Start with a number in mind. “I’ll contact a few of my favorite speakers bureaus and tell them what I’m looking for, the topic and my price range,” says Becky Burgess, CMP, CMM, senior director of meetings for the National Association of Electrical Distributors, who’s hired thousands of speakers in her more than 30-year career. “I’ll also reach out to other associations and consultants I’ve used in the past for recommendations.” Burgess sets Google Alerts for terms like “American heroes” when searching for inspirational speakers.

Know your budget and speaker-fee price range—$5,000 to $10,000, $10,000 to $20,000, or $25,000 and higher—advises Jeff Hurt, director of education and engagement for Velvet Chainsaw Consulting, the firm that produces the annual Speaker Report. (Hurt has hired thousands of speakers throughout his career, at one point securing 1,300 industry speakers a year.)

Consider celebrities, then consider alternatives. Big names bring buzz, not necessarily crowds. “Just because someone is an actor or author doesn’t mean that they’re a good presenter,” says Hurt. Research conducted by Velvet Chainsaw Consulting last fall provided surprising results on the topic: “A keynote who is a household name—an actor, a musician, politician, or an athlete—has no effect on increasing registration,” reveals Hurt. “That being said, on-site at your conference, a famous person will cause people to show up for that session.”

There are benefits of hiring a celebrity, of course. “It gives you some PR, some hype and something to market,” Hurt says. “Conference attendees who go to see a household name are much more forgiving. A famous person can be an average speaker and the audience will love it.”

Book famous speakers early at a fraction of the cost. Once upon a time, practically no one had heard of Frank Abagnale, the forgery expert whose life inspired the film “Catch Me if You Can.” Today he’s a highly sought-after speaker who books gigs at tens of thousands of dollars a pop. “Work with a bureau in looking at what movies or books will be released right before your conference starts,” says Hurt. “If the movie is [a biopic] about an unknown person, that’s the perfect time to hire said unknown person. Secure them a year out to speak at your conference in a general session.”

Burgess booked Chris Gardner, author of “The Pursuit of Happyness,” just before the movie of the same name was released. “He was around $17,000 when we hired him. After the movie came out his fee jumped to around $79,000.”

Research, check references, interview, then hire. A bad speaker can reflect poorly on the person who hired them. “I’ve had speakers who cursed on stage or told inappropriate jokes,” says Hurt. “The number one question to ask a reference is, ‘Would you hire them again?’ If the answer is ‘no,’ move on. If the reference hem-haws around and won’t give a direct answer, the answer is ‘no.’ If they answer ‘yes,’ do a little more research.”

Look for delivery style, content and visuals. “You can have great delivery on stage and poor content, and the audience will love you,” he says. “You can have poor delivery, great content and the audience will hate you. See a video clip of that speaker in action. Watch shots of the audience responding. If there’s no audience footage, can you hear them laughing with the speaker or clapping?”

Hurt advocates taking a chance on rookie speakers, too. “I may place them in breakouts at first, but I’m always about new partnerships. Many times, speakers who you take a chance on, if they become successful later, will do favors for you because you gave them their start.”

Burgess takes agency recommendations, reviews videos and does phone interviews. “If a speaker’s willing to talk to me beforehand, that shows they’re willing to go the extra mile to learn about us and meet our needs.”

Burgess also includes crucial speaker guidelines in contracts. “They have to read, sign and send it back. It basically says things like, ‘Don’t use company names as negative examples in your stories if members of that company may be in the audience.’ It’s common sense but people still make these mistakes sometimes.”

Set your speaker up for success. Give speakers every possible advantage. “I’ve had a speaker embarrass me to death before, getting up on stage and calling us the ‘electronics’ association,” says Burgess. “After that, I started asking speakers if they would go to a local distributorship where a member can walk them through the facility and tell them about who they’re going to be speaking with.”

Define success. “Give them your audience demographics,” says Hurt. “I would [tell speakers], ‘I’ll consider you successful if you reach an 80 to 90 percent favorable rating with our attendees. If they walk out of the room talking about you, they want to stand in line and buy your book, if they’re enthralled with what you say and they say that it’s relevant—you’re successful.’”

Equally thrilling was the economic boost to Denver and its hotels, restaurants, retailers and attractions—an estimated $21.9 million—that the annual Colorado Crossroads event and its 45,000 attendees brought to town in late February. “It’s not your typical convention, but it’s the most significant annual tournament held in Denver,” says Litherland.

Significant indeed, given the list of Denver’s numerous sports tournaments, from wrestling and lacrosse to youth soccer and inline hockey. “Ten years ago people might have looked down their nose on these types of tournaments, but not anymore,” says Buddy Wheeler, sports marketing coordinator for the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We’ve been actively pursuing these kinds of events for years,” says Wheeler, who coordinates everything from road races to cheerleading in his Atlantic Coast city. “It’s good money and a win-win for everyone.”

Start Smart—and Early

Planners who organize these tournaments for thousands of amateur athletes, their coaches, families, friends and fans, admit it can be daunting—the setup alone for Crossroads’ 90 composite-floor volleyball courts took two full days. Even the first step—selecting a tournament site—isn’t always easy. Finding a city with good access, a workable convention center and an affordable, sizable room block is difficult enough, but that process becomes even more complicated for amateur sports tournament planners who have a list of additional requirements specific to their sports and athletes.
“A big part of this for us is strategic planning,” says Jeff Scully, executive director of the Maine Games and a board member of the National Congress of State Games, which is responsible for arranging the biennial State Games of America. The 2011 national tournament, which included everything from archery and badminton to skateboarding and power lifting, was held last August in San Diego, drawing some 9,100 athletes from more than 40 states. Even in a city known for its convenient downtown airport, bounty of group-friendly venues and a healthy chunk of hotel rooms, the NCSG still faced challenges.

It helped considerably that San Diego, like a growing number of destinations, offers the services of a dedicated sports commission. “Unlike your typical convention, with sports you need a lot of venues of multiple types and you need them all to be available,” says Steve Schell, vice president of sales for the San Diego Sports Commission. “Everyone has baseball and soccer fields, but they’re not just sitting around empty waiting for a big event to come to town. It’s important to line them up early on.” CVBs and sports commissions can save planners time and energy, Schell says, by knowing not just their local venue inventory but which ones can be rented and when. “We added bowling to the 2011 games, which turned out to be very popular,” says Scully. “But we couldn’t have done so if there weren’t a lot of bowling alleys right in San Diego,” he adds, a fact that Schell’s group was aware of in advance.

Finding a bevy of bowling alleys is certainly challenging, but Scully says other less obvious issues face his planning team. “The biggest [challenge] was anticipating three years out what the economy would be like for us and the athletes,” says Scully, citing travel costs (for athletes and their families), access (flying vs. drive-in) and marketing (to draw both fans and participants) as major factors. “We had to overcome those obstacles in that economy in order to have a truly national event,” he says.

Getting in and around Town

When planning the USA Volleyball Boys and Girls Junior National Championships, cities with public transit and plenty of double-room hotels have an edge, says Barbara Eisenbeis, manager of events for the Colorado Springs-based group. “We don’t have a set rotation because it’s difficult for cities to fit us in, due to the time we’re in town and the sheer size of our group,” she says. That means 816 teams of 12 players each, plus their entourage and fans, arriving somewhere in late July for an annual 10-day tournament. “We require 30,000 room nights and up to 350,000 square feet of unobstructed space, and we really appreciate cities that have well-run public transportation,” says Eisenbeis, who counts Atlanta, Denver, Minneapolis and Dallas among tournament sites that score points for their user-friendly rail systems. “It’s not the end-all, but it’s super helpful.”

Denver met almost all of the requirements for the recent Crossroads volleyball tournament, but it still came with a few potential stumbling blocks. For example, while the convention center covered the tournament’s general space needs, the exhibit floor still required extra configurations for fan seating, sponsor displays and product demonstrations. Registration was another potential issue. Each team’s players needed to be strictly verified before the roster information and eventual game scores could be entered into the national database. “It’s a complicated process but imperative for both the fans and the teams so that they can get their proper ranking,” says Kay Rogness, executive director of the Front Range Volleyball Club, which runs the qualifying tournament each year.

Another concern is housing, specifically affordable properties, close to the main event facility, that can accommodate up to four youths per guest room. Proximity to family-friendly restaurants is also a plus. “We had over 50,000 people in Denver for two weekends, and since we don’t have meals inside the convention center, having restaurants amenable to groups nearby was a real bonus,” says Rogness. And for the Crossroads Volleyball event specifically, parking options and crowd control are always scrutinized. “We open our doors at 7 a.m. and it looks like Black Friday at Wal-Mart, with 10,000 people waiting to get inside,” she says. Rogness hired regular Denver police to help direct auto and foot traffic throughout the tournament’s busiest times. On peak tournament days, traffic was extremely heavy but smooth, she adds, as drive-in attendees filled up and emptied out the center’s main parking facility at least three times.

Quirks of the Game

Even after settling on a location and ironing out logistical details, a tournament planner still has to sort through the finer points of what works for their participants and what might need adjusting.

In a typical conference setting, low ceilings, harsh lights and excessive air conditioning might garner some attendee grumbling and a pointed barb or two on Twitter or post-meeting evaluations. At cheerleading (think: human pyramids), badminton (watch the birdie) and table tennis tournaments, though, they could spell disaster. “There are no venues specifically built for table tennis,” says Dave Del Vecchio, national organization director for USA Table Tennis. Even the best convention centers are built for space, not air flow, hence the need for lots of windows and strong, ongoing ventilation. “The ball is really small and light and we’ve had issues where the A/C will cause the ball to get caught in the air flow,” he says.Being able to see the ball, especially from a player’s standpoint, can also prove problematic. “It’s a huge factor in the sport,” says Del Vecchio. “Most convention centers don’t have the kind of lighting designed for sporting events. You can add it, but that adds considerable expense as well.”

Sunlight’s also a no-no, so windows need to be covered. College gymnasiums? “Their seating and lights are designed for basketball, where the ball is much bigger,” he says. The ideal venue? “A well-lit cave,” quips Del Vecchio.

The third time was finally the charm for the Cedar Rapids Area CVB in Iowa bidding on the annual National Horseshoe Pitchers Association World Horseshoe Tournament. “It’s two weeks long and for us the timing—between mid-July and mid-August—was really good,” says the CVB’s director of sports tourism Mary Lee Malmberg, who had first looked into booking the horseshoe pitchers 23 years earlier just after joining the bureau. “They needed an air-conditioned facility where they could build a minimum of 50 horseshoe courts, but we didn’t have the facilities back then,” she says.

For the 2010 tournament, though, Cedar Rapids came to the table well-prepped with ample venues (notably a spiffy new ice rink at Kingston Stadium) and an enthusiastic base of local volunteers. But right before Cedar Rapids was set to bid on the 2010 NHPA in 2008, the city had its worst flood in 500 years. “Everyone had seen us under water just a month earlier, although none of the facilities were impacted, so we knew we had to address this,” says Malmberg, who mixed humor (she arrived for her presentation in a snorkel and fins) with an appeal to the NHPA’s community-service side. “We offered the organization an opportunity to come here and help our local community rebound by stimulating our economy in a time of need,” she says.

Cedar Rapids had two other things the horseshoe group craves: local volunteers and prime soil. “You need really good dirt for the pits and we have plenty of blue clay. It’s the best,” she says. After receiving all the bids, the NHPA awarded Cedar Rapids the event on the first ballot.

To read more about what it takes to plan a tournament, check out A Closer Look with Barbara Eisenbeis.

Why did you start PrimeTime?

I was involved with coaching and traveling to tournaments with my youngest son when he was playing high school basketball. We went to a lot of bad tournaments where the event was not on a level that it should have been. I felt there was a business opportunity to [produce events with] sound business principles such as being customer-service driven, using systems and processes to be efficient and effective, and giving value for price. It was a bit of a quantum leap to go from practicing law to being an event provider, but with the support of family and our great staff, it was the right decision, and I have never regretted it.

How have you seen the market change in the last 12 years?

There has been a proliferation of providers. When we first started, it was a $5 billion industry that was almost exclusively executed by weekend fundraisers or booster clubs, or a mom-and-pop event that happened once a year. Beyond that, there were a couple national governing bodies with a much different business model than ours. But now, there are a lot of people trying to do what we do. I would guess for every one event that happened back then, there are probably 100 now.

How has your business evolved?

Twelve years ago, we didn’t have a website. Three or four years into it, we had online registration, which was a big differentiator for us then. Now there’s an expectation that everyone has that. Currently, there’s the impact of social media, which we work on daily.

What role does social media play in your events?

Social media is one of the top three priorities on my project list. We’re on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and we try to integrate them with our website. We have a number of social media initiatives we’re working on now to make events more interactive and immediate, whether it is posting the scores, stats or videos. Video has a big role in where we’re trying to go, whether it is produced by us, or providing a platform where teams can post videos. For the last two years, we’ve had live streaming of 150 games during our national basketball championships. I see a day when most, if not all, of the events will be live-streamed.

What is the participant age range in your events?

Basketball is grades 3 to 12, and football is grades 6 to 10. Soccer is a little different in that it’s ages 8 to 10 years old. And softball is for adults.

What impact do you see your business making in kids’ lives?

I believe that competitive athletics is a great place to learn about hard work, dedication and putting team before self. And that’s important because, for example, if I go to hire someone, I’m not as concerned with where they went to school and what their GPA was. I want to know if they’re prepared to work hard, if they’re committed, if they can make sacrifices and if they are willing to put team before self. There was a time when those lessons might have been learned at home, school or in a faith-based setting, but that’s not always the case today. I believe if you play a minute of college or high school sports, you’re going to have a competitive advantage and build a skill set that will help you be a more productive adult.

As CEO, what is your day-to-day role?

With 10 full-time employees, we’re an organization in which everyone does what needs to be done and takes on a lot of different responsibilities. Most of my time is focused on three areas: strategy—including products and processes—marketing decision-making and making my team more effective. A lot of my job is making sure my staff has the resources, opportunities and challenges to stay engaged and get done what we’re trying to accomplish.

How does a small staff manage more than 150 events on 48 weekends a year in up to 20 states?

I’ve got a great team, and I’d put them up against anybody. But obviously, 10 people cannot manage 150 events by themselves. We’ve invested in custom entry-management and scheduling systems that create efficiencies for us internally. Those help us market the events, drive the participation, capture the entries, schedule the games and get everything ready for the events. We also have a big pool of seasonal and part-time contract workers. We employ coaches, officials and young people in a variety of roles depending upon the market and the event. That pool of people can fluctuate between 40 and 50 in the slow season, or approach 200 when we get busy. The challenge within is to identify people that share our organizational values, and then get them the training they need to execute the event and be able to create the experience we’re committed to providing.

How do you provide consistency in so many events and regions?

I have committed to the turnkey operation because it allows me to offer consistency in delivery. I want my tournaments in Austin, Texas, Bentonville, Ark., and Chicago to look alike. It’s not a franchise, but it’s kind of a franchise model. We have our systems, and we find people locally to help us execute them. If I’m doing a new event in Louisville, Ky., I’ll send one of my best on-site managers from our home base in Dallas to do that event for the first two or three times. I want that person to demonstrate our brand and how it’s different, but I also want them to find the person in Louisville who they can develop and train and who will manage that event going forward.

What distinguishes your events in a crowded market?

One of the fundamental values we bring is a strong on-site presence and people who can have an impact, make a decision and effect change. It’s real simple, too. All of our site directors wear a red shirt. They follow our mantra: Ask, listen, solve. If you have a problem or a question at one of our events, you know to go to the person in the red shirt. One of my favorite anecdotes is from a couple years ago. We got a call from someone saying they were at one of our events, and it was the worst ever. The officials were bad, and they couldn’t find a red shirt anywhere. They got passed to our director of basketball, and told him the same story, ending with, “And we traveled all the way to Denton for this.” To which Chris [Hoover] responded, “We don’t have a tournament in Denton.” And why that was important was that we had created an expectation that someone in a red shirt would take care of problems—not just for our tournament, but for all tournaments.

What is your role on-site during events?

In the early years, I was the site manager at every event, but with the business growing so much, I’m not on-site as much as I used to be. I still get to events at least a couple times a month, but it’s more of a walk-through or meet-and-greet to express my appreciation to the teams, staff and participants. I don’t actually manage the events. Where that does change, however, is at our national championships. During championships, I actually [have an] office on-site at one of the multi-court facilities so I can interact with as many teams and on-site workers as I can. During the course of the event, I try to get to as many sites as I can to make sure we’re providing the experience we want to create.

How is your next national basketball championship going to be different?

The national basketball championship is our signature event. Twelve years ago, we had the first one in Kansas City, Mo., with 46 teams. Last year, we had 684 teams, which is the biggest event we’ve done to date. It’s the largest youth basketball championship in the country. This year, we’ve booked enough space to have 800 teams. How it’s changing is the NCAA-certified component is much bigger than it used to be. We had almost 60 college coaches last year observing the older players in their divisions, and I expect those numbers to double this year.

What does the Play Hard, Live Well Youth Sports Expo add to the national championship?

We added the expo a year ago as a separate event, although it’s connected to the national championship in that it’s at the same time. We had more than 50 vendors with products of interest to young athletes and their parents. We had [Basketball Hall of Fame member and Olympian] Nancy Lieberman and [former NBA player and coach] John Lucas as speakers. We had the Dallas Mavericks drum line. It’s an event I planned for more than five years, and it exceeded my expectations. It was a full day of interactive fun and activities, and the young people absolutely loved it. This year, we’ve added to it, and I think it’s going to be a great event.

Do you ever have time to just be a fan?

I got into this because I love basketball, but I watch less than I did before. But that being said, I really do enjoy it. This has been fun for me to do, and it provides competition. I can no longer compete on the basketball floor, but I love competing with other providers and companies.

We’ve talked basketball a lot, but you also manage football, soccer and softball events. What’s next?

PrimeTime Sports was originally about basketball, but each of those sports is a key component. The first sport we added was seven-on-seven football. We have about 15 football events a year, and we have our tournament of champions each year in College Station, Texas, which is the largest seven-on-seven football tournament in the country. We

added soccer next, which has such strong demographics. We have 217 leagues and about 25 soccer tournaments a year. The adult softball is new, and we do it as an outsourced event for the city of Farmer’s Branch, Texas. And we always are looking for other sports. I’d love to do volleyball and lacrosse. But we have to look at each sport and its different challenges. The cultures, logistics and expectations are all different. Before we go into a new market, we have to learn it and evaluate it and figure out if it is a place for us to be.

In what other ways is your business growing?

We can operate and execute events with the best of them, but tournaments are not going to be enough to reach the level of growth and impact on the sports world I want us to have. So while at the core we’re still an operating company, we’re also becoming a marketing platform in print, Web and social media. For sponsors, advertisers and anyone looking to market their sports-related products and services to young athletes and their parents, we offer everything from on-site execution with product giveaways and signage to being part of our newsletters to taking part in our Expo.

With your third-party event management, do you do stand-alone events or incorporate them into your own events?

Both. It’s on a case-by-case basis. We’ve done some PrimeTime Sports-managed events with our logo, some charitable events that we provided operational or marketing support for, some facility management and some consulting. We’ve executed parts of third-party events in some cases and done turnkey events for others. I think that’s going to be a growth area because we have developed a back room—the trained people and technology—and we can share that with people so they don’t have to go make a hefty investment in it to pull off the experience they want.

What have you learned from managing other people’s events?

It affirms the same basic principles we’ve applied, but when we apply our systems and processes to someone else’s events, it provides a fresh outlook. Sometimes we get into the routine with our own events because we’re so used to doing them, and sharing with others affirms why our systems are of value.

What inspires you to do your job?

I love to compete, I love my job and I’ve got 10 outstanding staff members on my team. I want them to grow, be fulfilled in their job and believe they’re working with the best game in town.

How do you inspire your team?

We talk every day about what we do and why we do it. We have our organizational values: CHAMPS, which is Customer-service driven, Have ability and integrity, be Active listeners, Make a difference, be Problem-solvers and Serve each other. We literally talk about those values every day. We also spend a lot of time talking as a team about decision-making and steps for success.

Where do you see PrimeTime Sports in 10 years?

I couldn’t have foreseen where we’re at today 10 years ago. If I gave a 10-year projection, it’s probably going to happen in two-and-a-half years. That being said, I want PrimeTime Sports to be a national organization. We are a very strong regional organization and one of the best sports event providers you can find. There is not a true national youth sports provider, other than possibly AAU (Amateur Athletics Union, a nonprofit), but that’s such a totally different model than anything else. For our model, that national presence doesn’t exist. I want that to be us. And I also want to do not only competition, but also a lot more training and camps, which is something we’ve done a couple times recently.

What’s your No. 1 goal for this year?

I want more than 750 teams at the national basketball championships. But my ultimate goal is I want a 1,000-team tournament.  I don’t think that’s ever been done before. We won’t do it this year, but that is something we’re going to get done.

Know what you want before you begin the negotiating process and stick to it. It can become frustrating to both parties when a contract has to be revised multiple times. The primary negotiating points to address with the sales manager include: getting the preferred dates and meeting room rental; knowing estimated costs up front; receiving concessions on ancillary expenses such as electrical, crowd control and Internet; bringing in outside food and beverage; and addressing key contractual clauses such as cancellation, indemnification and deposits.

Preferred Dates and Meeting Room Rental
Convention centers determine the value and priority of your event based on the number of hotel rooms booked, meeting space needed, F&B requirements and ancillary services needed. The more valuable your event, the more likely you are to get your desired date. Convention centers use different tools to determine value. The Ontario Convention Center, for example, uses the Economic Impact Worksheet, which determines the economic impact of the event based on figures conducive to the Ontario market, and the ROI Worksheet, which determines how the event impacts the bottom line revenue of the center based on the history of a center. This information is invaluable leverage for you. (You can download both worksheets here.)

When you understand the value of your event on both the global scale for the city and the micro scale for the convention center, this gives you a huge advantage at the negotiating table to secure your preferred dates. In the event the preferred dates are not available due to another booking, always ask which dates provide the most value for your event, which will enable you to negotiate even further.

As for room rental, keep in mind the cost generally includes the setup of the meeting rooms and labor costs. Many convention centers charge additional for chairs, tables and basic staging. It is wise to ask upfront what the meeting room rental includes so you know how to begin negotiations.

Estimated Costs
One of the biggest frustrations for planners is receiving a cost estimate a few months before an event with unexpected charges. Always ask for estimated costs in the proposal stage to gain an idea of what they may be. Ask for the center’s rules and regulations along with the proposal, which contain information about almost every cost to expect depending on the nature of your event.

However, the planner is responsible for providing the convention center with the best information possible so accurate pricing can be determined. The information should include the number of attendees and the projected timeline of the meeting agenda. That’s what determines the number of hours the center has to remain open and the labor needed to provide the services. It also minimizes surprises for speakers by providing appropriate needs for workshops, breakouts and keynotes, including audiovisual, tables and chairs, and display collateral.

Ancillary Expenses
For convention centers, ancillary income such as crowd control attendants, ticket takers and security are not moneymakers due to the cost of labor. Still, planners should negotiate concessions on these expenses. The number of crowd control attendants needed depends on the demographics of your audience. If it is a group of professionals, fewer crowd control attendants will be needed than for a youth group, where more will be needed.

If another event is in-house alongside your event, ask if similar costs can be shared between the two events. Also, ask for reduced pricing on electrical by reiterating the other revenue streams the event is bringing to the convention center, which may include food and beverage and Internet revenues.

Food and Beverage
Many convention centers have exclusive contracts with catering companies that provide all food and beverage services. A few convention centers, especially those managed by SMG, have in-house catering departments, which tend to be more flexible because there are no maximum buyout dates usually associated with exclusive food service companies such as Centerplate and Aramark.

However, it’s your right to bring in your own F&B, though there will still be a cost since you are taking away from the center’s revenue stream. Generally, it is a per-person cost. If you have the center cater it, know the value of your F&B. Applying a 33 to 40 percent profit to the revenue will determine the bottom-line revenue. Propose this cost to the center, being sure to mention it is pure profit without labor costs involved.

Key Contractual Clauses
Be sure to have your in-house counsel review the contract prior to addressing the following clauses to provide you a clearer understanding of what these clauses means, how they impact your event/organization and how you can address them realistically.

Cancellation: The cancellation clause protects the convention center in the event that you cancel a meeting and the center has to recoup losses if it’s unable to rebook the space. Most clauses are based on gross revenues. Negotiate the clause to be based on projected profits instead of gross revenues. Profit is the income that impacts bottom-line revenue. In the event the convention center does re-book the space, make sure it refunds the difference in revenues. Also, be sure to include language in the contract that protects you if the center brings in an event of higher value than yours. Hold the center responsible for finding another venue that is comparable, and have them pay for all of the reprinting cost of brochures and other  marketing materials.

Indemnification: Indemnification is securing against loss or damage, and this clause is typically one-sided in favor of the convention center. Planners can propose language that the group will indemnify the center “except to the extent that the injury results from the negligence or willful misconduct of the center, its employees, agents or subcontractors.” Another option is to ask for similar language from the center, since your organization could be included in any litigation that was generated by an employee of the center.

Deposits: Many centers request a deposit with the signed contract to bind the signed agreement and continue holding the space for your event. In some cases, the deposit schedule is unrealistic since your event may be three to four years away. The best way to address this issue is to discuss a deposit schedule that fits both parties’ needs. First discuss the amount due at signing the agreement, another percentage due in, for example, 24 months and 18 months prior to the event date, and the final amount due the year of the event.

Need to Know
When negotiating convention center contracts, it’s important to keep these two facts in mind:

1. Hotels and convention centers negotiate contracts differently. Hotels negotiate contracts based on room nights and F&B. Guest rooms provide hotels with 73 to 75 percent profit per guest room. Food and beverage averages a 35 to 40 percent profit. Hotels are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and revenue is generated during that time. Convention centers negotiate contracts on very different terms. Their profit centers are meeting rooms, electrical and parking, or costs offered complimentary at hotels. The reason is because convention centers are not open 24 hours a day. If there’s no event booked in a facility, no revenue exists, even though labor costs still exist. Therefore, convention centers charge for ancillary fees because these costs have to be covered somehow.

2. Most convention centers (98 percent, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study) are funded by the transient occupancy tax paid on guest rooms by travelers. However, some convention centers are funded by a city’s general fund, competing with other city entities such as schools, libraries, law enforcement and fire departments. The convention centers funded by the general fund are often more expensive than other convention centers, but they are typically more flexible with ancillary fees such as cost of crowd control and trash removal. It’s important that planners understand how a center is funded to know what ancillary fees can be negotiated.

Amita Patel, CHSP, is an experienced hospitality executive with a focus on high level strategic sales and marketing, brand awareness and collaborative partnerships.

SMG-managed facilities such as the Colorado Convention Center in Denver have instituted a green meetings program, giving planners a place to begin when organizing events.

“I think everyone all over the world is confused about which standard should take precedence over the other and how to incorporate all of them if you don’t want to take favorites,” says Jamie Nack, owner of Three Squares Inc., an environmental consulting firm that produces green meetings. “Hopefully the APEX standard will help create some consistency and help clear up some of the confusion.” In the meantime, a number of industry experts share their advice about how to weed through the options and make sound choices to help you plan green meetings.

It’s Up to You
Before planners become immersed in the different standards and certifications, they need to start by looking at their own organizations, says Nancy Zavada, principal of MeetGreen, a sustainability consulting firm. Examining your environmental mission, setting a sustainability policy and creating a green checklist is the best place to begin your green journey, she advises.

“Different organizations have different things that are important to them, so ask what’s really vital to your organization,” says Zavada. “Every organization or event should have a list of things that are very vital to them that they won’t waver from, so when you talk to the venue or do an RFP, these are your requirements.”

If coming up with your own checklist intimidates you, do some research and look for existing standards or guidelines to use as a template, advises Brittin Witzenburg, sustainability coordinator of the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.

“Use some standards or references that already exist. There’s no point in totally reinventing the wheel,” says Witzenburg. “APEX isn’t the only standard or checklist, so in many ways, a lot of it is upon the planners to educate themselves on what’s out there and what they feel or their organizations feel is most important.”

Start small by picking four or five green practices that matter most to you and stick with them, even if a venue or hotel has its own environmental policies in place that differ from yours. A good provider will be willing to work with you and do whatever they can to help you achieve your goals, says Lindsay Arell, sustainable program director at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

“If a hotel or venue is saying, ‘This is what we’re doing,’ it’s great that they’re making the effort and educating clients, but if there’s something missing from those practices that you’d like to have or have experienced in other venues, you need to ask for that,” says Arell. “Communicate and collaborate.”

It’s Up to The Venue
When you have environmental priorities in place, you can begin to seek out green providers. How do you know if a venue, hotel or vendor is really green and not just “greenwashing,” or pretending to be green to benefit their bottom lines? This is where third-party environmental certification programs can serve as helpful guideposts. It’s essential to do your homework, be discerning and ask a lot of strategic questions, but certification programs can help guide you toward the right green partnerships, says Nack.

In Portland, a light-rail train stops in front of the Oregon Convention Center, a LEED-certified meeting facility.

“You can look for certifications as a way to cue you in to the point that at least the management on the hotel or venue side has recognized that this is important to them,” says Nack. “It’s a good indicator that there’s some buy-in from management there, but you might want to dig a little bit deeper to find out if the practices are in line with the certification or with what you’re looking for in terms of a venue partner.”

When choosing a green venue, it doesn’t hurt to look for facilities that have pulled out the big guns: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Created by the U.S. Green Building Council, this internationally recognized benchmark has been earned by approximately 20 convention centers and more than 100 hotels in the U.S., according to the USGBC.

Although LEED certification shouldn’t be a planner’s sole criteria for selecting a venue, it does demonstrate that a property or facility has made a serious investment and commitment to sustainability, says Matt Pizzuti, director of marketing for the Oregon Convention Center.

“It’s easy to say you’re green, but any facility that has a commitment to greening—a true dollars-on-the-table commitment—is going to be LEED certified,” says Pizzuti. “That is a benchmark that we see as a baseline for the venue side.”

Besides LEED, you can also look for SMG-managed convention facilities participating in SMG Green IMPACT, SMG Worldwide’s new corporate-wide greening program designed to help SMG-managed facilities initiate or further their greening practices in the areas of waste, energy, water and air quality. Modeled after the APEX/ASTM standard and designed to complement LEED, the voluntary program was launched late last year with the intent to create consistency and uniformity across SMG’s 225 facilities in North America, including 68 convention centers, according to Arell, sustainability director and brainchild of SMG Green IMPACT.

“One of the areas of focus will be making sure all facilities are measuring the same thing and have the same best practices in place, so if an SMG facility says it has recycling, there’s a consistent way it will approach and track it,” says Arell. “So when planners go into an SMG facility and recognize the SMG Green IMPACT program, they will have an understanding of how comprehensive that sustainability program really is.”

It’s Up to the Hotel
Although choosing hotels that are LEED-certified is a great way to reduce the environmental impact of your meeting, LEED can be cost-prohibitive. “For hotels, it’s a different ballgame because LEED is a big investment, so if you’re a chain and you have 600 hotels, making them LEED certified is a daunting proposition,” says Pizzuti. “So I can understand why they’ve gone to a Green Seal certification, which is also a third-party, vetted program for hotels, but it’s a far less costly program than LEED.”

Besides Green Seal, keep an eye out for third-party environmental certification through Green Key Global, Green Globe and Energy Star, as well as ISO 14001 certification, an internationally recognized standard for quality and environmental management. Many larger hotel brands have also developed their own internal greening and energy conservation programs, including Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Omni Hotels and Resorts, and Gaylord Hotels and Convention Centers.

“It’s important to realize not every hotel is going to adopt the same certification program or strive to meet consistent standards because there are so many options out there,” says Wendy Scott, national account manager of Experient, which provides green site selection services for events. “However, as time goes on, certain programs such as LEED and Green Seal have emerged as leaders and you become able to discern different certifications faster. Internal programs implemented within different hotel brands also offer some very solid private standards, which should also be taken into high consideration.”

But whether a venue or hotel has its own progressive programs, LEED or any other third-party certification, what matters most is that the provider is willing to work with planners to help achieve sustainable objectives. “It’s a collaborative effort between a venue and a supplier and meeting planner,” says Witzenburg. “Here at the OCC, [sustainable practices are] just part of what we do in our standard operating procedures, so we don’t necessarily have an explicit checklist of sorts. There are clients that come in who maybe have their own ideas, but in many cases the things that they come in with aren’t necessarily going above and beyond anything that just comes naturally for us. [Planning a green meeting] works best when everyone is working on the same page together and customizing what needs to happen.”

It’s Up to the Destination
Another way to make the green provider selection process easier is by choosing destinations in states with green tourism and lodging programs. Virginia Green, for example, is a comprehensive statewide program run through a partnership among the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Virginia Tourism Corporation, and Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association.

Designed to reduce the environmental impact of the tourism industry and raise environmental awareness, the six-year-old program now has more than 1,100 participants in its suppliers network, including convention and conference centers, restaurants, hotels, suppliers and certified Virginia Green events.

Tom Griffin, Virginia Green consultant, says in order to be involved in the free program, which includes a listing in its online database and meetings guide, participants must follow a set of core requirements and be able to prove they are making strides in recycling and energy and water conservation. For example, to be a Virginia Green-certified convention or conference center, a venue must follow set guidelines for recycling, minimizing disposable food service products, water efficiency, energy conservation and have the ability to support green meetings and events.

Virginia has a state-wide program that identifies hotels, venues and attractions, including the Hampton Roads Convention Center, that meet certain sustainability requirements.

“Picking a destination in a state with a green program makes it easier for the planner doing a green event and saves them a lot of work,” says Griffin. “With Virginia, all you have to do is look for the green logo. Plus, you can certify your event as Virginia Green certified, which can be listed in our green events calendar.”

State green lodging programs are another resource for finding hotels that have made a commitment to conserving energy and resources. And although the number keeps growing, there are a myriad of states with green lodging programs, including California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, many of which offer certification programs. Although some critics may raise eyebrows at lodging programs that allow hotels to self-certify and audit their environmental performance to obtain and maintain certification, any environmental program is a good step in the right direction, says Scott.

“[These programs] play an important role in our work and often serve as a benchmark for our site selection process,” says Scott. “When we remember that very few programs even existed five years ago, the presence of statewide programs is a sign of the great interest and valuable outcomes programs such as these have for the economy and society.”

Until all the players and stakeholders in the green meetings industry are able to come together, follow more uniform standards and generate greater consistency across its many segments, it will be up to you to do your homework as you compare and contrast the various green programs and certifications permeating the industry. Although the APEX/ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Meeting Standards may make the navigation process a whole lot easier, until that time, make sure to arm yourself with information, ask a lot of questions and most importantly, stick to your guns about what matters to you and your organization. Whether you choose to only do business with the greenest of green or work to educate less informed providers and push them in a greener direction, remember that it is the meeting planner who has the most power to keep moving this industry forward in a more environmentally friendly and hopefully more consistent direction.

Problems Solved

Many people still believe green meetings are more complicated and more expensive than standard events. On average, choosing greener options actually saves you money and helps you find extra dollars in your budget to pay for things that do cost a little more, such as organic food. Here are solutions to some of the most common green complaints:

Problem: Not every venue offers recycling.
Solution: If your venue doesn’t have a recycling infrastructure in place, try offering recycling sponsorships, which can be very popular with companies looking to brand themselves as green. Such sponsorships can support installing a temporary waste diversion system, including bringing in recycling receptacles and contracting a waste hauler to pick up recycling and compost after the event.

Problem: Attendees complain when water bottles are replaced with water dispensers.
Solution: Stopping bottled water is the easiest low-hanging fruit when it comes to saving money and going green. (Bottled water can cost more than $5 per bottle at many conference and convention centers.) Educate attendees on the amount of money and resources saved by going without plastic. Encourage them to carry reusable water bottles at the event and focus on opportunities where bulk water pitchers or dispensers make the most sense, such as at education or work sessions.

Problem: Eco-friendly promotional items are more expensive.
Solution: With increased demand and competition, prices are coming down. Make a point of checking in with vendors every six months to see if pricing has changed. Otherwise, consider eliminating traditional promotional items altogether. Do your attendees really need or want another pen?

Problem: It’s hard to find a venue that can properly dispose of or compost biodegradable name badge holders.
Solution: If the facility doesn’t have a composting program, find an option for reusing badges, either internally or by donation. You can often get two or three uses out of badges, so for easy collection, make sure to supply a basket or bin with clear signage where attendees can drop their badges after the event.

Problem: Speakers and attendees still expect printed handouts.
Solution: If printing is absolutely necessary, find ways to reduce. Offer a printed conference at-a-glance versus an entire conference program; prioritize important documents and use two-sided printing and post-consumer recycled paper whenever possible. Continue to provide electronic copies of programs, sessions and PowerPoints conveniently (and early) to promote your efforts.

Problem: The return rate on session evaluations is much greater via paper slips versus the event’s mobile app.
Solution: Send out evaluations via email to registered attendees immediately following the event and incentivize them with a prize. If that’s not an option, use half sheets of paper or combine sessions on one page. Use post-consumer recycled paper and recycle evaluations after they’re analyzed.

Problem: Excess promo materials cost money to ship back to the office and then have to be distributed and/or donated.
Solution: Take time to estimate your needed quantities as accurately as possible to avoid excess materials. Plan ahead with available local donor options or ask the venue if they already work with organizations or have suggestions. Consider materials that can be reused for the next event.

Problem: Some convention centers charge a fee to donate unused convention food to local shelters.
Solution: Depending on their health code policies, some venues cannot donate unused food. For those who can, there shouldn’t be a charge. Most food recovery organizations are willing to pick up donations when planned ahead of time and can often provide collection volunteers when needed. Discuss this with the convention services manager.

Problem: Organic food is more expensive.
Solution: Look at your overall food and beverage budget to see what costs more and what costs less, then get creative. For example, if you cut the size of meat portions down, you will have extra money for organic produce.

Think of the physical space as a blank canvas: It is critical not only in attracting attendees, but also in creating the visual dynamics that will make an impression, driving home the message of the meeting. You will be adding light, color and life to the event, bringing the big picture together using inspiration, experience and the occasional bolt of lightning. The finished product, quite literally, will be a work of art—one that elicits a powerful (and strategically pre-determined) human response from participants, and a measurable Return on Event.

Visual dynamics describes everything involved in the design process that the guest will see: the pre-event, live-event and post-event experience. Strategy, design and decor must be intertwined to keep people engaged and encourage them to relax and participate in a safe space.

The new paradigm of learning outside of the boardroom or classroom through sites such as TED.com is affecting how venues are used for meetings. Easy-to-access, informal gathering spots, also known as “pods,” are becoming increasingly common at many events. These instant meeting locations and areas host mini-gatherings of critical players who can convene in person in minutes, or even seconds, after raising the initial idea for the meeting using social messaging tools. Shorter and more interactive sessions, or mini-modules, require different space treatments as well.

By combining the right physical site with the right visual and kinetic elements, you can create a powerful, brand-centered piece of live communication that delivers the same kind of first impression impact, and the same measurable Return on Investment, as a carefully targeted and well-designed print ad.

A few questions to ask in support of an event’s visual design planning include:

Is this space appropriate to the theme?
What should be accented and what should be eliminated?
Where should the flow of people go?
What is the format of the meeting or event?
What could be hung on the walls to support the message?
What decor could be placed on a walkway for interaction?
What are the lighting fixtures? Will they affect the stage and room set up?
How can the entrance be treated to create initial impact?
Where can surprise elements be added for impact?
Is the space accessible to people with physical challenges?
How can I design this experience so it more effectively delivers the message?

By Monica Compton

Like everything else in the meeting planning business, the site selection process has adapted to the short-term scheduling of meetings, budgetary cuts and technological advancements. Many meeting planners might recall the luxury of having a six-month or year-long lead time to research hotels and venues, but that window might now be reduced to one month or less. And with a reduction in travel expenses, a visit to the properties may not be an option. While technology can assist with some of this research, knowledge of your meeting’s history and current objectives will provide the greatest guidance.

1. Let the objectives guide the location. The objective of your meeting is the first factor to guide location. While holding a meeting at an ocean-side resort may work as an incentive for an annual conference for association members who will combine it with a family vacation, an airport property might be a better fit for a brief, high-level meeting with global attendees. If the meeting’s objective is to educate the attendee with very few social activities, a conference center or university facility would be a good match.

2. Build an attendee profile. A thorough knowledge of your attendee demographics and interests is a key aspect in determining a property’s compatibility. Are your attendees international and do they require special services? Look for hotels with a multi- lingual staff and international currency exchange. Does your program allow families and include a separate spouse agenda? Properties with babysitting services and family-friendly recreational activities should be considered.

3. Provide a history. When writing a request for proposal, providing your meeting’s historical data will assist the property in determining rates and contractual concessions. A group that schedules both group meals and heavily patronizes the restaurants and lounges after hours may be more apt to meet a higher food and beverage minimum than a group who has most of their meals offsite. If a meeting is slow to register and picks up the room block the two weeks before the event, the property might negotiate an extended cut-off date.

4. Know your space requirements. It’s a given that you won’t select a property if it doesn’t have enough meeting or sleeping rooms to fit your group, but don’t forget your ancillary space needs as well. A group bringing in specialty materials might require storage space close to the meeting room. A program that includes representatives from the media might require additional wireless access points in a command center close to the general session. Even the location of specific sleeping rooms can have a bearing on your booking decision. If your CEO conducts daily meetings in his suite, but it’s located far away from the main program functions, a less expansive property may be a better option.

5. Write a custom RFP. When writing your request for proposal (RFP), customize it to your meeting’s specific needs. It’s tempting to use a generic RFP or one supplied by a convention and visitor’s bureau, but the more specific you can be — including your meeting’s objectives, attendee profile, historical data and space requirements — the more targeted the responses you will receive.

6. Evaluate the options. If your timeline or budget doesn’t allow for an in-person site inspection to the property, many hotels have virtual Web sites that allow you to walk through the rooms and get a feel for spacing and décor. Be careful to ask when the images were taken and if there have been any renovations or space alterations since the images were uploaded. It’s also important to gather references from colleagues who have recently held similar meetings at the prospective property (within the last year). If a planner experienced any challenges, ask if they were rectified and follow up with your salesperson to see what improvements were made.

7. Survey the site. If you are able to perform a physical review of the property, create a checklist in advance of all the facilities you want to review and the hotel staff you need to speak with. Send a site inspection agenda to the property in advance to make sure every aspect of your evaluation is accomplished.

Monica Compton, CMP, is an event specialist with Pinnacle Productions Inc. based in Atlanta, Ga. She has 18 years experience as a global meeting planner, managing a variety of programs both domestically and internationally.

Many planners do not fully realize, nor adequately utilize, the services a CVB offers, many of which are free of charge. For planners who do not have adequate internal staff to assist with their meeting, or for non-profit or volunteer events that do not have full-time planning support, CVBs can become an extension of your team, saving you time and money. Their message is clear and you’ll hear it repeated over and over: “Tell us what success means from your perspective and your bosses and we’ll help you meet it.”

Request for Proposals

A CVB’s membership includes local businesses that generally supply services to the hospitality industry such as hotels, convention centers, restaurants, attractions and transportation companies. If your event has a need for a large number of suppliers or you are not familiar enough with the city to select providers, CVBs can create a request for proposal (RFP) for you and submit it to prospective companies. They will also take your own RFP document and disseminate it to a pre-approved list. It is important to qualify the companies you want to receive the RFP, especially if you or your client has a preferred brand for hotels. By being as specific as possible in the RFP document, you reduce an influx of e-mails and telephone calls from companies you have no interest in buying from.

Promoting Your Event

CVBs can assist in bolstering your meeting’s attendance through several promotional tools. When building your event’s Web site, you may need high-resolution photos of the location. CVBs can provide targeted images as well as video of accommodations and attractions.

Since destination information can be overwhelming and highlight attractions your attendees may not be visiting, simply listing the destination’s Web site link on your event information page can lead to confusion. Some CVBs will create a specific URL for your event which links to a welcome splash page with your group’s name. The custom page allows you to pick the information you want highlighted for your group. By listing only the attractions that appear on your event agenda, you reduce miscommunication with your delegates.

Media Contacts

If you are organizing an event that is open to the public, CVBs can assist in providing local media contacts and information for press releases. Most CVBs have a section of their Web site dedicated to public relations and media inquiries. Here you can find information to incorporate into your press materials, including stock story copy and quotes highlighting the destination’s offerings. CVBs will provide a list of e-mail addresses and telephone numbers for local and regional newspapers, television and radio stations.

Housing and Travel Assistance

If your meeting or event is large enough to require three or more hotels, CVBs can provide an online housing reservations system which can also include airline and ground transportation bookings. Many events have one online system to register attendees and gather housing and travel information. However, not all registration sites have the capacity to pass these reservations directly to the hotel or airline’s system. Similar to a third-party registration company, the CVB’s housing bureau can communicate with the hotel and disseminate rooming lists and travel itineraries. Note that CVBs in smaller market cities many not offer this service and there is usually a fee involved.

Tour and Attraction Booking

A CVB provides information and contacts for booking tours and attractions and can also refer their member destination management companies if your needs are more extensive. Similar to a hotel’s structure, a CVB will assign your group a convention services manager (CSM) who will work with you on all the pre-planning details. The CSM can act as your liaison in contacting their member suppliers. Since each member company is paying dues to fund the CVB, your CSM cannot suggest one company over another. They can, however, narrow your choices by telling you which companies provide the specific service you are requesting.

Additional Supplier Listings

CVBs can provide suggestions for services well beyond hotels and attractions. These include: program speakers and entertainers; exhibit freight services; equipment rental for your onsite planner office; floral designers; car rental companies; foreign language translation services; and even babysitting services.

On-site Staffing

Many planners have the capacity to organize a large event with a small staff, but then require supplemental support once onsite. CVBs can provide different levels of temporary staffing from attendee material collation to registration services. It’s important to qualify your needs and give the CVB a detailed job description of what is required. Do you have a registration desk that requires no more than a greeter to hand out delegate badges? Or is your registration more complex, requiring computer skills and knowledge of online software systems? Communicating your specific needs to the CVB will ensure the right match for each task.

By partnering with a CVB, you can reduce time in researching what a destination has to offer and quickly define which local suppliers meet your requirements. Rather than having to become an expert in a destination, you can save time and costs by utilizing the CVB’s expertise. With streamlined destination knowledge and preferred supplier information, you can now spend your time on more strategic planning elements. All it takes is delegation to your newly extended team — the CVB.

Defining Destinations

A convention and visitors bureau (CVB) is the dominant form of a destination marketing organization (DMO) in the U.S. While each state has a department of travel and tourism, most counties and/or cities also have their own CVB to promote a more geographically narrow area.

Although there are many government and chamber of commerce bodies with responsibility for marketing a destination to visitors, most convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) are non-profit organizations, working independently under the direction of a board of elected directors. They are usually membership organizations bringing together businesses that rely on tourism and meetings for revenue and are funded primarily through the collection of “bed taxes” on visitors.

Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) is the world’s largest resource for official destination marketing organizations. The organization provides members with educational resources, networking opportunities and marketing benefits worldwide. It also maintains an online bookstore and resource center, an e-mail discussion list for members, professional certificates and designations (PDM, CDME), an accreditation program and an official online travel portal: OfficialTravelGuide.com.

DMAI was founded in 1914 as the International Association of Convention Bureaus to promote sound professional practices in the solicitation and servicing of meetings, conventions and tourism. In 1957, the association changed its name to the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureau (IACVB), to reflect the growing importance of consumer travel. In 2005, it changed its name again to become Destination Marketing Association International.

Sources: destinationmarketing.org, Wikipedia.com