Summary
Rome Marriott Park Hotel, Rome, Italy.
This conference represented the clients' largest single bi-annual event for customers, prospects, partners and sponsors. Featuring a Partner Summit, Sponsors exhibition area, gala dinner, 2 days of breakout sessions and lots of networking opportunities, this is the European session of the global tour series.
The city location was fixed and dates for the event were tightly constrained based on executive management availability. With up to 800 delegates travelling from across Europe plus a complex multi-stream agenda and Partner Expo, we needed a flexible conference venue, close to the airport and with accommodation. There was only one suitable venue with availability, but it came with its own challenges.
When all was done, our client had some nice feedback.
You guys have been nothing less than phenomenal. Thank you so much for your truly exceptional service.
The Conference
This conference represented the clients' largest single bi-annual event for customers, prospects, partners and sponsors. Featuring a Partner Summit, Sponsors exhibition area, gala dinner, 2 days of breakout sessions and lots of networking opportunities, this is the European session of the global tour series.
The Spec
- 2-day event
- Planned 750+ delegates
- Main plenary stage plus 8 structured break-out streams
- Full Expo exhibition area with 20+ stands of varying size and complexity
- Management of partner sponsorship payments and Expo branding
- Welcome and Closing receptions
- Management of accommodation and in-country transportation
- On-site local language support plus English speakers
- Branded themed materials and signage
- Integration with client's bespoke mobile app
The Challenges
- Fixed city location and dates
- Potentially 800+ attendees - some very high profile
- Complex agenda and breakout streams
- Exhibition area with high-profile, paying sponsors
- Relatively tight timescales - when are they not?!
The city location was fixed and dates for the event were tightly constrained based on executive management availability. With up to 800 delegates travelling from across Europe plus a complex multi-stream agenda and Expo, we needed a flexible conference venue, close to the airport and with accommodation. There was only one suitable venue with availability, but it came with its own challenges.
The event included an Expo exhibition space with several high-profile, paying sponsors, each with their own stand and branding requirements, all of which needed managing. And lastly, integrating our delegate badging and tracking with the existing bespoke booking site and mobile app offered technical and management challenges.
The Chill Out! Solution
Welcome to Rome
Delegates arriving into Rome Fiumicino airport were met at a dedicated welcome desk near arrivals and transferred directly to the hotel, which was a relatively short and easy transfer. However, the number of delegates arriving at different times meant that we needed a selection of various-sized vehicles available as necessary. We worked with our local destination management partner and a local transportation company to ensure that delegates were not left waiting at the airport.
Welcome to the McAfee Park Hotel Rome!
Chill Out has run several events in Rome and would normally offer a choice of venues to meet the brief. However, the timing constraints meant that only one venue had availability – and it wasn’t ideal. The Rome Marriott Park Hotel is a dedicated conference venue with all the space we needed and accommodation available in-house and in nearby hotels. But on our initial site visit, the venue was obviously tired and in need of refurbishment, especially for hosting a high-profile, hi-tech Summit and Expo.
The venue may be tired, but the conference and banqueting staff were really on the ball. We worked with them to dress and brand, not just the main plenary stage, but all the areas we were using. One executive even commented that they thought they were staying in a McAfee hotel. Job done! With signage, branding and private transport from nearby hotels we were able to provide real italian hospitality for all from beginning to end.
This place feels more like a McAfee hotel than a Marriott! Great job!
The Conference and Break Out Rooms
This event turned out to be the client's largest EMEA event yet with over 800 delegates attending. Despite the publicity before and the pre-registration pages, a significant number of attendees had not completed registration or paid the fee. In planning the arrivals area, we took care to have on-site registration, badge-printing and payment services to cover this eventuality. All our delegates, registered or walk-ins, were able to register and were seated ready for the Plenary Session to start on time – as we always do!
As with most conferences of this type of, a critical aspect was managing the transition from main plenary sessions into the 8 individual streams for the afternoon under extremely tight time constraints. Chill Out! coordinated dedicated break-down and set-up crews consisting of venue staff, our AV and production suppliers and our own on-site team. Our delegates enjoying lunch in the Expo area were happily unaware of the frenetic activity happening all around them.
The afternoon sessions were able to start on time and stayed that way. Using clear signage, on-line and on paper information plus trained support staff as guides, we made sure that every delegate knew where they had to be and when. We used room captains to coordinate sessions, ensure that every speaker ran to time and enable delegates to move between sessions without interrupting speakers.
Turning an exhibition into an Expo
Chill Out! manage sponsorship payments and exhibition set up for many clients and this one was no different. We worked closely with one of our larger stand-builders to create a package of options for the Sponsors. Taking the management headache of collecting sponsorship fees and coordinating branding and materials allowed our client to focus on the agenda and content of the Summit – as they should do.
One thing Sponsors always say to us is that it’s only worth their while if the delegates actually get the opportunity to spend time in the Expo and visit their stands. One thing we always do is make sure the hosts provide these opportunities. In this case we created space within the Expo to serve food and drink and arranged for the Welcome Reception, coffees, lunches and the Closing Reception to be hosted in the Expo. By providing places for delegates and Sponsors to network, the feedback from the Sponsors was excellent. They will definitely be returning in future years!
Keeping everyone happy - especially the Press
While our Delegates are our primary focus, it’s as important to ensure that everyone has a positive experience of these large events. Setting aside separate areas for Press and VIPs to work or meet in private as we did in Rome is always welcomed. Providing a help desk to ensure that these important guests can access business services, or request meetings or materials, really makes a huge difference to their perception of the entire event.
Once on site, we realised that the hotel's suggested break-out rooms, while perfectly acceptable, were not to the same modern standard as the plenary session space. We were able to work with the venue to adapt the main session space during the breaks to accommodate our break-out needs. The whole event ran seamlessly within the main conference area, giving the delegates an excellent experience.
Conclusion
The client was delighted with the post-event outcomes as they signed up new users, networked with existing customers and new prospects and set the scene for the future. They had the largest attendance yet and some of the best feedback ever. Their event hashtag was trending globally during the conference (ref: @WhoTrendedIT). Thanks to everyone who tweeted their comments and feedback!
Having addressed (or should we say ‘redressed’) the limitations of the venue, a lot of hard work paid off and delivered a successful event, many happy delegates, satisfied Sponsors and a very happy client.
A Very Happy Client
You guys have been nothing less than phenomenal. Thank you so much for your truly exceptional service.
This is a long standing Chill Out! client and we've delivered some wonderful events and experiences over the years with many more to come. What can we do for you?