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The Stillorgan Park Hotel

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

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

Improve Your Next Conference – 5 Really Easy Tips

On 18 April, 2014 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Book more conference business, Conference Hotels, Conference Planning, Conference Sales Toolkit, Conference Venue Tips, hotel sales professionals

Tips to make your delegates conference experience easier and dramatically improve networking.

Today’s blog post is written by Kevin Newman who organises BrightonSEO.com conferences as posted in Event Managers Blog. You will love these tips – they just make sense!!

Improve the Usability of Your Name Badges.

Why do you give people name badges at events? It’s probably to make sure you’ve got no freeloaders.
Why are they useful to attendees? To help them remember the name of someone they’ve forgotten or to spot people they’d like to speak to. Yet the badges at most events are tiny, with minuscule fonts that might be on brand but are a nightmare to read at distance.

We take a different approach, that seems to work well for us.
Our badges are huge. A double sided sheet of A6. We do get comments about how huge they are, but making them bigger makes it much easier for them to be useful.
We also use the font Blue Highway. This is not one of our brand fonts. It’s a free font based upon the fonts used on American road signs. That means it’s designed to be clearly read from a distance.
If you can’t read the name of the attendee from 20ft away, we have failed on our badge designs.
Also think about what extra information you could put on the badge with the extra space a bigger badge allows. In the past we’ve included Twitter handles. Sometimes people are more familiar with people’s names on Twitter than their ‘real name’.
Though don’t be afraid to exclude things, on badges whitespace is your friend!

Programme More breaks.

I’ve struggled with this one over the years. I’ve always wanted to cram as much content into a conference as I can, so I was always nibbling away at the breaks.
Then I had a proper read through our feedback. I got the message that the opportunity to network was one of the main reasons people attended our events. So we made more time for exactly that.
Having healthy breaks does mean when a speaker inevitably runs over time, there is still plenty of time for attendees to stock up on caffeine, fresh air and industry gossip.

Arrange More Power Sockets
You can spot who the conference veteran is. They are the first person in the auditorium scoping out the seat nearest a power socket. They will even get charging early in the day to ensure their fully juiced for the whole day.
The reality is at most events your audience will be spending time on their mobile, tablet and/or phone. They will want power to keep them charged.
You can never have enough power sockets at a conference.
Use this opportunity. There are some great off the shelf charging solutions and it’s a great thing to get sponsored or branded. Chargebar is a great service where charging stations can be rented. It becomes the centre for connecting and like the “watering hole” of the conference. Chargers are the most forgotten item at a conference, if you are providing a solution to someones panic of almost running out of juice on their phone or notebook, then you are a saviour.

Send out a ‘What to Expect’ Email

Early on in my conference organising days it amazed me the number of emails I used to get about dress codes. I was organising marketing conferences not gala dinners. It’s one of the things people legitimately get concerned about in the run up to events.
One way to fight this anxiety in your delegates is to send round a ‘What to expect email’ a few days before the event. Talk about dress codes, what types of food and drink are going to be available, whether there will be wi-fi etc.
Think about every small question your attendees have asked ahead of your events. Turn then into a helpful piece of communication. You’ll save your attendees a lot of mental energy fretting.

Schedule Tweets to Pre-empt Problems
There are certain problems we know we are going to have at our events. People arrive early, they can’t find the wifi password, their running out of battery and are looking for a charger.
We know to expect these things so ahead of an event we schedule tweets covering exactly these issues.
It leaves us the time to concentrate on other things on the day but allows people on the back-channel to answer their own questions. You’ll also find other attendees retweeting these ‘Public Service Announcements’. Spreading the message for you.

In Conclusion.
A successful event is all about the details.
These are just a few of the things that have helped make our events more successful. Useful badges, more networking time that you might expect, extensive power sockets, allaying people’s fears with a what to expect email and pre-scheduling tweets to pre-empt problems.

You probably do lots of your own, I hope these tweaks will help you run your event better.

If you like this blog post, you will love these related topics:
One Brilliant Question to Ask When Organising a Conference
How to Effectively Analyze Your Conference – Survey Questions

Feel free to Contact Ciara if you have any questions on how to get the biggest results from your Conference or Event.

Tagged: arranging conferences, charging stations at conference, conference experience, conference organisers, conference planning tips, conference technology. conference apps, networking tips, tips on planning an event

Google Opens a Conference Centre – Dublin’s hottest new venue

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

Google opened a hot new venue in Dublin just a few weeks ago. The Foundry – A Conference Centre designed to inspire, communicate and help companies build their business community. They went for a “Posh Garage” look – exposed ceilings, funky design, splashes of colour. Who was the first conference client to experience it – Ikea!

“It is a digital, conference centre and networking place to bring together the best people, share best practice and help super charge the economy” as described by John Herlihy, Head of Google Ireland. There is a Google Hang out room (Hang out on Air), for companies to hang out with and talk to their customers. Lots of fun gadgets and even a shopping experience. At long last, a space to inspire thought and innovation as a conference centre. Can’t wait to see it for myself. A tour is in the works for my next visit to Dublin. I have 3 clients it will suit perfectly for 2014 and 2015 conference venue enquiries.

Auditorium style it can fit 360 conference delegates.

Google Venue, Dublin\'s newest Conference Venue

Tagged: arranging events, city centre venues, conference and meeting place, conference hotel, Conference Hotels, Conference Venues, conference venues dublin, Conferences Dublin, Cool venues, corporate event planning tips, corporate event services, Corporate Team Building activities, Corporate Team Building Venue Dublin, Dublin City Centre Venues, Google Conference Centre, Google Conference Venue, Google Dublin, Google Venue, Meeting Room Venues, networking tips, The Foundry Dublin, 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

How to Network Effectively at a Conference…

On 23 April, 2013 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Book more conference business, Business Network International, Conference Planning, Conference Venue Tips, Networking in General

Simple, easy tips on how to make your time pay at a conference – make networking work!

Networking is the number one reason delegates attend a conference! It is a perfect opportunity to meet the movers and shakers in your industry. While networking online has become very important and popular in the last few years, nothing can beat meeting people face to face. It is an opportunity to start, build and strengthen business relationships. Conference hotels and the conference venue can very much enhance the networking experience, depending on how they are set up.

Here are some tips on how to make networking at a conference profitable!
1. Research the conference speakers before hand and connect with them. They will be happy to know their talk is eagerly anticpated. Email them – ask them can you say hello before hand. Connect with them on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook – whatever is their preferred medium. Tweet about them and the event. They may also mention/refer to you in their talk.
2. Introduce yourself to the speakers at the beginning of the conference and sit up the front.
3. Ask the organisers for a list of attendees and link with them, you can identify who you really want to speak with and connect with them before the event. Make a few appointments.
4. Always ask a great question at the conference – introduce yourself and your business and ask an intelligent, relevant question. Everyone will know you after that and it is easier for people to approach you.
5. Watch who the conference speakers are talking to and ensure you get to meet them.
6. Listen – it is the most important element of networking. Be interested! They will open up to you more if you seem interested in them.
7. Have open ended questions prepared to ask that can also lead around to your business – “what projects are you working on at the moment?” “ Who is a great connection for you and why?” And my favourite is “how can I help you?”
8. Be ready to get to the point quickly about your business – have the answers to the above questions prepared yourself.
9. SMILE! Make eye contact; Be approachable, wear a name tag very prominently – on the right shoulder, always talk to someone who looks more shy than you and not talking to anyone else. Act like a host rather than a guest.

10. Follow up!! Do what you say you would do, send a relevant article to anyone you spoke to about a certain topic. Those you said you would contact to have a futher meeting with – call them within 72 hours.

For more tips on how to ensure your conference is set up to be conducive to networking – feel free to get in touch.

Tagged: arranging events, corporate event services, networking tips, tips on planning an event

Net Work your way to new business in 2013

On 7 January, 2013 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Business Network International, My Events, Networking in General

Do you want to raise your profile this year?
Do you want to be known for your expertise and skills?
Do you want to increase sales?
If so networking is an effective way to do this….

Networking is also an effective way to find the best suppliers and find excellent candidates to hire. Have you ever wanted to go after a big contract but just don’t have the team to do it? Networking is an effective way to find the experts to collaborate with on large projects.

Networking is word of mouth marketing at its finest. If you want people to be saying the right things about you and your company, then you need to get out and network and put these words in their mouth.

The top tip for networking is not to sell!!! Please, no one goes to a networking event to buy do they?? Networking effectively is about finding the right people to start a business relationship with. Follow up afterwards to develop the relationship and get to know someone. If this is done right they will want to recommend you. This is the ultimate aim of networking. It is about who people know, not what they do. You just don’t know who they are married to, who their neighbour is or who they play golf with. I have been learning how to network for about 4 years now and getting better at it.
What I have learned is this- networking is effectively looking for “connectors” who can introduce you to a few ideal clients.

Top 10 tips Networking Tips…

Identify the events you want to go to- a mix of industry events, local events and social/business events such as The Marketing Ball.

Preparation—
1. Prepare for the events- ask the organisers who is attending. Identify who you want to meet at the event, ask the organiser to introduce you. Do your research on who you want to meet, it increases the odds of meeting them ten fold.

(Perhaps link with people before hand, let them know you are attending and would like to meet them. How great is it to have 3 appointments set up before walking in the door.)

2. Prepare your answers to the usual questions– such as “what do you do?” Prepare an answer that is memorable and will make people want to ask you more questions. My profession is a Venue Finder, so instead of saying that I tell people I am a matchmaker– and then explain I am a Venue Matchmaker once they ask. This way I have their attention. Try to answer questions like this with the result you deliver for your clients– I also say I deliver a higher return on investment on events, again, people want to know more so I can get across my skills and expertise then. A Health and Safety consultant told me recently he saved his client €40,000 on their insurance-this is a lot more effective than just saying “I am a health and safety consultant. ”

3. Have a few questions prepared for you to ask so you can bring the conversation around to what you want to talk about.

4. Have plenty of business cards with you, I am still amazed at the number of people who attend a networking event and say “I ran out of business cards”. It says to me you are not a serious player.

5. What to wear-
Appropriate to who you want to meet– I like to wear colour to help me stand out from the crowd. If the organisers are not providing name badges, bring your own.

At the event –

The number one rule of networking at an event is not to sell.

6. Listen and ask great questions–
The most important question to ask is – “how can I help you”? People will remember you for that. Another great question is “what are you working on at the moment”?

7. Ensure you have a great answer to this yourself. This will help you to bring the conversation around to highlighting your expertise.

8. Act like a host rather than a guest.

9. When deciding who to talk to, approach the people who look the most shy and are perhaps standing on their own feeling awkward. They will most certainly remember you for chatting to them.

10. Have an exit strategy in case you get caught talking to someone you feel isn’t going to leave your side for the event! There are lots of great exit strategies and we will go over a few at our networking event Jan 15th, at Nemo Rangers, Douglas.

After the event-

Follow up and do what you say you will do. This is the single most important thing to do. It is the reason that networking may not be effective. Send an email, write a note, send them on an article relevant to what you spoke about at the event, connect with them on social media.

Networking takes practice, that is the only way to get good at it. To quote the father of Networking- Dr. Ivan Misner “Building your business through word of mouth is not a contest to see who can attend the most meetings. It’s about building the best relationships! Therefore, you must be selective about your efforts and focus not only on attending meetings but also on building bonds with the people you meet at those events.”

For more tips and to kick start the year at the first networking event of the year, come along to an event all about networking effectively. Tuesday, Jan 15th, Nemo Rangers Football and Hurling Club, off the South Douglas Road, Cork. RSVP to Julia on 021-2428120, Julia@recruitmentmagic.com or online at www.bnicorkcity.com- click on event registration. or contact me through this website.

Tagged: Business growth, creating a networking event, how to build your personal brand, networking, networking tips, personal credibility, top 10 networking tips

Funny video on how not to network…

On 10 December, 2009 by Ciara Feely Comments (0), leave your own!
Categories: Amusing, Business Network International, Networking in General

Have you ever got caught chatting to one of these at a Christmas Party??  Plenty of these nights ahead of us!

Tagged: how to network, networking at christmas parties, networking tips
  • Welcome!

    Ciara Feely

    Welcome to the blog of Ciara Feely, the founder of FindaConferenceVenue.com, Ireland's expert on Conference Venues in Ireland. Ciara offers a free service researching and giving advice on venues in Ireland for Conferences, Meetings and Events. Just call or email her. The website is a comprehensive listing of over 500 venues in Ireland – independently search for venues and send an enquiry directly through to the venue.
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