Cvent launches two official blogs!

blog.cvent.com
Cvent provides web-based software solutions to business professionals around the world. Products include the leading Event Management system, a business-grade Web Surveys product, and the Cvent Supplier Network, an online event sourcing and RFP tool for meeting planners.

survey.cvent.com
Cvent’s survey blog is intended to open the lines of communication with the public to stir up new ideas about survey technology and practices. Our best and brightest survey experts will discuss everything there is to know about surveys, including best practices, tips, business trends, and innovative strategies for leveraging new technology in today’s business world. We’re committed to providing our community with the best solutions, and we hope our ideas will spur your own!

Cvent CEO Reggie Aggarwal will be speaking at HSMAI Affordable Meetings National on September 11, 2008 on the topic of meeting RFPs – The Next Generation of E-RFPS: Deal or No Deal?

Chuck Ghoorah, Cvent’s Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing will also speak on Strategic Meetings Management during the Event Technology Expo.

There is complimentary admission for meeting, conference and event planners available to the Event Technology Expo.

Cvent is exhibiting at the conference as well. Please feel free to stop by booth 4095.

Cvent is also hosting a reception for planners and suppliers after the conference on September 10th. If you are interested in attending please contact us.

Cvent sponsors Free Webinar on High tech Meeting Solutions: Web 2.0

High-Tech Solutions: Web 2.0
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
10 a.m. PST; 11 a.m. MST; Noon CST; 1 p.m. EST

Cvent is sponsoring a webinar in conjunction with Meetings Media on High Tech Meeting Solutions on August 27th, 2008. There is no cost to attend.

Register here if you would like to attend
http://www.meetingsmedia.com/Webinar/default.asp

More information:

Earn CEUs: Attending the webinar is worth .1 points toward the initial CMP application and 1 point toward recertification through the Convention Industry Council.

What You’ll Learn: Web 2.0 technology is revolutionizing the meetings and events industry, with cutting-edge tools such as blogs, mini-blogs, RSS, podcasting, social software, multiuser virtual environments, and other high-tech channels used to engage and market to attendees transforming the way we meet. Join meetings industry technology wizard Corbin Ball to discover how you can use Web 2 technology to manage, market and run meetings more efficiently.

Featured Presenter: This program will be presented by Corbin Ball, CSP, CMP, MS, president of Corbin Ball Associates, and perhaps the foremost authority on meetings industry technology issues. With 20 years of experience running international technology meetings, he is a highly acclaimed speaker with the ability to make complex subjects understandable and fun. His articles have appeared in hundreds of national and international publications and he has been quoted in US News and World Report, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fast Company, PC Magazine, and others.

This webinar will help you learn the following:

• Identify the major Web 2.0 trends and their impact and promise to the events industry
• Identify many Web 2.0 tools (many of them free) to manage, market and run meetings more effectively
• Share with each other best practices in this very quickly changing environment

High-Tech Solutions: Web 2.0
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
10 a.m. PST; 11 a.m. MST; Noon CST; 1 p.m. EST

Register here if you would like to attend
http://www.meetingsmedia.com/Webinar/default.asp

Molly's Restaurant and Wine Bar

Cvent will be exhibiting at ASAE’s Annual meeting August 16th-19th, 2008 in sunny San Diego. Since Cvent has over 1,000 associations as clients we will also be holding a reception for association executives on Sunday August 17th from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at Molly’s Restaurant and Wine Bar. This venue is just two blocks from the convention center.

See information about our reception, by visiting the event website.

Register now

If you can’t make it to the reception, please stop by our Booth #1831 where we will be showcasing our meetings management tool and demonstrating our new complimentary tool for meeting planners like you, the Cvent Supplier Network.

The Cvent management team would be happy to meet with you and tell you about the success we have had working with associations around the world.

Cvent takes extra steps to make sure that meeting planners get a good response to their Requests for Proposals. We also recommend the users of our service follow these best practices to get favorable pricing quotes from suppliers.

1. Provide as much information as you can about the event you are planning and your organization. This will help hotels and venues decide if your event is a good fit for their venue.
2. If you have flexibility on dates, provide alternate dates for venues. Half of the battle sometimes is finding space that is available. In some cases hotels and other venues will be better to give different pricing on different dates as well.
3. Specify your budget in your RFP so that venues that are out of your price range can be honest with you up front. Luxury hotel chains for example will simply not take a low budget meeting regardless of availability.
4. Specify a date your are going to make a decision on your meeting location and give the meeting venue enough time to respond. Many companies will respond within 24-48 hours. However, if you give enough time you are likely to get the best response. Staff at hotels and conference centers can be very busy and giving them time to give you a good response is in your best interest.
5. Give the meeting venue as much information as possible about your event and tell them why you think their vemue is ideal meeting location. While hotels and unique meeting venues want to make money, they want events at their location to be successful. Communicate with venues about the requirements for your meeting in great detail and they will be able to provide the best pricing quote for you.

These are just a few tips for meeting planners to get a better response from hotels and meeting venues when submitting RFPs.

Just how many people can you fit into a meeting room? That is the question meeting planners have to answer every day.

The Cvent Supplier Network lists meeting space capacity charts and floor plans for venues listed in our directory. However, we have also created a meeting space calculator to help our clients decide how much big of a meeting room they need based on how they want the space setup. This is a very handy tool for planners to request the right amount of meeting space.

We also have a metric conversion calculator available on the Supplier Network for planners who need to calculate meeting space in meters as well as square feet. This is a handy tool when planning meetings outside of the United States.

While meeting room dimensions and capacities can vary, these tools will allow you to sanity check your meeting space requirements.

The Cvent team has booked hundreds of events around the country at hotels and unique venues. A key part of the process is the agreement with the venue for the meeting – often called a BEO (Banquet Event Order).

Below are Cvent’s Top 5 BEO Tips for Meeting Planners

1. Always double check all dates and times listed on the BEO. Make sure that the set-up time is at least 30 minutes prior to the start time of your function so that last minute changes to the room set-up can be accommodated. If you are holding a multi-day or multi-session event, make sure that all breaks are included in the BEO and allow enough time for F&B to be refreshed.
2. Read the fine print. This could prevent you from missing important guarantee deadlines and paying more than you budgeted.
3. Include more details than necessary in writing. Even if you are hosting an event where you will obviously not need piped in music, make sure that you include that you do not want piped in music on your BEO. Other details you may want to include are wrap leftovers to-go for host, centerpieces to be delivered by florist, please use house linens etc.
4. Make sure that pricing is accurate. If your negotiated price is inclusive of tax and gratuity, do not assume that the price listed on the BEO is inclusive of tax and gratuity unless this is written down. Look for extra fees like service fees or bartender fees. If you have not agreed to additional fees upfront, discuss these fees with the venue up front before signing the BEO.
5. Review contact information and make sure that BEO has the correct posting information for your event. If the name you have marketed your event by does not match the name on the signage the day of the event, attendees may be confused and will struggle to find the correct room. Lock down the room that you have reserved and make an agreement with the venue to change the meeting rooms that you reserved.

Following these simple tips can make your meeting more successful and less stressful

Event planning requires the coordination of many service providers from caterers to audio visual providers to décor rental companies. Each service provider plays a unique and significant role in the execution of the look and feel of an event.

• Catering
• Photography or Videography
• Audio Visual and Production Services
• Printing of Signage and Handouts
• Shipping Services
• Attendee Transportation Services
• Event Design and Décor
• Promotional Products
• Event Entertainment Services
• Linen, Tent, Table and Chair Rentals

We have created a directory of over 10,000 service providers to help event planners identify service providers around the country that they can work with for their events. There is no cost for planners to search for service providers. Planners can sign up for a free account to send email inquiries on pricing and availability to service providers at http://www.cvent.com

The key to finding the right service providers for your event is to acquire pricing and service information from at least 3-5 vendors. This not only allows you to secure a lower price but also to find a service provider with the right skills and customer references.

Green Meetings

There is a lot of discussion in the meetings industry about Green Meetings. Cvent has authored an entire white paper outlining 10 ways our technology can enable green meetings.

Green Meetings White Paper

Cvent is very concerned about the environment and we are proud that our online event registration technology and meeting site selection tools reduce the amount of paper planners use in managing their events.

While there is much to be done in terms of making meetings green Cvent is happy to be contributing.

Convention Center

There are over 400 Convention Centers in the U.S. and Canada. These convention centers offer planners a total of over 85 Million square feet of meeting space. You can view a complete list of convention centers on the Cvent Destination Guide.

You can also use the Cvent Supplier Network search interface to find a convention center in a given geographic area by visiting http://venues.cvent.com. Cvent will be adding over 200 convention center profiles for those convention centers located in Europe, Asia, and other areas during Q3 2008.

In many cases convention centers are the anchor for convention center hotels in a major downtown district. Many tourism and visitor bureaus (CVBs) rely on having modern convention centers to draw large city-wide events to their city.