Happy Halloween! Take a Day to Think About Ghouls, Not Guests

<p>Dietary restrictions can be a matter of life and death, so finding a venue that can handle your <span style="color:black"><a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/fb/how-find-hotel-can-handle-food-allergies-... target="_blank">attendees’ special dietary requests</a> is key. </span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>This story has links to help you <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/safety-security/existential-threat-meetings-... target="_blank">protect your meeting</a>, and a new <span style="color:black">ebook is out on </span><a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/risk-management/former-planner-publishes-ris... target="_blank">risk management</a>.&nbsp;<span style="color:black">The author will be speaking at </span><a href="https://risk360.meetingsnet.com/?pk=ROS" target="_blank">MeetingsNet’s Risk360</a> one-day conference in New York City on November 14<span style="color:black">. &nbsp;Learn from the experts!</span></p>

<p>Anything can happen in the time between booking a venue and arriving for your conference.<br />
If the destination passes <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/event-design-ideas/unwelcoming-city-support-... target="_blank">unwelcoming legislation</a>&nbsp;for some members of your group<span style="color:black">,</span> use this advice to support your attendees and save your reputation. Check out <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/event-design-ideas/welcome-guide-tools-and-i... target="_blank">The Welcome Guide</a>&nbsp;for more tips on hosting an inclusive event.</p>

<p>If your contract doesn’t lock in the currency exchange rate, your event’s budget might be taking the Tube down the tubes.<br />
These <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/global-events-planning/brexit-schmexit-3-ste... target="_blank">tips from a few Brexit deadlines ago</a> are still valid.</p>

<p>Remember when you did all that preparation for the General Data Protection Regulation in 2018? Well, it’s still a thing and <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/safety-security/gdpr-fines-have-started" target="_blank">the fines have started</a>. &nbsp; The <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/meetings-fuel/meeting-professional-s-guide-g... target="_blank">Meeting Professional’s Guide to GDPR</a> is a good resource to refresh your memory.</p>

<p><span style="color:black">We get that everyone is overworked these days, but your attendees can’t be any more tired than you are so why aren’t they actively engaging? Here are <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/event-design-ideas/8-ways-increase-audience-... target="_blank">eight ways to increase audience participation</a> <span style="color:#0563c1"><span style="color:black"> but if you still can’t keep their attention try <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/event-design-ideas/want-better-engagement-hi... target="_blank">hijacking their phones</a>. </span></span><br />
As a last resort for both you and your meeting guests, here is some advice on <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/careerlifetravel/how-not-nap-6-tips-staying-... target="_blank">staying awake in meetings and healthy napping</a> if you can’t! </span></p>

<p><span style="color:#0563c1"><span style="color:black">These <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/shippinglogistics/5-tips-avoid-international... target="_blank">five tips</a>&nbsp;</span></span><span style="color:#0563c1"><span style="color:black">will help you get your meeting materials on time, and a gifting expert </span></span><span style="color:#0563c1"><span style="color:black"> provides insights into <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/incentive-meetings-merchandise/noncash-rewar... target="_blank">conquering customs issues and paperwork challenges</a> to ensure your incentive clients have a great gifting experience. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="color:black">OK, so it wasn’t the plague, but the discovery of Legionnaires disease will shut down a venue just the same. Here’s how a meeting planner and hotel senior sales manager <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/risk-management/scrambling-save-meeting" target="_blank">worked together to find a last-minute venue for a meeting</a>.</span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Not even the best meeting planner can change the weather, but plenty of planners can turn lemons into lemonade. These <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/sustainability/sorority-sisters-support-home... target="_blank">sorority sisters</a> helped the homeless when their meeting was cut short, and one group transformed its four-day conference in Austin into <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/corporate-meetings-events/big-pivot" target="_blank">a hurricane relief mission</a>.</p>

<p>Cannabis is legal to use in several major meetings destinations in the U.S., including California and Nevada. <span style="background-color:white"><span style="color:#222222">Patti J. Shock, CPCE, educational consultant at The International School of Hospitality in Las Vegas says, “Even if you don’t plan to have pot at an event, people are going to come high or bring their own.” Here are her thoughts on <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/careerlifetravel/what-pairs-well-pot" target="_blank">guest safety,</a> </span></span>&nbsp;and here’s how to <a href="https://www.meetingsnet.com/negotiating-contracts/stirring-pot-what-plan... target="_blank">manage your liability.</a></p>

<p>We can't help you.</p>