Offering swag or a special offer to attendees who register early is a good incentive to make sure people don’t sign up last minute. Courtesy of ACCENT New Orleans

Attendees waiting until zero hour to register for an event isn’t exactly new. A recent study by Maritz, however, shows there’s been a definite uptick in this practice over the last few years. Their research found 22 percent of attendees wait until the final week before a show to register, and nine percent don’t register until they arrive on-site.

It’s no secret that last-minute registrations increase the stress factor for all — client, planner and venue. Late registrants mean a last-minute shuffle for the kitchen to have the right amount of meals. It’s harder for attendees to find a hotel room, or they could miss out on any group room rates related to the event. They could miss potentially valuable networking opportunities at pre-con events like happy hours or informal get-togethers. Planners always factor in a certain number of late registrants, but with the noticeable uptick in this practice and its impact on event logistics, many are looking at new ways to encourage registering early.

“I’m definitely seeing a lot more last-minute registrations since COVID,” says Susan Brooks, “logistics Wonder Woman” with Powerhouse Meetings and Events in Chantilly, VA. “People aren’t as confident in their attendance as they used to be. I had a conference where we had seven people register on-site, and we’d never had anyone register on-site before.”

Her theories around this are either people are getting approved to attend later, or lingering effects of COVID are holding them back. The Maritz study found those most likely to register late are first-time attendees, concentrated in certain industries, and those who live within driving distance of the event. Another possibility is remote workers could be wary of networking in-person and therefore put off registering.

Regardless of the reasons why attendees and sponsors are registering late, the basic requirements for hosting an event have all risen. Venue costs are up. F&B costs are up. AV costs are up. And attendees expect a lot more today with their in-person experience. People don’t want to travel to watch what could have been a Zoom call.

Nicole Knoderer, CMP, senior director of meetings and events for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) in City of Industry, CA, attributes at least some of the increase in late registrants to SHPE’s membership demographic — approximately 80 percent college students and 20 percent working professionals.

The college student demographic comprises most of the event attendance. Professional development workshops on topics such as writing a resume and how to be a leader, as well as valuable networking opportunities, are two hallmarks of SHPE’s events.

“I think maybe their funding didn’t come through in enough time. For many of them, their funding is paid by their college,” she says. Due to these limited funds, it’s often necessary for attendees to be strategic with attendance. “People are assessing what they want to attend. Do they go to this local event, or the national conference? Or they wait to hear the list of sponsors or presenters before they decide,” Knoderer says. She works closely with the leaders of SHPE’s regional chapters to understand the issues or challenges around event registration and propose solutions.

“We’ve provided them with complimentary registrations to help them advertise in their region,” she adds. “We’ve also done social media pushes to promote the event, and maybe the prize will be a free event registration. A lot of it is trying to understand our regional leaders, who are talking to members about the reasons for late registration. Maybe we can remove that barrier for them.”

Their overall attendance numbers are roughly the same or a little higher than they were pre-COVID; there are simply more attendees waiting longer to register. “Our overall attendance is broken up between attendees and sponsors,” she says. “For us, the lateness — we’ve always had it, but let’s say it was one month out. Now, it’s one to two weeks out. The timeframe for lateness is tighter than it used to be. A lot of the time, people are signing up after we’ve guaranteed our numbers. It may change how we’re doing our seating, and we need more meals. Now, we have to shuffle.”

On the incentive side, Josh DeSilva, DMCP, president of DeSilva Meeting Consultants in Haiku, HI, says waiting too long to sign up could mean having to settle for a second- or third-choice destination. He encourages meeting planners to set a deadline for incentive-type programs — typically two months prior.

“You’ll still have people at the last minute, but make it clear they might get their second- or third-choice option, or have to book the same trip with an outside vendor,” he says. “There’s really no advantage to waiting. As people sign up, there might be a waiting list. You may have to choose a few options, or book on your own, at your own expense, that’s not with your group.”

Call on the Keynote and Presenters

Book the keynote as early in the planning process as possible, and make that part of your marketing, as this often drives registration. “For me, it’s a hindrance not to announce the speaker — that really drives my attendees to come,” Knoderer says. “I make it very clear on what attendees can expect — that can help drive why they want to be there even more.”

When the keynote and a list of presenters is set, work with the keynote on exclusive incentives to encourage early registration and lean on them to help promote the event. Nora Burns, speaker, leadership consultant and founder of The Leadership Experts, is a former meeting planner and urges planners to partner with keynote speakers to drive registration, particularly those speakers receiving upwards of $15,000 for their appearance.

Burns suggests planners work with the speaker on creating short promo videos for social media, and creating programs that give early registrants additional value. To identify the right incentive, planners need to understand their demographic and what type of program would offer the most benefit. Burns served as an opening keynote at a recent event and offered a pre-conference session the day before the official kickoff.

“When I was talking with the meetings team for that conference, I asked, ‘What do the registration numbers look like, and what do they need to look like?’ she says.

My next question was, ‘What would entice your members — more learning or more play?’ If your group is driven by additional knowledge or bonus learning, then a pre-con works great.” Burns worked with the event planners to offer a “Choose Your Own Adventure” format — early registrants selected the topic for the three-hour pre-con segment.

“Those registered one month before the pre-con received a survey to force-rank seven potential topics, all in the realm of workplace culture.” The price for the pre-conference was set at the same time as the early bird savings. Burns and the planners then did video and social media promotion to register early to get another half day of value for the same price. “I think giving the early birds a say really helped promote,” Burns says.

Another suggestion would be the first X number of registrants would be entered to win two free hours of coaching or consulting with the keynote speaker. “If you’re paying $15,000, the keynote probably has an extra two hours of content,” Burns says. “I allow the winners to ask whatever they want. I make it as accommodating as possible for whomever they want to give that to. It makes it valuable for all. If it’s a topic they’re going to enjoy, that’s a draw.”

Similarly, planners can offer a bonus webinar when registration hits a certain number, to be offered one month before registration closes, and featuring the keynote speaker.

“If the members or attendees are driven by the opportunity to learn, another free webinar after so many registrants really adds value,” Burns says. “Anybody in the organization — if it’s an organizational membership — can come to that webinar. It can build anticipation for learning at the conference.”

An event focused around a hot topic or emerging industry could see more early registrants simply because it’s something new. “For some of my clients, some of their annual meetings are pretty routine, with a lot of the same people,” Brooks says. “Awhile back I worked on a cannabis conference, which was a brand-new type of conference in that space. People were really excited for the launch, and there was a lot of push for attendees to come.”

Incentivize Pre-Con Opportunities

Partner with the event keynote on promoting and developing pre-con programs. Think of them as “sneak peeks” or a warmup to the main event. “An interesting and flexible professional speaker can be the meeting and event planner’s ‘secret weapon’ in driving early registration in this ‘wait until the last-minute world,’” Burns says. “Incentivize the behavior you want while partnering with a keynote speaker who understands you’re in this together.”

Discounted pricing is another popular incentive for early registration, and one Knoderer has used numerous times. “We try to front load and get the bulk of registrations early. We offer early bird pricing and incentivize those who do it. We’ll give a discounted price — members get a price that’s over $100 less if they register early versus waiting until the last minute,” she says.

Incentives with a “feel good” component give early bird registrants the opportunity to help others. Incorporate some volunteer or community service project into a pre-con event where early registrants can get involved.

“We feel so much pressure in our lives. You know the community needs your help. We want to give back but don’t have time,” says Diane B. Lyons, CMP CDMP, founder and president of ACCENT New Orleans, Inc, a DMC Network Company. “Build something in. If we go in early and help pack meals for families at homeless shelters, we’re giving back. It’s all about incentivizing and offering a unique team build up front.” Attendees who want to volunteer on their own but don’t have time will appreciate the opportunity to participate in a community service pre-con event and give back.

Limited Space

Late registrations posed a different logistical challenge for Lyons at a recent event — not enough space. While working on an annual meeting for a physicians’ organization, Lyons and her team planned on 100 attendees.

“We’re one of two meetings in the hotel, and we’re not in the biggest of their two ballrooms. We based it on 100 people; we’re now at 130,” she says. She attributes at least some of the last-minute registration rush to the meeting’s location in Washington D.C. — a drivable distance for many of the attendees. Lyons says the last-minute registrations can be good if it’s set up where latecomers can be charged more. “Because the world is so indecisive, we’re willing to pay more at the last minute for hotels and airfare. Meetings have to do the same thing. Start with incentives, build with a lot of marketing, and at the end — 10 days out — charge more. It covers the increased costs,” she says.

Planners can’t just count on marketing campaigns to draw attendees. In a world full of cluttered inboxes, sending reminder emails and social media posts is less effective than it was even five years ago. “We have to do a lot more marketing, but we get so much of it,” Lyons says. “My challenge is how do you market more without bombarding people?”

Lyons’ other challenge is having flexibility with space. “We worked with an organization on their semi-annual meeting, and in the last week and a half, we had people saying they’re coming. We looked at the space and realized it wouldn’t work. You just try to accommodate.” Lyons adds she’s seeing more flexibility with food and beverage, as well. “You just can’t get a firm count. I’m seeing more buffets. Our responsibility is trying to find more food products and not necessarily a sit-down lunch or dinner so you can add or decrease as needed.” Buffets are a good option to meet any dietary or allergy needs, and there is less concern about not having enough food.

Despite incentives and pre-con “extras” for early registration, meeting planners should not expect this behavior to end anytime soon. Late registrations are part of event planning to a certain extent. Venues and planners have learned to be more flexible with the agenda.

“We do the best we can,” Knoderer says. “People think we have a ‘magic meeting planner crystal ball’ to know where we’re going to be and understand those behaviors. Sometimes, we have to make hard choices. To get everyone in, we must cut it off at some point. Once we start being more intentional, people will say, ‘Maybe I should have registered earlier.’”

Brooks’ best advice for planners is to be prepared for latecomers. “Logistically, we just deal with it. We bring extra blank nametags, extra labels for materials so they feel like they’re part of the conference right from the start. We never want anyone to feel they’re not welcome.” Waiting to register can cause issues, however. “People will call to say they can’t get a room at the group rate, and can we help them? Sometimes we can, sometimes we can’t. It’s important to make that cut off date clear, because after the cut off date, we can’t guarantee we can get them a room at the group rate,” Brooks says.

Above all, be clear about what attendees will get for their registration fee to motivate attendance. “It’s really important for us, when talking about pricing and why people should go, to include what people get for their registration. Be clear on value statements and what people are going to get.” C&IT