Leigh shared some best practices on trying to save money on Audio Visual expenses during conferences.  Many of the planners that rotated through the table contributed to this list as well:

• Be upfront with your budget and expectations 
• Stick to the basics - be cautious on upgrades as that's where expenses can pile on.
• Avoid rigging anything.
• Try to schedule "like" equipment in the same room so as to avoid duplication. For example, if a speaker needs an LCD and then another speaker later in the day needs an LCD, try to assign the same meeting room to their breakouts so the same equipment can be used all day.
• Price out the differences between wired and wireless internet.  Use what's needed as compared to what's wanted.
• Use house systems for smaller rooms.
• Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.
• Get sponsorships to offset costs. For example, a logo can be on the screen as people enter the room, offsetting the cost of the LCD.

• Actions Make Great Leaders
•  Good Leaders Listen
•  By the Age of 12 Leadership Skills Are Set

o   Preperation

o   Perception

o   Personal

o   Positive

o   Plucky-show courage

5 Factors of Belief Systems to Develop Leaders

• Culture
• Experiences
•  Education
•  Family
• Organization Membership (i.e., Industry Involvement)

Group 1

Meeting Planner: While attendance is steady, exhibits are shrinking, labor rates are higher, and we all have to do more with less.

Decorator: Decorators do not want to charge their clients more but revenue is not coming in from the floor as it did in the past.

Hotel/Convention Center/CVB: It is best to be open and honest at the time of contract negotiation.

Group 2

Sales Manager: Business travel is up, so rates are up; group travel is steady. Groups are not reaping the benefits they once did. Budgets are tighter on both the planner and the supplier end. Honesty on both parts is crucial for contract negotiation.

Group 3

Hotel Manager: Associations are taking advantage of multi-year deals.

Meeting Planner: Relationships are key and important to rely on in hard times.

Association Manager: Managers no longer have time to go back and forth and wait for the best deal. The best proposal will truly win first place in the planners eyes.

There is a movement from farmland to table, and health issues that are putting an empasis on food at our meetings. Remember, too, that attendees are looking for an experience and something different. When planning your menus, don't take the fastest route out. Try to push the limits to work wihtin your budget off menu to provide healthy choices. Challenge your chefs. Moderation is key. If the food is too heavy, attendees may fall asleep in sessions! Here are some guidelines:

You must know:

·       Audience Age, US or International, Sex

·       Goal of meeting

Cooking methods:

Use canola oil, safflower oils, cut back on butter and salt

No frying

Bake, grill roast or braise

No cream sauces

Breakfast:

Egg whites, poached (with grilled veges) or hard boiled eggs, mini bagels, muffins (healthy whole grain fruit muffins), whole grain breads, NO white breads, yogurts, cold cereal (on consumption), fruits, smoothies (filler).

Egg white frittata or wraps with fresh grilled seasonal vegetables

Lunch

•  Serve soup (no cream based soups) or salad first (filler); Soup (healthy, comfort and filler). 
• Bean salads (lentils, chickpeas, black beans).
• Whole wheat pasta or whole wheat cous cous salad.
• Mushrooms (inexpensive and tasty grilled and rolled into salads or as a side.  Texture is great and visual beautiful.
• Salad greens (use local greens - incorporate arugula, radicchio, beet greens, endive, herbs - these are tastier than romaine or iceberg and have more nutritional value)
• Incorporate a sweet element and salty element into salad entrees,  e.g. raisins, cranberries, roasted plums or peaches, watermelon, dusting of feta or blue cheese with roasted pears.  What fruit is seasonal at the time?
• Box lunches (1/2 sandwich, fruit, nuts or granola bar); save dessert for PM break.  People are satisfied with this lunch if your group is education oriented at meetings.
• Moussaka (made with lentils for protein).

Dinner

• Serve soup (no cream based soups) or salad first (filler); Soup (healthy, comfort and filler).
• Skinless roasted chicken.
• Baked or oven roasted fish (Chilean seabass, seabass, salmon, halibut and tilapia holds well in banquets).
• Roast potatoes or root vegetables with skins on.  (provides more nutritional value and texture.
• A piece of meat doesn't always need to be the main focal point of meal. Stuff a thin filet of beef or chicken with vegetables or herbs.  Serve this over pasta or rice.

• Serve ½ portions.
• Lay out a few desserts on the table -to share and great networking option (serve less and save a few cents).
• Fruit sorbet served with Prosecco served tableside.
• No butter or cream sauces.
• Baked, poached or oven roasted fruit desserts.  Apple tart, angel food cake with berries, fresh fruit parfait.

   Breaks

• Chips and salsa
•  Hummus with crudite 
• Baba ganoush with pita chips
• Kettle corn / Popcorn with nuts
• Dried fruits
•  Fresh seasonal baked fruit bars
• Nuts avoid peanuts.  Roasted pecans, walnuts, almonds (can be savory) Add salt, thyme, chili powder
•  Mix natural juices with club soda, e.g. apple with club = sparkling cider (no sodas)
• Use small serving spoons to control serving portions and cost.

TIPS:

People take less when there are less available within eye sight.

Moderation - monitor portion control.

You have control over your budget and you have the power to make the correct choice for your attendees.

Save menus from different hotels, convention centers that you like and mix/match the selections to recommend to chefs.

References:

Movies:  Food Inc, Supersize Me, Fast Food Nation

Books:  Dr. James O'Keefe, "Forever Young Diet", and Harvard Medical "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy".
 

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Christine Shimasaki, empowerMINT.com

• In response to planners having less time and fewer resources DMAI has now launched a brand NEW tool for meeting planners called empowerMINT.com.
• The goal of empowerMINT.com is to simplify working with CVB's and it is FREE and takes very little time to create a profile and account.
• empowerMINT.com allows planners to: send one RFP to multiple CVB's, easily search and compare meeting needs across multiple destinations and manage a single profile for access to their meeting histories and meeting RFP dashboard.