Hallway Track

Last week I scouted out a location for a future event that I am planning. This got me into thinking about what it is that I am looking out for.

(more…)

Any place where there are lots of people, things get lost and things get found. So if you are organizing an event think about where the central “lost and found” point is. For smaller events this is easy, the registration or info desk makes the most sense. For bigger events there might be several places, just choose one and communicate this information to everybody in your staff.

When people find something they can bring it there. And if they lost something they can come around and ask if somebody found it. If nobody has found the gadget yet, write down what is missing (with as many details as possible) and either ask for a business card of the person who lost it or his cell phone number and email address. That way you can easily reach him or her, when the thingy is found again.

Finding your way around a conference hotel or convention center can be daunting. Because many places like this have been growing over time and because they use the venue for many different kind of events which all have different needs, conference venues tend to be too large and with too complex a layout. Visitors will encounter many locked doors and dead end hallways, because your event is using only part of the venue.

And while the organizers first view of the location is probably on a guided tour by the venue staff, the normal attendee will arrive there totally unprepared. He’ll see lots of people running in all directions not all of which seem to belong to the same event. So he needs some guidance.

(more…)