Governance | Membership | Education | Planning | ASHRM Support | Samples
Handbook => Education => Conference Venue
Selecting a Venue
The decision on the venue for the conference will depend upon the strength of the chapter’s treasury and the geographic dispersity of the chapter. Do the members need a place to stay overnight if they travel to attend the conference?
Establish where you want the conference(s) to be held. At least every two to three years this decision should be thoroughly researched to determine if there is a better venue for your meetings.
If your chapter covers a large geographic area, consider holding multiple conferences during the year in different parts of the territory -- e.g., a spring conference in the western part and a fall conference in the east.
Venue options
Some possible choices of venues include:
• Hotels. Make sure that the hotel will have not only the appropriate meeting space but also rooms available for any members that will be staying over.
• Restaurants with appropriate meeting space
• Colleges and universities often have conference facilities available
• Meeting rooms at a member’s facility
• The state hospital association or other similar organizations may have conference and meeting rooms available for free or at a very modest cost.
Contracts
If the conference is to be held at a hotel, restaurant or other rented facility, a contract will generally be required. Some of the charges are likely to be:
• Room Charges for the meeting room
• If you reserve rooms for members staying overnight, the hotel may require a guarantee of a minimum number of rooms to be filled.
• Minimum Expenditure on Food
• All audiovisual equipment is priced separately. It is suggested that one of the members brings a projector and laptop computer for the slides. These are very expensive to rent from a hotel or restaurant. Many hospitals, brokers and insurance companies have the equipment available and will loan it to the chapter for the conference.
Read the contract carefully. Many contracts require the chapter to have general liability insurance and/or hold the venue harmless in case of the injuries during the conference. These clauses should be avoided.
Don’t forget to add Force Majeur Clauses to the contract to avoid penalties for cancellations due to blizzard, hurricanes, etc.
Click here for a hotel/venue inspection checklist
Room Arrangements
The room arrangement is also a critical element in creating a successful program. In addition to temperature of the room, lighting, sound and the amount of space, the chairs themselves and how they are arranged can determine whether participants find the experience comfortable and conducive to learning.
Theater style accommodates a larger audience and is usually used when there is a more formal presentation. Make sure that the positioning of the chairs and the width between the rows gives the audience adequate space to move around easily.
If the room is large enough, seating larger groups around tables creates greater intimacy with the speaker and enables the audience to have group discussions.
Smaller groups should be placed at tables, either round, square or rectangular. A hollow square setting enables a group that is too large to fit comfortably within one of these options to face each other.
The more informal the arrangements, the greater the possibility of dialogue among the participants -- a factor that is critical to the learning that takes place within these groups.
Click here for sample room configurations
Audiovisual
Appropriate sound and audiovisual aids can greatly enhance the learning experience if the sound equipment and visual aid materials are appropriately selected and used.
Guidelines for audiovisuals
Keep the following tips in mind when using audiovisual aids:
• Audiovisual materials should not replace a speaker but rather enhance the presentation.
• Keep visuals simple, including only information necessary to clarify or emphasize the presentation.
• A dark background with light text is recommended for maximum visibility by attendees.
• Faculty should test visual aids with their speech to determine how well the A/V and sound fit in with their speech and to put them at ease with their material, helping the presentation to run smoothly.
• All slides, films, or transparencies should be duplicates – keep the originals in a safe place in case of loss or damage.
Click here for a sample audiovisual request
Amplified Sound
A lectern microphone is generally used for making announcements and introducing speakers. It is recommended that faculty use a lavaliere microphone, since rapport with the audience is easier to develop if the faculty moves around the room, rather than standing behind a lectern.
Recording
If you plan to audiotape a session, get written permission from the faculty at the outset of the planning process and, as with other permissions, clearly communicate a deadline to submit such permission forms.
Tapes can be an added benefit for attendees, as well as those who could either not attend the conference or could not attend a particular session of interest. These tapes could be a valuable learning tool and can offer a valuable source of revenue. Provided you can record a high quality master, duplication is relatively cheap and can be made professionally from a regular cassette tape. Look for local vendors online or in the yellow pages.
Click here for a sample audio recording release form
