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HOW TO PREPARE |
WHAT TO BRING |
WHAT TO EXPECT |
HOW TO PREPARE
When should I arrive and depart?
- Activities for the conference begin on Sunday. If you are participating in any of the Pre-conference Sessions or the Service Event, you will probably need to arrive Saturday night, as they typically begin early in the morning. To catch the First Time Attendee meeting, and the Welcome Reception, plan to arrive Sunday morning or early afternoon. (See agenda.)
- The First Time Attendee Meeting takes place on Sunday afternoon and is very strongly recommended for attendees who have never attended a CHART conference. Details on the meeting are listed in the “What to Expect” section.
- The registration table will be open Sunday afternoon. If you are planning to arrive after it closes, please feel free to join us in the Opening Reception or the Hospitality Suite. You can sign in at registration and collect your name badge and information in the morning.
- The Closing Keynote concludes at 4:40 pm Tuesday, but attendees are HIGHLY encouraged to stay for the Celebration Dinner Tuesday evening. Round out the networking and bonding at the hospitality suite afterward, and you will leave the conference with new friends and industry contacts that can last a lifetime.
- Optional post-conference workshops will be offered on Wednesday. These will be announced soon.
How do I get the conference App?
- Search CHARTtrainers in your app store or click here to download the free and friendly app that puts all of the details of the conference in the palm of your hand: Full agenda, room changes, list of attendees, and the ability to communicate and network before, during, and after the conference.
- Use your email address and CHART Member Login password to sign in. Contact us if you get stuck.
- Not a CHART member? Not a problem! You will still be able to log in and have access to all of the conference information. (You just won’t be able to access the member-only areas of the app like Ask My Peers and our Membership Directory).
Registration important dates
- Early registration ends June 26, 2025. Register before this date to receive a discount on the member or non-member rate. (See the fee schedule and our refund policy.)
- Be sure to reserve your lodging well in advance of the conference. Get the special CHART conference rate at our hotel HERE. The room block closes a few weeks before the conference, but it may fill up sooner.
What are the pre-conference workshops?
- These workshops take place on Sunday morning and are add-ons for people that are coming in early and want to take advantage of additional learning opportunities.
- At 8:00am is the Certified Hospitality Trainer (CHT) Review and Exam from the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI). Please note that applications for the exam need to be sent in by the end of June. There is an additional fee (discounted for CHART) paid directly to AHLEI.
- Two of CHART's Hospitality Training Competency Workshops will also be offered as pre-conference workshops during the summer session. (See agenda for updated schedule.)
- If you are interested in attending any of these sessions and did not sign up for them during registration, please contact us. We are happy to answer questions and help you add sessions to your registration.
How do I modify my registration?
- Email us at [email protected]. We're happy to help!
How do I connect with CHART on social media?
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube
CHART App
@CHARTtrainers #CHARTTrainers
Who else is attending?
Get excited about collaborating and networking with some of the best and brightest in hospitality training! Look forward to seeing your old friends and contacts, and making some new ones! You never know when you will meet the person who may impact the trajectory of your professional life, OR becomes such a close personal friend that you couldn't imaging a time before you knew them. The registrant list will be published soon! Check it out to see the list of people you know (or want to know!) who are attending.
How do I volunteer to help?
- CHART is an almost all-volunteer organization, and the success of our conferences depends on attendees’ “I can do that” spirit to take on various tasks during the event. Additionally, those attendees who accept volunteer assignments receive additional opportunities to network, are more engaged, and get more out of their CHART experience (plus an extra ribbon for their name badge)!
- Volunteer sign-ups open two weeks before the conference. Check your inbox for an email from our Volunteer Directors with all the open assignments and instructions for how you can get involved. When the link is open, you can log in to sign up for the activity (registration table, stuffing name tags, working at the hospitality suite, etc.) and time you want to help, but check back as we add more activities even as the conference goes on.
WHAT TO BRING
What should I wear?
- Attire during the conference sessions is business casual. A sweater or jacket is recommended as some meeting rooms get chilly with the air conditioning.
- If attending the service event, bring sneakers and casual work clothes. The off-site event is typically casual dress.
- The attire for our Commitment to People celebration dinner is festive casual, or comfortable cocktail party attire for a resort dinner party.
Don't forget!
- To bring plenty of business cards! You will need at least 25 of them for the Resource Gallery prizes and more to share with attendees that you meet.
Lanyard/Pins
- Many attendees bring their lanyard and conference pins collected from other CHART conferences, as well as their CHART member pin, milestone pin(s) (5-year, 10-year, 15-year, 20-year), competency track and program completion pins, etc. You will see some truly aspirational lanyards weighing down the necks of long-time CHART members! But don't worry if you don't have one (or forget to bring it), we'll get you started with a fresh lanyard and a conference pin to start your collection!
What To Expect
Where do I go to check-in for the conference once on-site?
- Our conference registration table will open Sunday afternoon and you may collect your name tag and important information there. The table will be open until early evening and will re-open at during breakfast on Monday morning.
- If you are planning to arrive later on Sunday, please feel free to join us in the opening reception or in the Hospitality Suite. You can check in at the registration table in the morning.
EVENT AND SPECIAL FEATURE DESCRIPTIONS
What is the service event?
- The CHART service event is a great way to start your networking while giving back to the community that will be hosting our conference.
- We have a long history of kicking off conferences with a service event - we have done more than 40 of them so far! (View past service events.)
- The service event typically takes place Sunday morning from 9:00 am - noon (-ish).
- More information will be announced as details are confirmed.
What is the After Hours Meet-Up (Hospitality Suite)?
- Your CHART experience will not be complete without spending some time here! This event is where attendees get together at the end of each day to relax, play games, catch up, and get to know each other personally in a casual setting. After a day of intense learning, join us in the suite or bar to look over CHART photo albums, play Jenga, have a cocktail, and share casual conversations.
- It is the perfect place for attendees to spend a little more time together and form the lasting friendships that are going to help you build your training network throughout the years to come.
- All attendees are welcome and encouraged to come on in!
- The Meet-Up starts around 9:00 or 9:30 pm on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
- Add tools to your toolbox and build your list of resources who provide quality industry training solutions during this highly-attended Sunday afternoon exposition and reception.
- Not your typical vendor expo, this one features exciting prizes, high-quality networking, and introductions to member-recommended partners.
- Bring your business cards to enter drawings!
- Hosted beer, wine, and soda.
What are the Common Table Dinner Groups?
- On Sunday evening, join eight to ten other attendees to go to dinner together at one of six local restaurants. Sign-up options will be at registration. This is a great way for new attendees (and long-term members) who do not have dinner plans to start networking early, meet new people, explore some of the exceptional restaurants nearby, and still get back in time to hit the hospitality suite.
What are the CHART Talks?
- Brief Blasts of Brilliance - This popular, TED-style session features big ideas in small packages. Speakers will each present succinct, and sometimes mind-blowing, rapid-fire ideas in just 10 minutes or less. Educational, sensational, motivational, inspirational... you can find it all here! See past CHART Talks Videos here.
What is Live Ask My Peers (LAMP)?
- It’s a community brain trust of more than 250 top hospitality trainers together, in one room, rapid-fire sharing solutions from our industry. Always a highly popular session, LAMP is an interactive roundtable version of our online discussion forum offering best practices in crucial areas identified by trainers, such as implementing recruitment and retention strategies, using artificial intelligence and technology, creating high-performing teams, delivering training and certifications, and crafting effective instructional design. (CHART Members have access to the online Ask My Peers forum 24/7/365! Log into our member site to join the conversation!)
What is the Silent Auction?
- CHART and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) present two $5,000 scholarships each year to college students who are entering the hospitality industry.
- Will you help to raise money for our scholarship program by donating to our annual silent auction to support CHART scholarships?
- We are looking for gift cards, hotel stays, fun experiences, branded gift bags or baskets, beauty items, alcohol, and more. Get creative and think BIG! Some of our fun past items include Chad's fresh Iowa corn (yum!), a speaking engagement with Jim Knight, wine tasting in Napa with John & Cindy, amazing gift cards, and much, much more. Nothing is too big or too small to make a difference!
- You do not need to bring or send larger items to the conference if you are willing to ship them to the winner.
- Details about how to donate will be announced soon. Thank you in advance for supporting our scholarship program!
What meals will be offered at the conference?
- Please note: these details may change as we get closer to the conference.
- We will share the full menu/food list with all attendees about a week before the conference!
- Opening Reception – On Sunday evening, very light appetizers will be served at the opening reception, and everyone will receive one free drink ticket (after that it will be a cash bar). After the reception, you will have the option to sign up for one of the Common Table Dinner Groups or go to dinner on your own.
- Breakfasts – Monday and Tuesday there will be a light continental breakfast offered before sessions start.
- Monday Lunch — is provided onsite and will be interactive.
- Resource Gallery and Reception - Hosted beer, wine, and soda.
- Monday Night Offsite Event- You can continue networking with members during this fun event. This event is part of your registration - there is no additional cost for full conference attendees. You can bring a non-attendee guest for $60. (You can add this on when you register, or email Susan.)
- Tuesday Lunch - On Tuesday, lunch will be on your own, and a list of nearby restaurant options will be provided once on-site. There are also options within the hotel if you want to just grab something quickly and check emails in your room before afternoon sessions start.
- Tuesday night Celebration dinner will be a full meal with entertainment. This dinner is included for attendees, and guests can be added at a cost of $80 per person. (You can add this on when you register, or email Susan.)
- Hospitality Suite - Join us in the hospitality suite Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights to relax and network at the end of each long day.
WHAT DO FIRST TIME ATTENDEES NEED TO KNOW?
What is the First Time Attendee meeting?
- CHART is a unique, personal, active association of members, and we want to make sure that trainers who attend a conference for the first time understand how the sessions will go, how to get the most out of their three days, and give them an opportunity to meet people early and feel comfortable networking right from the start. The First Time Attendee meeting is for anyone attending a CHART conference for the first time, and we will have some senior members attending as well to provide their perspective.
- The meeting will take place on Sunday afternoon. It will end just in time for the conference opening.
Are First Time Attendees invited to all the sessions?
- First Time Attendees are most definitely encouraged to attend all of the different education sessions, activities, resource gallery, and the hospitality suite.
Get Your CHT Recertification Points by Attending CHART.
- Keep track of your documentation before it’s time to renew! You need a total of 50 points, every 5 years. The point breakdown for each CHART activity is as follows:
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1 point per day Conference attendance 3 points per seminar Competency workshops count toward this, in lieu of the 1 point per day of conference attendance 1 point per year CHART membership 5 points per year CHART board member 4 points per presentation Competency and breakout presenters
What are the best tips for getting the most out of my time at CHART?
- Start by downloading the CHART App, our conference and membership app, so all the information you will need on-site will be readily available at your fingertips. It’s available from the Apple or Google Play stores. Click here for more details and direct links to download.
- Prior to the conference, think about your current training goals: what types of objectives are you trying to achieve, and in which areas do you need additional guidance? With a little forethought, you will be better prepared to attend the sessions best for you and ask the right questions of your fellow conference participants.
- Once you know your goals, review the conference agenda to determine the specific breakout sessions you would like to attend. You will need to go with a game plan.
- Split up! If you are traveling with another person from your company, wave goodbye to them as soon as you get to the conference. Attend different sessions, sit at different tables in the main room, and meet different people – you can always compare notes when you get back home. You are paying multiple conference fees and should have multiple conference experiences, so don’t spend the entire conference chatting with someone you already know.
- At the educational sessions, instead of copying down exactly what the speakers are saying, think about how their strategies, tips, or suggestions could be helpful to you and your company. These are the notes that will be most beneficial once you return home.
- Take notes directly on the Conference Takeaway Report Form so you have a complete report of all the best takeaways for your use or to share with co-workers or supervisors upon your return.
- Make sure to take advantage of all of the networking opportunities possible, especially the evening dinner events and the hospitality suites.
- Bring plenty of business cards -dozens!- for the networking sessions. When you exchange cards with others, write down the subject of your conversation on the back for future reference. Then, once you return home, you will have a resource for calling other trainers to continue discussions on your topics of interest.
- Stop by the Resource Gallery and check out the vendors inside. All of these companies have been recommended by CHART members, so you know you will be seeing only the best products available on the market. And stick around for the traditional prize giveaway at the end (another reason to bring plenty of business cards)… you must be present to win!
- If possible, try to leave any work behind at the office so you can fully participate in the CHART experience. Sometimes this cannot be helped, of course, but the more time you are able to devote to the conference, the more you will get out of it.
- Do nothing alone! Even if you are just heading off for a quick snack somewhere, invite a fellow trainer to come along with you so you can talk about your topics of interest. You never know when you will find someone who can help you (or whom you can help)!
If you have any additional questions or need anything else, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We are always happy to help!