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GREEN VENUES

The Stillorgan Park Hotel

The 4 Star Stillorgan Park Hotel is located on the periphery of can cater from 2- 500 delegates with 20..

Silver Springs Moran Hotel

Silver Springs Moran Hotel combines contemporary design with traditional elegance. Each of our 109 deluxe bedrooms, including five luxurious suites..

Running a Conference is a little like Theatre…….

On 5 February, 2014 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Conference Event Technology, Conference Hotels, Conference Planning, Conference Venue Tips, Conference Venues, Hotel Sales, Hotel Sales Tips, Negotiating Rates

“Space Communicates a Message”

Conference Space Design has a massive effect on the outcome and results of a conference or meeting.

It affects people’s mood; how easy it is for them to meet people; their absorption of information, how well they retain information, the overall emotional experience they have had at the conference; what they walk away thinking and saying about the hotel and most of all if they will recommend the hotel or indeed the conference to their connections.

I had a very interesting conversation about Hotel design and in particular the design of conference and networking space. I was speaking with Ted Brumleve, Design Director at Dolce Conference Hotels. I am studying this concept at the moment for my book, I find it really fascinating.

There is a psychology behind well thought out space. Communications experts spend hours and days observing how people use existing space and what walk patterns they use.

I also had a cup of tea with Fiona McDonald of Design Space, Cork; she is passionate about how space design impacts and influences people. I just love this statement from her “Space Communicates a Message“. How true that is. Fiona is so interesting to meet with and talk about the “function of space”. She is also contributing to my book in this chapter about Conference and Networking Space.

So what are the top “must haves” of conference and meeting friendly hotel space– here are the top tips from the experts;

1. Natural Light. And it is “Golden” in the networking area according to Ted Brumleve.
2. Moveable furniture and plants that will influence the direction people walk in, where they congregate and influence how easy it is to strike up a spontaneous conversation.
3. Ciara Mundrow, International Communications Director of The Cardiology Society of Europe (who organise conferences of 200 to 30,000), told me they spend considerable money creating coffee shops and lounges at their events. This is essential to facilitating networking and the sharing of information; a key reason their delegates go to their conferences in the first place.
4. Effective Lighting. Invest in a lighting expert as this effects people’s mood at an event. Day lighting, soft lighting that makes everyone look good, evening lighting and night time lighting all play their individual role in the successful outcome of an event.
5. Brilliant technology behind the scenes. A conference centre and meeting place must be wired to assist the Meeting Planner run a smooth event. There is no excuse for delegates having to complain about the strength of the Wi-Fi, quality of the projection or not being able to see the presentations clear enough. It is the “backbone” of a great conference according to Ted.
6. Access to outside. Ideally patios off the networking areas.

The good news is most of these are easily fixed if a venue doesn’t have them naturally. You just have to speak to the right Design Space experts to ensure your hotel is helping Meeting and Conference Planners to run what they all want to run, a successful event. All sales pitches to Conference Organisers and Meeting Planners must include how the design of the hotel can help them achieve their goals.

——————–

Ciara Feely is a Conference Sales Coach. She makes filling a hotel with conference and meetings business easy. For info on bespoke training, webinars and ebooks on the topic, feel free to email or call. +353 86 3611428, Ciara at FindaConferenceVenue.com.

Tagged: arranging conferences, conference and meeting place, Conference Hotels, conference organisers, conference sales coach, conference sales mentoring, conference sales tips, conference venue ireland, Conference Venues, conference venues dublin, hotel revenue, Hotel Sales, Meeting Room Venues, networking, networking space

Create the Buzzz Factor at your Conference – how the venue can help..

On 16 September, 2013 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Book more conference business, Conference Event Technology, Conference Planning

How to Determine if a Venue can Provide Good Event Wi-Fi for Your Next Event

Ensuring the Wi-Fi is strong enough at your Conference Venue to allow for streaming and multiple delegates online at the same time is the smartest way to Market your event. It is also the smartest way for the Hotel to market itself… let the magic of social media multiply the power of your marketing budget.

This is a great article by Corbin Ball, Technology Expert in the Meetings Industry.

In today’s world almost no event can be successful without the aid of Wi-Fi and other technology. And Wi-Fi networks at events and tradeshows are becoming more and more crowded as attendees use an ever greater number of Wi-Fi enabled devices including smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

Bottom line, Wi-Fi is no longer an optional perk you may or may not offer. It’s a must.

And as the number of wireless devices grows exponentially, so do the expectations of your attendees. Poor Wi-Fi can do more than create a bad user experience; it can cause attendees to leave in order to find a better connection, or even keep them from attending the event at all if they think their productivity will be limited. Bad WiFi can also ruin a key talk and ruin exhibitor interaction – along with your reputation.

Because every venue has its own unique characteristics, and every event has attendees with varying needs, there is no simple formula you can use to ensure a great event Wi-Fi experience.

Unfortunately, many event organizers do not have the technical background or skill set to truly determine whether or not a vendor has the ability and capacity to provide the needed Wi-Fi for any particular event. Which means hiring an expert during the event planning phase is easily worth the investment when that expert can help ensure a great user experience and smooth running talks and presentations.

Beyond knowing the needs of your attendees, creating a positive Wi-Fi experience begins with being able to ask the right questions. The following questions give you a non-tech heavy approach to trying to determine if a potential venue will be able to provide you with the proper Wi-Fi for your event’s needs. These questions are effective whether you’re interviewing a potential venue, a Wi-Fi company, or a Wi-Fi consultant.

Step 1:
Ask these 20 essential questions:

1. Have they done similar events?
2. How many people attended those events?
3. Were attendees using multiple devices?
4. How much dedicated bandwidth will be available to your group?
5. Will Wi-Fi be available 24/7?
6. Will there be a qualified technician on site, who you can easily reach, during the entire event?
7. Will Wi-Fi be available in hotel rooms and conference rooms or just conference rooms?
8. What is the capacity in each of the rooms?
9. What is the minimum signal in each room?
10. Will the network be actively managed during the event?
11. What is the backup plan in case things go wrong?
12. How will they deal with any outages?
13. Where are the access points?
14. Is the Wi-Fi coverage consistent in all areas or are there weak areas of connectivity?
15. Can you provide hard lines for each of the meeting rooms for speaker needs?
16. Can you separate Wi-Fi for rooms or for different groups?
17. Can we bring in a tech from an outside AV company as an additional resource?
18. Will we be allowed to have access to the site prior to our event?
19. What type of Wi-Fi security is in place?
20. Does the bandwidth provide the same uploading and downloading speed?

If you are satisfied with the answers to those questions and the information leads you to believe their system or expertise fits with your needs, then go to Step 2.

Step 2:
Ask for reports from previous similar events. They should be able to provide reports on previous events which include bandwidth, numbers of users, and any problems that were encountered. Make sure the reports are from events that are similar in scope and attendance to what your event will be.

Step 3:
Ask for references from similar events that they handled. Actually call the references to get their perspective and ask a few questions about how easy or difficult the staff is to deal with and if the venue fulfilled everything they said they would.

As an event coordinator or planner, keep in mind that Wi-Fi is something you can negotiate and you should do so up front which means it cannot be an afterthought.

The upside? Well planned and implemented Event Wi-Fi means that attendees can live stream and blog about your event, right then and there; Media can quickly and easily get their stories out; and product announcements can go viral in real time.

All of that adds up to a powerful buzz-factor which becomes the most positive type of marketing and hype for your event.

For more conference technology tips see our post – 3 Smart, Innovative Conference Hotel Experience Ideas.

Tagged: arranging conferences, conference and meeting place, Conference Centre Venues, conference hotel, conference organisers, conference technology. conference apps, conference venue ireland, corporate event planning tips, how to save money when planning a conference, market conferences, market your event, organise a conference on a shoe string budget, smart marketing tips. conference planning, tips on planning an event

27 Things to do before a Conference…

On 7 May, 2013 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Uncategorized

Came across this great conference tips and advice from Chris Brogan…… It is lengthy, but worth the read…

This is also a great check list for conference organisers, ensure your conference is networking friendly.

1. This seems silly to start with, but check the schedule of the event. Mark off what you want to see. Get a sense of what you might ask for a pertinent question based on the session description, and/or decide what the business value of your interaction at any session might be.
2. Check in at Twitter Search for anyone talking about the event you’re attending. You can then determine if you want to follow them and start conversations ahead of the event. This works amazingly well for people who might be a bit shy.
3. Check via Google Blogsearch and Technorati for any references to the event. See whether any companies are announcing anything. Look for signs of business opportunity ahead of the experience, and if you find some, do more homework with search and research.
4. Visit Flickr and look for recent pictures of attendees or other people you hope to meet at the event. I keep a little document of all the faces I might want to meet, sometimes with a few facts about the person, in a document. (I don’t do this for every event, but when I do, it helps).
5. Visit the prospective attendees or business people’s blogs and Twitter streams for ideas of how things are going in their lives or in their businesses. Before running into someone, wouldn’t you want to know if they were in a car accident the day before, or maybe you’ll read that they just closed a B round of funding, and thus might have budget for a project with you. It’s free intelligence before a meeting.
6. Read up on any industry news around the event you’re attending, to understand what might be impacting the people you’re mingling with. My guess is you’ll know where this information is for the type of event where you’re going. If not, consider this similar to my point above about Google Blogsearch and Technorati, but also check Google News and maybe do some straight Google searches as well.
7. If you can, check a few of the people’s Twitter streams before you say hi at the conference. This way, you can have a few tidbits of someone’s personal news top of mind before connecting at the event.
8. Check out the exhibitors and sponsors for the event. Click through the site links and visit their web pages. What do you know about them? Are they a prospective vendor for you? A client? Do you see some business value in meeting any of them?
9. Check your LinkedIn for the city where you’ll be attending, and/or for any of the speakers’ or exhibitors’ names to see their professional profile.

Content Preparation – use the opportunity to raise your profile at a conference…

10. Consider putting up a few post-dated blog posts so that you don’t have to worry about writing on deadline at the event. Unsure what to write about? Here are 100 blog topics.
11. Write some of your best work in the days leading up to the conference, and have a great post launch on the day of the event. The likelihood of people checking out your blog during or just before an event is high. Heck, I just recommended that you do it.
12. Consider writing posts that might help you form conversations at the event. For instance, if you’re looking to work with restaurants, write a blog post about how you’d help restaurants improve sales. Thus, people who might investigate your blog ahead of time might also know what you’re thinking about and will engage you.
13. If you’re looking to connect at the event, some of your content should be outreach related, via services like Twitter or Facebook. Message the world using the event’s hash tag (if it has one), and/or the city/state (or province, etc) where the event is held. Thus, people using Twitter Search or poking around via Facebook might catch you in a search and engage you.
14. Consider making a video about something and posting it to your blog. Videos will give people an even better opportunity to observe you and see what you’re about. It might also help with the people recognition factor, as seeing you in motion might improve their chance of seeing you at an event.
15. If you’re thinking of liveblogging the event, prepare ahead of time (here’s a great article at Web Worker Daily about that).
16. If you’re going to take lots of photos or videos at the event, check your gear to make sure you’ve got everything (charger, media transfer tools, spare whatevers). This seems to muck up things often.
17. Sometimes an event has a blog. It might be neat to see if you can guest post on it. That might up your chance of meeting folks at the event.
18. Here’s one: blog about people you know who might be at the event that you hope to connect with. Write about what you might want to talk with them about. It can’t hurt. (Though, in saying this, I’m not sure you’d have to blog that you want to meet me to meet me. You can just come over and say hi.)

Make the networking work for you…

19. Order fresh business cards. They don’t even have to be corporate-approved. Here’s the thing: make the NAME part very large. Make your primary mode of requested contact come first. Make it VERY clear what you do for business. Make sure you add the kind of offering you’re putting out there for the event (or for the next several events, if that makes sense).
20. Scour your LinkedIn contacts for the city where you’ll be visiting and send some personal emails to people that you might want to meet in the target city. They don’t necessarily have to meet you at the conference, but you might be able to schedule coffee.
21. Send message via Twitter saying that you’ll be visiting ____ conference in ____ (city) and let people know you’re coming. See if you can strike up friendships ahead of time. Maybe mention some of the stuff you’re looking to do, business-wise.
22. Backup your laptop before you travel. You might not think about it, but there are many chances to destroy your data once you’re on the road. Make sure that’s not going to happen.
23. Consider any extra batteries or power supplies you might need to bring with you.
24. If you’ve got a business offer to promote at an event, practice and practice and practice how you’re going to talk about it. Be crisp. Make it easy to say. Be very clear about the ask. If you’re looking for people to review your demo, then make that the ask. If you’re looking for work, be clear that you’re available for a few extra projects. It seems that lots of folks beat around the bush or don’t exactly know how to have a beginning, middle, and end to a conversation.
25. Practice believing in yourself.
26. Remember that not meeting someone at an event isn’t always the end of the world. There are other chances, other times. Just the same, if it’s the kind of event where people have traveled to be there, take every opportunity to reach out. It’s harder to recreate an opportunity once everyone’s gone home.
27. And this should come first, but remember to give your family a bit of extra love before leaving for the event. Take them out to dinner, and/or give the little ones some extra fun. Make a game of showing where you’ll be via Google Maps, and switch to Satellite or Street View to show them the visuals instead of just the map. Give everyone a chance to connect while you’re on the trip via Skype video, so they can stay in touch. It makes it easier.

For some other insightful tips from Chris Brogan – visit his website and sign up for his magic.

If you liked these tips, you will love these… there is a little overlap.

Tagged: arranging conferences, conference advice, conference check list, conference networking, conference organisation advice, conference organisers, conference organization tips, conference planning tips, conference technology. conference apps, conference venue ireland, corporate event planning tips, smart tips on attending a conference, things to do before going to a conference

Excellent Conference Centre option in Kilkenny

On 2 May, 2013 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Conference Hotels, Conference Venues, Venue Reviews

Kilkenny adds another reason to take a conference or association meeting to the City….

There is another conference and convention centre option in Kilkenny.  Association and conference organisers will love it.  The Hub in Kilkenny, located just off the Dublin Road is a wonderful option for exhibitions, large conferences, summits and trade shows.  It accommodates up to 1200, what organisers in particular will love is that it is open space, very flexible and can be turned a number of ways.
conference space at the Hub Kilkenny
http://findaconferencevenue.com/venue/The-Hub-Conference-Centre-Kilkenny-Conference-venue-and-exhibition-space

Kilkenny is just over an hour from Dublin, just off the M9, making it extremely accessible and a great conference destination. Kilkenny City itself has a host of hotels with top class accommodation offerings, Lyrath Estate is the closest conference hotel to The Hub.

Tagged: association conference centres, association conference venue, association hotels, conference and meeting place, conference centre hotel kilkenny, conference venue ireland, Conference Venues, conference venues ireland, find a conference venue, kilkenny conference centre, kilkenny convention centre, trade show centre, trade show facilities kilkenny

Top Tips to make Networking at a Conference more effective… Conference Technology

On 19 March, 2013 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Conference Event Technology, Conference Planning, Networking in General, Smart organising tips, Twitter and Events

What Conference Technology and mobile apps to use to deliver a better conference experience…

I attended the AIPCO (Association of Irish Professional Conference Organisers) Conference March 7th, at Clyde Court Hotel – it was an excellent event. There was a lot of talk around how to improve the results of conferences for delegates – networking being a really big one. Do you leave it up to chance who you “might” bump into at a conference? Hoping it will be that one contact that will pay for the whole trip? Preparing for an event and connecting with conference attendees before the event is smart and makes for much more productive conferences and helps make networking 10 times more effective.

Corbin Ball has put together a list of a few social networking sites and mobile technologies that improve the attendee experience at a conference. A great point Corbin makes is that for decades the name badge was the principal networking tool. Here are some conference technology sites that can make planning a conference and attending a conference much more effective…. most of them are free.

www.Bizzabo.com - Designed to help conference organisers communicate with attendees and delegates with each other.

OleaPark.com - an innovative social networking tool connecting people via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook interests. Upload your event and begin speaking to delegates, get feedback and send messages.

Qriousapp.com Helps attendees and exhibitors find and connect with the people that are important to them.

For further information on this and to read Corbin’s blog – check this link out.

What is the easiest way to find out who is attending the event?? Ask the organiser! They should be able to send you a list or have it created with some of the technology outlined above.

If you would like more information on how to make networking more effective at conferences or events, feel free to call me. I look at the networking space and how the conference venue itself can deliver conference results for delegates and for the conference organiser. Conference hotels and conference centres/conference venues are key to delivering the result a meeting organiser and conference organiser wants to get from holding an event.

Tagged: arranging conferences, arranging events, conference apps, conference organiser apps, conference organisers, conference social media, conference technology. conference apps, conference venue ireland, corporate event planning tips, corporate event services, Corporate Meetings, find a conference venue, how to save money when planning a conference, meeting planner apps, organise a conference on a shoe string budget

Conference Organisers use TripAdvisor to help decide on Conference Hotel…

On 5 March, 2013 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Conference Hotels, Conference Planning, Conference Venue Tips, Conference Venues, Dublin Conference Facilities, Venue Reviews

This is a fact. A client of mine recently chose not to book a week long conference at the Burlington Hotel based on their reviews on TripAdvisor. Ouch! It is being used to find the right conference hotel.

TripAdvisor have now introduced a business listing which I would highly recommend serious conference hotels in Ireland upgrade to. Why? – the hotel gets….

Link to your website
Email address
Phone number
Link to special offers
Special offer tag
Custom photo slideshow

It is all about making it easy for the conference organiser to get independent reviews about your hotel that are believable and based on a real experience.

TripAdvisor spoke at the IHF Conference in Killarney today on this topic and needless to say it was a heated debate about listing the reviews directly on hotel websites and them being anonymous. I highly recommend it. If you are not putting the reviews on the hotel website, conference organisers are just going to look for them anyway. If there are negative reviews, it all depends on how they are handled. Some negativity makes them more believable. Conference Hotels can’t ignore the power of TripAdvisor in converting a conference, meeting or event enquiry, they are being used to find the right conference venue and conference hotel.

Tagged: arranging events, Business listings, conference and meeting place, conference organisers, conference reviews, conference venue ireland, corporate event planning tips, Corporate Meetings, find a conference venue, hotel reviews, TripAdvisor

Hotel VAT Reductions – who is Passing it on

On 8 July, 2011 by Ciara Feely Comments (1), leave your own!
Categories: Conference Hotels, Conference Venue Tips, Hotel and Venue VAT rates, Venue Reviews

Proactive and Positive attitude is resulting in business opporunities for hotels and client loyalty…. The Team at FindaConferenceVenue.com have conducted a survey of over 200 hotels in Ireland, asking them – have they? Will they? And where have they passed on the new 9% VAT rate?

Number of Hotels Surveyed – 216 Number responded – 77

How was the survey conducted? – online and on the phone.  We called 125 hotels, sent 216 General Managers an email 52 responded on the phone, 25 online at – http://findaconferencevenue.polldaddy.com/s/EAEFE109CB6B06BB?p=1

The majority who participated in the survey have passed on the savings in the area of Food, Beverage and the Guestroom rate.   The cost of a cup of tea or coffee is the main area that the reduction is not immediately being passed on in by some hotels (to Conference Groups for example); as for the sake of 11cent, (based on a price of €2.75) they have to reprint all their menus.  This will be more gradually introduced.

Trend from the survey – What is most interesting to me is that the hotels attitude to the issue is key in determining what extra business can be generated from the reduction.  For example – those that were the most willing to answer our questions and were taking a proactive approach to the issue, have generated good will with their customers and have generated extra business already.

Spotlight on Hotels Passing it on.. The Marriott Druids Glen, the Fitzgerald Woodlands Hotel Adare and the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel are the hotels that stand out and are managing the issue and turning it into a sales opportunity. Aileen Strachan – Director of Sales at the Marriott Druids Glen told us they contacted all their clients last month and let them know they are reducing the rates they had booked.  Clients were very impressed with this proactive approach and it created such good will that it has resulted in more business for the hotel. The Woodlands House Hotel in Adare have given the VAT reduction top priority with one of the owners handling the project herself – Elaina Fitzgerald, has spent days contacting clients letting them know the good news.  They believe it is a very positive move for the Irish Hotel Industry and it is up to each hotel to generate the business presented by the VAT reduction.

My husband is in the building industry and his comment was he would love the VAT rate to be reduced for his industry to help his rates be even more competitive.

The hotels that were not willing to participate in the survey or who were complaining about the extra work it has put on them, are the most negative and don’t believe it will help to generate more business.  It just shows if you put a positive spin on everything, opportunities are made. Some hotels are taking each piece of business on a case by case basis to see if they can pass on the reduction – some are incorporating extra value for money in packages offered instead.

Advice from an expert on Hotels and Venues – Ciara Feely of FindaConferenceVenue.com – if you have an event booked, check with your hotel to ensure the reduction is being passed on.  We are doing this on behalf of all our clients who have used our Venue Finding Service. The 5 questions we asked are below —

Breakdown of answers to questions on the new VAT rate survey-77 respondants
Yes No On a case by case basis
Have you reduced the VAT rate? 77 0
Have you passed the VAT reduction on to your customers in the area of food? 73 4
Have you passed the VAT reductions on to your customers in the area of guestrooms? 66 4
Have you passed the VAT on to your customers in the area of beverages (tea/coffee)? 58 15
Are you applying these reductions to business already booked? 60 7 6
If you answered no -Do you plan to reduce the rates in the next month? 2 1
Do you see the VAT reduction making a difference to business generated? 47 27
Hotels who are passing it on that we spoke to…….
Ambassador Hotel Cork
Sheraton Fota Island
Greenhills Hotel Conference/Leisure
Radisson Blu Hotel Limerick
Carlton Hotel Galway
the g
Galway Bay Hotel
Sligo Park Hotel and Leisure Club
Fitzpatrick Castle Dublin
Morrison (The)
Radisson Blu St Helens Hotel
Radisson Royal Hotel City Centre
Roganstown Golf & Country Club
Marriott Druids Glen Hotel and Country Club
The K Club
Tullamore Court Hotel
Hodson Bay Hotel
The Malton, formerly the Great Southern Hotel
Marriott Johnstown House Hotel & Spa
Carlton Castletroy Park Hotel
White Sands Hotel
Slieve Russell Hotel Golf & Country Club
Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa Cork
The Stillorgan Park Hotel
Ballykisteen Hotel & Golf Resort
The Brehon
Carton House
CityNorth Hotel
Sheen Falls Lodge
Silver Springs Moran Hotel
Harvey's Point
Courtyard by Marriott Galway Hotel & Spa
Abbey Court Hotel,Lodges & Trinity Leisure Spa
Whites of Wexford
Guinness Storehouse
The Lodge at Ashford
Ballsbridge Court Hotel
Sheraton Athlone Hotel
Croke Park Conference Centre
Old Jameson Distillery
Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt
Dunboyne Castle Hotel and Spa
Carlton Shearwater Hotel Spa & Conference Centre
Dromoland Castle
Louis Fitzgerald Hotel
Solis Lough Eske Castle
Moyvalley Hotel and Golf Resort
Kilronan Castle
Hilton Hotels
Buswells Hotel
Westport Woods Hotel
Sligo Park Hotel
Dingle Skellig Hotel
Rathsallagh House
Quality Hotel Clonakilty
malton Hotel
The Riverside Park Hotel & Leisure Club
Westlodge
Sligo Park Hotel and Leisure Club
The randles Court hotel
Trident Hotel
Ballymaloe House
Abbey Hotel, Conference & Leisure
Actons Hotel, Kinsale
Cashel Palace Hotel
Downhill House Hotel
The Europe Hotel & Resort
AbbeyCourtHotel Lodges and Trinity Leisure Spa
Hotel Isaacs
Fitzgeralds woodlands house hotel
Deebert House Hotel
Mount Wolseley Hotel
Tagged: conference venue ireland, conference venues ireland, Corporate Event Venues, Hotel, Hotel VAT rate, Irish Hotel passing on the VAT rate, Irish Hotels, meeting room dublin, VAT Rate, VAT rate reductions

Conference Technology – making planning an event easy…

On 25 November, 2009 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Conference Event Technology, Conference Planning, Conferences on a budget

I am doing some research at the moment on Conference Technology… Event Elephant seems to tick a lot of boxes when it comes to streamlining the planning and organising of a conference – it offers registration, payment, tracking options – everything that can be a nightmare to do manually.   It all seems to be organised in one easy place and at very reasonable rates too.   Tying into my aim to organise a Conference on a shoe string budget.

Tagged: arranging conferences, arranging events, conference and meeting place, conference organisers, conference venue ireland, Conference Venues, Corporate Meetings, event organising, find a conference venue, technology for events, tips on planning an event

How to Plan a Conference …. continued advice from the experts.

On 7 May, 2009 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Conference Planning, Conference Venue Tips, Smart organising tips, Uncategorized

 

Step Three – Producing the Conference
To put the conference product in place you will to need to action the following:
Conference Budget:  This needs to be drawn up and must contain a revenue and expenditure section together with an actual column.  Always include a contingency figure, say 10% of the estimated total.
Programme:  Clearly identify you objectives so that both you and your speaker know what the conference is aiming to achieve and delegate expectations are met.
Marketing and PR plan:  You need to identify how are going to reach your target audience. Website will need to be designed or updated.
Event Schedule:  This is used to plot all the various activities that are talking place throughout the conference.
Step Four – Products and suppliers
Once you have produced you conference budget you can confirm your suppliers and product requirements:
Venue Finder:  Professional venue finders, who are experts on venues and offer an independent opinion are always a safe bet to use to ensure you select the right venue.  Your reputation is on the line if you chose the wrong venue!
Accommodation:  This may need to be placed on provisional hold if the conference venue cannot provide or has insufficient space.
Audio Visual equipment and production:  This is something either the venue can provide or you can source in-house.  Alternatively obtain up to quotes from conference / AV companies.
Catering, entertainment, transport, delegate bags etc:  Make sure you have thought of everything at this stage so that there are no surprises in the budget later on.
Marketing and PR plan:  You need to identify how are going to reach your target audience. Website will need to be designed or updated.
Event Schedule:  This is used to plot all the various activities that are talking place throughout the conference.

 

Charleville Park Hotel, Cork - midway between Limerick and Cork

Step Three – Producing the Conference

To put the conference product in place you will to need to action the following:

Conference Budget:  This needs to be drawn up and must contain a revenue and expenditure section together with an actual column.  Always include a contingency figure, say 10% of the estimated total.

Programme:  Clearly identify you objectives so that both you and your speaker know what the conference is aiming to achieve and delegate expectations are met.

Marketing and PR plan:  You need to identify how are going to reach your target audience. Website will need to be designed or updated.

Event Schedule:  This is used to plot all the various activities that are talking place throughout the conference.

 

Great meeting room, just outside Dublin.  Convenient to the airport also.

Great meeting room, just outside Dublin. Convenient to the airport also.

 

 

Step Four – Products and suppliers

Once you have produced you conference budget you can confirm your suppliers and product requirements:

 

Venue Finder:  Professional venue finders, who are experts on venues and offer an independent opinion are always a safe bet to use to ensure you select the right venue.  Your reputation is on the line if you chose the wrong venue!

Accommodation:  This may need to be placed on provisional hold if the conference venue cannot provide or has insufficient space.  Ensure there are enough gurestrooms for delegates or that there are excellently priced hotels within easy reach of the conference.  You don’t want your delegates arriving late as they were stuck in traffic.  Again, consult a venue finder on these.

Audio Visual equipment and production:  This is something either the venue can provide or you can source in-house.  Alternatively obtain up to quotes from conference / AV companies. Ensure  you get references, as getting the AV right on the day is essential!!

Catering, entertainment, transport, delegate bags etc:  Make sure you have thought of everything at this stage so that there are no surprises in the budget later on.

Marketing and PR plan:  You need to identify how are going to reach your target audience. Website will need to be designed or updated.

Event Schedule:  This is used to plot all the various activities that are talking place throughout the conference.

Source – In Any Event UK

For more expert tips on organising a conference or event – click here…

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How to plan a conference – Corporate Event tips from the experts

On 6 May, 2009 by Ciara Feely Comments (2), leave your own!
Categories: Conference Venue Tips, Conferences on a budget, Smart organising tips
HOW TO PLAN A CONFERENCE – source In Any Evenet UK – www.inanyevent-uk.com
Step One – Planning
Decide who is going to be involved in organising the conference. Set up a conference planning committee.  Arrange a meeting to establish what work needs to be undertaken, by whom and set timescales.  Obtain handover notes if this event has been previously organised by other committees.
At this initial planning meeting is essential that you set your event objectives. For example these can be along lines of:
• What is the conference aiming to achieve?  What as an organisation are you trying to achieve by hosting this event?
• Who are you trying to impact?  Define your target audience in terms of delegates and sponsors?
• How do you define success?
Decide on dates for regular planning meetings and produce notes from meetings together with action points.
Step Two – Work in Progress
From the planning meeting draw up an activity schedule together with list of actions, status of actions and deadline dates. This will become your working schedule.
At each planning meeting produce an agenda based on the headings of the activity schedule. Produce meeting notes together with actions.  These together with the activity schedule will be what you use to plan your event.
Solis Lough Eske Hotel Meeting Room Donegal
Step One – Planning
Decide who is going to be involved in organising the conference. Set up a conference planning committee.  Arrange a meeting to establish what work needs to be undertaken, by whom and set timescales.  Obtain handover notes if this event has been previously organised by other committees.
At this initial planning meeting is essential that you set your event objectives. For example these can be along lines of:
  • • What is the conference aiming to achieve?  What as an organisation are you trying to achieve by hosting this event?
  • • Who are you trying to impact?  Define your target audience in terms of delegates and sponsors?
  • • How do you define success?
Decide on dates for the regular planning meetings and produce notes from meetings together with action points.
networking area Hotel Europe, Kilarney, Co Kerry.  Great conference hotel.

networking area Hotel Europe, Kilarney, Co Kerry. Great conference hotel.

Step Two – Work in Progress
From the planning meeting draw up an activity schedule together with list of actions, status of actions and deadline dates. This will become your working schedule.
At each planning meeting produce an agenda based on the headings of the activity schedule. Produce meeting notes together with actions.  These together with the activity schedule will be what you use to plan your event.
Step Three – next post
-  source of this expert advice –  In Any Evenet UK - www.inanyevent-uk.com
If you are interested in more tips from the professionals on how to plan a conference or event, check out these links….
Tagged: arranging conferences, conference and meeting place, conference venue ireland, Conference Venues, corporate event planning tips, corporate event services, Corporate Meetings, Corporate Team Building activities, event management company, green venues ireland, organise a conference on a shoe string budget
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