International Meeting Tips, Ideas, and How-to's

Purpose of International Meetings

It doesn’t matter if your meeting has 20 product users or 2,000 employees, Brightspot can partner with you to captivate an audience of any size, at any location. Attending conferences, especially international ones, allows attendees a place to come together and focus on their industry with like-minded individuals. Global conferences provide invaluable opportunities to hear different points of view and learn new trends and ideas in your industry. Allow us to take you to the top and host a conference that users won’t want to miss! 

Whether your business is located in North America or across the globe, we can help you create meetings that unite your team. International meetings allow employees the opportunity to network and build relationships with those who may be in the same role, but in a different market. Equally as important, these meetings can create bonding opportunities for employees within the same office as they experience new places together – what better way to cultivate a team relationship than outside the office! The ideas and innovations that are exchanged by bringing together your employees from different cultures allow for more diverse solutions to better position your brand. International travel is a great way to motivate and immerse your team into new environments, offering an experience they may not normally be exposed to on their own.   

Sourcing Requirements / Budget Drivers

Oftentimes, international meetings require a longer timeline to accommodate larger budget drivers such as airfare and hotel availability. When selecting a destination, it is important to consider locations with international airport hubs as most airlines will have direct flight options that can help control costs. The lead time for properties with close proximity to these airport hubs can be considerably longer due to the demand.

Additional drivers that can be adjusted to accommodate your budget include room rates, food and beverage, and audiovisual. Internationally, room rates tend to have an option to include breakfast which can help with potential cost savings. Another area for cost savings, is the use of Daily Delegate Rates (DDR) which is a rate per attendee / per day that usually includes meeting room rental, two refreshment breaks, and lunch. Occasionally DDR packages include conference equipment, in turn can reduce the financial impact of your meeting audiovisual.  

Services

At Brightspot, we pride ourselves on providing top notch service to all of our clients and their attendees. This starts with our sourcing team finding an ideal destination and taking the trouble out of sifting through hotel contracts to find a perfect property that meets all of your needs. Let our experienced planning teams transform the property through decor, stage design, and entertainment to liven your program.

In addition, our in-house graphics team will work to fully integrate your brand into the program creative design. The planning team that has been working alongside you from the beginning will travel onsite to ensure your program runs without a hitch. We don’t just stop there, at the end of your program, our teams will complete a comprehensive cost reconciliation to show the value of adding Brightspot to your team. 

Challenges

Similar to domestic meetings, hosting a meeting internationally does not go without its own set of challenges. First and foremost, attendee schedules play a large factor in international travel as some attendees may need to obtain a passport or visa.  Depending on an attendee’s country of origin, this can take several weeks so it is important to have a standard procedure in place to accommodate these requests.  Language barriers and time zones pose further challenges as both affect the response time of necessary communication between vendors and the planning team.

Additionally, the shipping of important meeting materials to your destination may be delayed if not handled properly.  Shipping brokers are an invaluable resource as they will ensure all requirements are met for a timely arrival of your materials. All of these challenges come together collectively to affect the planning timeline and deliverable due dates; therefore, time is an important factor to consider in pre-planning stages.  

Creative Tips

You can have an impressive agenda and strong branding but adding some creativity will take your event to the next level. To keep things fresh and exciting on your international programs, consider infusing cultural activities into your agenda to help immerse your attendees such as adding a cooking class in Asia, or a wine and cheese tasting in Italy, or bike tours in Amsterdam.  Additionally, including a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project in your program is an excellent way to give back to the local community as well as a chance to get your entire team working together. Programs that happen year over year tend to get stale, so it is important to keep up with popular destinations. Let our teams help you revamp your program to ensure your program is not only productive, but memorable.