Risk is a part of every event planner’s life. It’s risky to plan an event, risky to attend an event, risky to stay home. But just because risk is unavoidable doesn’t mean it can’t be assessed and managed.
“Managing risks starts with recognizing them,” says Jodi Collen, CSEP, international president of the International Special Events Society (ISES) and director of event and conference planning for Augsburg College. “Risk assessment is universal among planners. We all recognize it as a good business practice. The biggest difference with an international event is that you have to be more knowledgeable because business, regulatory and cultural expectations vary so greatly around the world.”
Geography can make a difference, too. Seasons are reversed across the equator. Taking your regular June sales meeting to Australia puts attendees in mid-winter, not the best season for the expected outdoor reception. An incentive to Cuzco, then Ecuador and on to Machu Picchu sounds exciting. But Cuzco is 11,000 feet above sea level and some attendees will be affected by altitude sickness. Planners have to recognize the risk and manage it accordingly, just as they have to recognize and manage the risk of heat-related problems in Orlando in August.
“General safety is a question anywhere,” Collen says. “Just putting attendees on a bus in a country with different rules and regulations and expectations can be challenging. Experienced planners have these conversations about risk no matter where they are. Risks aren’t necessarily greater when you plan an international event, just different.”
And they are probably not what you—or your clients or your attendees—expect. Natural disasters and terrorism grab the headlines, but attendees are far more likely to be affected by crime.
“I like to ask planners where their attendees will be safer, Chicago or Bogota?” says Eli Gorin, CMP, CMM, managing director for Hospitality, Growth Partners. “Everyone says Chicago, but the crime rates are equal. Every city has its neighborhoods where your attendees shouldn’t go. Whether you are talking San Francisco or Miami or San Juan or Rio de Janiero, you should be working with your DMO [destination management organization] to keep your attendees informed about the local situation.”
Types of Risk
“If your venue is making headlines for terrorism or disturbances, you probably want to be looking for another venue,” says John Rendeiro, vice president, global security and intelligence for International SOS Assistance. “The real risks are probably in other areas like traffic, lodging mix-ups, medical care, food safety, airport transportation, vehicle and driver safety, crime. Those are the nitty-gritty risks that you have to assess, mitigate and prepare your travelers for.”
Rendeiro tends to focus on physical safety after decades of protecting U.S. diplomats for the State Department. Gorin looks at risk more broadly and splits the problem into four key areas: logistical, legal, ethical and financial.
Logistical risks cover all the expected safety and security issues as well more mundane things like power and measurement. The U.S. uses 120 volt, 60 hertz electrical power. Most of the rest of the world uses 220 volt, 50 hertz power. Everything from computers to phones to hair dryers can blow out in an eye-blink if plugged into the wrong power source without the appropriate converters.
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If you can plug it in. Power plugs may not be identical from one country to another, or, in some locales, from one outlet to another in the same building.
Physical measurements are also likely to be different. Most of the world uses metric measurements.
“You have to understand the differences and educate everyone to actually do the conversion,” Gorin says. “If you’re doing an exhibition outside the U.S., everything is sized in square meters. So are hotel rooms. The rule of thumb, two square meters is about the same as 20 square feet, doesn’t work.”
Are you having materials printed on-site? Check all material specifications. Substrates, dyes, inks, surface coatings and printing standards differ from country to country, cautioned Joshua Lesser, president of Vision Matrix Productions. And check all of your contracts.
Legal and Ethical Risks
“Artist contracts and riders, hotel contracts, insurance coverage, they are all different when you work outside the U.S. because legal and business standards are different,” Lesser says. “Standard contracts and standard language that work well domestically will get you into trouble on the international scene. It is your responsibility to know the rules, regulations, expectations and culture in your venue.”
Ethical risks are as much about image as behavior. Staging an incentive to Bali when the company is hemorrhaging red ink can easily be avoided. It can be tougher to deal with business cultures that expect favors or hidden payments. Personal relationships can make a world of difference.
“I particularly like Latin America because personal relationships can be the deciding factor,” Gorin says. “In some countries, if you need something that isn’t explicitly covered in the contract, you’re out of luck. In Latin America, it is less of a problem if you have invested the time and the effort to build personal relationships.”
Financial Risks
A dollar isn’t always a dollar on the global scene. There are U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, New Taiwan dollars and any number of currencies that use the familiar $ symbol. All carry different values and buying power. And all fluctuate from day to day on international markets.
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“There is challenge and risk in not understanding the fiscal system of the destination country,” cautioned Eduardo Chaillo, CMP, CMM, CASE, global general manager, Latin America, for Maritz Travel. “You have to do your research and understand the landscape.”
Lesser likes to manage exchange rate risks by setting up foreign exchange accounts with the company’s U.S. bank. He won’t profit if the USD rises against the currency of the destination country, but he won’t suffer if the USD dives.
Value added tax, or VAT, is another risk. VAT is similar to sales tax, but different countries treat VAT very differently for incoming events and travelers. Some jurisdictions waive VAT if the planner files the appropriate tax relief forms. Other countries refund VAT for some or all purchases for certain types of buyers, but only if the proper tax forms are filed. Others tax all purchases.
“You need to understand how it works for each event and venue,” Chaillo says. “Don’t rely on your hotel or venue to fill you in. Chances are they only know their small piece of the total tax picture.”
Help on the Ground
Planners have to put all the pieces together. It’s not just a question of research, cautioned Miguel Assis, partner and director of sales for Events by TLC in Rio de Janeiro. The key step is recognizing that risk is everywhere.
“Always think that anything connected with your event can go wrong,” he says. “That is the mindset of risk assessment. It’s not just enough to check that you have a safety-inspected bus taking your attendees to dinner, driven by a licensed driver and covered by insurance. Can the bus let passengers out on the sidewalk on the right side of the street so they don’t have to cross traffic? You always need a plan B, then plans C, D, E and so on.”
Assis advised planners to work closely with their DMO as well as the local tourist board to identify potential problems early and create strategies to manage them. If necessary, hire local professionals to manage specific areas like security, taxation, insurance and technology. The key is to ensure that all partners understand just how important risk assessment and risk management really are—and to demand proof that that is being done.
“In this age of super transparency, there should not be any question about how the potential risks have been assessed and what has been done to minimize them,” Assis says.
Rendeiro also emphasizes the need for local expertise.
“You have a duty of care to your attendees,” he says. “Your internal security staff can be a good start and good advisors. Work with professionals and don’t try to wing it. The potential for damage to your people and your brand is too great if you don’t have the bandwidth internally.”
