Meeting mishaps: some common problems and how to avoid them.

• Author: McKimmie, Kathy
• Position: Meetings & Conventions

What do you do if you pull into work at 8:00 one morning and see 300 people lined up when there's nothing on your meeting schedule? Don't panic; grab three dishwashers to help with setup, and have a meeting room ready to occupy in 15 minutes. At least that's what Chuck Lazzara did several years ago when, luckily, space happened to be available at the Ritz Charles meeting and event facility in Carmel, where he's president.

Turns out the general manager had taken a call after hours one night and told a business group that space was available. But the group never followed up to schedule the room or sign a contract--essential in guaranteeing any meeting or conference space. Lazzara says this short-lived crisis was the only near-disaster he's had in his 18 years in the special-event and conference-hosting business. "This is a family-run business where the principals are here every day and there's a commitment to making sure things don't go wrong."

In a nutshell the most important thing is maintaining control over every aspect of the meeting or event, says Maggie Miller, associate director, University Place Conference Center and Hotel on the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis. The key is to "control the details, not just worry about them." Meticulous planning with detailed documentation can help prevent a wide variety of meeting mishaps.

To help things go smoothly, Lazzara says his staff uses a comprehensive checklist when working with clients to nail down details in advance, including the exact meeting times to avoid collisions with events scheduled before or after in the same room, and to understand room set-up terminology. Diagrams of potential room setups are routinely reviewed so an agreement on "classroom style" doesn't later result in the question: "What are the tables for?" The Ritz Charles can accommodate 500 people for meetings with a luncheon in a separate room, 1,200 for banquets and 900 for conferences only.

The starting point in planning a successful event, says Lazzara, is location and parking availability. He has a lock on those, with close proximity to interstate highways and lots of free parking. He notes that attendees can get sticker shock from parking fees at some meeting locations, and "you don't want people ticked off at the beginning."

Location considerations include not only ease of commute but also distractions. "The meeting planner needs to make sure that you get across the reason you're having the meeting," says Lazzara. If...