Meetings Beat - 1996-11-25

The International Association of Conference Centers is planning to add a request for proposals form to its Website to help planners save time during the site selection phase. Although the details of the format are still in development, the model will likely work as follows: The user will surf to the page of the facility in which he or she is interested, type in the responses and send the RFP with the touch of a button. Buyers interested in sending the RFP to multiple properties will have the option of saving the contents of their form for re-use. "Planners are being asked to do more with less," said IACC president-elect Greg Knapp. "The Web puts suppliers at their fingertips; now they have all the conference centers in one place." Each of IACC's 261 member properties has its own page at the IACC OnLine Website, which is accessible at www.iacconline.com.

<B>MPI Sets '97 Conference</B>

Meeting Professionals Internationals' Professional Education Conference will be held in San Francisco from Jan. 12 through 14. Titled "Fast Forward to the Future: Preparations for Tomorrow," the conference will feature 60 workshops on technology, meeting management, international and legal issues, and other topics, plus an expanded Executive Track series of sessions for senior-level planners. A networking reception at Planet Hollywood and the option to participate in pre- or post-conference tours to surrounding Reno/Tahoe, Monterey or Squaw Creek are additional offerings.

<B>Teaming Up For Large Buys</B>

Small meetings can secure large convention facilities if they team up with other small groups, advises Bob Cherny, who last week left his position as convention manager of the Tupperware Conference Center in Orlando. If several small groups can coordinate their purchases so that they can fill the space as a large group, they will likely gain access to a convention facility that might otherwise reject them; they also will be able to secure room nights in surrounding hotels, he said.

Another option? "If you want the best deals and the most cooperation from the facility, pick a facility so that your event is between 75 and 90 percent of its capacity," Cherny said. All facility managers live in fear of blocking big business with a small event that was booked first, Cherny said.

<B>Sony Launches Desktop Conferencing</B>

Sony Electronics has expanded its TriniCom family of products by offering a desktop videoconferencing system. Combined with many network connection and image-handling options, the system can bring an extra person to a meeting affordably. The system is H.320 compatible, which means that it can "talk" to other units that also adhere to that industry standard. The system comes with a 1/4-inch CCD videocamera and a scalable video window.

<B>Pan Pacific Offers Discount Package</B>

Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts' North American regional office is offering a 40 percent discount off rack rates on guest rooms for groups of 10 or more. The program includes access to business facilities. Groups must be booked by March 31, 1997, with meetings held by March 31, 1998. The program applies to 10 of Pan Pacific's hotels, including the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows in Hawaii, the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver and the Sari Pan Pacific Hotel in Johor Bahru, near Singapore. The offer does not include cost of meeting space or food and beverage. For details and a list of participating properties, call 800-358-4040.

<B>Meetings On Wheels</B>

For maximizing time on the road, try the LandJet, a van with an interior that is equipped to look like a conference room. Every vehicle has a desk, credenza, cabinets, dataports for laptops and cellular phones, a fax machine, copier, printer, modem, Sony 13-inch TV and VCR, six-disc CD player and surround-sound speaker system. Each van can hold up to four working executives.

The LandJet is particularly useful for meetings within driving distance of the office, so that executives can review their presentation, said LandJet Inc. president Michael Toll.