OK, so every meeting planner hears complaints—why not do something fun with them, like turn them into entertainment? Want some inspiration? Check out this video of the Helsinki Complaints Choir:
If you don't want to fan the fires of anyone ticked off about something they don't like about the meeting, why not have some fun with the frustrations of the profession the meeting's for, or even the hassle of travel, and have someone sing it to a known tune. You could even ask the audience to do a singalong and project the words on a screen, if it's that kind of crowd. Sometimes, just voicing frustration goes a long way toward alleviating it. Plus it would just be hilarious. Can you imagine if MPI or PCMA collected all the complaints planners get regularly, especially the truly ridiculous ones, then did this in an opening session? I bet it would be a smash hit.