Meetings + Events

The power of gathering people

room space calculator

Find out how many people will fit in your room or what size room you need for your number of attendees.

Step 1
Choose a Room Layout type:

Step 2
Enter one of the following to determine the other:

Room Size:

sq.ft.

Capacity:

NOTE: This is a starting guideline only. Accuracy for your particular event cannot be guaranteed.

 

latest issue

Latest Issue

All the Right Moves

Ground Transportation Tips and Tactics

By Alex Newman

You’ve got a convention to plan—meetings and workshops to schedule, speakers and caterers to line up and a gala to organize. But don’t forget your ground transportation. It may not be the sexiest part of your event, but it’s certainly a key to success.

So much—such as where to hold the gala—depends on traffic and transportation. “You have a particular place in mind, but if it’s going to take 90 minutes to transport people from their hotels because of Friday night rush hour, you’re likely going to have to change venues,” says Anita Carlyle, managing partner at MCC Destination Management in Toronto.

And then there are the incumbent construction, road closures—and Raptors games. When MCC was contracted a year ago to move 1,800 people from downtown, nobody knew the Raptors would go to the finals the same night. It meant routes and maps had to be changed the week before and then, when it was learned last minute that one of the hotel pick-up points was hosting a major fashion event, it had to be changed again.

Bylaws, too, can be a challenge. For example, some streets are prohibited pick-up zones, while others can exact a huge premium. For one event, MCC had to pay an $18,000 extra charge, which included the permit, extra staff, lane closure approval and pylons and fencing materials. “These prices vary depending on time of day, number of vehicles and location,” Carlyle says.

With convention attendees ranging anywhere from 100 to 3,000-plus, transportation companies depend on one or more reliable suppliers to meet the need. Those suppliers have responsibilities as well, such as providing sufficient liability, fully trained drivers and safe vehicles that have up-to-date technology, Wi-Fi and GPS monitoring.

As Mauro Morgani, ground transportation specialist at Luxury Coach in Concord, Ont., points out, “all commercial vehicle operators are required to carry a minimum $8-million third-party liability coverage.” Most, though, have increased to $10 million and, for companies with larger fleets, up to $20 million, he adds. Catastrophic loss is rare, Morgani says, but meeting planners need to be aware of the potential exposure if the transportation company is not adequately insured.

Since conventions are increasingly being held in resort areas outside metropolitan areas, getting people there from the airport usually involves shuttling to a nearby location then grouping into buses or livery for the destination, says Carlyle. But she’s finding that attendees, especially younger ones, often opt for rideshare services instead. Older attendees, though, still like to take the bus, seeing it as a networking opportunity, she says.

Ride sharing and Uber have definitely cut into business, Carlyle says. “Some conferences drop the transportation program altogether. They figure if everyone is getting there on their own, it’s an expense they can easily cut.”

That’s not always a wise move, though, especially if you have travellers unfamiliar with the local terrain. Recently, MCC had a group from a small Nunavut town who weren’t comfortable walking even two blocks in a big city.

And there are occasions when it’s just better to use public transit. The Vancouver Airport SkyTrain, for example, gets you downtown faster than any other mode of transport—25 minutes—and is cheap ($8.75) and easy to use. Travellers just follow the signs from arrivals to the YVR-Airport Canada Line station above the covered parking lot.

Even so, you still need someone to plan and organize it all.

other articles in this section

The Inside Scoop

Five Cool Things at…the Destinations International Annual Conference

Digital Event Boosters

What’s Ahead in Events

Event Decor in 2024

Tips for the Accidental Meeting Planner

Holiday Party Rethink

Destination Q&A: Bermuda

Event Design Roadmap

How Destination Vancouver is Building a Social Procurement Strategy

Sustainability in Action

Talk it Up!

International Women’s Day

The Dilemma: The Rising Cost of Events

Event Profile: Raising funds and spirits

2023 Trend Report

Better Booths

A Shift in Perspective

Timing is Everything

Spring Barometer Report

Getting Back Together Safely

Keep it Moving

Meetings Forecast

Ignite your Photo Ops

Post-pandemic Staffing Issues

Put DEI in your event’s DNA

Ignite your Video

Caring for the Caregivers

Green Business = Good Business

The Ignite Platform Primer

Case Study: Testing event restrictions

Making Space

Team Building Now

The Disposable Dilemma

Video Star

Case Study: Virtual Awards Show

Are you virtually covered?

Lights, Camera, Action!

2021 Trend Watch

Flight Forecast

Case Study: A hybrid event for meeting planners

Trading Spaces

Terms of Empowerment

Feeding the Future

Milestone reflections

Virtual Holiday Party Ideas

Case Study: Canadian Event Industry Awards

Stress Busters

Case Study: 100-person virtual mentoring event

The Power of Story

Event spotlight: ConferenceDirect meets at Caesars Forum Las Vegas

By the Numbers: October 2020 Edition

A Whole New [Virtual] World

Level Up

The Time is Now

Grab the Mic, Grow Your Business

Should you give interns a turn?

Up for Interpretation

Balancing Act

Back to Business: Insights from the MTCC

Back to Business: Insights from byPeterandPauls Hospitality Group

Back to Business: Insights from Industry Associations

Hands Off

Must-haves for the New Reality

Back to Business: Insights from White Oaks Resort & Spa

Gotta Get It: Golf Edition

The Art of Communication

Back to Business: Insights from Casa Loma Escape Series

The Ignite Guide to Masks

Parting thoughts

Back to Business: Insights from JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka

The new reality for... Speakers

The new reality for... Caterers

Fight Right

The new reality for... Team Building

Virtual Sponsorship How-To

The new reality for... Hotels

CanSPEP Connext Conference Kit

The new reality for... DMCs

How to turn delegates into social media brand ambassadors

The new reality for… CONVENTION CENTRES

Job Hunting Today

Your Event Contract Questions Answered

The New Reality for… RESORTS

Hack Away

Beyond Talking Heads

Keeping Connected

Be a Part of the Solution

Time Wise

One Big Virtual Reunion

There's No 'i'solation in Team

New Direction in a Time of Need

Financial Smarts

On the Bright Side

Talk to Me

Food Forward

The Value of Employee Sustainability

All the Right Moves

The Real Cost of RFPs

Valuable Video