Things That Drive a Meeting Planner Nuts

We all know that a meeting planner can have one tough job. We often talk about how their job compares to that of a stage director. A meeting planner has to orchestrate many components of a meeting or event simultaneously. Sometimes that can be like multitasking on steroids.

Individuals with a passion for event planning will tell you that, in addition to being a stressful job, it can also be an extremely rewarding career.

There are aspects of a meeting planner’s job that can drive them nuts. It usually has to do with areas that require third-party suppliers. In other words the meeting planner is relying on others to help them execute their meeting or event.

Want to Make a Meeting Planner Happy? Avoid Doing These Things.

For those of us in event planning, of course our number one goal is to deliver results to keep our clients happy. After all, that’s what’s going to give us repeat business. Just screw up on one event and you have a potential nightmare on your hands.

Here”s a List of A Few Items That Can Make a Meeting Planner Very Unhappy:

photo by thehulltruth.com

Transportation. This is one component of a program that has so many opportunities for things to go wrong. Traffic and accidents are just a couple of things beyond our control. However, meeting planners will tell you it’s not necessarily those factors that make them angry. Rather, it’s when the transportation company tells the meeting planner that the coaches are right around the corner when they are not. My experience is that the truth only hurts once, whereas lies (or fibs) keep on hurting over and over again.

Airport Meet and Greet. Anyone that’s ever worked on this part of a meeting or event knows very well how many changes can occur during flight arrivals and departures. We’ve all come to expect them when operating a program. But if the meeting planner cannot communicate those changes to meet and greet staff on time it can add further frustration.

Supplier No-Shows. This is why I advocate that meeting planners should use a Destination Management Company (DMC). A DMC can help a meeting planner by sorting through good suppliers versus bad suppliers. They know them because they work, side-by-side often, in the same cities/regions. There”s nothing worse, for a meeting planner, when a supplier does not show up as promised.

No Room at the Inn. Filling a hotel is a skill that requires considerable nerve. However, when a delegate is “walked” to another hotel because there are no more rooms available, it can have a negative impact, overall, for the meeting planner. Walking a guest to another hotel usually requires a planner’s attention to help put out fires with the delegates (usually they are not very happy). Want to make a meeting planner happy in a hotel? Then make sure all of their delegates are checked in as promised.

Disruptions during Meetings. We all understand that a banquet floor of a hotel can be a hub of activity at certain times during the day. And quite often while the banquet staff are busy preparing other meeting rooms (lunch setups, breakout rooms , etc.), actual meetings are occurring. It’s the yelling in the hallways, the ringing of cell phones, the clanging of cutlery and tables, etc. that are enough to drive a meeting planner to drink (before lunch). A good hotel, and in particular a good banquet manager, understands that there needs to be minimal disruptions and noises during setup times.

While we present these items with a bit of tongue-in-cheek, it’s important to note that if you work in the service side of event planning, these items are of the utmost importance to a meeting planner. We’ve all heard the expression exceeding our guests expectations. Well, with many meeting planners, just meeting their expectations would result in a happy client.