SUSTAINABILITY IS ABOUT HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT’S POSSIBLE

Hospitality communities and organizations nationwide place a high priority on forming a viable sustainability event and are being assisted in furthering this goal by webcasts and universities offering continuing education where the focal point and emphasis is to devote our planning to long-term sustainability – not just one year, one city at a time.

On October 5, President Obama signed a new Executive Order on Federal Sustainability, which challenges all federal agencies to lead by example in energy and environmental performance. The Order gives them 90 days to set a 2020 greenhouse reduction goal and also sets targets for efficient, sustainable buildings, reduced petroleum use in vehicles, water efficiency, waste reduction, purchasing green technologies and products, and supporting sustainable communities. Council on Environmental Quality chair Nancy Sutley added that "...by putting Federal purchasing power to work – more than $500 billion per year in goods and services – the government can build on the momentum of the Recovery Act to help turn good entrepreneurial ideas into great American enterprises that create jobs.

That’s great for the down the road … but, hey -- The hospitality industry continues to lead the way on sustainability at hotels, convention centers and the cities they borrow for the week by demonstrating the important and significant benefits of exercising ‘environmental best practices’. Most designated sustainability officers offer guidance, encouragement and solid support for implementing effective sustainability policies prior to and during your conference.

Hot Wheels - A Simple Solution

We have all been there... It’s 9:00PM, you’re waiting for a reception to end and you figure you might as well set out all the signs and boards for the next morning. The last thing you want to do after a long day of being on your feet is hand carry heavy pocket signs around to 3 different floors. At a conference earlier this year, we came up with an easy and convenient solution for this daunting task. It’s simple really, a trashcan with wheels.

We have tried several different options, such as bell carts, but these can get cumbersome to be moving around quickly and hard to maneuver. In some cities, union requirements prohibit the use of bell carts. Trashcans are lightweight and the wheels allow for easy turns.

All you have to do it stack signs on top to make a flat surface. Then you can just wheel around to the space you are using the next day and put out the signs appropriately. This saves on having to make multiple trips back and forth to the office to get more signs, you can get it all done in one quick shot.

This system also works when having to move heavy things to a different location without having to get the hotel involved. For example, you have a box with all of the heavy wards in it. You can use the trashcan as a dolly. Just place one signboard over the top to create a flat surface and you’ve got a dolly to carry your awards to the ceremony without having to carry them individually or break your back.

Using a trashcan instead of a bell stand also aids in transporting easels to breakout rooms. Laying these flat on a bell stand can potentially be hazardous, but standing the easels up straight in the well of the trashcan allows for easier transportation.

Although this seems like a simple solution, we sometimes do not think of utilizing materials that are at our fingertips in these situations. Rather than going through the trouble of obtaining a bell cart to use for the week, these industrial trashcans are usually already present in your meeting office to begin with. Using a trashcan to move items around might seem unconventional but really, its practical, mobile, and gets the job done quickly and efficiently.

The Myth of Facebook Marketing

We are often asked whether clients should try to incorporate social networking into their meeting marketing. Facebook, in particular, comes up frequently -- it seems that the application has received so much press in the past three years that for some people it’s synonymous with social networking.

Facebook should not be part of the conference marketing strategy for an association or professional association, except in select cases. Most 30+ professionals use Facebook to stay in touch with friends and family, sharing photos and stories about their personal lives. We hesitate to join professional groups or fan pages because we like to keep our personal lives private.

As the age of your demographic increases, putting one’s personal life out on the internet for all to see becomes even less appealing. If you’re doubtful, consider the fact that ASAE has over 22,000 real-life members but just 338 Facebook fans. The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) has over 6,000 members but just over 400 Facebook fans. These organizations are spending precious resources managing an outreach platform that is reaching just a tiny percentage of their members.

Unless your meeting is geared towards twentysomethings -- or it’s in a market segment where Facebook is common currency -– creating a professional group on Facebook is likely to be disappointing. Though social networking and viral marketing can be successful for many conventions, Facebook is not the right fit for most groups. Stay tuned to the blog for ideas about effective social networking tools that are successful for event marketing.

8 Inexpensive Eco-Friendly Acts

1. Recycle
2. Bike and carpool
3. Save a tree - switch to e-Statements
4. Conserve water
5. Turn off lights
6. Switch to compact, fluorescent light bulbs
7. Keep your car tuned up to improve fuel efficiency
8. Dispose of chemicals properly

Lean & Green: Trimming Conference Costs through Environmentally Responsible Practices

Many organizations have made strides towards “going green,” whether in small steps or grand gestures. But in a challenging economy, it’s easy to put responsibility practices on the back burner as other priorities demand attention. The good news is that environmental and fiscal responsibility don’t have to be at odds with one another.

Greening your meetings simply requires making thoughtful choices throughout the planning process that support your organizational priorities. Here are just a few tips to effectively manage resources – both environmental and financial! – for your next meeting or convention.

• Transitioning from paper handouts to web-based solutions saves printing and shipping costs, gives meeting content a longer shelf life, and allows delegates to share the value with colleagues.
• Switching from packaged foods to bulk items eliminates wasteful packing and reduces your food and beverage expenses.
• Finding a local school or charity to reuse conference bags and other materials is a positive contribution to the community, as well as a tax write-off.
• Including a carbon-offset donation on your registration form allows attendees to make tax-deductible contributions to support planting trees.
• Asking the chef to source food locally reduces food miles and provides attendees with fresher ingredients that taste better and cost les.
• Requesting that meeting facilities place recycling bins throughout your event won’t cost you a dime.

Going green isn’t just about saving the planet – making smart choices that can save your organization money make good business sense, too.

A Buyer’s Market Means Great Deals on Meetings

It’s said that desperate times call for desperate measures – and in the current economy, it’s a buyer’s market.

In an unprecedented marketing effort, today the hotels and meeting facilities of the Dallas-Fort Worth launched a multi-city, multi-brand promotion to encourage bookings of meetings and conventions in the Dallas metro area. The promotion includes every major hotel brand in four participating cities, representing every tier of service - including luxury, economy, full-service and extended stay. The deal, called the “DFW Promise,” includes automatic no-attrition room contracts as well as group discounts on airfare and ground transportation.

Although this is an excellent opportunity for conventions that are considering DFW, it’s also highly likely that other cities will seize the opportunity to follow suit – building on already amazing offers. The bargaining power of buyers continues to offer excellent opportunities to save money on future bookings and renegotiate existing ones.

Contact us to find out how our firm can help you take advantage of amazing site selection packages -- in DFW or any other city -- for your next meeting or convention.

Get More out of your Conference with Swift Mobile

There’s not been a lot written about convergence in the meetings industry. Most of us stay connected though our mobile devices (iPhones, Blackberries, and the like), but we’ve not been able to use our trusty handheld device to connect with others during a conference. Until now.

Enter Swift Mobile for your smartphone: a veritable paintbox of features combining conference content, social networking, and mobile geolocation in the palm of your hand. The Swift application – which works best on the iPhone but is also supported on the mobile web and accessible by any wireless handheld device – allows users to create a personal profile to share information about themselves and connect with other convention goers with similar interests.

Swift allows conference delegates to navigate through educational content on their phone, essentially providing the conference program in the palm of their hand. The application also combines conference-related Twitter posts (“tweets”) into a single, relevant stream that can be customized for each user. Real-time feedback lets attendees keep tabs on other sessions, even those that they aren’t able to attend. In this way, Swift expands the conference experience beyond the limits of physical space and time.

On the revenue side, Swift offers branding opportunities for sponsors on the splash screen as well as long-range potential publications phase-out. Exhibitors and sponsors also have access to fee-based tools including polling, video publishing, and user messaging.

The Swift Mobile application is still in beta testing, but the implications for long-term use in the convention industry are encouraging. Keep up the good work!