Convention Insider (Conventions.net)

I am writing this from about 35,000 feet as I head back home after being at a conference for the last three days.  The conference itself was held in the hotel where I was actually staying in San Francisco.  I have been to that location before so I knew exactly what to expect when I got there but that is not always the case. I have another event that I will be speaking at this weekend and it is the polar opposite of where I am just leaving. I go from a large metropolitan city like San Francisco, California to a very small town in Southern Colorado called Salida. 

The people I am speaking to are not less important to me but the change in the atmosphere will be very much different. I go from $200 accommodations and dinner that costs $50 a plate to a $50 a night hotel and a $7.99 dinner including the free slice of pie.  I don’t point this all out to make fun of the fact that San Francisco is overpriced or that Salida, Colorado is under priced.  My point is that the people come from a different part of the world and speaking in front of one group will be somewhat different than the other.  The other point is that event planning for each is on opposite sides of the spectrum as well.  San Francisco is planned and dealt with higher prices and more complexities and the event held in Salida is much less complex with fewer things with which to deal.

Knowing your destination is important when planning, when speaking in front of an audience and as a user, an attendee and as a planner.  Get to know where you are headed and remember where you just came from and make note of each. I think I am going to somewhere like paradise soon but that may be discussed soon.  I think I need some sunscreen and a tropical umbrella for my drink as a clue. Where are you headed?  Do you know the culture and what to expect when you get there?

Tags: Salida, Colorado, San Francisco, Travel, Destination, Event Planning

I have been meaning to talk about this since January.  I travel to Las Vegas on a number of occasions throughout the year.  Las Vegas if you have been there can be a dry climate area.  Same with Arizona’s climate and I was there this last weekend. I always have need for lip balm in these areas.  Where do I always get my lip balm?  I get it from events I attend.

This is just a small example of how a promotional product can play into your marketing plan when setting out a strategy to get the most bang for your buck when talking to attendees at your event.  I have been carrying around a lip balm cartridge for a month or more from when I was at a Las Vegas event in January.  It just ran out and I am at another event right now in San Francisco and I can’t seem to fin anther exhibitor that has this as a give away marketing product.  I think I should talk to one of our sponsors to talk to some of these exhibitors.  What do you give away at your trade show booth.  Does it have your logo on it and is it something I carry around in my pocket a month or two?  That is a great branding tool and should be considered when you decide to give away a cool product that others can use.  Now where is that letter opener I need?

Tags: Promotional Products, Exhibitors, Trade Show Booths

I was sure I knew exactly where I was headed since I had earlier checked the directions on Google, had looked at the map there and found where I was headed.  I hopped into the cab and we were then dropped off at the exact location the map had said I needed to be to be at the event.  Then I looked around and saw that I was standing in the middle of some grass on a lawn.  Not the place of the event and not where I thought I would be speaking.

This tends to happen a number of times when I go to events.  The address may be where the mailman drops off the mail at the box, but the mailbox is not the place where we are sitting in the venue.  Now I stand in a city I don’t know at a location that is foreign to me an not a soul in sight to even ask directions. I started walking around what was actually a campus of a local college wondering which of the 75 buildings I need to be at to give my presentation.

When planning an event or a meeting or conference, please make sure to give really good directions to not only the attendees which are the most important, but to the people actually presenting.  They want to be able to go right where hey can enjoy your meeting or event.  It will eliminate the stress of being lost, the fact that they may also be running late adds to the problem if they don’t know where they are going.  Can they find you?  You know exactly where you are and where you are going, but they don’t.  give them a hand and alleviate there problems by telling them it is the third building on the let next to the Starbucks with the clown out front.  See? Now I could have found that place.

Tags: Travel, Event Planning, Conference Planning

I was just thinking as I sit here working in the Reno Airport, I love the fact that they have free Wifi.  My hometown of Denver also provides this free of charge to travelers. As we begin to get more and more connected via the social web, we seem to need more and more access to the Internet. I can do lots of work while I travel if I had the ability to stay connected.  We are beginning to see this also with our mobile phones.  I can check email, stay connected with friends and family and actually get a few things done while I sit and wait for a plane.  There is a list of airports that provide free Internet services and I keep it in my laptop bag for when I travel.  I’m about to head to Phoenix, then to Denver to get a little bit of sleep and then head to San Francisco for the week.  I wonder if I can stay connected in any of those cities?  Airports, hotels, conventions centers, do you provide a way for people to stay connected?  Perhaps you are a business and provide an allowance for this as a cost of doing business for your employees?  I travel quite a bit and need to be connected,  how do you stay connected while you travel?  If you are like me, we do it any way we can.

I had an opportunity to come to Reno this weekend and as it was my second chance at coming to this city to speak at an event I thought I would do a post today with some info on the city.  I will let you know more about my travel here and where I stayed since I just recently did a review of that location.

Reno is called the Biggest Little City in the World. I found it to be a nice alternative to my own town in Denver.  I felt right at home with the mountains nearby and the weather was nearly identical to what I had left behind.  They describe the city in their site as:

With a population of over 211,000*, Reno is the largest city in Northern Nevada. It is located in the southern part of Washoe County, nestled on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in an area called the Truckee Meadows.

It is a great alternative to the more well known city of Las Vegas.  They have some great amenities and much to do as a part of their city and it should be added to your short list for places to stay and play.

I was just reading about the newest renovations being completed last weekend at the Vancouver Convention Centre.  No that is the correct spelling according to my partners in the North.  I was going through some of the awesome shots that they have on the image gallery of their web site and it makes me wonder about the upcoming Olympics in 2010.  They seem to have the area covered:

With our expansion complete, we’ve tripled our size to cover 1.1 million square feet (or four city blocks) for a combined total of 473,523 square feet of pre-function, meeting, exhibition, and ballroom space. The Vancouver Convention Centre now offers the ability to hold multiple simultaneous events, each with their own separate access and function spaces.

Built over land and water, with floor-to-ceiling glass throughout that treats guests to phenomenal harbour and mountain views, our new West Building is a masterpiece of design, inspiration and sustainability. Our commitment to green technology can be found in every corner: the “living roof,” seawater heating and cooling, on-site water treatment and even fish habitat built into the foundation.

I have heard many cities are left in debt and with more problems after hosting the Olympics.  If nothing else it appears that they will have a cool facility when all is said and done.

I continue to hear more and more doom and gloom from the trade show and convention people.  Exhibit space is not being bought, companies are pulling back their participation and it doesn’t stop there.  Attendance is continuing to slide.  Trade Show Week provides a few numbers from Las Vegas:

Convention attendance in Las Vegas dove 35 percent in February, compared with the same month a year ago. Figures released by the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority indicate about 300,000 fewer people attended tradeshows, conventions and business meetings in February, compared with a year ago. For the month, total visitor volume to Las Vegas was down 8 percent and the average room rate was down 23 percent, to $99.25.

Ouch.  The numbers continue to drop, but the good news is, at some point it has to go back up.  We continue to hear about the bad news on the traditional and mainstream media, but I am also hearing that numbers are not quite as bad as people think.  Companies are continuing to drop their budgets, but the economy is staying mostly flat.  I think once we begin to find out that it is not quite as bad as it seemed, we will see people gearing up again for the next season.  Unfortunately for some it may be already too late.  We here are keeping fingers crossed and we are continuing to keep our eye on the prize.

I was listening to a presentation yesterday in a room full of event planners and conventions and trade show people and the person talking gave out a few figures about their direct mail and direct marketing efforts.  I was completely shocked at the amount of trees are being used for some events to get their message out.  I continued to wonder about this as I drove home.  That was an example of only one show organizer that was sending mailers to their attendees.

With the attendance at some events being 50,000 or more people, I wondered about this practice with all event organizers.  Are you using marketing of your event by direct mail?  I get a few a week myself.  I don’t think about the numbers, but when I tried to begin wrapping my mind around that it seems to me that we could be using more non-traditional marketing efforts for our trade shows and conventions.  Is there a chance we can cut out the tree killing effort and do it all online?  I can’t imagine the amount of mail that goes out on a daily basis.  This does not seem very green.

Tags: Direct Marketing, Conventions, Trade Shows

I first approached this interview with a preconceived notion of a restaurant review.  I think Peppermill and I think food.  Maybe its just me, but after a  conversation with Pat Flynn (pictured left) the Executive Director of Hotel Operations and Sales, I left with a completely different notion of what the Peppermill was and what it represents.  I don’t have to say I think they are doing it right when it comes to their web site and online experience, as I think you can judge for yourself.  The picture on the landing page not only transforms you into a look and feel of old Italy, you get a good indication of the luxury that they are trying to provide.

After a $500 Million expansion and renewal, the resort has been transformed into an all-inclusive first class destination in Northern Nevada.  We always think Vegas when we think Nevada but I think that the Peppermill in Reno is out to change that idea.  Like other destinations we have discussed here, many properties are now wanting to allow convention and trade show attendees have no need to go anywhere else to get all the things they need.  The Peppermill has plenty of the things you need in nightclubs, theme bars, restaurants, spa, pools, garden areas, and even a state of the art arcade for the kids.  All of that is put together in what Flynn called "affordable luxury".

The property now has newly renovated meeting space which includes the all new 62,000 square feet free span Tuscan Ballroom, for a total convention space of 106, 000 square feet. There are 1635 rooms that includes 775 suites and 28,000 square feet of pre-function space and the best of registration areas.  This equates to one of the best properties not only in Northern Nevada but across the country for event planners, meeting planners and for even the bigger shows.  I think they can accommodate any size event and they have a very flexible property and staff.

One of the things that I think sold me on the idea of their space was not all the above amenities, but the lay of the land so to speak.  One of the things that turns me off about casino properties in some instances is that they make the gambling and casino part of their property the main focus.  The way that the Peppermill is set up in Reno you can have your event or trade show and not have to deal with winding your way through blackjack tables and slot machines and the fervor we have come to expect from a casino.  Their floor plan allows for you to have your event and have it be the main focus. This is a big selling point for people planning for their event to be the focus.  Great job!

I may not be getting over to a Tuscan village any time in the near future but obviously I can get to something close in Reno.  I can be swept away to Italy in Northern Nevada.  I hope the next time I am there I can also drink in the atmosphere of a great location perhaps while sitting at the pool.

Don’t get me wrong when it is time to play the tables or watch sports and enjoy a one arm bandit, Reno comes with all the same experience of full on gaming and casino experience.

I want to thank Pat Flynn and all the rest of the people at the Peppermill for leading the charge to a great property for our industry.  Keep up the good work and give them a chance to impress you just as much as they did me.

Tags: Peppermill, Reno, Nevada, Casino, Convention, Trade Show, Meeting Planners, Event Planners, Spa, Resorts