« November 2005 | Main | February 2006 »

Jan 30
What's Involved in a Presidential Visit - Control

When the President of the United States announces that he plans to attend a conference, you, the manager of the conference site, will lose much of the control you usually have.  The success of the conference will be credited to you only in part.  Its failure may be your undoing. 

Typical security is not enough.  Even enhanced security is not enough.  The Secret Service will take charge and will dictate (in a non-dictatorial way*) exactly what it will do and exactly what is required from local sources.  The security chief of the conference center will become little more than an answer man/woman.

Downtown traffic will probably be diverted for a time, and the local populace will grouse about the discomfort.  Politicians will feel heat.  Those who side with the President will stand tall in defense.  Those in the other party will point out excesses.

Lodging requirements, beyond those of the presidential entourage itself (discussed in my previous entry), will mushroom as the Press, protestors, and seekers-of-the-spotlight will converge from all sides, whether related to the topic of the conference or not.  If the conference is on a hot topic, expect hordes. 

Continue Reading
Jan 30
What's Involved in a Presidential Visit - Lodging
Let's say you're managing a major convention site and you are wooing the organizers of a major conference.  Then you hear that the President himself might attend.  Is this good or bad?  What's involved in a presidential visit?  Let's take a look, starting with lodging. Continue Reading
Google Search for "a Place to hold a Business Convention"
In my frustrating to find a place to hold a large sales conference, I try the commonsensical "a place to hold a business convention."  Do the results restore my faith in search engines, and in the web presence of conference facilties?  Yes and no, but mostly NO.  Continue Reading
Google Search for "Business Convention"
I have done a Google search for "business conference" and got nothing helpful.  So now I'll try "business convention".  Voilá!  I find sites about cities and convention facilities!  I'm getting somehwere.  But I still have to sift through every other sort of site to get to them. Continue Reading
Google Search for "Business Conference"
Where do CVB sites show up as a result of searches that might really happen, like "business conference", "business convention", etc.?  Not very high. Continue Reading
Jan 28
What a CVB Website Should Do

A CVB website should say "Come here".    And it should say it with smile.  Nobody picks up the phone any more to ask that you send a brochure.  They go to your website.  It has to be a baited hook.

Continue Reading
A Google Search for CVB
Go ahead, do it.  Search for the term "CVB" on Google.  The results might astound you. Continue Reading
The Author of TheCVBlog
I'm Matt Ellsworth, author of this blog.  For two years abroad and four years in the U.S. I was responsible for arranging logistical support, lodging, and travel for U.S. government representatives and delegates to international meetings.  This blog will look at CVBs, their web sites, their methods, their best practices--and anything else that might be helpful to the industry as a whole and each CVB in particular. Continue Reading

« November 2005 | Main | February 2006 »