plan your meetings magazine volume 21 issue 1 2016

VOLUME 21, ISSUE 1 2016

Big Challenges Youre Facing

(Dont Worry, Weve Got Even

Bigger Solutions)

+PLANNING

FOR THE WORST

COMPLIANCE VS. INCLUSIVITY

THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO MEETING

PLANNING

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YOUR SUCCESS IS OUR BUSINESS.

8 8 8 . 3 2 0 . 7 1 1 7 | wynnmeetings.com

14 BIG CHALLENGES YOURE FACING (DONT WORRY, WEVE GOT EVEN BIGGER SOLUTIONS)

Throughout 2015, we held industry-challenges-and-solutions roundtables to give planners and suppliers a chance to talk honestly (and anonymously) about their challenges and brainstorm potential solutions.

15 Three reasons why your RFPs go unanswered 18 The top way to improve planner-supplier relationships 18 AV teams are not the enemy 20 The fastest way to save time and money

22 PLANNING FOR THE WORST Peoples lives could be riding on your preparedness for riots,

protests, shooters and acts of terrorism.

26 Essential terminology 34 Dont let zombies ruin your event

36 COMPLIANCE VS. INCLUSIVITY Are your events truly inclusive or merely compliant?

Theres a huge difference.

38 ADA @ 26: Industry still struggling to include disabled 42 Seven ways planners can do better by all attendees 44 Satisfying all attendees pays off 50 ADA-related questions planners must be asking

IN THIS ISSUEFEATURES

DEPARTMENTS3 PYM+ AUGMENTED REALITY CONTENT6 EDITORS LETTER8 DISCRIMINATORY LAWS & MEETINGS10 CATAPULT YOUR CAREER

IN THE MEETING INDUSTRY

12 SOLD! TIPS FOR FUNDRAISING AUCTIONS53 THE PRACTICAL GUIDE

TO MEETING PLANNING

68 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

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PYM 2016 | PLANYOURMEETINGS.COM

Abilene (Texas) CVB 52

AT&T Executive Education Hotel and Conference Center (Austin) 25

Beaver Run (Colo ) Resort & Conference Center 32

Caesars Entertainment 5, 17

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts (IHG) 11

Dave & Busters 16

Delta Air Lines 9

Destination Colorado 49

Dolce Hayes Mansion (Calif ) 28

Embassy Suites San Marcos Hotel, Spa and Conference Center (Texas) 47

Glendale (Ariz ) CVB 44

Greater New Braunfels CVB 33

Hilton Americas-Houston Inside Front Cover

Hotel Arista (Ill ) 30

James H Rainwater Conference Center (Ga ) 48

Kerrville (Texas) CVB 31

King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort (Ga ) 27

La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa (Texas) 21

Laredo (Texas) CVB 51

Meet College Park (Ga ) 45

Patriots Point (S C ) 26

Rockport-Fulton (Texas) COC 40

South Point Casino Hotel & Spa (Nev ) 39

South Shore Harbour 41

Team San Jose (Calif ) 29

Topgolf 7

Vail Resorts (Colo ) Back Cover

Valencia Group Inside Back Cover

Visit Redding (Calif ) 43

The Woodlands (Texas) Resort and Conference Center 19

Wynn Encore 1

GO BEYOND THE PAGEWITH AUGMENTED REALITYThroughout this issue, weve embedded bonus content. Download the free PYM+ app and scan the pages listed here to unlock those experiences.

HERES HOW1Download the free PYM+ app for iOS or Android: tinyurl.com/pymplusapple or tinyurl.com/pymplusandroid.

2Go to the pages listed below or look for this icon.

3Open the PYM+ app and scan the page. Double tap experience to expand to full screen. Double tap again to return to scanner view.

3

VOLUME 21, ISSUE 1 2016

MEETING PROFESSIONALS INTERNATIONAL@


(Dont Worry, Weve Got Even Bigger Solutions)

+PLANNING

FOR THE WORSTCOMPLIANCE VS.

INCLUSIVITYTHE PRACTICAL

GUIDE TO MEETING PLANNING

PLANYOURMEETINGS.COM | PYM 2016

EDITORIALSENIOR EDITORMichael Pinchera, HMCCDIRECTOR OF PUBLISHINGRich LunaMANAGING EDITORBlair PotterDIGITAL EDITORJeff LoyCONTRIBUTING WRITERSTyra W. Hilliard, PhD, JD, CMP; Dawn Rasmussen, CMP; Kristi Casey Sanders, DES; Donna Smith; Tara Swords

PRODUCTIONCREATIVE DIRECTORJeff DaigleGRAPHIC DESIGNERSIan Carson, Jenny Hinely

MARKETING & SALESSENIOR DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTEvan Casey DIRECTORS OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTSusan M. Fox, CMP, CMM; Debbie WebbBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COORDINATORAdriean ChildreeCLIENT SERVICESElyse Callison, Emily Northrip, Kari MockliDIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGYKristi Casey Sanders, DESDIGITAL MARKETING MANAGERHector Olguin

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT/CIRCULATIONMANAGER AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENTClaudia MadiganAUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT SPECIALISTAlysia BrogdonAUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT TEAMJennifer Buckley, Lisa Sanders, Karen Welsh, Miranda Behner

MPI EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT

PRESIDENT & CEOPaul Van DeventerCHIEF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICERDarren Temple

Published by Meeting Professionals International, 2711 LBJ Freeway, Suite 600, Dallas, Texas 75234, 972-702-3000, fax: 972-702-3065. Copyright 2016 by Meeting Professionals International. MPI makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes, but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors, omissions or opinions expressed herein. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission from the publisher strictly prohibited. Publisher reserves the right to refuse any advertising for any reason and to alter advertising copy or graphics deemed unacceptable for publication.

PlanYourMeetings.com/subscribe


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Meeting and event planners love PYM LIVE Events for three main reasons:1. Experiential, cutting-edge education2. Next-gen event technology3. Relaxed, business-friendly networking

If you enjoyed yourself today, please share us with your friends and coworkers. View planyour meetings.com/events for a full schedule and more info.

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Oxford Economics fi ndings show that you are twice as likely to convert a prospect into a client with an in-person meeting.

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We are proud to host the

2016 MPI WEC atHarrahs WaterfrontConference Center


THAT NEW MAGAZINE SMELL

Word on the street is that late last year, Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the worlds largest association for meeting and event professionals, acquired the assets of Plan Your Meetings, and thatOMG!the industry giant is going to homogenize and/or corporatize everything you know and love about PYMthe blog, the live events, the very magazine youre holding in your hands at this very moment! Argh!!! This is why zombie fiction and poo emojis are so popular! you mutter to no one in particular while standing in line for the iPhone 7.

The truth, however, lacks this 1984-esque potentiality. The reality is that you, the non-titled meeting planner, remain the priority for all things PYM, and our relationship with you will only become richer due to this growth. Should you wish to expand your industry knowledge or even prep for a career as a titled meeting and event planner, your involvement with PYMand PYMs tie to MPIwill only make that transition easier.

Yeah, youll see some different faces and hear some different voices, but the PYM personalities with which youre already familiar arent gonetheyll continue to pop up in this magazine, on PlanYourMeetings.com and at PYM LIVE events. For many of you, Im one of those different faces and voicesbut as part of MPIs award-winning publications team for 13 years and a writer and editor since 1997, Im not new to your professional sphere.

Chemically speaking, now is the time to get your name and thoughts imprinted on my prefrontal cortexthis being the first PYM Annual Ive helmed, my brain will certainly experience an enhanced or augmented level of neurotransmitter activity, resulting in the formation of hyper-acute memories. So hit me up with content requests (what are the greatest pains in your professional backside that industry experts and your meeting planner peers may be able to soothe?), story pitches (what have you learned that you feel needs to be shared for the betterment of humanity, or at least the work-lives of other planners?) and anything else that you believe will make your existence and that of the PYM community of nearly 100,000 non-titled meeting and event planners more effective, efficient, sustainable and fun (yeah, theres plenty of fun to be had).

Michael Pinchera, HMCC [email protected] Editor

EDITORS LETTER

BECOME OUR FANFollow us on Facebook at facebook.com/planyourmeetings, on Twitter: @PYMLIVE and @PlanYrMeetings, YouTube and Instagram.

TELL US ABOUT ITOur Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn groups are buzzing about what matters to you most. Come join the conversation. #yaypym

SHARE USSubscriptions are free, so encourage your meeting planning colleagues to claim theirs at planyourmeetings.com/subscribe.

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8Discriminatory Laws & MeetingsBY TYRA HILLIARD, PHD, JD, CMP

T heres a kid at school that my kindergartener son doesnt like to play withbecause he bites (literally, not figuratively). I tell my son he doesnt have to play with someone who bites.

Lately Ive been hearing the same thing from a lot of people in the meeting industry: We dont want to do business with X because they bite (figuratively, not literally). I would like to say the answer for them is as simple as it is for my son, but alas, our grown-up world is so much more complicated.

Im referring, of course, to the destinations that are choosing to pass legislation that is viewed by many as discriminatory. The most visible and contentious at the moment is North Carolinas Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (HB2), known by its not too attractive nickname, The North Carolina Bathroom Bill (some lawmakers mothers are so proud).

Indiana did it. Arizona tried. Georgia thought really hard about doing it, but likely bowed to economic pressures from groups holding big conventions in Georgia, The Walking Dead and, oh, a little company called Disney.

Almost 10 years ago, the National

Council of La Raza, an Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, chose to move its 2009 annual conference out of Kansas City after the mayor appointed an active member of the extremist Minuteman Civil Defense Corps to a city commission.

The point is that this isnt a new issue. As with many things in our industry, it will continue to rear its ugly head in various forms.

In the meantime, what is the planner who is concerned about this issue to do?

DO YOUR HOMEWORKKnow what kind of legislation is brewing in cities in which you are considering meeting. Dont expect destination marketing organizations to lead with, Oh, by the way, our legislative branch in all its wisdom has this discriminatory doozy in the works!

Pick your issues (race, religion, persons with disabilities, sexual orientation, union, etc.), find the appropriate source(s) for information and assign someone to monitor them as you would any threat.

A good source for LGBT information by state: Lambda Legal (lambdalegal.org).

SET AN ORGANIZATION-WIDE POLICYEstablish anti-discrimination and inclusivity as part of your organizations governing documents and policies. Reference and quote this policy in your RFPs and contracts.

ADD LANGUAGE TO CONTRACTSInclude in your RFP or Required Contract Terms contract language. My preference is to add the passing of discriminatory legislation to my reasons for termination of the contract without liability within a certain number of days after the passage of such law/statute/ordinance.

This is easy to say and can be much more challenging to get done. Remember, negotiations are just thatyou ask for the language and the other party decides whether they are willing to give it to you and if so, in what form. In a negotiation like this, getting it in the contract depends on a number of issues including whether there is already some such legislation brewing and the value of your meeting as a piece of business.

The situation is somewhat different and possibly more clear-cut for organizations such as the NAACP, whose very mission is to eliminate race-based discrimination. In this case, discriminatory legislation may rise to a level that frustrates the very purpose of the organizations meeting and should be put in a Frustration of Purpose clause.

If it doesnt seem fair that you cant just get out of a contract in a state you feel is discriminating, think for a moment about the hospitality businesses and workers there who are harmed. Terminating without liability doesnt mean terminating without cost to anyone. Suppliers are often hurt by these laws, too. As I tell my son, take care of yourself, but be a good friend.

Tyra Hilliard, a professor, speaker and meeting and event industry expert, is one of the very few people in the world to have a law degree, a PhD in hospitality and a CMP. Follow her on Twitter @DrTyra.

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PYM 2016 | PLANYOURMEETINGS.COM

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Catapult Your Career in the Meeting IndustryBY DAWN RASMUSSEN, CMP

E arlier this year, I spoke to the MPI Philadelphia Area Chapters Educational Institute, and one of the recurring themes that I heard during that presentation and in follow-up discussions is that a whole lot of meeting professionals feel stuck in their careers.

Sometimes, there simply isnt anywhere to go up; other times, BossZilla is standing in the way.

But what I am hearing is a lot of frustration and gnashing of teeth from meeting professionals who want to catapult their careers.

Never fear! There are some things that you can do now that can shape your future.

Become the best subject matter expert you can be. Read everything.

Go to as many conferences that your work (and personal budget) will allow. Pay attention to upcoming trends or technology just on the horizon. By being a sponge, you are absorbing information and concepts that can lead to future applications in your work.

Ask for a promotion. Sorry, guys. Your egos always enable you to

walk right up to the boss and ask for that promotion or raise. Women, on the other hand, second guess themselves constantly, and are much more hesitant to have that conversation about future upward movement within the organization. But no matter who you are, the boss wont know you are interested until wait for it YOU TELL THEM. Dont ever assume they just know.

Take on the stretch assignment. The more you can push your

comfort zone and limits (within reason, of course), the more you learn and can flex into other positions you might not have considered before.

Understand what the root function of our industry is

based upon. If you want to transition to higher levels, consider a director of

operations. You are already a director of operations in managing events or sales from start to finish. Taking a step back and gaining a bigger picture of what your job function actually entails can help you translate this to growth mode within the meeting industry.

Volunteer. Volunteering, as we ALL know, does two things: You

get to do something fun and hopefully nice for the organization for which you are volunteering; and it puts you in a role where you are giving back. The secret sauce to being a great leader is being generous and giving back.

Boomerang if you need to. Step outside of the industry if you

simply cant easily get a skill setsometimes, thats what it takes to get that extra edge. I always joke (after being in this industry 15 years now) that meeting professionals never go anywherewe just play musical chairs.

Propose a new job. This can be pretty scary. But pssst! Heres a

secret: Employers LOVE it when you can show a strong business case and ROI. So if you see a company need

area, and management is moving like molasses in dealing with this gap, why not create your own job description and pencil it out to show that it would be a profit instead of a loss center? Most supervisors first reaction when approached by an employee proposing a new job: How much is this going to cost me? Show value.

These tips can absolutely light a fire in catapulting your career in the meeting industry.

My final piece of advice if you want to move ahead: Be disciplined. The people who arent focused, arent driven and arent aware of the value that they offer are usually the ones who get passed over.

Now go get em, tiger!

Dawn Rasmussen, CMP, is a Certified Advanced Rsum Writer and the president of Portland, Ore.-based Pathfinder Writing and Career Services. Clients from across the United States and Canada and from all career levels have benefited from her highly focused, results-oriented rsum, cover letter and job search coaching services.

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271 17th Street NW,Suite 2100

Atlanta, GA 30363+1.404.836.2200

Client: Crowne Plaza

Job: IHGBAC16007

Pub: Plan Your Meetings

Studio Artist: Kevin Kennedy

CD/AD: Manny Bautista

Copywriter: Jane Chance

Acct. Mgmt: Court Lanio

Traffic: Rhonda Mitchell

IHGBAC16007_B2B_Meetings_PlanYourMeetings_r1.indd

APPROVALS

saved at: 5-2-2016 4:17 PM

Live: 7 x 10

Trim: 7.875 x 10.875

Bleed: 8.125 x 11.125

Production: Emily Boedecker

Printed at: None

CD/AD Copywriter Acct. Mgmt. Traffic Proofreader Studio Production Client

Notes: None

The right spot for your business meeting isIHGs Crowne Plaza.

Call 1-800-MEETINGS or visit CrownePlaza.com/meetings

At Crowne Plaza, we take meetings as seriously as you do. Beyond our spaces built for a range

of meeting sizes, we make sure every meeting has a plan for success. It starts with a dedicated

Meetings Director as your single point of contact. Youll also get daily budget briefings to

keep you in the know. Above all, youll get the attention to detail your meeting deserves.

Thats something you can plan on.

Because business meetings should be at a business hotel.

2016 IHG. All rights reserved. Most hotels are independently owned and/or operated.

271 17th Street NW,Suite 2100

Atlanta, GA 30363+1.404.836.2200

Client: Crowne Plaza

Job: IHGBAC16007

Pub: Plan Your Meetings

Studio Artist: Kevin Kennedy

CD/AD: Manny Bautista

Copywriter: Jane Chance

Acct. Mgmt: Court Lanio

Traffic: Rhonda Mitchell

IHGBAC16007_B2B_Meetings_PlanYourMeetings_r1.indd

APPROVALS

saved at: 5-2-2016 4:17 PM

Live: 7 x 10

Trim: 7.875 x 10.875

Bleed: 8.125 x 11.125

Production: Emily Boedecker

Printed at: None

CD/AD Copywriter Acct. Mgmt. Traffic Proofreader Studio Production Client

Notes: None

The right spot for your business meeting isIHGs Crowne Plaza.

Call 1-800-MEETINGS or visit CrownePlaza.com/meetings

At Crowne Plaza, we take meetings as seriously as you do. Beyond our spaces built for a range

of meeting sizes, we make sure every meeting has a plan for success. It starts with a dedicated

Meetings Director as your single point of contact. Youll also get daily budget briefings to

keep you in the know. Above all, youll get the attention to detail your meeting deserves.

Thats something you can plan on.

Because business meetings should be at a business hotel.

2016 IHG. All rights reserved. Most hotels are independently owned and/or operated.

Ionce worked with a gala chairwoman who insisted we include 230 silent auction items and 17 live auction items for a crowd of 200 people at our eventmeaning that everyone in attendance needed to buy at least one item for the event to be successful. By the time the auctioneer got to the eighth live auction item, half the crowd was gone and the rest were sleeping off a night of drinking at their tables. The auction was like a giant garage sale except everyone was in formals. I took home a five-foot urn-like fixture that I can only assume was for an elephants ashes. I had toit was among the 75 items that didnt sell.

Orlando-based Wade and Barbara West are co-owners of the American Fundraising Foundation, a nonprofit organization specializing in fundraising auctions. I sat down with the Wests, former television news anchors who have more than 1,800 fundraising auctions under their belt, to hear their thoughts about common mistakes made duringand best practices forfundraising auctions.

How did you become professional auctioneers?Wade: It was an auctioneers no-show that prompted us to get involved in fundraising auctions. Barbara was hosting a 1,200-attendee gala in Orlando in 1998, when she learned that the local car dealer/auctioneer the organization had contracted with didnt

show. With no plan of what to do next, Barbaras impromptu response was to announce from the stage, We are lucky tonight to have Wade West with us who is going to be our auctioneer.

That was the only warning I had. At that point, I just got into my zone and I did it and son of a gun, the audience didnt know. We realized our love was in helping nonprofits make money through auctions, so I went to auctioneer school and we quit our news reporting jobs.

Why should an event planner pick an auction pro? Wade: Experience. When you need a surgeon, you want someone that does a minimum of 45 procedures a yearand 70 is better. So pick the auctioneer that does a minimum of 40 auctions a year. Also make sure you pick a fundraising auctioneer. There are two types of auctioneersone auctions goods, usually surplus, and the second is fundraising auctioneers. Their focus is entirely different.

How do fundraising auctioneers differ in their approach?Wade: The auctioneer needs to know how to romance the items. For example, we once did an event on the weekend of the Kentucky Derby and were concerned about big money in the room because lots of people were out of town. We had a motorcycle to auction that John Travolta had ridden once maybe twice, and we were hoping to make sticker at $22,000 and just break even. But the movie Wild Hogs had just

come out and we were able to promote the experience of riding cross-country on Travoltas motorcycle and it went for $77,000. Two weeks later we were guests at an event with basically the same bike and it raised a little over $18,000. The bidder not only needs to win, but they need to be buying a dream.

How do you help get big money to the event?Wade: Statistically, about 20 percent of the bidders are from big money; 30 percent are past supporters; and 50 percent have never stepped up to the plate at any significant level. You want to take people who havent been involved and make them become the big money. Fundraising is about the emotion of the moment to become a winner. You want to set the stage for them, so its not just A trip to Paris, its Take your wife to Paris in spring.Barbara: Most organizations sell corporate tables for $10,000, but theyre giving away the tickets to the secretarial pool or wagging tickets in the air for anyone that has a black dress or tux that wants to go. We work with the organization to help them fill the tables with people who have money to spend. Who do they play golf with, who are people who want to do business with you, what friends or customers do you want to thank?

How much should you pay for a professional fundraising auctioneer?Wade: We believe no organization should ever have to lie out money to make money. We charge a 10 percent premium on auction items and that covers everything. And if something doesnt sell, it doesnt cost them anything.

How do you get people started bidding?Barbara: We auction off a little teddy bear as the first item and there will be a good guy in the audience that will


Sold!TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISING AUCTIONSOVERCOMING COMMON MISTAKES AND HELPING TO DRIVE BIDDER INTEREST BY DONNA SMITH

kick off the auction with a little bid. Then we bring in this giant bearas big as a person. We have fun. One of our assistants will dance with it. And we restart the biddingnow who is going to make a bigger bid on a bigger bear? On three occasions the bear went for $10,000.

What makes an auction inventory too large?Wade: Theres a formula: Limit items to 60 percent of the number of bidders (couples count as one). Load up with cheap stuff and give everyone a chance to get their own items. We dont recommend posting the silent auction times in case something in the program causes time delays. The fewer the items and the more wow to them, the more money you will get.

What are the best items to auction?Wade: This is the something weve always dreamed about category. Not a trip to New York, because most people think Ive been there or I can catch the next plane. Its more like going to the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Paris. The reaction should be wow, wow.

How important is it to promote the auction items ahead of time? Barbara: Promoting items is like a news feed. You want to give them teaser information. You want people to get excited and say, Tell us more.Wade: We do three emails. We start with

a third of the items, and in the second email we add another third of the items and then the last email we add the final third. We always have more to come. During the auction itself our ringmen are walking smaller items such as jewelry around during the cocktail hour.

Should you use computerized programs for auctions?Wade: Were very much driven by the audience. If you expect the majority of bidders to be 42 or younger, then a computerized program works. If they are 45 to 55, it will have marginal success; but if [the audience] is 55 and aboveNO. Heres why. Men are funny animals. Younger men like technology. Wealthy, older men dont depend on technology for everything. They like to do things themselves so a more personalized approach works. Computerized programs will get you a greater number of bids but will not get you a higher selling price at the event. No automatic program can demonstrate emotional value of the item you are bidding on.

How important are the ringmenthe people who stand in the audience to encourage bidding?Wade: Ringmen are the ears to the groundand paying attention to whats happening at the table is important.

For example, we had what we would term a big-money person call us at the last minute, saying he couldnt come because his college roommate and his wife were in town. We said, Bring them along, well make room. They came that night and we were doing an auction for an animal group. We told the story of a child who was very sick and needed someone to help him through it, and a dog that was about to be put down because he was in such bad shape. They found each other and two years laterthe boy and his dog walked down the aisle of our event and you could feel the emotion. The highest starting bid for the organizations plea was $5,000, and they spotted a man who jumped up and said, Im in for $10,000 and then his food supplier vender sitting next to him joked you should give $20,000, and then the bidder said, Im in for 20 if youre in for 20we were now at $40,000.Barbara: The wife of the man who was the college roommate tugged my arm and said, Wed like to write a check for 100. And I asked $100? And she said, $100,000. And, of course, I jumped down with my microphone and said, Sir, would you please stand up. Its like covering a breaking news story. You get people involved with whats happening. Ringmen give you clues so you know whos interested.

13PLANYOURMEETINGS.COM | PYM 2016

Wade and Barbara West, co-owners of the American Fundraising Foundation, after closing an auction that raised $529,000; event at the home of Mrs. Anthony Quinn.

PHOTO

S COURTESY OF AMER

ICAN FUNDRAISING FOUNDATION



BY KRISTI CASEY SANDERS

Throughout 2015, we held industry-challenges-and-solutions roundtables to give planners and suppliers a chance to talk honestly (and anonymously) about their challenges and brainstorm potential solutions. From New York to San Francisco, heres what your peers discussed.

(Dont Worry, Weve Got Even Bigger Solutions)


3 Reasons Why Your RFPs Go UnansweredThe No. 1 problem meeting planners have today is getting hoteliers to respond to their requests for proposal (RFPs).

Several factors are at play, but suppliers who convened at our roundtables at PYM LIVE events in Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and Austin cited three main reasons why salespeople either respond or relegate your RFP to the junk pile.

1 Deadline and Decision DatesWhen an RFP comes in with a 24-hour deadline, hotel sales reps struggle with unsavory options. If they meet the deadline, they sacrifice quality in their proposal and might leave some areas incomplete (another planner pet peeve). If they opt to respond fully and create a customized proposal, they cant make the deadline and might not make a planners short list. Thats why, if they cant qualify the lead or feel like they dont have a chance, theyll ignore the RFP.

These options dont benefit planners, so why the short deadlines?

In some cases, theres a legitimate last-minute meeting that must be sourced quickly. One Austin planner, though, admits to fabricating deadline and decision-by dates. As soon as she gets a request from the C-suite, she sends out an RFP. Because she cant get her boss to commit to true deadlines, she creates an artificially tight time frame so she can answer any questions he might ask.

Sometimes the meeting gets pushed back, sometimes it never happens, but I never know, she said. Its always a hurry up and wait.

This isnt fair to hotel teams waiting to win business. One Chicago sales director says he has to hold his team accountable for following up on all potential business and wonders why planners dont update RFPs to reflect new dates when theyre known.

The hotel side isnt looking at the updates, one planner explained. Sometimes, when hotels say they have no availability, the planner will plug in updates and still receive no response. Even when detailed comments are left, explaining whats changed, she said, hotels arent reading them.

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Thats why planners should always copy the local convention and visitors bureau on RFPs. When I see theres an update, I always read that update and email my properties, said one CVB rep. I send the alert out to the hotels to update their proposals because we want those meetings to come to our city.

Roundtable participants in every city agreed that including CVBs in the RFP process is a must, not only because CVBs make sure hotels respond, but because CVB reps know whats happening in a city over the proposed meeting dates. They can tell at a glance if the contacted hotels are the right fit and, if not, suggest alternatives. Rather than soliciting requests and hearing nothing, CVBs can let meeting planners know immediately about potential conflicts and help them find the best dates, space and hotels for their groups.

So what are realistic RFP deadlines? That depends on the meeting request, according to Chicago suppliers. Hoteliers say they need at least two days to respond about a single property and at least a week on RFPs that target three to four hotels and a conference center.

Special events facilities can be the exception. Whats really working for us right now are last-minute requests, said an Atlanta rep. Because people dont typically think of them as having meeting space, they have more availability than hotels and place more value on space-only events.

Regardless of venue, planners need to get in the habit of notifying bidders when theyve awarded business. Thats just proper etiquette. If they dont have time to do so, they should use online sourcing solutions such as Zentila, which sends those notices automatically.

2 Too Many ConcessionsWere having a hard time granting everything planners are asking for, said a San Francisco hotelier.

Know that hotel sales teams lack the authority to grant 15 to 20 concessions for one group, and some submitted requests are impossible to fulfill. If a hotel only makes a 10 percent profit on F&B, it cant discount menu pricing by 25 percent. Asking for more than four or five concessions sends a red flag to CVBs and hoteliers that you dont know what youre doing.

Seasoned planners know to go for the top four or five items and then include a wish list, said one Austin hotel rep. The problem is senior planners dont educate the younger planners who are doing sourcing, so theyre going for the whole basket.

Sales teams get inundated with RFPs. Because the response time is so tight, they must be selective. We dont know how qualified the lead is, said one Atlanta salesperson, and when we try to call them and ask questions, we dont get any response. Rather than send a lot of no responses to concessions that wont compare favorably with other bids, or returning an incomplete RFP, some salespeople opt not to respond at all.

But theres another way, according to an Austin hotelier. Some planners, like those employed by HelmsBriscoe, are trained to look for bids that contain mostly yes replies. Because of that, shell say yes to concession requests, but type a comma with the exceptions or add an asterisk to the proposal, noting that she looks forward to talking to the

Be aware of A/V challenges before you sign the contract by

asking about union labor costs, inclusion of Wi-Fi, rigging

charges, etc. Come equipped with a standard list of questions

so nothing is forgotten on the spot, and allow for wiggle room

in your A/V budget to cover any last minute items like an

extra microphone or additional lighting.

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Im sorry, but sending RFPs to multiple cities is a necessary evil as availability may determine the destination. Either I work with one destination at a time and spend months or I include them all and spend weeks. Availability dries up too fast to spend that amount of time searching. David Mikitz, Maritz Travel


planner and creating a customized list of concessions.

Another Austin planner confirmed the effectiveness of that approach. If thats a hot button for my group, Ill pick up the phone and call you, she said.

The best thing, all agreed, is having experienced people on both the

sourcing and supply sides educate the next generation. Meeting planners need to understand whats appropriate for an RFP, which concession requests could help them reach their short list and what they should save for contract negotiations.

Doing so would save time, help create more value and create better planner-supplier relationships.

3 Failing to be SelectiveIf you send your RFP to too many hotels or destinations, you might not hear back from any of them.

We figure that the more destinations on the RFP, the less serious this piece of business should be treated, said one Atlanta hotel rep. If its clear that theyre looking at a specific destination or hotel, those requests get priority. But if its all over the place, you know that the destination might not have been approved yet.

Finally, if youre still in the research phase, dont send an RFP. Instead, send a request for information.

The Top Way to Improve Planner-Supplier RelationshipsLets face it: Meeting planners and suppliers have the same goal. Both sides want to make sure the meeting youre having is successful.

But theres one thing that planners do that sabotages the relationship from the very beginning: They try to keep their budgets a secret.

Are you guilty of this? Planners tend to think that if they

tell us how much they have to spend that well try to spend it all, an Atlanta-based caterer said. But it gives us a number we can take to our chef to figure out how we can be more creative and stay within our clients restrictions.

Sharing your budget doesnt only help caterers. Its the No. 1 way audiovisual providers and hoteliers said planners could help them figure out how to add value to meetings and events without blowing clients budgets.

The second-place relationship-improvement recommendation: Share your goals for meeting in the RFP, an Austin-based hotelier said. That will help hoteliers customize their proposals, your site visit, concessions and other meeting amenities. Similarly, sharing your goals and objectives will help all your vendors suggest relevant ways to add value and customize elements to help you achieve them.

AV Teams Are Not the EnemyAudiovisual teams are the Rodney Dangerfields of the meeting industry. They are an essential part of any event, but they cant seem to get any respect. During any conversation about challenges, AV teams bear the brunt of planner criticisms: that they rip people off, are surly onsite, are not there when you need them and lack customer service skills.

But are those criticisms fair? PYM LIVE Chicago hoteliers and planners hotly debated this topic.

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No one is ripping you off, a hotelier said. AV is an in-house department, its a revenue-generating department and they have to make their money.

Another hotel sales rep pointed out that hotels dont have flexibility on AV pricing, especially if the teams are outside contractors.

One of the solutions is for planners to make an investment in AV equipment they can travel with. Planners are so tech-savvy these days, they can bring their own equipment, suggested a hotel sales director. You could buy your own projector and save a lot of money.

A conference services manager shared that one of her clients bought projectors locally for every five-day event. She would throw it out when she was done because just using her own for two days shed cover the cost of renting.

In cities with union labor, however, going DIY with your AV tech may not be an option. The union doesnt allow that, explained a hotel sales rep. If you dont pay for the [equipment or labor], they charge the hotels because the union wont write it off.

When it comes to managing the AV budget and creating a positive working relationship, its important for meeting and event planners to ask questions and be honest about how theyre feeling.

One hotelier suggested including a clause outlining the planners expectations of service. Another emphasized the need to go directly to the vendor with the service issue. And if you think youre being ripped off because the provider is insisting you need a projector with a certain amount of lumens, check it out during a walk-through. Dont just ask why its needed, see it for yourself in the space and you may realize very quickly whether or not a lesser-quality audio or visual setup is adequate for your space and event.

The Fastest Way to Save Time and MoneyAt PYM LIVE New York, an executive assistant who planned several of her

companys meetings shared her biggest challenge: finding time to work more efficiently. With so many meetings coming in at the last minute, her boss suggested that she look into giving some planning tasks to an outside contractor.

If you need expert assistance negotiating contracts or finding sites, hiring a third-party planner might be necessary. But working with a CVB is the fastest way to save time and money during the research, site-selection and planning process because of the local knowledge, contacts and relationships they bring to the table.

Despite all the benefits of working with CVBs, many meeting and event planners are unaware that CVB stands for convention and visitors bureau. At a recent gathering of administrative professionals tasked with planning their companies meetings and events, 80 percent of the audience couldnt define the term. And 50 percent of them had been planning meetings for more than 15 years.

PYM conducted an online survey of its audience to see if its planners were similarly unaware of the benefits of working with CVBs. We were pleased to discover that our readers knew the value of working with CVBs, but the majority still thought that they charged for their services or thought they were third-party planners. We followed up with the handful of planners who scored 100 percent on our quiz and asked them if they used CVBs. Here are their top reasons for using CVBs.

They are able to provide outside the norm suggestions for venue

space and other ideas.

They provide honest opinions when youre trying to make a

decision between two venues and know if it would be best for your group.

They are the first to know about whats new in that destination.They not only can make sure hotels respond to your RFPs, they

can bid out services for you and provide lost business reports to the vendors you dont select.

They can answer any questions you have about local airlift, crime

and weather and tell you what other events might be happening at the same time as your event.

If you have a citywide event, they can help coordinate all the

additional moving parts required to manage rooming lists and attendee movement between multiple venues.

What are your biggest challenges? What solutions have you found? Let us know by connecting with @PlanYrMeetings or @PYMLive on Twitter, commenting on the Plan Your Meetings Facebook page or on PlanYourMeetings.com, or join us at a PYM LIVE Event near you: PlanYourMeetings.com/events.

I use CVBs all the time. I depend on their in-depth city knowledge for site selection, RFPs for hotel bids as well as assistance with local city vendors. And I have used them to bid out services for me, such as transportation, etc. I always send my lead to the CVB so they can help with sites and manage the proposal process for them. Then once I select a hotel they can take care of the lost business reports back to everyone who bid through them, which also saves time. Paula J. Rigling, CAE, CMP, Meeting Planning Professionals

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Nobody wants to think about all the bad stuff that can happen. And how can we prepare for it if we dont know what it is?


In September 2001, Alan Kleinfeld was living in Washington, D.C. The meeting professional was about to launch his own meeting management company, Arrive, but as the events of Sept. 11 unfolded around him, he felt the need to do something more.

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Peoples lives could be riding on your preparedness for riots, protests, shooters and acts of terrorism.

PLANNING FOR THE WORST

My apartment patio faced the Pentagon, he says. I got home after dark and looked out the balcony and could see the glowing fires at the Pentagon, and I was angry. I soon found out that I could be a reserve county police officer, and Ive been doing something in law enforcement on the side ever since.

Kleinfeld realized something that day: The world was a different place than it had been just 24 hours before. He began counseling his clients to take

security more seriously when planning events. It wasnt just the threat of terrorism that loomed; in recent years, the term active shooter has become a part of popular lexicon. And while terrorist attacks in the West are still comparatively rare, mass shootings in the U.S. are on the rise. There have been more total mass shooting incidents and deaths in the U.S. since 2005 than there were in the previous 23 years combined.

But to Kleinfelds dismay, his call for change in the meeting industry has often fallen on deaf ears. In fact, he says, the only widely adopted change he has seen is that meeting planners tend to include a clause in contracts that says they can cancel events because of terrorist acts. Theres nothing about the hotel having a crisis management plan, and nothing about the venue offering a staff member to help the organization design a contingency plan of its own.

I tell my clients that it would be great if they could get a crisis management plan together, and the response is, That sounds like a great idea. But then nothing, he says. Nobody wants to think about all the bad stuff that can happen. And how can we prepare for it if we dont know what it is? Meeting planners lack a foundation. They dont know where to start.

Unfortunately, its crucial that meeting organizers figure out where to start and soon.

Its your meeting and your attendees, and your reputation is on the line, says Bob Mellinger, owner of Attainium, a company that provides business continuity and crisis management training. If it all goes to pieces because of someone with a gun or an explosion or a demonstration, are you prepared to take that heat?

What Could Possibly Go Wrong? You dont have to look far into the past to see how the most innocuous-seeming event can turn into a historic tragedy. On Dec. 2, 2015, a San Bernardino County Department of Public Health holiday party and training event erupted in gunfire when an employee and his wife began shooting his co-workers. In fewer than four minutes, 14 people were killed and 22 were injured.


The first step to being prepared is accepting that anything can happen.

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Being prepared for such an occurrence requires first conducting a risk, threat and vulnerability analysis, says Mac Segal, head of hotel and site security consulting at AS Solution.

It starts with location. Am I having an event in Nairobi? Am I a high-profile company? A Western company? Does my company tick off any particular groups because of my business dealings? Segal says. Then you divide threats into probability and criticality. How likely is it that something will happen? If it happens, how critical is it?

For example, Greenpeace protesters waving banners outside your event might be a probable incident if your organization angers environmentalists. But assuming everything stays peaceful, its not a very critical threat. On the other hand, an armed gunman running at the building might be very unlikelybut very critical if it does happen.

Demonstrations and protests have the benefit of coming with warning signs. If youre to be targeted by some sort of protest, youll usually know something is brewing before it happens. But any terrorist or shooter situation that has

slipped past the notice of law enforcement can occur without advance warning and come in an unpredictable form.

In any case, the first step to being prepared is accepting that anything can happen.

Complacency is one of my biggest foes, Mellinger says. You have to realize that an active shooter, in particular, can happen anywhere and for any reason.

Location, Location, Location Its one of the first decisions a meeting organizer makes, and potentially the most important. You likely have plenty of options, from your home city to another country and everywhere in between. Regardless of where you go, the security of the venue and the training of the staff should be your top concerns. Look for a venue that has any physical security you might need, such as fences or walls around the perimeter. After that, determine how comfortable you feel with the security staff. Ask questions.

Whos your contact? Whats their plan? They wont show you the whole plan, and they shouldnt, Mellinger says. On the other hand, they shouldnt just


train yourselfTerms to help your staff prepare for outbreaks of violence.

EAP: Emergency Action Plan. Active Shooter: An individual

actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.

Neutralized: A perpetrator or threat that has been disarmed or rendered harmless.

Shelter in Place: Staying in a small interior room with no or few windows and taking refuge there.

Lockdown: A situation in which no one is allowed to exit or enter buildings near a threat area.

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say, Trust us, we have a plan. If youre not comfortable with their answers, I would not go there.

Depending on the sensitivity of your event, you might even make some more formal requests, Kleinfeld says.

Put in a clause about the hotel providing an emergency evacuation plan or a security liaison, he says. All they can do is say no.

Segal advises choosing a venue with conference doors that can lock from the inside in case you need to keep someone out. Even for smaller, low-profile events, Segal suggests considering only venues that have their own security department, good

alternative exits, tight access control and emergency response protocols already in place. He says its wise to prepare a security questionnaire outlining your requirements and send that to potential locations before choosing.

If youve chosen a venue but dont feel totally comfortable with the security staff, Kleinfeld suggests hiring off-duty police officers or, at a minimum, notifying local law enforcement of your event.

If a planner calls the police and says, We will have 600 attendees and want to work with you to keep our people safe, most police departments will say, Thanks for being proactive, and let us know how we can help, he says.

If the venue already has a relationship with local law enforcement, so much the better.

For large-scale events like conventions, we work closely with hotels and they give us a heads up, says Ashley Savage, public information officer at the Arlington County Police Department in Virginia. We make sure that our patrol staff is aware and we have the resources available should we be needed.

Plan for CommunicationAfter physical safety, the single most important concern in a violent situation and its aftermath is communication. Some things to consider:

How will you communicate with staff? Via text? Does everyone

have everyone elses number stored in their phones?

Where will you meet once its safe? Where is your command center?Whos in charge? When the venue or media asks to speak to the

person in charge, is that the CEO? The head meeting planner? A media affairs professional? That has to be figured out, because the wrong people giving the wrong message can create a secondary crisis, Mellinger says.

How will you communicate with attendees and their guests? Do you

have emergency contact info for everyone?Who is your point of contact on the venue staff? How will you deal with any injuries that occur?How does this plan differ for the various incidents that could take

place? Riots and shooters arent the only

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concerns; there are bombs, biological threats, suspicious packages and more.

Invest in TrainingSegal suggests that venues train all staff, from housekeeping to the general manager. Meeting professionals also need training, but it needs to be in the right areas. While everyone should be briefed on how to handle an active-shooter situation, for example, the focus of their training should not be

on skills such as hand-to-hand combat or target shooting. Instead, invest in awareness and preparedness training. Those are the tools that will help your staff keep its cool when everything goes wrong.

Good training would be things like how to stay calm in a crisis, and how not to faint at the sight of blood. Also, what are the first steps you take when you hear a shooting? Do you call 9-1-1? Tell the hotel? Find your CEO? Kleinfeld

says. Meeting planners are good in a crisis in general, and if they just know what steps to take, theyd be able to take them fairly calmly.

Act AccordinglyOnce you have a plan and adequate training, you should hope youll never need to use them. But if you do, act calmly. Your fight-or-flight instinct will kick in, and your rational brain will need to override it.

The kneejerk reaction to run is not always the best idea, Segal says. Only run if youre certain the place youre running to is safer than the place you already are. If Im in the conference room and I hear shots fired in the hotel, I should probably not run. I should lock the door, stay away from the windows and stay close to the floor. If I run into the lobby, I may run straight into trouble.

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instance, using improvised weapons and yelling. If you do any of those things, only do so with absolute conviction.

A Plan is InsuranceMellinger, whose company trains between 3,000 and 5,000 people each yearmany of those meeting professionalssays hes happy to see that more and more planners are spending time planning for disaster. In the past, when he asked training

attendees whether they had contingency plans, only about 10 percent did. Today, he says, its about 50 percent. Whether thats because of the prevalence of active-shooter situations that seem to frequently dominate news headlines or high-profile terrorist attacks around the world, Mellinger says people are finally starting to internalize whats at stake. Unfortunately, some of the people in his trainings say they finally developed contingency plans because they were

previously caught without one when they needed it. He advises meeting organizers to not learn the hard way.

Now, you cant say you didnt know. Youre on the hook, he says. If youre responsible for a meeting, whether youre the CEO or the meeting planner, youll all be held accountable. Do you want to be able to say you did your best? That you planned and did some training? Or that you just said, Probably will never happen to us?

Assessing RiskIn April, the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Foundation, in partnership with iJET International, launched the new Travel Risk Management Maturity Model (TRM3) Self-Assessment Tool.

The single biggest issue for our members right now is duty of care, said Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO, upon the tools release. A recent lightning poll survey of our global members following the terror attacks in Brussels showed 20 percent of organizations do not have a risk- management plan in place and an additional 8 percent are unsure if they have a plan. Clearly there is work that still needs to be done. The new TRM3 tool is designed to help companies evaluate their risk- management program and identify opportunities for improvement.

According to the GBTA Foundation, the TRM3 helps guide efficient, effective improvement throughout an organizationlegal, HR, travel, safety, security and business continuity. The tool examines nine categoriespolicies and procedures, education and training, risk assessment, risk disclosure, risk monitoring, response and recovery, notification, data management and program communicationand assigns a level of travel risk to your program.

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One thing that does calm my nerves is always having a plan of action. I keep water and blankets in my vehicle, and I always know where the exits and fire extinguishers are inside a building. I own dozens of flashlights. In 2011, when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention ran a Web campaign with instructions on how to prepare for a zombie apocalypse, it was partly in jest. But the premise was strong. After all, if youre ready for zombies, you are ready for anything. And I am ready for zombies.

Todays meeting professionals need not worry about the walking dead, but theres no time like the present toimplement your own plan of actionfor emergency situations. Youve made sure that Suzie wont be getting any shellfish, but what about the smoke coming from the electrical outlets or the guest who collapses after a team-building exercise? We simply cannot belaissez-faireabout any phase inplanning for the well-being of our guests.

There has been a surge in recent years in the number of articles and blogs focusing on event safety. Unfortunately, reading a blog and having a checklist are no longer sufficient. Its time to be proactive. You should be so familiar with your safety protocols that they are automatic. Once the zombies are at the door its too late to go looking for granddads shotgun.

There are procedures that you should implement immediately. Create a crisis-management plan, and practice it with your staff. A well-trained staff can make the difference in avoiding tragic consequences.

Determine if youll need a private security team. Still, security teams

are just a small part of overall safety, which can include metal detectors at entrances, crowd control and more, but not all events need every measure.

Consider the type of event youre holding and the venue. What kind of crowd is expected? Will there be any high-profile guests who expect a private guard? Get a referral for a reputable security company and verify its licensing.

How to be proactiveu Familiarize yourself with hotel security. Do so even if youre using a private team. Most hoteliers realize the importance of an excellent security team. They should be your first point of contact in preparing your plan. Make this part of your site selection criteria.u Communication is essential.Your staff and team must know who to report to and when. Make sure one staff member has a list of all the guests. Have a rallying point in case of an evacuation.Use two-way radios or cellphones to keep in touch. Dont

be shy or embarrassed about having a practice run with your staff.u Brief your attendees.Make sure they know where all the exits, fire extinguishers and defibrillators are located. Include emergency information with your program materials. Let attendees know how their actions can impact their own safetygive them point of contact information and the rally point location.u Have mass text capability for all staff and attendees.Use social media and event registration platforms.u Become certified in crowd management and CPR.u Vet your suppliers.Are your lighting people complying with Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards? Has the stage crew been properly trained, licensed and insured?

It can be scary knowing that lives are in your hands, that people will look to you during a crisis, but it need not be overwhelming.

Dont Let Zombies Ruin Your EventFear. I live with it almost daily. Truth be told, I have a bit of an anxiety problem, and paying attention to current events doesnt help. I can imagine the worst-case scenario in any given situation, which can suck the enjoyment right out of an experience.

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Compliance

Inclusivityvs.


Are your events truly inclusive or merely compliant? Theres a huge difference.

Kristi Casey Sanders explores the landscape of inclusivity for disabled attendees at meetings and eventsand targets some opportunities for improvement.

The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) tried to guarantee equal opportunity

for all, but 26 years later the disabled still find accommodations, venues, transportation and events less than hospitable.

Thats because people still only think about the ADA in terms ofcompliance, says Kristen McCosh, disability commissioner for the city of Boston. ADA-compliant implies that the bare minimum standards are being met.

When planners ask if a venue, hotel or other supplier is ADA compliant, the answer should be yesits a legal requirement. That doesnt mean that the services offered will actually provide an equivalent experience for both disabled and non-disabled attendees, however.

Its All About PerspectiveConsider something as basic as a building entrance.

If the architect draws up plans that have a set of stairs with an adjacent ramp, that plan is fully ADA compliant, McCosh says. But it doesnt optimize the user experience.

If a group approaches the entrance and one person is in a wheelchair, the entire group, except for the person in the wheelchair, can use the stairs. That might not seem like a big deal, McCosh says, but what if this is a bridal party, and youre the bride? What if you have a young child who has to choose whether to stay with mommy or daddy?

These situations are things able-bodied people never have to think about, she says. If developers thought about this instead of just aiming to meet compliance, they might design a building that has a level entranceno stairs and no rampwhere everyone could enter together.

Similarly, when planners do site visits, they often dont see the obstacles guests with physical challenges might encounter. When economizing on sound design, they dont realize how

that will affect attendees with hearing loss. When they decide on a buffet meal, they dont understand how difficult that will be for anyone whos blind, physically challenged or has food allergies. They may think to hire an ADA-accessible shuttle for the offsite reception but fail to double-check the drop-off point.

Thats why Joan Eisenstodt, chief strategist of Eisenstodt Associates, recommends planners spend some time in the shoes of someone who might need to navigate the event at a disadvantage. Eisenstodt, who uses a mobility scooter when she travels, says the meeting industry makes things incredibly difficult for people to travel to and participate in events. But its a problem of perception, she believes.

To help meeting and hospitality professionals realize how limited their perceptions are, and to help them move beyond simply aiming for compliance, Eisenstodt developed an Inclusive Hospitality course. It gives participants time to move through an event space with a simulated disability by wearing earplugs or eye patches, or using a motorized scooter or wheelchair.

You have to experience it before you get it, Eisenstodt says. The first step is being empathetic and understanding that not everyone is like you. After that, accommodation is pretty easy.

ALegal Obligation to Do BetterThe ADA says events and conferences must provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective communication. It covers individuals who are deaf, hearing-impaired, blind or have vision loss or speech disabilities.

This could mean closed-captioning and qualified interpreters for the deaf or amplification and assistive-listening systems for the hard-of-hearing. It could mean audio recordings or Braille-printed versions of conference materials, qualified readers to convey information to the blind


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or large-print or electronically distributed versions for those with vision loss. It could mean providing a qualified speech-to-speech transliterator if someone has unclear speech. The ADA also prohibits conference and event organizers from charging the disabled more money to attend than other attendees.

But many planners dont realize these requirements exist, so they fail to plan for them. Do you know any planners who budget for real-time captioning

or video-remote interpreting? If you had to hire a certified American Sign Language interpreter, would you know what state certifications were required? If deaf-blind attendees wanted to bring their support-service providers, would you try to charge for the extra person? Are you providing nutritious meals for people with food allergies or are you still trying to feed vegans Caesar salads?

Shane Feldman, director of strategic partnerships and development for Communication Services for the Deaf, says he spends most his pre-conference time educating planners about their legal obligations.

If [my colleagues] spend 10 to 20 hours preparing for the conference by researching workshops and other attendees, I spend half of that time communicating about access arrangements, says Feldman, whos deaf. This puts me at a disadvantage in my ability to fully capitalize on the complete conference experience.

Solutions Arent One-Size-Fits-AllWhat exacerbates the problem is that planners often think of disabled people as a category, not as individuals. When they envision physical disability, for example, they might instinctively think of a wheelchair. But physically disabled attendees could be on a motorized scooter or crutches, have a cane or a cast or have a bad hip, knee or back. Each presents different mobility challenges.

Even when people have the same mobility challenge, you cant assume they want to be accommodated in the same way.

Youre supposed to set aside space for people in wheelchairs or scooters, Eisenstodt says. But we dont want to be lumped in the same row.

One of the biggest problems Feldman encounters: organizers who assume they know how to accommodate his needs without talking to him first.

Those assumptions can prove costly.For example, if you reproduce a show

program in Braille for blind attendees, you might realize too late that they cant read it. His solution: Just ask disabled attendees what they need. Event organizers could reduce conflict and frustration on everyones part by taking this simple step.

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Considerations How can you shift your company

or event from being ADA compliant to being truly accessible?

Do you have a permanent or temporary disability? What would make traveling or attending events easier?

How can you survey your attendees to determine their challenges before they get on site?

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Make sure registration forms include space for information

on attendees special needs and restrictions. Dont forget to ask exhibitors, sponsors and speakers, too.

Ask disabled attendees what they need to make the

experience more accessible and enjoyable.

Keep your guests needs in mind and mentally walk through the

event to identify potential challenges or barriers.

If you do a site visit or can physically move through the

event space, do so as someone who has every disability your attendees could have. This helps you understand how their experience differs from that of an able-bodied attendee.

Develop solutions as part of your event design. As often as

possible, create a plan that allows everyone to experience the event in the same way without segregation. Ideally, you want everyone to arrive, eat and leave together.

If alternate plans are required for guests with special needs (e.g.,

meal tickets, shuttle transportation, ramps or elevators instead of stairs,

American Sign Language interpreters, etc.), create a communication strategy that will tell guests, event staff and venue staff about what needs to happen when, contacts and contingency plans.

Consider having an onsite concierge responsible for

answering accessibility questions and helping attendees know what to expect. An on-call guide is also helpful.


7 Ways Planners Can Do Better by All AttendeesHere are seven ideas to help customize events for those using wheelchairs, scooters or crutches, those who have hearing issues and those who might be visually impaired or disabled in a less-obvious way.

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The Americans with Disabilities Actgovernment page: (ada.gov) includes information and technical assistance on the law

U.S. Census BureausAmericans with Disabilities: 2010: census.gov/prod/2012pubs/ p70-131.pdf

Mobility International USA planning tips, inclusive best practices and community resources: miusa.org

U.S. State Department advice and international agencies to assist disabled travelers: travel.state.gov/ content/passports/ en/go/disabilities.html

Accessibility: Making Trade Shows Accommodating to All,Trade Show Insights: tradeshowinsights.com/2015/06/accessibility-making-trade-shows-accommodating-to-all

Resources and Readings

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Attendee satisfaction is directly tied to an events potential. Positive experiences drive word-of-mouth

sales, attendance and revenue growth. Bad experiences can kill all three. Yet, few event organizers pay attention to whether theyre creating enjoyable experiences for their disabled attendees. Thats a huge problem.

The term disabled covers a dizzying range of challenges, from life-threatening food allergies and autism to needing a wheelchair, being unable to climb stairs or having difficulty hearing, seeing or being understood. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, one in five Americans has a disability, half of which are severe. That number is expected to increase as Baby Boomers age.

At any given meeting as many as 20 percent of attendees could have a special need or restriction. It could be visible or invisible, slight or severe, temporary or

permanent. If you dont address their needs and create a satisfying experience, you risk losing their support.

A Million Unseen ChallengesUnless you have a disability, youre not likely to see the challenges your disabled guests face. Thats part of the problem.

Being deaf, frankly, is a full-time job, Feldman says. Many conferences and events dont realize they have a legal obligation to provide sign-language interpreters under the ADA. And those interpreters need to be present for more than just the breakouts and general sessions. The primary purpose is often learning through organized events and informal dialogue and networking. Providing access only to organized activities is insufficient.

When organizers assume they know whats best for disabled attendees, they risk creating ADA-compliant environments that are isolating. When American Sign Language interpreters are placed to the side of the stage, for example, deaf people have to sit in a special section to see them. That might separate them from friends or limit their ability to network. Because theyre looking at the interpreter, they miss whats happening onstage or lag behind in comprehension from what others in the room are experiencing.

If attendees simply have trouble hearing, they may not understand whats being said or whats being signed. A better solution is to caption all videos and sessions so that the words and images appear in context together. This also lets people sit where they want instead of in a segregated area.

Traveling with a disability requires far more thought and planning than typical event attendees face. Jon Trask, CMP, CMM, senior account director at Grass Shack Events & Media, is an avid concertgoer. Knee surgery limited his mobility and required a cane, so he spends considerable time before each show researching what he needs to do to enjoy it. Some venues, such as the Hollywood Bowl, have clear ADA

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Satisfying Attendees Pays OffConsiderations What physical, emotional or

mental challenges do your attendees face?

Do you know their individual needs and preferences? Can you build time into your schedule or assign someone on your team to contact them and discuss accommodating their disabilities?

Does your budget allow for ADA-related expenses, like hiring interpreters or shuttles?

What steps does accommodation add to your planning process?

CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

Important Questions to AskAccessibility means different things to different people, and being compliant doesnt guarantee an ideal experience for disabled attendees. To determine if a venue, hotel or service provider is a good fit for your group, Kristen McCosh, disability commissioner for the city of Boston, recommends asking the following questions.


Do you have different meal options? Full-service and/or self-service?

Do you have family/companion restrooms in addition to standard restrooms?

Do you have handicapped parking? Where is it?

Does the building have steps at the entrance or inside in the lobby? To get to any conference rooms? In auditoriums to get to rows of seats? To stages or daises?

Does it have a stair lift or chair lift? Do they work? Are they up to code? When was the last valid inspection? Is it locked with a key? Who has the key?

Does the venue have a built-in hearing/audio-loop system with headphones? How many headphones? Who oversees them?

Do you have a boom microphone stand or lapel mics for the stage?

Where can service animals relieve themselves?

If the venue has a shuttle, is it wheelchair accessible? Describe it.

Other things to consider Some venues require even ADA

shuttles to drop off passengers in a designated area. How far is that area from the ADA-accessible entrance? Will people have to cross the street?

If an attendee has a life-threatening allergy, how will the chef and banquet staff eliminate cross-contamination? How will special meals be delivered?

What state certifications are required of interpreters for the deaf, blind or speech-challenged? Where can you find appropriately licensed providers?

Create a communication strategy for your pre-conference emails, event website and conference signage so affected attendees know exactly what to expect, what accommodations and resources are available and who to contact if something goes wrong.

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instructions on their websites so he knows where to park, find accessible ticket windows, seating, private elevators and other accommodations. Other venues dont.

Trask recently drove to a venue without a well-planned ADA section on its website. When he told parking attendants that he needed ADA parking, they told him that all the handicapped spaces were taken.

They said I could either pay $20 to park in a VIP space near the front or park in a normal space, Trask says. He didnt think it was fair to have to pay more, so he parked in a dirt lot and walked a mile to the gate. By the time I got to the venue, the music had already started. They had one, maybe two golf carts that seated three people each, moving people to their seating. There was no specific waiting area. There were about 40 people [in line], it was not shaded and there were no benches. I finally got to my seat, which involved climbing a hill, and I was exhausted. It kind of ruined the evening.

He learned that no matter how attractive a concert is, if he has had a negative experience at the venue, it wouldnt be worth his time or money.

Trasks disability also complicates business events. Six weeks after surgery, he attended a conference, requesting an ADA-accessible hotel room.

I counted the steps, he says, and it was the furthest room from the elevator on the floor. So once I got to the room, I didnt want to leave.

Receptions were within walking distance of the venues, so only disabled attendees used the shuttles.

I felt bad because it was a 60-person bus and there were times I was the only person, Trask says.

Because of his inconvenient room and discomfort with the transportation options, he chose not to attend one reception. At another, where meals were served from food trucks, he found it difficult to eat because he couldnt stand in line with everyone else. When lines became manageable, the food ran out. The disability cut down my ability to experience everything, he says.

The difficulties and challenges the disabled face at events create a cumulative effect that is unpleasant, Trask says.

plan your meetings magazine volume 21 issue 1 2016

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