Bowling Parties and Events

Bowling is fun and entertaining for families and friends or co-workers of companies and corporations. It can consist of entertaining, socializing and exercising while having fun.

Bowling parties can be to just get together for family and friends, but most are birthday parties for children. Most bowling centers have birthday party packages. The children can bowl and usually eat pizza. The party organizer can make theme invitations or purchase them and other party supplies from an online bowling party website. Favor bags are always a big hit with the guests. A bowling theme birthday cake would be appropriate. Very young children can still bowl because the lanes have bumpers ( they keep the ball from going in the channel or gutter). These type of birthday parties are fun entertainment for children of any age. If you go to a bowling center and see the excitement and enthusiasm of children while bowling, you will be convinced that a child's bowling birthday party will be a big hit and remembered for a long time.

Bowling birthday parties for adults are also in order. You can arrange with the bowling center to reserve some lanes for the party. You would, probably, be able to order food in advance from the snack bar, maybe pizza, to feed the guests.

Companies and corporations can organize bowling events for their employees or co-workers can plan different types of bowling events. Organizing teams for the event can be fun and entertaining because of the competition. These may be held to help co-workers to get to know each other and/or just to have fun together.

Whether you are going to have a birthday party for a person of any age or have a get together for co-workers, a bowling party will be fun and entertaining for all participants.

Other bowling events consist of local, state and national tournaments. No matter what average you have, bowling in a tournament is fun and you meet new bowlers. If the event is out of town, you and your team get to visit other cities and bowling centers and meet bowlers in other cities. Because most bowling tournaments use a handicap system and/or divisions based on your average, all bowlers are competitive in tournaments.

Bowling is a sport that is fun and entertaining for everyone. It can be for family time, friends nights out, birthday parties for all ages, company and corporation events and tournaments. Bowling is for all ages, skills and physical disabilities.

Using Social Media to Plan and Promote Events

Social media is described as a category of websites that are based on user participation and user generated content. Examples of social media sites are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as blogs and forums and sites that have user generated content such as Amazon's customer reviews.

Many event management software solutions come with the ability to integrate with your existing social media channels. Being able to update your Facebook page without having to leave your event management software package is a great timesaver. But why are Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels becoming such a popular tool for event managers? This article explains how different social media tools can be used during the planning of the event, promotion of the event, during the event and after the event; all adding additional value to the delegate and improving their event experience.

Before your prospective delegates are even aware of your event, event organisers can use social media as part of the planning process. Skype is a piece of software that allows individuals and business to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users. Using Skype can be a great ways to keep in touch with event partners and those aiding in the management of the event. Using video conferencing to hold meetings is not only more cost effective than face to face meetings, but has also shown to be a faster way of conducting brainstorms and meetings compared to plain telephone conferencing.

All those involved in the planning of the event can also be given access to a set of Google Documents. Google Documents are known as 'collaborative documents' and are hosted on 'the cloud' meaning that the original document is stored online. Anyone with login details can access and amend the original document - meaning that organisers will always be able to access the most up to date and current plan or calendar.

Once the basics of the planning have been carried out, event managers can turn to social media to help promote their events. Social media is all about communication and engagement; getting your customers and delegates talking and sharing information. This is where social media really comes into effect. There are many mediums out there that can help promote your events - most of them for free! Event managers should create profiles on all the key networking sites, so that no matter what platform a particular delegate prefers, they are able to find you and your event:

• Create a Facebook page (not group) and populate this with the key information regarding your event. Make sure that you add your event to the "Event" tab. Also allow fans of your page to take part in online discussion within the page.


• Create a Twitter account specifically for the event. Or, if the event is quite small (such as a seminar, training course or other smaller event) use an existing business Twitter account to promote it. Make sure that you create a unique has tag for your event (such as #socialevent) and use this in each tweet regarding your event.


• Create an event in LinkedIn where delegates can join advance. They can then also use this as a platform for networking and discussions before the event takes place.

The goal is to get your event covered in the main social media platforms. Once you have a presence, try to encourage conversation and promotion of your event. A good idea is to link all these accounts to a focused page on your website, or microsite or blog.

Having a new category on your existing blog, or creating a new blog specifically for your event is a great way of providing information to delegates and prospects. Keeping this up to date with event changes, developments and announcements means that all interested parties are able to get all the information they need from one main source; cutting down the amount of enquiries event managers have to deal with. Linking all your social media channels to this one blog helps to direct traffic to a focused message.

It's important to ensure that you select the right social media channel for your event and treat your followers, fans and members with respect. Do not spam them with the same content or message. Instead provide them with useful content that helps make a decision about whether or not to register for your event and what to expect when they attend.

Integrating your social media accounts into a comprehensive event management software solution is also an excellent way to manage these tools. Being able to update all your social media accounts without having to leave your event management solution makes them even easier and faster to manage. With event managers being under considerable pressures, using technology such as event management software solutions can be the key to organising a successful and well executed event.

Searching for Fun Corporate Entertainment Activities?

Because of what can be stressful working days, it is important that corporate professionals, especially managers of companies plan on "fun" or team building days for their employees. Team building is a great way to let employees relax but break through some of the walls that seem to grow between different departments. Although, planning a good time for employees, doesn't always have to be about teambuilding. Sometimes it can be just a relaxing day of fun.

And one of the easiest ways to plan corporate entertainment events is to go to a corporate entertainment expert! An event planning company can not only give you great ideas for your employee fun day... they may also have exactly the activities & games that you didn't know you wanted!

Consider a Mechanical Bull

A Mechanical Bull is one of the options you have if you find the right corporate entertainment company. Since bull riding is close to the heart of many, a mechanical bull competition is quite a way to bring employees together. If you are one of the few people not away of how the mechanical bull works, then you'll be really surprised. The new bulls aren't like those old bulls you remember from the 80's. A mechanical bull today is safe to ride and FUN! The best bull ride is an electronic multiride unit. These bulls are designed for safety for all ages. The other great thing about a bull is that it's as much fun to watch as it is to ride.

Pop Noggins? What's a Pop Noggin?

Another great option available for corporate entertainment is the Pop Noggins music videos. Specifically, Pop Noggins is a form of entertainment product that makes use of green screen technology in order to superimpose guests' heads into an animated music video. Participants can take copies of their videos home... or they can be great entertainment at the company Christmas party!

Other Selections for Corporate Entertainment

Of course, there are also other amazing options available for you. Examples of these are giant inflatable slides, mobile zip lines and inflatable obstacle courses, among other ideas. Choosing the right selection of entertainment is almost as important as the day itself. Many times, there are some service providers available out there that will organize these activities for you. The best choice, however, is to find a company that can help you plan activities and also provide the equipment you need. Keep in mind, you'll want a professional company that will make sure that all equipment is operated safely and also a company that is fully insured.

Maintain a Good Company Image and Reputation With the Assistance of Conference and Events Organisers

Conference and events organisers are also known as conference organisers and event management. They work for corporate clients, the public sector and all other associations. Their services include the entire management and organisation of conferences, handling all technical production and the management of events that are either combined with conferences or conducted alone.

Given below are some of the services that are offered by these organisers:

• Conference organisation and management


• Awards and Gala Dinners


• Delegate registration - online or on arrival


• Payment and fee collection


• Technical and AV support


• Venue location


• Onsite registration staff and providing of badges


• Marketing, PR and Sponsorship


• Exhibition sales and management


• Preparation of delegate packs

Conference and Events Organisers services are based on modern and novel ideas with appropriate attention given to every detail of the event and conference, flexibility and enthusiasm, and last but not least an immense amount of patience. The client or the committee nominated for the event will need to work closely with these organisers. They too will also work closely with you, the client, and provide a comprehensive package of support, ensuring that your conference, event or road show will run smoothly and successfully, from start to end - meeting your targets and objectives.

Before deciding on any particular organisation to handle your up-coming event, it might be wise to read a few of the reviews that are found on their websites. This might help you to make a better decision.

A majority of Conference and Events Organisers work with an international network, making it more advantageous for organising events. They possess a considerable amount of resources and are quite competent in handling a number of events at a given time.

The costs of this valuable service will be an interesting fact to know; basically, they will always create value for your event budget. These organisers will deliver high quality event management and conference organising at costs which represents value for money. Costs are generally for individual items, giving the client the opportunity to split the costs for those that they would think are essential, 'good to have', or even omit if the budgets are tight.

Given below is a useful guide on the costs of hiring Conference and Events Organisers:

• Venue costs - this section will have categorised rates such as room hire, or a per head delegate rate or a rate for the entire day - depending on your plan for the event


• Delegate registration and management - the costs for registration, creating the required web pages if it is an online registration, online payments etc.


• Project management - the cost will be calculated in the number of days that an experienced team had to work on the entire event.


• Marketing the event - if it is not done in-house by the client. This will include branding and logo design, designing and printing of mailings and email templates, preparation and postage of invitation mailings etc.

When considering the effort and stress that is needed to organise an event, it is far worth to hire competent Conference and Events Organisers who will deliver an excellent product creating a good image and reputation for your company.

Maximize ROI On Your Trade Show Displays: Know How To Pick The Right Events

We've all heard the old adages, "Don't work harder, work smarter," or, "It's not about quantity, it's about quality." While often associated with daily work routines, companies working the marketing convention circuit should also pay particular attention to these mantras. In order to truly maximize return on investment and ensure that a business leverages every prospective opportunity when setting up banner stands and booths for trade shows, it's not about working as many events as possible throughout the year. Instead, yielding a high return can rest firmly on opting to participate in a few select conventions that are guaranteed to deliver desired results.

Is There A Science To Determining Where To Set Up Trade Show Displays?

But how does one determine which conventions offer an opportunity for maximum return on investment? Some companies arbitrarily designate random events to attend and simply hope for the best. Still others spend hours and countless internal resources calculating extensive data to formulate an informed opinion. Fortunately, these aren't the only options available. There a few proven (yet, quickly executed!) tactics that can help your organization stop spinning wheels at conventions that don't deliver and instead focus on the quality functions that will provide the return on investment you need to justify the practice of setting up trade show displays to promote your organization.

Easy Techniques To Determine Where Business Displays Will Yield Success

First and foremost, never attempt to select specific marketing conventions without having a solid list of goals you hope to achieve by participating in these events. Remember, trade show displays fall under your company's marketing umbrella. Like any other promotional technique, you'll want to have a firm focus on objectives to help you best gauge overall success.

Once you have your event goals compiled, it's time to do a little research on upcoming events. One of the best ways to decide where your corporate displays will prove most successful is to hone in on a show management firm that your company has always had success with. Signing up for subsequent events with a favored management firm will help give your company an edge over the competition since you'll have inside information on how the firm operates each event.

Finding out where your competition is setting up booths for trade shows is another great way to help pare down the list of potential events. Periodically scan your biggest competitor's social media pages to hear about their upcoming trade show displays directly. Also, always ask the event management to send a list of participants before you sign up.

Finally, always use the best resource you have access to - your customers! Obviously, they are a fair representation of your organization's targeted demographic. Choose a select few and ask them which trade show displays they are most likely to attend and why. Their answers just may surprise you and give you invaluable insight on where prospective consumers are likely to convene, as well as places they will probably avoid!

Event Planning Business Marketing

Here are some tips on marketing your event planning business:

1. Take Advantage of Social Networks - There are many networks and groups online that you can connect with to find potential customers. When you focus on local advertising, you can find customers that are conveniently close, but you can really expand your business when you open yourself up by marketing to surrounding areas through online networks.

2. Start Small - Test each marketing technique before you do a full blown, expensive campaign with it. If you are just starting out, avoid marketing with big, expensive ad campaigns like magazine ads and radio. Stick with the marketing techniques that you can test first, before you do a full blown campaign.

3. Build a Website - If you build an identity online than you will have a place for people to find you online. You can really sell yourself here to. If you link to your website from your social networks, then people who are considering working with you can go to your website and be sold on your services there.

4. Attend Weddings, Events & Other Related Expos - It helps to be able to meet new people who might be potential clients. It also helps to meet other event planners and find out what they are having success with or what isn't working for them.

5. Ask Past Clients for Referrals - Sometimes even satisfied customers will forget to refer business to their friends and family. Send past customers an email and thank them for their business and tell them you would be grateful for any referrals they could provide you with.

In recent years, with the economic downturn, the event planning industry has felt the squeeze. Now, more than ever, it is crucial to success for an event planning business to get online and start being aggressive about marketing through all the different venues that online marketing has to offer. Don't be afraid to invest a little money into getting your business online. Local advertising can go far, networking can go far, but internet technology can explode the amount of leads you can get for your event planning business.

If your marketing budget is tight, make sure you test each marketing method carefully before you begin pouring money into one method. If attending an expo is going to be too costly, consider running some ads online that are related directly to the services you offer.

Business Continuity: Preventing Data Loss in the Wake of Disasters

Perceptive companies know the value of being accustomed to change, but what happens when change is precipitated by an event that results in a company being displaced and unable to access its data? Unless the company has a business continuity plan that was developed with the assistance of a disaster recovery services consultant, surviving the situation may be impossible. Consider the following statistics:

• Forty-three percent of companies fail to reopen following a major data loss (DTI/Price Waterhouse Coopers)


• Fifty-one percent of companies close within two years of experiencing a major data loss (University of Texas Center for Research on Information Systems)


• Eighty percent of companies that fail to rebound from a major data loss within one month have a significant chance of closing (Bernstein Crisis Management)

Consider also the following statistics about companies that experience a major disaster:

• Companies that do not resume operations within ten days of the event are likely to close for good (techworld.com)


• Only twenty-nine percent of companies that reopen without a continuity plan in place are still open two years later (The Hartford Financial Services Group)


• Seventy-five percent of companies that do not have business continuity plans fail within three years of the event (Crisis Management International in Blindsided: A Manager's Guide to Catastrophic Incidents in the Workplace by Bruce Blythe)

These statistics remind companies of the importance of storing data offsite and implementing a continuity plans with the help of a disaster recovery services provider. In addition to providing offsite data storage to assist with recovery, the provider also:

• Supplies hardware onto which remotely stored data can be migrated in the event of an emergency.


• Works with the customer to develop a continuity plan and recovery plan that address crucial needs.


• Helps customers test the plans by providing a testing environment and/or hardware that would be used in the event of an emergency.

Offsite data storage can be an important part of continuity planning. However, as the statistics above point out, simply retrieving data does not keep a company from floundering. To remain viable, a company must retrieve its data in a short period, typically within ten days, and use it as directed in the continuity plan. The service provider assists companies with both tasks by helping them develop a continuity plan to maintain important business functions, develop a recovery plan to ensure the IT network remains functional, and test each plan to ensure its execution results in the expected outcome.

Conclusion

A major data loss is a common reason why companies close their doors, and a major disaster is a common reason why companies experience a major data loss. To survive a data loss that is caused by a disruptive event such as a pandemic, earthquake, or flood, companies must implement a business continuity plan with the help of a disaster recovery services provider. When they do, they have an excellent chance of surviving, and even thriving, in the wake of disastrous events that cause many companies to close their doors.

Proven Ways to Book Bands for Corporate Events

When your company is hosting a special corporate event, booking bands for corporate events can be a great idea to entertain everyone in attendance. It allows the employees, management and other invited guests to relax and have fun after weeks of stressful work. Music has a way to comfort the soul no matter what the setting would be. A group of musicians that play with instruments can liven up the crowd. Some people are more receptive to joining in corporate events when a group of talented musicians perform. Here are some things you need to know when selecting bands to hire to spice up one of the biggest corporate events.

You can get in touch with a booking agent to hire your band. Booking agents can be a great source of bands that meet your specific requirements. They are considered as middlemen who ensure that the booking process is done successfully. They can give you an idea if they have a band that would fit in to your event's schedule. It helps a lot if you, as a client know what you want as the booking agent will just work around your specific requests in a band. You should decide if you want the band to work for a couple of hours or maybe for just a few songs in the entire program. The amount of time of the band's performance is directly connected to the cost of their service. It's good to have all pertinent details ready before you contact your agent so that you are clear on what your needs are.

There are some cover bands that are highly recommended for special corporate affairs. They are great for those with specific themes such as a 60's rock and roll or 70's disco theme. There are instances wherein the client requests a band to play with a freestyle vibe. If this is the kind of band you want, why not try a well-known jazz band that can harness crowd-pleasing vocals to entertain the guests and keep them dancing the entire program.

Many corporate events are formal in nature, so it's a big NO-NO to hire a musical group that sings songs with tacky lyrics. In fact, vulgar lyrics should be banned in any event! Professional bands know how to play up the crowd's energy level without resorting to crude musicianship. These bands embody a smooth and classy performance that can effectively draw in the crowd. They should not be too unruly that it may tarnish the reputation of the company hosting the event.

Some bands may offer you a cheap quote but it may not include all other factors needed to make your event 100% successful. Equipment such as lighting and PA system must already be included if the band needs them to perform. Transportation to your corporate function site should already be included as this can considerably increase the cost if the event is far from the band's location.

So remember all these great suggestions when you are searching for bands to hire in a corporate event. This will make your event a night that everyone can remember for years!

Event Planning - Planning A Corporate Event - Some Tips

Corporate events are always arranged on very large scale and need much effort in preparation. These events are organized for different purposes. Some big and renowned companies plan much before the time, for the event. People from out of the city come and attend the function and expectations of the people from the event become stronger.

Event planning for such corporate is a huge responsibility; it needs multitasking coordination with people of different set up. But if you plan properly you can achieve a successful result. So if you are planning an event like this, note down these tips.

• Plan much before time; yes, it is very important to take proper time for preparation of the event, it takes time to coordinate with different companies, different people for good arrangements. Start meeting participants, sponsors, and caterers. Book speakers, decorates, media advisor and all the relevant people. Make list of the equipment and props that would be needed in the event and start collecting them.


• Agenda; call a meeting of the members and contact the people who are going to participate in the event and discuss the agenda, ask the team about new ideas in their minds, how to create excitement and magic in the event.


• Guest list; make a list of invitees, and check their schedule and availability.


• Theme; set a different but creative theme, which would develop interest in people but keeping the age group, status or gender of the invitees in mind.


• Stick to your schedule; remember to stick to your time table and schedule, even if you are prepared much before time, still keep checking the grounding which you had in your event planning.


• Invitation cards; invitation cards should be sent on time, it is very important to check the spelling of invitees names, really, some people are very sensitive about their names.


• Booking of the hotel; the guests who are coming from out of the city, book their rooms in the same hotel where the event is being held for the convenience of the guests and you can get rooms on discounted rate like this.


• Recall some previous events; this will really work, just recall some previous events and think where and when anything went wrong? And then focus on those points, so you will be well prepared to face any kind of mishap on the time.

Now keep all these tips in mind, you can start your event planning for your company.

How To Manage A Conference

If you have been put in charge of conference management, then you must be prepared for what you are getting yourself into because it is a much more complex job than just booking hotel rooms and buying airline tickets. The timing, organization, and actual conference are huge jobs in themselves that can require many people if the conference is big enough, but if it is manageable for just one person then there is still a lot of work to be done.

The travel arrangements can be a tough aspect to deal with because you need to find out everyone's schedule and find a good set of dates that aren't conflicting with major holidays or other events. Flying tens or hundreds of people into one city can be a daunting task on its own so if you think you may need to hire someone to focus solely on the travel arrangements then be sure to do so because it is a full-time job.

Getting people to the hotel and then situated in their rooms can be another huge task that can require days of planning only to execute what needs to be done in about 2-8 hours. Making sure all the attendees have the correct rooms and all their baggage has been delivered can be quite a hassle so you need to think on your feet and make quick decisions. If even one attendee has lost their luggage for just a day, that can ruin the entire conference for them. It may be wise to get an assistant to handle this aspect of the conference because like planning the travel arrangements, this is also a full-time job.

After getting all the travel plans arranged, there is the very important decision of choosing where to host the actual meetings because there can be many things that can throw off the plan. Be sure to know how many people you are accommodating so you can determine the right size room. Find out about meals during the day, possibly if and where you can feed your guests. Think of chairs, tables, and other materials such as projectors that you may need, but normally if the hotel is nice they can take care of all this.

Finally, one of the most important parts of the whole conference are the costs. From the flights to the hotel and other expenses, hosting a conference can be a very costly event. You need to make sure that what you will gain will be more than you are willing to spend. Negotiate group rates and find out about special discounts for just hosting a large conference.

Hosting a conference can create a new and large customer base, fresh ideas, and great camaraderie between the guests. A meeting which is any size can be a great event to attend and manage, but you must make sure you know what you are doing. After reading this article, there is no doubt that you will know exactly what to do when it comes to conference management.

What Is The New Business Strategy in 2012?

Most managers and executives are looking for ways to constantly develop a business strategy that works for their business. In 2012, a business is considered successful if it is return-driven. Return-driven businesses are those that plan and implement business activities consistently with the tenets and foundations and exhibit extraordinary financial results.

Studies have shown that these types of businesses follow the Return Driven Strategy (RDS). RDS provides an understanding of what specific types of business activities drive the highest levels of wealth-creation. With its foundations in one of the most advanced financial modeling frameworks, it provides a business strategy for forecasting the potential for a particular initiative to create wealth or destroy it.

Concepts of RDS

There are often misunderstandings about business strategy that have led many companies to destroy value, or have severely limited the wealth that could have been created. But there are specific concepts supported by the framework that have led to business success, such as:

- Businesses with great products are often not great businesses

- When to shrink and grow rich - or grow and be poor

- Why "first mover advantage" is often anything but

- The undeniable financial impact of business ethics on performance

- "Being different" is a by-product of great strategy, not a focus

- How a monopoly, generally so desired, will cause valuations to stagnate

- The difference between a great company and a great stock

- The real customer needs are seldom the obvious ones

- How treating employees as customers generates higher returns to all constituents

- Which is more important, strategy or execution? Both.

The highest benefit that RDS gives to management is better resource allocation: the prioritization of time and efforts in planning, analysis, and implementation, which are critical in adding value to a business.

As projects compete for capital, time, and resources, Return Driven Strategy can assist management in choosing and timing the actions that are best poised for achieving the organization's goals.

About the Strategic Management Framework

The RDS framework appears in pyramid form, in order of importance in long-term performance and valuation impact.

The framework is in use in strategic planning and management consulting at firms with revenues ranging from a few million dollars to billions annually. Some of these organizations have been large, publicly traded companies. Others have been privately-held or family-owned businesses.

Business strategy executives from a number of the world's largest and most successful companies - and from some of the most troubled - have attended Return Driven Strategy seminars, and spoken in panel discussions and speeches about the future of their firms.

How to Plan a Great Event on a Low Budget

Grand events, sounds interesting! Event planning includes establishing dates and exchange dates, budgeting, selecting and reserving the affair site, acquiring permissions, and coordinating haulage and parking. The high budget events are considered to be great and grand. Even if it is boring, people still call it a big success. Normally a grand events demands loads of money and resources, but if you manage properly and think a bit wisely than you can also get the same effect in a much lower budget.

A lot of hotels in New York offer great services and facilities in low budget. They lend there terrace or lawn during off time to host a huge event in low cost. Some of such hotels are:

Dune: This is one of the most reputed and well-known hotels in NYC. This hotel hosts a lot of huge and grand events every month, but if you want to organize an event in the same hotel, you too can get the opportunity in a very low budget. You get very high discounts during the time when this night club remains closed.

Pink Elephant: This night club has a very beautiful décor and great atmosphere. It is among the best night clubs in New York. This place organizes events on large scale as well as on the small scale too. It offers all modern amenities and services. People, who have a low budget for an event, can plan it here. Normally this club remains closed during the day time. During the closing hours, this night club hosts events on discounted rates.

Suzie Wongs: This night club remains active through out the night. It has brilliant music instruments and an event lawn. It hosts grand events during the day at a low budget as compared to the events hosted at night. This night club remains closed during 5-11 pm. This time can be perfect to host an event with great services at low budget.

The events can be grand if you plan it wisely. A lot of night clubs in NYC offer the best services and facilities at a low budget without any compromise making it a memorable event.

Benefits Of Using A Destination Management Company And Event Management Companies

Mutual trust is crucial for relationships to be successful. Be assured that you are in good hands when working with an a Destination Management Company (DMC) because these companies use only the highest quality practices as their standard and they demonstrate the ultimate level of commitment and knowledge to the destination management industry.

The DMC will conduct an initial needs evaluation in order to prepare a custom proposal to best match the client's program budget and needs. This ensures that no time or money is wasted with irrelevant proposals. DMCs also work with Event Managers to ensure that any meeting, incentive, conference or event being planned is within the client's budget. Because these they have years of experience in the travel industry, they have the ability to negotiate rates and terms where possible to maximise the client's budget and experience.

From start to finish, the entire process of business/group travel is simplified when working with a Destination Manager. A full proposal that includes costs for consideration will be ready within forty-eight hours of contacting a DMC with an enquiry to their destination.

Using a such a company is more beneficial than going direct because of the strong buying power DMCs have gained through years, sometimes decades of experience. Also, because these companies are located locally, they have an abundant knowledge of their destination and can use this experience to help their clients.

The use of a quality Event Management Companies brings many benefits to clients, as well. Event Management know everything there is to know about hotels, convention centres, entertainment, and all the details in-between because they spend weeks studying these options before they present them to any client. The target audience, planning, and coordinating the logistics and any other technical aspects are identified long before the arrival date of the event because the Event Management Companies spend time examining the intricacies of the brand.

All this has become increasingly necessary because of the ever growing size of events in the business world today. It is not uncommon for Event Management Companies to put together events for groups consisting of a couple thousand people. As imagined, working out the details of flights, ground transportation, and hotel rooms becomes a nightmare when dealing with groups this large.

To add to the complications of group travel, dynamic pricing for hotels has been a business travel trend that has become increasingly recognizable by experts in the field. This is a similar pricing scheme to that of airlines where the cost fluctuates depending on the season and how busy they are. Groups will have to spend more time researching their destination and hotels in order to get a good price on rooms; hence another reason why using a Destination Management Company is beneficial. The employment of a Destination Management Company and Event Management Companies ensures that travellers will be advised of good dates and receive the best discounts on rooms.

New Year Party Games to Keep the Little Ones Engaged and Entertained

Make your New Year eve party an interesting affair for the kids by organizing some fun New Year party games. Let the kids make some noise and play till they get exhausted. If you don't keep them busy they are more likely to do mischief and spoil the fun for the adults. Keep them occupied till midnight so that everyone at your New Year eve party can have a gala time. Here are some suggestions for keeping your little guests happy.

Party hat decoration contest

As soon as your guests arrive, give them some plain party hats, glitters, ribbons, stickers, faux jewels, etc. to decorate their own party hat. Set up a craft area for them and let them use their skills to design a creative and festive New Year party hat. This activity will keep them busy for quite some time so that the adults can do some chit chat session.

Balloon pop game

Apart from using these inexpensive party supplies for decoration, use them to play the balloon pop game. Arrange some prizes for the kids and write the name of each prize on a small sheet of paper. Roll these papers to make tubes and insert them into deflated balloons. Blow them up along with many other balloons and let them float on the floor. This will be a great New Year party decoration. Later, as the midnight approaches, ask the kids to blow-up the balloons by sitting on them. Ask them to collect the prize sheets and once this New Year party game is over, you can give away the prizes.

2012 review games

To play this game, make a list of some trivia questions and their answers in advance. The questions can be anything that happened in 2012 including a kids' movie release to a major development that happened in the world. Either divide the kids into teams or let them play individually. Appoint one volunteer to ask trivia questions and award the team or individual who gives maximum answers. This educational New Year party game is sure to keep the kids busy for a long time.

Apart from these structured games, create a play area for the kids so that they can have fun in their own way. Have a lot of toys, fun games, mind games, etc. and let them play independently. You can have this activity after they are done with their party hat decoration. Once they get bored playing these games, move on to the above mentioned structured New Year party games.

Launch A New Product With A Party

Launching a new product to your customers and potential customers requires meticulous planning and execution. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Advertising

Begin advertising your new product several weeks before its launch. That way you build anticipation which helps spread the news via word of mouth too, beyond your existing customer base. Some items, like children's toys, should only be advertised once they are in shops so they can be bought shortly after seeing an advert.

Determine demand - you don't want to over- or under-shoot your initial product run. Consider whether or not informing your customer base of how many products will be available from the first run will increase anticipation and demand - 'Limited Run' is often a great selling point.

Inform the media via carefully scheduled press releases that focus on a unique selling point or quirky story to your product launch. Consider using a public relations agency to advise you here.

Hold a launch party

A launch party is a brilliant way to introduce a new product to existing customers and draw in potential new customers. It will also generate publicity for your company and the product.

However, if the launch misses its mark, it can be a very expensive investment so enlist the help of event management experts.

There are plenty of event planners out there specialising in this sort of event.

Ask yourself these questions and gear the vent to achieving the answers.

What are you trying to achieve?

Who do you want to impress?

Are you expecting to walk away with contacts or actual orders?

Successful event management requires proper budgeting. Your budget should be less than 10% of expected sales of your new product.

You know your market. You know your business. You know your product. But do you know marketing? If you've got a marketing department get them involved from the start.

If not, consider hiring a marketing company as well as an event management company to help with appearing unique.

Explain in detail what the image for your company and this product is. If it's a luxury product or brand, your event should reflect that.

Be sure to invite your best customers - even if your new product may not be relevant to them. These people have a history with you and an invitation will make them feel special and so more loyal than ever. They can also attest to your good products, customer service and general standing.

Invite the press - this is a no-brainer, you'll need the publicity!

Invite the people that you wish were your customers - again, they'll feel special and therefore more likely to buy from you.

Send press releases out at regular intervals before the event. Say, 60 days before, 30 days before, and a last one 15 days before.

Be sure to mention and special guests, offers or giveaways you have planned.

Promote Your Product Online

Create a website or extend your existing one so that the curious consumer can learn all about your product. Spread the word using social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. If you can, send out free samples to specialist websites and bloggers so they can review your product - make sure they work though!

Above all, pay attention to detail and your product launch will go smoothly, resulting high sales and customer satisfaction.

4 Simple Planning Tips to Ensure Your Birthday Party Success

Early planning is by far the simplest most effective way to ensure your birthday party is a success. Millions of birthday parties go on all around the world everyday and it is not surprising at all that many fall down on a number of key planning tasks. It is in fact one of the most noticeable aspects of any party. Like yourself, I have attended quite a large number of birthday parties, most of which were remembered clearly as a great success and a smaller number that were unfortunately hailed as an absolute disaster. One memorable birthday party failure that I attended was of a very close friend of mine. The organizer of the event completely forgot to book a DJ for the event and so was left the day before the party frantically ringing around DJ rental companies looking for a quick fix. As you can imagine, a home CD player did not quite have the best effect and the one aspect most noticeable to the guests was the very poor planning.

To ensure your party goes off without a hitch and that it is truly enjoyed by all who attend, there are a number of high priority tasks that must organized and completed two to three months before the big day.

Delegate responsibility
Doing everything by yourself can be considerably frustrating and it can lead down the path of forgetting tasks when you have a lot on your plate. A very simple yet effective way of ensuring a task gets completed is to delegate responsibility to a number of people. If the organizing parties involved know exactly what they have to do and the time frame they have to complete it within, a party plan begins to take shape. Furthermore, people are subconsciously encouraged to complete their tasks when other people are completing their tasks. It has a simple effect of getting the ball rolling.

Establish a Theme
Establishing a birthday party theme is one of the most overlooked birthday party ideas and when done successfully it will not only ensure an enjoyable day for everyone but a very memorable occasion for all who attend. The Internet is packed full of birthday theme ideas, do your research and remember to check the theme is acknowledged by the birthday boy or girl.

Send Birthday Invitations Early
Guests are the focal point of all parties. Without the people to attend it will not matter how well everything else is planned. One primary task that should be completed early involves preparing a list of possible guests. Doing this early leaves time to add people who may have been forgotten and it generates the anticipation factor for all family members are friends. When the list has been compiled, send the party invitations to each guest on the list. Be sure to outline whose birthday party it is, the theme of the party, the location of the event, the date and time of expected arrival and a vital contact number for those who will not be able to make it. Simple guest planning can go a long way.

Birthday Supplies and Accessories
When the three tasks above have been set in motion, it is now the right time to begin organizing the aesthetics of the party, such as the birthday party supplies and accessories. Order the party DJ early, agreeing the time and date of the party. It will also be necessary to contact the DJ a week before the big day to confirm his attendance. At this stage you may provide the DJ with the genres of music that he should play, whether it be rock music or commercial pop or dance music, every person has their own tastes. Hiring a DJ for the occasion will not only ensure music is played, but in most cases these hiring companies also provide fantastic lighting that will greatly amplify the atmosphere on the big day.

Next on the list is to select and order a birthday cake. Most organizers tend to buy a birthday cake that has some form of custom personalization on the top layer. I've seen cakes with footballers, pop stars to fully fledged pictures of the birthday boy or girl. Custom cakes may take days to build, be sure to get in contact with the cake supplier or bakery early so as to avoid disappointment.

To complete the perfect setting on each table at the birthday, you may wish to buy birthday hats, streamers and balloons. People can nuts on party supplies as they are by far the cheapest elements of the party and can be picked up online from near to nothing. Adding randomly placed whoopee cushions under seat cushions is also being used to get that kick and early bit of fun for the kids, even before all of the guests arrive! Buying an electric balloon pump will save you a lot of time and hassle on the important day. Typically, the last thing you want to be doing on the day is pumping balloons, have some fun and enjoy the great build up to your birthday party.

The Changing Marketing Department

The traditional marketing department focused on brand management, advertising and communications, event management (tradeshows, lead generation etc.) coupled with Product Management with ownership of the product across all sales channels.

If your marketing department still sits with these roles you are likely part of the old school and you are likely going to be replaced by a new roles and responsibilities you may also not be very comfortable with.

While traditional media such as TV, newspapers, magazines and radio advertising continues to drop the new media advertising requiring a very different skill sets such as banner ads, PPC advertising, mobile and social media continues to grow.

The modern Marketing department should probably be renamed to customer relationship management and analytics department. The new roles in the Marketing departments are typically:

(1) Social media management. The rapid fire and free language of social media is very different from the traditionally carefully analyzed advertising process and the skill sets are very different requiring a good understanding of do's and dont's in this social media world. A simple answer written to one individual and delivered in a few minutes without any formal internal reviews process may be read by millions of potential customers. One bad move and a large number of customers can be lost. The freestyling methods requires a special skill set of enormous importance.

(2) Web marketing / lead generation and channel management. The modern marketing department has responsibility for keyword analytics for PPC, banner advertising (for quality sites which properly represent the brand) as well as channel relationship management to make sure you are effectively using and branding your company on partner sites.

(3) Data Quality Management. With the amount of data from social media, web analytics and complexity of customer master data now available to the Marketing department the responsibility in managing the data quality does not only lie with the IT department but also the Marketing department.

(4) Marketing Data analytics (Big Data). The marketing department is now a key consumer of Big Data and new data sources and is starting to employ data scientists to crunch through the large amounts of information becoming available to generate new leads, improved personalized service/offerings and analysis of complex web marketing strategies and campaigns. The traditional saying that "only 50% of advertising is effective but the problem is that we don't know which 50%" can to a greater extent be gone. With careful comple analysis of the data the effectiveness of campaigns can be better understood.

(5) Search Engine Optimization and Blog management. The Marketing department (not the IT department) should own the responsibility for Search Engine Optimization as more and more the strength of search engine ranking is made through social media, web content and interactive communications with other web media outlets.

If your marketing department are missing these responsibilities you are likely missing out on significant opportunities which can be had in this new media world. If your competitors are effectively using these techniques and methods you are quickly ending up with a competitive disadvantage.

After Event Planning Courses - Virtual Event Management

If you are in event planning courses, but have yet to hone in on a specialization, you may want to consider the emerging profession of virtual event management.

As you will have no doubt learned in your event planning courses, your chosen profession has been deeply affected by the changing economy. Long gone are the days where businesses eagerly engaged in frequent business travel... Business travel is now seen as prohibitively expensive. Face-to-face meetings are not as common, even within the same city, where a long commute can be a discouraging factor. More and more often, businesses try to arrange to meet with partners and prospective clients virtually.

This is a transition that has been aided by the development of new virtual meeting technologies, some of which you may be learning about in your event planning courses.

Although virtual events may be lighter on the pocketbook (and, not to mention, easier on the environment), that doesn't mean that they are any simpler to manage. As you may be learning in your event planning courses, virtual events require the same careful planning as a real-life meeting.

If you have not yet had a chance to examine virtual event management in your event management courses, here are some of the tasks that it involves.

As you can see, there is a lot of overlap between virtual event management and the other types of events that you are learning about in your event management courses.

As a graduate of event planning courses working in virtual event management, you will still have many of the same goals and responsibilities:

• find a way to involve attendees


• find sponsors


• keep track of attendance


• design event materials


• allow attendees to interact formally, informally, in large groups, one-on-one, etc.

Are you taking event planning courses and wondering whether or not you'd be well suited to planning virtual events? Here are some of the required characteristics for this career path:

• A strong knowledge of social networks, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.: To be honest, this criterion now should apply to all students in event planning courses. Whether or not your event takes place online, you will need to know how to use these tools.


• The ability to motivate through play: You will learn in your event planning courses a host of tricks to engage attendees at your events. Online events present a lot of opportunities for play and interaction. Will you have what it takes to create a sense of community amongst virtual attendees? Can you imagine yourself designing community-building, consensus-based digital games?


• Technical know-how: Do you keep up with the latest digital tools? Can you help attendees post videos? Can you troubleshoot if problems arise during a keynote presentation? It may be this ability more than any other that determines whether or not students in event planning courses are cut out for a career in virtual event management.

Does virtual event management sound as though it could be for you? Keep it in mind for when you graduate from your event planning courses.

Online Registration Analytics Tips for Event Planners - Bailing-Out Means a Failing Form

Upon first viewing the bail-out rate an event professional new to web analytics might be quite shocked by the figure, but the truth is that some amount of bail-out is natural. Any website that does business online needs to recognize that comparison shopping, the need to approve expenses, questions on how much to order, or plain-old lack of attention-span due to the amount of information available on the web all contribute to customers walking away from their virtual shopping carts. So some amount of bail-out is a necessary part of the internet sales process.

However, experienced internet merchants will also tell you that you can always improve your process too. So what should you look at in the bail-out information to help you decide what to do first?

The first thing you need to address is the overall bail-out rate. If 100 visitors come to your registration page, and 80 of them bail-out it is most likely a strong indication that your form needs some work. One of the most common issues in this case is that your potential registrants are not well enough informed about your event to make the decision to register final. For instance, if you don't tell registrants the price up front, when they see the price, they may balk and leave your form. This also applies to questions they will need to answer about their registration, for instance: flight information, group member registration, or payment methods (maybe they want to pay with AMEX but you only accept Visa).

Once you have addressed the overarching issues regarding the bail-out rate you now need to investigate where in the process your potential registrants are leaving the form. Are they bailing out on the pricing page? Maybe the price is too high, or not explained clearly enough. Are they leaving from the additional options page? Maybe the options are too complicated. Are they leaving at the payment stage? Maybe you should consider offering additional payment options. Finding out where the most visitors bail-out in your funnel allows you to take a critical look at each stage of your process to help streamline the entire funnel.

So how do you find the bail-out rates on your form? A few select online registration systems have begun offering integrated analytics programs as part of their standard service. But what if your current software doesn't offer this functionality? You can add a free stat monitoring program to any form which allows customization. In this case, you will need to compile the stats yourself by finding the total number of visitors to the first page of registration, and then the total number to each successive page. This will give you an idea of how your funnel is working.

An Unsuccessful Event Doesn't Make You Failure

Many individuals tend to avoid leadership because of their fear of failure. Too many times, individuals internalize less than stellar results, often confusing the success or failure of an event with the person being a success or failure. As Zig Ziglar wrote, "Remember that failure is a result, not a person." Events often can turn out differently than they are planned, through no fault of an individual. While the event might fail, it doesn't make the chair of the event a failure as a person, but merely the chair of an event that did not succeed. Many factors are involved in the success of an event, and there are often even more perceptions of what may or may not be a success or a failure.

1. If someone decides to organize or chair an event, he must first undergo an attitude adjustment. He must place himself in a mind set where he is self confident rather than overly introspective. Unfortunately, too many people wallow in a sort of self pity, and when confronted by the eventual criticism (which invariably occurs), take the criticism far too personal. If someone has done all he could do, that is all anyone should ever expect.

2. The eventual success of an event is generally dependent on comprehensive planning. This planning must include numerous back- up plans (or contingency plans), so that changes can be made "on the fly" as necessary. Having professionally coordinated and planned events for over thirty years, I firmly believe that the planner, leader, or organizer must contemplate all details, including marketing (to attract attendance, thus providing some economies of scale), perceived and actual value (derived from professional negotiations of every aspect of the event), lining up helpers and volunteers for both prior to and during the event, etc.

3. An event organizer must be aware of the fact that you can never please everyone, and that he who tries to "serve too many masters" generally offends all and pleases none. The organizer must effectively listen to advice, but have a clear cut vision of what the event needs to accomplish, and what "little details" he wants to add to personally tweak this specific event.

4. Always remember that "Things happen," and sometimes, despite all the best efforts and diligent work, an event is not successful. While it is normal to feel badly because one has committed so much time and effort, and not gotten the results desired, it is important not to "beat yourself up," if you believe you have done your best, and done everything that you could do.

While events can be more or less successful, or "bomb," if the organizer has done what is necessary, and something beyond his control was the reason for the failure, he must understand that while the event may have failed, that is not a personal reflection on him. The most successful individuals face adversity, and come away stronger and better, and far more successful in the future.

Convention Planning - Banquet Food Prices - How to Negotiate

Are you new at negotiating banquet prices or do you know how hotels think about negotiating banquet food? What can and can not be negotiated during the planning process? So, what has been your experience as a meeting and event planner been when this issue comes up?

Are banquet menus prices set in stone? Some are and some are not.

Remember that hotels make most of their money from room rates. The profit margin is higher. On banquet food there is a smaller profit margin, so there is less to work with and hotels normally will not offer discounts unless there are specific requests and they really have a reason to negotiate.

Banquet food pricing consists of three items, food cost, staff labor and profit. Since the food cost and staffing takes up so much of the banquet price, it is very hard to ask your Catering Manager to just lower the price.

However, even though the hotel is reluctant to reduce prices, you still might have some options. Ask your Catering Manager to get with the Chef and come up with a menu that has a lower food cost so the hotel can still maintain their profit margin, yet allow them to lower the price of the banquet item.

I have worked with many Chefs and they always have a couple of menu items in their hip pocket that would work for both their cost and your budget.

An example of this is a banquet for a teenage YMCA group. Banquet menus may run $20 - $30++ for normal beef, chicken or fish items. However, teenagers just want to be fed and would be happier with spaghetti, meat sauce, a small tossed salad, plain rolls and a simple dessert (Chef's choice). The food cost for this menu is much lower and therefore the hotel can still make a profit and the group can fit the price into their budget.

Another way would be to ask your Catering or Convention Service Manager to get with the Chef and ask for a simple buffet with Chef's choice of entree, starch and dessert. This would not work for a high powered corporate event, but might work for lunch if you are just trying to feed the group. Again, the Chef can keep his food cost in line and you can fit something into your meeting budget that will work.

So, are banquet menu prices set in stone? Some are and some are not. Sometimes it is necessary to negotiate special food items and pricing in order to "make it work" for the group and the hotel.

Having Clear Objectives for Corporate Events

Putting an event together for clients and staff can be very straight forward to arrange or indeed somewhat of a daunting task depending on the objectives you wish to achieve.

It is really worth taking a moment to understand what the objectives are for the event. Is it to thank everyone for their hard work, get different groups of people communicating, to bring clients and prospects together or to simply have a great time with the chosen audience? Whatever it may be, you need to think about the objective of your event prior to hosting.

Keeping Everyone Engaged

If you have put together a number of corporate events, it can be difficult to come up with something different, engaging and entertaining for the whole group. It can be challenging with many corporate activities being "just an activity". The norm is to do the activity, hope that everyone enjoys themselves and simply remembers the event in a positive light. However, if you host an event which ties in with your corporate or event objectives the activity has more impact, especially if the event involves an activity which enables everyone to participate and enjoy at their own levels.

There are a number of new activities springing up which offer something new and exciting for the corporate entertainment market, many using technology to entertain in very clever and interesting ways.

Amongst the new kids on the block and especially topical with the start of Formula One racing, are venues which have multiple race car simulators. This activity works well as most adults are able to drive and therefore have no problem actually taking part in the event. The added bonus for participants in this corporate event is that by using race car simulators no one will be hurt no matter how competitive they become!

With the right audience using race car simulators for a corporate event provides those involved with an engaging activity which is fun, safe and encourages a mixture of people to work together. Race car simulators are a good example of an activity where everyone can join in, work as a team and aim towards a common goal.

Most events, including race car simulators, have some down time when the activity is still running and your team is still taking part. This time provides those involved with the activity with an opportunity to network and spend time relaxing with colleagues and clients, so is a positive element to the day.

Team Building

The term 'Team Building' is used a great deal but often there is no actual team building element within the activity. If you are looking to 'Team Build' then it needs to be just that, an activity where people have to work together towards a common goal. Where as a team they can achieve and experience success, such as that achieved when using race car simulators. Depending on your overall objective, this could be to get different departments interacting and communicating together or it may be to get a single department working better together.

Decision Time

Once you have decided on your event style and objective you will be able to focus on what you really want out of the event. This will help you to decide on the activity which will be used to meet your expectations and achieve your outcomes, whether this is a sedate activity or something a little fresher and interactive, such as using one of the newer race car simulators available at race centres.

Whether you are looking to book a meal for four or a team event for 100, remember to be aware of your event objectives and how the event will best be tailored to meet your corporate event objectives. You should find advice, guidance and support from reputable centres about achieving your objectives from those used to hosting corporate events, such as the manager at the Race Centre in Hampshire, who will demonstrate how to use their race car simulators and encourage team building.

Masquerade Balls Are Truly Unique Events!

Masquerade balls or masques, have their origins from a folk tradition in Europe where giftbearing players wearing masks would call on a nobleman to mark an event. These players would be dancing and singing in the nobleman's halls and encourage spectators to join in.

In the end, they would remove their masks to reveal their identities. Masques developed in Italy during medieval times, flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries as a courtly entertainment in celebration of a dynastic event. It involved music and dancing, singing and acting, performed on an elaborate stage with equally elaborate costumes and masks. Some royalties who had the acting bug like Henry VIII, Charles I, and Louis XIV performed as masquers in the masques at their courts, hidden behind masks. The spoken and singing parts, though, were done by professionals. Sadly, the masque is the artistic form from the Renaissance that is most alien to modern audiences today.

In the 90's, the masquerade balls had a resurgence in popularity. The theme has been popular in contemporary New Year's Eve celebrations. More and more events planners have now started incorporating the masquerade ball theme in certain momentous occasions such as weddings, Prom Nights, and milestone celebrations like quinceaneras and sweet 16 parties. Because of this uptrend, numerous books and websites have abounded with details on how to plan a masquerade ball.

There is also no shortage of online resources where one can buy a beautiful, handmade mask to match that gorgeous gown. In modern masquerade balls, guests can come in a complete ensemble of mask and costume or they can also arrive wearing their formal attire with a matching mask. A carefully matched mask can be a fitting accessory to a beautiful dress or gown. People who would want their faces to be seen or ladies who don't want their make-up smudged or their hair messed up would normally choose a mask on a stick.

Most formal parties can get old and boring after some time but masquerade balls are always fabulous events. Watching the guests in their costumes and masks is an entertainment in itself. No longer exclusive to royal court occasions, every photo shot from masquerade balls is a tableau of pomp and pageantry.

5 Benefits of Transferring Your Event Registration Online

Nowadays, many event organizers are transferring their event registration processes on the Cloud. On enquiring the reason behind this steady change they said that it is because they find such a Cloud-based event registration solution quite beneficial and inexpensive compared to manually executing the same set of tasks. Supervising a job in person requires your constant presence plus also leads to higher expenditure in terms of hiring men to work in specific key areas. The excess spending may be conveniently avoided if and when an event organizer decides to use an online event registration solution.

Being on a cloud platform, such a solution doesn't require you to hire additional staff to manage many of the administrative tasks; you can do it yourself using a web-enabled device. Any standard registration solution comes with a set of applications specifically built to control events related tasks within a constrained budget. From creating the event sign-up forms to collecting payments quickly, an online solution can do a number of things on behalf of men.

Chances of Getting Higher Attendance Easily

While moving your event registration process online, you can actually make the task of accessing forms from anywhere and at any time possible. Online registration forms can be viewed and filled up from any location on the planet provided the concerned individual has a portable device (laptop or smartphone) or fixed (desktop computer) device with internet connection. People who are otherwise unable to travel to your office to collect a form can now easily sit in front of their PC to complete the formalities.

Cost Saving Solution

A person can easily save mounting infrastructural expenditures and hiring costs by planning to utilize an online event registration solution. It lets you create and publish multiple, customized registration forms over the internet without the usage of piles of paper and paying for the hard copy forms.

Automating Payment Collection

Event organizers can easily manage the collection of payments from registrants without additional helping hands. It can be made possible by the utilization of an online payment solution that lets anyone pay you via a credit card, through wire transfers or using a reputed payment gateway like PayPal. You can even pay back (refund) registration fees to a registered attendee using such a payment solution in case he or she decides not to participate in your event.

Streamlined Communication

An emailing service that comes built-in with the event registration software lets you send out any number of invitations, reminders, and RSVPs to your attendees. You can type in the messages and on successful delivery of each email you will automatically receive a confirmation thereby eliminating chances of non-delivery of mails.

Secured Storage of Registrant and Payments Data

While manually keeping all registration information includes extensive paperwork, online event registration and payment solutions enables instant storage of all registrant details in a centralized database that may be accessed anytime. You can easily view and use such information to generate reports at your convenience.

Business Continuity Planning Basics - A Primer For Your Business

PHASE ONE

Plan Cover Sheet

The Plan Cover Sheet will not only identify your company, but also offer pertinent information that can be evaluated at a glance. See the sample attached.

Company Address:

The address should reflect the location for which this particular plan is designed. Other company locations and their information will be indexed in other material within the plan.

Site Director:

The Site Director should be the main decision maker of the company. They would be someone who at a moment's notice would be able to decide if the employees should shelter in place, go home or wait for further information.

Alternate Site Director(s):

The Alternate Site Director would be the person or persons who would be the second in command and would also be able to make the same decisions as the Site Director in the event the Site Director was unavailable. You can also assign a third or fourth person in this section. It's best if the person is on site most of the time and does not travel extensively.

Plan Date:

Each time you revise the plan, it is helpful to put the revision number on the front of the plan. You will change out some material such as the employee telephone list which does not warrant changing the plan date on the front cover. It is generally helpful to place a date on the bottom footer for material that will change on a regular basis.

Business Continuity Plan
For ABC Company

The ABC Company
123 Address Street
Pittsburgh, PA. 15222

Phone:
Fax:

Website:
Email:

Site Director

John Mayall
Office
Home
Cell

Alternate Site Director:

Alice Joseph
Office
Home
Cell

PHASE TWO

Emergency Response Team

Your Emergency Response Team is generally comprised of your Critical Department Managers as well as your facility managers. If you have a number of locations, each location should have a Site Director and an Emergency Response Team.

Everyone on the Emergency Response Team will report to the Site Director in the event of an emergency. The Site Directors of each location will each report to the main location Site Director or the President/Owner of the company.

When choosing your Emergency Response Team be certain to choose people who will "step up to the plate" in the event of an emergency. Often times in a critical disaster, it is human nature to want to leave to take care of family members. Each team member, should have a back up person in the event of vacations, absence, injury, etc.

o Determine who talks with the fire chief and other officials.
o Determine who can authorize emergency work
o Determine who will disseminate information about your company to the media

Examples of Emergency Response Team members:

Office Manager Responsible for communicating to all employees, vendors, suppliers, floor wardens, etc.

Facility Manager Responsible for shut off valves, electrical/power outages, emergency generators, etc.

IT Manager Responsible for all computer actions, backups, recovery, etc.

Communications It will be critical for your emergency response team members to communicate with each other during an emergency. You may want to either use cell phones or other two-way communications.

PHASE THREE

Develop a checklist of responsibilities

This will be one of the most important steps you will take. In the event of an emergency, many people will begin to panic and need immediate direction. Planning out a checklist of steps to take prior to the emergency will guide everyone through the disaster at hand and calm everyone down. It is imperative that after these checklists are developed and you perform "table-top exercises" (see Table of Contents) to practice for a real disaster.

The attached sample (three stage response checklist) along with the instructions for the Site Manager, Resource Manager and Facilities Manager, will give you an idea of exactly what steps one hypothetical company has worked out in the event of a disaster. This company is a business that produces medical equipment with a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week production line. There are 100 employees who work in the industrial side and 30 office staff. Their home office is in another state. They are located in an industrial park with a river on one side of their building and train tracks on the other side.

Once you have developed this checklist continue to build the rest of this plan. As you do this, you will find that you need to come back to the checklist to add line items or adjust what you have already written. The "table-top exercise" will also help you to develop the checklist even more.

A Sample

Three Stage Response List

Warning Phase:

1. Checking all appropriate functions and supplies
2. Meet with Site Manager to discuss possible impact
3. Brief employees on possible impending disaster and what will be expected of them.
4. Insure you have all necessary documents in the event of an evacuation.
5. Monitor possible emergency through your channels - TV, radio, local authorities

Emergency Response Phase:

1. Meet with Site Manager and Management Team to discuss course of action.
2. Receive direction from Site Manager on next step
3. Meet with employees to brief them.
4. Monitor progress in your specific department

Recovery Phase:

1. Restoration of Services
2. Pursuing insurance coverage, claims and procedures
3. Making repairs and returning to worksite
4. Preparing and restoring all necessary equipment

PHASE FOUR
Identify Your Hazards

Disaster Probabilities

Power Outage 91%

Hardware Error 77%

Fire 58%

Flood 53%

Earthquake 53%

Hurricane 52%

Software Error 43%

Bombing 39%

Storms 38%

Network Failure 23%

Burst Pipe 9%

Riot 3%

Source: Disaster Recovery Journal - 2005

Hazards most likely to occur:

Hazard Preparation Do

Power Outages
o Check for emergency lighting in your facility,
o Have a few flashlights handy that are charged on a regular basis (with battery backup),
o If a storm is approaching turn off all computers,
o Equip your electrical outlets with power surge protectors,
o Check into emergency generators.

Winter Storm (snowstorm, ice storm, etc.)
o Tune into local weather stations,
o Have an emergency radio on hand,
o Refer to police and emergency management phone numbers

Fire
o Check fire extinguishers,
o Be certain employees know how to use them,
o Conduct drills on a regular basis,
o Practice safety procedures for incidents in the event of a fire

Tornado / Windstorm
o Practice evacuation procedures,
o Be certain to have a safe place to go in the event of a tornado,
o Have emergency supplies on hand in the event you have to shelter in place or make emergency repairs or rescues.

Hazardous Materials
o If you have hazardous materials in your facility, you should list them all and report your list to local authorities in the event they need to battle a fire
o Check the materials regularly to be certain they are not leaking and your inventory is correct

Bomb Threats
o Be certain the staff who answers your telephones are familiar with the bomb threat checklist
o After a bomb threat immediately isolate the person who took the call and have them write down exactly what happened on the call

Flood / leaks
o Make periodic checks of hot water tanks, boilers, dishwasher hoses, washing machine hoses, sink connections, toilet tank equipment, etc.
o If files are stored in an area that is prone to flooding, move them to higher floors or on platforms.
o If you are in a flood zone, be certain to tune in to emergency radio stations for updates.

PHASE FIVE

Make lists

Lists will be the most important tool you will need in the event of an emergency or major disaster.

In addition to your Emergency Response Team, you will need to have several lists on hand to utilize during your preparation, emergency and the business recovery phase.

The following pages will give you a good start to what lists you will need to have. Feel free to insert or upload your own forms and/or lists.

Several of these lists will have to be maintained and updated on a regular basis. An example of this would be the employee telephone tree, supply list and computer equipment lists.

In addition to these lists, we have inserted a list of materials that should be stored in the homes of several employees. This material list should be thought out well in advance and then checked by several participating employees to be certain everything is included.

This material list that will be stored in employee's homes should be everything you will need to operate your business if you are unable to enter your offices or in the event of a major power outage.

Employee Telephone Tree

It is imperative to keep this list up to date and to do monthly tests of this list and to make comments in the "Response" column regarding the call. For Example: Spoke to employee, did not reach, wrong number, etc.

SAMPLE:

Name Phone Alternate Phone Response

George Mellon #

George calls:

Sally Field Didn't answer

Nora Ephron Responded

Sally Hays Responded

Ron Mischner #

Ron calls:

Dave Miller Wife took message

Denny Miller Responded

In addition to the employee list, you may want to keep a list of any temporary employees phone numbers and/or their temp agency phone numbers

Emergency Phone Numbers

You should have on hand a list of emergency phone numbers that would include the following:

In the event of an emergency, call _______

If this number does not answer or is slow to respond, call the following numbers:

Police Non-emergency Number

Fire Non-emergency Number

City Emergency Number

County Emergency Operations

Local Emergency Numbers

Poison Center

Hazmat Team

Municipal Phone Number

Disaster Recovery Vendor

Insurance Information

All necessary insurance information should be listed and kept in this disaster plan book as well as in the emergency container stored in selected locations.

It is also imperative that copies of your insurance policy be kept in duplicate in the home boxes or in a safe deposit box.

We also strongly suggest that you take photographs of the following:

o Office equipment
o Carpeting
o Desks, file cabinets, chairs, bookcases, etc.
o Computers
o Valuable paintings
o Supply cabinet
o Computer rooms and server areas
o Electrical and telephone rooms
o Any special equipment, supplies, artwork that would be valuable and unique

Critical Equipment and Materials
Utilize this list in conjunction with the insurance forms to determine what to photograph and what warranties you may need to copy and keep in a safe place.

CRITICAL EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

Equipment/Room Location Access Required
Yes/no Preventive Action Required
Emergency Generator
Emergency Command Center
Emergency Supplies
Hazardous Materials Storage
Phone System Equipment
Satellite Equipment Room
Computer Center
Servers
Workstations/PCs
Elevator Control Room
Copiers
Printers
Fax Machines

Date: __________________________ Updated: ____________________________

By: ___________________________

Building Utility and Equipment Shut Offs

This is a form that should be completed and then reviewed by several people in the department that handles this equipment as well as employees who might work in the evening on a regular basis and the entire Emergency Response Team.

You may review this form and realize that some of this equipment is not relative to your place of business because it is maintained by building management. We suggest that you contact your building manager or building maintenance staff and let them know you would be interested in viewing the equipment in the event of a disaster and also for insurance purposes.

BUILDING UTILITY AND
EQUIPMENT SHUT OFFS

Building/Address Utility Shut Off Location

Gas
Water
Electric
Fire Suppression
o Sprinkler
o Dry-Chemical
o Other
Boiler
Sump Pumps
Other ________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________

Fire Detection / Alarm Checklist

Check with your local fire department or fire extinguisher supplier regarding fire extinguisher training. Fire extinguishers are good for putting out small fires and many employees if properly trained would be comfortable utilizing them.

We also suggest that you invite the fire department into your building to be certain everything is up to code in your building. Many building owners are hesitant to do this fearing fines or shut downs, however many fire departments welcome coming in before a fire starts to give advice and to be familiar with the tenants of a building.

While going through your checklist, walk around your office or building to

o Check areas that might need a fire extinguisher such as computer rooms, copier rooms, kitchens, etc.

o Check that employees are using extension cords and other electrical conveniences properly. Check to be certain that electrical outlets are not overloaded and avoid using plug in air fresheners as they sometimes explode and cause fires.

o Check to be certain fire doors are closed at all times and signage is properly placed on them so that employees know to keep them closed at all times.

o Check stairwells and emergency exits to be certain they are clear of debris trash and that no emergency exit is chained shut. Also check to be certain exits that lead out into the street are not blocked by cars or debris.

Computer and Information Management

Your IT person is the best person to complete this form. They would know what information your company would need and what type additional equipment you might need to bring the company back up and running after the disaster.

We highly recommend that you find a company that can provide you with an off-site back up system for your computer information.

It is feasible to back up your files on a regular basis and have them stored off-site at either an employee's home or at another company location.

COMPUTER AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
List in order of importance

Location
Equipment
Serial #
Security Level
Own/Lease Service Agr./ Vendor Warranty Expiration Manager
In Charge

Date: __________________________ Updated: ____________________________

By: ___________________________

Key Service Vendors

In the event of an impending disaster or during the disaster, you will need to contact kep vendors that will need to help you immediately. The following list will serve as a guideline, but you may want to add others depending on your type of business.

Specialized Training / Skills Bank

You may want to survey your employees to determine who has skills that would help you in the event of an emergency. You will have to make certain these employees understand that if they are on this list, they will be called upon to assist in the event of a disaster.

It is recommended that you have them sign some sort of release or agreement stating they will assist, but are not liable in the event of a major disaster or medical event.

Some employees may be former military personnel, emergency response personnel, nurses, or have previous training in CPR or first aid.

PHASE SIX

Decide where you will go if you need to evacuate your building immediately.

If you need to evacuate your building because of a fire or other emergency, decide where you will meet and how you will account for all your employees.

Floor Wardens

Do you have floor wardens in your building or among your office staff? If not, ask for volunteers to help evacuate your floor and make certain everyone has safely evacuated. You should then conduct evacuation drills for your employees on a regular basis even though your building management doesn't.

Floor Warden responsibilities would include:

o Safely evacuating everyone who works on your floor.
o Checking to be certain your offices, restrooms, conference rooms, etc. are clear.
o Closing all doors behind them, especially in the event of a fire. Closing the doors will prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent offices.
o Accounting for everyone once you have safely evacuated.

First Aid

Do you have first aid kits handy? Do all employees know how to access the first aid kit? Are there any employees who have first aid training?

Meeting Place

Your meeting place should be a safe distance away from your building. Consider following:

o Meeting in an adjacent building in the event of inclement weather Keeping a safe distance from any emergency vehicles that may need access
o Accounting for all employees - you may want to have an employee listing close to your exits to assure you have that handy.
o Accessing your disaster plan book. If you don't have it handy to take with you in an emergency, someone can store it in their car or you can store it in an adjacent building with an employer who will safeguard it for you.
o A safe distance is usually 300 feet away from the danger.
o Shelter In Place - you may need to stay in your building and not evacuate.

Shelter In Place

Guidelines
One of the instructions you may be given in an emergency where hazardous materials may have been released into the atmosphere is to shelter-in-place. This is a precaution aimed to keep you safe while remaining indoors. Shelter-in-place means selecting a small, interior room, with no or few windows, and taking refuge there. It does not mean sealing off your entire home or office building.
Situations where you may need to shelter-in-place would include: Chemical, biological, or radiological contaminants may be released accidentally or intentionally into the environment. Should this occur, information will be provided by local authorities on television and radio stations on how to protect you and your family. Because information will most likely be provided on television and radio, it is important to keep a TV or radio on, even during the workday. The important thing is for you to follow instructions of local authorities and know what to do if they advise you to shelter-in-place.
Some Guidelines:
o Close the business.

o If there are customers, clients, or visitors in the building, provide for their safety by asking them to stay - not leave. When authorities provide directions to shelter-in-place, they want everyone to take those steps now, where they are, and not drive or walk outdoors.

o Unless there is an imminent threat, ask employees, customers, clients, and visitors to call their emergency contact to let them know where they are and that they are safe.

o Turn on call-forwarding or alternative telephone answering systems or services. If the business has voice mail or an automated attendant, change the recording to indicate that the business is closed, and that staff and visitors are remaining in the building until authorities advise it is safe to leave.

o Close and lock all windows, exterior doors, and any other openings to the outside.

o If you are told there is danger of explosion, close the window shades, blinds, or curtains.

o Have employees familiar with your building's mechanical systems turn off all fans, heating and air conditioning systems. Some systems automatically provide for exchange of inside air with outside air - these systems, in particular, need to be turned off, sealed, or disabled.

o Gather essential disaster supplies, such as nonperishable food, bottled water, battery-powered radios, first aid supplies, flashlights, batteries, duct tape, plastic sheeting, and plastic garbage bags.

o Select interior room(s) above the ground floor, with the fewest windows or vents. The room(s) should have adequate space for everyone to be able to sit in. Avoid overcrowding by selecting several rooms if necessary. Large storage closets, utility rooms, pantries, copy and conference rooms without exterior windows will work well. Avoid selecting a room with mechanical equipment like ventilation blowers or pipes, because this equipment may not be able to be sealed from the outdoors.

o It is ideal to have a hard-wired telephone in the room(s) you select. Call emergency contacts and have the phone available if you need to report a life-threatening condition. Cellular telephone equipment may be overwhelmed or damaged during an emergency.

o Use duct tape and plastic sheeting (heavier than food wrap) to seal all cracks around the door(s) and any vents into the room.

o Bring everyone into the room(s). Shut and lock the door(s).

o Write down the names of everyone in the room, and call your business' designated emergency contact to report who is in the room with you, and their affiliation with your business (employee, visitor, client, customer.)

o Keep listening to the radio or television until you are told all is safe or you are told to evacuate. Local officials may call for evacuation in specific areas at greatest risk in your community.

PHASE SEVEN (optional)

Office Safety Team

Many companies safeguard their employees by training several employees to act as a safety team. This team of employees would be trained in basic first aid, triage, search and rescue and how to administer CPR.

Employees would agree to take classes and workshops and to serve as floor wardens in the event of a disaster. Depending on the number of employees you have, you may want to decide on a ratio of how many safety members you have in relation to the number of employees. Company management will need to decide on whether or not this is a plan that you want to undertake.

Emergency Backpacks

Once your office safety team is developed, it is suggested that you issue them emergency backpacks. Some companies sell them already made up and packaged, but you can make your own and stock them with the following suggested items:

Bandages
Flashlight
Whistle
Safety helmet
Safety goggles
Safety mask
Gloves
Duct tape
Water
Medication for wounds
Medical tape
Floor plan
Emergency numbers
Pen/paper/markers
Emergency food

PHASE EIGHT

Make a checklist of items you will need to continue operating the business after the disaster.

Here are a few suggested items you will need to have in a separate location that will help you operate until you are able to re-enter your building/business. You may have a branch office close by where you can store these items. If not, you may want to either secure a safety deposit box or store items in someone's home.

Computer System:

If your computer system is at your current location and you do not have a back up system, now is the time to determine how you will retrieve your data: back up disks taken out of the building by your IT personnel, servers backed up at another location, is there another location that will have your data, etc.

Website:

If your company is unable to re-open immediately, are you able to access your website to update it to reflect your condition and when you will re-open? If not, discuss this with your webmaster.

Phone System:

What happens if your building is destroyed by a fire or you are unable to access your offices - how will you let your customers and employees know what is going on?

Suggestions: Obtain an emergency number off site that can be programmed to advise customers and employees what to do and who to call for services. Check with your phone company regarding what would happen in the event of an emergency and how you can access your phone system if you cannot access your building or office. If your building is destroyed, is the entire phone system lost?

Hot or Cold Site:

A hot site is a location that is already arranged to have your business up and running in a very short time. Depending on the type of business you have, you may need office space, computers and phones immediately. You must arrange for this service prior to a disaster as you will work with them to determine how many computers and other office equipment you will need. You generally will pay a monthly fee to the company to have this site services available. A Cold Site refers to a location where the space is leased without any office equipment provided. One word of caution is to ask how they determine who gets the space in the event of a regional disaster, as many companies operate on a "first come, first served" basis. If this is the case, you may not have use of the hot site in a regional disaster.

PHASE NINE

After the Disaster

Once your emergency is over, you will need to continue business operations and attempt to return to normal as soon as possible. Now is the time to decide your options on achieving this.

Some of the forms suggested in Step Eight follow this page, but in addition to that you must also consider the following:

Emergency Expense Records form for keeping track manually of what is being spent after the emergency.
Purchase Orders. If you do business with companies that require a purchase order, have arrangements already set up.
Rental cars. If your cars are parked in your building and you need to move your employees quickly, you may want to pre-arrange with a rental car company. This will require that you meet with them and give them all your pertinent information so they have it on file.

Written agreements with companies that in the event of a disaster, you will have a grace period for billing or deliveries.