Plan Your Meetings

Win Big by Sharing Your Successes

Nik — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:30:54 +0000

Everything we do at Plan Your Meetings is designed to help you plan better meetings and events. It is with the support of our partners that we are able to. We'd like to know if you are booking business with our partners, and if your experience with them was a pleasant one, because it is with their support that we are able to offer you high-quality educational events and free resources. Every time you fill out this form, letting us know which PYM partner you've booked business with, we will enter your name into a drawing for some very cool prizes.

The state of the industry: trends and tactics

Kristi Casey Sanders — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:50:03 +0000

The key to success in our current industry seems to hinge on one word: flexibility. We see the U.S. financial market sitting on a seesaw with the global economy, creating ups and downs that require balance and tenacity. With one tip, the meeting professional can teeter, but a strong hold on creative solutions will level [...]

Planners to suppliers: ‘This is how to win our business’

Kristi Casey Sanders — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:03:58 +0000

Advice to suppliers: Bone up on your customer service. That was the No. 1 message planners had for sales reps hungry for business. Plan Your Meetings conducted an informal “state of the industry” roundtable with 20 Atlanta-based corporate, government, association and independent planners who attended its PYM LIVE Event in Birmingham. They talked about current industry [...]

Things that make you go ‘duh’

Kristi Casey Sanders — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:48:09 +0000

Have you seen this stupid article? In case you missed it, let me paraphrase it for you: “This just in: We’ve been in a recession since December 2007!”

LIVE 2009 Phoenix/Scottsdale

whitney — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:17:04 +0000

February 17, 2009

10:30 am to 2:00 pm.

An EXTRA-ordinary invitation … Are you tired of boring, stuffy meetings and trade shows? We know how you feel. That’s why Plan Your Meetings developed an intimate, fun way to pack education and everything meetings into a brief format that lets you research vendors, network with your peers and gain CEU credits in just a few [...]

Names in the news: December 2008

ashley.brazzel — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:05:19 +0000

International Clayton C. Daley Jr. joined the Board of Directors for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. Matthew E. Avril was named President of Starwood’s Hotel Group. Eric Danziger became CEO of Wyndham Hotel Group. Samir Wildemann was named general manager of the Radisson Hotel Bangkok Sathorn. Steven Rudnitsky was named president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Dolce Hotels [...]

Destination news: December 2008

ashley.brazzel — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:59:30 +0000

A roundup of hotel openings, new developments and other amenities now available to meeting and event planners, both domestically and internationally.

High-tech conversation starter

Taylor Dahl — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:53:41 +0000

ResponseWare Web by Turning Technologies LLC is a Web-based polling system that allows attendees to actively participate in meetings via cell phones, smartphones and laptops with an Internet connection. The technology allows team members in multiple locations to give instantaneous feedback to speakers giving PowerPoint presentations.

How to cancel meetings with diplomacy and tact

ashley.brazzel — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:17:41 +0000

Meetings and event cancellations may be inevitable, but burned bridges don’t have to be. Though not exactly an art or science, there are right and wrong ways to call off a booking. And handling the situation with diplomacy and tact can often make things easier for every party involved. The best way to ensure things go [...]

Green meetings step No. 2: Educate clients and attendees

Kristi Casey Sanders — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:16:53 +0000

In my last column, we discussed different ways and benefits of obtaining a commitment to meeting green from association and company executives. This commitment is a necessary first step in order to get the support that is often needed to incorporate change into the way your meetings are planned. Once this is established by executives [...]

Holiday catering tips: December 2008 Morsel

Kristi Casey Sanders — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:40:35 +0000

This holiday season, we are all getting slammed by the recession, so I would like to give you some ideas on how to save some money on catering, whether you are doing a family or office gathering. I wanted to present some options you may not have considered before. If some of these ideas seem “small [...]

Happy median

Kristi Casey Sanders — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:36:08 +0000

Have company representatives or attendees in multiple locations and a directive to find the best place to meet in the middle? Take a look at Happy Median. Enter up to four different addresses within a 250-mile radius, and the search engine will tell you the 10 best towns to meet in. The program also can [...]

Combination of creativity, innovation helping Florida bounce back

Kristi Casey Sanders — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:14:44 +0000

For months now, hotels and convention and visitors bureaus (CVB) have been scratching their heads over the increase in canceled meeting business and scrambling to find new ways to attract groups. At Florida Encounter, hotel and CVB representatives held a roundtable to discuss what they were doing to maintain or grow business. “Our goal is to [...]

Hotels offer incentives to entice group business, ease economic woes

Kristi Casey Sanders — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:55:18 +0000

While many corporations brace for recession, hotels across the country are offering what appears to be a bright spot in a drab economy. By offering customizable event and meeting packages, hoteliers are attracting new and repeat business with an assortment of incentives, such as 20-50 percent off room rates, discounted audio/visual fees, complimentary guest rooms [...]

Global event planners weigh in on trends, give tips

Kristi Casey Sanders — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:41:57 +0000

The number of overseas meetings staged by North American planners plummeted this year. But according to IMEX’s International MICE (meetings, incentives, convention and exhibition) Outlook for North America study, those same planners insist demand for overseas destinations will increase as corporate clientele and association membership become more global. The study surveyed 110 mostly American association planners; [...]

Citywide virtual tours

Kristi Casey Sanders — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 01:35:29 +0000

The high cost of travel has made virtual tours a hot resource for meeting and event planners. But if you want to see more than one property in a destination, check out EveryScape. The Web site offers virtual tours of hotels, restaurants and attractions in cities from Keystone, Colo., to Krakow, Poland. Visitors can cross-reference [...]

Emergent technologies for meeting professionals

Kristi Casey Sanders — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:03:50 +0000

At the PYM LIVE Atlanta Event at Retreat of Dunwoody, Dr. James Hogg spoke about “Emergent Technologies for Meeting Professionals.” His goal was to blow our minds, and he did. We have received an avalanche of requests from attendees and those unable to attend to share the educational content, so here are some audio of his [...]