It’s probably the most critical part of your job, but also an area where the organizations bankrolling your events see a golden opportunity to “cut some fat.”
Site inspections are the “CYA” of meeting planning, and probably not an area to cut corners on. How will that cost-cutting CFO feel if he or she is put in a room just below the loud after-hours nightclub, for instance?
Our “Site Unseen” feature, beginning on page 16, jumps into the fray to find out what essential items you need to ask on a site inspection trip, and just how far you can go with all of the incredible digital tools now at your disposal.
As the story’s writer, Fred Gebhart, puts it: “Convincing a client that you need to visit a site before signing can be tough. Rescuing a client who decides to sign first and visit later is even tougher.”
Also included is a checklist sidebar, courtesy of Nola Conway, president of Global Destinations Marketing, with some essential tips for a hotel site inspection. And, don’t miss our “Destination and Site Selection and ADA Compliance: What Might You Miss?” webinar April 29, featuring top meetings industry educator—and MeetingsFocus.com blogger—Joan Eisenstodt. Check out www.meetingstoday.com/webinars to register or learn more.
Also in This Issue
Other feature stories this issue explore how tradeshows are transforming their business model, with an emphasis on maximizing attendee engagement, and how the elevated level of service at luxury properties can translate into increased ROI for your executive-level meetings.
And turn to our regional sections to find even more feature stories, as well as our usual thorough complement of destination pieces.
Finally, our departments section offers an appreciation of Leonard Nimoy, aka Mr. Spock, who passed away in February.
Now, we typically wouldn’t dedicate a page to fondly remember a television personality—even as one as cool as Mr. Spock—but Nimoy lived long and prospered on the convention stage for some 40 years, giving back to the fans who appreciated him so much. When freelancer Bob Calhoun, who recently wrote a book about some of the odder conventions out there, approached me soon after hearing of Nimoy’s demise, I thought the idea was, as Spock would say, “highly logical.”
