We spend so much time and energy securing wonderful event speakers, but our job's just beginning once the event speakers are booked. If you have the bandwidth, I recommend assigning someone on your team to be a fully dedicated speaker host.  If you don’t have this person, consider hiring someone very responsible to serve this role.  

The speaker host will be the one waiting for the sedans to arrive, taking the call from the limo company when the client has been picked up from the airport, greeting the speakers upon arrival with a gracious smile, showing guests to the greenroom or their hotel room, providing agendas and basically assisting your special guest with any requests.  

What to give your fabulous speaker host: 

• A list of all speakers and their speaking times/rehearsal times on one sheet
  
• Arrival/departure times with flight numbers and confirmation codes
  
• Speaker cell phone numbers and assistant's numbers
  
• Your cell phone numbers
• Copies of the agenda and maps of the hotel 
• An introduction to the hotel management 
  

The speaker host can check your guests into the hotel rooms ahead of time and therefore hand a key to the speaker upon arrival and avoid sending the speaker to the hotel desk (who wouldn't like skipping this step?).  Your speaker host can also check the hotel rooms before your VIPs arrive - you wouldn’t believe the things we’ve found in the suites reserved for our keynotes.

Your speaker host will ensure the transportation company is enroute to pick up your guest at the end of the event, confirm their flight is ontime and show them to the car with a bottle of water.   Your speakers will remember your hospitality, and feel very taken care of.  Well done!

And what exactly is a "Pillow Gift"?  A pillow gift is a small welcome item provided to guests in their hotel room during turndown service and ties into your event via branding or in theme. 

If you're trying to promote your brand at a conference this is a unique sponsorship opportunity that has much more impact than a banner on the wall.  One of the best ideas I've seen was a pillow case with a very clever, funny tagline printed on it.  But the ink was "glow in the dark" ink so guests did not notice the "branding" until they turned off the lights.  And then, hopefully, had a big laugh.

Pillow Gifts are a really nice extra touch for your guest speakers or clients to remind them you appreciate their participation in your event.  Always include a note card expressing your gratitude along with the gift. 

Some ideas for pillow gifts: 

• Chocolates - who doesn't love chocolate and you can either place them in a branded box, have the chocolate molded into your logo, or simply bag M&Ms that match your event colors. 
  
• Lotion/Bath amenities - a company called Blue Ribbon Supply sellsAveda travel sizes at  $.40/bottle and then you can place the items in nice baskets with a card (phone # is on our vendor section)
  
• Golf Balls - if there is a golf component to your event the guests probably do dream about short puts and long drives....If you go this route be sure to select a high quality golf ball - logos can be put on the best balls as easily as terrible ones.  Golfers will appreciate high quality.  You can buy these from our store if you need a source.
  
• Wine - you can provide a nice bottle or 1/2 bottle with your company or wedding ribbon tied around the bottle or a basket with the wine and goodies.  You can even have custom wine for your wedding or company and it doesn't take a fortune to have your very own "label".  I found Signature Wines to be a great resource for this type of gift - their Rutherford Cab is outstanding.  ***Word of caution: make sure your company's legal team approves this prior to ordering and your executive team is on board with providing wine as a gift.  
  
• Spa Robes - okay, if your budget allows this could be the ultimate pillow gift.  The brand a lot of 5 star hotels use is "Robeworks" - such nice quality and a front pocket that has a nice space for logos.