Client. Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI)

Venue. The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona

Our Role. With the Camelback Mountain providing a beautiful backdrop, the 2010 annual AHRI fall meeting came to a close. After four fact-filled and fun-filled days, attendees—energized and excited after another successful meeting—were ready to head home. Most were likely unaware of the work that went into creating such a streamlined event—the hard work of planning, scheduling, negotiating, and managing. And that’s the way it should be—if we do our job flawlessly, nobody knows that we were participating. While attendees enjoyed golf, other recreational activities, and of course, getting down to business; a flurry of activity was going on in the background to ensure the meeting met and exceeded expectations. At the end, attendees and the meeting planner agreed—the event was a complete success.

Experts at the AVS Group played an important role, providing 100% of the A/V support and working closely with the meeting planner at AHRI to ensure success. Planning the A/V for this year's meeting began almost immediately after the close of the 2009 meeting. By reviewing best practices each year, we were able to build on the previous year’s success for this year’s meeting. Because this meeting had been held in this venue before, there was no need for a site check (though this is an important step when considering a venue for the first time). We also played an important role in helping to control costs: we negotiated for the best equipment and crew prices available—this year, hiring a non-local crew who offered substantially better rates than the local in-house A/V company. We were able to save our client about 50%, representing many thousands of dollars, on the A/V equipment and labor.

It was also our job to manage hundreds of day-to-day A/V related details, taking this burden from the already very busy meeting planner. These tasks included making sure that all the breakout rooms and the general session room were ready; managing rehearsals and working with presenters; making sure all PowerPoints, videos, pictures, and soundtracks were in place; and ensuring the crew was briefed and ready to go.

We received an overwhelmingly positive response from attendees and the meeting planner—they liked the venue, the look of the set and stage design, and they enjoyed looking at candid photos AVS Group shot throughout the event. All in all, the meeting was an incredible success.