From our complete selection of Nametag Organizers to our Rolling Office and On Site File Drawers, we love to keep life orderly. And we resolve to bring you even more innovative organizational products to make your job easier in 2010.

So what steps are you taking to be even more organized and efficient this year?

As meeting planners, we probably spend more time travelling than most Americans.  After you’ve been doing it for awhile, you learn that certain items in your suitcase make your trip more enjoyable. 

I for one, carry my own alarm clocks.  Yes, two.  I don’t want to worry about my alarm not going off, so I have learned that if I have two alarm clocks, I actually fall asleep quicker and sleep in a more relaxed fashion.  Additionally, when I tap the tops of the clocks, a light goes on and I find that useful if I end up getting up in the middle of the night and don’t want to turn on the light.  (Sleep researchers say that turning on the light in the middle of the night can be very disruptive to a good night sleep.  And they say the bright red or green dials on the hotel provided alarm clocks also make it more difficult to get good sleep.) 

I also carry a tiny nightlight that I put in the bathroom as a guide there.  These are just two items that make my nights more restful and enable me to be more productive for a long day.  Want more ideas?  Time Magazine recently published a list of 25 useful gadgets for travel.  What are your tips for a better night sleep? 

Chair Back Cover reserves space for wheelchairs

Years ago, I was invited to bid on running a meeting where a large portion of the people were in wheelchairs.  This was right about the time that the first President Bush had signed the American Disabilities Act which provided new rights to those with limitations.  It was a great piece of legislation and put every meeting planner on a learning mission as to how we could open up our meeting to those with limitations.  At the meeting I attended, I saw how people who do meetings for people with disabilities met those needs. 

First, you need to make sure you work closely with your convention services staff and your setup people.  What you must do is take out two rows of two chairs – four chairs – along the aisle.  Now you have adequate space for a person to easily roll in and out.  Second, you need to identify or mark the area so that someone doesn’t take a chair from elsewhere and park it in the space.  I would make a simple paper nametent, use the stock that is scored for your convenience that said “Reserved for Wheelchair” and place it in the center of the space.  You can also use a Chair Back Handicapped Cover to clearly designate the space.  You also need to make sure that the convention services setup people remember to leave the sign and the space when they refresh the room. 

Lastly, don’t do this just in the back of the room.  If you are treating people equally, you will give them a choice of where they want to sit.  The spaces need to be carved out next to an aisle, but you should allocate space in the back, middle, and front of the room.  If I only have one wheel chair guest, I would tactfully ask the person if they had a preference as to where they liked sitting and I would be able to just allocate one space. 

I would do the same for my food functions and I would always remove two seats for every wheelchair.  Always close to the aisles for easier mobility.  And if possible, I would open the doors early for people with wheelchairs so they could move in to their seats easier.

If you have been following the news, you know that bedbugs are infesting hotels – and then homes – from one coast to another.  I am not trying to blame hotels for this widening crisis – it often starts with people bringing bedbugs into hotels.  Getting rid of bedbugs is a costly and time consuming task.  Cures range from spraying your entire house, putting mattresses in refrigerated trucks, and bringing in special dogs.  Obviously the best way to avoid bringing bedbugs home with you is to not stay in a hotel where there is a problem.  Nor do you want to  have your attendees stay in a hotel where there is a problem.  Now, as a professional, there is a way to help minimize the risk of selecting a hotel with bedbugs for your meetings or staying in one while you travel.  Click here and visit the bedbug registry.  You can look up to see if your hotel is listed as one which has a bedbug problem.  It even lists homes and apartments.  Check out your next stay in advance. 

Part of the promotional piece from Northern Kentucky. Learn more at www.willplan4food.com.

Many meeting planners have struck out on their own as independent meeting planners.  Sometimes it was the result of cutbacks at their former places of employment and they were able to plan their old meetings as independents, probably at less money but with the opportunity to pick up other business.  Some people joined existing third parties and independent contractors, getting a commission on whatever business they brought in.

But with the cuts in the meetings industry, the independent is getting hit hard. Most get paid on the room commission and when meetings get canceled, they get nothing for all their work.  Others are seeing meetings cut the number of days of the meeting and as a result fewer commission-able rooms.  Or just normal attrition at association meetings is cutting attendance by 20-30%.  The New York Times did an excellent job of reporting on the issue.  Click here and read the New York Times article.

QUICK.  It is time to order lanyards before the 4^th of July weekend! Save money, too.  Until July 1, PC/NAMETAG(R) Lanyards are on sale for as low as 78 cents with only six production days for imrpinted lanyards.  Blank lanyards ship the next day.  Use our updated website to walk you through the shipping process.

Don’t forget to order your lanyards for your early July meetings.  PC/NAMETAG’s office will be closed on the third as will most businesses throughout the country.   That means fewer days for manufacture and delivery and could put you in a tight spot.  Each year we get planners who forget to order before a holiday and then run out of time for delivery at standard rates and end up paying high freight charges and rush fees.  So plan ahead and take advantage of our sale on pc/nametag lanyards which are available at a huge price reduction.  Check out the PC/NAMETAG Lanyard on our web site.  Prices go up on orders received after June 30.

Today, Clear announced that they had lost financing and all Clear operations have been shut down.  Clear is the operation where you paid $100 a year, filled out your life history, and sent it in.  Clear would get an approval from TSA certifying your “trustworthiness” and then you would get an ID after you gave them an eye scan and fingerprints.  Once you got your card with its built-in memory chip, you could bypass the long lines of security in many airports.  You would walk up to the Clear station, have your fingerprint scanned, and be escorted to the front of the security line.  Worked wonders in some places like San Jose before they remodeled where you could paid a full half hour in line.  Or at DCA.  And people always wondered “who the hell” you were since you were being escorted past everyone to the front of the line. Money was the main reason Clear went out of business.  Other reasons are “unclear.”

Meetings and Conventions magazine talks about a great offer made by those holding meetings at Gaylord Hotels.  For a mere $500, they will have someone write a song just for your meeting and then have a professional singer perform it for your group.  The lyrics are written to an existing song.  Actually, quite a great idea and a cute one as well.  The price seems reasonable, too.  Think about how much fun you could have poking fun at your CEO – “They took away my jet, and  my wife can’t shop at Bergdorf’s on the weekends.” 

We noticed that Las Vegas sponsored the Media Planet section in today’s ( Friday, May 29, 2009) Marketplace section of the Wall Street Journal.  Thank you Las Vegas for stepping up with twelve hard-hitting pages that start with “Meet Something You Didn’t Think You Would in Vegas – the Bottom Line” and end with “Going To Las Vegas Just Became a Responsible Decision.”  Rossi Ralenkotter, the President/CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, reminds readers that “face-to-face  meetings provide the greatest return-on-investment of any marketing tool.” Take a look at their site:  www.vegasmeansbusiness.com.  This site does a great job of separating fact from myth  and makes sure that everyone know that Las Vegas means business.

Floor Standing Box

Many planners are saving money by collecting nametags at the end of a meeting and recycling the holders for the next meeting.  Our customers tell us that they ask attendees to drop their nametags into a collection box as they leave the meeting.  Many planners purchase the Floor Standing Ballot Box to use as their drop box.  The corrugated cardboard box lies flat for shipping.  After the meeting, staff can sort through the holders, pull out the paper insert and arrange them flat in a storage box for the next meeting.  Save the original holder boxes for storing the recycled nametags.  Planners tell us that it doesn’t work to recycle lanyards and necklaces since attendee perspiration remains in the lanyard after wearing.  Remember,  if the vinyl holder does not have any metal on it, it can be recycled in your curbside collection. Do you have any tips on recycling your badges after a meeting?

Pret-A-Sporty(R) Nametag Necklace

Meeting planning is tough.  No matter how much you plan, so many things have to come together at the last minute.  Some times you just can’t become more efficient, you just have to do things differently.  This is what we were thinking when we developed Pret-a-Sporty (TM)Nametag Necklace.  This product features a nametag necklace with the holder pre-attached.  The Preta saves assembly time right before your event starts.  This product includes a perennial favorite, a Sporty(R) Nametag Necklace,  a Vinyl Nametag Holder and a special plastic piece that connects the nametag and necklace together without adding bulk but at the same time stabilizing the nametag to minimizing flipping.

 No matter how you try to motivate attendees to register early, the nametags always need to be assembled right before registration starts.  There are so many other things to do at this time and now with staff reductions and layoffs the problem is even more interesting.  Who has time?  Let PC/NAMETAG’s Namebadges to Go(TM) come to the rescue.  

 Here’s how it works:

1. Look through the website.  Pick out the products you would like to use.
2. Call 1-800-383-6338.  We’ll help you pick out the products, you can choose any product we sell.  Have us give you an exact quote. 
3. Have your meeting placed on our production schedule. 
4. Email us your spreadsheet of attendee names and info. 
5. Sit back and relax, the nametags are handled.  We will print, separate, sort, stuff and place the tags in OneWay Nametag(TM) Case that will arrive to your meeting site ready for the registration counter.  All that’s left for you to do is place the cases on the counter and lift the lid. 

Click here for some Namebadges To Go examples that include costs.  See for yourself that it doesn’t cost much to have us make the tags.  Our customers decide that they come out ahead when we make the nametags.

Nametag ribbons with fun titles make it easier for people to meet.

Even Seth Godin, the marketing guru, has weighed in on nametags.  Click here to find out what Seth Godin wrote about nametags.  Seth loves nametags and Seth is right, nametags make it easier for people to get to know each other.  People are always more comfortable talking to a stranger if they already know their name.  We’ve heard of planners who use nametags as an ice breaker activity. PC/NAMETAG sells instock ribbons that aren’t serious, they’re just fun.  We call them the Motivational & Fun Titles.  These planners by an assortment of titles and let each attendee pick the fun title of their choice.  Attendees never have trouble deciding whether they are Queen Bee or Goddess.  It’s fun to watch the room as people meet.  They note that people walk differently when their nametag tells everyone that they are a Diva.  Any ice breaker ideas?