Confessions of an Event Planner: Case Studies From the Real World of Events--How to Handle the Unexpected and How to Be a Master of Discretion (9 page)

Social Host Legal Responsibility

Q:
What can be done when guests go wild, or how can you stop them before anything disreputable happens?

A:
As with any event, you do what you can to ensure guest security and safety. There are times when you will be required to step in and protect guests personally, physically and professionally from hurting more than their own reputation, but you need to know from a legal standpoint where, when and how to do it without compromising yourself and your company and your client and their company.

It is imperative to remember the role that you are paid to play. You are not there to baby-sit them, to police them or to be their newest BFF (best friend forever), as was the case where one event planning sales rep decided to join his client’s participants in a rowdy naked pool party instead of trying to get the situation—with the help of hotel security—under control. The sales rep lost future business with that client for letting himself become a part of the group instead of being the professional paid to run the group event and be responsible for ensuring that everything possible was being done to show social host responsibility and ensure that no guests came to harm. You can discreetly bring in bartenders to manage a hospitality suite so it doesn’t become a free-for-all. This legal safeguard retains control of how heavily drinks are being poured and makes sure that no one becomes too intoxicated.

It is important to know where to draw the line in order to adhere to your company’s legal requirements and to discuss with your client in advance what measures, from their company’s legal perspective, they will need on-site event planning staff to take. For example, your client may request that a senior staff member of their company be notified immediately of any unlawful incidents, destruction of property, or injury.

Assignment

Throughout the chapter there are instances of guest behavior gone wild that could have had legal, safety and security ramifications for the individual, their company, the event planning company and even their suppliers (e.g., if drinking had been permitted at the convertible car rally lunch stop instead of being scheduled for the clock-in party back at the resort). Discuss the various event planning ABC measures that were put into place, what was done, what worked and what didn’t, as well as other preventive solutions that in event hindsight (usually identified in a post-event debriefing) might have been more successful. For example, perhaps a resort that was not as isolated, or a different high-energy destination such as Las Vegas, would have been a better location choice for an all-male sales group. There, they could have blown off steam in a more contained environment at night with more activities—gaming, entertainment and sports—to burn up their energy. (Special note:
The Special Events Advisor: A Business and Legal Guide for Event Professionals
[Wiley] by David Sorin JD, CSEP, an attorney and consultant to companies in the special events industry, has a chapter on event planning legal issues.)

Awards Dinners

Q:
What would be a reason for moving an awards dinner from the final night to the middle of the event program?

A:
For out-of-state, -province and -country events, the final day is usually spent packing, trying to fit in last-minute shopping and doing final event wrap-up preparation. Return transfers can start quite early, depending on airline and security check-in procedures, and you will find that some guests tend to leave the final event early in order to finish their personal packing and retire to bed in order to be well rested for the travel day ahead. If an awards evening has so many components that it will take hours to get through and go on quite late, it is better to schedule this event mid-program, and then do a fun or formal farewell that will leave the group on a high note—revved up and motivated for their return to the office and already anticipating what they need to do to take part in next year’s company event—but still end at a reasonable time and allow guests to slip out after dinner, entertainment and final words at a time that suits them. If the farewell reception and dinner is not taking place at the hotel they are staying in, arrange shuttle return transportation.

Assignment

Compare and contrast the event design elements and event timing of an awards reception and dinner with those of a fun or formal farewell in order to gain a sense of event timing and logistical requirements as well as event/show flow.

Car Rallies

Q:
When designing a car rally, what are some the important areas that must be covered?

A:
As with any event element you are designing, it is important to walk through the event in your mind from beginning till end to visualize event timing and logistics and the strategic design employed to evoke a specific emotion in order to meet an event objective—as well as all that must be put in place from a legal standpoint. You need to have that vision clearly in your mind before you start to design your road rally with your destination management company (DMC). It is vitally important that it be stressed to the DMC, your client and their participants that creativity (through rally design, picture captures, items gathered, questions answered, etc.) not speed is how the winner will be determined, and that points will be deducted for speeding and for drinking prior to the clock-in party.

You must take into consideration these elements:

• How many people will there be per car, minivan, minicoach, etc.?

• How many cars will be required for participants and for staff for advance and chase cars?

• What type of cars or vehicles will be required for the rally?

• What costs are involved (gas; insurance; air conditioning; car detailing; car cleaning post rally; rally inclusions such as maps, GPS system, rally kits, team shirts, cameras, etc.)?

• How will the cars be ferried to the departure point and what costs are involved?

• What is parking access like at the rally’s departure point, checkpoints and clock-in destination?

• How will you select designated drivers and what documentation will they need to provide (e.g., valid driver’s license, insurance, etc.) if the rally is self-drive?

• Do you have backup drivers in case there are not enough self-drive volunteers?

• How will you determine teams?

• Will any special driver’s licenses or permits be required?

• What legal documents will the drivers be required to sign?

• What legal waivers will all the participants be required to sign?

• How many checkpoints do you envision and where?

• What type of refreshments do you want available at each checkpoint?

• Where will lunch be held—en route or at the final clock-in checkpoint?

• Will group transportation be required to take participants back to their hotel if the final clock-in checkpoint is not on-property?

• What type of clock-in party do you envision that is the best fit for the event and the theme?

• How will the cars be ferried to the departure point and what costs are involved?

• Will the rally involve questions tied to the client’s company and serve as an educational meeting component?

• How much time will be required to calculate the winning team?

• When will the rally awards ceremony take place?

• What will be the winning categories and prizes?

Assignment

Design a road rally to take place in your area. What would be the theme and the route? Where would you have the participants stop for breaks? There has to be something of value—education, enlightenment or entertainment—tied in to the checkpoint stops, the rally questions, the theme or the destination. For example, for a road rally in the Caribbean, participants checked in at one of the most scenic stops on the island. It was a great photo opportunity to create a lasting memory. An ice cream sundae bar featuring local flavors was set up there, putting forth a playful competitive energy. In another destination, a specific plant used in one pharmaceutical company’s newest product had to be found and photographed at one checkpoint, For a clock-in party, what type of clock-in event would you create and where would you hold it?

Money Shots

Q:
What are “money shots”?

A:
A money shot, in event planning, is the photograph or shot in a video that captures a meaningful, memorable or magical group memory or moment. It is the shot that will be passed around the office, set up on desks, used as a company internal and external marketing tool, posted on websites and even appear in local newspapers or industry publications. Money shots are carefully crafted and created but can take place naturally as well. It is important to always have a camera in case such a moment appears and there is no official photographer or videographer around.

Money shots are used to create desire (to be a part of next year’s event), or to celebrate group achievement. One company who has a year-round well-being theme that has given them a $2 million return on their $400,000-a-year event investment by reducing health and insurance costs to the company takes the top winners to a repeat destination where they climb a mountain together to celebrate their individual and group success. A shot of the group and individuals at the top would be a prime example of a money shot that could be posted on the company wall of wellness as inspiration and motivation to others to aspire to be there next year and take their place proudly in the photograph.

Assignment

Go back through the chapter and assess which group functions, budget permitting, should have an official photographer and/or videographer to capture the event elements and which should not and why.

CHAPTER 2

SUN JAMMIN’

Em and her staff fall into a delicate situation when their client’s mistress—who is also his executive assistant—decides that she wants to go on the company trip. She shows up at the airport with a ticket purchased elsewhere. The situation is serious, as the client’s wife and children are on the program as well. Making matters even more complex is that the client’s mistress is very well known to the resort’s staff, as she has made several recent site inspection trips there with the company president.

DECEMBER 19

Bliss. My time for bubbles. I’m soaking in my sunken bathtub, which took forever to fill up. I’ve already been down to the beach for my morning sunrise meditation, walk and yoga, and I still have time to enjoy this leisurely bath before heading to breakfast. Everything is in place already for today’s group arrival and I can take a few minutes to enjoy the room amenities before the guests arrive later this afternoon.

My office checked in earlier and all’s going well at check-in for the flight down. The flight is still scheduled to depart on time. They let me know that they had been in touch with Dee Dee as well to save me the call. Dee Dee and some of the program directors overnighted near the airport in Montego Bay so they wouldn’t have to make the long trek back and forth from the airport to the resort twice in one day. Plus, you never know what traffic delays you can encounter along the way. It was far better for Dee Dee and the crew to fly in, stay there and meet with ground transportation—who are based by the airport—to make sure everything was ready on their part. In a few hours, the hotel staff will be heading out to meet Dee Dee and the rest, fill the motor coaches with cold beverages, snacks and icy cloths for relief from the heat, and tag the bags for room delivery. After arriving yesterday, I had spent some time showing the hotel staff how to prepare and package the cloths so they wouldn’t drip on the guests using them to cool themselves down.

The maids are busy readying the guestrooms and bellmen are set to deliver the welcome gifts to each room as soon as they’re done.

All’s good.

Wouldn’t you know it. I was just getting dressed to head out for the day when the telephone rang again. Oh my word. Well, that’s not
exactly
the phrase I want to use to describe my thoughts at the moment.

My office called to say that my client has decided to bring his mistress along on the program—in addition to his wife and children. TheMistress, a.k.a. the office executive assistant, showed up this morning at the airport with a ticket that had been purchased elsewhere. We had been told earlier that she was not coming.

TheMistress had been adamant about coming with the group but CompanyPres was concerned—and rightly so, but not for the reasons he gave her—that she should stay back and take care of the office in his absence. But apparently she was at the airport, ticket in hand, with a triumphant look on her face. She was booked on the same flight down as everyone else but in first class with the company heads and their traveling companions. In fact, her seat was on the aisle directly behind CompanyPres’s wife. CompanyPres took my staff aside to request a suite be booked for her at the resort but in a separate wing from him and the rest of the group. To make matters worse, CompanyPres’s brother, who is vice president (and I had noticed in past meetings was very hands-on with TheMistress when CompanyPres stepped out of the room), has decided at the last moment to come as well. Could this possibly be tied into TheMistress attending? He’s bringing his wife and children down too. This event is turning out to be a family affair in more ways than one. The company employees who qualified for this trip have also been allowed to bring their families along as part of the incentive reward.

These new developments are a potentially explosive situation that could have us “nervousing,” as some of us like to jokingly refer to it. It’s not the first time we’ve been placed in this position—of having someone’s mistress and wife attending the same event—nor will it be the last. It goes on openly at times, with the company employees well aware that one of the invitees on a program is a “special guest” of an executive. The guest may be a fellow co-worker, supplier or client whose relationship with their boss is romantic, but while the employees know what is going on, his/her wife/husband is in the dark. It goes both ways. It’s not just male executives playing around these days.

The on-site behavior of the “couples” is closely watched by attendees and provides hours of discussion and speculation around the pool over drinks; other times, it’s carried out with great subterfuge (at least in
their
minds) and while the company employees may not know, it’s no secret to the hotel staff or the program directors. There are too many eyes and so many ways they slip up, such as signing dinner and champagne for two to the room, followed by watching an X-rated movie. They forget that we have to sign off on every hotel charge. Silly people. We know the signs when something’s not quite kosher. And yes, we can tell from the bills that we review exactly what type of movie is rented. If the company accountants only knew what they were paying for sometimes as a business expense it would really raise their blood pressure.

TheMistress had joined CompanyPres on both site inspections for this property. It was CompanyPres’s way of appeasing her since she was not coming on their official company trip. CompanyPres had left explicit instructions around those “business” trips that if anyone called our office, no one was to say that he was traveling with a companion or give out any information as to what flight he’d be returning on. He wanted no surprises at the airport when he returned. The last site inspection took place just a matter of weeks ago, so this is the third time that they’ve been down, staying at the hotel, in less than six months.

The first site inspection was the typical one we go on with clients, where we take them on location to walk through what their guests would be experiencing and familiarize them with the resort and the location. All clients build into their program the cost of a site inspection for one or more of their company representatives. For some it is work and for others a perk, and yes, they sometimes bring their spouses or traveling partners along “to get their opinion” and yes, often the company knowingly or unknowingly picks up all the costs for the both of them. Some clients are masters of Creative Accounting 101.

The second site inspection for this particular program wasn’t necessary, but it was a thinly veiled excuse for time away together that could be billed to the company and keep TheMistress happy.

CompanyPres and TheMistress booked two rooms for each visit; one was just for show and the company books. On their first stay, the housekeeping staff—concerned about what they thought could be a missing VIP guest—had reported one room being unused the first night and no luggage. Hotel security had been advised, which then got hotel management involved. I was contacted and able to put their minds at rest. As the general manager and I surmised, TheMistress was present and accounted for and happily enjoying breakfast right with CompanyPres in his suite. There was no need for concern. Their relationship had been made very clear from the moment they arrived at the airport check-in, holding hands for the first site inspection. Dee Dee had called down to forewarn me. Up until then we had thought something was going on but we weren’t 100 percent sure. You get to be pretty good at reading people and relationships when you are around as many people as we are for extended periods of time.

When Dee Dee arrived at the resort with them for their first site inspection, she said that on the plane ride down they may have qualified to be the newest members of the Mile High Club. Over dinner we were treated to suggestive remarks, innuendos, sexual banter followed by giggles, and requests for bar drinks such as “Sex on the Beach,” with references to the “Big Bamboo” made frequently. Dee Dee and I could barely keep our eye-rolling discreet. We bade them an early night and retired to our guestrooms to give them their desired privacy. I’m sure they were grateful.

The next day they were the talk of the resort staff. First because of the empty room and then because later that morning they could be seen making love in the ocean in full view of the hotel guests, whom I guess CompanyPres and TheMistress thought would never see them again or remember them if they did. They forgot about the hotel staff. And they forgot how unforgettable TheMistress is in a locale such as Jamaica. She is tall and willowy with natural, baby-fine, blonde hair in soft curls cascading down her back to her waist. She has big, blue eyes, wears the tiniest of thong bathing suits, has an array of revealing sundresses either dipping dangerously low in the back or plunging to her waist in the front and is very, very memorable by both her actions and her looks.

This is a resort that prides itself on their high staff-to-guest ratio and how well their staff remembers and treats repeat guests. Their staff takes great pride in being able to greet return clients by name, knowing when they last stayed at the resort and even how they liked their morning coffee. Now I am placed in the position of having the hotel quietly pass the word to employees NOT to remember this very unforgettable guest as well as the CompanyPres, and it has to be done with finesse. Actually, this really needed to be done regardless whether TheMistress had shown up or not. Last thing we want to happen is to have an employee insisting in front of CompanyPres’s wife or employees that they remembered him from his last visit when he was traveling with the girl with the beautiful long, blonde hair. If his behavior had been proper while out and about at the resort and if TheMistress wasn’t joining him on this trip, I could have passed off the girl with the beautiful long, blonde hair as one of my program directors who came down to assist me—I do have someone on staff that fits the bill—if an awkward moment presented itself, but not with TheMistress here now as well. I need to reach Dee Dee and give her a heads-up on who else has joined the flight and make sure that she advises the hotel staff handling the baggage that they are not to make mention of any past visits to anyone. Then I need to find the hotel general manager and discuss how best to handle this situation with his staff so that there are no slipups. We have to make sure that the message gets communicated to everyone throughout the rotating shifts and it is handled with the utmost of discretion.

The motor coaches made good time and arrived almost on schedule. It was an uneventful transfer, Dee Dee said. A Jamaican scratch band was set up at the front to welcome the guests. One man looked positively ancient but happy to be a part of the welcome festivities.

I’d made sure that, on top of their fee, they received refreshments after their performance was over and they were very happy. The children in the group were fascinated by the band musicians, who were playing homemade instruments that had been crafted from everything from car muffler pipes to an empty can. Welcome drinks and food were also served by the group registration desk but the first stop for most was the bathrooms, as the place they were to have stopped along the way wasn’t open! That DOES NOT make me happy.

I caught CompanyPres mopping his brow with one of the cool cloths. I’m not sure if he was sweating because of the heat or the situation he’d gotten himself into. TheMistress was hovering a shade too close for his comfort as hotel bell staff moved in to help the VIPs with their bags and escort them to their rooms. I am sure he noted some familiar smiling faces in the crowd. I had Dee Dee step in and pull TheMistress away on the pretense of showing her the setup for this evening’s welcome reception. VicePres looked like he was about to say he’d join them but I deliberately stepped in to ask his opinion about something else. CompanyPres visibly relaxed as TheMistress was moved out of sight. CompanyPres Mrs. was happily smiling, chatting with company employees and their families, and making sure that they had had something to eat and drink. She was doing an excellent job in the role of the boss’s wife. Some executive wives on these trips forget that they have a job to do, and schmoozing and making the other spouses feel comfortable is a big part of that. So far, so good. Having a wife implode while on a program—especially with the kids present—won’t happen under our care if we can help it.