Seminars/Continuing Education

I'm sure that many of you around here have continuing education requirements for your profession and attend seminars through the year to facilitate that need. One of the organizations I belong to has corralled me into heading up a committee to produce a three day seminar in 2018. The organization does one of these deals every year but for the past 4 years the event has seen attendance drop and enthusiasm wane. I'd like to get this thing back on track but it's going to require a little bit of a paradigm shift....I think.

For those who attend this kind of thing, would you be willing to spend a little more than normal if the event is held in a classier place and has a somewhat higher end theme? I'm talking about a 3 day seminar that usually runs $300-350 plus a hotel room for those not in the immediate area. If it ended up running $500 but was at a nice resort instead of a conference center or a Holiday Inn type deal would that sway you one way or the other? Would you prefer a little less education time if there was more networking time or is the number of education hours more important?

When I was working the seminars/etc. held in Honolulu in January, Las Vegas any time, and the Colorado Rockies in July always had people fighting to go. And, since they didn't have to pay for it, the cost wasn't a factor. To get these you had to be on the "A" Team.

I was definitely "B" Team. I got Tucson, Arizona in August, St. Louis in May, and San Diego in July. But, I beat out a buddy who got Selma, Alabama in August.

Personally, I thought all were pretty much a waste of time whether I was attending or presenting.

In my experience it is a combination of speakers and location that makes the difference. If traveling out of state to Arizona even on the shoulder season people often bring spouses and family and make a vacation out of it if it is at a resort.

I've presented at two conferences and attended two and chaired one national conference at the El Conquistador and people loved the resort. Tucson, of course, has many nice resorts. I've attended a conference in Tucson that wasn't at a resort and there were not as many people as expected.

People really like free time for at least one afternoon. If they know they are going to have free time in advance and they have an idea of the resort amenities and available activities I think it makes a difference.

Get your required credits at a resort in Tucson with some free time to have fun? Yeah, coming to Arizona I think people would pay more.

Risky Thicket said:

In my experience it is a combination of speakers and location that makes the difference. If traveling out of state to Arizona even on the shoulder season people often bring spouses and family and make a vacation out of it if it is at a resort.

I've presented at two conferences and attended two and chaired one national conference at the El Conquistador and people loved the resort. Tucson, of course, has many nice resorts. I've attended a conference in Tucson that wasn't at a resort and there were not as many people as expected.

People really like free time for at least one afternoon. If they know they are going to have free time in advance and they have an idea of the resort amenities and available activities I think it makes a difference.

Get your required credits at a resort in Tucson with some free time to have fun? Yeah, coming to Arizona I think people would pay more.

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The last time we hosted one of these in Tucson it was the El Conquistador. Sine then it's been a conference center in Flagstaff or the "resort" casino in Prescott. Attendance dropped by nearly half.

I'm looking at La Paloma for this one because I'm sick and tired of counting nickles and dimes to accommodate a few cheap skates. I also want to see if I can work something out with a few local breweries and some of the wineries around Bisbee to make this more of a southern Arizona themed event.

Lutherf said:

I'm sure that many of you around here have continuing education requirements for your profession and attend seminars through the year to facilitate that need. One of the organizations I belong to has corralled me into heading up a committee to produce a three day seminar in 2018. The organization does one of these deals every year but for the past 4 years the event has seen attendance drop and enthusiasm wane. I'd like to get this thing back on track but it's going to require a little bit of a paradigm shift....I think.

For those who attend this kind of thing, would you be willing to spend a little more than normal if the event is held in a classier place and has a somewhat higher end theme? I'm talking about a 3 day seminar that usually runs $300-350 plus a hotel room for those not in the immediate area. If it ended up running $500 but was at a nice resort instead of a conference center or a Holiday Inn type deal would that sway you one way or the other? Would you prefer a little less education time if there was more networking time or is the number of education hours more important?

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have you asked the participants of the last few conferences what they enjoyed and what they avoided. also seek some feedback on a price point
let your customers tell you what the really want

justabubba said:

have you asked the participants of the last few conferences what they enjoyed and what they avoided. also seek some feedback on a price point
let your customers tell you what the really want

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Oh yeah. We do a "debrief" after every one of these deals but since the same core group of 60 or so have been the only ones attending I'm pretty sure that my feedback is skewed. I'm looking to attract new people and breathe some new life into this thing because it's just plain stale right now.

Lutherf said:

I'm sure that many of you around here have continuing education requirements for your profession and attend seminars through the year to facilitate that need. One of the organizations I belong to has corralled me into heading up a committee to produce a three day seminar in 2018. The organization does one of these deals every year but for the past 4 years the event has seen attendance drop and enthusiasm wane. I'd like to get this thing back on track but it's going to require a little bit of a paradigm shift....I think.

For those who attend this kind of thing, would you be willing to spend a little more than normal if the event is held in a classier place and has a somewhat higher end theme? I'm talking about a 3 day seminar that usually runs $300-350 plus a hotel room for those not in the immediate area. If it ended up running $500 but was at a nice resort instead of a conference center or a Holiday Inn type deal would that sway you one way or the other? Would you prefer a little less education time if there was more networking time or is the number of education hours more important?

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I have attended a LOT of these kinds of things over my working life and with very few exceptions, other than opportunity to meet with your colleagues and get to know them or know them better, I found them a huge waste of time and money. Little was accomplished that could not have been accomplished just as well by mailing out a list of instructions and objectives or assigning a good book to read on management or whatever. So bottom line, given a choice, I would not personally spend my money on these whether in a Motel 6 in Amarillo or a great resort in the Bahamas. On the other hand, I have gone at my employer's expense to some really classy places and thoroughly enjoyed the extra paid vacation that is pretty much all these kinds of things were.

Exception: Meetings held to entertain your best clients should always be held in the nicest facilities you can afford and these do go a long way to develop shall we say brand loyalty?

I too have generally found conferences a waste of time and money, useful only for the scoring of professional development points and, rarely, good schwag. I've found the benefits of "networking" to be, well, ephemeral.

Lutherf said:

The last time we hosted one of these in Tucson it was the El Conquistador. Sine then it's been a conference center in Flagstaff or the "resort" casino in Prescott. Attendance dropped by nearly half.

I'm looking at La Paloma for this one because I'm sick and tired of counting nickles and dimes to accommodate a few cheap skates. I also want to see if I can work something out with a few local breweries and some of the wineries around Bisbee to make this more of a southern Arizona themed event.

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My experiences vary from location to location. I've done a lot of public speaking all over country and it seems to me that resort venues have greater participation. Flag is nice especially this time of year and that should be a plus. However, I'm pretty familiar with Flagstaff and while there are some good conference facilities there there really aren't any resorts such as what is available in Tucson.

I've actually been to a conference at the casino in Prescott, Cliffs Castle, meh.

La Paloma is a good choice. Send hotel brochures and area maps, etc. to all your organization members and talk up the leisure opportunities as much as the conference itself. That should help. Survey members to determine the key topics of interest in your field and send out your call for papers early so that you get a broad selection of speakers from which you can choose.

You have your work cut out for you, brother. Good luck.

Lutherf said:

Oh yeah. We do a "debrief" after every one of these deals but since the same core group of 60 or so have been the only ones attending I'm pretty sure that my feedback is skewed. I'm looking to attract new people and breathe some new life into this thing because it's just plain stale right now.

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from the few posts thus far, it is apparent that some find these kinds of events less than valued
which is why i recommend you poll your prospects to find out what it is they would want to attend/see/hear/learn/experience and possibly more importantly, what they would hope to avoid

to be found worthwhile, warranting leaving the office, incurring travel time and expense, fee, attendance time, the event had better offer something compelling
maybe your offering is the only way continuing ed credit can be attained. then you have a captive audience and can offer almost anything at almost any expense, and the attendees will follow. otherwise, it must be stunningly good for me to evaluate it as worth my investment of time and money
so, your desire to elevate what has previously been provided seems to be a wise approach

thinking back, my experience was limited to an array of half-assed government official, by-the-number sessions, and even worse union organized productions

the best experiences were those where the session leader was a knowledgable and very skilled presenter; someone able to get the attendees actively involved by engaging them with information and perspectives they had not otherwise pondered. it was never good if limited to someone making a speech or presenting a lecture

in every instance of a poorly planned event, the only positive takeaway was peer-to-peer discussion, usually over dinner and/or drinks. that was when helpful information was learned

i was the coordinator for the white house conference in my state during the reagan administration. it went amazingly well (primarily because there were political benefits to showing up) ... at least until the final day: January 28, 1986. the Challenger explosion. as you can imagine, that resulted in a subdued and low key conclusion. not what had been expected

Lutherf said:

I'm sure that many of you around here have continuing education requirements for your profession and attend seminars through the year to facilitate that need. One of the organizations I belong to has corralled me into heading up a committee to produce a three day seminar in 2018. The organization does one of these deals every year but for the past 4 years the event has seen attendance drop and enthusiasm wane. I'd like to get this thing back on track but it's going to require a little bit of a paradigm shift....I think.

For those who attend this kind of thing, would you be willing to spend a little more than normal if the event is held in a classier place and has a somewhat higher end theme? I'm talking about a 3 day seminar that usually runs $300-350 plus a hotel room for those not in the immediate area. If it ended up running $500 but was at a nice resort instead of a conference center or a Holiday Inn type deal would that sway you one way or the other? Would you prefer a little less education time if there was more networking time or is the number of education hours more important?

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The only ones I attend are daytime things. If I was looking at a three-day affair, I would only want the sleeping accomodations to be quiet and have a comfortable bed (without bed bugs - research that first, seriously). As long as I get my night's sleep I don't care about the size of the room or any luxuries. I can amuse myself with a book....

However, people should also be comfortable during the actual presentations. The worst thing you can do is cram people into a small space, in uncomfortable seating, and for long hours.