When your meeting ends at lunchtime (or anytime!) and attendees are rushing for flights, we all know how expensive hotel “box lunches” fail on so many levels. Juggling luggage at TSA is tough enough without managing a soggy sandwich made hours earlier and a drink that can’t get through security anyway. Instead, consider distributing a gift card from a nationwide restaurant or coffee shop chain (think Chili’s, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, etc.) to cover the cost of a quick meal or take-out from airport locations.

You’ll need to check your departing airport’s website to figure out which vendors will cover the most departing guests. Remember gift cards don’t expire and even if they couldn’t be used by some attendees at the airport, they can always be kept until a later date. Using nationwide chain gift cards controls the expense factors (especially important for Pharma meetings), eliminates the need for expensive reimbursements and prolongs the feeling that the sponsor has “gone the extra mile” for attendees.