During MeetingsNet’s Risk360 conference, presenter Tyra Warner (Hilliard), Esq., CMP, urged meeting planners to think like a lawyer when choosing a meeting venue and destination. She asked, “If you had to justify in court why you chose a particular venue, what would you say?”
Warner recommends checking crime statistics for an area using CrimeMapping or a similar website, even if you have previously held a meeting there. She also suggests treating repeat venues like new ones each time you visit and being thorough with due diligence because personnel and procedures can change, safety equipment can become out of date, and threat levels for the area may be upgraded.
Fortunately for planners, according to this new report from Safewise, some of the safest cities in America are also meeting destinations. In fact, the report’s top 10 safest cities all have convention centers, and most of them have invested heavily in meeting space and hotels:
