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Newsletter Archives
Nine Tips for Nixing No-Shows
EMS Room
Reservation Software and Web Calendar Systems
Can Drive Higher Booking Follow-Through
No-show
(n.) 1. A person who reserves a space but neither uses it nor cancels
the reservation.
More than just an annoyance for your scheduling and operations staff,
no-shows can cost your organization in a number of ways, from lost
revenue to unnecessary offsite rental fees to skewed utilization numbers
and forecasts. While a few no-shows are probably inevitable, there are
steps you can take to minimize them.
Below are some tips for encouraging reservation holders to use the space
they've booked. Event volumes, billing practices, product-specific
functionality and other factors affect which of these strategies would
work best at your facility, but all are good food for thought.
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Send a
Confirmation - Sometimes the most obvious solutions are the ones
that get overlooked. Never assume that because you've talked to or
exchanged emails with an event organizer that they consider the
booking a "done deal." Email or fax them the Confirmation provided
in EMS. And for extra reassurance, ask that the document be signed
and returned.
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Charge a
"No-Show Fee" - Better than a slap on the hand, a slap on the
wallet tends to make a more memorable impression!
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Collect a
Non-Refundable Deposit - If obtaining fees after an
aborted event is impractical or impossible, begin collecting a
non-refundable deposit before each event.
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Charge
Unused Rooms as Utilization - In environments where no room
rental fees change hands (most corporations, for example), charge
no-show bookings to offending individuals or departments as
"utilization" that must be accounted for.
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Post Event
Information Online - Use online calendar postings to Virtual EMS
or EMS Master Calendar as both a reminder and a way to generate
subtle peer pressure on the organizer to conduct the event as
planned.
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Encourage
Automatic Event Reminders - Point out the "Remind Me" and "Add
To Personal Calendar" options in Virtual EMS and EMS Master Calendar
to event organizers and encourage them to use these helpful
functions.
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Email
Additional Reminders - Email reminders to the event organizer
shortly before the event. A note from you one week and then one day
before a booking ensures that the event will stay "on their radar."
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Restrict
Self-Service - Suspend Virtual EMS self-service reservation
capability for event organizers who are habitual no-shows, requiring
them instead to work with your reservations office.
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Provide
Incentives - Give event organizers an incentive like priority on
room selection, for example, for keeping no-shows off their records.
Article courtesy of Dean Evans & Associates: DEA is a Visix business
partner that offers a line of sophisticated software systems for meeting
and event management, academic scheduling, shared workspace management,
and online calendaring. Learn more about EMS scheduling solutions at
www.dea.com
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