For the
event on a shoestring budget, a crafty financial shortcut
can be a planner’s greatest friend. Like any friend, however, such
tricks can turn on the planner, especially if abused.
“Don’t get carried away with bean-counting,” warns Suzette
Eaddy, CMP, director of conferences for New York City-based
National Minority Supplier Development Council Inc. If the meeting
comes off like a budget affair, she says, and your attendees are
unhappy and uncomfortable, a few saved dollars will provide little
consolation.
Need to trim costs without sacrificing quality? M&C asked
some sage planners for advice on where to cut and where to leave
well enough alone.
Venue selection
Go off-site. “Too many times, a planner will keep as many
functions as possible within the one hotel to keep travel expenses
down,” laments Richard Pollack, president of Dallas-based Rainbow
Entertainment. “In the process, though, they can end up spending a
lot more by not letting venues compete for their business.” Look
for reasonably priced venues within walking distance.
Find a hot spot. Consider trendier lounges and
bars that buzz with hip weekend crowds but stay fairly vacant
throughout the week. “These places are typically itching for
corporate business, or anything that will fill their bar stools on
a Wednesday,” says Michael Cerbelli, event producer for Englewood,
N.J.-based Total Entertainment, “and they’ll give you major breaks
on the price.”
Never skip the inspection. No matter what the
cost of a preliminary checkup, booking a venue sight unseen is
never worth the risk, says Primavera Salva, an independent planner
in New York City. “A thorough site survey can reveal that you have
to change the entire format of the event,” Salva notes. “That’s not
something you want to discover the day of your meeting.”
While it might be difficult to arrange for a free inspection,
most venues will credit the cost of that initial stay if the
planner decides to book there, according to Pamela Block, CMP,
director of New York City-based PHB Events.
Travel
Group the greetings. Consolidating airport
meet-and-greets can save a substantial amount in staffing costs,
says Ally O’Connor, CEO and founder of Boston-based NXTevent Inc.
But keep in mind the status of every passenger as well as the
proximity of the hotel.
“You don’t want the CEO waiting for the same taxi as the
intern,” says Linnette Kostel, a planner for Questrians, an events
firm in New York City. “And you also don’t want someone waiting 40
minutes for a van’s final passenger if the hotel is only a
five-minute drive away.”
Beware the bargain bus. If busing is necessary, Cerbelli warns
against being too thrifty. “Sometimes the bargain bus has a bargain
transmission,” he warns, “and nothing could be worse for an event
than having your party’s bus broken down on the road
somewhere.”
MAKE YOUR OWN CENTERPIECES
Never buy centerpieces from a catalog, advises Englewood, N.J.-based event planner Michael Cerbelli. “Not only does buying something generic make you look like everyone else, but you’re probably saving more on shipping charges alone if you get in your car and pick up the items yourself,” he says.
The local Hallmark (
www.hallmark.com), Pier 1 Imports (
www.pier1.com) or a crafts supply store like A.C. Moore (
www.acmoore.com) might have all the stuff for the makings of a fantastic yet frugal centerpiece. Following are some of Cerbelli’s do-it-yourself suggestions.
Votive Confidence
1. Buy some small wooden boxes, spray-paint them in various colors, remove the lids and turn them upside down. These will function as the bases.
2. On top of each base, set a glass votive filled with water that has been dyed with food coloring.
3. Rest some marbles at the bottom of the votives, and scatter a handful of rose petals around the bases.
4. Set an orchid atop the whole affair for added elegance.
One of these will suffice for small cocktail tables, but larger tables should be dressed up with six to eight mini-centerpieces.
Total cost: $8-$12
Great Lengths 1. Buy vases of varying styles and sizes.
2. Set eight to 10 bamboo shoots in the vases. Clip shoots to varying lengths, with an average difference of two inches between shoots and a total range of no more than six inches.
3. For drama, include one peacock feather in each vase.
Total cost: $10-$20
Held in Suspense
1. Buy a set of Chinese lanterns from the local home store, and hang them above tables, a bit higher than eye level.
2. For added depth, set a simple tea light on the table directly beneath the lantern to gently illuminate the center of the table and guide the eye toward the focal point above.
Total cost: $15-$30 n M.D.R.
Staffing
Invest in people. “Never save money by cutting
back on on-site staff,” says Salva. “There always are unexpected
changes or challenges that you’ll need to solve immediately, and if
you don’t have the support of a strong staff at that moment, you’re
lost.”
Go for in-house A/V support. Michelle
Bartolone, CMP, president of San Diego, Calif.-based Meeting Sites
Pro Inc., warns planners not to be turned off by a hotel’s high
asking price for A/V. Not only will properties typically knock 40
to 60 percent off the price in negotiations, but on-site A/V staff
are aware of every meeting room’s idiosyncrasies.
Hire locally. Staff the registration desk with
local talent. Students from local hospitality schools will man the
desk for as little as $10 an hour, says Bartolone.
Decor
Drop the props. While oversize props can do an
efficient and easy job of grounding a decorative theme (a tiki hut
facade, for example, for an island theme), they can bulk up decor
costs at an alarming rate. These items should be among the first to
go for planners on a budget.
Go for light. “Saturated lighting transforms a
room,” says O’Connor. “Hanging a backdrop and dousing it in red
light can be very effective in getting your message across.”
Create focal points. O’Connor recommends
spending money on three primary areas: the entrance, the center of
the space and the stage. Trimming elsewhere should be fine if the
room can lean on these three anchors.
Save the leftovers. Steve Kemble, president of
Dallas-based Steve Kemble Event Design as well as the Chicago-based
International Special Events Society, strongly urges planners to
check if their venue is hosting another event the day before or
after yours. If so, consider sharing costs for decor. Attendees
will be none the wiser. “You would be surprised at how many people
never ask this question,” Kemble says, “and they could have saved
tens of thousands of dollars.”
Hire creativity. A creative consultant can work
wonders, even on a tight budget, insists Cerbelli. If the cost is
simply too prohibitive, he suggests enlisting young talent. “Put a
notice up at a local art or fashion school. These kids are looking
for just enough income to get through college, and they’ve got some
fresh ideas your attendees haven’t seen yet,” he says.
Rearrange and reuse. Kostel attests to the
value of a stay-fresh flower, such as roses, for three-day-plus
conventions. “With a little creativity, you can put the same
flowers out there again and again without anyone noticing,” she
confides. For a recent convention, Kostel premiered her plant life
to dramatic effect at an evening reception, with each table bearing
a different monochromatic bouquet. At next day’s lunch, the same
flowers were rearranged into bright rainbow clusters.
Save the balloons for birthdays. “No one in
this business should be using balloons,” Cerbelli insists. “Your
attendees will come away thinking your event was tacky and
low-budget. Balloons are really the poor man’s decor.”
Go for variety. Downgrading linens or
centerpieces across the board is a big mistake. A few particularly
elaborate centerpieces will lend the entire event a higher level of
elegance, and attendees won’t be bothered by table
discrepancies.
Ignore the rug. O’Connor says one of the
greatest wastes of decor budget is spent on what she calls
“fighting the rug.” Even if the venue is carpeted with a
complicated pattern, “If you do your part filling the room with
tables and people,” she notes, “no one will see it. You can do
practically anything in any room, and the rug will disappear.”
Know the crowd. Dianne B. Devitt, CMP,
president of New York City-based meeting planning company The DND
Group Inc., emphasizes the importance of considering one’s
audience. The difference between a general sales meeting and a
VIP-only conference, for example, can be crucial. “For the big
execs,” Devitt says, “I would never compromise on the linens, or
the quality of the food, and things like themed decor would have to
take second priority. With a sales meeting, though, more playful
aspects like theme might be the most important.”
Food and beverage
Downsize the meal plan. Rebecca Byrne, manager of
Sprint’s San Mateo, Calif., briefing center, likes to schedule two-
to three-hour meetings between mealtimes to avoid lunch costs.
For longer events, Richard Pollack notes that three square
meals are a thing of the past. Breakfast can be swapped for a late
brunch, and dinner can be substituted with a heavy hors d’oeuvres
reception. But make sure guests are forewarned; attendees’ stomachs
won’t be the only thing grumbling if the affair is a surprise.
Go with a gimmick. At a recent meeting, Byrne
set a “kid’s lunch” theme, offering inexpensive cafeteria fare like
hamburgers and mac n’ cheese. “You have to be sure you’re working
with the right crowd with something like this,” she admits, “but in
the end the clients loved it.”
Don’t desert the dieters. While many people on
a diet have been known to loosen their standards as well as their
belt buckles on the road, neglecting to include low-carb, low-fat
and vegetarian selections is never worth the risk.
Buy by the dozen. While per-person pricing
might be appropriate for lunch, Pamela Block recommends per-dozen
or per-platter charges for breakfast and cocktail receptions.
“Sometimes a venue will charge $50 per person for a breakfast,” she
says, “and it really is rare for each attendee to eat enough to
make that cost-effective.”
Work with the chef. A hotel will always work
with a planner on alternative menus, Michelle Bartolone says. In
initial negotiations, request three alternative menus in the
working price range. Good properties will deliver.
Serve water in pitchers. Byrne suggests
replacing individual bottles of water with communal pitchers for
boardroom meetings.
Consider a two-drink limit. A cash bar never ruined an evening,
sources agree, as long as guests are given tickets good for two
free drinks. For further savings, limit bar offerings to beer and
wine.
Keep the bars. Planners caution against cutting
back on the number of bars set up at the event. “If you whittle the
bar count down,” advises Linnette Kostel, “you’ll get saddled with
a lot of traffic and a lot of unhappy and impatient attendees.”
Always negotiate. Consider the prices on the
catering menu to be merely a starting point for further discussion.
Block offers a helpful tip: “If your beverage bill is over $500,
you should not be paying for
bartenders.”
Entertainment
Find great unknowns. “Look for new and up-and-coming
groups,” advises Primavera Salva. “Unknown talent can be just as
exciting as the usual groups, and much less expensive.”
Accept no imitations. Cerbelli favors unknown
bands that have their own sound, rather than fair approximations of
a famous headliner. “Low-budget imitation acts usually leave a
crowd wishing for the real thing,” he warns.
Beware the best bargains. Occasionally, a
planner will have enough moxy to book a legitimate headliner, even
on a slim budget. Overly aggressive negotiation, however, can make
for something less than a headline performance.
“If you overnegotiate with an artist, to the point where they
sign on just to be done with it, you’ll compromise their creativity
and their energy,” advises Ally O’Connor. “You might not get that
charisma they usually bring to the stage. And at the end of the
day, you won’t get that headliner encore.”
Security
Call the cops. As long as an event is fairly low-profile
and no major world leaders are slated for the speaking schedule,
Cerbelli recommends soliciting security from off-duty police force
members.
“If you go to the local police department and ask if anyone
would like to watch a door for about $250 a night, you’ll get
plenty of takers,” notes Cerbelli, “and they’ll all be
qualified.”