Exciting News! Winn Events’ Blog has a New Format and Location

Dear Friends,

I wanted to take this moment to tell you some exciting news about the Winn Events blog! We have a new blog location http://blog.winnevents.com and starting next week we have a new format. I write this blog for event planners and want it to have content that is helpful to you. I have decided to write three blogs a week.

Mondays will be Tip Monday. I will share tips and ideas on event planning similar to what I do now.

Wednesdays are going to be called Destination Wednesday. Each week I will feature a city, venue, hotel, vendor, or attraction. Next week I will begin a three part series about my recent visit to Kissimmee, FL and highlight several of the locations I visited with my wonderful Convention and Visitors Bureau host Sara Melendez.

Fridays are going to be called Free Write Friday. This day I will write about a variety of topics. I may highlight a travel site, vendor, CVB, or upcoming event. If you have questions or ideas or need advice on planning your events, shoot me a quick email at jennifer@winnevents.com and I may cover your question the next Free Write Friday.

I can’t wait to get started and learn more about my wonderful readers. This blog is for you so please leave comments, email me your questions and ideas, let me know how I can help you. To stay informed on the latest blogs or to sign up to receive my monthly e-newsletter, please click the RSS feed on the right. If you want to continue to receive the RSS feed, please resign up on the new blog site.

Your Event Expert,

Jennifer D. Winn

Owner/National Event Planner

Winn Events, LLC

Winn Events is an event planning and management company that serves nonprofit and cause centric organizations to put on impactful, life-changing events. To learn more, go to http://www.winnevents.com. Winn Events partners with The Winn Agency, a speaker and artist booking and management agency.  To find the perfect speaker or artist for your next event go to http://www.thewinnagency.com.

Check and Recheck!

I typically check and recheck everything before a trip to make sure everything is in place before we arrive.  This last trip it was a kid-free trip since we were attending a conference and had decided to add a day at Disney beforehand. I reconfirmed our hotel reservation and found that just because your reservation says one thing does not mean that the hotel will honor that when booked through a third party.

I had booked a hotel for us at a Disney property through a separate booking website and reserved a King room. When I called Disney the day before to reconfirm the reservation and room type, I was informed that we had reserved a Double room not a King, yet the reservation in my hand clearly stated I had a King. I went back and forth between Disney and the third party booking site and discovered that they had a breakdown in their definitions of what a Standard room means. Disney’s version of a standard room is a double bed room and the third party’s version of standard had to do with the view not the room type. I was informed by Disney that the only way to reserve a King bed room is to book through them directly and pay the extra $20 on their website to guarantee the room type.  I ended up getting a refund from the third party and rebooking a King room through Disney directly. Ultimately it made for a very frustrating experience and not one I am likely to repeat by using this third party again.

The moral of the story is when you book through a third party to get a better rate, always call the hotel directly to confirm the reservation.  Sometimes it is better to book through the hotel website rather than a third party because it allows you to work with the hotel directly to make changes. If you book through a third party, you have to work with them to make changes and the time spent going back and forth between the hotel and them can often make booking through the hotel well worth the extra few dollars.

Winn Events is an event planning and management company that serves nonprofit and cause centric organizations to put on impactful, life-changing events. To learn more, go to http://www.winnevents.com. Winn Events partners with The Winn Agency, a speaker and artist booking and management agency.  To find the perfect speaker or artist for your next event go to http://www.thewinnagency.com.

Thanks Inc Magazine for the GrowCo Conference

I had the privilege of attending the GrowCo conference in Orlando, FL this past weekend which is put on by Inc. Magazine. We had the opportunity to hear from some fantastic speakers who have years of business experience.  I took a lot of nuggets from these speakers and I want to share a few with you:

“The only thing that can stop someone from achieving greatness is yourself.” George Foreman, Boxer and Author of Knockout Entrepreneur

“Bet on relationships and people not on companies.” Jim McCann, Founder of 1-800-Flowers.com

“Have a company of meaning.” Michael Gerber, Author of the E-Myth Series

What are the constraints that stand in the way of your company growth? Business/Profit Model, Talent, or Processes? Jim Schleckser and Kirk Aubry of The CEO Project

The advantage of a small company is flexibility and the ability to change course quickly. Large corporations cannot do that. Jason Fried, President and Co-Founder of 37signals

These are just a few of the amazing nuggets that we heard at the conference.  I learned a lot and am excited to implement them into my companies. If you attended GrowCo, please share the nuggets you took away.

Winn Events is an event planning and management company that serves nonprofit and cause centric organizations to put on impactful, life-changing events. To learn more, go to http://www.winnevents.com. Winn Events partners with The Winn Agency, a speaker and artist booking and management agency.  To find the perfect speaker or artist for your next event go to http://www.thewinnagency.com.

How is the increasing airline baggage fees affecting your event attendance?

I just read an article stating that American Airlines is again increasing their baggages fees to $25 for the first bag each way and $35 each way for the second bag. They are doing this because Delta, Continental, and US Airways are already charging those fees.  Southwest Airlines has been running commercials lately with the theme that they love your bags and the other airlines hate your bags.  I find those ads very funny, but they are also true.  Those baggage fees can certainly add up quickly for travelers.  Whether you are traveling with your family or on business, the added cost of your bags can make you rethink your travel plans. I expect that the increased baggage fees may affect the number of attendees that fly in for events. We want to hear from you. Take this poll below to let us know how the increased baggage fees have affected your events.

Winn Events, LLC is committed to serving faith-based, non-profit and cause-centric individuals and organizations to meet their event planning and management needs. Services include: event planning and logistics, tour logistics, MyEventAudit.com and The Winn Agency our Artist Booking and Management Company.  Check us out at  http://www.winnevents.com for more information.

Jennifer Winn and Winn Events featured in Front Yard Worship January Issue

Jennifer Winn & Winn Events were featured in the January issue of Front Yard Worship.  Click on the link below and turn to page 16 to read the article. 1

Front Yard Worship Jan 2010 Magazine

Winn Events is a full-service event planning, tour booking, and speakers/artist management company. We offer ala-carte services with flat rate pricing. Check us out at http://www.winnevents.com for more information.

Thank you to Melissa Saulnier at Oikeo Music for writing another great article. Click here to read the previous article written in November 2009.

We want to hear from you!

Here we are in a brand new year. The year will be what we make of it. Sure we will have our ups and downs throughout this year, but are there ways to make our lives easier?  Some of you may be planning an event this year.  Perhaps you are an event planner by profession or perhaps the task of planning your company’s event was dropped in your lap and you really don’t know what to do. If you had your perfect world, what would make planning that event easier?  What challenges have you run into so far or anticipate during your planning process? Are there topics that you want us to write about on this blog that would help you?

Please post your comments. We would love to hear from you.

Happy New Year from the Winn Events Team!

Winn Events is a full-service event planning, tour booking, and speakers/artist management company. We offer ala-carte flat rate pricing. Check us out at http://www.winnevents.com for more information.

Press Release – MyEventAudit.com

Winn Events, LLC Launches Their Latest Product MyEventAudit.com – Offering 20+ Years of Expertise to Event Planners Across the Nation

Press Release – MyEventAuditcom

Winn Events is a full-service event planning, tour booking, and speakers/artist management company. We offer ala-carte services and flat rate pricing. Check us out at http://www.winnevents.com for more information.

Don’t be an inconsiderate traveler – It’s Christmas!

Holiday travel season is upon us and so is the stress that comes along with that. Whether you are dragging yourself, your children, and all your bags through Chicago O’Hare airport or piling everyone into the station wagon to head across country to Aunt Berta’s house, there are things you can do to make the trip more enjoyable for those around you.

Everyone has been on an airplane and had the joy of sitting near an inconsiderate traveler. You know the ones:

• Smelly Sandwich – There is the grandma who brought her tuna salad sandwich for lunch on your 3 hour flight to Seattle and she decides to open it up as soon as the seatbelt sign goes off. That means the whole plane has the pleasure of enjoying her smelly sandwich for 2 hrs and 30 minutes.  Please do us all a favor and eat your sandwich before you get on the plane and buy some mints.
• Loud Talker – This is the businessman who stays on the phone until the door closes and as soon as it opens up is on the phone again. He must be getting bad reception because his voice is so loud that 5 rows back they can hear his conversation loud and clear.
• Missed the hint – This person does not seem to catch the hint that you don’t want to talk to them. You put your head phones in and have your book open to page 300 of 325 and it is getting good.  Right then she leans over and begins to ask you about where you are going and then proceeds to go into a supernaturally long story about her Great Uncle Earl and his false teeth falling into the mashed potatoes at the Thanksgiving dinner table.
• No personal space – This person takes over both arm rests and leans into your seat. Their stuff does not fit nicely under their seat, it spills into your area.
• Obnoxious child – Some parents really do not know how to handle their children on an airplane. The kid stands on the seat and gazes back at you for half of the flight. They turn the light off and on continuously giving the entire cabin a light show and periodically calling the flight attendant. They scream because they are hungry, tired, have to go potty, are bored, they want to see out the window, etc.  I am a parent and a frequent traveler. My daughter has traveled all over the world and we made sure she had snacks, new toys to play with, that it was nap time during the flight, and we were aware of how loud she was or if she was disturbing other passengers.

During this holiday season, let’s be mindful of those around us when we travel and try to make a would-be stressful experience a pleasant one for everyone we come in contact with.  This time of year should be the happiest of all and often it is marred by frustration, stress, and difficult people and situations.  This year, let’s take time to care about others besides ourselves and make it a Merry Christmas for all.

Do you have a fun holiday travel story? Share it here.

Winn Events is a full-service event planning & tour booking and management company that offers flat rate pricing.  Check outhttp://www.winnevents.com/for more information.

How can I be an Event Planner and manage my family?

It is an ongoing conversation that I have with myself: How can I do what I feel called to do, be an Event Planner, and be a wife and mother? How can I manage both worlds?

Events often take place in the evenings or on weekends during what would typically be family time.  This can be challenging to leave for your event when your child looks at you and gives you the guilt trip. You know the one: “Mommy, I’m going to miss you.” “Do you have to go to your event?” “I just want to spend time with you.”  I hear this pretty much anytime I walk out the door to an event.  It is challenging to manage your life as an event planner and your family.

I think that it is vital to help your family understand why you do what you do.  It is important to have their support and understanding. The life of an event planner does require time away from home at events, sometimes traveling to events out of state, sometimes going to training conferences, etc.  I try to make a date with my husband or my daughter so that they know there is a time coming up in the near future where it will just be us, our time together.  I make sure they know when to expect me home and if we will have time together then or if it will be too late at night and our time will need to wait for the next day.  I think that communication is key to managing your job as an event planner and your home life.

How do you balance these two areas of life?

Winn Events is a full-service event planning & tour booking and management company that offers flat rate pricing.  Check out http://www.winnevents.com/for more information.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition?

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and think back on all the things in our lives that we are thankful for. Sometimes in the busyness of life, we forget these things. It is easy to take our loved ones for granted or the time we have to spend with them. We often forget our blessings and focus on the tough times we may be going through.  On Thanksgiving I always take time to reflect back on the past year and remember all the many blessings from God, the lessons learned, and the wonderful people I have shared life with.  Doing this tends to reign in the craziness that I constantly live my life in.  As an event planner my life is always steeped in details and I am always on the go. By stepping away from the details, emails, phone calls, etc for just a few minutes I am able to focus on the big picture and gain perspective on my life and all I have to be thankful for.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition?

Happy Thanksgiving from Jennifer Winn and Winn Events!

Winn Events is a full-service event planning & management company that offers flat rate pricing and customized packages.  Check out http://www.winnevents.com/for more information.