Blog

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Summit Management Services

Effective today, Continental will offer an opportunity to upgrade to seats featuring extra legroom for a “nominal” amount, which will vary by length of flight and market competition. Elite fliers can get these seats in advance – another benefit of earning status on Continental.

According to the Airline’s website:

“Choose to purchase a seat with extra legroom when you require more room for work or relaxation. When checking-in during the normal check-in period 24 hours prior to your flight, you’ll have the choice to purchase a seat offering a minimum of seven additional inches of legroom. These seats will be available to purchase at continental.com or at an airport kiosk. OnePass Elite members will continue to have the same access to the seats without paying a fee. more »

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Summit Management Services

Setting up the Show Computer

You’re in the meeting room for your important presentation and everything looks perfect. There’s a projector with enough lumens, a correctly sized screen so that everyone can see – maybe even a sound system – and the meeting is about to begin. You even remembered the auto-advance slide presenter and the laser pointer.  The coffee break is set and lunch is scheduled for 12:30.  Did you forget anything?

One sure way to invite “Death by PowerPoint,” is to let more than one person try to hook up their computer to your show projector or to change computers in the middle of your meeting. more »

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Summit Management Services

Choose Your Technical Team Wisely

For all but the smallest meeting, using a hotel’s in-house audio-visual department can be a risky endeavor. It stands to reason that while the hotel’s technical team will do their best to follow your instructions, ultimately, they owe their allegiance to a company with conflicting loyalties. After all, you are only in their hotel for a few days; they will have another client next week, and the week after that.

Traveling a technical team which owes its allegiance to you is as important as finding the right speakers for your presentations. more »

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Summit Management Services

Rob and I recently shared a conversation with Eric Smith from Collaborative Synergies LLC, a colleague who managed one of  the largest meeting planning and event teams for a Fortune 50 company in North  America. We began swapping horror stories about how some companies mismanage  meeting costs.

Suddenly, we understood “You might be a redneck if…” and “You might be developing a meeting in the 90’s if…” scenarios. So, without too much more thought and not to be outdone by Letterman, here is “Lipman’s Top 10 Ways to Mismanage  Meeting Spend”… more »

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Summit Management Services

Last week, we covered some of the top strategies for avoiding the middle seat. As a quick review, Summit recommends: more »

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Summit Management Services

There’s nothing more irritating than being wedged into a middle seat on a cross-country flight, especially when you’ve paid an outrageous fare and the people sitting next to you are paying super-saver rates.

Snagging premium seats at bargain fares is an art.  While a good travel agent can improve the odds you’ll get one, ultimately you can do things even the best agent can’t.  All it takes is a little time and effort – and it’s worth it to stay out of that center seat. more »

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Summit Management Services

Simultaneous to the East coast storm, Europe is pelted with snow, ice and massive in-bound airline delays.

Currently, there are two hundred guests assembled in Prague for a meeting. A monster storm has dumped two feet of snow on airports from Washington to Boston, paralyzing air traffic. Principal speakers are trapped, unable to leave their homes even had the airports been open.  BUT THE SHOW MUST GO ON! more »