On the surface, the typical meeting and event planner appears to live a charmed life: jet-setting all over the world, dining at lavish gala dinners, staying at the finest hotels and attending some of the world’s premier sporting events. These activities seem like daily occurrences when following a planner on Facebook or Instagram. We’re not complaining, but what photos don’t show is the work and behind-the-scenes maneuvering that created that perfect photo op.
What You See
Five hundred party guests wearing matching cowboy boots.
What You Don’t See
MorEvents received a phone call from a client on a Thursday morning, asking us to order 500 pairs of cowboy boots for an event that needed to be delivered before close of business on Friday. Not only did those cowboy boots need to be ordered, but we needed to determine the size and gender of the 500 attendees who would be wearing these boots. Don’t worry, after 24 hours of global cowboy boot communication, attendees were boot scootin’ to their hearts content. I’m not sure the Pony Express would have been quicker!
What You See
A highly organized registration desk and check-in process for attendees.
What You Don’t See
Registration and list management is often the most cumbersome part of any meeting planner’s schedule. Even the smallest event requires several lists to be checked, cross-checked and rechecked. You have a registrant with the name Ronnie Smith. There is a reservation in your room block with the name Veronica BlackSmith. Is this the same person? It typically takes four to six emails back and forth to confirm the identities of these split personality guests, but the energy is well spent when Ronnie/Veronica arrives at registration and her welcome packet and name badge are prepared correctly. An organized registration and list management experience starts the meeting experience on a positive note for every attendee.
What You See
A table of perfectly assigned escort cards and their corresponding place cards at a gala dinner or luncheon.
What You Don’t See
When your guests arrive at a dinner or luncheon that has assigned seating, they pick up their escort card, find their corresponding seat at the assigned table and enjoy the event … if all goes to plan. The slightest mistake in seating assignments can lead to confusion for the guest and embarrassment for the organizers. The process of assigning seating for any event can be timely, complicated and sometimes political. For example, Veronica Smith (aka Ronnie Smith, aka Veronica Black-Smith) is at a table of eight, including five women. This is unacceptable. Now that we have confirmed Ronnie is actually Veronica, we need to remove her from this table and add her to a table that is lacking female guests. Unfortunately, the table we wanted to move her to has Roger Richards sitting at it. Roger and Veronica cannot be at the same table because they represent competing business entities, so the saga continues. Seating can be like playing chess with Bobby Fischer. You must understand the objective and create a strategy in order to conquer this formidable opponent
What You See
Board meeting attendees enjoying a tour of Machu Picchu. They are warm and dry, despite the drizzly rain that is falling.
What You Don’t See
MorEvents obviously likes to plan ahead, which is why when we took a group to Machu Picchu in Peru, ponchos were given to every attendee in case of rain while at the ancient Incan ruins. What we didn’t expect was for most of the attendees to leave the ponchos in their hotel rooms or on the train. MorEvents staff raced to the Machu Picchu gift shop, purchased every poncho in sight, sprinted all over the park located at nearly 8,000 feet above sea level (lucky we’re from Denver and used to high elevation!), and delivered ponchos to damp attendees. Despite the elevation, mud and rain, everyone got a poncho. What we do is not always as glamorous as it might appear on Facebook. Some events are simple and some more complicated, but every event has its own personality and challenges and there is never a dull moment. Our reward is experiencing the fruits of our labor and making our clients happy!