An Independent HelmsBriscoe Associate | 636-678-7661 | jstone@helmsbriscoe.com

Jill Stone

Your Meeting Matchmaker Fairy Godmother

RFP Organization 101

Welcome to the RFP Organization 101 Class. Oh wait, what are you doing here? You do not need this class! Why? Because . . . . you have me. Okay, I know that organizing RFP responses from hotels ranks in your top five of fun when it comes to meeting planning. Oh, it doesn’t? It’s[...]

Third Party Planners; the New Power Brokers in Meetings

Have you checked out your latest (February 2012) issue of Meetings & Conventions Magazine? Notice that none other than our own Roger Helms graces the cover. The article focuses on how third party planners have gained momentum as a definite and necessary player in the meetings industry. Meeting planners have watched their departments dwindle over[...]

Negotiation Success is Key to Meeting Planning Objectives

It’s all a part of planning better meetings, capturing higher returns on investment and creating long term relationships with properties that are willing to demonstrate their knowledge of your expectations, and to fully support those expectations through contracts that speak to your particular meeting. For meeting planners, successful negotiation with a property is critical! The[...]

The Negotiator

For as long as I have been in the meetings industry I have been a negotiator; it is a huge part of the meeting planning process. Negotiation takes a bit of finesse and a bit of savvy (maybe even a bit of sassy), but it also requires a lot of knowledge. We need to know[...]

Meeting Planning is a Top 50 Career!

Meeting planners rejoice! Your career rocks and has made it into the top 50 careers of 2011. This is according to a report by US News and World Report. The US News shares the following positive outlook: “Employment of meeting and convention planners, who hold 56,600 jobs nationwide in 2008, is expected to grow faster[...]

The Amazing Meeting Planning Race

Meeting Planners must navigate some crazy territories. You live the Amazing Race every year! First you are dropped off at an unknown location called Site Selection. Have you ever heard something like this before? “Hello Meeting Planner, this year we would like to have the meeting somewhere close, budgets you know, but it should have[...]

Meeting Planners will soon be Vying for Space

According to Meetings and Conventions, there are less hotel rooms. They state that the “total active US hotel development pipeline decreased by 10.1 percent in July over the previous year.” This fact was issued by STR/McGraw Hill Construction Dodge Pipeline Report only a few weeks ago. They went on to state that, “Currently in the[...]

Site Selection Protection

Last week we looked at how utilizing a site selection service can add great value and be a huge help to the already pressed-for-time meeting planner. This week I want to focus on what you should know to further protect yourself and be informed when retaining the services of a site selection firm.  Ask for[...]

Site Selection: Help or Hindrance

Meeting planners have a lot on their plate. They are masters of multi-tasking, determinedly detail oriented and can store facts and figures in their brains that rival any super computer. With this in mind, it seems as if a site selection firm would be a welcome service. Some planners wonder if this no-cost to them[...]