Never a Dull Day in the Industry
November 2007
Quick Quips
As a meeting planner, you’ve seen all sorts of blunders and faux pas—attendees gobbling more than their fair share of cookies, audiovisual equipment going dead in the middle of a presentation, even curious vagrants wandering into your meeting.
Well, you’re not alone in the surprising and sometimes bizarre world of planning. As numerous corporate and association events transpire nationwide, so, too, do the strange behaviors. Researchers at the Maryland-based Knowland Group have heard it all. The hospitality research group collects information from hotel reader boards around the country, creating a database of more than 45,000 group events. From that data, they contact the person who is most knowledgeable regarding that particular event—the meeting planner.
“They really open up to us,” says Michael McKean, CEO of The Knowland Group. “We ask them questions, and there are times when they go on and on.” This is a good thing—researchers are then able to gather the gritty details related to the meetings industry, whereby odd and intriguing tidbits are further filtered. Read on to hear some of the bizarre complaints shared with the Knowland Group—straight from the meeting planner’s mouth:
• Let me clear my throat “There was a big problem with the main fish entrée—two people got tiny fish bones stuck in their gums, one attendee got a bone stuck in the roof of her mouth, and three people had some stuck in their throats!” The planner had coordinated a nautical-themed conference at an upscale waterfront hotel; however, a trip to the emergency room wasn’t part of the plan. (Luckily, there were no serious injuries.)
• Once bitten, twice grossed out One group complained that ants were crawling all over the breakfast pastries; unfortunately, this discovery was made mid-chew.
• Pack your Ouija board Attendees reported strange noises and occurrences during the night from rooms with numbers ending in “20”: flickering lights, radios and faucets turning on and off, channels changing by themselves and howling winds on a calm night. The planner at this event quickly nixed this site for any future meetings.
• That’s how the cookie crumbles “There were major issues with the cookie platter, which was a misleading deal by the catering staff. I paid $5.19 for each cookie platter and coffee, and there were only a few cookies on each. This put a tremendous amount of pressure on me because I had to keep ordering more cookies while conducting my program. I should have received more cookies for the price I paid.” Needless to say, the planner won’t return to the venue. Incidentally, there were also several complaints of excessive amounts of fingerprints on the elevator doors. Could the problem be greasy Crisco?
• Check your contract “There were roll-up beds in our meeting space, and the hotel charged us a ‘moving fee’ to remove them, stating that one of the stipulations of our contract was an empty room!”
