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How to Effectively Analyse your Conference – post event surveys…

On 1 July, 2013 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Book more conference business, Conference Planning, Conference Survey Questions, Conference Venue Tips, Marketing Events

Top 10 Conference Survey Questions……..

This comprehensive list is taken from a post on LinkedIn, started by Wendy Sullivan – NABC Planner at American Contract Bridge League. She asked a question and got 66 comments back with some great suggestions from Conference and Event planners worldwide.

Here is the Top 10;

1. Create a pre-event survey to better understand the goals of your attendees, and then follow up with a post-event survey to see if they accomplished those goals.
2. What was the best part of the Conference?
3. Why was this event successful for you?
4. Is there anything we could have done better?
5. How was the Staff/Food/Location (rating 1-10)?
6. Would you refer us to a friend or colleague?

Ask all of the above with a why section so delegates can elaborate more and you can evaluate the information.

7. Did the technology used at the event enhance, take away from, or make your participation more enjoyable? If you didn’t use technology, ask for suggestions on what they would recommend.
8. Ask for the feedback once participants are back at work. By waiting a couple of days you receive much longer, insightful and interesting feedback. I put this down to attendees rushing off at the end of an event but having the time back at work to be more considered. Our ’scores’ remained consistent but the open questions elicited much more comprehensive answers.
9. Capture video testimonials post-event before people walk away from the event. Not only does it create excellent marketing material, but it captures the immediate “wow” factor.
10. Was the conference a good opportunity to Network?? (a recent report shows 80% of the reasons delegates go to conferences is to Network). Rating this question 1-10.

There are lots more suggestions so I will post them at another date.

If you liked this post, check out 27 Things to do before a Conference!

Tagged: arranging conferences, conference and meeting place, conference event management, Conference Hotels, conference organisers, Conference Survey Questions, conference surveys, conference technology. conference apps, corporate event planning tips, event management, event planning, hotels, post event survey, post event surveys, questions to ask in a survey, tips on planning an event

3 Smart, innovative conference hotel experience ideas

On 23 May, 2013 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Book more conference business, Conference Event Technology, Conference Hotels, Conference Venue Tips, Hotel Sales Tips

3 great ideas that create a wonderful sense of arrival for any conference hotel to deliver….

I discovered a great article on luxury hotel innovations written by Coyle Hospitality that enhance the guest experience. These would really be fantastic for any conference goer and make a conference organiser’s life a lot easier too.

1 – This is my favourite one — ipads supplied for each guest. The Plaza Hotel in New York have enhanced their guests experience by offering each guest an iPad from which they can do just about everything they need while staying at the hotel, including control the temperature in their room, order room service, make restaurant reservations, communicate with the concierge, request wake-up calls, explore NYC destination guides, and even check airline schedules and print boarding passes. How great would it be then to pre-load the ipads with the conference agenda, list of delegates, apps to network with, articles on the conference speakers, the conference organisers contact information, things to do in the area and a feedback on the conference app.

2 – Good bye to the front desk(This one I just love too as it is my pet peeve checking in at hotels) — Arriving guests are met by roving hosts, who sit down with them, offer a free glass of wine or coffee, and complete the check in process on a tablet computer (or iPad). It is soooo welcoming and sets a relaxed tone for the stay.

This I would just love for a conference experience as networking would be made so much easier, conference delegates generally arrive around the same time so this would kick off networking straight away. I find the “Front desk” just places a barrier between the guest and the hotelier, the most welcoming guest houses don’t have them, why should hotels? The new Hyatt brand – Andaz has this “welcome” as standard and more and more luxury boutique hotels are moving towards this also.

3 – This is niche within a niche – introducing hypo-allergenic rooms. This has been introduced by Hyatt Each “Respire” room gets a one-time shock treatment to minimize irritants, hypo-allergenic mattress and pillow cases, a powerful air purifier that’s listed as a medical device by the FDA, and other treatments that eliminate allergens on carpets and upholstery. – The number of asthma sufferers is projected to hit 400 million by 2025, so this may no longer be niche, just necessary.

For expertise on Hotels and venues, feel free to call me. Ciara zero86-3611428

Tagged: andaz hyatt, arranging conferences, conference and meeting place, conference hotel, Conference Hotels, conference innovatino, conference organisers, conference technology, conference technology. conference apps, corporate event planning tips, hotel experience, hotels, hyatt hotels, networking tips, smart conference tips, tips on planning an event

Marketing your Conference on Twitter… Expert Tips

On 12 August, 2011 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Conference Event Technology, Conference Planning, Marketing Events, Twitter and Events

How to effectively Market your Conference or Event - Tips from Christian Payne.

I attended an excellent presentation by Christian Payne – @documentally, recently on Twitter for Business. Brilliant presenter, fantastic on the subject and kind enough to give me his time afterwards.

I asked Christian for a few tips for Conference and Event Organisers on how to effectively use Twitter to market the events….

Create your own hash tag for the event – don’t let others do it, as it is easier for you to track conversations with one hash tag. Eg # hospitalityconference
Pay good attention to it – follow the conversation in real time
Set up google alerts (for your keywords and to help keep track)
Find the nodes* and amplifiers** for your event/subject and make sure you are following them
Don’t think it is cool and funky to have the #tag playing behind the speakers on stage at the event – it is distracting. There are plenty of opportunities to advertise it pre-conference, on the website, at registration – have it very obvious at coffee break and lunch time and the bathroom is also a place where it will be noticed!
Use ***Storify to tell a story about communication of the event – collecting all the info as you are going along. Be on top of it in real time – this is vital or you will miss the conversation.
Other media – listen to facebook pages, FourSquare and gowalla. Use other social media communication to know what is being said about your event and to market it.

The event was run by Media Contact – Jack Murray. They run great courses

Notes

*Nodes – a central or connecting point – who can connect you to your audience, who is talking about what you talk about.

**Amplifiers – who can reach a wide audience quickly

*** Storify– tool to tell your story online.

Tagged: Christinan Payne, conference, conference centre, dublin conference venue, hotels, marketing, media contact, social media, tips, twitter

Venue Review – The Fabulous Radisson Royal Hotel Dublin

On 5 February, 2009 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Conference Venue Tips, Green Venues, Venue Reviews

A Fantastic Dublin City Centre Hotel -

Sky Suite Party Venue

You know not all brand hotels get it right in terms of service levels, atmosphere and level of luxury, but the Radisson Royal Dublin City Centre have ticked off most of the boxes for me. I consistently get great feedback from clients who have held an event there and I very much enjoy attending events there myself! The most recent one I attended was the blog awards held Oct 11th – arranged by — Damien Mulley – creator of the Irish Web Awards…

Feedback -

While a free bar for the first hour or so is always a fantastic start to an event, I was there from set up time to ensure everything was going according to plan. I was pleased to see that the hotel staff were on hand to assist with the organisation and supervise set up and of course make sure the client is happy which he was. They also had a consistent presence through-out the event. The Organiser Damien was delighted with service and how the event went. The cocktails in particular kept everyone smiling!

Outside shot Radisson Royal Hotel, GoldenLane

First Impressions and Location -

Very Central – In general my review of a hotel starts from the first time I see it, approach to the hotel and the sense of arrival. The location of the Radisson Royal is very central and is indeed great, it is built in an area that is changing fast and will undergo more regeneration over the next few years, there are some nosey neighbours across the street but I have not heard of them bothering guests. South Great George St is less than a 2 minute walk where you are right into the hustle and bustle of Dublin City Centre; Grafton Street is about a 5 minute walk and location wise for corporate travellers they love the buzz of the city centre. The IFSC would be a nice 15 minute walk in the morning or indeed a short taxi drive, but the south city business district around Stephens Green is about a 5-10 minute walk. A perfect Dublin City Centre Hotel.

On walking into the lobby, decor is modern, funky but not over done. You immediately get a great vibe from the hotel and know you are in a popular Dublin Venue. Reception staff have always been very accommodating and responsive to my needs.

Sky bar private corporate party venue

Hang out areas -

The lobby has some great space to hang out in- either to catch up on email or have a bite to eat or wander casually into the bar. The SURE Bar serves some serious cocktails…..

Dublin City Centre Meeting Space - Comfortably accommodates up to 300.

Conference room off main lobby area

The meeting space – - is functional, well equipped and well laid out. The main conference or event room is located right off the lobby area, featuring a great reception area with bar and counter space. Ideal for a casual lunch or tea/coffee area. It also has access out to a great patio area so it is very easy to get some fresh air while at an all day Conference in Dublin. The room divides in 3 and comfortably fits up to 300. The remainder of the hotel conference facilities is on the first level – it is a great mix of light filled rooms accommodating from 10 – 60 again, well laid out, equipped with modern AV and overall has a feeling of a successful meeting.

Dublin City Centre BBQ and outdoor space -

ourdoor corporate party event space

Summer BBQs, Corporate Parties and Team building events…. For corporate BBQs or team building events there is a fantastic urban oasis… a large patio area, that is sheltered and a great spot of a summer party. It would be very unique to the city as very few hotels have such outdoor space.

Outdoor BBQ area, party options

A good nights sleep -

Fresh, comfortable rooms

Dublin City Centre Accommodation – while I can’t say that I have stayed there, rooms look great, are very functional and equipped for both the business and leisure traveller. Overall, the hotel gets top marks from me.

Overall Attitude -

I find the sales staff excellent to deal with, very responsive and up for a laugh. Which is always a great attitude to have in this business.

French Irish Fusion Cuisine

If found this article of interest, you should check out the following articles –

Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links

> For tips and advice on venues in Ireland, feel free to contact me – Ciara

Ciara Feely –Venue Finder –www.FindaConferenceVenue.com

Ciara at Find a conference venue dot com. 353 (0) 26 21015

Tagged: city, conference, dublin, hotels, meeting, radisson royal, room, venues

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GREEN VENUES

How to Effectively Analyse your Conference – post event surveys…

3 Smart, innovative conference hotel experience ideas

Venue Review – The Fabulous Radisson Royal Hotel Dublin