Donald Duszynski Email & Phone Number

As your Meeting Planner, you’ll find none better as a “hands-on, detail-oriented” advocate for your group: ►30 yr experience with smaller (100-500) academic organizations helping locate venues for their meetings. ►No greed! No charge for my upfront services when working for you, whereas most other planners that help you secure venues have an initial upfront fee (often hefty).►Dedicated to your group. I visit 5-6 (once 19) venues in the city you choose & speak at length with sales managers of each before recommending the most suitable 3-5 properties to your Council for final decision. ►I get hotels competing against each other to offer you better room rates & amenities by visiting a 2nd time to encourage sales managers for additional concessions. ►I work with sales manager to write the contract & never accept boiler plate contracts b/c these protect only the hotel, not your group. Our Addendum to the hotel contract takes legal precedent over the hotel contract & protects your group against any egregious actions by hotel (cancelling room reservations, walking guests, not honoring the group block room rate, etc.). ►I negotiate good room rates from GREAT hotels: Hotel Kabuki, San Francisco (May, 2011); Sheraton-Anchorage (May, 2011); Hilton Prince Kahio, Waikiki Beach, Honolulu (May, 2010); Omni Hotel, Richmond, VA (July, 2012), J.W. Marriott, New Orleans (2014)—contact me for the details. And your meeting space is ALWAYS free.►I answer emails, I pay attention to DETAILS, will attend your meeting and meet your council—at your direction, or not. I make at least 1 additional trip to the venue, 8-12 mo out from the start of your meeting, to meet with members of the Local Committee (if any) and the hotel staff to be sure everyone is on the same page. I pay for my own meals & the only up-front expense I ask is round trip airfare to the venue city, when I am negotiating on your behalf, but only if I can’t get it from the hotels or local CVB.Specialties: ►41 yr as a university professor, biologist, scientist, scholar, administrator (ugh!). I know academics & speak their language.

Listed skills include Grant Writing, Public Speaking, Meeting Planning, Research, and 13 others.