One of the most-read features on mcmag.com is The Frugal Planner's Tip of the Week, so we decided to round up some of the most popular tips we've presented for throwing fabulous events that come in on or below budget. Want more? Follow the simple instructions and sign up to have a new tip delivered to your inbox every Monday at bitly.com/frugalsignup.
1. Out of the Closet Planners might be unfamiliar with the hotel prop closet, the repository for themed decorations from meetings past. At the Loews Miami Beach Hotel (305-604-1601), for example, planners are allowed to raid the prop closet to come up with an unexpected (and free!) theme. Consider asking other hotels to share their props for free; after all, it doesn't cost them anything to repurpose props.
2. Table the Salt Want to keep the bar tab down (and keep attendees sharply focused the next day)? Hold the salty hors d'oeuvres and snacks, recommends Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach. Replace potato chips and nuts on the bar with low-salt munchies, and ask the venue to prepare low-sodium hors d'oeuvres. This way, attendees won't be drinking just because they're thirsty from the snacks.
3. Bargain Blooms For floral centerpieces and displays, the type of flower used is less important than the texture, size and artistry of the display. Therefore, save a bundle by incorporating garden spray roses instead of more expensive peonies, Dutch tulips instead of French tulips, or spray stock instead of hydrangeas. Thanks to Brent Long, director of special events at Holliday Flowers and Events in Memphis, Tenn., for the idea.
4. Waste Not Rather than letting hotel staff toss out leftovers from the buffet breakfast, ask them to rearrange individually packaged items -- chilled yogurt, granola and power bars -- and present them again at the first coffee break. Thanks to Fran Rickenbach, CAE, executive vice president of the Association of Destination Management Executives, for the idea.
5. Don't Pay Retail In this economy, forward-thinking real-estate brokers would be happy to have something going on in their empty retail space. If you see an empty space for rent, call the broker; the space's owner might be happy to offer it for a very reasonable fee (or possibly for free).
6. BYO Bags Most attendees already own a
plethora of tote bags, pens, water bottles and notebooks. So consider
asking them to bring their own -- and you could save thousands of
dollars in the process. Just have a few on hand (perhaps left over from
last year) for those who forget.
7. Shrink Your Pours
Given that cocktail party guests often leave their wine glasses
somewhere after consuming just half of their drinks, there's no need for
bartenders to serve them full to begin with. Nadine Fox suggests
telling bartenders to do 3-ounce pours instead of the traditional 4.
Those who want more can go back for another.
8. YourEvent.com Small- to midsize meetings often don't have a budget adequate for a customized event website. Happily, Myevent.com
offers dozens of ready-to-go templates for a variety of features,
including a unique URL, a budgeting tool and online auctions. Pricing
starts at $14.95 per month. Thanks to Elite Productions International for the idea.
9. Value Vintages Mary Watson-DeLauder, who serves as the chief sommelier for Benchmark Hospitality International, offers the following suggestions for saving money on wine.
• Select
an obscure varietal, such as Torrontes, Bonarda, Carmenere, Albarino or
Chenin Blanc. Not only will they expand attendees' wine knowledge, they
also generally are less expensive than the more well-known grapes.
• In
the past, snobs might have grumbled if served a sparkling wine that
wasn't champagne. Those days are over. Spanish Cava, Italian Prosecco or
French Cremant are inexpensive crowd-pleasers.
• Set up a
sangria bar at events. Even bargain wines taste good in sangria (mixed
with fruit juices and fresh fruit slices), a perennial crowd favorite.
10. Own It
A/V equipment rentals can take up a substantial chunk of a meeting
budget. In-house event planners can save thousands of dollars by buying
their own, says Tracy Leaman, founder of Events to a T,
based in Washington, D.C. Figure out how much you spend on A/V at one
event, and use that as your budget to buy reliable, middle-of-the-road
equipment -- though what you buy depends on the size of your events.
Leaman recommends four wireless lavaliere microphones, two wireless
handheld microphones, a portable sound system, a high-definition video
camera with a board to control it, and a projector. Ask the company that
sells the equipment to train you and your staff. As a backup (and
budget allowing), have an A/V tech with extra equipment on hand at every
event in case something goes wrong.
11. Bottleneck Beauties
Pop a candle into the top of an empty wine bottle to create a décor
object reminiscent of classic Italian restaurants. With a little effort,
one could secure a taper candle in the bottleneck; for the
time-pressed, a box of four fragrant Bottle Stopper Candles costs $17.
Contact Neo-Utility (917-209-0559) to find a store near you that carries them.
12. Instant Meeting When setting up conference calls and presentations with a video component, try Zipcast, a new free service offered by SlideShare
(a presentation-sharing website). Send out a URL to your slide show,
and attendees can listen to your live presentation and flip through the
PowerPoint at their own pace.
13. Virtual Reality
Holding an event in virtual space can help a company nab a better
speaker, says Tricia Heinrich, senior director, strategic
communications, for ON24
(415-369-8000), a leading provider of virtual events. Because no
transportation is involved, you won't have to pay for the speaker's
pricey airfare, hotel and food -- money that can be spent on a
higher-profile presenter.
14. Key to Success
Although USB drives are useful, they can get expensive -- especially in
bulk. Web keys look exactly the same, but instead of storing files,
their main purpose is to send recipients to a particular website
offering the relevant information. National Advertising & Printing (212-629-6516) sells web keys starting at $2.99 each for 1,000 units.
15. The Hottest Dates
When a hotel offer you its "hot dates" -- a low-demand period marked by
bargain rates -- be sure to make a note of it, even if you can't
immediately book at that particular time. In the future, when booking a
meeting at a similar time of year, bring up the old hot dates and ask
for the previously quoted price, as it's probably still a slow period
for the hotel. If you start with the offer, the hotel might negotiate up
from that low point, with results that still work in your favor. Thanks
to Michael Hudson, president of New York City-based Site Search & Select (917-675-6661), for the tip.
16. Tempting Templates
Good graphic design in your print materials can add to the professional
feel of your event, but it can cost thousands of dollars. If your
budget is strapped, consider using a design template, which typically
costs less than $100. The Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports and Tourism in Columbia, S.C., has used StockLayouts and TemplateMonster.com, as well as the offerings in Adobe Creative Suite.
17. Lean Machine
To keep registration fees in check, the National Lesbian and Gay
Journalists Association cut a staggering number of expenses without
hearing complaints from members. Some highlights:
• The
association used to hire a professional photographer every year to take
shots during the meeting for the following year's brochure; now, shots
are taken every few years.
• To save money on coffee, the
NLGJA asks that urns not be refilled when they run out. The few
attendees who want more coffee can opt to buy a cup in the lobby.
• The association used to provide logoed messenger bags to attendees; this year, the bags will be simple totes.
18. Instant Icebreaker Looking to warm the group up but don't have the budget for a facilitator? Divide attendees into groups of four and hand out Improv-Ability cards
(907-440-4252). Each one suggests a scene and four characters;
attendees will have to act out the scene on the fly. The deck of 50
cards costs $9.95.
19. Eat More, Drink Less? One
way to reduce the amount of liquor during an open-bar reception is to
increase the amount of inexpensive food served, suggests Nadine Fox,
event planner and certified adult etiquette trainer and speaker. You'll
pay for the extra edibles, but the pricey liquor bill can be cut by up
to one-third.
20. Easy Eats The day
attendees arrive at a meeting, they might be too tired or arrive too
late to attend a formal meal function. Instead of planning an expensive
dinner, host a casual welcome reception and provide a modest room credit
to the hotel restaurant. And if you want to foster informal networking
at the restaurant, recommend that people wear their name badges to
dinner and seek out one another. Thanks to Lindsay Potts, catering
manager at The Little Nell in Aspen, Colo., for the idea.