Welcome to our new website!

Take a break from the ordinary with miles of beautiful river, family attractions and some heartland history. Kankakee County is known for its scenic beauty, affordable accommodations and Chicago Bears RC Cola Training Camp. 

But did you know it has a Historic Church Tour, Barn Quilts, Frank Lloyd Wright houses, water park,championship fishing, delightful outdoor activities and skydiving? 

See Some of the New Items to Our Website:

• Build My Itinerary
• Group Travel Planning
• Enhanced Calendar of Events

See what adventures await you in Kankakee County! Our redesigned website includes a section just for travel groups. See the sample itineraries to enhance your visit and take advantage of all of the wonderful things to see and do in Kankakee County. Visit our newly designed website or call 800-747-4837 to request your free information.

One size does not fit all!

When it comes to meetings, one size does not fit all.

Before you book your venue, consider how people will be arranged in the space. For example, 250 people can comfortably stand in 1500 square feet (a room roughly 42 ft. x 35 ft.), which is great for a reception, but classroom seating would only allow 85 in the same space and 125 for a seated dinner at round tables. 

Space and Capacity Calculator
This calculator will calculate the capacity of a banquet hall, wedding hall, or meeting room in many setup scenarios. It will also calculate space needed for a specific amount of people. You can also find out how many trade show booths will fit in a space, or how much space is needed. One thing to note, the calculator will not take into account odd shaped rooms. Also, remember to subtract the square footage of dance floors etc.

Need help calculating the size you will need? Vicki Layhew, our Sales and Marketing manager can assist you with site selection issues when you use the CVB to plan your event. Call 800-747-4837 or email her today!

Responding to RFP’s

Electronic RFP’s are a standard in the event planning industry. Meeting planners can contact several potential properties with the click of a button, resulting in overloaded in boxes in the sales department. As a result, the vast majority of sales offices fall short on response times, even when it is a hot lead for low demand dates.

More often than not, those who inquire about dates that are sold out, or those that have needs that cannot be met at this time by the property, fail to receive any response. This leaves the meeting planners hanging and leads to frustration and complaints, not to mention a loss of any future business from that client. It seems that at most booking properties, no one responds anymore to say, “We are fully committed for your requested dates, but if your plans are flexible we would welcome a chance to look at other options.” Few if any respond to say “Since your meeting space cannot accommodate a group of this size, we do hope you will keep us in mind when you are planning smaller meetings.”

Here are a few tips to help get more mileage from RFP’s – even if your property is not available:

1.    Respond promptly to all inquiries, even those for which you have no inventory or otherwise cannot meet their specifications. Plans change as meeting details are finalized, and many planners are involved with multiple meetings. A well worded response indicating those dates are not available that provides the planner with alternate dates and a description of what you can offer may make the difference for another meeting date. Utilize your word processing software or brand resource tools to develop templates to streamline the process so every planner receives a response, whether you can accommodate the proposed dates or not. 

2.    Never assume that your property isn't right for a prospective client or that your rates will be too high. Limiting yourself to this mindset could result in missing out on potential future business if the planner coordinates multiple events with different requirements. 

3.    Even if you have hosted an event or group in the past, don’t assume they will choose your facility without receiving a response from you. Perhaps the planner’s objectives for the event have changed or they are not aware of a recent upgrade to your property. Taking the time to send an appropriate response such as “since your last event we now offer (new item) and look forward to continuing to serve you needs.” 

4.    Just because you did not win the bid for an event in the past does not mean you shouldn’t respond to future bids. Consider that although you may not have gotten business in the past, you don't know that organization didn't recently have a problem at the hotel that did get the business. So, always respond.

Need more ideas? Contact the Kankakee County CVB for more information on responding to RFP’s.

Event crowd size counting; why it’s important

Knowledge is power at the negotiating table. To achieve an outcome that is the best value for an event means having data to back up an explanation for why such things as reduced rates or comp rooms are in a hotel partner’s best interest. Rights holders need to track attendance numbers over time to accurately define economic impact generated from the event. Having an accurate attendance number gives you an advantage when negotiating fees and requesting sponsorships; you have the history of how many people attend the event.

Most importantly, estimated attendance numbers help keep the crowds at large gatherings safe. Event coordinators and officials are able to plan how to manage traffic in the area, how many medical response personnel will be needed in case of an emergency, as well as how much security to hire. Crowd size is also needed for media news reports and to historically record the event.

Whereas crowd counting is not an exact science, using ticket sales or counting turnstile entries is one of the easiest ways to keep track of how many people attend. Additionally, there are grid systems that measure the maximum number of people that can fit in a defined space. The “Jacob’s Method of Crowd Counting” is one of the most widely accepted methods of using the grid system. The basis of his system is a loose crowd, one where each person is an arm's length from the body of his or her nearest neighbors, needs 10 square feet per person. A more tightly packed crowd fills 4.5 square feet per person. A truly scary mob of mosh-pit density would get about 2.5 square feet per person.

Please read more about the methods of crowd counting here.

Contact the CVB for help planning your next event!

Group Planning Helps with Scheduling

Ever scheduled a meeting for your group, only to finds not everyone is available that day? Some have alternate dates, others can only make it the first date and others may be out of town. 

The Kankakee County CVB knows what a challenge scheduling can be for community and special interest groups as they are a large part of the clients the CVB services. Event planning can be complex and frustrating when it comes to the busy schedules of friends and family. Here are a few websites we have found that can help you relieve frustrations and plan more efficiently:

• Meetup.com makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. *** A few groups from the Naperville area interested in photography and bicycling already use this service to plan their outing to visit Kankakee County!
• WhichDateWorks.com – provides free and easy event scheduling online where everyone involved can track event date selections and receive notification when someone responds. No signup required and you can plan as many events as you want.
• MeetOMatic.com is an easy and free meeting scheduler. Simply use an easy web form, email participants, and view results.
• WhenIsGood.net – provides a very easy way to find out when everyone is free. No signup required and includes a convenient scheduling calendar.
• Doodle.com – helps scheduling meetings and other appointments. It is simple, quick, free and requires no registration.
• FasterPlan.com – allows users to make polls, find common dates, and more.

For more planning services visit our meeting page or download our Meeting Planner Guide.

Meeting Planner's Guide

Kankakee County Convention and Visitors Bureau has a new online Meeting Planner's Guide. This planning guide is designed to assist you with your meeting requirements and to provide you with the information you need to make your meeting a successful event. Download your copy HERE.

Located just an hour south of Chicago off of Interstate 57, the Kankakee River Valley offers a peaceful setting for meetings, retreats, and special events. Find the perfect location for your event from a conference center to auditoriums, classrooms, theaters, and ballrooms.  For a truly unique event consider one of Kankakee County’s historic landmarks or outdoor facilities. 

We are here to assist you with your planning and servicing needs, so please give us a call—it’s toll free: 1-800-747-4837.

How the CVB can help you

What are some of the specific services CVBs offer planners?

·        CVBs can offer unbiased information about services and facilities in the destination.

·        CVBs serve as a vast information database and a one-stop shop, thus saving planners time, energy and money in the development of a meeting.

·        CVBs act as a liaison between the planner and the community. For example, CVBs are aware of community events with which your meeting may beneficially coincide (like festivals or sporting events). .

·        CVBs can help meeting attendees maximize their free time through the creation of pre and post-conference activities, spouse tours, and hosting of special evening events.

·        CVBs can provide hotel room counts and meeting space statistics, and will keep a convention/meetings/events calendar in order to help planners avoid conflicts and/or space shortages.

Other services provided to planners include:

·        Collateral material

·        Help with on-site logistics, including registration

·        Housing bureaus

·        Auxiliary services, such as production companies, catering, transportation

·        Site inspections/familiarization tours and site selection

·        Speakers and local educational opportunities

·        Coordination of local transportation

·        Access to special venues 

 The overall job of a CVB is to market and sell a destination. A CVB wants every single client to be happy. It is going to do everything it can to match every client with the perfect setting and services for its meetings. The bottom line — the CVB is working for you.  

So, make your life easier and let the Kankakee County CVB's fingers do the walking for you!

5 Ways to Enhance Your Next RFP Response

If you are a hospitality marketing representative, I know you answer a lot of Request For Proposals (RFPs). And even though "dates and rates" are still part of the process, they are not the total package. Think instead of your RFP response as a way to tell your story. Yes, it will take more time to accomplish this, but in the end, it will hopefully yield more group business to your destination.

Here are five things planners ask for, the usual hospitality response, and tips to enhance it:

PLANNER PICK #1: Event Date With a Few Alternatives
TYPICAL RESPONSE: Most sales personnel look at the dates and either respond to the proposal or throw it in the trash because they do not have those dates available.
ENHANCED ALTERNATIVE: Discuss what dates you do have available. Try to determine if there is any flexibility with their company or association. Let them know there are savings to their bottom line if they can be flexible. If they still won't budge, thank them for their time and then discard the paperwork.


PLANNER PICK #2: Number of Attendees, Meeting Rooms and Sleeping Rooms Required
TYPICAL RESPONSE: If your convention center or hotel isn't large enough to accommodate the group, the RFP is discarded.
ENHANCED ALTERNATIVE: Perhaps you need to know more about the meeting before your respond. How many meeting rooms do they need and what sizes? Can you spread the meeting over several spaces instead of just one? If your hotel has the meeting space but not the hotel rooms, perhaps you work with another hotel next door on overflow?


PLANNER PICK #3: Cities, States, and Areas of Interest
TYPICAL RESPONSE: Looking at the cities the planner is considering either has you slumped in your seat or feeling you have a great probability of a win.
ENHANCED ALTERNATIVE: Looking at all the other cities and states, put together a plus and minus page compared to the competition. Tell your story by accentuating the pluses. Use referral quotes but most importantly tell the planner why they want to meet in your city. Think of it this way: give them the story that makes it easy for them to convince to their boss.

PLANNER PICK #4: Venue Requirements
TYPICAL RESPONSE: Just the facts ma'am and lots of them. Number of meeting rooms, dimensions, sleeping room types, urban, suburban, or resort hotel. Amenities. Distance from the airport and shuttle service. Restaurants and bars on premise.
ENHANCED RESPONSE: Find out more about the group. What are their interests? Are they bringing their spouse or significant other? Do they want to be downtown or out near the airport? What do they like to do after the meeting? Again, tell a story about your property and what makes it special, but tailor your response to their needs.

PLANNER PICK #5: Food and Beverage
TYPICAL RESPONSE: Usually the hotel staff includes every choice available to the planner or a very short listing of food and beverage choices. Neither alternative is particularly helpful.
ENHANCED ALTERNATIVE: If the planner is making a site visit, ask them to sample some of the menu ideas your banquet staff has come up with. If this is not possible, put together alternative menu choices for the days they are there. Determine if the group wants plated entrees or buffet style. Include healthy choices and local influences, including your beverage choices.

In summary, it is important to cover the facts about your property and destination in your RFP, but equally important is the ability to sell it. Tell your story and don't be afraid to take risks. Sell the benefits of going to your destination, convention center, and hotel. Contact the CVB for more information.

Creating a Professional Proposal

A proposal is often the first documented impression that you serve up to your client representative of your property. SCENARIO: Your client wants the proposal “yesterday.” You want to give the client the proposal in the requested time frame so you rush through using a proposal you have used before. You forgot to remove references to the past client, the formatting isn’t neat and words are misspelled. If you had used a template, you would be in a better position with your client!

Yes, creating a proposal template that creates a “Wow!” from every client will take hours but they will be hours well spent. Putting together the template at a time when you are not under a tight deadline ensures a better product. After you complete the template you will have time to put it away, let it rest, and review again with a fresh set of eyes or even a new set of eyes of a trusted coworker or editor for fine tuning. When you receive a new request, just tweak your effective proposal template with specific, unique client information that is “dressed to impress!”

Creating a professional proposal template is sure way to give your location the best impression possible to potential clients. The Kankakee County CVB even has a sample template available to style your own. Additionally there are numerous examples available on the Internet by searching "professional proposals". Here is a link to a website with some great examples and ideas.