New Orleans Convention Hotel Implements New Software to Help with Event Management

Event Managers stay busy year-round with groups and events at Hilton New Orleans Riverside. A sprawling 130,000 square feet of meeting space accommodates a hefty rotating agenda of conferences, meetings and banquets at its prime location. Conveniently situated next door to the city’s convention center on the Mississippi riverbank, the New Orleans hotel is just a stroll away from the bustling French Quarter, Bourbon Street and beignets.

As one of the largest convention hotels in New Orleans, Hilton New Orleans Riverside manages a large number of events simultaneously, all of which carry a weight of logistical tasks and communications.

“We’re always busy,” said Michelle Edwards, Senior Events Manager for Hilton New Orleans Riverside. “We’re tasked with an abundance of details on a daily basis which can become difficult to manage.

Therefore, the hotel was looking for a better way to keep up with event-related tasks and communications that sped up process and enhanced collaboration. It found that solution with Getplanning, a PCI-Compliant project management tool with file sharing, commenting and milestone features. Getplanning is a part of the Cendyn Events cloud.

With Getplanning, the events team found they could make decisions faster, maintain high-level visibility and stay connected. Staff could keep working events on the go and align activities throughout the day.

“With the Getplanning app, you can look through your news feed and everything is up to date," Edwards adds. "Getplanning allows you to stay organized and locate information in an efficient way. It’s a great way to ensure everything is communicated.”

For the Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel, some of the top benefits of Getplanning include visibility, time savings, accountability and empowerment.

• Visibility - The entire hotel staff uses Getplanning, from the events team to the front desk and even the valet, with user groups and access levels to disseminate information across various teams. “It opens up the levels of communication and makes it easy to get information across the organization. With Getplanning, the information is at their fingertips,” Edwards notes.
• Time Savings - With the hotel’s event-related documents and details organized and accessible online, staff saves a tremendous amount of time. There is no more chasing down the “one person” who has the answer. “With concierge or front desk, if they receive walk ups with questions, they can search for information and help the guest versus waiting for someone to answer a call,” Edwards explains.
• Accountability - The team stays on point with their responsibilities across events, bringing clear accountability across the organization. “Everything is date and time stamped. I can quickly just look through the information and confirm that something has been done,” Edwards says.
• Empowerment - Staff can move quicker through decisions and tasks, enabling the hotel to pull off flawless meetings and events because information is flowing.

"Getplanning makes the execution of events run so much smoother," Edwards states. "It helps us save so much administrative time. As far as I can see, there has been nothing but positive with Getplanning. It just works."