With capacity still restrained, fuel prices variable, and demand up, the cost of air travel today is among the biggest challenges for planners holding international meetings....More
Whether you are new to the meeting planning profession or you have worked in this dynamic industry for many years, it is important to know that mistakes can and will happen...More
Holding a press event is a tricky thing. It can generate great media coverage and public exposure, but you also run the risk of throwing a and not having...More
Attorney James Goldberg addresses readers' questions about force majeure contract clauses that can protect a meeting from unexpected disasters, such as hurricanes....More
Lynne Schueler has made a habit of booking non-existent properties. It’s a strategy that gets her some fantastic deals—in exchange for taking on some risk and uncertainty....More
Rather than risk the appearance of impropriety or conflict of interest, some planners have made it an unofficial policy not to enroll in meeting rewards programs. Here's why it's time to start taking those points—or leave money on the table...More
How do you move a 5,000-attendee meeting across the country in six weeks? Ask the Healthcare Financial Management Association, which had act fast to save its meeting when the Gaylord Opryland shut down after the historic 2010 floods....More
Here's one: “I wish hoteliers realized I based my decision to book their hotel on the specific space that was shown to me that would be perfect to meet my objectives. Now they are unwilling to confirm that space in the contract.” We've got more from planners and hoteliers....More
Even in the age of an increasing demand for transparency, strategic meetings management, and preferred suppliers, where RFPs are submitted online into a nameless, faceless centralized database, there is still room for strong hospitality-meeting planner relationships. It just takes a little more work....More
We tapped two prominent industry lawyers—Stephen Barth, founder of MeetingLawyer.com, and Tyra W. Hilliard, Esq., consultant, speaker, and trainer—to find out which meeting contract clauses put companies at the most risk...More
Negotiating is part science and part art. In meetings, things are going to change, and change quickly. It's important to understand the need to be flexible...More
