The glossary · 59 terms
Speak fluent kickoff.
Attrition floors, BEOs, show callers and SPIFFs: the words that turn up in hotel contracts, AV quotes and run-of-show meetings, defined in plain English and linked to the guide that explains each one properly.
New to this? Start with attrition: it’s the one that costs real money.
A
- Attrition
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The gap between what you contracted (rooms, or food and beverage) and what you actually used. Most hotel contracts let you fall a set share below the block before you owe damages; below that floor, you pay for the difference.
- Attrition floor
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The minimum pickup you must reach before attrition damages apply: the contracted block times the attrition allowance. A block of 1,111 room nights with an 80% allowance has a floor of about 889.
- AV Also: Audio-visual
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The sound, video, lighting and staging equipment, and the crew who run it. Venues often have an in-house AV provider; many kickoffs hire an outside production company instead.
B
- Banquet event order Also: BEO
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The venue’s instruction sheet for one function: room, setup, times, menu, counts, AV and billing. You review and sign each one, and it’s what the kitchen and banquet staff actually follow.
- Breakout
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A smaller session that runs alongside others, usually grouped by role or region. At a three-day kickoff, Day 2 is typically breakout day.
C
- CART Also: Live captioning
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Communication Access Realtime Translation: a trained captioner writing live captions of everything said, shown on the main screens or on attendees’ own devices. Book it early and send the captioner your agenda and a list of names and product terms.
- Certification
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A scored check, often a pitch or demo delivered to peers and managers, that shows a rep can use the year’s narrative. Many kickoffs run it on Day 2 and finish it in the weeks after.
- Code of conduct
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The written standard of behavior for the event, plus how and to whom attendees report a problem onsite. It only works if people see it before they arrive and know who to call.
- Comp plan
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The rules for how sellers are paid: quota, rates, accelerators and territory rules. The kickoff is often where a new plan is explained, so RevOps should be in the room with a written FAQ.
- Confidence monitor
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A screen at the foot of the stage, facing the presenter, that shows the current and next slide, speaker notes or a countdown clock.
- Cue
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A planned change in the show (lights, sound, video, graphics or a walk-on), numbered in the run of show and executed when the show caller says “go.”
- Cutoff date
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The date unreserved rooms in your block go back to the hotel’s general inventory. After it, attendees may not get the group rate, or a room in that hotel at all.
D
- Drop-off
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Expected travelers who end up not needing a room: cancellations, locals and people who book elsewhere. Planners contract a block below the full estimate to absorb it.
- Duty of care
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An employer’s responsibility to take reasonable steps to keep people safe and well at a work event, from the venue to the ride home. What it requires depends on where you are, so plan it with HR, legal and your insurer.
F
- F&B minimum Also: Food and beverage minimum
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The amount you commit to spend on food and beverage under a venue contract. Spend less and you typically pay the difference. Service charge and tax usually come on top, so check how your contract counts them.
- Fast Start Also: Q1 Fast Start
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The plan for the first weeks after the kickoff: Q1 targets, launch plays and sometimes a SPIFF. It’s introduced on the last day and reported weekly until it ends.
- Fixed cost
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A cost that doesn’t change with headcount, such as production, awards or a keynote fee. Fixed costs are why a smaller kickoff can cost more per head even as the total falls.
- Flight bank
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A window, often a couple of hours, in which a group of attendees lands or departs. Ground transport is planned per bank, not per person.
- Force majeure
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A contract clause that can excuse the parties when events outside their control make the event impossible or illegal to hold. What counts, and what you get back, varies widely, so have counsel read it before you sign.
G
- General session Also: Plenary
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The main-room session everyone attends, usually keynotes, product, customers and awards.
- Green room
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A private room near the stage where presenters wait, review notes and get mic’d before they go on.
- Guarantee
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The final count you commit to for a meal or function, due a set number of days before it. You’re typically billed for the guarantee or the actual count, whichever is higher.
H
- Holding slide
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The slide on screen during walk-in and between sessions, usually with the event name, Wi-Fi details and what’s next.
- Hosted bar
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A bar the organizer pays for, billed by consumption, per person for a set time or by drink ticket. Each model trades cost control against how freely people drink.
- Hybrid
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An event with an in-person audience and a remote audience at the same time. Done well, the remote side is staffed and produced like a second venue.
I
- IMAG Also: Image magnification
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Live camera shots of the presenter shown on the big screens, so the back of the room can see faces. It needs cameras, operators and a switcher, so it shows up in the AV quote.
- In-house AV
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An AV provider based at the venue, sometimes with exclusive rights. Bringing in an outside company can trigger extra fees, so read that clause before you sign the venue contract.
K
- Kitting
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Assembling swag or materials into individual packs before they’re handed out or shipped. Suppliers usually charge for it per kit.
- Know-before-you-go Also: KBYG
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The last email before the event, with everything attendees need: travel, hotel, agenda, dress code, what to bring and who to call when something goes wrong.
L
- Lagging indicator
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An outcome that shows up months after the event, such as bookings or win rates. It matters most, and it’s the hardest to tie to the kickoff.
- Lavalier Also: Lav
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A small clip-on microphone, usually wireless. Presenters who move or gesture tend to prefer one, with a handheld standing by as the backup.
- Leading indicator
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A measure that moves soon after the event and points toward results, such as certification rates or Fast Start activity.
- Load-in Also: Load-out
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The time the crew needs to bring in, build and test the stage, screens and sound before rehearsal; load-out is the same in reverse. Both are billed labor and booked room time.
M
- Motorcoach
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A full-size coach bus, the usual unit for airport and offsite transfers. Seat counts vary by vehicle, so confirm capacity with the transport company.
O
- Overset
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Meals a venue prepares above your guarantee as a buffer. Whether there is one, how big it is and how extra meals are billed depend on the venue, so ask.
P
- Per diem
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A fixed daily allowance for meals and incidentals, paid instead of reimbursing receipts. Your finance team’s policy, and sometimes local rules, set the amount.
- Per head per day
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Total cost divided by attendees and by event days. It’s the one number you can compare across years, cities and headcounts.
- Pickup
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The room nights attendees actually book in your block. It’s measured against the attrition floor when the hotel settles the bill.
- Pipeline influenced
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Pipeline from any deal touched by someone who attended. It’s easy to report and nearly impossible to defend as kickoff ROI.
- President’s Club
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A reward, often a trip, for sellers who reach a set attainment level. It’s earned on a formula, unlike most on-stage awards, so it works best announced as a group.
- Production company
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An outside firm that designs and runs the show: staging, screens, sound, lighting, graphics and the crew to call it. It answers to you rather than to the venue.
R
- RevOps Also: Revenue operations
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The team that runs the revenue org’s systems, data, territories and comp mechanics. At a kickoff they own award data, comp plan details and the process changes that start the Monday after.
- RFP Also: Request for proposal
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A document asking venues or vendors to bid against the same requirements, so you can compare the answers side by side.
- Room block Also: Block
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The rooms a hotel holds for your group at a negotiated rate, contracted as a night-by-night pattern.
- Room night
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One room for one night. Hotels contract and measure attrition in room nights: 380 rooms for three nights is 1,140 room nights.
- Rooming list
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The list of who is staying in which room on which nights, sent to the hotel before arrival, instead of each attendee booking individually.
- Run of show
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The minute-by-minute script for the crew: every segment, cue, mic, video and owner. The agenda tells attendees where to be; the run of show tells the crew what happens.
S
- Save-the-date
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The first announcement of the dates and location, sent before registration opens so people can protect their calendars and plan travel.
- Service charge
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A percentage the venue adds to food, beverage and often AV. It isn’t the same as a gratuity, and in many places it’s taxed too; how it’s calculated varies, so budget for it as its own line.
- Shoulder night
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A night before or after the core nights, for early arrivals and late departures. Hotels count them in the block like any other night.
- Show caller
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The one person who calls every cue over the headset during the show, giving a standby before each go. Everyone else stays quiet on comms.
- Slide lock Also: Slide freeze
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The deadline after which decks can’t change except through one named person. The guides here set it at T-7, with final drafts due at T-14.
- SPIFF
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A short-term sales incentive for a specific product, behavior or period, often used to jump-start Q1 after a kickoff.
- Standby
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The warning before a cue (“standby lights 12”). The operator confirms, then acts only on “go.”
- Strike
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Taking down the stage, set and equipment after the last session. It’s part of load-out and needs crew, time and the room.
T
- T-minus Also: T-90, T-7
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Days before the event: T-90 is ninety days out and T-0 is showtime. Deadlines written this way move with the date.
- Tech rehearsal Also: Tech run
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A run-through in the room with the full crew, cues, clicker and confidence monitor. It’s about transitions and timing, not rewriting content.
V
- Variable cost
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A cost that scales with attendees: meals, rooms, flights, ground transport and swag.
W
- Walk-in
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The minutes while the audience enters and finds seats before a session, with walk-in music, a holding slide and the house lights up.
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