Checklist for International Meetings

Preliminary research

• Contact prospective site’s national tourist office or convention and visitors bureau
• Consult with meeting organiser, hotels, airline and local travel agents
• Check credentials of conference organiser, hotel personal, interpreters, ground operators and other local service companies.

Site arrangements

• Make a site inspection
• Check value season, foreign exchange, customs and shipping regulations.
• Arrange for multi-lingual staff
• Hire a customs broker for necessary shipments
• Inform attendees of passport, visa, airport departure taxes, etc.
• Arrange group clearance of customs and luggage
• Budget to cover interpretation and overseas mailing costs

Meeting & Function Rooms

Charges and booking
Determined whether charges include:

• Seating
• Tables
• Risers
• Head tables
• Audio/visual equipment
• Special power
• Special setups
• Audio/visual labor
• Electricians
• Meeting-room rental
• Other

Negotiate charge based on your group’s:

• Projected food and beverage expenditures
• External noise
• Food and beverage service

Focus on the conditions of rooms:

• Cleanliness
• Furnishings
• Ventilation
• Lighting
• Acoustics
• Obstructions
• Soundproofing
• Accessibility

Plan for contingencies:

• Concurrent groups
• Change in your group’s size
• Availability of larger and smaller rooms

Consider pre-and post-convention space requirement:

• Additional meetings
• Office space
• Equipment storage space
• Other

Equipment:
List of requirements, including:

• Chair; stack, swivel, upholstered chair, armchairs
• Table; five
• Stage; permanent, temporary
• Lighting; regular, spotlights, controls
• Lectern
• Podium address system
• Microphones
• Number of sleeping rooms

Draw up tentative and final programs, including:

• List of function rooms with items and dates
• Setups for each function
• Rooms to be rearranged

Selection:
Study the physical aspects, including:

• Attendee comfort
• Audio/Visual feasibility
• Speaker focus
• Traffic flow
• Rest room accessibility
• Electricity
• Blackboards, bulletin boards, easels
• Projector; slide, overhead
• Supplies; tent cards, notepads, pencils, water, flag, signs
• Others

Services, policies checklist:

• Telephone hook-up
• Smoking, non-smoking sections
• Sign posting
• Staff management schedules
• Beepers, walkie-talkies
• In-house audio-visual service
• Rental availability of office equipment-computers, photocopier, fax machines and other

Registration area:
Inspect area for adequate:

• Lighting
• Size, flexibility
• Telephone hook-ups

Decide which information/service areas to set up:

• Registration
• Ticket sales
• Information/messages
• Accommodation
• Hospitality
• Transportation
• Secretarial
• Others

List specific types of equipment needed:

• Counters, tables
• Chairs
• Typewriters, computers
• Bulletin boards
• Photocopiers
• Fax machines
• Waste baskets
• Other

List specific office supplies needed:

• File boxes
• Rubber Stamp
• Stationery, carbon papers
• Pens, pencils
• Staplers, adhesive tapes, clips
• Rubber bands, scissors, rulers, cutters
• Others

Accomodation

Specify number of sleeping rooms:

• Singles
• Doubles/twins
• Suites

Set up:

• Cut-off date
• Room-block review sessions

Decide reservation method:

• Individual member reservation
• Other

Establish:

• Person in charge
• Reporting system for reservations, cancellations, no-shows
• Policies and priorities for room assignments
• Deposit requirements
• Record-keeping system

Set reservation and confirmation arrangements:

• Supplied by
• Mailed by
• Mailing schedule
• Returned to
• Copies sent to
• Costs

Reserve complimentary rooms for:

• Staff
• Officers
• Speakers
• Others

Credit cards honored by hotel:

• American Express
• Visa
• MasterCard
• Diner Club
• Others

Remember to:

• Reserve block of rooms for emergencies
• Publicized reservation information for attendees in meeting publication

Registration, Information Service

PROCEDURES
Review:

• Past attendance, arrival/departure patterns, registration procedures
• Available personnel, facilities
• Classifications of registrants-member, exhibitor, speaker, spouse, guest and others
• Type of identification required for registration
• Information to be collected on registration forms

Evaluate possible registration methods:

• Attendee fill in form
• Typist fills in form
• Computerized
• Others

Set up systems to manage:

• Advance registration
• On-site registration
• Service/information desks

REGISTRATION MATERIALS
Registration-form considerations:

• Advance, on-site forms
• Single, multi copy
• Color coding
• Numbered, unnumbered
• Costs
• Supplier
• Delivery schedule

Data on form may include:

• Registrant name
• Title
• Business/organization
• Phone, fax, e-mail
• Address
• Accommodation required
• Classification
• Sessions attending
• Functions attending
• Fees, charges
• Other

Order badges with these considerations in mind:

• Type; plastic, embossed, paper, adhesive, clip-on, pin-on, hanging
• Format; typed, hand-written, computer-generated
• Color; coding
• Size
• Ribbons

Information badge contain:

• Pre-printed information; organization name, logo, event name, registration classification
• Registrant information; name, nickname, company, location and other

Registration kits:

• Program
• Registration list
• Badge
• Tickets
• Meeting schedule changes
• Others

REGISTRATION PERSONNEL
Evaluate numbers of personnel of personnel needs for:

• Registration
• Clerks
• Cashiers
• Messengers
• Information and service desks
• Other

Set up procedures and accounting controls for:

• Registration fees
• Ticket sales
• Publication sales
• Refunds, cancellations
• Check cashing
• Credit

Transportation

AIR TRANSPORTATION
Arrange travel assistance from:

• Travel agent
• Airlines
• Other agency

Provide information on:

• Demographics
• Expected attendance
• Past attendance
• Cargo opportunities

Is it possible and advantageous to appoint an official carrier?

What kind of fares can be negotiated?

• Group
• Promotional
• Discount
• Other

Check to see whether the airline provides:

• Complimentary staff travel
• Promotional assistance
• Convention desk
• Arrival/departure assistance
• VIP room
• Welcome at airport

GROUND TRANSPORTATION Choose ground operator based on the company’s:

• Reputation
• Client list
• Number, availability and condition of vehicles
• Costs
• Willingness to negotiate
• Special services
• Insurance coverage

Find out from ground operator:

• Minimum period rentals
• Minimum period-rental costs
• Vehicle capacities
• Condition of vehicles
• Availability of backup equipment
• Vehicles are air-conditioned
• Where they can be parked?
• Hours of operation
• Insurance coverage

Work out best route and schedule for charter or shuttle buses:

• Pick-up points
• Drop-off points
• Hours of operation
• Where information should be posted /published

Be sure to know VIP’s:

• Airline flight numbers
• Arrival, departure times
• Potential customs, immigration problems
• Best location to meet
• Escort

Global Glossary

Association Meeting. Meeting initiated by an association.

Conference. An event used by an organisation to meet and exchange views, convey a message, open a debate or give publicity to some area of opinion on a specific issue. No tradition, continuity or periodicity is required to convene a conference. Although not generally limited in time, conferences are usually of short duration with specific objectives. Conferences are generally on a smaller scale than congresses.

Conference Handbook. A manual which provides information about a conference. Contents would include descriptions of programmes, information on participants, agendas, schedules of events, and logistical information.

Conference Officer/Organiser. Title generally conferred upon the chief administrator of the entire event.

Conference Pack/Kit. Generally a comprehensive collection of conference documentation within a binder or envelop; also called “Information Kit”. Same as “Registration Packet”.

Conference Papers. Abstracts of lectures to be presented during a conference compiled in the abstract book.

Congress. The regular coming together of large groups of individuals, generally to discuss a particular subject. A congress will often last several days and have several simultaneous sessions. The length of time between congresses is usually established in advance of the implementation stage, and can be either pluri-annual or annual. Most international or world congresses are of the former type, while national congresses are more frequently held annually.

Convention. A general and formal meeting of a legislative body, social or economic group in order to provide information on a particular situation and in order to establish consent on policies among the participants. Usually of limited duration with set objectives, but no determined frequency.

Convention and Visitors Bureau. A not-for-profit umbrella organisation that represents a city or geographic area in the solicitation and servicing of all types of travellers to that city or area… whether they visit for business, pleasure or both.

Convention Service Manager. Hotel staff person assigned to assist the organisation with all aspects of its meeting arrangements with that facility. Sometimes referred to as conference co-ordinator.

Corporate Meeting. Business gathering of employees of a commercial organisation, usually, attendance is required and travel, room and most meal expenses are fully paid for by the organisation.

Corporate Travel. The market segment comprised of groups of individuals who work for a given company and are travelling for business reasons at the company’s expense.

Domestic Meeting. 1) Domestic/National: A meeting of an organisation with membership from a single nation available to meet in only that nation.
2) Domestic/Regional: A meeting of an organisation with membership from a single nation available to meet in only a given region of that nation.
3) Domestic/Sub-regional: A meeting of an organisation with membership from a single nation that is available to meet in only a given sub-region of that nation.

Government meetings. Groups whose constituencies are made up of civil servants, elected officials and service providers to governmental entities.

International meetings. 1) International/Intercontinental: A meeting of an organisation with multi-national membership that is available to meet on more than one continent.
2) International/Continental: A meeting of an organisation with multi-national membership that is available to meet on only one continent.
3) International/Regional: A meeting of an organisation with multi-national membership that is available to meet in only a given region of one continent.

Medical Meeting. Groups whose constituencies and interests relate to the health care or medical research industries.

Meeting. A general term indicating the coming together of a number of people in one place, to confer or carry out a particular activity. Can be on an ad hoc basis or according to a set pattern.

Pre-convention Meeting. Meeting of conference organisers and hotel personnel prior to arrival of guests, at which time details of the programme are reviewed.

Seminar. A meeting or series of meetings of from 10 to 50 specialists who have different specific skills but have a specific common interest and come together for training or learning purposes. The work schedule of a seminar has the specific objective of enriching the skills of the participants.

Symposium. A meeting of a number of experts in a particular field, at which papers are presented and discussed by specialists on particular subjects with a view to making recommendations concerning the problems under discussion.

Technical Meeting. Groups whose members and suppliers work in scientific, research or applied sciences. United States/Canada: Non-medical meetings of professional organisations.

Teleconference. Type of meeting which brings together three or more people in two or more locations through audio communications.

Video Conference. Type of meeting which brings together three or more people in two or more locations through video communications.

Workshop. 1) Meeting of several persons for intensive discussion. The workshop concept has been developed to compensate for diverging views in a particular discipline or on a particular subject.
2) Informal and public session of free discussion organised to take place between formal plenary sessions or commissions of a congress or of a conference, either on a subject chosen by the participants themselves or else on a special problem suggested by the organisers.