Guest Liaison

Guest Liaison is the job of making sure that the Guests (not the members!) are looked after before, during and after the convention.

Judith Proctor has suggested the following:

What is the Guest Liaison?
Guest Liaison is the person who needs to contact all the guests pre-con and introduce herself, as she is the one who will have to deal with stuff on the spot if there are any problems. She stays available to the Guests to make sure they are properly looked after and that they get to their programme items, as well as making sure they get time to eat etc. The Guests are there to help the members have a good time, the Guest Liaison is there to make sure the Guests are looked after and, hopefully, also having a good time.

Pre-Con
The guest liaison:
 * will need to know whether each Guest is bringing a partner/spouse/agent/family with them
 * will need to know when the Guests plan to arrive so that she will be there to meet them
 * will need to give the guests her mobile number so that they can contact her if they have any problems on the journey
 * will need to be aware of any food allergies and know with confidence how to deal with those. (i.e. by checking with the hotel staff whether they need to know in advance what meals will be required, rather than just turning up at a meal and saying on the spot 'I need gluten-free')
 * will need to know the details of local restaurants that can cover any difficult dietary needs
 * should ask for a photo of them so that she can recognise them (and it's handy for the web site in any case)
 * should send them a photo of herself so that they know what she looks like
 * will need to find out if the Guests want to come to the Thursday evening meal (and make sure that the treasurer brings along the cash to pay for this as part of their "per diem", or else to make sure that the treasurer gives them their full daily allowance when they arrive).

Hotel
The guest liaison:
 * needs to familiarise herself with all Guest bedroom requirements and work with Site/Registration to make sure the correct rooms (twin/double etc.) are booked for the correct nights
 * should be there when the Guests check in so that any problems with rooms can be sorted out
 * should know what room they are in and where it is (so she can go there easily if needed).

At-Con
The guest liaison:
 * needs to make sure that the guests don't leave before the treasurer has paid them their travel expenses
 * needs to know if they are happy to take cheques or if they prefer cash for travel costs.
 * She will need to ask if any of the guests require a gopher, and liaise with Gopher Mom if necessary.

Guest liaison at con often involves very little work, but the above are pretty essential and help a guest feel that they're being looked after and they know who to turn to if they have a problem of any kind.

What Guest Liaison doesn't do
It is usually not the Guest Liaison's job to select the convention's guests, that's a job for the entire Committee. Similarly any negotiation about travel expenses (first class airfares for guest, spouse, six children, agent and the entire population of Nova Scotia ... probably not going to be approved!) will usually not be the Guest Liaison's job. That sort of thing should be passed up to the Committee and decisions will be made based on Budget and at the committee's discretion.