HM_HOSP 220 (AHLA 478): Convention Management and Service

What Will You Learn?

• Identify the Convention and Meeting Industry Today, the scope of today’s meetings, and the trends in the Meetings Industry.
• Describe the difference between Sales and Marketing, the marketing plan and the four steps of the marketing plan.
• Identify sales structure, the sales and marketing staff as well as managing sales efforts, records and filing systems and sales office automation.
• Identify revenue producers, requirements for Association Meetings, association meeting decisions makers and sources for finding association business.
• Describe the requirements, characteristics of corporate meetings, corporate meetings decision makers and sources for finding corporate business.
• Describe non-profit organizations and the SMERF market.
• Explain personal sales calls, telephone selling, sales blitz selling, tradeshow selling as well as selling with convention bureaus, site inspections ad familiarization tours.
• Describe print advertising, using technology for advertising, collateral material, public relations and publicity.
• Define negotiations and describe letter of agreement/contract, contract standardization and multi-meetings contracts.
• Describe reservations systems, room assignments, managing room blocks, check-in/check- out and the computer influence.
• Describe pre-convention meeting, resume, banquet event order, the importance of communication, communicating details electronically and the importance of follow-up.
• Describe function rooms, managing function rooms, meeting set-ups, breakdown of function rooms, meeting rooms of the future and monitoring function room usage.
• Describe food service, beverage service, post function actions and in-house coordination in large and small properties.
• Describe audiovisual requirements, outside vs. inside types of audiovisual equipment, cost involved, union regulations, signs and notices.
• Summarize convention registration, convention security and other services including guest companion policies.
• Explain the scope of exhibit and trade shows, exhibit planning, and exhibit billing procedures, convention shipping and receiving.
• Summarize convention billing and post-convention review.