Long Distance Site Selection: Will it be Love at First "Site" or a Nightmare Waiting to Happen?

Choosing the right site for an event is more a science than an art. Whether your meeting location is a thousand miles away or around the corner, in a large resort or small boutique hotel, or an off-site venue such as a museum or restaurant, site selection involves the careful, methodical collection of key information, followed by selecting the site that best fits your meeting's needs and budget.

Choosing the right site without an in-person inspection, can be love at first "site" or a nightmare waiting to happen. Yet in today's corporate world of time- and number-crunching, that can often be the case.

First Things First

Meeting planning is still planning. The steps to select a meeting site -- unseen -- are really no different than selecting a venue that is around the corner. Check out Local Site Selection: The Good, The Bad, and The Must-Have (insert link for this article previously written). Don't skip any steps and pay close attention to the research aspect.

Site Inspection Benefits

Once you have all your research completed; know your must-haves and can-do-withouts; and have checked and double-checked your contracts and negotiation points, there really is no substitution for a physical site selection. If the hotel or venue is within driving distance, of course, it's you and your company's best interested to check it out.

Fact sheets, web sites and photographs are no replacement for your own two eyes. For instance, a photograph of a room doesn't show what you can't see. Maybe that picture was taken years ago, following a renovation. Twelve miles from an airport might turn into a nightmare drive of two hours through rush hour traffic. Besides the working parts to a hotel, each property and its staff have their own personality, and you won't get that from a brochure.

When You Just Can't, You Can't

We've all experience these scenarios. Your Vice President calls and asks you to pull together a weekend board meeting - this weekend. Or you've been asked to plan a meeting in Mexico for 200 people, but your company's budget didn't include a pre-meeting site inspection. Whatever the reason, sometimes it's just not feasible to visit the property before the event.

Here are a few tips when you are unable to see the site in-person:

1. Always request a meeting planner handbook (if available).

• Besides brochures and press material, the meeting planer handbook will contain more specific details about holding a meeting at the hotel or venue. This information will go a long way in answering any questions you might have, or haven't even thought of. For example, you require a meeting room big enough to comfortably accommodate 50 people classroom style. The requested meeting materials will include diagrams detailing square footage and minimum/maximum occupancies, so you will know which meeting fits in which space.

2. Always ask for a minimum of two referrals.

• And make sure you contact the referrals. If at all possible, request a referral in the same industry as your company. For instance, if you work for a legal firm, ask the property if they have clients in the legal industry. A referral to a satisfied customer will give you peace of mind.

3. Network

• Network within your community and attend local events, such as hosted by your Chamber of Commerce. Ask other associates in your industry for their referrals and recommendations.

• If you don't have time to physically network, participate in online social media networks, such as ours, Office Arrow. Participate in online discussions, ask questions, and check the archives.

4. Go With the Flow

• If the event is a one day or half-day meeting and you've done all your research, relax. Chances are your event will run smoothly as hotels, resorts, and off-site venues are accustomed to handling meetings. This is the time to just let it go and be confident.

Make it a partnership

Clearly define your goals and expectations to your hotel's event staff. Make sure they understand that you take the planning part of your job as seriously as you do every other aspect. Let them know that you expect everything to run smoothly and you are counting on them to partner with you to make it happen. It's a win-win situation. They want your business, and you want your meeting to be successful.