Planning a meeting in Las Vegas or attending a convention in Las Vegas and having to organize satellite events?
| Las Vegas Dine-Arounds |
Being a top-tier meeting planner is all about creating unforgettable moments. A large part of the world of Las Vegas corporate events revolves around the hours after the workday has ended. With a city like Las Vegas, planners have everything they need to create group experiences that are both entertaining and meaningful.
Imagine combining the elements of transportation, dining and nightlife for one terrific evening. The result is a dine-around, an activity that professionals have been enjoying in metropolitan cities all over the country. A dine-around excursion involves “restaurant hopping,” or switching dining facilities for each course of the meal.
For example, attendees can enjoy appetizers and hors d’oeuvres at one restaurant, then dine on an entrée at a second one and then finish the evening by savoring an assortment of desserts at a third location. What makes this such an enjoyable arrangement to organize from a planner’s perspective is that they can utilize any number of facilities as they want, as well as experiment with different types of dining venues. You don’t just have to stick with just restaurants. Planners can arrange for their attendees to visit lounges, wine bars and gourmet bistros during their excursions.
Dine-arounds are most effective when they are done in one single small group of no more than twenty-five guests at a time. However, it’s possible to handle larger groups by splitting them up into smaller units and then alternating restaurants. While group A is having appetizers at the first restaurant, group B will be enjoying the appetizers of the second restaurant. Group C will start at the third restaurant. The groups then alternate restaurants after each course. By the end of the night, every attendee from each group will have enjoyed a full-course meal from all three restaurants, albeit it in a different pattern. Part of the fun of larger dine-arounds is for attendees to compare their experiences with others who went through a different restaurant order.
If that sounds like a lot of planning, it’s really not. In fact, most destination management companies (DMCs) in Las Vegas already have vast experience in orchestrating successful dine-around events. DMCs can help planners select the desired restaurants, make reservations in advance, choose the menu, match the appropriate wines with the entrees, arrange for adequate transportation and take care of billing. Using a DMC is also advantageous in that they already have established relationships with restaurants that have experience in participating in dine-arounds. They can give direction so that the evening feels like one fluid, cohesive event rather than a jarring mash-up of different restaurants.
One important tip to remember is that there should be a limited pre-selected menu at each restaurant. This allows for each guest to choose a dish of comparable value, which makes for easier billing later on. It also emphasizes the group dynamics of the activity; in other words, guests are not there to just order whatever comes to mind. They are there to indulge in only one course and one course only. It’s also common for some attendees to order different menu options, and then share amongst each other so that those who want to can taste a variety of dishes.
It is also important to note that a dine-around can be as long or as short as a planner wants it to be. If you are already using a limousine rental for the evening, why not extend the experience and use it to take attendees to a bar or a nightclub? On the opposite end of the spectrum, a
dine-around can be as simple as having attendees enjoy cocktails at one restaurant, then eat the rest of dinner at a second and final location.
Imagine combining the elements of transportation, dining and nightlife for one terrific evening. The result is a dine-around, an activity that professionals have been enjoying in metropolitan cities all over the country. A dine-around excursion involves “restaurant hopping,” or switching dining facilities for each course of the meal.
For example, attendees can enjoy appetizers and hors d’oeuvres at one restaurant, then dine on an entrée at a second one and then finish the evening by savoring an assortment of desserts at a third location. What makes this such an enjoyable arrangement to organize from a planner’s perspective is that they can utilize any number of facilities as they want, as well as experiment with different types of dining venues. You don’t just have to stick with just restaurants. Planners can arrange for their attendees to visit lounges, wine bars and gourmet bistros during their excursions.
Dine-arounds are most effective when they are done in one single small group of no more than twenty-five guests at a time. However, it’s possible to handle larger groups by splitting them up into smaller units and then alternating restaurants. While group A is having appetizers at the first restaurant, group B will be enjoying the appetizers of the second restaurant. Group C will start at the third restaurant. The groups then alternate restaurants after each course. By the end of the night, every attendee from each group will have enjoyed a full-course meal from all three restaurants, albeit it in a different pattern. Part of the fun of larger dine-arounds is for attendees to compare their experiences with others who went through a different restaurant order.
If that sounds like a lot of planning, it’s really not. In fact, most destination management companies (DMCs) in Las Vegas already have vast experience in orchestrating successful dine-around events. DMCs can help planners select the desired restaurants, make reservations in advance, choose the menu, match the appropriate wines with the entrees, arrange for adequate transportation and take care of billing. Using a DMC is also advantageous in that they already have established relationships with restaurants that have experience in participating in dine-arounds. They can give direction so that the evening feels like one fluid, cohesive event rather than a jarring mash-up of different restaurants.
One important tip to remember is that there should be a limited pre-selected menu at each restaurant. This allows for each guest to choose a dish of comparable value, which makes for easier billing later on. It also emphasizes the group dynamics of the activity; in other words, guests are not there to just order whatever comes to mind. They are there to indulge in only one course and one course only. It’s also common for some attendees to order different menu options, and then share amongst each other so that those who want to can taste a variety of dishes.
It is also important to note that a dine-around can be as long or as short as a planner wants it to be. If you are already using a limousine rental for the evening, why not extend the experience and use it to take attendees to a bar or a nightclub? On the opposite end of the spectrum, a
dine-around can be as simple as having attendees enjoy cocktails at one restaurant, then eat the rest of dinner at a second and final location.
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If accepted, your submission will be edited for length and clarity. There is no monetary payment if your item is used; instead, you can publicize yourself through a five-line biography with your contact information that will appear at the end of the article.
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