20150714 11.45 love at first site inspection
TRANSCRIPT
ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme Twitter: #RSMP15
• Sonia Thomas, UFI – The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry
• Rafael Hirschfeld, International Financial Cryptography Association
• Handan Boyce, Haliç Congress Centre
• Moderator: Patrick Delaney, SoolNua
We are:
ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme Twitter: #RSMP15
Sonia Thomas, UFI – The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry
UFI
ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme Twitter: #RSMP15
• Period prior to inspection: very important – Reactivity
– Help with organizing inspection visit details
– Be made to feel “special”
– Arrange to meet senior member of staff
– Don’t expect free hotel room, but appreciate a discount
– READ the spec(s) in detail, and research the association.
• Very frustrating and tiring to be shown rooms/venues that are too small, or not adapted. Wastes time & energy. Easy to tell when there is no prep.
Before the site inspection:
ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme Twitter: #RSMP15
• Inspection visit starts with flight
– Sensitive to airport, ease of circulating. Transport networks and information services.
– Arrival at hotel: ensure that the room is ready. Individual welcome, letter of welcome.
– Want the room that our delegates will get. No thanks to the upgrade
– Hotel is a very major part of the overall experience
– Venues that work closely with hotels can help here
Inspection visit – general
ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme Twitter: #RSMP15
– Arrange pickup if possible. Otherwise, venue should be easy to get to, and entrance easy to find once there (there are sometimes several)
– UFI’s groups are small, but VIPs
– Needs to be near the hotel or quickly accessible. Otherwise, need transfers. Transfers = complicated and expensive
– Branding important
– Need to be able to get a feel for the venue
– Practical layout with disabled access
Conference venue
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– Well maintained, clean, with modern fittings and material in good working condition
– Need breakout areas and rooms of varying sizes
– Clear signage
– Local flavour is important: food, decoration etc.
– AV is very important - whether in-house or outsourced, needs to work well with dedicated staff
– Collaboration: working together, not client – service provider basis
Conference venue
ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme Twitter: #RSMP15
– Happy to be briefed on fire exits and safety procedure (safety-conscious venue)
– Want to feel “special”, not just another customer, & have as many visits as deemed necessary
– Need to get a good idea of the internal organization, who does what
– High staff turnover complicates matters
– Important to have English speaking staff onsite.
Conference venue
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• Need help with suggestions for the Gala Dinner venue
• Happy for suggestions to make the experience more special
• Gifts: appreciate small gifts for the delegates. Happy to accept a sample of such a gift
– Don’t want any “bribes”!
Other
ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme Twitter: #RSMP15
• Heating system overworking (October, in Geneva)
• 32°C in room
• Problems can arise: how problems are solved is important - and how quickly!
My experience
ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme Twitter: #RSMP15
• The environment is important
• Not always something we can “manage”
• But a less than 100% can be very negative – especially for Asian delegates
My experience
ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme Twitter: #RSMP15
• WiFi system keeps logging me out
• Not happy: how will it possibly work with all the delegates at the same time??
• Any issue with WiFi etc is not acceptable
My experience