Another Holiday?

Years ago I planned an annual event in January with a Tuesday through Thursday date pattern, which meant we set up on Sunday and Monday. As you can imagine, there were a couple of challenges with this. One of the biggest was labor. Sunday labor is paid at time and a half to convention center and hotel workers to move boxes, drive forklifts, hang banners, run electric, lay carpet, and more. I’m not even going to talk about what happens when the union gets involved. Another challenge we frequently ran into was Martin Luther King Day. In the US, this is the 3rd Monday in January which invariably was the week of our event. Holiday labor is paid at double-time at a minimum. We usually booked our event during this particular week because we could get a great room night rate, decent F&B prices, and comp meeting space, however, we were paying out the nose for labor by paying time and a half on Sunday and double time on Monday. 

I recently experienced another scenario where the holidays caused some challenges. My husband and I went on vacation to Europe. We’ve traveled to Europe before. We’re not green when it comes to booking flights, navigating transit, and changing plans on the fly. We also know that if we travel on Sundays, a lot of Europe is closed including grocery stores. Very few restaurants are open so often if there is not a restaurant in our destination hotel or the hotel can’t make a recommendation, our first meal is usually the snack mix and water bottles we traveled with. 

On this last trip, however, we were meeting my sister and her family in Vienna, a place we’ve visited before. Things went as usual; left on Friday, overnight transatlantic flight, quick stop in Frankfurt, then on to Vienna. From the Vienna airport a CityTrain ride to our hotel and boom…shower, meal, and we’re there. What we didn’t realize until we arrived at our bustling urban hotel location and found a deserted city street, was that it was Austrian National Day (or National Day of Austria). A holiday. Even though it was Saturday, everything was closed. Shops, restaurants, grocery stores, everything. Sadly, the hotel we were staying at did not have a restaurant on-site. Nut mix and water for dinner. However….

My sister and her family were arriving about an hour after us. Had we known about the holiday before leaving the airport, we could have done some shopping. While strolling through the airport we had no idea it was a holiday; the stores and food outlets were still open, at least that’s how I remember it. I quickly texted my sister, explained what we discovered, and told her not to leave the airport without grabbing some provisions. She came through. We had a unique convenient store picnic as we sat and had a good laugh. But, tomorrow was Sunday. More store closures.

After doing a little sight-seeing around Vienna and eating up the remainder of our supplies, it was time to seek out some type of grocery store. My sister and I found literally the only grocery store open for miles and set out on our trek. The poor store looked worse than a store the day before the world shut down in 2020. The little place was so crowded nobody was moving. Their shelves were decimated. There was not a single item of produce in the place. We got the last two bottles of water. I grabbed the only boxes of crackers I could reach and a wedge of brie and stood in the longest line for check out in a store that was no larger than 600 sq ft. My sister and I watched each other’s backs, clinging to our finds, and practically running up the street for fear someone was waiting to take our food.

We spent the week sight-seeing and traveling to different locations. Around Salzburg we visited landmarks from the movie Sound of Music and marveled at the size of the city from the Fortress Hohensalzburg after traveling by funicular to get there. After heading to Munich on Thursday we took in the sights with plans to shop on Friday since we were too tired and hungry today. We ate at the Hofbrauhaus and slept well that night. 

Guess what Friday was…. a holiday. All Saints Day to be exact. Guess who celebrates All Saint’s Day? Sud Deutschland. All of the shops, grocery stores, restaurants, and tourist attractions were closed. And we were leaving on Saturday.

We did manage to find a castle to visit and a restaurant that was open where we had a delicious German meal. Don’t mistake what I’m saying, the trip was great. We enjoyed ourselves and I loved spending time with my sister and her family. It was nice to get away after a busy several weeks of events. My biggest takeaway was that when planning an event or vacation, whether in the states or abroad, be sure to check the local holiday calendar. Your attendees will have even MORE fun if the attractions, restaurants, and venues you planned to visit are open and the transportation options you planned to use are running. 

What has been your most challenging experience with a holiday? Share it here or
send me an email!

Like this blog, share it with fellow planners and travelers, and on your social media!

Find other great tidbits for travelers on my page Traveler’sTidbits.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

Lately I seem to be encountering a lot of these types of riddles for various different subject matters. I have not, to date, seen any specifically designed for meeting planners. So, while I was feeling particularly creative, I thought I’d put together a little “Would You Rather?” and “This or That” lists for your amusement.

Would you rather…

…plan a board meeting for twelve narcissistic business executives for a weekend, or a citywide conference for 3000 women for a knitting convention for a week?

…always work with a responsive but grouchy client, or a delightful client who notoriously answers two out of your five questions and only skims 1/3 of your emails? 

…plan meetings and events in Florida during hurricane season, or in the Midwest during tornado season?

…forget to pack your computer or your binder?

…wear bad shoes for two days, or Spanks one size too small for one day?

…have ten conference attendees ask questions responding to an email with the information contained within, or have one of your staff ask you questions on a topic you discussed in a meeting an hour ago? 

…fly to your next meeting and event destination but be delayed by 4 hours, or drive in the car for 14 hours?

…have to stop and read every industry newsletter you’ve signed up for when it arrives in your inbox, or never be able to read one again?

…wear clown shoes or a red nose all day, every day while at your multi-day event?

…have a speaker deliver a great breakout session in their pajamas without makeup, or deliver a lame breakout session but look like a million bucks?

…lose power or lose internet in the middle of a keynote session?

…forget to order badge printers for registration, or forget to order coffee for the morning mixer?

…pay $250 per gallon of coffee, or not pay for meeting space that only fits 1/2 of your current registration?

…have your conference attendee airport transfer buses or your caterer not show up?

…wear a fully lined, floor-length sequined ball gown for the duration of your event, or a ponytail that’s way too tight?

…forget to schedule medical standby or security?

…be upgraded to the presidential suite when the elevator goes out, or be assigned a room under screaming children banging on the floor day and night?

…not be able to open a word doc or an excel spreadsheet?

…lose your phone or your binder?

…have your assistant or your head of registration/check-in call out sick the week of your event? 

…run out of food or swag?

…only ever write in highlighter, or never be able to use a red pen again?

…sit too close to the side screens, or not be able to see the screen at all?

…sit in a workshop set in theater style, or sit in a networking session set in fishbowl style?

This or That?

  • Heels or Flats?
  • Flats or Sneakers?
  • Skirt or Pants?
  • Binder or iPad?
  • Post-Its or Notebook?
  • Keynote or Plenary?
  • Workshop or Breakout?
  • Convention Center or Hotel Meeting Space?
  • Resort or Boutique Hotel?
  • Hotel or AirBNB?
  • Target or Walmart?
  • Hair up or down?
  • Fly or Drive?
  • Appetizers or Desserts?
  • Plated or Buffet?
  • Site visit or skip?

I hope you get a giggle from this exercise, enjoy!

tracybaer.com

Coffee, Tea & Ladies

An event I can’t believe I haven’t talked about before, but it can be quite the affair, is a Women’s Tea. I have planned these events before, usually around Christmas or Springtime. I’m sure there are many variations of this event, but I will share my experience from the ones I helped plan over the years. This was a venue holding 500 in rounds, and we served tea three times; one on a Friday and two on a Saturday. Depending on the year and the goals and objectives of the event, some were accompanied by a “shopping experience” where crafters and small local shops set up in trade show fashion where the women could do some Christmas shopping before and after they’d had their tea.

These events started out like most other events; registration, web page with information, social media campaign, event theme, logo, recruiting a volunteer team, selecting a speaker, picking the dates and times, coordinating a planning timeline, caterer, the usual. There was a keynote speaker, a little entertainment – sometimes a musical guest, sometimes a comedian – and an emcee to keep things moving in the right direction.

For me, where this particular Women’s Tea Event stood apart from others was in the table decor and place settings. Women signed up to host a table. What this meant was that they brought their own China, silverware, glassware, linens, and centerpieces from home. Each table was unique and just as elaborately decorated as the next. The first year this was suggested, there were concerns that some tables would look fantastic and others would be set with “fancy” disposable plates and a votive candle centerpiece. Boy were we wrong. Women were signing up for multiple tables over multiple servings of tea just to be able to use the China and silverware they’d inherited over the years from grandparents and great grandparents, items they’d picked up at estate sales, and others. 

One benefit of decorating tables this way was that the planning team didn’t have to rent tableware, glassware, linens, or pay for delivery, pick up, and laundering. We provided the food and beverages, informed everyone of the menu so the appropriate tableware could be supplied, and the table hosts did a lot of the work. We didn’t even do any dishes. Each table had a bin with its corresponding number on it and as tables were bussed by volunteers, dirty dishes were carefully stacked in the bins and hosts took them home to wash. Now that I look back on it, this probably wouldn’t fly now after 2020 and the rules of engagement changed, but back then, the host’s main concern was that volunteers might break a dish so they preferred to take them home and carefully clean them the “right” way. We did provide sterilizing instructions to ensure cleanliness of the plate’s surface for the next round of ladies, and everything seemed to go well. I don’t recall sending anyone to the emergency room for food poisoning and I don’t remember receiving any calls of sick women after the fact.  

There was an army of volunteers helping to make these events successful. There was a host for the guest speaker and performers, others worked registration, check-in and distributed name tags, some helped the caterer, bussed tables, carried supplies in and out, and a fresh team arrived to assist with clean up after each tea and keep the venue looking good. 

This event went on for several years. I can’t remember why we stopped doing it but my guess is it was a change in direction from the organization’s leadership team. To stay relevant, sometimes you have to rethink even your most successful events.

Did you have a great event that you eventually had to revamp? Perhaps it was after 2020? Share your story here or send me an email. I’d love to hear about it.

Don’t forget to comment below, like this blog, and share it with those you know who plan events.

Check out my library of resources at tracybaer.com!

Last Man Standing

Thanks for coming… Have a great night… I’m glad you enjoyed the event…We’re getting ready to close this area…I’m going to have to ask you to leave the building now… Seriously people, go home! Lingerers. Talkers. People who are blindly unaware that you’ve been executing your event for the last 317 hours today and it’s time to take a shower and put your feet up. I’m certain I’m not the only event planner who has had to ask someone to vacate the area so you can shut it down and go home.

I love watching an event unfold. Often I’ve been working on an event for months, even years. This is payday. Observing guests as they arrive with anticipation, their friends and family members in tow, everyone excited about what’s to come. Depending on the event, guests are checking-in at the registration counter, having tickets scanned at the door, buying popcorn, pretzels, and pop, or getting their hand stamped. It’s fun to watch a line of people form waiting to enter the event space, chatting with others around them who they may have only just met.

When the main event is over and people are milling about, buying merchandise, visiting the on-site store, standing in line for the restroom, chatting with sponsors, and deciding where they want to go to dinner, for me, satisfaction sets in. Mission accomplished bumps, bruises, changes and all. Clean-up begins.

Most venues account for post-event teardown, clean-up, and load-out time in the schedule. Audio/visual equipment needs to be torn down, packed up, and carried to the trucks. Once sales end, merchandise needs to be inventoried, boxed, and shipped to its next destination. Concession stands need to be cleaned, food put away, and trash taken out. This should offer plenty of time for people to exchange pleasantries, determine what’s for dinner, where they’ll meet up, or when they’ll see each other again.

Not for some.

There always seems to be a select few who are so engrossed in their conversation that they can’t read the room. I could probably turn out the lights and they wouldn’t notice. They’re happy to stand in the lobby and talk and talk and talk as long as they have breath in their lungs. I try to do everything that needs to be done so people can spend time together. Who knows if these are dear friends who have finally reunited after 25 years, a group of college students all back from their respective campuses for the first time since high school graduation, or just a couple on a first date. I’m delighted to see people enjoying each others’ company and having a good time.

Until it’s time to go.

All the things have been done; all of the garbage has been taken out, rooms reset, toilet paper dispensers all refilled, everything we can think of to do has been completed. We’ve even vacuumed around you and now…. you gotta go. The events team has been on-site since before the sun came up, we can’t make one more decision, and before we turn into pumpkins, we need to drive home. May I recommend heading to Dunkin Donuts. They’re usually open 24 hours. I’m sure they’d be happy to have your business while you finish your conversation.

Have you had to shew someone out at the end of and event? How did you handle it?
Share it here or send me an email.

Please like this blog, share it with your friends and on your social media!

Visit tracybaer.com for lots of free resources!

To Prom And Beyond

Prom. If you talk to ten different people they will all have different memories, stories, and feelings about prom. My experience with this event from when I attended, to when my daughter attended, to those I have planned span decades and are as varied as fashion, hairdo’s, and locations can be. Depending on the city and era, prom could consist of dinner and dancing in one location, dinner as a group then dancing somewhere else, or dinner on your own, maybe with a few friends, then dancing. Prom could be hosted at a high school gym, a convention center, hotel ballroom, nice restaurant, or even paddle boat (as was the case my senior year).

I’ve seen dresses go from full-length, layered, hooped skirts to the ones of today that I feel barely cover the important parts. I wonder how ladies intend to sit down wearing these barely-there fabric tubes. Dare we talk about the dancing itself? Chaperones used to walk around with a ruler to make sure there was plenty of space between us, and these days it looks like a gyrating, leg-workout, exercise move.

How did the concept of a prom begin? According to History.com, the foundations of prom or promenade can be traced back to ancient Greece where elite men were celebrated at a banquet or symposia to mark their transition into adulthood. Ancient Romans followed suit with a convivium, and later in the 18th- and 19th-centuries, ladies joined the fun with debutante balls. History.com goes on to state that it is unclear exactly when or how the tradition came to the states, but in the 1930s and 1940s, a high school dance in the gym at the end of a school year quickly became the norm and morphed into a luxe affair at hotels and banquet rooms.1

For many years, particularly around the 1980s, prom was synonymous with drunk driving, an increase in auto accidents and injuries, teen promiscuity, and other inappropriate behavior and oddly parents seemed to look the other way. When MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and other intervention groups didn’t seem to have the impact they hoped for, the idea of the Post Prom Party was born. Schools started to plan a fun, themed gathering after the prom that went into the wee hours of the morning where students could enjoy some good clean fun, eat all night, stay safe, and walk away with terrific prizes.

Post prom parties weren’t a thing when I went to prom, but I have been part of the planning team for one of our local high schools for a couple of years. This event is just incredible. We’ve been under the sea, on the gambling floors of Vegas, to the beaches of Hawaii, to Mardi-Gras, and to a random old-school board game-focused trip to CandyLand. The amount of donated sandwiches and pizza and ice cream and candy could feed a small town for a year. For this event, I represent the side of the venue. We look forward to hosting 600+ students, providing them with a safe space to enjoy the last of their high school experience.

The project manager representing the school has had so much fun, he’s continued to lead the school’s team even though his kids have graduated and gone off onto college. One of his kids has even graduated college and returns every year because she remembers this event fondly and understands the value of providing a safe space for students to celebrate this momentous occasion in their lives. She also studied criminal justice and serves on the security team.

The parents and local businesses are so generous it blows my mind. Students can win prizes like flat-screen TVs, iPads, scholarship money, the latest video game systems, just about every electronic on the planet, and gift cards to any place you can think of. For hours they play games, jump around on inflatable obstacle courses, get stuck to Velcro walls, dance, sing, and challenge each other for first place until around 2:00 am when bleary-eyed parents swing by to pick up their student and the unexpected 60″ smart TV they just won.

Our team usually has another 6-8 hours to flip our spaces for the daytime events rapidly approaching; deflating bounce houses, packing up leftovers, and tidying up restrooms. Every year, hoping that we managed to get all of the confetti cleaned up so a random piece doesn’t blow onto a guest speaker the next time the heat kicks on.

I enjoyed prom. I went twice. I know I would have loved to go post prom where I could hang with friends, play games, eat, and win prizes. Knowing I could win something just for walking in the door and leave with a backpack stuffed with swag, candy, money, pictures, and memories sounds like a great night to me.

What is your prom experience? Share it here or send me an email,
I’d love to hear your story!

Be sure to like this blog, share it with your friends who plan events, and on all of your social media!

1.History.com. How Prom Traditions Have Evolved Through History. Leslie Kennedy. April 28, 2023. https://www.history.com/news/prom-invention-traditions.

Want to schedule a consultation with Tracy? Visit tracybaer.com!