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FEATURESTORY

Meeting Makeovers

Picture your last off-site meeting. Now imagine your next one. Each blends into the other, which melds with the six before them.

"You can see the carpeting on the floor, the chandelier that's in almost every hotel conference room, the screen that rolls down…it's very cookie-cutter," says Chuck Salem, President of Unique Venues (www.uniquevenues.com), a Pittsburgh-based company that, as its name suggests, is a conduit to more exciting meeting venues.

A creative setting for an off-site sales meeting won't make up for poor planning, but it can create a better buzz about what you hope to achieve. "It creates a lot of discussion if the team gets an e-mail that says they're going to a dude ranch or a bowling alley," says Salem. "It creates intrigue, and the nature of the venue can automatically create a theme for the meeting."

What's more, alternative venues often are as affordable if not more affordable than a standard conference center or hotel, especially if you opt for a business - like a movie theater, museum or sports stadium - whose core revenue stream isn't tied to corporate meetings. These sites are looking to create incremental revenue streams and are priced competitively, Salem says.

Unique Venues works with executive assistants who are not full-time meeting planners, helping them pin down meeting needs and appropriate venue options.

The company is compensated by the venue and does not charge its clients, nor do venues increase prices to cover those costs, Salem says. He encourages clients to keep an open mind and be willing to take chances.

"The people who come with precise needs are limited in terms of how creative they can get. We enjoy working with someone who has a blank slate."
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