Top 10 tips to boost up attendance on your conference

Even if you are starting a business of events planning for business events, social events or both, everyone associated with this business is considered to provide the fair deal of services to the clients. This is also important for the potential clients who are seeking the best deal of corporate hospitality services for organizing their conference so that they can assure 100% attendance. There is a tremendous impact made on the business meetings and the economy and other political factors work on it. The increased pressure lies on the head of events planners in order to address attendance of people on the corporate meetings.

The travel expenses are going too high when the economy is going very slow. Due to the lack of profitability, the corporations are getting affected more often along with the associations because the membership is also going down. Most organizations experience the crucial impact on the meetings in the form of attendance, despite of shift. In this way, there is nothing comparable to the synergy of attendance of number of people in the event. From now on, the events planners are focusing on saving travel expenses with hosting a number of centralized and local meetings. For this, they are using video technology by choosing the best speakers in order to attract more and more people so that the attendance can be remain full.

Tips to boost up attendance
With using these ideas, you will surely add more attendees as participants on your group:
1. Reminder calls: After sending the invitations to all, the full attendance still is not assured. So, you have to make a reminder call many possible invitees and try to force them to attend. The telephonic follow-up works as a miracle to get more attendance in your business meeting and create more buzz with words to mouth. Also inform them about other events in your business.

2. Feedback surveys: In order to ensure successful events in future, don’t forget to send feedback surveys to your guests after completion of the successful event. Also ask the guests for future suggestions and topics to discuss in the next event due to which making future plans for successful event could be made easy for you. For instance, seminars are suitable in the morning for most people and evening for others. Some prefer conference events on Tuesdays while some on Thursdays. Hence, this is much easier option to know about the likes and dislikes of attendees so that you can plan the future events accordingly. Ultimately, this impacts positively for your business in the form of success by following up.
3. Creativity: Making the event unique is the main objective here. Be original, provide new activities and give presentation with new and interactive format. The conventional giveaways can be unhealthy for making the impression on your invitees and it makes a sense on them about your event that they take a long time. Including a point in a meeting can make participants engaged on planning for next topic on the upcoming event or conference. In order to leave a positive and innovative image about your event, make your conference informative and fun. A brainstorming session ensures your next event more amazing and positive for your business success.

4. Involve a speaker: The topic, motive, theme and the guest’s speaker should be renewing, relevant and fun. Involving popular guest speakers in the corporate event can be beneficial to boost up attendance, especially when they do the business with the same emerging industry. Make sure to have an emcee that is interactive and fun. Make sure the attendance of guests is closely related to your last event.

5. Use web and other 20th Century technology to promote event: Publish the details of event on your company’s website. Try to send reminders of your event. Promote the event on monthly e-newsletter or your company’s blog. In addition, add a line of your promotional event on every email as a signature link. If you use voice mail service or online message, add the details of your upcoming event on the recorded message.

6. Use social media for promotion: The social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are ideal for promotion of anything or event. Also, this is the best way to notify the people who are connected with you by these sites. In the members of your organization use social media or blog, encourage them to add the signature link of your event with their friends, followers and connections. In this way, the message is spread to all who are connected with you in an easy way. Social networking makes you be social and this is the best way to assure full attendance of your guests and invitees. People know very well about the upcoming event organized by you with this idea.

7. Other ideas: Try and make a specific theme of your event and choose a new venue for your event and make sure the venue has large parking spot. Make sure that the invitees can reach the event venue with convenience and be ensured that people are not busy on that big day for you. Try to know the needs of participants and attendees. So listen twice than you speak as you have one mouth and two ears. Use local publications, members publications, national publications, trade publications, business newsletters and other mode of communication to spread the news about your event.  

Conclusion
When it comes to plan a conference or any corporate event, budget is the major concern to consider because this is the way by which you can make your event successful. If you want to make your event memorable to all, make sure the attendance is full and you are successful to spread the message of your event to all. There are many events planners in the online market organize corporate events in many venues preferred by you or on their ideas. So, it is best to hire an event planner that is experienced and responsible to make your event successful.
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What is the role of event planner? The areas to start career in event planning

Anyone who wants to become an event planner should be aware of the fact that it is not a party planning. Whether you are making a career path on corporate event or social events, it is the case you can become an event planner. If the profession is based on planning the parties, the final program may appear. But the events planners concentrate on the goal or rationale of planning an event. And the real job of event planning professionals is to make it memorable. Read on to know more how event planners become successful.

Nature of event planning
This occupation is classified in the title of Meeting and Convention planning by the government according to the US Department of Labor. This showcases the first cue that this is a serious job. According to the US Department of Labor, the Meeting and Conventions Planners connect people with one other for a sole purpose and they ensure the success of the event they have planned. From the speakers and the location of meeting to audio-visual devices and printing materials, each and every detail of conventions and meeting shall be classified by the events planners. The meeting and convention planners do their jobs in hotels, corporations, non-profit organizations, professional and relevant organizations and government associations. Some meetings and conventions planners are self-employed and work independently for events planning firms to organize the events of their clients.

Skills of events planners
The events planners are hired to target the message and purpose of the event so that their clients can easily communicate. The duration of events planners is long and non-traditional which is utilized to execute all the programs like seminars, conferences, executive retreats, trade shows, incentive programs, conventions, golf events and even more. Here are the skills of excellent events planners:
1. Organization and time management
2. Verbal and written communications
3. Self starter and team player
4. Managing projects and other multiple tasks
5. Knowhow about all MS Office applications
6. Addressing every detail about event according to deadline
7. Capable to work with calmness under pressure
8. Budget management
9. Negotiation
10. Staff management
11. Marketing and public relations
12. Interpersonal skills with all management levels

The excellent events planners have knowledge in these prospects:
1. Selection of venue
2. Catering management
3. Production
4. Entertainment
5. Logistics
6. Gifts
7. Lodging
8. Serving Conference

Areas where events planners do their job
Whether you are fresher who passed out of a college or want some change in your profession, the business of event planning is right for those who love challenges to find groundbreaking solutions and build projects. Just like other careers, getting your foot on the door is also a difficult part of them. This is the reason you have to expand the scope of your search and go beyond the limit of classified ads. In this way, you have to keep yourself running with the changing trends. Here are the fantastic spots where you can start hunting the job:

1. Corporations: Almost every prestigious company hires events planners and some companies have their own department of events planning. This department is responsible to plan any type of trade seminar, corporate event, conference, and any other off-site meeting. In order to get a great kick-start to your career, you can go browse their websites and apply for the job online. In the first step, you have to find the lead of their events planning department and submit your CV with contact information. Obviously you may not get the open opportunity on the first visit, but who knows when this situation will change. So, stay in contact with them to get a great edge whenever the position opens.

2. Non-profit organizations: Some nonprofit organizations such as United Way and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Red Cross always in search for the dedicated and talented candidates who possess skills to organize endless calendar of social and corporate events. Since this profession is based on field work in these organizations, the recruitment is mostly based on the off-site event planning. If you want experience on the board, then they will give you hands-on experience on the involvement to propel events planning.

3. Hotels: If you want career growth for a long term, then the hospitality industry welcomes you with unlimited prospects. Every hotel and convention centers have rooms and proper areas to offer rooms according to the needs of customer. If you have no or less experience in this industry, then you may have to target catering and shift supervision or sales position. The upper management positions are also awaiting you such as assistant general manager, sales manager and catering manager. There are lots of advancement options awaiting you to promote and prove yourself. You can have to work hard and develop your skills because hotels love promotions from within.

4. Event management and catering companies: With different venues and customers, several types of vendors are there to render different services. From the top of the list, they are event managers and catering organizers that recruit salespersons and supervisors to get the jobs completed on the special day of event. You can earn hands-on experience by participating in planning an event organized by the catering and event planning firms. With regards to the job prospects, you can showcase your talents and skills. This is another great way to start your career as an event planner.

5. Be self-employed: Sometimes becoming your own boss can be more beneficial to get a great kick-start to your career in events planning. You can start by organizing birthday parties, anniversaries and other social events under your friend circle or family. Then you can eventually develop your skills and slowly offer your event planning to the public. This is the best way to do everything from your own skills and then you can get lots of offers to improve yourself with this career.

All in all you can have to expand your parameters of searching of events planning.
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The key things to pick the right hospitality service provider

Hospitality services have become a big industry from now on. Whether it is rugby hospitality, events planning, corporate function, travel and tourism, hospitality industry has its own importance. The travel, hospitality and tourism sector are now connected with different industries including hostels, holiday packages, contract catering service providers, membership clubs, night clubs, restaurants, tourism, pubs and tourist attractions. About 2.1 million workforce of hospitality sector are engaged in hospitality services, restaurants, bars, pubs and nightclub industries. The hospitality sector plays a diverse role in national economy with the help of technical staff, managers, in front housing staff, back-of-house staff and non-core staff.

In addition, hospitality sector provides assistance to other industries ranging from refinery and from restaurants and hotels to educational industry. The hospitality industry basically provides events management in which they offer refreshments of food and drink, security and various facilities management. The hospitality industry is also spread in retail, tourism, education, healthcare, and other remote and offshore regions. Corporate hospitality industry is also expanding its area in executive dining, government bodies and local authority, and leisure areas and other events like sporting, regattas, concerts, wedding receptions and parties. The industry is external service provider and this is not only the service and food management industry.

Picking the right hospitality services
So you want to organize event for your clients and co-workers to refresh them. Here are the qualities of excellent hospitality service providers that you should consider:
1. Excellent customer services: Today most business owners apply the basic formula of excellent customer services and it becomes the theme of hospitality services. Indeed, good customer service is important both for business owners and customers. Giving good customer services could be something that is necessary for the organization in the way to manage every day for the success of business. For a good customer services, the hospitality service providers usually offer your clients with each and everything they may need during your event. They won’t let the guest to spend anything. So, it is important to make sure you have selected the package which includes each and everything which is important for them.

In this way, this is important to check whether the hospitality service providers provide good customer services or not. For this you may visit the site to check the portfolio by which you can check what their last experience with their clients is. This is the best way to check this out.

2. Customer-orientation: The customer service is such that can encourage or disappoint the recommendation and retention upon the service provider. So, you can start with the combination of question as what is the customer and what is service. And customer services could also be the better way to generate business relationship with customers. Customer service also wants some other key foundations including 24/7 customer assistance. This is said to be the good sign of surety and delivery of promise. On one phone, they provide full assistance even in peak hours. Although some companies provide 24/7 customer assistance, but the reality is something different due to less staff members so that there is hardly someone to receive the call. In that time, the actual customer service image has been lost.

Suppose you are trying to locate a hotel at the center of the city. You have the directions and you are driving accordingly. But these directions proved wrong because road is closed. In this way, you reach the hotel by using your satellite navigation through alternative ways. No matter how friendly the reception staff is, you get frustrated, lost and annoyed and finally, your experience is lost.

3. Good customer relationships: The customer relationship reflects the image of service providers. The good customer relationship is all about providing helpful, polite and meaningful services in order to reflect the nature of business and service providers towards the customers. By checking the portfolio, you can see the service provided in the past along with their duration and quality. In an event planning, this works at its best when it comes to organize a party or event in which everything should be perfect and according to the need of the guests and clients. Before hiring the services, this is important to know about the likes and dislikes of your valuable persons. In this way, planning can be made easy and successful to entertain them and motivate them to be with your business for a long time. The hospitality service providers play a great role in that way.

4. Delivering robust customer service: This is the core component to consider. Delivery of required services is essential and good for you but over delivery is not because it may act against you. Obviously, not picking the phone in a call center is under delivery. But picking the phone within 2 seconds is over delivery. Customers can think that company has no other work except attending phone. This is because you can only prepared after 3 to 4 seconds to respond the call but this is not possible to be prepared to pick the call after 2 seconds. In addition, the service provider should be ready to get involved in the procedures of clients. That is why the customer service plays a great role to assist them in a great way. Recruiting the right people can make you take the right decision. Obviously, providing excellent customer service is a quality that comes from within.

Conclusion
All in all, this is proved that customer service is the key when it comes to find the right corporate hospitality partner for your events planning whether it is concert, group getaway, event planning or serving your tycoons with a great rugby match on the stadium near you in London. Therefore, this is important to be ensure that they provide excellent customer service with very amazing way. There are many other things to consider when it comes to hire the services of hospitality package providers. If you try to get the services of them, these are few things to consider.
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Top 10 groundbreaking tips of event planning for conferences

A one-time event can be special and groundbreaking if you focus on a certain purpose like organizing a grand opening, hospitality in sport event, conference and more. But there are hundreds of challenges you may have to face in event planning. In order to tackle these types of challenges, here are top 10 tips to plan for event:

1. Consider possible dates: When it comes to define the date of conference, this is very helpful to consider several possible dates in your mind. Sometimes, there are cases occur when the location is not available on your preferred date. So, you have to switch the location. For a successful event, never choose the bank or public holiday because there is a less chance of proper attendance on your conference. When it comes to plan or fix the date of conference, this is important for the events planners to consider the intended audience so that they can avoid the date of conference where other conferences are fixed. So, it is important to check the competitive conference date on conference calendars for the event mangers. At the same time, the conference can be planned directly before or after other competitive conference at the same location by the event planners. In this regards, the attendees can be interested in both events.

2. Make budgetary plan: In one-time process of event planning, making a budget is the key. You should create a financial blueprint to your event managers. The plan should be specific in which revenues like ticket sales, sponsorship etc. and expenditures like location, printing, refreshment, supplies, security etc. can be included. All in all, you should consider each and every minor thing related to the event.

3. Find a conference venue: After making the budget and planning the date for your conference, the venue is the next most important thing to consider for the attendees and speakers well-being and for your successful conference. You can start searching the appropriate venues that can be easily accessible for the attendees. For example, the venue located in downtown or near the railway station or airport is good for your successful conference. In order to offer staff with sound infrastructure, a star-rated hotel with an air-conditioned conference hall is best decision so that it may leave less work for you. Make sure the size of venue is perfect for the number of attendees. Check the event venue before the event day so that you can avoid the risk of potential and unpleasant surprises. Also, you can ask other event planners about their experiences in their planned locations.

4. Topics and speaker: Along with planning the venue, the agenda of the meeting along with the speakers are the keys for the conference. Organizing well-known speakers at first stage is the key to successful conference. The famous speakers are successful to attract more attendees and grab their attentions. They are not only the crowd-pullers. In fact, the events planners don’t underrate their performance. Before pre-selling the conference tickets, you should mention the meeting agenda roughly. Food and catering should also be included to get the large amount of time for networking.

5. Online registration for pre-sell: The payment management and attendee registration is important because they are considered to be the leading revenue-catcher for an event and event planner too. This is also a great idea to collect maximum possible data of attendees for marketing after the conference and this is possible with attendee registration. The customizable registration forms are provided by the professional event planning services. In this way, you are required to host online form on the website of event managers or your own website. 

6. Include discounts: This is the great tool to increase conference ticket sales from the initial stage. This gives you the fast cash flow and financial revenue from the first stage. In this way, you can send the invitations or discount coupons in newspapers, magazines or via email by blog. Also, you can give incentives to the companies in order to send maximum number of attendees in the conference. The discounts included are said to be the incentives for attendees included by event planners.

7. Promotions: An excellent events manager makes the list of guests in order to send the promotions and target the market by the intended attendees. Promotion of your event or conference is preliminary based on getting more attendees and to reactivate existing attendees. You can do this by these ideas:
1. Offline promotions in the form of sending invitations through newspapers and magazines.
2. Giving invitations to attendees of last year.
3. By posting the ads and conference date on the website.
4. Posting the local event lists, related directories and blogs along with conference calendars.
5. Involve media in your conference for more promotions.

8. Badges and list of attendee and inventory: Check out whether the speaker requires any special equipment or device or not in advance and make sure the delivery is made within given time frame. Create a checklist of all necessary equipments so that you can avoid missing anything. Test the technical equipment before 2 hours of event.

9. Ensure proper entry management and onsite registration: The onsite registration and entry management for your conference should be efficient. In order to manage the entry, a printed attendee list is the slowest way. So, this would be more efficient if you plan electronic system for registration of attendees that can read the barcodes printed on the form for confirmations. In this way, the queue of attendees can be avoided because the registration process goes through faster process.

10. Have a successful ending of conference: Leave the conference hall clean and tidy after the conference completed. Make sure all the technical equipments have been sent back and pay all the necessary bills. You should check out the conference hall in full so that you can avoid the chance of forget anything.  Thereafter, you can evaluate the success of your conference event. Also compare the budget with the amount of money spent on the event. Send thank-you letter to your attendees to all speakers and attendees.
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How do events planners charge their fees for hospitality services?

Whether you are hiring an event planner for organizing any social event like marriage reception or birthday party, corporate event like a conference or any sports related rugby hospitality or a cocktail of both, this is important for you to know how events planners make their fees structure to charge you. But sorry, finding the answer of this question is not so easy. There are several factors you have to consider when it comes to determine how they charge fees like operating expenses, salaries and their margins. In reality, the rates of their services differ from your location, market conditions and the nature of your event.

Ways by which event planners calculate their charges
Charging for the services may also depend upon the condition of market in which the target budget is different and the services should be competitive according to the parameters of your budget. Nevertheless, there are roughly five formulas on which the events planner structures their fees so that you can arrange for necessary amount for event planning. Suppose they want to make $75 per hour by rendering their services, here are five ways they can quote their charges:
1. Flat Project Fee
2. Hourly rate
3. Percentage of expenses
4. Expenses percentage + hourly rate
5. Commissionable rates

Flat project rate to charge fee for event planning
Many of us dying to know how do they charge for their services and how much a project costs including all taxes? In this way, the events planners determine first a flat fee and check the types of services that can be covered under that amount. In this way, this is your responsibility to manage the budget and the planner anticipates a variety of situations in which the events can change their budget. In that case, the client is free to call the event planner directly in order to consider the lodging, logistic, catering and venue expenses.

In general, the flat project fees are charged on all-inclusive events like sport event, in which the charges can be calculated on per-head basis including many caveats and stipulations. For instance, you have 15 guests and you have a plan to organize a city getaway and you have hired an event planner for that. You have to ask the event planner for a quote of flat fee in which a personal guide, transportation, lunch and admission fees of a venue are included. In this way, you can calculate and bargain the price of all services rendered to you including the combined expenses and time. This is the responsibility of the events planner to pay for all services and fix the deposits for all agreements of services.

Percentage of expenses
There are most event planners feel comfortable with a particular percentage of total cost in advance i.e. from 15% to 20% of the total event planning cost. As per the program’s complexity and the amount of time taken to execute any event, sometimes this amount is perfect to cover all the necessary expenses regarding event along with the source of income. Suppose, you are organizing a private dinner with 40 guests and you have a budget of $175 per head and you are going to hire an event planner. If it takes 15 hours to plan, attend, meet with the planner as well as the complete follow-up on the event and they charge 18% from the total expense in the beginning, they would earn quite a little more than your planned hourly rate.

Hourly rate of services
Many of us prefer hourly rate of services charged by the events planners for rendering services in order to manage the number of hours taken by the guests in a program. Though it seems quite similar to the flat project rate, this gives extra flexibility to make changes at a time when needed. There are many events planners charge this way as services. In this way, the client can easily estimate the amount of cost charged on the service and he can make a reasonable budget for the event. With the help of this option, they can easily handle the cases of any unwanted expenses. Make sure to define the clear parameters for your budget so that you can estimate for the available services.

Expenses percentage plus hourly rate
Sometimes clients prefer hiring the event planner to charge them with percentage of expenses. However, this is not enough that can cover the total time and services cost. For instance, your project is to organize two dinner parties and a golf outing for 50 guests. The total estimated cost is $20000 but it needs 60 hours of estimated time and the higher profit margin is justified by the complexity of project. In this way, the hourly rate estimate is $4500 of 60 hours @$75 per hour and the estimate is $3600 which is 18% of $20000. So, the hourly deficit comes up to $900.

Commissionable rate
Sometimes the clients secure the space of event by the events planners and hence, they charge commissionable rate to the clients. The commissionable rates are fees charged by travel agents to book hotel rooms, tickets and other types of transport. Though some event planners charge commissionable rates for making a great source of income, the clients should ask for the sense of loyalties of the events planners. There are many scenarios occur when smaller non-profit in order to make most sense.

Conclusion
Whatever will be the method of charging fees by the events planners, it should be beneficial for you in all respects. In this way, you can plan for your event that can be helpful for you to plan an event. There are many events planners can serve you at their best even at very reasonable prices. So, it is necessary to make the best plan for your event first then you should go to hire an event planner that can serve you best according to the nature of your event and your fixed budget of the particular event or party.
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