When Meeting Planner Isn’t Your Job Title

Things You Need to Know

Laura Corder

Director of

Communications

Programs Manager

USC/Columbia

Incubator

Our Guests Today

Jason Outman

Executive Director

Columbia

Metropolitan CVB

(SC)

Who are these

“planners?”

How CVBs serve you

as consultants

What to know before

you send your RFP

On-line industry

approved resources

Information for the

Occasional Planner

The 5 W’s

Understanding

Internal Expectations

WHERE will be

consider holding the

meeting?

WHY are we having

this meeting?

WHEN can we hold

the meeting?

WHAT type of event

are we trying to

execute?

WHO will attend?

RFP Reconstructed Handbook https://cld.bz/c7d9Qya#

Just a few other things

to consider…

Keep Your Eye on Your Budget

Anticipate Red Flags

Manage Timelines

Stop Reinventing the Wheel

Resources

Convention Industry Council (CIC) http://www.conventionindustry.org/index.aspx

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) http://www.mpiweb.org/Home

American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) http://www.asaecenter.org/

Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) http://www2.pcma.org/

We are the best FIRST point of

contact to help planners FIND the

right fit for ANY SIZE meeting.

CVB Promise and Value

To Planners

• Local expertise

• Extensive in-market relationships

• Comprehensive view of the destination

• Free to you!

Call Your CVB First

• Educate you about the hotels

• Help you understand the desirability and fit of your meeting for the different types of hotels

• Discuss the seasonality and pattern preferences of the hotels, especially if lower rates are a priority or preferred date availability is an issue

• Help you tweak your RFP to be destination-specific

• Distribute your RFP to the hotels you want to consider, and follow up with them to be sure they are responding in a timely and complete manner

• Lobby on your behalf

• Set up your site inspections and coordinate your visit to the destination

• Intercept hotel questions and collect responses so you’re not inundated with emails or phone calls

www.empowerMINT.com

• Review at-a-glance destination

profiles

• Get destination news

• Find your Destination Expert

• Search and compare

• Submit a Quick Request or RFP

to multiple destinations

Keep in Touch

Email contactus@empowermint.com

Podcast Meeting Planning Madness

blog.empowermint.com/podcast

Blog blog.empowermint.com

Web

www.empowermint.com

LinkedIn DMAI’s Network for CVBs

and Meeting Professionals