Keeping it simple today -

What incentives are you offering members to keep them coming to your meetings in an uncertain economy where travel costs are increasing?

If your budget is suffering from the economy, it’s most likely the food & beverage that will be cut down first.

Bonnie Wallsh, CMP, CMM, and Sean Curry, executive chef at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, have developed a list of cost-savings food & beverage tips, including…

• Dutch treat networking dinners – attendees join together for dinner according to topics of interest

• Evaluate costs savings of small groups eating in the hotel restaurant rather than a catered function with minimum charges

• Negotiate complimentary reception or refreshments at registration

Read the rest of the cost-saving f&B tips on ConventionPlanit.com and really get the most bang for your buck!

ASAE & The Center’s Annual Meeting & Exposition is just a few weeks away - August 16-19 in sunny San Diego.

Here are a few of the great information sessions you can attend:

-The Annual Meeting as a Measure of Success
-Social Media Marketing
-Knowledge Strategies for Better Meetings
-Assessing the ROI of Meetings Marketing

You can also earn 2.4 certification or 24 re-certification points toward your Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation!

ConventionPlanit.com will be there…will you? Visit us at Booth #1553!

Conference attendees have spoken - on surveys and questionnaires, and even to the media - they are tired of being cold!

USA Today ran a really interesting article discussing why conference rooms tend to be freezing cold, and what people are doing about it…

…It would seem that the logic to turn the AC down before attendees arrive will prevent the room from overheating would work for the reversal…and that in a cold room the heat would blast before attendees arrive and the door opens to let the hot air out.

Does the problem work both ways? Or is being too hot considered so unacceptable that freezing temperatures perceived as the lesser of two evils?

What do YOU think? Do you/will you begin writing temperatures into your contracts?

What’s green and what’s not? Tell us what you think…

…For example, attendees snap up bottled water at conventions because it’s healthy, but it creates plastic waste.

Are strategically placed water coolers with paper cups just as good?

If yesterday’s tech info post tickled your fancy…

…here’s some extra help to get you started:

Watch this short video from MeetingsPodCast.com on how to use Flickr Video for your next meeting or event.

Check out these meeting technology must-haves to make your meetings relevant and appealing to 21st century meeting attendees:

Web 2.0 Tools

• Social networking sites: facilitate networking and disseminate peer-to-peer knowledge.

• Establish a wiki: feature links to conference information & to replay conference speakers, tips on getting more out of the event, conference pictures, and links to conference blogs Wikis allow attendees to post information - so content discussions and networking start before the conference.

PDAs

• Create, send and manage announcements for events and exhibit and speaker information can be downloaded to attendees’ PDAs

• Replace your conference binder with PDA based-information from providers like Near Space and VisionTree

• Use Vindigo City Guide to download information on restaurants, movies, shopping, ATM locations and more

These tips are courtesy of Sue Tinnish of SEAL Inc., a popular facilitator, speaker, teambuilder, and trainer. Sue Tinnish publishes a monthly newsletter, “Tips for Innovative Meetings and Events.” Check out more great tips at www.suetinnish.com.

Cool new feature for planners!

If you need to locate meeting planning services quickly, the new and improved Service Provider search on ConventionPlanit.com is what you’re missing…

Companies providing a wide variety of meeting services are located in easy-to-find categories.

In this area, you can submit an RFP for everything you’ll need to make sure no detail slips through the cracks…from General Service Contractors, to Audio Visual and even Lead Retrieval companies.

Go ahead…search away!

Here’s a fabulous & practical tip for your next overseas meeting: rent local cell phones to save time and energy!

Susan Rosen of In the Event… is the winner of our June Stellar Tip Contest for this tip:

“When traveling outside the US, we’ve found it imperative to rent a local cell phone to keep in contact with the DMC and hotel staff. For internal communications we use our walkie talkies, but hotels do not use them any longer & most hotel staff are using cell phones for communications.

Our guests could find us no matter if we were at our desk or not… well worth the investment.”

For more great tips, visit the Stellar Tip Archive…you can even search by keyword to find the most relevant tips from your peers.

President of the World Marketing Group, Ltd., and ConventionPlanit.com member Jane Schuldt, CITE received the 2008 IMEX Academy Award for the Americas last month in Frankfurt…

…Congratulations!

The awards are designed to recognize the tremendous contributions given by unsung heroes to the meeting industry.

Jane has served as President of SITE (Society of Incentive and Travel Executives) and the SITE Foundation, and works tirelessly to develop younger members of the industry. She is an acclaimed global leader who has given even ConventionPlanit.com valuable advice!

Who is your unsung hero for the industry? What are their contributions?