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 Read Online Free PDF

the rooms manager receives is that the hotel or resort cannot change the room assignment without consulting us first. There is a pecking order. If through overbooking we must make upgrades, they aren’t done based on a whim or on a guest’s wishes. In some cases, the client may prefer to have any upgrades assigned to Mr. and Mrs. Joe Public rather than have their guests in different room categories. Every group is different, but what needs to be done in these kinds of situations is worked out months in advance. Mr. and Ms. Entitlement are easily recognized from calls they have made to the office beforehand with their various requests, but closet Mr. and Ms. Entitlements do show up on-site. They’re usually the first ones back at the hospitality desk after they have been up to see their room and completed their mission to compare it to what others in the group have been checked into. Last week we made a fun wager on who we believe will be first back to the desk.
    Mr. Macho and Ms. Thong (sometimes Mr. Thong) are also among the other personalities that often show up on-site. Oh goody.
    The majority of guests are sweethearts, but it only takes one out-of-control guest to ruin it for the rest. And it’s our job to stop that from happening. Savvy and skilled program directors use the ABC principles of event planning (A=Anticipation, B=Backup Plan, C=Code of Conduct), which varies from client to client, guest to guest, to handle situations that crop up so that they don’t have to kick into crisis management mode. Being able to read people and their personality types makes it easier to deal with situations as they come up. As an experienced program director I’m usually doing back-to-back business, social and celebrity events around the world for every type of client under the sun, and there’s very little I haven’t seen, done or handled.
    I watched as, room keycards in hand, the guys started to head into the hotel in search of their guestroom. To help tone things down, they have not been given private rooms but are sharing a room with one of their colleagues. This didn’t apply to the company heads, though. The pairing—who was sharing with whom—was strategically planned so that certain individuals would get to spend quality time one on one with someone the company hoped they would bond with, share sales techniques with and discuss common challenges with over the course of their stay—and keep tabs on them. Fifty men came down and we must have all of them present and accounted for at the end of their stay. And the general consensus from the get-go was that there would be less room for inhibitions to run free if they were paired with a roommate. But then again, if the company heads have made the wrong match, we could end up with double the trouble on our hands. The dynamics of every group are different; however, I’m used to getting a mix of people from different social spheres, education backgrounds, and life and business experiences.
    But, back to my recap of today. From all the hooting, whooo hoooing and laughter coming from the balconies, it was no secret that the top sales staff had discovered the 80-gallon Jacuzzis in their two- and three-bedroom suites and were busy discussing in-room party possibilities. Everyone had tried to earn the Jacuzzi suites, which would no doubt soon be “party central.” We’d assigned all the guestrooms to the same general area to try to keep the noise contained, but with this crowd? Doubt that’s possible. They’re here for a good time and will be going full blast. In minutes they were back down, hanging out at the tiki bar, roughhousing in the junior Olympic-size heated swimming pool, taking note of the tropical garden setting and checking out the fitness center, while sending some of the others on a quest to find the nearest place to stock up on beer and snacks for their rooms. And yes, just like clockwork, this group’s Mr. Entitlement has already shown up at the