Business english

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• B2B This acronym stands for ‘Business to Business’ events, meaning corporate or trade-related events.
• B2C The opposite of B2B, this acronym means ‘Business to Consumer/Customer’ events, often relating to more consumer and public-facing events.
• Breakdown / Load Out / Strike These terms all mean to take down equipment and clear away items that have been set up for an event, after the event is complete.
• Concurrent Sessions During larger events, meeting planners often host shorter educational meetings known as ‘concurrent sessions’ which are scheduled to take place at the same time, each focusing on a different subject or theme. Attendees can choose which session, or track, interests them the most.
• Conference Pack If you want to provide your delegates with some information at your conference, offer them a conference pack, which could include a schedule or program of events, a map of the venue and information on venue facilities. Some events offer an event app to replace printed materials.
• Consumer Show A consumer show is a B2C exhibition or showcase of products, exclusives and activations designed to attract the attention of new potential buyers. Often, visitors attend consumer shows to shop, see product demonstrations and socialize.
• Day Delegate Rate (DDR) Day Delegate Rate, or DDR, is a charge by a venue per attendee, per day for an event, based on a full day’s meeting. Depending on the venue, DDR can include meeting room hire, refreshments, lunch, and conference equipment.
• Early Bird Registration Early is the key word here for registration for an event, which often means tickets and services purchased before a specified date are available at a reduced fee.
• Emcee/MC This is the host who presides over the event program. Emcee is shorthand for ‘Master of Ceremonies.’
• Get-in This term refers to the specified time for crew and staff to arrive and access a venue for setup before the public or guests arrive.
• Honorarium A fee paid to a guest speaker.
• Hybrid Event A conference, tradeshow, seminar, workshop or other meeting that combines a live, in-person audience with a virtual, online audience.
• Installation & Dismantle (I&D) Also called ‘Setup and Take Down’—the process of preparing equipment for an event and taking apart that equipment after the event.
• Itinerary Another word for a schedule, agenda, or program. A detailed event itinerary can be created for attendees or team briefings to outline the flow of the event.
• Keynote Whether it’s a presentation or speaker, a keynote refers to the opening address or important plenary session at a meeting that sets the tone or theme of the event. The headline speaker is often a public or well-known industry figure whose presentation motivates the audience and a strong motivator for guests to attend the event.
• Load In The opposite of ‘Load Out’, this term refers to a specific period of time for loading in equipment/items to install for an event.
• Master Account An account set up to which all charges for a specified group should be applied (often by the host or event planner).
• Modified Meeting Package (MMP) The ‘Modified Meeting Package’ refers to a type of conference package. It can typically mean a full conference package with the exception of one meal (dinner in most cases).
• No-show An expected guest (i.e. delegate, hotel guest, attendee) who does not attend and hasn’t advised the organizer or hotel of a planned absence or delay.
• Post Event Report A report detailing the event history after the event has happened, including number of attendees, number of no-shows, total cost per person, profit, etc.
• Post Event Feedback Advice formerly offered to event organizers that includes positive and/or negative comments, suggestions, and notes provided by guests after the event, in order for event planners and organizers to gain an understanding of successes and where improvements can be made.
• Pre Event Feedback Used to qualify attendees before the event and gather data about them, this type of information involves a questionnaire used to gather information from attendees, with questions often asked during the online event registration process.
• Pre Registration Also referred to as ‘Advance Registration, ’ this phrase means booking onto a meeting or event prior to the day of the event.
• PA System Shorthand for ‘Public Address System.’ A device that amplifies sound in one large area or throughout several rooms through speakers so that messages can be shared. close up image of a sound board with someone adjusting a slider Dedicated sound technicians can ensure sound systems run smoothly.
• Pro Forma Invoice This is an invoice (or bill) provided by a supplier prior to the provision of the service.
• Proposal A written offer from a vendor to a prospective buyer, produced in response to an inquiry. This proposal will attempt to match the requirements and detail costs, availability, and specifications for the potential client.
• Request for Information This is a preliminary step to a ‘Request for Proposal’ (see below), where a company researches potential vendors for details about their products and services.
• Request for Proposal (RFP) A formal request by an event or meeting planner, which lists/details all of the specifications required for the event, sent to suppliers in order for the companies to draw up a proposal of their services and bid for the business.
• Shell Scheme A modular system (which normally comes in one-meter modules) used at exhibitions to showcase companies’ products and services.
• Session This is one meeting, presentation, or workshop that can take place in a breakout room during a larger meeting or conference.
• SMERF This acronym stands for the ‘Social, Military, Educational, Religious, and Fraternal’ sectors of the meetings industry.
• Space Only Unlike a shell scheme contract where the modular system is provided, an exhibitor can choose the space only option, which refers to space on an exhibition show floor, of which the exhibitor can be creative and has to provide their own exhibit stand.
• Specifications Meeting or event requirements.
• Talent The name of an individual or company that has been hired to entertain at an event, demonstrate products, work at an exhibition/conference to greet visitors, stage a performance, or host an awards ceremony.
• Target Date The event management team decides this date for the arrival of freight at an event—if shipments are received before or after this target date, a penalty fee may be charged.
• Trade Show Often referred to as an exposition or B2B exhibition, a trade show is an event where a specific industry meets its peers. Goods and services are exhibited and demonstrated.
• Transcription A typed or written document that has recorded a speech or discussion from an event or meeting.
• Traffic Flow In terms of events, ‘traffic flow’ refers to the movement of visitors through an exhibition. It can also refer to how attendees move from one area, hall, or room to another.
• Waitlist A client is ‘waitlisted’ when an event, session, or space is fully booked. They can be held on a waitlist for cancellations and if a spot becomes free they can be offered the opportunity to attend.
• Wrap-up This can mean either the end an event or meeting or a debrief following an event, otherwise known as a ‘wash-up’ meeting.
• Act of God These three words refer to an extraordinary natural event, such as extreme weather, flood, earthquake, or similar natural disaster that cannot be prevented or foreseen and which contracting parties have no reasonable control over. The cancellation of an event or inconveniences because of such an ‘Act of God’ renders performance of the contract illegal, impractical, or impossible. Therefore neither party has a legal responsibility to continue performance of the contract.
• Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) An initiative of the Convention Industry Council. Designed to develop and implement industry-wide accepted practices, APEX brings industry professionals together with cost savings and better education.
• Attrition Rate A measure of how many event registrants actually attend, calculated by dividing the number of no-shows by total registrants for the event or conference. For example, if 100 people register for an event and only 70 are in attendance, this event’s attrition rate would be 30%. In the events industry, when reviewing a contract to block off rooms or space for an event, meeting planners may come across an attrition clause.
• Bid Document A Bid Document is a type of proposal from a potential vendor offering their services, which can include approximate costs, logistics, and time scale.
• Blackout Dates In the events industry, the term ‘Blackout’ means a period of time when tickets or specific prices are unavailable. This could be due to a result of high demand and limited availability, the dates occurring over major holidays when consumer travel is at its height, during a hotel's busy season, or a venue’s limited inventory due to a previously booked event.
• Cancellation Clause This contract clause details the terms and conditions under which a company may cancel or terminate the agreement or reservation.

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