Jan 14
maureen-pickellTrade Shows hybrid meetings, meeting industry, pcma, social media
Well, another PCMA Convening Leaders comes to a close, and your “always ready to learn” ConventionPlanit.com blogger has departed with a whole new vocabulary.
Now augmenting the standard vernacular such as City-wide meetings, Conference Education, Face-to-face, Tradeshow Trends, Talking Heads and Moderating Panels are terms such as 365 Community Sites, Collaborative Learning, Co-Location, Deconstructed Meetings, Virtual Environments, 3D Immersive Platforms and Hybrid Events.
Thank you PCMA for following through on your commitment to continually provide educational opportunities in a variety of interactive and innovative ways!
As any good blogger does, I’ve been reading some of the other Online Conversation around Convening Leaders. I thought that a posting by Jeff Hurt summed up the spirit of this year’s meeting – which added its first Virtual Environment to the standard face-to-face format:
“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, except when…It is live-streamed, tweeted, flipped, tagged or posted as a status update.”
See you all next year in San Diego!
Jan 12
maureen-pickellTrade Shows meeting experiences, meeting industry, pcma
Well gang, how did we do with yesterday’s quiz? Here are the answers:
| The event industry is the 2nd highest generator of waste today. |
Using Technology for Green Events |
| Women now outnumber men in the workplace for the first time in history. |
Opening General Session: Tightrope to the Top; Learning the Language of Success |
| Over 40 countries are in attendance at the PCMA “Convening Leaders” Conference. |
Opening Session: Configuration of PCMA Meeting Attendees |
| Six factors that a local partner can help contribute to a successful global conference: political, reach, scientific, legacy, emotional, and financial. |
Global Meetings: The Benefits of Working with a PCO |
—
Your intrepid Blogger is getting a big dizzy dodging the slot machines set up in all the Vegas hotel lobbies…yesterday’s events had me running the “gambling gauntlet” between the MGM Grand, the Bellagio and the Venetian Palazzo (all CP.com members).
It began with a General Session that awakened the audience by introducing Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com. Tony’s riveting presentation focused on the customer experience that has made his company a successful distributor of shoes, clothing and happiness. Zappo’s is so customer focused that one service call (that’s right…the customer actually got a live person on the phone!) lasted 8 hours and 23 minutes.
The next session showcased a panel of hotel, airline and meeting planner experts giving examples of how to overcome market constraints for meeting success in a still weakened economy.
Some great ideas were shared with the audience – with Christie Hicks from Starwood Hotels Worldwide mimiking the airlines as she joked about unbundling the hotel experience by providing the bed at a low price, but charging extra for the sheets!
A delicious lunch was sponsored by ConventionPanit.com member – the Mexico Tourism Board – and dessert was
accompanied by a panel discussion by top industry leaders on 2011 Srategies and Vision. While these experts from PCMA, MPI, ASAE, USTA and Maritz gave us insights into where the future of meetings is heading over the course of next year…they were almost upstaged by a group of 6 students in the fields of hospitality, events and tourism who spoke in the next session – Generation Y Looks to the Future.
This panel of bright, articulate and enthusiastic aspiring professionals will be using technology to plan and extend the life of their events – but will insist on face to face meetings as a more beneficial way to learn and network.
Here is a note to our supplier members…Gen Y will not be responding to standard advertising, but instead will go online to do their business when the time is right. So you are using the best vehicle available (online advertising) to approach this market!
Then it was off to The Bellagio for the International Reception sponsored by Tourism Ireland. If it’s one thing the Irish know how to do it’s combine the elements of business and enjoyment that gave planners more than a hint of what staging an event in Ireland would be like!
Finally, the day ended with a Networking reception at the Venetian Palazzo Resort Hotel & Casino. Held outside on the pool deck, attendees braved chilly weather (no dry heat in Vegas in January!) to sample culinary delights and unique entertainment.
The pool deck!
Today “PCMA Convening Leaders” merges with the “Virtual Edge Summit”…more to come then!
Jan 11
maureen-pickellTrade Shows attendee interaction, economy, meeting education, meeting industry, pcma
After being treated to a rousing Four Seasons “Jersey Boys” medley at 8:30 am (a bit early to deal with “Big Girls Don’t Cry” in a piercing falsetto – but fun anyway!) the day began with the strategic plan for PCMA 2011 and awards.
Some insider information to share with ConventionPlanit.com followers: the most recent Economic Impact Study of our industry will be released by mid-February and word is that the results are very positive.
According to Deborah Sexton, President and CEO of PCMA, we’ve moved from “cautiously optimistic” to “optimistic” with more meetings being booked in a “reset” environment. No more business as usual…but business will continue to improve.
The first full day was packed with sessions that were varied and insightful…beginning with the general session and moving through the myriad of educational break-outs.
Let’s have some fun and play a matching game!
The left column contains quotes from several sessions…match them up to the session titles in the second column. (Answers will appear in my next blog post.)
| Session Quotes |
Session Titles |
| The event industry is the 2nd highest generator of waste today. |
Opening General Session: Tightrope to the Top; Learning the Language of Success |
| Women now outnumber men in the workplace for the first time in history. |
Using Technology for Green Events |
| Over 40 countries are in attendance at the PCMA “Convening Leaders” Conference. |
Global Meetings: The Benefits of Working with a PCO |
| Six factors that a local partner can help contribute to a successful global conference: political, reach, scientific, legacy, emotional, and financial. |
Opening Session: Configuration of PCMA Meeting Attendees |
—————
PCMA will move forward as an industry vanguard by mingling face-to face and virtual to create the hybrid experience necessary to stay ahead of the curve.
By soliciting the input of New Professionals, expanding the International Membership and encouraging student involvement, the organization is concentrating on their member centric strategic plan.
Add on the recent partnership with the Virtual Edge Institute and we see that PCMA is not content to sit on its laurels…
…the organization is ready to help take its membership into the next era of meeting management.
Getting ready for tomorrow and more “serious business” of meetings. And in Las Vegas…who knew??
Jan 10
maureen-pickellTrade Shows meeting education, meeting industry, pcma, upcoming meetings industry events
The ConventionPlanit.com Blog comes to you today from Las Vegas!
I have taken off again to represent the site and mingle with our planner and supplier partners at the 55th PCMA 2011 Annual Meeting “Convening Leaders.”
The conference opened in Las Vegas this weekend with organization members giving back to the city. Several Las Vegas based charities benefited from the hard work, talents, donations and fundraising efforts of convention participants. The event showed all that there are worthwhile reasons to part with your time and money in Vegas…outside of the casinos!
Attendees also enjoyed the Opening Welcome Reception held in and sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. With a background duel between strobe lights and sequined showgirls, attendees were treated to recreations of the acts that put “Vegas” on the map. Sammy Davis followed Elvis who followed Sinatra who followed…well…you get the idea.
Along with the usual ground breaking on-site education, PCMA is launching a new hybrid component where virtual attendees will be able to access live, complimentary broadcasts of the General Sessions, select Plenary Sessions and Masters Series programs in the new PCMA365 virtual environment. If you are new to PCMA365, register here to participate!
Are you in Las Vegas for the conference? Respond to this post if you would like to see your blogger in person!
Jan 05
Ashley ChalmersTips for Meeting Planners meeting industry, meeting planner feedback, meeting trends, Tips for Meeting Planners
As the New Year greets us (and we’re glad it’s here!), now is the time to review what’s hot and what’s not for 2011 in the meetings industry.
Take a look at these insights from the ConventionPlanit.com Meeting Planner Advisory Council and the ConventionPlanit.com staff:
What’s Hot and What’s Not in your world? Comment on this post to add to the list!
| What’s Hot |
What’s Not |
| Creating a Prezi |
PowerPoint presentations |
| Conference phone apps |
Conference program books |
| Personal URL marketing |
Unpersonalized mass marketing |
| Doing meeting surveys with wufoo.com |
Collecting survey data in Word documents |
| Hotel rooftop vegetable gardens |
Imported produce |
| New underwear so you look good in the airport scanner |
Easy passage through airport security |
| Walkable cities |
Bussing attendees around town |
| Social media comments on meeting sites |
Hotel rating systems |
| Hybrid meetings with a virtual component |
In-person-only meetings |
| Water stations |
Water bottles |
| Edutainment |
Boring speakers behind a lectern |
| Custom meeting apps |
Reinventing the wheel |
| Smart phone audience response technology |
Counting raised hands |
| Teleworking and temporary staffing |
Bloated staffers and long commutes |
| Packing smart |
Baggage fees |
| Online search directories with complete transparency |
Search directories with hidden fees and mark-ups |
| The chocolate you will eat this year |
The chocolate you ate last year |
Sep 16
maureen-pickellTips for Meeting Planners meeting industry, MPI, technology, virtual meetings
ConventionPlanit.com’s Maureen Pickell – blogging from her home State for a change!
We’ve all heard the popular cliché “thinking outside the box” – but Bruce MacMillan, President and CEO of MPI has come up with a new one – “thinking outside the room.”
This was the topic of his talk at the Rocky Mountain MPT Chapter meeting Tuesday in Littleton, CO. (BTW – did you know that the Rocky MT. was the very first MPI chapter? That mountain air inspires creativity!)
Thinking past a room full of meeting attendees is the next shift in professional perspective for the global meetings industry. Embracing technology will move our business from Hospitality to Performance…and the greatest opportunity for attendance growth is engaging the virtual audience.
To prove his point about the importance of portable communication devices – there were no instructions to “turn off your phones.” And wouldn’t you know…no phones rang during his talk.
Sep 09
Ashley ChalmersTips for Meeting Planners, Trade Shows hsmai affordable meeting, meeting education, meeting industry
It’s day 2 of HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings National and the usual ConventionPlanit.com crew is busy learning lots of new information and showing the website to meeting planners!
Be sure to check back tomorrow – I’ll be sharing some of the great information from the education sessions, including how to measure ROI, how to market meetings and events, and an in-depth look at where the industry is headed.
Here are some pictures from the tradeshow floor of the CP gang!
Co-Founders Katherine & David Markham giving website tours…
Frequent guest-blogger and traveler extraordinare Maureen Pickell & David…
…Maureen & me hanging out at the booth
Aug 31
Ashley ChalmersNews, Places to Stay economy, hotels, meeting industry, per diem rates
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?
Aug 25
maureen-pickellTrade Shows ASAE & the Center, attendee interaction, meeting industry, Tips for Meeting Planners, Trade Shows
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!”
Aug 24
maureen-pickellTrade Shows ASAE & the Center, economy, meeting industry
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…
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