The do’s and don’ts of a winning meeting

As conference co-ordinators, we deal with enquiries all day long, and it brings us great pleasure to pull off a successful meeting or event. Do you want to know what gives us sleepless nights? Let us entertain you…

Don’t guess how many people will be attending. Know for sure.

This will affect just about everything – the conference room layout, the food and beverage requirements and even something as simple as parking. Get your attendees to commit/RSVP at least 7 days before the event. Email first, if that fails, email again. And then if no reply, call. It’s not that hard.

We tend to agree with Reese Witherspoon who was heard saying: “If you get invited to something, it’s incumbent upon you to RSVP as soon as possible. A quick “no” is better than a long “maybe.”

 

Do know dietary requirements before hand

Nothing makes a conference organiser ugly-cry more than the words: “Oh by the way, we have six Halaal guests.” And so often this happens one day before the event. Very few kitchens are strictly Halaal and 99% of the time Halaal food must be ordered in from a trusted Halaal supplier. One day notice is never enough – keep in mind that there is a supply line, orders need to be placed, invoices issued and paid.  The same goes for vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians and all the other wonderful varieties out there.

 

Do show me the money, honey

Prepare your finance manager for deposit deadlines, final payments and sundries. Send diary meeting requests as payment reminders if necessary – it really works like a charm. And do check with your accounts department if they have weekly or monthly pay-runs – this may influence your payment.

 

Don’t say no to coffee.

On Star Trek: Voyager coffee was defined as “the finest organic suspension ever devised.” Arrange coffee on arrival, mid-morning and afternoon breaks. The morning coffee on arrival is a great ice breaker. Research has shown that the caffeine kick makes delegates more interactive and responsive. An afternoon coffee can provide that much-needed energy boost after the lunch slump.

 

Do make sure of the event timelines

Have a rough idea of your schedule and breaks. The kitchen needs to know when to whip the cream for the freshly baked scones. If your timing is out, your crisp croissants may end up being soggy and the little quiches ice cold. That is not what the Chef had planned for you.

 

Don’t do naked conference tables

There is nothing as sad as a table without a flower or at the very least a bowl of mints. You will be surprised how inexpensive décor rental is and it makes a world of difference. The conference organiser is likely to supply the basics – furniture and tablecloths, but spend just a little bit on making it special. They will set it out on your tables with the greatest of pleasure and bow down in admiration because you went that extra mile. “Because you are worth it,” remember?

 

Do have a good and flexible attitude.

Mistakes happen, we are all human.  And when they do, there is no point in being the bridezilla of all meeting spaces. You may have forgotten to invite the CEO. The venue may be short of an extension cord. Take a deep breath, explain the situation and let’s come to a workable solution. We will always go the extra mile, because we want you to be the star of a successful event. Your success is our success. 

Dean Smith (life coach and author) is famous for saying: “If you treat every situation as a life and death matter, you’ll die a lot of times.”  If you have a crisis, find your conference co-ordinator, softly whisper in her ear while smiling all the time as if nothing is wrong, and see her dashing away like a fairy godmother doing her best to solve your problem.

 

Don’t make our parking area look like a traffic jam

And lastly, we don’t like it when our parking area looks like a traffic jam. Parking space is always a premium and we are lucky at Umthunzi Hotel to have dedicated parking space available. But keeping in mind that meetings or events are often followed by festivities, we do want to encourage you and your delegates to arrange transport – may that be Uber, a Taxi or bus if possible. With more than one event on at a time, parking can become a challenge

We look forward to hosting your conference in 2022 – with this Do and Don’t check list you are guaranteed that arranging it all will be a walk in the park!

She knows her Merlot from her Mojito, her hotel from her motel. From craft food to caviar, her innate curiosity about life and wanderlust provide inspiration for her blogs, articles and press releases about the travel, wedding and Spa industry. Over twenty years in the hotel marketing & PR arena with impressive hotel groups, from Dubai to Durbanville, has evolved into the pure enjoyment of freelance projects under the banner of About Branding.