The simple answer is yes and no. Of course, you already know that you do not have to be certified to enter the field of meeting and incentive travel planning. While some employers might require a certification in order to qualify for positions with that particular firm, there are plenty of uncertified incentive travel and meeting planners doing quite well in the industry. That being said, industry certifications are almost always a good idea, regardless of your field. Meeting planning is no different.
When you become certified, you will receive recognition of your skills and professionalism from your peers and the meeting and incentive travel planning industry, and will also enhance the first impression potential clients receive when you hand them your business card or they visit your website. People love to see letters after any professionals name when they are considering procuring their services. This alone could be reason enough to seek certification. On top of increased recognition and an improved perception of your abilities, industry research carried out by Meeting Professionals International shows that certified planners earn more than their uncertified counterparts.
Industry certifications include:
• Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) offered through the Convention Industry Council • Global Certification for Meeting Management (CMM) offered by Meeting Professionals International • Certified Incentive Travel Executive (CITE) offered by the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives • Certified Special Event Professional (CSEP) offered by the International Special Events Society • Destination Management Certified Professional (DMCP) offered by the Association of Destination Management Executives • Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) offered by the Destination Marketing Association International
When planning meetings and events, the venue is often the first selection made in the planning process. Selecting the right venue that has the amenities and meeting rooms to meet your clients’ needs is paramount to a successful event and must be determined before other aspects of the meeting can be planned. Due to the importance of meeting venues to your event planning process, using the same venues on a regular basis and developing long-term relationships with your contacts at these meeting venues will make your job easier, will ensure that your client receives topnotch service and can save money.
When you use the same venues regularly you will become familiar with exactly what they offer, will know what to expect and will benefit from venue staff being able to anticipate your needs. You can also receive discounts for booking multiple meetings and may even get priority for popular dates. When you build relationships with meeting venue staff, you will also naturally begin to build relationships with local vendors and will likely get tips from the staff on which vendors provide exceptional service or great prices. When you can call a local caterer and tell them that you were referred by your contact at a local hotel with which they often do business, you are much more likely to get a great price and great service, making your job easier and helping you keep your clients happy.
The best incentive programs to motivate employees include rewards of money or travel. People love to win trips to destinations that are different from their own environment. Trips to exotic destinations such as an incentive cruise to interesting ports of call are among the most popular incentives, and tend to have the best ROI overall.
Seasite.com, the first online group cruise meeting planning portal, allows planners capitalize on the value of cruise meeting and incentives. Cruising can cut the cost of land based venues by as much as 25-40%, allowing planners to persevere with today’s shrinking budgets. Why not make your next corporate incentive event a meeting-at-sea ? Take a look at Seasite.com today!
Although you are a meeting or event planner, that term really does not encompass everything you do. On the other hand, what you do is likely so specialized that you have placed your specialty in front of your general job description, like “Wedding Planner,” or “International Events Planner.” While this is a very common thing to do, understanding the market segment may not be so common–this understand, though, could help you expand your business into other areas of your segment.
For instance, if you are a wedding planner, your general area of influence is wide. The event is really a large celebration, so celebrations is more your all-encompassing job description even though you mostly plan weddings. This can help you in times like the last year, when weddings have taken a back seat to elopements due to the recession.
A wedding planner who did not take advantage of other kinds of needs over the last year has suffered greatly. Those who added cultural coming-of-age celebrations, graduation parties, and even political events fared well. Every segment of the meeting planning business can overlap into others; you can expand your knowledge and experience as well as your customer base in very short time.
So take a look at your market segment. An event planner can always expand her influence, and should in case of a downturn like we just had (and are still suffering through). Be out there, shake hands, open up your opportunities, and be prepared.
10 Reasons Why Seasite.Com Will Revolutionize The Cruise Meetings & Incentive Market
1. Seasite.com is the first and only web portal for the cruise meetings and incentive market. Until now, there has been no single, online platform dedicated to serving the highly specialized cruise meetings market. Seasite’s innovative technology opens up the untapped world of cruising for planners, connecting cruise lines and meeting professionals like never before. Cruise sourcing can now be as easy and efficient as planning hotel events, and equally reliable – thanks to the tried and tested experience of Seasite’s founders, Landry & Kling, the meetings-at-sea experts.
2. One source delivers it all. The tedious tasks of phoning and searching multiple cruise web sites in vain are gone, as Seasite provides impartial access any day, any time, to 35 cruise brands (over 250 ships), and its meeting-friendly search criteria even allows users to search for charters of a specific size, plus three other specialty searches. A simple click compares ship choices along with maps, itineraries, ship profiles and essential meeting planning data.
3. Data not found elsewhere. Planner’s Guides offer comprehensive ship data harvested only for Seasite – never before published – not even on individual cruise line web sites. Planners will find meeting space grids, function room capacities, outdoor function areas, group dining information, photo galleries, an inventory of guest rooms by category, AV equipment, communications technology and more.
4. High tech/high touch. Rich data and sophisticated search technology lets planners “loose” yet “in control,” providing 24/7 answers and ship-sourcing tools so they can become more knowledgeable planners and educated cruise buyers. At the same time, Cruise Advisors, who are trained by Landry & Kling, offer the expertise, backup and support to source and deliver with confidence.
5. Search, sort and conquer. Seasite’s powerful search capabilities allow planners to drill down and refine searches by cruise line, ship rating, size, capacity of largest function room, cruise style (floating resort, boutique ship, sail ship, river boat), by port or day of departure, destination, cruise length and much more.
6. Unique eRFP process. Streamlining and simplifying what can be an arduous process, Seasite offers the first group cruise RFP online, all supported by Cruise Advisors. One single RFP is sent to multiple cruise lines, generating electronic bottom-line quotes for a quick and accurate “apples to apples” comparison.
7. Cost cutting and value driven. Cruise meetings can provide cost savings of 25-40%, and Seasite helps make that a reality. No longer is sourcing and planning a meeting or incentive at sea labor intensive and intimidating for those unfamiliar with the process. With Seasite, everything you need to research the possibilities and create a successful program is a click away (with expert Cruise Advisors at your service when needed). Seasite.com finally puts cruise sourcing on par with hotels, so group travel buyers can easily compare price/value – their main focus in today’s economy.
8. The ultimate source for Do It Yourselfers (DIY). An indispensible tool for savvy DIY planners as well as those looking to learn more about cruise meetings and incentives, the Knowledge Center is a repository of information and advice designed for all levels of expertise. It includes operational checklists and timelines, comparison of using a cruise verses a hotel, how to overcome obstacles and myths about business at sea, distance between airports and seaports, sample day-by-day agendas, cruise contract terminology, a cruise event feasibility quiz; case histories and much more. Planners no longer have to rely on others to spoon-feed them information and ideas. A wealth of data and resources, driven by a robust search engine, allows 24/7 research and planning anywhere, anytime.
9. Creativity and inspiration. Seasite’s “Great Ideas” section stimulates individuality, creativity and customization. An invaluable source of ideas, planners will find recommended “Gems,” (rare and hard to find, short cruise opportunities), a “Top 10” list of best ships and itineraries for groups and “Quick Picks” with cruise ideas based on group size. Additionally, the all important aspect of on-board dining is transformed from challenging to exciting as Seasite provides the facts about dining facilities, seating capacities and exclusive use of specialty restaurants.
10. It’s free. There’s no cost or membership fee to use Seasite.com and pricing is the same as buying direct.
For more information on Seasite.com, A Landry & Kling Company, visit www.seasite.com or call 888- 713-1371.
In this day an age it is becoming more and more important to provide additional reasons to part with hard-earned money. Value is found as much in convenience as in monetary savings, and meeting planners can use that to their advantage. Here’s how.
Choosing a Region
If your client wants a meeting on home soil in the winter, you could choose a destination like the western ski resort areas and include discounted local activities in your package. For instance, you could choose the rich historical areas of the Colorado Rocky Mountains and include lift tickets for skiers, snowshoe rental discounts for those who like walking tours, and even train passes for sightseers who like to stay warm.
If the company prefers to get out of the cold, the tropical areas of the southeast provide not only beach side relaxation but also deep sea fishing, water skiing, nightlife, and lots of other activities. Likely you will find local businesses anywhere will be happy to offer discounts for the chance to serve a large group. Read the rest of this entry »
Organizing meetings that are easy on the planet is the new trend in the meeting planning industry. If we look at the way meetings were arranged in the past, environmentalists are sure to cringe with annoyance. Planning an event usually means using a lot of paper- in the form of invitation cards, pamphlets and other meeting related documents. However thanks to modern technology, meetings no longer need to use the earth’s resources and can make do with technological or online resources that lead to a greener and healthier planet.
Here are some ways in which you can plan a green meeting: Read the rest of this entry »
Every business changes with the times, and the event planning industry is no exception. It could be a technological or educational change, and it is not a slow changing process either. Businesses are growing rapidly and so are the demands of customers and clients.
The meeting and event planning industry is increasingly adapting to new trends and resources to keep up with the growing demands of clients. Technological tools and resources are constantly getting upgraded and event planners need to keep their eyes and ears open.
If you are a meeting planner set out to make your mark in this profitable industry, make sure that you stay in touch with every small development. A great idea to stay updated with the changing trends is to read newspapers, magazines, and trade journals that review the event management industry. These media sources that deal with the developments in the meeting planning industry are available in plenty and it would do you good to go through them regularly. Read the rest of this entry »
