Senior Meeting Planner
Planned over 900 domestic and international meetings up to 4,500 participants (details available upon request)Contract Negotiations (domestic and international) – Determined objectives of meetings; developed, submitted and analyzed Requests for Proposal (RFPs) to venues, technology vendors, destination management companies (DMCs); negotiated contracts for hotels, speakers, production companies, special events venues; detailed site inspections of prospective venues to determine fit to client and meeting needs.Logistical Arrangements – Developed detailed meeting specification documents for each program to include setup, floor plans, audio/visual and production needs, food & beverage requirements; authorize Banquet Event Orders (BEOs) for food and beverage functions; manage room block.On-site Management – Conduct preconference meetings to review all aspects of the program; constantly monitor all on-site logistics; onsite staff management; VIP handling; crisis management; ground transportation; liaise with all departments of hotel, conference and convention centers and venues; liaise with all service providers.Fiscal Responsibility – Develop and maintain budget and prepare variance report with explanations after each program; post-conference hotel and vendor invoice reconciliation. Negotiated savings of over $550,000 with vendors during tenure. Managed budgets from $20,000 to $2,000,000 on a per-meeting basis. Consistently achieved -5% variance.Mentoring/Staff Development – Helped develop a monthly departmental meeting – InfoExchange – as a vehicle for planners to share experiences and insight into venues, vendors and cities. In-Residence Project Manager – Point of contact for an 8-month, $11.2 million special project at the New York Marriott Marquis. in day-to-day operations involving more than 600 displaced tax professionals after September 11, 2001.
