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!

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?

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!

Question of the Week…

Are current hotel ratings systems outdated? Some of the new avant-garde properties and chains offer décor and style that may not match traditional ratings (like 4 or 5 AAA Diamond/Mobil Star), yet they are clearly high-end properties.

What do today’s travelers want from hotels? Send us the top 3 things you want from your hotel. Also tell us what’s not important.

Do you really care about the bed ruffle and someone knocking on your door at 9 p.m. for “turndown service?”

Here’s some news that’s good to know -

New event management courses are now available at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA).

Meeting classes have been added to the Hospitality Management Program, which already includes courses on hotel management. Faculty members are active industry professionals.

Available Courses:

• Introduction to Meeting Planning
• Principles of Event Planning & Management
• Meeting & Exhibition Law & Ethics
• Federal Government Event Planning Strategies

Check out the full article on NOVA’s newest industry classes to learn more.

Just a weeks ago, Indianapolis’ newest hotel - the Renaissance Indianapolis North Hotel - officially opened…

Hotel Highlights:

- Local community feel and flavor: located near the Arts and Design District

- 263 guest rooms & 4 executive suites: 32″ LCD HD TV’s, wireless internet, iPod jacks standard

- 15,000 sq ft of meeting space: use the Plum Perfect event planning program for the smoothest-run meeting

Check out the ConventionPlanit.com Newest Members page for a list of our most recent members and newest hotel openings.

What’s eating away at you? Have you seen something on the news that you want to blog about?

Here’s your chance - tell us what issues you want to discuss!

Our blog is an open forum for discussion, so let’s get some provocative ideas and conversations flowing!