Have you heard? Cancun Mexico has been selected for the INA’s 30th Annual Conference, to be held late April 2015. Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes for conference location selection?
Many people wonder how INA picks a location for their annual conference. Conference planning starts two years prior to the actual conference date, with the INA Board of Directors first agreeing to 2 or 3 possible locations. Much of the site selection leg work is done by Sandra Costantino, the INA’s Treasurer. The time, effort, and sacrifice of her personal time involved is tremendous, and she never lets the INA down. How does Sandy narrow down the possibilities and present alternatives to the entire Board? Although there are many points that are considered and evaluated, the following represent some of the most important ones:
Location, location, location. You have heard it before for many things, but here we want to make sure that the city is or can be a point of interest. We also try to explore places we have never been before, while keeping in mind we try to rotate between East and West coast. We also look for an area where there are things to do and places to go that are entertaining, interesting, etc., outside of the hotel property.
Accessibility. We want to be sure that attendees can travel to it without problem, mostly by air. Parking and ground transportation is also considered if we are in a city where we have many members that don’t need to fly.
Cost. This may be the most important one, and it pertains not only to travel, but also hotel rates. There is much that goes into this, first initially, and then once a place is highlighted, to see what other charges apply. This would include audio-visual charges, food and beverage costs, both individually and as a group, meeting space fees, exhibitor tables, etc.
INA Specific Needs. Another challenge is finding a hotel within a city that can accommodate our specific needs. For a group our size, we need a greater ratio of meeting space vs. guest rooms than is normally used. We need a dedicated exhibitor/registration area, an opening and closing reception area, a lunch area, and at least 4 workshop areas, in addition to board rooms. Typically, there are daily fees for each individual space, so we look for hotels that will waive those fees based on our guarantee to occupy a certain number of rooms and spend a certain amount of money on food and beverage.
A special thank you to Sandy Costantino for her contributions to the INA and especially to her efforts regarding INA Annual Conference selection and planning. This week Sandy and her site selection clip board are in Cancun Mexico auditioning some beautiful all inclusive resorts for final property selection.
INA members make the association strong, and every member is invited to become involved. Opportunities exist to volunteer on committees, to submit blog articles, to help with conference planning and much more. Many hands make light work – contact the INA office today if you would like to become more involved in YOUR INA.
Your INA Board of Directors is 100% volunteer, and all board members give generously of their time and talent. When you see a board member, or interact with a member on Linked In or Facebook, take a moment to thank them for their contributions to keep INA strong.