2011 Per Diem Rates Announced

Aug 31

Ashley SpitzerNews, Places to Stay economy, hotels, meeting industry, per diem rates No Comments

The new fiscal year per diem rates were announced yesterday by the General Services Administration (GSA):

Rates Start: October 1, 2010
Rates End: September 30, 2011

The standard Continental United States (CONUS) per diem rate increased to $77 per night.

GSA reported the average daily rate (ADR) for hotel rooms is down 5.73% from fiscal year 2010.

There are several non-standard area lodging rate changes that have been reduced, making them more affordable to visit:

• New York City (Manhattan) fall high season: reduced to $269 from FY2010 $340
• Colorado Springs: reduced to $84 from FY2010 $88
• Las Vegas: three seasons reduced to one, rates down from FY2010 high of $118 to $93
• Miami, Fla., for the Miami-Dade area mid-season: down to $151 from FY2010 $152
• Chicago, Ill., early summer area high season: reduced to $166 from FY2010 $211
• Charleston, SC: down to $132 from FY2010 $142
• Los Angeles, Calif.: reduced to $123 from FY10 $135
• Kansas City, Mo: down to $99 from FY2010 $107
• Cincinnati, Ohio: unchanged from FY2010 at $115
• Seattle, Wash: reduced to $139 from FY2010 $159

How these rate changes affect your planning this fall?

Final Day – ASAE Annual

Aug 25

maureen-pickellTrade Shows ASAE & the Center, attendee interaction, meeting industry, Tips for Meeting Planners, Trade Shows No Comments

The ConventionPlanit.com dynamic duo, Julie and mysef, attended a session entitled “What is the Future of tradeshows?” and learned a lot about charting the course for a new business model.

Instead of “re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” (as one supplier succinctly put it) we should be polling association members, staffers, meeting planners and exhibitors all to come up with a trade show that lives up to everyone’s expectations…as well as providing ROI.

The night ended with Cindy Lauper…talk about a “Grand Finale!”

Monday at ASAE Annual 2010

Aug 24

maureen-pickellTrade Shows ASAE & the Center, economy, meeting industry No Comments

Second day of the ASAE Expo.

Haven’t seen any celebrities..unless you count the famous meeting planners who have stopped by the ConventionPlanit.com booth to view the website.

General sessions have been very creative with yesterday’s offering attendees a special screening of their very own sitcom…”Guilt By Association.”  Humor abounded in a storyline that followed the trials and tribulations of association execs. studying for a CAE exam. As you can imagine, this is a topic that can be mined for lots of laughs:)

There are always quotes galore at a state of the industry breakout session…my favorite so far is this bit of enlightment:

“We have data indicating that things could turn around – provided they don’t get worse.”

See you tomorrow…

ASAE Annual 2010 – Opening Weekend Recap

Aug 23

maureen-pickellTrade Shows ASAE & the Center, Event Industry Networking, meeting experiences No Comments

Los Angeles provided a warm welcome for delegates attending the ASAE  the Center for Association Leadership’s Annual Meeting & Exposition…84 degrees and sun for Saturday and a perfect evening for the outdoor opening reception at  L.A. Live. If you weren’t impressed by the delicious food prepared by Wolfgang Puck, the exuberant concert by Melissa Etheridge should have “rocked your socks off!”

Yesterday, I was accompanied by ConventionPlanit.com’s Julie on the trade show floor.  We shared the floor with supplier partners such as the Anchorage CVB, the Mexican Tourism Board, the Detroit and Memphis CVBs and American, Continental and Delta Airlines among others. With extended hours and one fewer day for the Expo, planners and suppliers were making the most of this opportunity to connect.

More information to come as the expo continues!

Ten Tips to Increase RFP Response Time

Aug 17

Ashley SpitzerRFP, Tips for Meeting Planners meeting planning services, RFP, rfp valet 1 Comment

Frustrated by slow response time to your meeting RFPs? Wish you didn’t have to keep calling to find out whether a property is going to respond?

It’s not that hotels don’t want your business – they do! They want to make sure they respond quickly to potential buyers, but they are often inundated with incomplete RFPs that need to be qualified, or RFPs get buried in their systems.

Meeting professionals can help themselves by following these 10 tips to increase RFP response time:

1. Do some homework and narrow your search to a short list of qualified properties.

2. Include a reasonable range of preferred dates and be clear about which dates are the first, second, or third choices.

3. Provide complete information about the number of rooms, number of attendees, overall meeting requirements, etc.

4. Send a verified room block history so the property can see a strong track record for the meeting.

5. Create a deadline for the response and a realistic time frame for the decision.

6. RFPs are taken more seriously if you avoid looking as if you’re fishing around for rates.

7. Provide rate thresholds for rooms and information on how the rooms will be fulfilled and paid.

8. Indicate how the decision will be made, including the steps properties can anticipate in the process.

9. Call the hotel sales department to ask about the status. Properties interested in landing business should have procedures in place to respond quickly to phone requests, especially if a planner is following up on a previous communication.

10. Consider using an online search directory to distribute the RFP and ensure that properties respond. ConventionPlanit.com offers an RFP Valet® service and guarantees that properties will respond within 24 hours to say whether they will send a proposal and when the proposal can be expected.

ConventionPlanit.com Principals and Co-Founders Katherine Markham, CHME, and David Markham also authored a column on this issue entitled “RFP Response Malfunction” that appears on MeetingsNet at http://meetingsnet.com/technology/hotels-respond-request-0810/. The column also appears in the August 2010 issue of Association Meetings, to be available onsite at the ASAE Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, California, August 21-24, 2010.

ConventionPlanit.com will also be available at the ASAE Annual Meeting in Booth #941 to provide more information and answer questions about the RFP Valet® service and other RFP distribution options.

This Summer, Corks Fly Free

Aug 11

Ashley SpitzerMember News, Places to Stay guest-friendly hotel tips, hotels, Kimpton, unique activities No Comments

Here’s a fun summertime offer from our good friends at Kimpton:

Get uncorked at Kimpton Restaurants and byow (bring your own wine)!

There’s no doubt that you’re stashing some stellar bottles of wine at home. So now through Labor Day, feel free to bring a bottle of wine, or two, to share with friends at any Kimpton Restaurant. Corkage is complimentary all summer long.

Learn more about planing a meeting at a Kimpton hotel or restaurant.

Stretch Your Budget by Saving on Airfare

Aug 03

Ashley SpitzerTips for Meeting Planners air travel, economy, meeting ideas No Comments

While some airlines have dropped out of the meetings business, others haven’t. Those that remain – including American, Delta, and Continental – each have special offers.

Become familiar with these group programs, which can save a significant portion of your budget:

American Airlines
Groups of 10 or more traveling to the same destination can take advantage of special discounts. If travel dates are confirmed, the airline can guarantee a fare up to 11 months in advance, block the space, assign seats, and delay ticketing requirements. American also guarantees competitive fares from different geographic originations to one destination.

American Airlines destinations include more than 250 cities in 40 countries where American, American Eagle® and AmericanConnection® fly across the country and around the globe. The airline is also a member of the oneworld® Global Alliance and can arrange group travel discounts to more than 700 destinations in the oneworld network.

Groups can also receive reduced rates for Avis® car rentals. Click here for more information.

Delta Air Lines
Through its Delta Meeting Network®, this airline offers discounts off published fares and competitive Zone Fares for groups of 10 or more on all Delta, KLM/AirFrance and Alitalia “Delta coded flights”, Delta Connection Carriers and “Delta coded” code-share partners AT/OK/UH. Discount rates can be used three days before/after a meeting for events in the United States and Canada and up to seven days before/after a meeting in all other countries.

Discounts can be based on single events or multi-meeting agreements. Delta also awards one free ticket for every 40 tickets purchased. Zone Fares offer flexible rules and make it simple to manage airline costs.

With its unsurpassed global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 369 destinations in 67 countries on six continents. Click here for more information.

Continental Airlines

Continental’s GroupWorks program offers special benefits for groups of 10 or more passengers traveling together. GroupWorks provides a flat rate for the group, priority check-in, priority boarding, and priority baggage service.

Continental’s MeetingWorks program offers special discounts to attendees of conferences, meetings, or events with 20 or more passengers traveling from multiple origins to one destination. MeetingWorks provides percentage discounts off airfares and credits redeemable for travel certificates, upgrades, and more.

Continental Airlines is the world’s fifth largest airline. Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 2,600 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 132 domestic and 137 international destinations. Continental is a member of Star Alliance, which overall offers more than 21,200 daily flights to 1,172 airports in 181 countries through its 28 member airlines. With more than 40,000 employees, Continental has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and together with its regional partners, carries approximately 63 million passengers per year.

Continental consistently earns awards and critical acclaim for both its operation and its corporate culture. For nine consecutive years, FORTUNE magazine has ranked Continental as the top U.S. airline on its “World’s Most Admired Companies” airline industry list. For more information, click here.

IMEX Posts Show Seminars & Webcasts Online

Jul 22

Ashley SpitzerTips for Meeting Planners, Trade Shows advisory council, imex, meeting ideas, overseas meetings No Comments

If you were unable to travel to Frankfurt in May for IMEX, it’s not too late to beef up your industry knowledge!

Show organizers have made 53 presentations available for free download on the IMEX website, including all of the German language seminars (organized by the German Convention Bureau).

Several presentations are available via webcast, including:

Meet Healthy for Attendees

Jul 15

Ashley SpitzerTips for Meeting Planners attendee interaction, meeting ideas No Comments

There is a lot of talk in the industry about green meetings that are good for the environment. But how about healthy meetings that are good for your attendees?

Many meeting professionals are paying more attention to this area. They recognize that a little exercise is not only healthy for attendees, but also keeps them awake by oxygenating the brain as well as muscles.

Planners shared their best ideas for healthy meetings in the Stellar Tips section of ConventionPlanit.com.

Scott Ludwigsen with Phoenix Marketing International suggests scheduling a walk around the hotel/conference center into meeting breaks. “For those attendees that actually take the walk, reward them by handing out tickets at the far end of the building,” he says.

“Prior to the next health break, draw a ticket for a prize and you will see the number of walkers increase dramatically during each subsequent break. Net effect: people come back from their breaks ready to listen, look, and learn!”

Another exercise incentive suggested by Al Rickard of Association Vision is to have a quick scavenger hunt during breaks that forces people to walk around a certain area.

“Put attendees in teams of three or four so they can meet new people in the process,” he explains. “Give away some small prizes for completing it. Then set up a table with prizes displayed for those who complete the hunt and a big sign that says “Free Prizes.” Prizes can be small gift certificates for local shops, local trinkets, hotel certificates for a free massage at the spa, or a free breakfast.

Alicia Dahill with Oliver Wyman offers this idea for squeezing exercise into meetings: “Hire the hotel’s fitness trainer to come in for the first five minutes of your morning and afternoon break to provide attendees quick stretches and movement with the focus on things attendees can do in their own office. This will help attendees feel more energized and awake during the meeting, and they will appreciate your efforts to incorporate fitness into the meeting.”

Use your imagination to go beyond walking and stretching. For example, the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) & The Center for Association Leadership placed stationary bikes in the main gathering area during its Annual Meeting in San Diego two years ago. Rickard also suggests making large exercise balls available.

Meeting attendees, presenters, exhibitors, meeting staff, and others also spend a lot of time standing or walking, especially at large meetings with trade shows.

Eleanor with Symantec Corporation recommends having acupressure foot masseuses on hand.

“Even 10-minute sessions can relieve feet tired of walking long distances to get to and from different meeting rooms, not to mention presenters who stand for hours doing their sessions,” she says. “Foot massages are also good to boost energy.”

There are also other novel approaches to staying healthier by relieving both the physical and mental stress of meetings. Sybil L. Simons with Group Travel Advisors recommends a program called “jokesercise.”

She explains, “’High-Powered Howard,’ a comedian and personal trainer, offers half an hour of exercise punctuated with comedy. Attendees will love it! My groups do.”

Of course, providing healthy alternatives to meeting attendees extends beyond what they can do with their bodies to what they can put in their bodies.

“Keep your attendees hydrated and energized by providing a variety of unique soft drinks such as pomegranate-flavored soda, green apple iced tea, peach iced tea… something different in addition to water and coffee to add an unexpected gourmet twist to your meeting refreshments,” recommends Sharon Naylor with Sharon Naylor Wedding Books.

Kathleen Zwart with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida offers a tip with a double benefit — better health and a cost savings. “For an all-day meeting with lunch and an afternoon break, I hold back the dessert from the luncheon and serve it during the afternoon break,” she says.

“Your attendees aren’t tempted with two sweets in a short timeframe and you save money by not ordering a separate item for the break. You can include something non-sweet also, like fruit, nuts, or popcorn.”

For more advice that can help you in all areas of meeting planning, visit the Stellar Tips section of ConventionPlanit.com.

Summer Meeting Deals for Last Minute Meetings

Jul 07

Ashley SpitzerMember News, Places to Stay hotels, meeting ideas No Comments

Most of us expect to pay top dollar when it’s last minute. Yet, you can find special offers for any season you choose on ConventionPlanit.com — It’s simple!

Hotels and convention centers needing to fill certain timeframes are extending great deals for your meeting – a virtual win-win! Check out some Divine Deal samplings below with special offerings for this summer:

Swissotel Chicago, Illinois