Northstar

6 May-Jun 2017 meetings & conventions • mcmag-asia.com n    25% Yes n    75%   No WHAT DO ATTENDEES OFTEN COMPLAIN ABOUT? 73% Room too cold 56% Food options 51% Room too hot 47% WiFi strength 46% Food quality 42% Not enough free time 40% Hotel price 32% Hotel rooms 26% WiFi price 24% Meeting location 21% Meeting rooms 21% Traffic 20% Registration fees 19% Session formats 18% Ground transportation 16% Educational content 16% Speakers 16% Too much free time 15% Weather 14% Registration process 14% Signage 13% Airline transportation 10% Gifts/swag 10% Wait staff 8% Lack of recycling 6% Hangovers 5% Required recycling 11% Other* 1% Mad as hell and not going to take it anymore Prima donna Food critic Debbie Downer Party animal Devil incarnate Vanishing act Food/gift hoarder Party crasher Email addict Room switcher Don Juan/Juanita Other* 78% 40% 36% 27% 25% 22% 20% 20% 18% 17% 9% 21% How would you describe your ability to handle difficult attendees? 24% Cool, calm and collected, inside and out 75% Calm on the outside; miffed on the inside 41% Always 26% Often 24% Sometimes 1% Never 8% Rarely NEWSLINE | RESEARCH | By Loren G. Edelstein The Worst Attendees Ever DON JUANS, PRIMA DONNAS AND OTHERS TRY PLANNERS' PATIENCE SOURCE: M&C RESEARCH SURVEY OF 102 MEETING PROFESSIONALS * FOR VERBATIM RESPONSES TO THESE QUESTIONS, GO TO MCMAG.COM/RESEARCH Two-thirds of meeting professionals always or often have at least one difficult attendee at their events. The most prevalent "type" is the prima donna. Among the top gripes, ironically, are that the room is too cold (73 percent) and the room is too hot (51 percent). For more comments from respondents, go to mcmag.com/research. How often do your meetings have at least one "difficult" attendee? Have you ever had to call security or police to deal with a difficult attendee? Which of the following attendee "types" have been troublesome for

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