Office of Special Events

Single Point of Contact

UB's Office of Special Events provides every service you need to plan and implement a successful conference, whether your booking a small workshop or an international symposium. Our conference staff includes a Certified Meeting Planner and five full time professionals to ensure that no detail will be overlooked.

The University at Buffalo's Office of Special Events can provide you with "a single point of contact" for all of your conference and event needs. Whether you are holding a small workshop, a multiple-day program, or a black-tie award banquet, Office of Special Events will provide essential service support to help you accomplish your goals.

Office of Special Events offers a full range of tailored support services including:

Management Services

Our management services are efficient and flexible, and are designed to provide value to the program. Our years of experience in meeting and event management will ultimately save program planners time and money.

Planning and Budget

Staff from our office will be assigned to actively participate in logistics planning and budget development. Our goal is to determine (1) all areas of needed program support (speakers/presenter, facilities, and services) and any associated costs; (2) all revenue streams; and (3) the required registration fee per category registrant, based on projected minimum registrations.

Brokering Facilities and Services

As your "single point of contact," our office can identify, negotiate, and coordinate all necessary facilities and services for a successful program. We will deal directly with vendors on your behalf, and will advise you on the guarantees for services.

On-Site Management

During your conference, our office will provide liaison support to all of the contracted facility and service providers, allowing you to concentrate on the program. We will assure the quality control of all services outlined in the program plan and budget. We will also staff a conference information and service center, provide all on-site conference signage, and conduct a program evaluation survey.

Post-Program Coordination

Our services continue after the conference ends. We will prepare a final report on conference evaluations, participate in any debriefing session(s) to review conference performance, and review facility and service invoicing for accuracy. A final program budget analysis will be produced to conclude affairs.

Fees may apply for management services that extend beyond planning and budget; these are entirely negotiable and based upon review of program length, size, and scope, as well as expected levels of resources from our office.

Registration Services

Office of Special Events offers a comprehensive, computerized registration service program to relieve meeting planners of administering this complicated and time-consuming function.

Registration and administrative web site development

• Design registration related forms, including applications, confirmations, name badges, rosters, and management reports
• Establish a customized registration website to accept registration options and payment status, as well as registrants' personal and institutional profiles. Our administrative web site allows you to track the program from your office

Preparation of conference materials

• Process registration responses and deposit fees in designated program account
• Invoice individuals, institutions, and organizations as necessary to collect unpaid amounts from registrations received
• Maintain and update program database on a daily basis to reflect current registration and deposit activity
• Allow administrative access to your website to allow review of the program's registration profile and accounting reports
• Provide registration profile and accounting reports to me meeting planner on a regular basis
• Answer participant telephone inquiries
• Produce professional laser-printed name badges for program registrants
• Produce an updated roster of the conference participants for duplication and dissemination
• Assemble conference handout materials into University at Buffalo folders, or other folders/bags as provided by the program planner

On-Site Registration

• Provide staff to conduct on-site registration and welcome
• Distribute conference handout material, laser-printed name badges, and other material as required
• Conduct on-site "walk-up" registration and option changes. Portable computer and printer allow for immediate and continuous professional management of registration processing
• Make addendum to the roster available just prior to the conclusion of the program

Post-Program Coordination

• Provide a first run of the final conference attendance and accounting reports within two business days of conference completion
• Process post-program payment of designated invoice and refunds. Release balance of program funds to the meeting planner at the conclusion of all registration revisions and corrections, and payment of invoices and refunds
• Complete and forward a detailed report of the entire registration process two weeks after the conclusion of the conference

No matter the experience level of the meeting planner, program registration is one of the most burdensome tasks of conference management. Our professional registration staff can reduce and simplify the responsibilities of the meeting planner, which allows for greater focus on other program issues (theme, speakers, continuing education, audience, etc.).

Office of Special Events charges an all-inclusive package rate for registration services. The fee is dependent upon the complexity of the registration, the size of the conference, the number of hours of on-site registration services, and the location of your meeting.

We utilize the financial services of the University at Buffalo Foundation (UBF). A 5 percent accounting charge will be assessed on all program deposits. If credit cards and purchase orders are to be accepted as a method of registration payment, an additional 2.5 percent will be assessed per deposit. The following credit cards can be processed by UBF: MasterCard, VISA, Diners Club, Carte Blanche, and Discover.