20150714 11.45 love at first site inspection

Love at first site inspection

ICCA Research, Sales & Marketing Programme Twitter: #RSMP15

• Sonia Thomas, UFI – The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry

• Rafael Hirschfeld, International Financial Cryptography Association

• Handan Boyce, Haliç Congress Centre

• Moderator: Patrick Delaney, SoolNua

We are:


Sonia Thomas, UFI – The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry

UFI


• Period prior to inspection: very important – Reactivity

– Help with organizing inspection visit details

– Be made to feel “special”

– Arrange to meet senior member of staff

– Don’t expect free hotel room, but appreciate a discount

– READ the spec(s) in detail, and research the association.

• Very frustrating and tiring to be shown rooms/venues that are too small, or not adapted. Wastes time & energy. Easy to tell when there is no prep.

Before the site inspection:


• Inspection visit starts with flight

– Sensitive to airport, ease of circulating. Transport networks and information services.

– Arrival at hotel: ensure that the room is ready. Individual welcome, letter of welcome.

– Want the room that our delegates will get. No thanks to the upgrade

– Hotel is a very major part of the overall experience

– Venues that work closely with hotels can help here

Inspection visit – general


– Arrange pickup if possible. Otherwise, venue should be easy to get to, and entrance easy to find once there (there are sometimes several)

– UFI’s groups are small, but VIPs

– Needs to be near the hotel or quickly accessible. Otherwise, need transfers. Transfers = complicated and expensive

– Branding important

– Need to be able to get a feel for the venue

– Practical layout with disabled access

Conference venue


– Well maintained, clean, with modern fittings and material in good working condition

– Need breakout areas and rooms of varying sizes

– Clear signage

– Local flavour is important: food, decoration etc.

– AV is very important - whether in-house or outsourced, needs to work well with dedicated staff

– Collaboration: working together, not client – service provider basis

Conference venue


– Happy to be briefed on fire exits and safety procedure (safety-conscious venue)

– Want to feel “special”, not just another customer, & have as many visits as deemed necessary

– Need to get a good idea of the internal organization, who does what

– High staff turnover complicates matters

– Important to have English speaking staff onsite.

Conference venue


• Need help with suggestions for the Gala Dinner venue

• Happy for suggestions to make the experience more special

• Gifts: appreciate small gifts for the delegates. Happy to accept a sample of such a gift

– Don’t want any “bribes”!

Other


• Heating system overworking (October, in Geneva)

• 32°C in room

• Problems can arise: how problems are solved is important - and how quickly!

My experience


• The environment is important

• Not always something we can “manage”

• But a less than 100% can be very negative – especially for Asian delegates

My experience


• WiFi system keeps logging me out

• Not happy: how will it possibly work with all the delegates at the same time??

• Any issue with WiFi etc is not acceptable

My experience


• Any questions?

UFI


Thank you!

20150714 11.45 love at first site inspection

Education

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important reactivity