Key Takeaways
- Conference logistics and conference production are separate disciplines — but at events above 300 pax, both must be coordinated through a single point of contact
- Delegate transport is the logistics element most commonly underspecified — the number of vehicles required at doors-open time is significantly higher than the number available if calculated for average arrival rate
- Accommodation blocking at a venue requires a room block contract that specifies the rate, the drop date (last date to release unused rooms without penalty), and the rooming list delivery deadline
- Load-in logistics (supplier vehicle scheduling, crew catering, overnight accommodation) is a production company responsibility — leaving it to the venue produces conflicts on load-in morning
Delegate transport
For a 500-person conference at a hotel 45 minutes from the airport, the transport requirement at arrival: 40–50% of delegates arrive in the 90 minutes before the programme starts. If 250 delegates are arriving in 90 minutes and the average vehicle capacity is 8 people, 32 vehicle runs are required in 90 minutes — approximately one vehicle completing a round trip every 3 minutes. This calculation, done at week 6, determines how many vehicles are required and where they stage. The calculation not done at week 6 produces a situation at the airport where 80 delegates are waiting for vehicles that are stuck in traffic or have completed fewer round trips than required.
The load-in logistics document
The load-in logistics document specifies: each supplier's arrival time window at the venue's loading dock, the sequence in which they should arrive (staging company before AV, AV before lighting, lighting before content team), the vehicle type and dimensions for each delivery, the loading dock access instructions, the crew catering arrangement, and the overnight accommodation locations for crew who begin load-in the night before the event. This document is generated by the production company, shared with all suppliers by week 2, and updated when any supplier's requirements change. Suppliers who arrive without having received this document have been failed by the production company's pre-production process.