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CONVENTION FACILITIES.

1 A convention is considered to be a meeting of members of a busi­ness or professional group, such as dentists, booksellers or language teachers. It is held to exchange information in the field and consider other business of the organization. A typical convention lasts three or four days. It includes business sessions, workshops and semi­nars, professional exhibits and special events, the facilities required for the convention are extensive. A large auditorium or hall is usual­ly necessary for group meetings and events such as banquets. In ad­dition, smaller rooms, probably of a variety of sizes are required for workshops and seminars. An exhibit area, with adjacent loading and storage facilities, is almost always provided as well. There are many things such as video-recorders, projectors, cordless microphones, visual aids, earphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, autocue and stands for exhibits.

2 The convention business is known to be very profitable for the hotel industry. A convention guarantees a good occupancy rate for the hotel over a period of at least several days. In addition, the spe­cial exhibit and meeting areas are rented by the sponsoring organi­zation for a fee, and the people attending the convention also gener­ate more business in the hotel's restaurants, bars and shops. In many cases, the business and professional people who are members of the sponsoring group are accompanied by their families, and this means still more business for the hotel. For most people, in fact, a conven­tion is a combination of pleasure and business, a chance to get away from the usual daily routine. A hotel that handles conventions is certain to have several specialized people on the staff, perhaps the most important of whom are the salesmen who are responsible for bringing in the business. Most of them have special contacts among the groups that sponsor conventions. Negotiations for a convention may take place over a long period, particularly today, when the sponsors have numerous choices and can shop around for the best bargains. Standard ar­rangements include reduced room rates and the lowest possible fee for the other facilities and services that are required. The salesmen must coordinate their efforts carefully with their requirements for space in the hotel.

3 Many hotels also have a special manager to handle all the par­ticular arrangements that must be made once the convention has been booked into the hotel. All the arrangements being coor­dinated with the other departments enable a hotel to offer a high quality of services. The front desk must prepare for a surge of arriv­ing guests, and the housekeeping department must make sure the rooms are ready when needed. The food and beverage service and the maintenance and engineering staff must also take their parts. The installation of the exhibits may require mechanical and electri­cal work, and loading and unloading equipment may call for an additional work force. If a banquet is to be served, as it usually is, the menu must be planned; tables, napery, and the table silver must be provided and set up. Experienced banquet waiters must also be on duty.

4 A banquet is a large formal luncheon or dinner that customarily follows the speeches and/or a ceremony. A banquet is often the final event of many conventions. Other banquets are sponsored by local groups for special purposes, such as presenting awards, honouring an individual, or raising funds for a political campaign. Hotels that are equipped to handle conventions generally attract banquet busi­ness as well, but any hotel with a sufficiently large dining room, ball­room, or meeting room can attract banquets. The arrangements for preparing the banquet are normally the job of the banquet manager, who is sometimes responsible for the sales effort as well.

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