Methods for selecting conference hotels 1. Make a list of available choices; it is necessary to make a list of conference venues, the list needs to indicate all the important conditions required for the meeting. If the list is reasonably designed to indicate the conditions of the hotel is good or bad, will greatly facilitate the comparison and selection of various venues. 2. Select the right type of venue; the selection of suitable meeting venues must be based on the status of locally available conference resources and the program of the meeting, the expected number of participants, the background of the participants, as well as the most important meeting purposes, objectives and preferences of the participants and other factors to be considered in a comprehensive manner. HOTELS BY TYPE HOTELS BY LOCATION Distance from the hotel to the airport (including congestion or lack thereof) needs to be considered when selecting a centrally located hotel. If attendees are coming from within the country or the region, then it is wise to choose such a hotel. Meeting planners generally prefer a downtown hotel in a desirable city with amenities and features so that there are plenty of activities for attendees' accompanying families. Suburban: These hotels are popular with attendees who are within driving distance of the local area. Business hotels: These hotels generally reflect the modern concept of efficient and effective business, both in terms of exterior design and interior decoration, as well as the availability of advanced communication tools and commercial space suitable for meetings (with specific business floors). The hotel can receive both small and large meetings, one or more multi-functional halls, 24-hour all-weather office, a strong service capacity, in addition to a number of Chinese and Western-style restaurants, a variety of stores, gyms, swimming pools and other facilities. Resort hotels: these hotels are generally built in tourist resorts or seaside, the external design, garden planning, interior decoration are fully embodied in the local characteristics of the set of leisure, entertainment in one. At the same time with the development of society, resort hotels can also provide appropriate conference facilities, food and a variety of representative of local and seasonal characteristics of the activities, which undoubtedly greatly facilitates the meeting unit. 3. meeting types and venues with; the best environment for organizing training activities is the best environment is able to provide specialized staff and specialized facilities for adult education venues (the company's professional training centers or tourist attractions of the training site). Research and development meetings require an environment conducive to contemplation and inspiration (training centers or other quiet places are most suitable). Major awards and recognition meetings must be classy and engaging, and the purpose of the meeting is to reward outstanding performance. For trade fairs and new product demonstrations, the need to choose a place with exhibition halls, but also required to arrive at the venue a few cities in the transportation must be convenient. 4. Site visit to pay attention to matters; in considering to do a site visit before, first check to see if there have been the prerequisites: the offer side to accept and agree to the meeting in the detailed list of matters; the offer room should be a better one in the list of the post-selected; the offer side of the preparation of the contract terms of the basic acceptance. On-site inspection. The following five points should be noted for an in-person visit: Meet with the person who can make decisions. This will facilitate the resolution of possible transaction problems later; whenever possible, always visit on the date suggested by the other party. It is best not to visit when the hotel is full, as this will cause the hotel to incur direct costs; do not revisit the hotel for personal reasons, and do not bring family members with you; consider whether it is better to arrive unannounced as an ordinary guest to check on the hotel's hospitality to the guests, or notify the hotel beforehand that you will be going as a VIP to check on how the hotel receives VIPs; consider another hotel as an "alternative" meeting place; and consider the hotel as an "alternative" meeting place. "Alternative" conference budget: Transportation costs: transportation from the place of departure to the conference venue - including flights, rail, road, passenger ships, and transportation from the destination station, airport, or pier to the place of accommodation. Transportation costs during the meeting - mainly transportation costs at the conference venue, including transportation from the accommodation to the conference venue, transportation from the conference venue to the catering venue, transportation from the conference venue to the business networking venue, transportation for business visits, and other scheduled transportation that may be used by the participants. Farewell Transportation and Return Transportation - Includes the cost of flights, rail, road, passenger ships and transportation from the accommodation to the airport, station and port. Rental of meeting room/conference hall: Rental of meeting space - Usually, the rental of the venue has already included some common facilities, such as laser pointer, sound system, tables and chairs, podiums, whiteboards or blackboards, grease pens, chalk, etc. However, some non-conventional facilities are not covered, such as projection equipment, temporary decorations, display racks, etc., and the need to add non-podium speaking lines may require a separate budget. A separate budget may be required for the installation of non-podium speaking lines. Conference facilities rental costs - this part of the cost is mainly to rent some special equipment, such as projectors, laptops, mobile. Simultaneous translation systems, venue display systems, multimedia systems, video equipment, etc., usually pay a certain amount of deposit, rental costs, including technical support and maintenance costs of the equipment. It is worth noting that, in the rental of equipment should be various types of efficacy parameters to make specific requirements (usually can be consulted to the professional conference services company in order to obtain the most appropriate cost-effective), otherwise it may affect the meeting. In addition, these conference facilities due to brand, origin and new or old different, rental prices may vary greatly. Venue setup costs - if not a special requirement, usually this part of the cost is included in the venue rental costs. If there are special requirements, you can negotiate with professional conference service providers. Other support costs - These support usually include advertising and printing, etiquette, secretarial services, entertainment and health care, transportation and warehousing, media, public **** relations. Based on the temporary nature of these supports, if the conference organizer to look for these industries separately support, its cost may be higher than the market price, if the professional conference service provider agent, will be relatively inexpensive and professional service support. For these individual service support, the organizer should refine the requirements as much as possible and sign a separate service agreement. Accommodation The cost of accommodation should be well understood - it is worth noting that some of the accommodation costs are fully priced and some are subject to additional government taxes. For conferences, accommodation costs can be one of the main expenses. Getting a professional convention service provider usually results in better discounts. Normal accommodation costs are related to factors such as the hotel's star rating and room type, but also to the services that are open in the rooms - such as whether the rooms are open to long-distance communication, laundry, minibar drinks, disposable change of clothes, Internet, fruit offerings and other services. Conference organizers should specify the range of services that should be closed or opened by the hotel. Catering costs: breakfast breakfast is usually a buffet, of course, can also be taken around the table dining, the cost of the number of people can be calculated (but taking into account the special nature of the conference dining and raw materials for the preparation, so the number of people expected to dine with the number of people who actually dine to a difference of 15%, otherwise the restaurant is justified in refusing to settle according to the number of people who actually dine - and instead of (Charge according to the number of people booked) Chinese food and lunch Chinese food and lunch basically belongs to the main meal, you can take the number of people budget - buffet form, according to the table budget - around the table form. If the organizer would like to purchase the drinks on their own rather than have them provided by the restaurant, the restaurant may charge a service fee for a certain amount. Alcohol and service charges Usually, if you dine in a high-star hotel restaurant, the restaurant declines the organizer to bring their own alcohol consumption, and if you can bring your own alcohol consumption, the restaurant usually needs to add a service charge. In high-star hotels to organize conferences and banquets, usually in the basic level of consumption on the basis of an additional 15% or so of the service charge. Venue tea breaks this cost is basically based on the number of people budget, budget can be proposed for different periods of tea breaks food, beverage combinations. The price of the tea breaks informed by the organizer usually includes the cost of service personnel, if the organizer needs non-program services, but may require additional budget. Typically, tea breaks can be categorized as Western or Chinese - Western basically focuses on coffee, black tea, Western snacks, fruits, etc., while Chinese focuses on boiled water, green or flower tea, fruit tea, fruits, coffee, fruits and snacks. In fact, the budget for a networking reception/dance can be more complicated than that of a separate banquet, which can be easily budgeted as long as the menu and size of the banquet are set. Audio-visual equipment: Unless the event is held outdoors, the cost of audio-visual equipment can usually be ignored. If it has to be held outdoors for the sake of public **** relations effects, the budget for audio-visual equipment is more complicated, including: the rental cost of the equipment itself, usually calculated on a daily basis. -The cost of transportation, installation and commissioning of the equipment and control technician support, which can be represented by the exhibition service provider. -Sound source - mainly background music and entertainment music selection, the organizer can bring their own, or can be entrusted to the agent of the performers and programs - usually can be selected after the program by the venue - the budget amount is usually positively correlated with the difficulty of the program performance and the number of participants. If there is a regular show at a suitable location, the budget is simple and is related to the number of people attending the show - except for special shows or packages. Other - snacks, fruits and colorful wines. Miscellaneous Expenses: Miscellaneous expenses refer to the costs incurred for temporary arrangements during the exhibition process, including printing, temporary transportation and handling, souvenirs, modeling and etiquette services, temporary props, faxes and other communications, courier services, temporary health care, interpreters and guides, temporary business vehicles, currency exchange, etc. The budget for miscellaneous expenses is difficult to plan, and usually unforeseen expenses can be added to the conference budget as a maneuver. So, what is the difference between exhibition budget and conference budget? There are similarities and differences between exhibition budget and conference budget. -Similarities: Accommodation expenses, catering expenses, business trip expenses (if there is a trip planned). -Differences: exhibition space rental, exhibition setup, exhibit transportation and storage, small press conference or reception. -Exhibition Venue Rental: If the exhibition takes place in a fixed exhibition venue, the budget for the rental of the exhibition venue is usually calculated on a per booth basis. International standard booths are usually 3m x 3m in size, with partition heights ranging from 2.3m to 2.5m. Standard facilities include spotlights, chairs, information tables, and power supply. Pavilion owners usually have the following equipment available for rental: exhibition fabric stands, audio-visual equipment, multimedia equipment, decorative items, small handling tools, etc.