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BIO on a Budget
By Michele Parisi, BioComm Network

With a bit of planning and “pre-work”, attendance at the annual BIO meetings and conferences can be a very valuable investment for your company. But between the registration fees, airfare, hotel and “on the ground” expenses, industry and trade show attendance is never cheap, and BIO is no exception. Whether you're wondering how to make BIO work on a very limited budget or just want to ensure you get the most for your money when you attend, here are some tips that can help you reduce your BIO budget and maximize the return on your company's investment in this important annual meeting.

TRAVEL

Don't pay full price for airfare: BIO offers discounted airfare rates for international meeting attendees. For the BIO 2006 meeting in Chicago, you can receive a 10 percent discount off any United, Lufthansa or United Express published fare (excluding First Class) when tickets are purchased subject to applicable restrictions. Or, you can receive a 15 percent discount on a full coach fare booked in Y class of service. For more information, go to www.bio.org/events/2006/hotel.dev/travel.asp. To obtain discounted flights, call United Meeting Plus Reservation Center toll free at 1-800-521-4041. Refer to meeting ID 557QX.

Book your hotel room early: Always plan to book your BIO hotel room three months in advance. If you haven't already booked a room in one of the official Chicago meeting hotels, do so today! BIO has negotiated reduced room rates at selected hotels near Chicago's McCormick Place convention center. All of these hotels offer free shuttle services to the center, thereby saving you money on cab fare. For a list of official BIO hotels and their amenities, go to www.bio.org/events/2006/hotel.dev/rates.asp. To save even more money, select one of the hotels with complimentary Internet service.

Whenever the hotel you want is “sold out”, ask to be put on the waiting list and notified as soon as a room becomes available. Then book a room in one of the overflow hotels (for Chicago, go to www.bio.org/events/2006/hotel.dev/). Many times these hotels do not offer shuttle service, so use your networking skills to reduce cab expenses: Introduce yourself to anyone who looks like they're going to the convention center each morning and suggest that you share a cab ride. You'll save money AND expand your network of biotechnology contacts!

Be aware of cab fares: Investigate shuttle and mass transit options before you depart for BIO. Download the mass transit schedules and maps, and be prepared to use them for the often long trip from the airport to your hotel. In Chicago, it is approximately 21 miles from O'Hare International Airport to McCormick Place convention center. For an inexpensive and convenient alternative to cabs, Chicago's Blue Line light rail provides 24-hour access between downtown Chicago and O'Hare International Airport. Trains run approximately every eight minutes from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, and approximately every 10 minutes from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends. A one-way fare for the 45-minute ride is $2.00.

The Blue Line station is located at the lowest level of the O'Hare International Main Parking Garage (next to elevator center 4) and is accessible by pedestrian tunnels located in Terminals 1, 2, and 3. From Terminal 5, take the Airport Transit System (ATS) to Terminal 3 and follow the signs.

MEETING FEES

What level of access do you need? Carefully consider what you want to get out of each BIO meeting before purchasing your registration packet. Do you want or need to attend all of the scientific sessions, the breakfast and lunch plenary sessions, the business forum, exhibit hall AND evening receptions? If so, you'll need to purchase a full registration for each person attending. For the 2006 Chicago meeting, this will cost $1,995 for non-members and $1,495 for members. (Note that if you haven't already registered for the 2006 BIO meeting, you'll now need to do so on-site).

You can save money on registration fees if you can accomplish your objectives without attending the breakfast/lunch plenary sessions and evening receptions. For Chicago, “Option 2” registration type includes access to all sessions, the business forum and exhibit hall only. The cost for this packet is $1,195 for BIO members and $1,695 for non-members – a savings of $300 either way.

Finally, if you plan to conduct your business primarily outside of the BIO scientific and educational sessions, but would like the opportunity to network with meeting attendees and companies, you should considering purchasing a very cost-effective exhibit hall pass. For $350 (non-members) or $250 (BIO members) you can purchase three days of access to the BIO 2006 exhibit hall (during regular hours only). With this package you can also pay for and attend individual events and sessions from an “a la carte” menu of meeting options. Go to www.bio.org/events/2006/reg/options.asp for more information about registration packets and options.

If you want or need to hear the information presented in the scientific sessions but don't actually need to attend them, consider purchasing CD-ROMs from the meeting. With this option, everyone in your company can share and benefit from the information presented at BIO without having to attend the meeting.

Making the Most of Your Time in Chicago

Plan ahead! Traveling to BIO conferences with no plan of action is the biggest way to waste money, because your time there will not be used effectively. Here is an outline of steps to help you prepare:

Outline your objectives. Do you want to identify potential partners? Discover one or more acquisition candidates? Check up on the progress of competitors?
Invest in one-on-one partnering (see the articles in this newsletter for a description of partnering and its many benefits)
Enlist the help of a Business Development Firm, such as DNA Gateway, to help you with your profile development, messaging, your corporate and technology presentations and the identification of potential partners.
Review the BIO meeting schedule and determine which sessions or events will help you accomplish your goals. Do you need to attend the scientific sessions? Or can you accomplish what you need in partnering meetings and the exhibit hall?
Develop a schedule for each day. Schedule time for travel to and from the convention hall, partner meetings, checking e-mail messages, etc.

Give yourself time: Don't take the last flight out the evening before you're supposed to be at a conference. If there are problems with your flight, you could miss your first meeting and throw your entire schedule off track. In addition, you will want to arrive with enough time to get some rest, catch up on e-mail and other messages, and be fully prepared to get the most from your time at the convention.

And finally, prepare for each day: Take time before leaving your hotel each morning to review your schedule and jot down your objectives for the day. Organize the business cards you collected the day before, and make notes about any opportunities you will pursue once you are back in your office. Pack yourself a small “care package” to ensure you feel your best throughout the day: This might include a bottle of water, a packet of aspirin and/or antacid, a small snack or change for vending machines, etc. Also, you'll be shaking a lot of hands, so think about bringing hand sanitizer or a package of anti-bacterial towelettes.