By Kristi Casey Sanders
“We have the second most wasteful industry (behind the construction industry),” said Lindsay Smith, the sustainability program administrator for the Colorado Convention Center. “Therefore, we can make a big impact with little change.”
Some of the baby steps meeting professionals can take towards sustainability include: converting to digital rather than paper-based communications for invitations, registration, handouts and surveys; replacing bottled water with water-filling stations and reusable cups …
By Monica Compton, CMP
They are behind the scenes orchestrating a variety of activities. They also are centerstage answering questions and coordinating important functions. They listen to their customer’s needs and create memorable experiences.
If this sounds like the role of a meeting planner, you’re almost right. It’s actually the profile of a hotel concierge, the underutilized resource every meeting planner should get to know…
By J. Harry Feldman
Organizing a major home makeover and expansion is an unusual project for a veteran meeting/event planner to take on. But for Cher Przelomski, president and CEO of Wilmington, Delaware’s Planning Factory International (PFI), The Pedro Project was something her company had to do.
“We never intended for the project to take the course it did,” Przelomski says. “Our goal was to get ABC-TV’s ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ to take it on. When that didn’t happen … with our skills and experience in planning, coordinating and executing, we knew it was the right thing for us to do, even though we had never tackled anything quite like this.”
What planners need to know when hotels are renovated or change brands
Recently, while coordinating a meeting in Palm Springs, Calif., I became concerned when my breakfast set-up was not complete 15 minutes before guests were due. “We still have some kinks to work out due to the management change,” the hotel salesperson informed me. The hotel had recently changed brands and management companies, which was reflected in the service for this particular function. Ultimately, the hotel provided seamless service, and the guests did not notice anything amiss.
In many cases, though, a change in hotel brands or management companies can present challenges for planners.
Welcome to Virtualis, the world’s largest virtual convention and learning center, created by more than 200 people based around the world, under the guidance of Dan Parks, president and creative director of Corporate Planners Unlimited Inc., a California-based meeting, event and corporate travel planning company.
Teamwork continues to be a crucial element in the success of an organization. Yet, many team-building events have been given the label of “just fun and games,” and its value fades in a couple of days. This does not have to be the case.
Meeting planners got a crash course in corporate social responsibility, the power of un-conferences and emerging meeting technologies at last month’s Meeting Professionals International Professional Education Conference – North America (MPI PEC-NA). “Meet Different” was the theme; and the conference’s planners rose to the challenge.
