A customizable enterprise solution that combines workflow management, budget and planning tools, and unmatched meeting spend analytics.
The SignUp4 Travel Management Module™ streamlines the process of merging attendee travel information with event registration data via direct GDS integration.
Fully customizable event management software that helps event and meetings planners realize time and cost savings through the entire event management process.
Before the sun was up, volunteers from SignUp4 were hitting the pavement setting up 
tables and stacking hundreds of cups of water three tiers high and all for a great cause! This past Sunday, was the Georgia Publix Marathon and Half Marathon where over 13,000 participants woke up bright and early to take over the streets of Atlanta.
SignUp4 volunteered at the Team In Training (TNT) hydration station by handing out water and cheering on the runners and walkers as they reached the top of the hill in Little 5 Points, which was their 5 mile mark. Of the 13,000 participants 200 were TNT team members who raised over $220,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
As the last group of participants made their way up the hill, the music was blasting, the volunteers still cheering and the sun was starting to warm the bustling city streets. Volunteers cleared the cup filled streets –a sign of runners long gone, broke down tables and had the street opened within minutes. We couldn’t have asked for a more rewarding experience.
On a special note, SignUp4 is very proud of its own Kiley Reynolds, Senior DBA/Software Engineer who successfully accomplished the half marathon. Way to go Kiley!
PS – Be sure to check out the marathon photos on SU4’s Facebook page.
By Michael Sabani (Client Services)
SignUp4 has recently announced its partnership with FlightStats, an industry leader in flight information. This partnership opens up a whole new way to integrate flight information into event planning, providing event planners with new tools and reports previously unavailable, most specifically the Flight Exception Report.
The Flight Exception Report is a TMS (Travel Management System) report that integrates directly with FlightStats to provide up-to-the-minute flight information for your registered attendees. By synchronizing the PNRs for attendees and the flight information from FlightStats for their scheduled travel, event planners can have a comprehensive view of the real time status of air travel for their attendees, every time they run the report. Event planners can filter by delayed, on time, and cancelled flight status, enabling them to track in detail when attendees will arrive.
The question that event planners might be asking is “great, but how will this make my job easier?”
This puts a number of options at an event planners disposal!
Using the Flight Exception Report, event planners can see exactly what time their attendees will arrive and schedule transportation accordingly. Do you have five attendees arriving around 11am? Now you know to send a van. Thirty? Better send a bus! Now you have the ability to know and plan accordingly, saving time and money.
Want to know how many employees to staff at your event’s check in desk? Run a Flight Exception Report. Now you know that forty five attendees will be arriving soon! The five people at the welcome desk might get overwhelmed; it might be time to add more staff. Did the report show that there are only six people arriving from 1pm to 4pm? You probably won’t need those fifteen people at the desk. Save your staff and your attendee’s some unneeded frustration.
Running a Flight Exception Report filtered by a “Cancelled” status will show you any last minute flight cancellations. Contact your stranded attendees and rearrange their travel! Be an event planning hero!
These are just a few of the things that the Flight Exception Report will allow you to do. Let us know how you have used the Flight Exception Report!
SignUp4, the innovative meetings intelligence expert announced its integration with FlightStats, a recognized global leader in flight information. This powerful integration will significantly improve travel management logistics for event planners pairing attendee flight and event registration data. The new Flight Exception Report will provide up-to-the-minute flight details for these attendees including registrant’s ID, airline, flight number, departure/arrival locations and times, flight status and if applicable, delayed minutes.
SignUp4′s Travel Management System (TMS) users have the flexibility of pulling Flight Exception reports by airport and filtering by cancellations, delays, and/or on-time statuses. “This new capability enhances the arrival/departure manifest to now provide real-time travel information to the event planner. This is helpful information for managing ground transportation logistics around your events. Many of our clients are very excited about this new feature,” said Mark Hubrich, VP of Client & Industry Relations. In addition to driving streamlined travel logistics, this reporting functionality will generate considerable efficiency, improved attendee experiences, and the potential for dramatic savings.
By Mark Hubrich, Founder & VP Client and Industry Relations
I attended the Meetings Exploration Conference last week hosted by the Georgia Chapter of MPI and was glad I attended. It was fruitful for business development with 2 companies about to sign contracts, some new meeting planner connections who did not know about SignUp4, and networking with new suppliers. I think that is one area that is overlooked when suppliers attend a conference. It was a lunch discussion I had with a planner and 2 suppliers on Thursday of the conference. This planner, Laura, was telling the table that one of the first things she does when she is contracting for a new service is to ask her close supplier friends for their recommendations or advice. Cultivating connections with other suppliers who are not a direct competitor can be key to getting and winning new business. The other point that I’ve noticed in this industry in my experience over the past decade is that people change jobs every few years and one day a friend may be at a hotel and the next year that person may be a planner at a different company.
The educational sessions I attended were insightful and cutting edge. Being on the technology side of the industry, I was most interested in the sessions by Patrick O’Malley and Corbin Ball. Patrick, whom I’ve heard twice before and have always learned new material which I could immediately apply to my job, had a lot of new insights and examples from his session on advanced social media for meeting planners. He especially emphasized the value of video testimonials and its power in Google with search rankings. Corbin had 2 sessions both of which were packed rooms and full of information. I thought the session on mobile apps for the meetings industry was the most helpful. I feel that I’m fairly knowledgeable on this topic and he was able to introduce me to new companies and products I had not seen before. His presentations can be found at http://www.corbinball.com/assets/mobile-gampi.pdf and http://www.corbinball.com/assets/trends-gampi.pdf for anyone who wasn’t able to attend the sessions. The material on near field communications was especially new to me. There are definitely some new apps that I downloaded to my iPhone after his session. Wordlens(www.questvisual.com) especially will be beneficial to me next time I am traveling abroad. Overall, I learned a lot with the education sessions, made some new connections, and was able to see many old friends. For all of the years I’ve attended the MEC, I’ve always found it to be one of the most valuable regional MPI conferences.
by Michael Sabani, Client Services
1. Twitter
Twitter is an amazing tool to keep up with colleagues, share information, and even read the news! Event planners can use Twitter to announce event activities, share updated schedules, even send messages about special incentives or surprise treats! Create a username for your event and ask a few different people with smartphones to live tweet presentations. Use hashtags (#) with your event name to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. A Twitter “Jockey” can live Tweet and help keep the conversation going, creating a deep level of interaction between your attendees.
Using SignUp4 you can place a live Twitter feed for your account on your event page. Event planners can turn on a page and add the embed code from Twitter to have the Twitter feed for their account display live! This allows you to create an information destination for your event on your event page, and will also get your attendees sharing and excited about your event! See Twitter support for more information.
2. Facebook
There are a few great tools on Facebook that event planners can leverage to really generate a buzz around their events. Try creating a fan page for your event with the location. This allows your attendees to check in to your event. You can encourage attendees to check in a create a buzz by offering giveaways on your fan page.
Event planners using SignUp4 can integrate their Facebook Fan Page into their site as well. By copying and pasting the HTML embed code onto on open page, you can add a live feed of your fan page status as well as keeping the attendees informed of important (or fun!) updates during your event. Check out Facebook Help for more information.
3. YouTube
YouTube is often an overlooked tool in creating an engaging and memorable event experience. Creating a YouTube username and channel, event planners are essentially building a “News Network” for your event. Members of the Event Team with smartphones can film and upload videos directly to YouTube. Embed your channel on an open SignUp4 page. Now whenever a new video is uploaded it will appear on your site!
4. Pinterest
Pinterest, an online pinboard where you can organize and share information, is very popular right now. Pinterest can be a great tool to give your attendees a lot of information in a very dynamic and easy way. Create a Pinterest account and pin links to your speakers’ web sites, pin up images from your event, and even share blogs about your event.
These are just a few options to explore that will allow event planners to incorporate social media into their events. Creating a buzz, getting attendees excited, and keeping in contact with attendees has never been easier!
By Mark Hubrich, Founder & VP Client and Industry Relations
The new year is about to kick off with the first regional MPI conference of the year. January was a hectic start and now the Georgia chapter of MPI will be hosting the Meeting Exploration Conference February 22nd in Atlanta Georgia. This conference always has great education, networking and business development for the suppliers and planners who attend. The CSR event for the conference, The Gathering, supports the Atlanta Community Food bank and with the great sponsorships generates thousands of dollars for this worthy cause. The Gathering, from my experience, is one of the premier networking events of the year for the industry with typically over 400 planners and suppliers brought together in a fun evening environment.
I always enjoy attending the MEC conference because it was the first committee I had joined when I became an MPI member. That committee immediately got me involved and within a few months my fellow committee members were 25 new friends within GaMPI. It was an educational experience for me to go from a role of software development background to experiencing all of the different logistical components in the life of a meeting planner. I saw a glimpse of everything involved with producing a large tradeshow. With attending the upcoming MEC, I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and clients during the two days of the conference and perhaps making some new connections. The exchange of ideas between planners and suppliers at conferences is also invaluable with many opportunities to grow in your company and career. I’m particularly looking forward to the educational session on mobile apps for meetings and tradeshows. Smart phones and tablets are quickly changing practices of meeting planners and this should not only be an interesting session but great discussion from the people who attend. Whatever your particular interest, the educational sessions have a lot to offer.
I look forward to seeing everyone there.
