless to say, those attendees nearest the stage thought the lack of attention was rude as did some of the chosen speakers making remarks. They even commented as such in trying to get the audience's full attention.

Receptions can often make dicey formats for remarks. If they need to be done, it's best to keep the number of speakers limited and the remarks very brief...and make sure too that the sound effectively carries to all parts of the room.

The lost world

Human nature never ceases to amaze me at meetings. It's so intriguing to experience how some people seem to lose all sense of direction when in hotels or other meeting venues. Now granted, it's not their home so I would not expect people to know where everything is located. But the most common question is where is the rest room -- even when they are standing right next to it.

Or how about, what time is the three-o'clock break...

Yes, those type of questions do get asked and they are always good for a little chuckle.

Not enough room at the "inn"

I would imagine you have attended events where having enough space seemed to be at a premium. I remember an event several years back that was held at a school with multiple buildings that were all being used for the event. The attendees were scheduled to arrive in shifts given there was a limited amount of space for the program. As it turns out, the initial program ran long and the second wave of attendees began to arrive -- all 400 of them to join the current 400 already in place.

There was a courtyard area in between the buildings which did not have much seating, rather just some benches in select locations. Needless to say, there was a "sea" of people in every nook and cranny of the ancillary buildings as well as the courtyard. Thank goodness it was a bright, sunny and warm day where people were able to sit outside. However, if rain was in the forecast, it would have been a much different story.

While there were reasons for the event to be scheduled as such, it would have probably been best for the shift schedules to be further apart or even held on different days. Any experiences as such? Would love to hear your tales....

Speaker Arrangements

I recently was interviewed by a national industry publication and it brought back to mind several thoughts about planning challenges. One of which was a situation where a speaker at one of our meetings failed to make their hotel reservations and the hotel sold out.

We had communicated to all speakers the importance of making their own arrangements and even sent alerts that the room block was filling up. However, the hotel sold out for the first night and this particular speaker was left without a room. The issue was that this person arrived around 10:00pm the day before the event and was coming from London. There also happened to be a large convention in town so all of the nearby hotels were filled.

So going above and beyond, I offered her a 'one-night stay' in my room. I did have a suite with a bedroom and pull-out couch so it ended up working out OK for that one night. There are always lessons to be learned and ways to manage this process would be to continuously monitor the registration list and to follow up, follow up and follow up again to ensure the arrangements are made.

Never underestimate the power of grooming

I recently attended an event where I was struck at the appearance of one of the speakers. She definitely had the audience's attention, but that was mostly due to she being the only one speaking at that time. However, when I quickly glanced at her during her presentation, I had to take a double take because I thought I saw glimpses of her belly hanging out. As I looked a little closer during her talk, I was actually right!

What made it even more unsettling was that her presentation and delivery were weak. So it made focusing on other aspects such as dress that much more prevalent. This experience also made me think of a friend's blog that addresses the issue of women and public speaking. Check out The Eloquent Woman blog as it has some really neat nuggets about how women can excel in delivery, content and their overall presentation. This experience showed that not everyone is the best public speaker nor will win "best dressed." But it does say how important it is to present yourself professionally and to be at the top of your game in front of a captive audience.

Unexpected Guests

There is always that unpredictable factor when planning a meeting. And this could be anything from lost packages to long-winded speakers to cold food. There are so many examples that come to mind but one in particular sticks out. I was managing a meeting at a hotel and it was fairly early in the morning...probably around the 6am time frame. As I was setting out all of the materials on the table, I went to place my handbag and other personal effects under one of the tables. As I pulled up the tablecloth, I looked closer and unexpectedly saw someone sleeping under the table.

Needless to say, it was a bit unnerving and we called security to escort the individual to the exit. It's always a good reminder, though, that hotels and venues as such are public places. It would probably be a good idea as well -- especially in the early or late hours -- to have someone from security do a sweep of the meeting areas in anticipation of any unexpected guests. It would also be key to ask the hotel overall in how they monitor their public spaces and at what times they do any sweeps, if at all. I believe the individual I came across was a homeless person and most likely entered the hotel through the main entrance. So just being aware is always something to remain top of mind.

Just when you thought it was safe to close the folder

Being a meeting planner requires a special type of person who has extreme patience among other qualities. We have been preparing for one of our meetings in pulling together all of the handouts for attendees. These materials would go inside a folder and the information was coming from all different sources. No problem...

As soon as we received an item, it automatically was placed in a folder for production. By keeping items in one place it helps to make sure it actually makes the folder. We really were in a groove with our assembling and producing, so much so, we even quickly placed in a last minute, and very long, document. We had all of the copies made in record time; however, not terribly long later, we learned that the document was not ready to distribute and all of them had to be taken out of the folders.

Even in the best of rhythms there is always room for improvisation.

I have to pay for what?

When booking groups at hotels for a meeting or event there is often a lengthy contract review/negotiations process. This is the time where planners and hotel sales managers work out the liability terms. Operating from the standpoint that 'everything is negotiable', different hotels have varying latitudes on what they will and will not allow.

Having been reviewing hotel terms for more than 10 years, it's always a chuckle to see new or otherwise obscure terms arise. There have been countless discussions in the meetings industry about additional charges such as resort fees, golf fees or other miscellaneous charges not really having any meaning other than creating another revenue stream.

I recently saw in an agreement that I would be assessed a "25% late menu charge" if we fail to send our menu choices less than 10 days from the start of our event. That was a new one for me. Yes, it is required to send the hotel your menu choices in a timely fashion. But to be assessed a late fee for it?? I guess times are indeed tough all around.

Given everything is negotiable I did inquire about that particular clause. They really would not budge on it so I did not press the issue. There are always battles to be fought; however, that was not a critical one for this agreement.

Well, gotta run to get started on that menu...