TO: ICUA PowerPoint/Slides Users
Summary
To help manage rising conference costs, and the financial burden on attendees from higher registration fees, UAA is implementing new audio-visual guidelines that shift away from in-room projection and toward a cloud-based slides-sharing model. Please note that presenters are not required to use slides in their presentations. The decision to use slides is entirely optional and left to each presenter.
Why This Change is Being Made
Over the past 10 years, audio-visual fees charged by conference hotels have doubled while the equipment provided (e.g. LCD projectors and screens) has remained virtually unchanged. At the same time, hotels have turned audio-visual services into a revenue source with high profit margins. To provide some context:
- A-V fees for a 2-3 day conference run $60,000-$80,000, depending on the city and hotel.
- A-V technician fees start at $200 to $400 per hour!
- The fee for a single LCD projector is over $800 per day, plus a 25% service charge.
- LCD projector fees in 15 session rooms (e.g. ICUA Chicago Meeting) for 2.5 days would cost $30,000 for the equipment alone.
Over the years, to help avoid passing these increased costs on to attendees, UAA has used competitive bids, as well as outside vendors. These strategies have resulted in modest savings. We have also explored the idea of buying our own equipment and providing our own techs. Even this approach triggers fees from hotels for “hotel AV coordinators” and electrical power access fees. The costs of maintaining and transporting or leasing 15-20 LCD projectors is also nontrivial. Other hotel costs such as food and beverage have also grown, but we have adjusted to that reality by omitting or reducing certain meals. We have also increased our efforts to attract conference sponsors. Collectively, these steps have not been enough to keep pace with the escalation of audio-visual costs. We have also explored using university-based conference facilities. Since these facilities are revenue-generating centers for universities, and have both space and availability limitations, they do not represent an easy or cheaper alternative.
New Audio-Visual Policy (For PowerPoint Users)
To address our audio-visual cost problem (which is being faced by most other professional organizations), UAA will be turning exclusively to a cloud-based solution and will no longer provide LCD projectors in meeting rooms. Specifically, all presenters who choose to use PowerPoint slides will be required to upload their presentation slides before the conference. These uploaded files will be accessible via our conference app (Whova). For anyone who prefers not to use electronic devices to access online slides, we will provide on-site printers and recycled paper so that they may print out slides for personal use prior to attending a session.
Presenter instructions for uploading presentation slides/papers in Whova will be available by April 1. The upload deadline is Monday, April 27 at 11:59 PM Central Time.
Evidence from Prior Conference
At the 2025 Vancouver conference, presenters were encouraged (but not required) to upload their slides and papers to the conference app.
- Approximately 80% of presenters uploaded materials.
- More than 6,000 downloads were completed.
This strong level of engagement demonstrates that the conference app can effectively support the sharing of presentation materials while reducing reliance on traditional audio-visual services.
The Silver Lining
By instituting this new audio-visual policy, UAA will save more than $50,000 this year in AV fees. A portion of these savings will be used to provide on-site slide printing stations, free Wi-Fi, as well as charging stations for laptops, tablets and cell phones to support access to online presentation slides. This savings will also help to mitigate the 2025 financial impacts on UAA generated by late withdrawals/refunds for the Vancouver conference due to U.S. visa and university travel bans.
Finally, and equally important, the savings will help us to contain registration fees hikes for next year’s 2027 conference in New York!
Questions
Contact UAA Support Team at [email protected]
Reminders: Presenters are not required to use slides in their presentations. The decision to use slides is entirely optional and left to each presenter. Instructions for uploading presentation slides/papers in Whova will be available by April 1. The upload deadline is Monday, April 27 at 11:59 PM Central Time.
