Let’s assume that you’ve set up the greatest event in the world: How will people get there? Accounting for attendee travel may seem like a minor issue to you, but it’s a very important consideration for your expected audience, especially if they are driving or flying a considerable distance. Here’s how to make sure that travel concerns won’t have a negative impact on your big event.
Poll for Information: Not sure what travel arrangements to make for your attendees? Ask them! Along with sign-ups or notifications, include some basic poll information to get a better idea of what your audience prefers. There are a lot of different questions you can ask, but some useful options may be “How far are you willing to travel to an event?” and “Where area do you live in?” You can also ask about what time of day attendees prefer the event to be, or if attendees are more likely to come if travel costs aren’t an issue.
Decide Early on Streaming: Streaming can solve many very transportation problems by allowing an alternative form of participation. Granted it’s not quite the participation you may prefer, but it’s much better than nothing. The key is making up your mind early about this technology: Not only do attendees need to decide if they want to make the trip or book a streaming session instead, but it will also take a significant amount of work to set up a proper A/V solution for streaming at your venue without problems. Start early on this if you want it to work properly!
Include a Built-In Travel Solution: This is a popular and effective option for larger corporate events. On your event page or site, include a link or travel tool to help people book tickets, reservations, and more (no matter who’s paying for them). This allows people to quickly sign up and set their schedules at the same time. American Express’s travel services, for example, offer potential tools for you to use for this type of offering.
Check Out Local Transportation Packages: Suppose you have plans to get your attendees to the city where you are holding the event. Good! Now what? How is your audience going to get to the venue? Do you have maps or apps to guide them there? Are you going to recommend certain types of transportation? Are you going to buy tickets? This is an important step to look into, because many local transportation options do offer packages that can help events, but you will need to get this ball rolling.
Account for Traffic: Even if your attendees don’t have to travel very far, you should still take time to think about traffic when your event is taking place. If people will be traveling in rush hour, for example, some of your attendees might just decide to stay home: They know what it’s like out there. Other attendees might decide to leave halfway through if traffic promises to be bad at the end of the event. Recommend alternate routes or have set transportation methods in place to prevent these issues – and try to schedule with an eye on traffic habits.
Remember the Long Distance Mindset: Speaking of attendees leaving, if you have a lot of attendees that have flown in or traveled a significant distance, remember their mindset. There’s going to be a part of them that’s considering when and how to get back home, and that’s going to get more important as the event goes on. Try not to schedule the most important presentations too late or at odd times – because these long distance travelers will probably have already left.
For more information on how to prepare travel details for your event, visit McVeigh Global Meetings and Events and let us know what your concern is!