Meeting News - March 10, 2008 - (Page 75)

Live from the Forum @ MeetingNews.com TOPIC: Implementing reusable water bottles at meetings am planning my first meeting where I will not be offering bottles of water to attendees. Instead, I am giving everyone a polycarbonate bottle, as a gift; they can ﬁll it throughout the meeting. I am wondering if anyone has tried this and what success or challenges you have had. I Trisha Pollock, Meeting Manager Paciﬁc Life, Newport Beach, CA We have been serving water in large containers for the past several years. We either use glasses or sponsored bottles or ask attendees to bring their own. We have received great feedback from our attendees and relatively little push back. We have saved a huge amount of money for our conferences. Tip: Reﬁllable bottles are a wonderful sponsorship opportunity! Nancy Wilson, Principal Meeting Strategies Worldwide, Portland, OR I’d like to offer these suggestions: Offer some way for attendees to put their names on bottles. I was at a meeting where everyone put their bottles on a table and some got mixed up. Once that happened, no one wanted to use them again. Do you have a burning question to ask your peers? Log on to the MeetingNews Forum to get answers fast. meetingnews.com/forum Make sure the water offered tastes good. Most people still prefer ﬁltered water, so use a local supplier that can provide the five-gallon bottles of ﬁltered water. There are many cities where the tap water tastes horrible. Joel Pyser, President and Chief Operating Ofﬁcer Inn Fluent, Ashburn, VA Given that there are some studies that indicate a possible leaching of [carcinogens] from polycarbonate bottles—you might consider using another type of container if you can afford it. Bottles made of glass, stainless steel, and even [corn-based polymer] are some options. Denise Suttle, Assistant Director of Convention Services Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau, Albuquerque, NM TOPIC: Pre-cons for multi-site event C an anyone tell me the best way to handle a pre-con for a program that is being split between a convention center and a large hotel? Should we hold one pre-con or two? What has worked best for you? Lesley Coussis, Meetings and Fellowships Manager American Orthopaedic Association, Rosemont, IL I have found one meeting and then a breakout, to go through speciﬁcs with each property, works really well. The group meeting puts everyone on the same page and ensures both properties have an understanding of the big picture. They are used to this style if they are next to each other. Sue Fern, Owner Event Pro-SSSS, Palm Harbor, FL Several years ago, I did a bunch of events for a NATO Summit in Toronto with many planners, venues, and suppliers. My responsibility was anything to do with F&B. I had about six venues, including the convention center. I set up shop in a room at the convention center and did all my pre-cons there. I had each venue come to me. It just made the most sense instead of running from place to place. Sandy Biback, Owner Imagination+ Meeting Planners, Toronto I subscribe to the “make sure the left hand knows what the right is doing” theory. As such, my pre-cons involve as many “partners” and “worker bees” as humanly possible. Everyone shares in the big picture, and then we break out, matching members of my team with the corresponding member(s) of the vendor team(s). I feel when everyone is in the loop and hears the goals and objectives of the client, from one source and at the same time, there is much more buy-in. People understand how the actions in one sector of the event may affect everything else. I perceive less “not my job” attitude. The process helps avoid misunderstandings, as each speciﬁc vendor/department/manager gives witness to the stated expectations of the whole. I wouldn’t operate any other way. Marianne McNulty, Owner Clever Concierge, Sugar Grove, IL Keep in mind: If you are working with a CVB, your services manager can assist in making all of the appointment times for you. Cecilia Padilla-Quillen, Director of Convention Services, Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau, Albuquerque, NM I think the idea of one main pre-con and then sub-pre-cons is a good one. I just worked a program in San Francisco that included two hotels and the Moscone Center. I had four pre-cons in one day—one for each hotel, one for Moscone, and one with the DMC, for transportation. (I was the transportation lead for 2,500 people.) Although there were important things discussed in each pre-con, I kind of felt it was a lost day. I do feel it is very important to have face-to-face meetings with the key staff—on both the planner/staff side and the vendor side, so everyone can come together as a team. Carole Rosenblat Independent Travel Director/Tour Manager, Gilbert, AZ MEETING NEWS (ISSN 0145-630X, USPS No.356-010, March 10 2008, Vol. 32, No. 5 is published semi-monthly except for August, which is monthly, by Nielsen Business Media, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-9595, tel. 646654-5000. Subscriptions are offered free of charge to individuals actively engaged in planning meetings or conventions in the U.S. and Canada. The cost of a subscription to non-qualiﬁed subscribers is $79 in the U.S. and $95 in Canada (Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40031729). The cost of a foreign subscription, payable in U.S. dollars, is $195. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing ofﬁces. MeetingNews is a trademark owned exclusively by Nielsen Business Media. Copyright © 2008 by Nielsen Business Media Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this magazine, in whole or in part, is prohibited unless authorized by the publisher. For address changes (please include mailing label), single copy sales ($10 per issue including shipping and handling, prepayment required), subscription information, and other customer service inquiries, write to MEETING NEWS, P.O. Box 1189, Skokie, IL 60076-8189 or call 847-763-9050. Printed in the USA. POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to MEETING NEWS, P.O. Box 1189, Skokie, IL 60076-8189. www.meetingnews.com March 10, 2008 MeetingNews 75 http://www.meetingnews.com/forum http://www.meetingnews.com/forum http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - March 10, 2008

Meeting News - March 10, 2008
Contents
What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com
Advertisers Index
MN Webcast Report
Successful Meetings University
Live from the Forum
PASSPORT: Guide to Int'l Marketplace

Meeting News - March 10, 2008