Tips
Upcoming events and travel
05/08/09 10:46 AM Filed in: Tradeshows | Travel
As you prepare for your industry meetings this year, remember: always expect the unexpected! Whether you are exhibiting or attending a show, the challenges of travel, meetings, navigating a new city, and finding restaurants can be daunting! For many seasoned professionals, the tradeshow circuit becomes another part of the job, perceived as “just another trip.” To make this year’s junkets a bit more efficient and fun, we’ve compiled a short selection of business travel ideas, as follows:
And, if you happen to be traveling to SPBT in Chicago or ASTD in Washington DC, be sure to check out some fun facts for these incredible cities:
- Look to the associations to offer you more this year. Acknowledging that resources, personnel, travel funds, and time are in short supply, many meeting organizing groups are offering specials on booth space, entrance fees, hotel, and travel costs.
- If travel dollars have been the first to suffer in your organization, online attendance to a show may be a viable lower-cost option. Often you can find very reduced fees to “attend” the show in a virtual manner. Meeting session DVDs/CDs/audio is also available if you’re looking to pinpoint a specific area of interest.
- Facilitating a workshop or participating in a panel discussion can also be a great way to attend a show. Presenters are often offered reduced or no fees to attend. This approach also offers the opportunity to work with the association to shape the curriculum and educational offerings. Co-facilitation and sponsorship of a session can also be helpful in your introduction to a new show.
And, if you happen to be traveling to SPBT in Chicago or ASTD in Washington DC, be sure to check out some fun facts for these incredible cities:
- Chicago-style deep dish pizza is often imitated and rarely duplicated. For the authentic version, there are only four places to go: Pizzeria Uno (29 E. Ohio Street; 312/321-1000), Pizzeria Due (619 N. Wabash; 312/943-2400), Gino's East (633 N. Wells Street; 312/943-1124), and Lou Malnati's (439 N. Wells Street 312/828-9800). Others might have good pizza, but you can count on these originals for the very best.
- Don’t forget your sneakers...or your umbrella. D.C. was voted the most walkable city in the U.S. in a study by the Brookings Institution in 2007. However, be ready for a little drizzle. D.C. averages 39 inches of rainfall a year—more than Seattle.
Happy travels, to wherever the day takes you…