Confessions of an Event Planner: Case Studies From the Real World of Events--How to Handle the Unexpected and How to Be a Master of Discretion (12 page)

I just got word that the motor coach drivers have arrived. Rather than chance delays on the return back to the airport tomorrow with the motor coaches coming up from Montego Bay, I arranged to have the motor coaches and the drivers overnight at the hotel. They know they’re here at the resort not to party but to enjoy dinner and make sure they’re on duty early tomorrow morning. I’ll get them settled in and then head back downstairs.

The men are drinking heavily tonight. They’re going to pay for that tomorrow on the long, winding transfer back to the airport. Note to self: Make sure there are some sickness bags on board each motor coach. The party should soon be dying down.

I took care of the drivers and rejoined my people. The program directors and I went upstairs to sit down and finally have dinner. We had the same food as the guests did. When my plate came, remembering how mad the chef still was with me, I decided that I was better off just having soup, salad and dessert. While the roast beef looked temping, I was not that trusting of where mine had been cut from. And I wasn’t up for any more surprises tonight.

DECEMBER 23

The scratch band was there to bid farewell to the group. Some of the men looked a little worse for wear and their wives were fussing at them. They wanted to continue drinking on the motor coaches and were trying to smuggle beer and other drinks onboard. We had stocked only soft drinks and juices for the return. CompanyPres was pleased how everything went.

Dee Dee has advanced the bathroom stop and all is in order. She’s now on her way to the airport and will arrive well before the motor coaches. The rest of the program directors are traveling with the group and I am staying behind and catching a flight to Miami tomorrow.

I’m happy to wave goodbye to the group. I’m going directly from here to another site inspection aboard a brand new luxury cruiseliner, which unfortunately will have me away from home for the holidays, but that’s what happens in the event planning world. I have time for one more bubble bath and a leisurely lunch on my balcony before I finish packing and head to a resort by the airport to check it out in case it might work for a future event. Staying overnight will break up the trip and make traveling tomorrow less of a pain. Packing for both here and the cruise had been a challenge. Thank goodness for on-site laundry service. I still need to stay close to the telephone in case anything goes wrong on the way to the airport.

Dee Dee checked in from the airport. All went well except again the bathroom spot wasn’t open when the motor coaches pulled in. You can advance but if you are not standing physically there, there is no way to guarantee that what you have asked for will take place. Learning lesson there. Next time I will have someone in place coming and going to make sure that we don’t run into this problem again. The ground operator was supposed to have everything in order and it was when Dee Dee got there—what caused them to close up I don’t know. Have to follow up on that later. It was very unfortunate because thanks to all the drinking, some of the men realllllllly had to use the facilities. Apparently there was a lineup of bare male bottoms taking care of business out in the open. Hope no one on board the motor coaches used that as a company photo op.

Heard again from Dee Dee after I checked into my next hotel. All went well on the flight home. CompanyPres Mrs. and TheMistress again were seated directly behind one another in first class, and Dee Dee said she had to laugh at one point when they both raised their left arm at the same time and she saw they were now sporting identical Cartier watches. And they both, unbeknownst to the other, bought the same brand of duty-free perfume, each saying to the stewardess “it’s my husband’s/boyfriend’s favorite.” Wonder if his ears were burning. Have to hand it to CompanyPres—that’s one way not to have your clothes smelling like the other woman’s perfume.

At least for the next eight days, it will be just me and one client to worry about aboard one of the newest luxury liners. How difficult a week can that be?

SUN JAMMIN’: Q&A

Uninvited Guests

Q:
What can be done in advance to prevent uninvited guests from showing up at an event and what should be done on-site when confronted by surprise arrivals?

A:
In advance, the client needs to be made aware of fire marshal rules and regulations that need to be met, as well as permits that may be required to host their event elements. Room capacity falls under this area. It is important from a legal perspective and for guest safety and security that the client clearly understands that by adding last-minute guests, the guest count could exceed the maximum limit legally allowed.

It is not simply a matter of changing the table seating arrangements to ten as opposed to eight and squeezing everyone in. If you are already at maximum capacity, the room that had been carefully selected as having the right energy and ambiance for the event may no longer be an option, and the alternative choices may be too large or not the best fit in terms of layout and event design. If extra tables are added to accommodate the extra guests, then guest comfort may be compromised if the room is too crowded to maneuver around or if guests can’t access food stations, the bar, etc.

There is also the cost factor to consider. Along with extra food and beverage costs, there also may be a need for additional table linen rentals, chair and chair cover rentals, centerpieces, take-home gifts, etc. There needs to be an established guest list cutoff time so that room layouts that encompass space required for tables, chairs, staging, dance floors, bars, food stations, and lighting can be finalized.

Unexpected guests can show up at local events as well as out-of-state, -province and -country events. At one head office product launch that was being held out of country, some company representatives took it upon themselves to tell a few of their local sales counterparts about their farewell event and invited them to stop by for a drink, without telling the people heading up the event at their company about their spontaneous invitation, figuring one more drink at an open bar would not be something that their company would be upset about. They did not stop to think about what would happen when local higher-ups found out that their staff, and not they, had been invited to attend the evening’s festivities.

The decision not to invite the local staff had been made previously by the client because of company protocol and the increase in numbers that would mean, especially if the local guests were then encouraged to attend dinner and the show. The situation did not reveal itself until a group of 30 local sales reps and their partners showed up looking to take part in the evening’s festivities and found that their names were not on the guest list. It put them—in front of their dressed-up spouses—in a very awkward position, just as it did for the company head. The decision was made to allow the guests to join the cocktail reception but not the dinner. It was explained that unfortunately, because room capacity was already at the maximum (and table seatings had been strategically set to meet event objectives) they could not stay for dinner.

All this was handled with discretion and finesse by the event planning staff, who had become aware of the situation by having a guest list and table assignment station set up at the cocktail reception. Had no controls been in place at the entrance of the cocktail party or if some of the guests were encouraged to stay for dinner and just take a seat anywhere, the situation could have been much more embarrassing for everyone involved—and potentially for the other guests.

At another event, it was discovered when guests started showing up at the door inappropriately dressed for a private event that the lead singer from the evening’s entertainment had invited potential wedding couples to come and hear her perform. The couples, understandably, were initially very upset at being turned away as they felt they had been legitimately invited, but when asked how they would feel if this same singer invited guests to
their
wedding reception and dinner without their approval they left in a better frame of mind. The event planning company gained a new awareness of what to add to the entertainment function sheets to avoid this from happening at another event.

Assignment

Using different events in this chapter, discuss various ways that integrity can be maintained both to ensure that no uninvited guests show up and that all goes as orchestrated with respect to having specific people seated at the same table, on the same team, etc., with no crafty changes being made by attendees. The guest list is just one example. Visual identification can be used, as can room gift drops tied to the event with instructions to bring the item to the event or wear the item, e.g., team shirts for a car rally, logo’d beach towels for a fun day outing, a flower delivered to each guestroom to identify which couples are going to a specific dine-around restaurant (and they will find out their evening companions when everyone meets in the lobby for departure to various different restaurants, etc.). Review ways in which uninvited guests could be handled without invited guests in the room witnessing any kind of altercation.

Flying—Two Levels of Service

Q:
Is it appropriate to have some members (participants) of the group flown in economy and others (company heads and senior executives) in first class on the same plane?

A:
There can be strategic reasons for having participants flown in both classes of service. For example, in an incentive program, first-class airfare is an added event element they all could qualify for and one that would be used to meet the company’s objectives. You have to be careful that it does not create a negative start to the trip, as it did with one company who upon arrival had the top winners picked up in limousines while the rest were told that they were to transfer to the resort in waiting motor coaches. All of the qualifiers were winners but that is not how they felt upon arrival. Another way of doing this, putting the same message across but more subtly, is to have the first-class qualifiers fly down a day ahead of the group with the company executives and have them relaxed and waiting to greet the arriving guests at the private check-in the next day. You create the desire to be one of the top winners having one-on-one time with senior executives, while positively recognizing
all
of the winners.