Meeting News - September 22, 2008 - (Page 41)

Cover Story/MN Exclusive Research Thy Neighbor’s Planner continued from page 26 The Motivation Show next year will start the day after Yom Kippur, the most significant Jewish holiday, which doesn’t conclude until sundown. “We talked to some exhibitors and attendees who said it would affect them somewhat but that they could come for at least part of the first day,” said a spokesman.“But being that our show is always in September or October, this has always been a problem for us and has impacted us in the past.” Some planners have learned the hard way the perils of scheduling meetings that conflict with holidays. Jennifer Baker, marketing and program manager at Chicago-based BUCOM International, said: “We held a summit over Rosh Hashanah once, and the turnout was terrible. We had problems fulfilling contractual agreements with our sponsors, and lots of credits and refunds were given. In the seven years since then, I have never let that happen again.” Still, some survey respondents do find holidays to offer business opportunities. Eleven percent consider these days to be value times, and independent planners with clients to please condone the practice even more (14%). If it must be done, there are measures event organizers can take to limit problems, said Christy Lamagna, CMP, CMM, CTSM, president and chief strategist of San Francisco-based Strategic Meetings & Events. “Offering a way to acknowledge the significance of the day—buses to the appropriate gathering place, recording sessions missed, tailoring menus, and acknowledging the conflict and explaining why it had to happen over that date and what you’re doing to accommodate—lessens the blow. “There are limited instances when the conflict is unavoidable, but most of the time it’s just a matter of someone not doing due diligence or simply being unaware of the reactions the conflict will create,” she continued. Meeting planners have a particular duty to pay attention to holidays, Eisenstodt noted. “We teach the importance of looking at calendars, querying stakeholders, etc, to ensure dates work.” Said Lamagna,“Planning a meeting over a religious holiday sends the message that your needs are more important than the attendees’, which is ironic since they’re your target audience. “Planners should know their attendees,”she said.“What’s more important than their respect, support and participation?” r Contact Terri Hardin at terri.hardin@nielsen.com and Rayna Katz at rayna.katz@nielsen.com www.meetingnews.com Some Dates Are Much “Hotter” Than Others They should know better, but some industry assn.’s clash with holidays Industry Shows for 2009 Conflicts Affects How? PCMA annual meeting, January 11-14 MPI-PEC, February 7-9 IACC annual conference, March 26-29 ASAE Springtime, April 16 Last two days of Passover (April 15-16) HSMAI Midatlantic, April 1-2 IMEX, May 26-28 HSMAI West, June 10-11 DMAI annual meeting, July 29-31 MPI-WEC, July 11-13 ASAE National, August 15-18 NBTA annual meeting, August 23-26 Ramadan begins August 22 HSMAI National, September 9-10 The Motivation Show, Sept. 29-October 1 Yom Kippur ends September 28 ICCA annual meeting, November 7-11 EIBTM, December 1-3 PCMA annual meeting, January 10-13, 2010 Jewish Dietary issue Moslem Jewish Dietary issue Travel issue AD INDEX Advertiser Page .29 .39 .17 . .9 .19 . .2 .31 .23 .44 .35 .37 . .5 Advertiser Page AT&T Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.attpark.com Bermuda Department of Tourism . www.bermudatourism.com/meetings Deep South Silks . . . . . . . . . . . . www.deepsouthsilks.com Famous Dave’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.famousdaves.com Georgia Aquarium . . . . . . . . . . . . www.georgiaaquarium.org Greenbrier, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.greenbrier.com Hotel Nikko San Francisco . . . . . www.hotelnikkosf.com Hyatt Meetings Take Two Offer . . . www.taketwo.hyatt.com Las Vegas CVA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.lvcva.com Mohegan Sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.mohegansun.com/testimonials Newport Rhode Island CVB . . . . . www.gonewport.com Palms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.palms.com Paradisus Resorts . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 www.paradisusresorts.travel Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation . . . . . . . . . . .21 www.PA2F.org or www.visitmonaco.com Seaport Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 www.SeaportBoston.com/go/pamperedmn South San Francisco Conference Center . . . . . . . . . . . .30 www.ssfconf.com Starcite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 www.StarCite.com Wyndham Princeton Forrestal Hotel & Conference Center . . . . . .14 www.wyndhamprincetonforrestal.com Wyndham Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7 www.wyndhamriomar.com The Index to Advertisers is published for the convenience of our readers. Every effort is made to list advertisers’ names, web addresses and page numbers correctly. The publisher is not liable for errors or omissions. September 22, 2008 MeetingNews 41 http://www.attpark.com http://www.paradisusresorts.travel http://www.bermudatourism.com/meetings http://www.PA2F.org http://www.visitmonaco.com http://www.deepsouthsilks.com http://www.SeaportBoston.com/go/pamperedmn http://www.famousdaves.com http://www.ssfconf.com http://www.georgiaaquarium.org http://www.StarCite.com http://www.greenbrier.com http://www.hotelnikkosf.com http://www.wyndhamprincetonforrestal.com http://www.taketwo.hyatt.com http://www.wyndhamriomar.com http://www.lvcva.com http://www.mohegansun.com/ http://www.gonewport.com http://www.palms.com http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - September 22, 2008

Meeting News - September 22, 2008
Contents
What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com
Inside the Meetings Industry
People Making News
Hotels & Resorts
Convention Centers
CVBs
International
Green Beat
Destination Insider
MN Webcast Report
Ad Index
Live from the Forum

Meeting News - September 22, 2008