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Outside the Box Meetings

By Jay Ellenby

Originally published: The Daily Record (Baltimore)
Publication date: 2004-03-19

You have been charged with selecting a site for your next meeting. Assuming you know who your attendees will be, what the meeting is supposed to accomplish and how much you can spend, the question remains: Where do you go from here?

You could start by contacting your local hotels, but let's face it, we have all been there, sitting in a square room, at a square table, bleary-eyed under those ghastly fluorescent lights and forcing ourselves to stay awake by drinking more caffeine.

Even before the first bite of rubber chicken, putting your attendees in this kind of environment does not set your organization up to achieve high-level results.

Why not step away from the traditional meeting venue and select a location that will not only leave an impression on your guests, but also motivate them to actually accomplish the meeting objectives?

In today's world of meetings, there are several arguments for changing from boxy traditional locations toward more inviting, innovative spaces.

The appropriate meeting place triggers creativity and promotes learning. A stimulating environment can reduce stress, thereby creating focus and fostering critical thinking.

Additionally, an innovative environment promotes a lasting takeaway message of the meeting or event, because participants are more likely to remember what happened at the meeting and what was agreed upon.

Some of you may be thinking a non-traditional meeting space would have to be very expensive.

Well, there is good news: Because unusual meeting locations do not budget for this source of income, they are usually willing to negotiate on pricing, while more typical venues already have a set pricing structure, meaning you have less opportunity to negotiate.

How do you select these locations?

Often the answer can be found in the objective of the meeting. If it is a sales meeting to stimulate your staff to become more competitive, why not hold your meeting at an arcade, where you can start the meeting by having the group compete for points?

If your meeting's objective is to brainstorm on a new marketing campaign, what better location to be inspired than a museum?

If you are still at a loss for ideas, it might make good sense to hire a meeting planner.

Meeting planners have a wealth of knowledge about traditional and non-traditional meeting venues, and most likely they will already have the answers to your questions.

In addition, you will save time and money because the planner has already developed a relationship with the venue. The meeting planner is aware of what things should cost and where you may have more negotiating power.

Usually the greatest benefit is that since the planner may bring the venue future business, the planner is more likely to receive a better rate or discount for you.

It's a common practice for companies to outsource their meeting planning when they want to impress clients, but when an event is for employees only they will utilize an internal resource.

For small meetings this may be appropriate, but even then two things should be considered:

1. Aren't your employees your first line to the customer, and shouldn't they be as impressed and motivated as much as your clients?
2. How much money are you ultimately saving by using an in-house resource, once you take into consideration all of the time required to plan a meeting?

Not only do inexperienced meeting planners end up paying more for services, they invest a lot of time learning the how-to's of arranging for food, travel, meeting rooms and the like.

In addition, meeting planners will take the time to understand your overall goals and theme of the event.

When compared to the fee charged by a professional, who you know will deliver a top-notch event, the investment seems much more worthwhile.

Remember, when that meeting request ends up on your desk, think beyond the four walls.

Jay Ellenby is president and chief executive officer of Safe Harbors Travel Group. The firm provides full-service corporate travel management in national and international markets, air charter services, meeting, event and incentive planning. Founded in 1985, the company is headquartered in Baltimore and has an office in Washington. For more information, call 410-547-6565.

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