EVENT AND PARTY PLANNING TIP-ATTRACTIONS AND BUDGETS


Event planners have a very difficult task in today”s economy. You see, since our economic downturn (I guess that”s a nice way of saying depression) event planners have had pretty much the same job task. Except that their job got a lot tougher. Wonder why? Well the plus to all of this is that many organizations are still proceeding with their meetings and conferences. On the downside (this is where I”m getting to where the event planner”s job got tough) event planners were, and are now, tasked with providing exciting programs with a reduced budget. If that seems impossible then welcome to the world of event and party planning. These people earn their money tenfold.

Event and Party Planners Can Still Have Their Cake and Eat It Too

For this post I”m offering a basic tip that will still allow event and party planners to offer a tour or an attraction as part of their event and party planning. Many times, clients will offer tours that are attractive enough to help encourage delegates (and their spouses) to attend meetings. And this is where the challenge begins for the event planner. Whether it”s a spouse tour or a general program tour, many include lunch. And, I have to admit, the easiest way to trim a budget, especially for tours, is to eliminate the food component. There”s no doubt you”ll save a bundle by eliminating a meal.

But, what you do if your client is insistent on offering a meal during the tour?

Well, here”s a quick and easy way that I have worked around this task with past clients. If food is a must then look at attractions which also offer food and beverage. The simple reason that I”m saying this is that, quite often, if you bring your group to a particular attraction and are going to feed the group at this attraction, then you are in a position to negotiate on the attraction admission cost. There are times where I have been able to eliminate the cost of the attraction altogether if I keep my group there for a meal. So, in a sense, what I”m doing is still providing the attraction and I”m still providing a meal without having to pay for the admission to the attraction. Your client will be happy because they are getting exactly what they asked for. And you are going to look like a star because you provided what your client had asked for and you were able to trim the budget at the same time.

A win, win for sure!

So for any event and party planners out there that are working on programs that include tours and meals, try looking at attractions that have a restaurant on site. It”s a quick and easy way to provide your client with both an attraction tour as well as a meal. And you”ll look like a superstar because you been able to do this while keeping the cost within budget.

Recent Posts