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.

By Marty Bear

As industry professionals, we should always strive to work smart and cut costs. In the current economic downturn, saving money without sacrificing quality is a major challenge for all of us. Promotional products — those bags, backpacks, folders, pens, journals, lanyards and speaker gifts — are often neglected when considering bottom line expenses, especially as staff is reduced or responsibilities changed. It is important to understand how to communicate with your supplier in order to save time and money. The more details and specifics you provide to your vendor, the more satisfied you will be with your options and the outcome.

There are simple steps to saving money on your next promotional products program. It all begins with having gathered all the details before making contact.

Here is the basic list:

• When and where is the event? Where will you need the goods shipped? Sometimes, you have several options, e.g., ship to your offices or ship directly to the hotel, convention center or holding company.
• Do you have your artwork ready in the correct format so the supplier can have a visual of what you are planning to print? Many times people don’t show the art until the end of the process and problems can arise like higher prices due to additional imprint colors not originally quoted.
• Do you know the approximate quantity of the items needed for the program? In the current economy, attendance numbers will vary. Let the supplier know how many you ordered last year as well as your guestimate for this time around.
• Do you know your budget per item? Be open and honest with your supplier in order to get the best quality product. If you spent $4 per backpack last year for your youth retreat, but this year you might have to spend less, then have the vendor show you options between $2.75 and $4. This way, as budgets are finalized and registration numbers come in, you will not have to start the process over if you need to lower your numbers. You will already have all the samples and pricing on hand.
• Additional product input is also vital. If the product must be orange, or recycled only, or must have an outside pocket for a water bottle, the supplier needs to understand your requirements before they do their research.
• Let your supplier know what item was used last year and what type of feedback you received from the attendees. Many times, the attendees will complain about some element of the item. They may feel the size, quality, material or color did not work well for them. This helps your supplier narrow down options.Once your item selection has been narrowed down, it is very important to get some approximate freight estimates to your final destination. Many times, new people in charge of ordering promotional items do not realize how heavy ceramic mugs, pads of paper, padfolios and computer bags are. They learn the hard way when the final invoice arrives. New buyers also sometimes forget that shipping to their company address and then resending the shipment out to the destination wastes dollars. (I have seen many programs ship products from a factory in California to their offices in Virginia and then back out to California without realizing that the supplier factory was actually 20 miles from the final destination.) There are times, though, when the bags need to be stuffed with the program collateral material. It does pay to do some research into fulfillment options at the event site and compare costs.

Marty Bear is president of PMSI-Professional Marketing Services, Inc., based in Stratford, Ct. He has been a leader and innovator in the promotional products industry for more than 25 years. callpmsi.com

By Don Sadler

Just when meeting planners were starting to get used to the routines of air travel and airport security, along came the “underwear bomber,” who tried unsuccessfully on Christmas Day to ignite explosives he smuggled onto an airplane in his underwear.

The government response with regard to airport and in-air security was swift and, many believed, overblown, including new rules disallowing pillows and blankets and requiring all passengers to remain seated during the last hour of international flights. Airport security was also immediately tightened even more, resulting in even longer lines and waits.

While some of these rules have since been eased, the incident served as a reminder to many business travelers about the need to be well prepared before heading to the airport for a business trip. “Regardless of underwear bombers or heightened security, there are a lot of simple things business travelers can do to make their trip go more smoothly,” says Rob Hard, publisher of businesstraveldestinations.com.

Start preparing when you book

Hard believes that preparation starts when booking your flight. “My first rule of thumb is to avoid flying during peak times if at all possible, and especially between 6 and 9 a.m.” Of course, take non-stop flights when you can, but if you must make a connection, pay attention to potential weather conditions in connecting airports. “If you have a choice of connecting in a warm or cold weather city in the wintertime, choose the warm city to avoid potential weather delays.”

With most airlines now charging fees to check bags, carrying bags onto the flight is now an even higher priority for most business travelers. The Transportation Security Administration suggests packing carry-on bags in layers — for example, a layer of clothes on the bottom, then electronics, then more clothes, and then heavier items on top — to help expedite passage through security screening.

One of Hard’s favorite tips is to ship meeting and event materials to your destination or back home instead of packing them in your bags. “These will weigh down your luggage, resulting in either excess baggage fees or making it impossible to carry your bag on the plane,” he says. “Bring shipping packages and labels with you.” Many conferences are now passing out materials on thumb drives in order to make bringing them back home easier, he notes.

“Also, pack clothes that are in the same color families so that you bring fewer pairs of shoes and accessories,” Hard adds.

If you usually bring your laptop computer on flights, invest in one of the new laptop cases that are designed to be checkpoint friendly. These cases give screeners a clear and unobstructed view of your computer without you having to take it out of the bag, so there’s one less thing you have to remember to do as you prepare to enter security.

If you do have to check luggage, pack as lightly as possible so that your bag doesn’t exceed the airline’s weight limit (50 pounds for most airlines), resulting in excess baggage charges. Also use a TSA-recognized baggage lock if you lock your checked bags: These can be opened by security officers with a universal master key in case they need to inspect your luggage more carefully.

Also, don’t forget the TSA’s simple rule for carrying liquids onto planes: 3-1-1. This means bottles containing no more than 3.4 ounces of liquid can be packed in your carry-on bag if they are stored in a clear, one-quart plastic zip-top bag. One of these bags is allowed per passenger, and it must be removed from your carry-on and placed separately in the screening bin at security.

More simple steps

Other simple things you can do to make your airport experience and flight less stressful are to check in to your flight online before you leave for the airport and avoid parking at the airport (or off-airport lots) if you can. “Having your spouse or a friend drop you off will save you a lot of time and money,” says Hard. Many hotels offer free shuttles back to the airport when you’re on your way home, so be sure to ask about this before hailing a cab.

The most important step to take to minimize hassles and stress at the airport is also the most obvious one — and the one Hard says many travelers ignore: Get there early.

“Lots of people get angry and blame the security process or the screeners if they have to rush to catch their plane or they miss it, but they really have no one to blame but themselves,” he says. “Just plan on having some time to kill at the gate and bring something to keep you occupied, whether it’s work or a good book to read.

Don Sadler is a freelance writer based in Atlanta, Ga., who covers the business side of meeting planning. Reach him at don@donsadlerwriter.com.

By Larry Bleiberg

Frisco's Texas Sculpture Garden

Texans like things big. Big bankrolls, big buildings and big hair. And with three of the nation’s 10 biggest cities, it’s easy for a meeting planner to be overwhelmed. Houston, Dallas and San Antonio are enticing, but the state’s many other locales host unforgettable gatherings too. Some, like Amarillo, stand out by offering Western heritage and hospitality in the midst of the High Plains. Others, like Frisco and neighboring Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs, amaze visitors with a concentration of attractions in hidden corners of a sprawling metropolitan area. And some, like Beaumont, offer a slice of little-known Texas, just 90 minutes from Houston. Taken together, these cities let planners provide their members an unexpected Texas experience with minimal hassles — and a lower expense.

Meeting in a second-tier city doesn’t mean anything’s second class, says David DuBois, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The term’s related to size, not quality of offerings,” he says. “I’ll put our downtown against any city of any size as far as safety, walkability and energy.”

Fort Worth meetings often play up the city’s unique blend of cowboys and culture. Not only does it run twice-daily cattle drives in the Stockyards District, but it’s also home to some of the best museums in the country, including the Kimbell, which includes works by El Greco, Rubens, Rembrandt, Houdon, Goya, Monet, Cézanne, Picasso, Matisse and Mondrian. By contrast, at the nearby Cowgirl Hall of Fame, you can ride a mechanical bronco and see it superimposed on a black-and-white Western.

The Fort Worth Convention Center is bolstered by the adjacent 614-room Omni Fort Worth Hotel, which opened in January 2009, and the 156-suite Embassy Suites Hotel and 434-room Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel and Spa, both of which opened in 2008.

But the city, with a population of nearly 700,000, is still a big player. Several smaller locales find their niche by appealing to groups without the budget or interest in a busy-city gathering. Lewisville, a community of 100,000, about 30 miles north of downtown Dallas, tells groups it offers the best of both worlds.

“We’re close to everything, but we’re not in the middle of everything,” says James Kunke, director of the Lewisville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Hotel and restaurant rates are lower than the tab visitors will find just down the highway. At the end of the year, the city will open a rail station that will connect to Dallas’ expanding light rail line. Kunke says visitors will love being able to sample the city’s offerings without the grind of traffic and the hassles and expense of parking.

But Lewisville, which opened a 17,000-sq.-ft. convention center in 2008, has plenty to offer on its own. It’s home to 30,000-acre Lewisville Lake, which has memorable venues for meals and meetings. The “Chamonix II” is the largest inland sailing catamaran in the state, holding up to 100 guests. “It has got a nice appeal, being out on the lake watching the sun go down with a glass of wine in your hand, and a buffet behind you,” Kunke says. Sneaky Pete’s is a lakefront restaurant with five banquet rooms, serving groups of up to 500.

A well-known Texas tradition is sports. While there are big-league, big-dollar games in the major cities, Frisco, located about 25 miles north of downtown Dallas, offers similar excitement, without the pricetag, in a low-hassle suburban setting.

Hobby Center for the Performing Arts

Dr Pepper Ballpark is home to a minor league affiliate of the Texas Rangers, while Dr Pepper Arena is the practice facility for the NHL Dallas Stars and home to a junior hockey team. Nearby, Pizza Hut Park hosts professional soccer. All have meeting and event facilities. Frisco’s accommodations are first-class as well, including two four-diamond hotels, the Embassy Suites and the Westin Stone Briar Resort with a Tom Fazio-designed golf course and in-room spa services.

In recent years, nearby Plano has come into its own too. As the home to Fortune 500 companies, the North Texas city is a business destination in its own right, and its convention center can host meetings for up to 5,000 people. Its historic downtown, re-energized by Dallas’ light rail line, boasts restaurants, theaters and galleries. But for an only-in-Texas experience, one has to venture to Southfork Ranch Event and Conference Center, where the Ewing clan schemed and dealed during the “Dallas” television show. A generation later, fans still come to pay homage to J.R. Planners often book the site and the adjacent Southfork hotel for gatherings.

But that’s just North Texas. For a taste of the mythic Lone Star state, one must head west. In Amarillo, visitors find cowboys, ranches and wide-open horizons. “We don’t have to put it on. That’s who we are,” said Eric Miller, spokesman for the city’s convention and visitor council. “There are ranches around in every direction. That’s still what we do for a living.”

Groups love the city’s Western-theme events like Cowboy breakfasts served outdoors from a chuckwagon, or a visit to Palo Duro Canyon, home to the “Texas” outdoor drama every summer. Yet visitors are also surprised by the facilities, including a 340,000-sq.-ft. civic center.

Sheldon Nicolle with the North American Falconry Association said Amarillo offered the perfect combination for the group’s national field meet in 2008. “It’s a small city with big-city attributes. It has all things that’s folks want — museums, restaurants. There’s a wide variety for family members.” The falconry group’s needs are specialized, and Amarillo rose to the occasion, he said. Most attendees bring birds to hunt with during the day, gathering in the evening for events and a banquet. He needed a hotel where the group could set up an outdoor weathering yard — an open area where birds could be staked out on perches. The Holiday Inn Amarillo on Interstate 40 obliged. “It was the Texas can-do spirit. They’re so hospitable there.”

Another West Texas city makes its mark with music heritage, entertainment and wine. Lubbock’s most harmonious attraction, the Buddy Holly Center, is a big hit with anyone who can hum the tune to “Peggy Sue.” The museum, which can be rented for meetings and events, is located in the lively Depot District, which is anchored by a renovated rail station. Home to Texas Tech University, Lubbock is a vibrant college town with many restaurants and clubs. Surprisingly, wine lovers toast Lubbock too. The area’s home to several award-winning wineries: Both Caprock Winery and McPherson Cellars have meeting space and can incorporate tastings into group events.

A different side of the Lone Star state is available in Beaumont, a city that’s located closer to Florida than Amarillo. “We’re 100 percent Texas, but we have a little bit of that Cajun influence, a bit of the Old South,” says Dean Conwell, executive director of the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We don’t take ourselves that seriously but when we have guests come to town, we go all out.” The southeast Texas city is near the Louisiana border and plays up its bayou flavor.

That’s what appeals to Kathy Bachelot, who brought the Anchor & Pilot club conventions to Beaumont in 2007 and is returning again in 2010. Beaumont’s a perfect locale for the youth and adult service groups, she says. “We were concerned about coming back to Beaumont after just three years, but we had an overwhelming response when we announced it.”

The adults love being able to scoot over to Louisiana to visit casinos, and the younger attendees enjoy sites like the Spindletop Museum, which chronicles the history of one of Texas’s most important oil booms. And Bachelot says she appreciates working with the convention bureau and hotels in a smaller city. “We really get special treatment because we are the convention that weekend. We’re a big fish in Beaumont,” she says. “They really do work hard for us.”

Special Places:

Spotlight: The Big Three

Nearby: Grapevine

When you’re landing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, you’re actually in Grapevine. This convenient city has plenty to keep attendees and their and guests occupied. The Gaylord Texan has 70 conference and meeting rooms as well as a huge exhibit hall. Attendees will marvel at the life-size Alamo and the other Texas “regions” depicted under the soaring atrium. Shoppers flock to Grapevine Mills, a 1.6 million-sq.-ft. mall with hundreds of discount stores including Neiman Marcus Last Call Clearance Center. (Airport passengers have been known to grab a taxi to the mall between planes.) Others looking for adventure dive into Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor waterpark hotel, with dozens of water slides and 10,000 square feet of meeting space. True to its name, Grapevine’s home to more than a half-dozen wineries. The French chateau-inspired Delaney Vineyards, is open for tastings and hosts memorable events. grapevinetexasusa.com

San Antonio Riverwalk

Texas’ three big cities always offer something new. San Antonio, Texas’ historic city, has been revitalizing its long overlooked Main Plaza with $18 million in improvements. It’s again the center of civic life, with concerts, outdoor movies and events. The city’s also working on its famed River Walk, adding waterfalls, art installations and sound recordings to the linear urban park. Once famous for sprawl, Houston’s downtown continues to boom. An expanding light-rail line makes it possible to see the city’s famed museums, like the Museum of Fine Arts, sample its restaurants and take in its cutting-edge theater, all without getting in the car. The new AT&T Performing Arts Center puts Dallas on the cultural map. It includes a new opera house, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Norman Foster, and a theater center, designed by Rem Koolhaas, another Pritzker winner. The district has been called the most important arts center to open since New York’s Lincoln Center.

By Kate Burton

In 2005, the Girl Scouts of the USA were at a turning point. Proudly steeped in tradition, the organization also had to find ways to address the changing needs of girls and women in the 21st century while continuing to honor its fundamental mission. Under the leadership of Kathy Cloninger, who took the helm as CEO in 2003, change was already underway. The 2005 National Convention, which took place in October 2005 in Atlanta, was an opportunity to present a new mission statement and strategy — and also tap into the collective wisdom, needs, and ideas of leadership and membership to create new strategies going forward.

“Kathy Cloninger was looking for a different way for the delegates to have conversations and go deeper than they typically would be able to. She had heard about Open Space through some other work I’d been doing with Girl Scouts councils and approached me in late 2004 to see if we could do an Open Space event that was that big,” says Christine Whitney Sanchez, owner of the Phoenix-based company Collaborative Wisdom and Strategy, whose focus is techniques that lead to large-scale change and inner leadership.

The challenges were multifold: Not only was the convention space already booked in Atlanta, putting constraints on logistics, but the anticipated number of 1,700 delegates would make this one of the largest Open Space Technology (OST) meetings ever at the time. And the process was unfamiliar to most of the delegates. “There were some concerns about trying something so different because on the whole the Girl Scouts are a very traditional organization,” says Julie Murphy, senior director of strategy for the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), who worked closely with Whitney Sanchez to pull it all together. “Going into it, there was some negativity and some delegates clearly had doubts.”

But the decision-makers in the organization knew that the potential rewards were worth the risks. “It gave us a great opportunity for our membership to speak about what was really on their minds,” says Murphy. “Most of our meetings are talking heads at the front of the room so it was a completely different experience to invite members to come and tell us what they think.”

The results of that meeting were so powerful that the Girl Scouts brought the process back for their next convention, in 2008.

Creating the space

So what exactly is Open Space Technology? Designed to tap into that creative collective energy that a group of people can produce, the process of Open Space Technology was developed in the 1980s by Harrison Owen when he noticed that the coffee breaks at a meeting got higher praise than the actual sessions. The process itself is deceptively straightforward, but the results can lead in multiple directions. As Cloninger told the audience when she opened the 2005 GSUSA convention, “Trust the process — it’s going to be lively and messy!”

The key element is that there’s no pre-created agenda — in other words, it’s a chance for meeting participants to decide what they believe is truly important. The whole group starts together to create discussion points and then self-divides into smaller groups to further explore the elements that have come up.

To start, all attendees gather together in a circle and are presented with a focusing question that addresses a key challenge or question that the organization is facing. For example, in 2005, when the Girl Scouts were focused on overall strategy, they asked, “What would our governance structure look like on a national and local level if it met the test of being efficient, decisive and action-oriented?”

By 2008, however, the focus was moved inward, with the question: “As we approach our 100th anniversary, what can we learn from each other that will help us bring Girl Scouts to a record number of girls?”

The question can either be presented to participants before the actual meeting starts via a mailing or at the opening session. Once in a circle, the facilitator explains the process to participants: Anyone who has a thought about the focusing question is invited into the middle of the circle to announce the topic and write it on a piece of paper. The paper is put on the wall, along with a time and place for anyone interested in that topic to meet.

After all the agenda items are on the wall, participants choose which of the topics they want to further explore in smaller sessions, which can take place in anything from breakout rooms to a hallway. During the sessions, participants jot down whatever comes up so there’s a record to share with the group on the whole. If the meeting is long enough, results can be shared on the spot; if not, the notes can be gathered and distributed at a later time.

The “rules” of open space are short and to the point:

There’s also one “law,” called the “Law of Two Feet.” Lisa Heft, an Open Space facilitator whose company Opening Spaces is based in Berkeley, Calif., explains that means that each participant has a responsibility to ensure they’ve landed in the right group. “If you’re in a group and are neither learning nor contributing, it’s up to the attendee to get up and move to another group. It’s disrespectful to yourself to not use your best abilities,” she says. “If you don’t feel you have a voice in a group, if the group is going great, but you don’t feel you have something to add, if your mind is wandering, even if you’re just hungry or restless or have to use the restroom … by taking care of yourself and moving to another group, you’re actually taking care of the group. There’s a lot of movement in Open Space and that’s not only okay, but encouraged.”

Structuring the Space

Sounds pretty simple, right? While the process of Open Space is very unstructured, the physical space does need a certain structure to it. And although the logistics of Open Space are apparently straightforward, some of the set-up can provide challenges to planners simply because they’re different from other kinds of meeting set-ups.

“Logistically, it’s a little strange,” says Chris Corrigan, an Open Space facilitator and owner of Harvest Moon Consultants in British Columbia, Canada. “A lot of hotel staffs just aren’t used to this kind of set-up and they scratch their heads and ask if you know what you’re doing.”

Take the size of the space itself. The very circle formation that’s crucial to success in the initial gathering means standard meeting set-up numbers have little relevance. A rule of thumb is to book a space for double the number of people expected. For example, “if we’re expecting 200 people, we’ll book a room that can seat 400 theater-style,” says Corrigan.

Then there are the rules of the venue and sometimes a union to contend with. “In some situations, chairs are locked together and have to stay that way,” says Heft. “But we can work with that and make a kind of diamond shape that still has a wide-open center space even if it’s not the traditional circle.” By the same token, if a planner is not allowed to use the walls to tack up signs, Heft says she’s used the backs of chairs for posting signs. “If the physical space isn’t conducive to the process, sometimes I’ll ask a planner if this is really the best process for this group at this time. But if it is, you can’t let the logistics of the space dictate the process. There are ways around most potential issues.”

Where planners can get very flexible is in the breakout spaces used for the small group gatherings. “They can be anywhere,” says Corrigan. “I like the idea of letting people go all over the place, into all different kinds of spaces with nooks and crannies.”

In all, says Heft, “For a participant, the process is very simple. But there’s a lot of preparation that goes on behind the scenes.”

A Tale of Two Sessions

Preparation can be complicated when a group has booked meeting space before the decision to use OST. That’s what happened with the Girl Scouts, who, like many associations, book their space several years out.

“The convention center in Atlanta is massive,” says Whitney Sanchez, “so in 2005, we were able to find a hall to use and breakout rooms that the smaller groups could move into once the topics were set.” On the other hand, in Indianapolis in 2008, the group already had plans for the entire convention center so the Open Space session took place in a ballroom at the adjacent Marriott. “For the sake of time and simplicity, we also ended up having all the breakouts take place in that one ballroom,” explains Murphy.
“Having everyone in one room in 2008 created a palpable energy and a real sense of the ‘whole’ during the entire experience,” says Whitney Sanchez. “On the other hand, it was also noisy and some of the sessions ended up being pretty big so having their own space would have been nice. But in the end, it still worked, which is the important thing.”

Those constraints also had an impact on how many people could attend the sessions. Because of the nature of the session in 2005, the Open Space meeting was designed for “delegates,” elected representatives who numbered about 2,000 out of the convention’s entire attendance of some 14,000. Murphy estimates that about 1,700 of the 2,000 showed up for the session. The response was so overwhelmingly positive that for the 2008 convention, the Girl Scouts wanted to open it up to attendees at large. Space constraints, however, limited the number of attendees to about 700, meaning space was reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.

Folding a session into an existing schedule can also prove challenging. In both cases, the Girl Scouts opted to have their Open Space sessions as pre-convention events, but there was more available time in 2005 than in 2008. In 2005, for example, attendees gathered in the morning, broke for lunch, then reconvened for another session before a closing circle, while in 2008, the whole session had to be completed by 1:30 p.m. “We served lunch right in the room and carried on so we didn’t have to lose any additional time,” says Whitney Sanchez.

Follow-up actions can also vary depending on the question and how attendees respond. Both years, the resulting hundreds of pages of notes were put online for all convention attendees to access. “In 2008, because the focus was on shared learning, people took what they needed from the sessions and brought what they needed back home with them,” says Murphy. “But in 2005, we were actually very surprised by the results. The focus question was on governance, but it turned out that almost no one spoke about governance. That told us very clearly that it wasn’t a priority for them. The beauty of Open Space is that people can tell us what they really care about.” Murphy took those concerns and “wrapped their thoughts right into the final strategy that we had been developing.”

Another result of both sessions was the interest attendees had in bringing the Open Space techniques back to their home councils — so much so that the Girl Scouts later created packets to distribute to anyone interested in planning Open Space sessions on their own.

“There’s so much passion for this process,” says Murphy. “It’s really taken hold virally and we’ve heard from people all over the country who are using it in council meetings, annual meetings and even with the girls. When you ask people what their passion is and what they’d like to see happen, they get excited and end up being really touched by the experience.”

By Christine Born

Detroit International Riverfront

When the American Mensa association decided to hold its 2010 Annual Gathering in the Detroit area, it joined other organizations that have recently chosen the city for their annual conventions. The choice may seem surprising, but the city that has suffered its fair share of bad press has been innovative at turning at least one bad news story to its advantage.

The Motor City is no resort destination — and that distinction is considered a definite advantage since the AIG effect redefined the checklist of meeting requirements for many associations. “Nobody ever got into trouble for meeting here,” says Christopher Baum, CHME, senior vice president of sales and marketing for the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau. The CVB has actively been promoting its new story: A classic American city that has been down on its luck really wants you and will prove it — having a meeting here verges on the virtuous with maybe a bit of patriotism to boot, providing nothing that could raise the shackles of impropriety or extravagance. Welcoming and highly affordable, the Motor City has 2,000 new downtown hotel rooms, world-class casinos and a top-notch Delta-hub airport. There’s more good news for future events in the takeover of Cobo Conference/Exhibition Center by a new private authority in preparation for a $300-million renovation and expansion.

While the sun may not shine all the time, Detroit is the home of the Motown sound. There are also the Detroit Tigers, the Pistons and the Red Wings, and the city is a melting pot of ethnicities, food and culture from Greektown to Mexican Village and beyond. Just the type of real simple, authentic experiences that resonate with today’s visitors (your attendees).

Pittsburgh's David Lawrence Convention Center

Another city that has found a silver lining in the new economic sensibilities is Pittsburgh, which got a boost from the international media attention surrounding the G-20 Summit hosted by the city in September 2009. The former industrial-belt city has gotten plenty of press in recent years for its environmental policies (the David L. Lawrence Convention Center is the first convention center to earn the Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating by the U.S. Green Building Council), quality of life, restaurants and attractive neighborhoods. But its affordability and accessibility are cited as key contributing factors in its success at attracting new conventions.

Cincinnati hopes the similar factors, as well as its reputation as a friendly city filled with culture, history and arts, will help it win its bid to host the 2015 Lions Clubs International convention. Club officials were impressed by the close proximity of the hotels, convention space, restaurants and shops in the city, according to the Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau. The city is one of five finalists for the convention, competing with Boston; Tampa; Honolulu; and Manchester, U.K. The convention, held last year in Minneapolis, would bring an estimated 25,000 to 36,000 hotel room nights and have an economic impact of $7.4 million to $10.5 million.

“Reaching finalist status to host Lions Clubs International is a tremendous accomplishment in itself,” says Dan Lincoln, president and CEO of the Cincinnati CVB. “We are often not perceived as being large enough or cosmopolitan enough to host a large convention, but once they get here they love Cincinnati.”

One way his team helps get that message out is through what Lincoln calls guerrilla marketing. “We can’t outspend our competition, but we can outsmart them,” he says. In an effort to boost its chances and as a thank-you for being considered, the city of Cincinnati collected 5,000 pairs of eyeglasses to donate to the organization, which is known for its long-standing dedication to improving eye health by collecting eyeglasses for those in need. “That’s what smart cities do,” Lincoln says.

Around the country, cities are reshaping their marketing message to fit tightened budgets and new expectations. Value, balance, accountability, responsibility and a return to basics dominate the vocabulary around consumer behavior and are affecting meetings and travel. Besides affordability, destinations are marketing their connectivity and walkability. More demanding customers want state-of-the-art facilities and expect better, faster (and free) Internet availability. They also want personalized service, online room selection and check-in, in-room food and beverage offerings, and even personalized beds (variable firmness). Nearby dining, shopping, jogging and walking paths, parks and other attractions also bring in attendees, offering inexpensive, easily accessible alternatives and breaks in an often-demanding conference schedule.

Cincinatti presented 5,000 pairs of eyeglasses to Lions Club representatives visiting the city.

Last year was definitely a game changer — and the great equalizer is now affordability. Planners shouldn’t rule anything out, even cities previously considered out of reach and resort properties. As Orlando’s very vocal cheerleader, the city’s CVB President and CEO Gary Sain told a recent Atlanta gathering of meeting professionals, “When you’re a strong leisure destination, it works to the advantage of meetings.” Orlando’s abundance of flights, rooms and variety of attractions makes it a powerful draw for attendees and a prudent, affordable business choice. And, Sain contends, that all adds up to a good argument against the perception of it being in any way frivolous or out of reach.

Now may also be the time to “buy up, not down,” advised Dave Lutz, managing director of Velvet Chainsaw Consulting, a company specializing in the convention and meeting industry, speaking to the same group. The competitive set has changed, Lutz said. “If you’ve usually gone second tier, try first tier now — it may help attendance. There’s still a lot of room at the inn, so buck the trend and buy up.”

Whatever message planners buy into, what is clear is that all options are on the table. First tier, second tier, resort or not, no destination is automatically off limits or easily categorized, especially by price. Besides affordability, the other key word for properties is flexibility. “We’ve felt like Gumby all year long,” said Danielle Babilino, senior vice president of hotel sales for Las Vegas’ Wynn | Encore. And that’s not a bad thing for meeting planners who, for a while at least, are on the winning side of the equation.

By Larry Bleiberg

Sometimes you have to work with people who think they’re geniuses. But in Pam Donahoo’s case, they’re right. As the executive director of American Mensa, she serves members who scored in the top two percent on IQ tests. (There are more than 57,000 members in the United States and more than 101,000 worldwide.)

The group’s annual convention features a gathering of often quirky personalities who have an insatiable hunger to learn about, well, everything. Recent meetings have included everything from dodgeball games to introductory classes on Mandarin Chinese. American Mensa’s 2010 Annual Gathering will be held in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn June 30-July 5 and will be a joint gathering of American Mensa and Mensa Canada. With a membership consisting of a wide-range of ages, ethnicities and even eccentricities, here’s how Donahoo, 46, makes her meetings work.

What’s it like working for a group of brilliant people?
It’s a little bit harder. Every problem or situation is viewed as a challenge or a puzzle. There’s always a better, faster mouse trap. I tell new staff members: “Don’t order pizza with these guys. You’ll starve to death before you figure out what toppings to order.” But discussing and arguing and thinking things through is part of what makes their brain matter tick.

Your annual meeting this year is in Detroit, a city whose image has taken a battering during this recession. Has it affected attendance?
My meeting registration is through the roof. If there was a year I’d expect it to not to be the same, it would be this year because of the economy. But people still want the opportunity to see and experience new things and see each other. We are on track to have well over 2,000. We may be up to 2,400, and that’s as high as we’ve gotten.

What’s special about a Mensa meeting?
We have a 24/7 hospitality area. It’s a lot of round tables, people coming and going. It’s kind of like being a 12-year-old. You don’t want to go to bed because you’re afraid you’re going to miss something. You sit down and look up and it has been an hour-and-a-half and you might have had conversations on 20 or 30 topics. We also have a game room. We will have tables and hundreds of board games. People may have poker or card games or bridge games. These are people who like to play games. They like the strategy, the competitive mentality. We annually have a weekend meeting where our members do nothing but play games, actually judging new games. For a new game that’s coming out, the developers get an opportunity to have a really good focus group.

Recruiting volunteers is a challenge for many associations. How have you fared?
I’ve been with Mensa for 13 years and I’ve never seen a group that relies so heavily on volunteers. There are two groups. The core is the planning and organizing group. They will do all the programs. They figure out the schedules; they do all the logistics. My staff and I are kind of on the periphery to help. I’ve been in other organizations where we come up with the three possible keynote speakers and bring it to them and say, “Which tape do you like?” That’s not how this group works. The people involved really have a passion for it. They don’t do it every year. It’s probably a once in 10-year commitment, because it takes a lot of work.

What’s the second group?
The on-site volunteers — they do everything. They may help serve food in some places. We don’t hire security guards. We have volunteers. We call them security, but they’re really ambassadors. They can point the way to the restrooms or to the nearest 24-hour CVS.

How do you recruit them?
When they register, we ask them. The key is just offering enough types of volunteer activities so everyone can find something they’re comfortable doing. For the first three days of registration, every volunteer shift is filled. I ask why, and they say ‘What better way do I have to see all my friends?’ or if [they’re] a new person it’s a great way to meet people. Sometimes they may get a T-shirt if they work several hours, but this is their organization. Volunteering’s really part of the DNA for them.

What about training?
In almost every area where we have volunteers we have someone from the core group in charge. They come up with a one-pager. For security, it has things like how do you call 911, because it’s different in every hotel. Who’s the head of security? Where’s the nearest emergency room? Sometimes at the beginning of the event they’ll hold a quick meeting, maybe 35 to 40 minutes and go over these things. We have each committee create a detailed post-report at the end of the meeting for the next year. The last thing we want them to do is spend their volunteering reinventing the wheel. But sometimes we have a volunteer who thinks they know how to do something better, and they do.

How do you keep younger members involved, and interested?
Our Gen-X SIG [Special Interest Group for members in their mid-30s to mid-40s] wanted to plan the convention. These younger folks are planning it for the first time, but I’ve gotten great attendance. There’s really a young spin on things.

In what way?
A few years ago, they started a pub crawl. It started out just as a young group and now everyone’s involved. What a great way to see a city. If I’m new in a city, even if I want to go barhopping, I don’t want to do it by myself. This year during the meeting they’re also bringing in speakers focusing on the Motown aspect of Detroit. Another tract is focusing on Mensa’s history since it’s our 50th anniversary.

How has the economy affected membership numbers?
They’re increasing. You hear that beer sales go up during a stale economy and Mensa’s kind of like that. Dues are $59; we have a very low price point. When kids are making a decision about colleges they want something for their resume. If you’ve been downsized, then Mensa’s there to make you standout.

As with many associations, your members pay to attend the annual convention out of their own pockets. Why do they come?
It’s to be at that place where people who qualify feel comfortable. You don’t have to explain your jokes around this group. You don’t have to worry about being the smart one or being treated like you’re a nerd. It’s really that safe opportunity. I have a lot of couples who are married in the organization. Often times they will find their spouse in Mensa. You are much more likely to be married to someone with the same intelligence level.

Are you a member?
I am not. None of my staff can be members while we’re in the organization.

Do you qualify for membership?
We don’t answer because it doesn’t matter.

Many associations have had to shorten their meetings due to expense and the commitment involved. Have you?
We’re bucking every trend. I’ve added days. We always meet over the Fourth of July. It’s a vacation — you don’t have to justify your time away from work. It’s a different mindset. I have huge shoulders on my event. I need three or four days on either end, and more. People are going to come in a few days early and go to Canada. Some are going to Northern Michigan.

With members like yours, do you use a lot of technology at your meetings?
If we’re behind the curve, that’s where it is. It’s mainly because our price-points are low. There’s not as much technology used mainly because of the cost of it. We certainly have our own community. We have fan pages on Facebook. We have a Twitter account. Like everyone else, we’re realizing there are lots of opportunities that are there. We considered using handheld technology for a media event: an ask-the-geniuses session. But it was too expensive.

Does Mensa have a broader message or mission?
To the general public, we’re saying, it’s OK to be smart. Today you see movies that depict the smart person as the protagonist instead of the antagonist, the hero instead of the nerd that gets beaten up. We promote intelligence as a valuable asset.

Tell me about hug dots.
When you come in to register and pick up your badge, over on the side is a table that has a bunch of stickers on it — red, yellow and green. It’s to show your whole comfort level with hugging. They’re hug dots. Red means: I’m a personal-space kind of person. Yellow means: I’m OK with hugging if I know you. Green means: I’ll hug everyone. It’s almost like a handshake. Mensa recognizes that among its members, it has a lot of introverts. It’s not usual for someone to start out with a red or yellow button and then move up the scale, especially with someone new. You go to Kiwanis meetings and everyone hugs each other. It’s not any different for them. But we’re Mensa. We had to create a solution.

Larry Bleiberg is an award-winning travel editor and feature writer, and creator of CivilRightsTravel.com.

By Larry Anderson

Cleveland, Ohio

The Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS) has been holding major expositions in Cleveland for 30 years. The city is central to the rubber, polymer and plastics industry (and located within 500 miles of 43 percent of the U.S. population), and Rubber Division expositions there draw 5,000 to 7,000 attendees — the largest attendance for any of the group’s events, says Ed Miller, executive director.

Such citywide meetings are sometimes the only time colleagues from around the country see each other face-to-face. The shared experiences can become part of an organization’s identify, and the name of the host city can even become synonymous with everything that happened there.

Successful citywides result from an optimum alignment of what a city offers and what the planners need. It’s almost as if the meeting and the city become one. The venue’s great attractions are integrated into the meeting schedule; fond memories meld business and social elements; and attendees leave looking forward to next year. “You can go to [a larger city], but you are there with five or six other groups,” says Dan Williams, Positively Cleveland’s vice-president of sales. “In Cleveland, you get all the attention.”

Ed Miller likes the fact that Cleveland’s hotels and restaurants are easy for attendees to get to. The Rubber Division exposition features a 65,000-sq.-ft. or larger trade show and a three-day technical symposium. Some attendees bring in the whole family to enjoy Cleveland attractions. “My family and I go up there all the time for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the Great Lakes Science Center, the Western Reserve Historical Society, the Cleveland Botanical Garden and other attractions,” says Miller, whose office is about 30 miles away.

“A lot of people don’t know that Cleveland is on the water,” he says. “We have beaches. We have the second largest live theater district. We are a very affordable family location.” Cleveland’s 88-year-old convention center is “historical” and lacks some amenities available at new facilities, but a new 300,000-sq.-ft. convention center is expected to open in 2013 or 2014 (along with the new Cleveland Medical Mart that will include a permanent showroom for medical equipment).

Timing is everything

Any citywide meeting planner should be careful about timing and plan far ahead. Recurring meetings tend to book up space early and limit venue choices. “That makes it very challenging to host a citywide event,” says Sheryl Huynh, director of event marketing for NVIDIA, a company that makes computer chips for graphics and video game applications. “You should look a minimum of two years out.”

NVIDIA hosted 9,500 attendees for three days in August 2008 in San Jose, Calif. The event included a consumer show (with a lot of 3D gaming), expo and professional conference. The meeting used the convention center, the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, the civic center, and also meeting rooms (and lodging) at the Marriott, Fairmont and Crowne Plaza hotels, and additional lodging at the Hilton. Attendees were a mix of consumers from the local Silicon Valley area as well as competitive video gamers and developers from all over the world.

Huynh says timing issues are different for specific audiences. For example, in her case a summer event is great for gamers and younger attendees, but not so good for professionals because it interferes with prime family vacation time. “You have to understand that dynamic,” she says.

Techie show floor at NVIDIA in San Jose

Kelli Donahoe, director of sales for Team San Jose, recommends that citywide meeting planners create a complete budget checklist and make sure they plan for everything. Team San Jose provides a single contract and walks the planner through it to understand all the costs. Team San Jose also handles all the facilities and food and beverage. Complimentary items in one city might not be complimentary in another, Donahoe warns. “We look at the business in totality and bring all their needs to one bottom line,” she says.

The biggest complaint Huynh heard about her show was “there were too many things happening and we didn’t know what to go to.” The lesson: Don’t over-schedule. She is looking at the possibility of lengthening the show with a half-day of pre-event tutorials to help spread things out.

For a sizable city, San Jose’s facilities are within walking distance of each other. “It’s very easy to go from one venue to another,” says Huynh. “In downtown San Jose there is a lot of evening entertainment, restaurants and bars.” For families, there are numerous museums and theaters. Team San Jose works with Nederlander Concerts and can help schedule entertainment events at the civic auditorium to coincide with a big convention.

Dealing with surprises

No matter how far ahead or carefully you plan there are no guarantees. The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) had to cancel its meeting in New Orleans set for the week after Hurricane Katrina but the association for screen printing, digital printing and embroidery professionals made a successful return to the Big Easy last October. Some 14,000 attended the SGIA annual meeting Oct. 7-9, 2009, including 405 exhibitors covering 156,324 square feet in several halls of the freshly renovated Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The international meeting included attendees from 105 countries.

SGIA convention-goers stayed in the headquarter Hilton Hotel and 27 other hotels throughout New Orleans. A few meetings were held at the Hilton, but the majority of educational sessions — ranging from a few hundred attendees down to small groups in the teens — were held at the convention center. SGIA operated a shuttle service among the hotels using 21 motorcoaches on four routes. Shuttles ran every 10 to 15 minutes during the show to all the hotels except seven, which were deemed within walking distance. Attendees also took advantage of a streetcar that travels up and down Canal Street for easy access to the meeting venue.

Some exhibiting vendors sponsored events at various local restaurants. “The vendors were very complimentary about the help they received from local restaurants for their off-site events,” says Michael Robertson, president and CEO of SGIA. “New Orleans really suits our market because of strong support from restaurants and the hospitality in the French Quarter. It’s a great atmosphere.”

A demonstration at Specialty Graphic Imaging Association Convention

The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association has also held recent annual conventions in Las Vegas, Atlanta and Orlando, but Robertson says he is impressed by New Orleans’ comeback. “We feel New Orleans is a real draw for us,” he says. “This is our first time back [since Katrina]. The city is doing really well. We were pleased with the labor support we received related to the exhibition. The restaurant and hotel people are really supportive and grateful for the business. They are really taking care of the French Quarter. It is a very controlled, protected area and a great place for our attendees to socialize. Our people felt very comfortable walking around.”

Robertson says he would like to see an increase in the flights going into the New Orleans airport by the time the SGIA returns to the city in 2011. “We had a really good show there. New Orleans is back, and it’s a great place,” he says.

The New Orleans CVB was “absolutely supportive,” adds Robertson. “New Orleans has the best public relations and marketing support of any CVB we have worked with — far and away the best. They are very strong at partnering with associations.”

Robertson’s advice for planners of citywide events is simple: “You should really analyze everything, and think about what could happen that you haven’t thought of.” Fortunately, his big event in New Orleans didn’t have any surprises.

Let’s take a walk

Having a citywide in a locale where everything related to your meeting is within walking distance is a great way to simplify transportation logistics. In Frisco, Texas, hotels and attractions are within a mile of each other. “Most people think we are removed and [in the] country and don’t have all the amenities that a big city would have,” says Jennifer Kimble, tourism and convention services manager. Not true. A stone’s throw from the convention center is the 160-store Stonebriar Center mall with six anchors including Nordstrom and Macy’s, and one of only three IKEA stores in Texas. The upscale Westin Stonebriar hotel has 301 guest rooms and a Tom Fazio championship golf course. Coming soon to Frisco will be the Museum of the American Railroad (an opportunity for railroad industry meetings and an attraction for train enthusiasts).

Brandi Plunkett, program director of the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), held a leadership development symposium in Frisco for firefighters and emergency medical technicians. The roughly 500 attendees exceeded expectations. The event happened early in 2010 at the Frisco convention center and the attached 330-room Embassy Suites hotel. “It was a completely delightful experience,” Plunkett says. “The hotel and convention center staffs worked hand-in-hand.” When attendance exceeded the capacity of the hotel restaurant, a reception window was transitioned into an ad-hoc concession stand to serve sandwiches and chips. “Our firefighters that went out had a good time,” says Plunkett. “There are so many restaurants close by. All you have to do is go outside the parking lot.”

Frisco CVB provides services such as welcome bags, badges and sign-in. “One of our biggest selling points is our reputation,” says Denise Stokes, public relations/communications manager, Frisco CVB. “We are the type of CVB that will literally hold your hand from beginning to end.”

Adapt to changing needs

As a citywide meeting’s needs change over time, who’s to say the city and venue cannot adapt to those changes? Case in point: The ACS Rubber Division, which is already looking ahead to its meeting in Cleveland in 2011.The meeting will not be held downtown but 12 miles away at the International Exposition (I-X) Center near Cleveland’s Hopkins International Airport. There will be primary hotels downtown along with some at the airport and in between. Positively Cleveland and the I-X Center will provide free shuttle service for attendees. “We are hoping to bring in some participation from the biomedical industry, which uses polymers and rubber in equipment and packaging of medical supplies. We are going to try in 2011 to double our expo size by combining it with a biotechnology expo,” says Miller, who adds that the plan is in the “infancy stage.” Positively Cleveland will be there to help. “They are there on site, so if we need help, they help,” he says.