Okay, I guess I'll succumb to peer pressure and publish my first post. While doing some research I ran accross this entertaining post: Gate Crashers Beware. It highlights some of the event security concerns that I think most of us have encountered in some form or another. Here's a snippet from the post:
GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY BAGEL!!!
Meeting planners have to be so many things to so many people and so many aspects of a meeting. But there’s one area we don’t talk about too much. That’s the part when we’re security guards protecting the material at the registration desk, the coffee breaks, even the lunches, receptions and dinners. People who are not part of the meeting think nothing of coming up to the desk, reading (and taking) material that does not belong to them.
The post focuses on hotel meetings and the theft of food and beverage by other hotel guests, but I think there is a much larger concern for some event planners. For example, what if your meeting was covering some very sensitive information that could jeopardize your business if it were to be leaked to the public? Or perhaps there are liability risks, such as the serving of alcohol. For these cases it would wise for the planner to have a security plan in place. Maybe it's as simple as the attendees having identification or the presence of a security guard. At movie theatre events we can provide security and in some cases actually require it. We hold many meetings in the morning before the theatre opens to the general public to avoid "non-event traffic." Time and location, both venue and within venue, should be considerations during event security planning.
www.misoapbox.com has other great posts related to the meetings industry. Check them out.
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