Convention Insider (Conventions.net)

Those of you that know me know that I love talking about what is going on in my own backyard here in Colorado. I like to talk about conventions going on here and what is happening at some of the places I visit here.  I was reading this week about Colorado’s convention center and the fact that they have made it to LEED certified status.

The Colorado Convention Center is operated by SMG and is owned by the City of Denver. In 2009 they hired a manager that began the 18 month long certification process and have finally reached that designation.  Gems Events reports:

According to CCC management, the facility focused efforts in energy usage, sustainable purchasing, green cleaning, building occupant comfort, improved air quality and waste diversion. Richard Scharf, president and CEO of Visit Denver, the city’s convention and visitors bureau, cited a study conducted by the Watkins Research Group that says four out of ten conference planners will choose the ‘greenest’ city for their convention. “That makes the LEED certification an important marketing tool in selling Denver for future meetings,” he said in a statement announcing the recognition.

It is important that a state that prides itself in the use of its outdoors and the theme of being good in environmental issues get this certification.  This is a proud day for Colorado! Consider your next event to be held here in Colorado.

The catch to the title of this post is ironic.  I am attending some interviews of some key figures and players in the industry at the TS2 conference but I am not actually in Boston.  I am in the comfort of my own office from Colorado.  I did the same thing yesterday as the crew in the Boston Convention Center put together an online stream of the convention floor called #InZone.  That is the hashtag that is being used on Twitter and across the online world.  You can follow along with what is happening on Twitter and online if you choose.  The link for that may change and be inoperable but if you see it today you may still have time.

The online presence is being sponsored by the folks over at The Expo Group and my friend Dana Freker Doody is helping put that on.  It is how I heard of its existence.  She reached out to her community and told all of us that it existed. The other sponsors to the event include the MCCA, 3DMedia, Emilie Barta, CORT, IEP, and Digitell.  All of them put this together to make it a great experience.  I will talk about this more and perhaps even get an interview after the show is over with Dana Doody about the post show recap.

I was reading through an article by Rachel Wimberly over at TSNN.com about a Denver convention of teachers and their use of Wifi.  The event I am speaking of is at the Colorado Convention Center in my part of the world.  The convention is the International Society for Technology In Education or ISTE.  The article references Smart City a company that we have featured on here before and a company that is well known in the Wifi space for conventions and trade shows. I think that what we see in a convention like ITSE is going to be the wave of the future for conferences.  What TSNN writes is:

Of the 18,000 attendees who showed up for the event, 16,500 of them were online at any given time. Donella Evoniuk, ISTE’s senior director of conference services, said the event has offered free Wi-Fi since 2001, and they have worked with Smart City for several years to ensure the attendees’ demand to be online is met.

I am in the world of social media so it may be that the events that I mostly attend and the ones I am invited to speak at may be more technically minded and may involve more attendees online, but I do think this is a trend that will continue in all conferences and trade shows.  The article goes on to state:

Smart City has worked with ISTE on several shows, but Evoniuk said when a preshow survey indicated more than 80 percent of attendees intended to bring their laptops to the show, as well as 50 percent planned to bring both a cell phone and a laptop to the event, they knew demand was going to be unusually high. On top of that, ISTE promoted active back channel communications through live Twitter feeds and the ISTE 2010 Blog Roll, she added.

This is only going to be more of the norm.  I am constantly wondering what the “connectivity” is going to be like when I attend events.  With the new social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook having the success that they are and the participation we are seeing in the realm of those social sites, we can assume that everyone wants to be connected.  There are plenty of new technologies that are being developed for conference and convention attendees in mind that are integrating connectivity in the wifi space that we will see become more prevalent at conventions as well.  The article seems to make it sound as if this is a new idea, but in reality, this is slowly becoming the norm.

It seems these days that everyone is trying to help the planet and benefits are being planned all over to help the victims in Haiti, to help save the planet from the BP oil spill in the gulf. Last night was no different as I spent the evening at the Fox Theater in Boulder, Colorado, listening to music at a planned benefit to help the people in the Gulf area at an event called The Gulf Coast Benefit.  The event is to help the those hurt by the oil spill in the gulf.  The organizers tell us their goal:

The organizers have created an ambitious goal: Gather music venues around the country to donate ticket sales on July 1st and create an online giving platform that encourages donations to the relief efforts. The fundraising goal is set to $100,000, which will be directed to our nonprofit partner the Gulf Restoration Network, (http://www.healthygulf.org), which provides assistance to the people, wildlife and wetlands affected as well as advocacy work throughout the Gulf Coast.

This is a drop in the bucket for the amounts needed to help that we will hear about for the area.  Many people are traveling to the gulf coast now to see the problems there and to see how they can help.  I suggest you give to the people at the Gulf Coast Benefit to help those victims of the terrible accident.

If you are planning on your own benefit, here are some quick tips to help your event be a success.

1. Community: Get your community of friends involved.  We all, have a larger community these days with our friends on Facebook and our followers on Twitter.  Get them to help you with your event.
2. Businesses: Many businesses are themselves seeking some help in this economy but they do have ways of helping you with services or products they sale and they can provide you with what they can.  Look to local businesses that might want to ass some “cause marketing” to their efforts.
3. Venues: Many venues are looking for ways to get their message out and to get people to notice them.  Many of them will donate their facility to get the exposure and to make a difference.  Find a facility that might want to partner with your benefit.
4. Advertise: If nobody knows of your event you need to get the word out.  Many businesses will help you with this and in addition leverage your community as I mentioned above.  Get the word out and your event will raise money and be a success.
5. Fun: This is an opportunity for you to have some fun doing what you do well, planning events.  Take this opportunity to have some fun and to show everyone how well you can plan.  This might be out of your normal planning process so try some things you wouldn’t normally try on your own or for a client.

There is a non-profit organization out there that wants and needs help.  Many of them have no way that they can plan events on their own and need the help of meeting planners and event planners.  Help an organization today!

I have been traveling around the state of Colorado for the past week and most of the time has been spent in the high country of places like Vail, Aspen, and Steamboat Springs.  These are normally known here in Colorado as Ski Country USA.  At this time of year however there is no skiing going on when the heat reaches temperatures in the summer of more than 80 degrees.  That may not sound hot but when Denver and Grand Junction on either side of the mountains is in the 100 degree area, the mountains are normally 20 degrees cooler.  This can help you beat the heat when you want to plan an outside event or an event where you can enjoy the out doors.

Vail, Colorado is a relatively new town having only been conceived in 1966 after the ski area opened in 1962.  My grandparents purchased 65 acres f land on the North side of the highway that ran through the valley in the 60′s and I had an opportunity to see the Vail Valley grow into what it has become today, an oasis in the rocky mountains where celebrities come to be seen, where skiers come to learn their craft and where events occur year round for corporate retreats, meetings over every kind and even a trade show or two.

If you are planning a conference in the summer and want to find a way to beat the heat and everyday look and feel of a conference in the big city, try thinking about having your show in the mountains of Colorado.  Vail has everything the big city has, airport access, restaurants, conference centers, and also something the city might not have in the summer, cooler temperatures!

[photo via Wikimedia Commons]

I spent most of yesterday out in the beauty of the wild, and some of it was even outdoors and not in the minivan with the kids as we celebrated Father’s Day in Estes Park, Colorado.  I took the shot here as we headed home from a day in the sun and fun.  As we drove along Colorado Highway 7 and at the base of Rocky Mountain National Park and the ever omniscient Long’s Peak I noticed a few conference centers on the route. The highway we were traveling on goes right through the heart of Roosevelt National Park and has breathtaking views.

There are many great locations for corporate retreats and places to get away from the normal grind of convention centers and hotels and regular meeting venues in big cities.  Places like Estes Park, Colorado thrive on summer vacation tourism and the shops and restaurants have their busy season and down time.  They are also finding a way to bring people in to have meetings and corporate retreats.

The Estes Park Conference Center we drove by had a sign out front for a quilting convention and I was not as quick on the draw for getting that picture but you can go to their site and see all they have to offer.  If you have an opportunity to help out a small mountain town like those in and around Estes Park, tell them Jim sent you.  In any case, try to have your next meeting in a place of beauty!

The Sheraton Denver West Hotel is not only a beautiful and almost perfect venue for any kind of event imaginable, large or small;  this hotel also has one of the most gorgeous views EVER.

Nestled in the Rocky Mountains, the view from my window was breathtaking.

The conference I was attending was three days long and was attended by several hundred people.  However, both rooms used by the conference were large enough for even more; it wasn’t crowded in the least.  All of us could easily fit into each individual room!  The chairs were comfortable and the tables were perfect.

I had only two non perfect items in my memory of this venue:  The Wifi, which was excellent, was NOT free, and the tables in the middle of the room had no access to outlets.  Everything else about this venue was FANTASTIC.

I do love an elegant staircase, and the Sheraton Denver West Hotel did not disappoint.  The elevators were large, roomy, and FAST.

The hotel’s catering service was great, and the several restaurants and pubs within were also good.

The Sheraton Denver West Hotel is located at360 Union Blvd, Lakewood, Colorado 80228.  Phone: (303)987-2000.

Summer is in full swing since Father’s Day!  I knew this since I am a father and my kids keep me abreast of the important stuff.  I enjoyed Father’s Day this year in the comfort of the Rocky Mountains near Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, Colorado.  I am not sure why Father’s Day means that my kids are the ones that must have fun, but I think it has to do with the experience.  Mother’s Day seems to cost me lots of money too but that is another post for another time. 

I am noticing that there are many outdoor trade shows that are beginning to pop up.  In fact I passed by an outdoor conference that had lots of tables and booth set up under tents, some of them makeshift lean-to’s outside.  This is a great way to save on a facility cost but it is also a little primitive.  I will be looking forward to attending my own outdoor event that I like to go to here in Colorado which is the Scotch Highland games. I like looking at the games and watching the bands play.

Get outdoors this weekend and enjoy summer.  Don’t be cooped up inside!  Perhaps even BBQ something and enjoy.  That reminds me…I think there is a BBQ conventions coming up soon I need to look into.  Someone has to report on the important things!

Tags: Summer, Conventions, Trade Shows, BBQ, Estes Park, Rocky Mountains, Highland Games

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 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.