At the The MICE Academy Breakfast Briefing powered by Cardinal Leisure on Site Inspections held on 8 August, Raymond van der Berg, head of conferencing at Southern Africa Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM), a MICE Academy subscriber and CPD credit recipient made it abundantly clear that fun in the sun with lavish food, booze and bed just doesn’t cut it.
Van der Berg, provided delegates with hard-hitting information. There were so many worthwhile gems that only the most salient facts can be highlighted.
- An average of three venues are selected for inspection hence a venue has only one opportunity (approximately 33%) to sell their product/s;
- It is essential prior to the inspection that the venue has knowledge of the type of event being considered or being planned I the long term;
- Equally the venue must have all the facts about their ‘product’ including configurations regarding their venue;
- Site inspections require planning and a total structured approach by both parties;
- The ‘soft’ attractions such as touch, feel, smell, flexibility, attitude – all play a major role in the decision-making process.
Van der Berg provided two actual case-studies of a good and a not-so-good site inspection together with the manner in which the potential client makes an informed decision.
In concluding his extensive presentation – van der Berg and made it clear that price was not always the main criteria on which a decision is based. He cautioned venues to be flexible, prepared and most importantly to understand that a site inspection costs time and indeed also a relationship.
The MICE Academy’s Helen Brewer followed-on by pin-pointing the manner in which a site inspection should be undertaken. These were: prior to the inspection, during the inspection and equally important following the inspection.
The two presentations were followed by an online CPD MICE Test which all participants took part in.
The take-back-to-the-office value was of an exceptional quality and the authentic certification process for those participants that achieved 10 or more correct scores out of 15 will be the follow-through for this first-of-many Breakfast Briefings.
The Site Inspection briefing concept is the initiative of Cardinal Leisure and several further briefings are available by contacting Viviene Kloeck on 011 478 2420 | F: +27 (0)11 478 2421 I C: 082 601 4455 viv@clsa.co.za | http://www.clsa.co.za
