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You have picked the location for your conference and signed a contract…what’s next?
There are many things for a meeting planner to consider and think about when planning a conference as there are lots of details. Below is a quick checklist of things to think about when starting your planning.
- Have an agenda together, even if it’s a rough draft, it will assist in the planning. Send this to your contact early.
- Do you need to get into the meeting room early to set up materials, signage, or audio-visual equipment?
- Designate a location for Registration, does this need to be separate from the general session or can it be in the same room?
- Confirm the set-up of the meeting rooms – tables, chairs, podium, head tables, poster boards, easels, etc.
- Pick out menus for your events – breaks, breakfast, lunch, dinner and receptions
- Let your contact know of any dietary restrictions
- Confirm your audio visual needs
- Review BEO’s – confirm that the times, set-up and food orders are accurate
- Let your contact know of any events that are happening outside of the venue or even at the venue but not in the meeting space. Will there be busses picking guests up? Will additional equipment/supplies be needed for these events
- Plan a meeting with your contact prior to the start of your event. This is a great time to meet the team and make any final adjustments to your conference as needed
Keep in mind this is a starting point, depending on your conference there will be many other details to consider and plan
Most of all start the process sooner rather than later, that way you have time to make adjustments as questions come up or if the program changes.
