http://www.eventective.com/forum//forum/topic283-seven-steps-to-selecting-the-right-meeting-and-event-space-website.aspx Eventective Forums - Press Releases - Seven Steps to Selecting the "Right" Meeting and Event Space Website - Messages en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Jitbit AspNetForum Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:42:51 GMT Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:42:51 GMT http://www.eventective.com/forum//forum/topic283-seven-steps-to-selecting-the-right-meeting-and-event-space-website.aspx -Careful Selection Helps Ease Event Planning Done in a Hurry-

Portland, Maine — August 13, 2007 — Choosing the right meeting
and event space website when faced with planning business meetings in a hurry can
make all the difference to transform a normally disjointed and time-consuming task
into a seamless second nature.

For many, the planning of business meetings and events is a rush assignment requiring
significant research, hundreds of details, dozens of contacts, countless decisions,
less budget than what's needed - and deadlines bordering on near impossible to achieve.

"Selecting the right meeting and event space website - like the selection of the
right tool for any job - is critical," according to Steve Robertson, Chief Technical
Officer at Eventective (www.eventective.com), the web's most comprehensive meeting
and event space resource.

Robertson offered the following criteria as a litmus test check list to use when
selecting an online meeting and event planning website:

• Mission Critical Focus — A specialized or all-in-one meeting planning
  website beats the general search engines by providing research tools that compile
  venues by geographic location, room size, and venue detail.


• More Data, Diversity — More data, and a wide geographic vision, means
  more options. Look beyond the typical large metropolitan areas by using a resource
  offering searches that can be localized to suggest venues in surrounding towns and
  areas.


• Include the Non-Obvious — Does the website include special interest
  and non-traditional venues like a resort, ranch or museum that offer a wide range
  of off-time activities for guests - bringing even more excitement to the event?


• Up-to-Date Data — How often is the data updated? Once a year, once
  a season, or once a week? Researching outdated data is a waste of time and effort.


• Details, Details — How deep is the research? Can the resource
  offer venue information with detailed data on meeting rooms, amenities, services,
  and accommodations - as well as pictures and website links, to help visualize the
  event onsite? This is especially helpful when considering out-of-town venues that
  can't be visited beforehand.


• Related Services — Often, additional services, such as catering or
  entertainment will be required for the event, so information on such related services
  must also be available, accurate and immediately accessible from the resource.


• Ability to Directly Connect — Short-circuiting the standard, and lengthy,
  request for proposal (RFP) process is a major time-saver. Choose a portal that provides
  the option of directly contacting the right individuals at the venues being considered
  to further speed booking and confirming the space and date.

"The most important factor is to find the online service that best fits your needs.
This will enable any planner to work smarter, not harder," said Robertson.

Eventective (http://www.eventective.com) is the Web's most comprehensive meeting
and event space website. With more than 25,000 visitors a day, Eventective is also
one of the most popular venue search resources on the Internet. Eventective's listings
feature 318,000 event spaces, 95,000 facilities, and 40,000 related service providers
throughout the U.S. and include traditional hotel and restaurant-based properties
as well as niche and special-interest facilities that are often not presented elsewhere.

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Note to Editors: Images for publication available at: http://www.flickr.com/gp/10956940@N08/Tv41x1

Press contacts:

Traci Freed, 207-253-1653 x185, tfreed@eventective.com]]> Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:42:51 GMT