The Garden City Hotel, Long Island, NY Illustrates ‘A Day In The Life Of A Meeting Planner’

GARDEN CITY, Long Island, NY (Mar. 26, 2003) – Key meeting planners joined top journalists from meetings publications in experiencing The Garden City Hotel’s ‘A Day In The Life Of A Meeting Planner,’ an informative and thought-provoking step-by-step demonstration of event planning, first-hand. The interactive presentation gave participants a chance to shadow the movements of Richard Aaron, CMP, CSEP, President, BiZBash Event Idea Center, one of the travel and hospitality industries’ highly-recognized and most experienced meeting and event planners, through a mock-up of real-life situations in planning a major corporate meeting.

“The Garden City Hotel is the most service-oriented hotel on Long Island. We pride ourselves on being innovative and developing ‘out-of-the-box’ ideas and events that help companies expand their knowledge of the corporate meetings business,” said Nasser Samman, general manager of the luxury property. “We take hospitality to a new level by partnering with our clients to bring together events such as ‘A Day in the Life of A Meeting Planner’, which can facilitate their business relations and enhance their professional skills,” Samman added.

Journalists from the following publications participated in the event:

The Meeting Professional (MPI)
Successful Meetings
Meeting News
PRIMEDIA publications (Corporate Meetings & Incentives, Medical Meetings, Insurance Conference Planners Association, etc.)
Hotel & Motel Management
Hotel Business
Long Island Business News
Both meeting planners and members of the press contributed to the final outcome of the event by sharing their insight with Aaron and The Garden City Hotel staff in arranging, from start to finish, all seminars, meal functions and entertainment for a mock corporate meeting of 150 delegates. An educational experience for all involved, ‘A Day In The Life Of A Meeting Planner’ raised the significant issues that hotel properties and planners are faced with today, including the importance of an attrition clause, cancellation policies and disaster planning.
Additional highlights and suggestions discussed during the event included:

If your group is technologically savvy, be sure that the venue you choose is equipped with the necessary technological innovations. The Garden City Hotel provides wireless Internet capabilities, including the set setting up of a ‘Cyber Café’ during meeting breaks, giving attendees the ability to check their email and stay abreast of company news while away from the office.
As far as needs assessment, it is the planner’s responsibility to make the hotel staff aware of attendees who require special attention. For example, attendees who are diabetic or have specific food allergies can be provided with a color-coated card or disk, that they will be asked to place on their plate in order for the wait staff to only serve them the prearranged dishes. The Garden City Hotel staff is appropriately trained for these situations and even offers a Braille menu when necessary.
Themed events add a fun-filled, spirited element to a meeting program. Some of the most popular themes that The Garden City Hotel offers include their signature Wine Makers Dinner, Las Vegas Night and Murder Mystery Dinner.
Aaron also stressed the value in creating a partnership with the hotel staff that will be involved in the different aspects of the meeting, from the conference services manager to the catering director, and even the MIS manager. “When planning a successful event, it is the planner’s responsibility to provide the hotel staff with a clear understanding of his/her vision,” explained Aaron. “A strong, supportive relationship must include a shared outcome by both parties for ultimate success,” Aaron continued.
The group was treated to a 15-minute “Yoga Break” during the event, where a certified Yoga instructor was brought in to demonstrate a few relaxation and calming breathing techniques and physical postures. Yoga breaks are offered by The Garden City Hotel as part of their Meetings Plus activity brochure, a collection of motivational breaks that encourages attendees to “take a break and motivate” during their business meeting.

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