Hospitality and Event Management
As described in the earlier chapters, the housekeeping
department has so many multiple functions to
perform. Another major role the department plays is
playing host to the various guests and volunteer
workers who visit the Hospital and in making
appropriate arrangements for conferences, meetings
and workshops that are a regular feature in the
Hospital. The word “appropriate” is to be noted. Each
event is different, and we need to create a service
tailored to the needs of the particular event.
Given below is the complete exercise that an
organisation needs to go through in order to conduct
an event successfully. The housekeeping department may
be required to help the various departments in
coordinating the work. Depending on the size and
complexity of the event, the housekeeping department
may need to work in all of the areas listed or in just a
few. Hence it is important that a housekeeper is familiar
with what goes into organizing an event.
Administration
There are hundreds of details that must be worked
out to properly plan, schedule, and administer an
event. No job is too big, no detail too small, to merit
attention. We need to:
- - Develop a plan that will help to coordinate all
programme details by assigning specific
responsibilities to individuals.
- - Schedule appropriate meeting and event space in
the Conference Hall, the Auditorium or other
rooms in campus, or at off-campus locations.
Keep a welcome board in the entrance (Fig. 21.1).
- - Manage the entire conference registration process,
including:
- - Collecting and processing registration fees
- - Sending pre registration receipts and confirmation letters
- - Staffing the conference registration desk
- - Preparing conference registration packets that contain the conference programme, information about the organisation, appropriate maps, information about restaurants, and sightseeing ideas
- - Preparing and distributing conference name badges
- - Prepare appropriate signs for the event
- - Prepare and distribute a roster of attendees
- - Arrange for appropriate entertainment
- - Provide comprehensive on-site management for the entire conference
- - Provide up-to-the-minute enrollment tracking
Publicity and promotion
An important factor in guaranteeing success for the
event is to reach the proper target audience with
appropriate publicity and promotional materials. As
part of the total publicity and promotion plan for
the conference, we need to:
- - Produce effective brochure copy that will reflect
the uniqueness of the programme and provide
the necessary information to potential participants
- - Design the appropriate graphics to complement
the brochure copy
- - Print conference brochures and fliers
- - Create a mailing list to reach the potential
registrants and maintain this list for future use
- - Mail printed brochures
- - Develop a Web page for the programme
- - Arrange for news releases about the
programme
Financial management
It is important to draft a comprehensive programme
budget. This budget will reflect the unique needs of
the event and help make the programme selfsupporting.
To ensure sound financial management,
we need to:
- - Establish realistic registration fees
- - Collect and administer programme tuition
- - Carefully monitor all conference income and
expenses so that conference finances are managed
in accordance with legal and institutional
requirements
- - Maintain accurate accounting records of all
conference income and expenses
- - Pay all conference bills
- - Prepare a final financial report for the Organisation
Accommodation and meals
The Event Manager should coordinate in arranging for
accommodation, meals and special refreshments for
the participants.
Arrange for on-campus accommodation, when
available, or off-campus accommodation in local
hotels or motels which can meet the financial needs
of all participants.
Help select menus, schedule banquet facilities, and
coordinate with the catering department or food service
providers. The housekeeping department assists with
refreshment breaks, and service during meals.
Instructional media assistance
We need to coordinate the services of a variety of
instructional media professionals who can assist in
creating audiovisual and other learning aids for the
conference. In this regard, we need to:
- - Arrange for audiovisual equipment such as
projectors, screens, sound equipment, video
projectors, and recording equipment
- - Produce appropriate overhead transparencies,
slides, posters, and charts to enhance the content
of presentations
- - Arrange for audio or video cassettes of major
conference presentations for historical purposes
or for distribution to participants
Exhibit planning
Exhibitor kits need to be prepared, and a plan needs
to be chalked out for exhibits and displays.
Evaluation
The success or effectiveness of the programme needs
to be evaluated. For this we need to:
- - Design a programme-specific evaluation
form
- - Produce a summary report based on evaluation
data
- - Recommend what should be included in future
programmes
Post-conference wrap-up
After the programme is over, we need to wrap up all
the dozens of details that occur in connection with the event. The programme is not considered to be
over until all the following are completed
- - Account for all income and expenses
- - Pay all conference bills
- - Write appropriate thank-you letters to speakers
and others who contributed to the success of the
event
- - Handle all administrative paperwork
- - Process all appropriate documents related to
travel, speakers’ honoraria and other expenses
- - Update the roster of attendees
- - Create a computerised mailing list of attendees
for use in announcing future programmes
Student exercise
Answer the following
- What are the factors that play a major role in
planning and execution of an event?
- What is the role of the housekeeping department
in event management?
