Convention Management and Service

Convention Management and Service
Course Outlines HTM479

Course Description: Defines the scope and segmentation of the convention and group business market, describes marketing and sales strategies to attract markets with specific needs, and explains techniques to meet those needs as part of meeting and convention service.

Evaluation: The student must complete eighteen basic, self-scoring review quizzes, four progress tests, and a comprehensive final examination.

Learning Resource: Convention Management and Service,
Fifth Edition, by:
Milton T. Astroff
R. Abbey

Learning Objectives: At the completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Describe the scope of the convention and meetings industry in terms of
     types of meetings, who holds meetings, and emerging types of meeting facilities.
2. Explain the steps in developing a marketing plan.
3. Describe considerations in the organizational design of a sales department,
     and outline how a sales office interfaces with other departments.
4. Identify characteristics of association meetings that are important for
     selling to the association market.
5. Identify characteristics of corporate meetings that are important for selling
     to the corporate market.
6. Describe SMERF groups and explain how to approach selling meeting
     services and products to them.
7. List and describe the steps in making a personal sales call.
8. Summarize the process of planning an advertising strategy and describe
     how public relations and publicity can help a property reach meeting planners.
9. Describe the elements of a letter of agreement or a contract and
     distinguish between those elements.
10. Describe considerations in determining who should coordinate hotel
     service to groups, and describe the duties and organizational relationships
     of the position of convention service manager.
11. Summarize considerations hotel staff must make when assigning rooms to
     meeting attendees.
12. Describe the format and uses of the specification sheet prepared by the
     convention service manager.
13. Describe typical function room furniture, meeting setups, and time and usage considerations.
14. Identify different types of food functions and types of food service, and describe trends in taste.
15. Summarize factors in the decision about which audiovisual requirements to
     service in-house and which to outsource, and describe types of audiovisual
     equipment and their uses.
16. Describe programs that hospitality properties offer spouses and children of
     meeting attendees and the role of such programs in a successful meeting.
17. Describe the functions of key trade show personnel and describe the elements of exhibit planning.
18. Describe typical procedures for billing groups and for conducting a post convention review.

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Last Updated July 6, 2006