Providing a taste of cultural authenticity — whether through food or guided tours — is a great way to personalize individual experiences for corporate and incentive meeting attendees. Photo courtesy of Abby Traver / Visit Portland

Those little extra touches have real power to transform events into something special.

From the first interview with a potential corporate client until the moment that last attendee leaves, event planners must deliver every component on time and as promised, but it’s often the small details that can elevate an experience from being pretty good to truly dazzling.

Legendary college basketball coach John Wooden knew all about this, and while you might not expect a sports icon to have anything to teach event planners, 50 years after he retired as a coach, his guidance continues to transcend far beyond the court.

Wooden — who, as head coach of the UCLA Bruins, won 10 NCAA national championships in 12 years (including a record seven in a row) — once said: “It’s the details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

And the man practiced what he preached. At the start of each basketball season, he would show his players how to correctly put on their socks and tie their shoes to help prevent blisters, which could interfere with their ability to practice and play their best.

Wooden also said: “Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference.” All this is sage counsel for event planners, as attention to detail and caring about what you do can mean the difference between success and failure for your next event.

Tiny Touches and Splashy Extras

Each year, Hannah Zank, event sales manager at The Fontaine Hotel in Kansas City, MO, orchestrates around 200 meetings and events, and she has plenty of tricks up her sleeve — everything from tiny touches to splashy extras — to make them more memorable.

Her personal attention starts with the first exploratory meeting. If the client lives locally or is able to travel to her, she invites them to coffee, lunch or a happy hour. Zank’s goal is to provide a relaxed setting in which she and the client have a chance to chat so she can gain a better understanding of the organization and its event attendees.

One of the many details Zank wants to know is whether there will be any VIPs in attendance who require special attention. For example, if the rooms her client booked are all standard, Zank can upgrade the VIPs’ accommodations. Since her hotel is located in Kansas City’s famous Country Club Plaza, she often includes a list of eating and entertainment options within walking distance: clubs, bars and restaurants, as well as places attendees can take in a movie or a concert or listen to a band.

In addition to what’s available in The Plaza, the greater Kansas City area offers a diverse range of first-rate museums, and depending on the season, visitors can catch a Kansas City Royals baseball game or Chiefs football game.

At least 25% of her events span multiple days, which means attendees are in residence long enough for her to offer them some special indulgences. Of course, Kansas City is famous for its barbecue, which is often integrated into lunch or dinner, along with a sampling of local barbecue sauces and other novelty foods from the area.

During an event, Zank likes to showcase the group’s brand by using its corporate colors wherever possible — on a personalized amenities list, directional signs or anything else printed exclusively for the event. In the evening she can customize the event space by changing the uplighting to match the organization’s color scheme, and she will also display its corporate logo on all of the hotel’s overhead TVs.

The Fontaine also offers a unique option that was dreamed up during the pandemic. The hotel rooftop had always functioned as a large meeting area, complete with a swimming pool and bar, but when COVID struck, of course people were afraid to gather in large groups. The hotel responded by building 10 transparent, multipaned, geodesic igloos on the covered swimming pool area.

With each containing a couple of chairs, a couch, a small table and a heat source, they became private conversation spots where a few people could gather safely. Open from late November through mid- March, at night they’re illuminated in a rainbow of colors, providing a beautiful view.

Beyond all this, Zank has an array of other appealing options for her corporate clients. She can set up a pasta or barbecue station, or bring in a photographer, caricature artist or a band. Meanwhile, it seems that all of her extra effort is paying off, as she has various groups — including one from the railroad industry — rebooking to hold events with her once again.

Logistical Challenges

Shawn Mullen is president and chief energy officer of Protex Central. Founded in 1966, the company provides fire detection, suppression and intrusion-detection systems designed for real-time response.

Headquartered in Hastings, NE, Protex has 70 employees divided among three other offices spread across Nebraska, plus a fifth location in Des Moines, IA. This makes it a logistical challenge to get all of the Mullen employees together in one place. Adding to that difficulty, any one of the workers could be called away at any time to answer an emergency service call.

“We’re always balancing our ability to respond to our customers with our need to get together,” Mullen explains.

Companywide meetings are usually held in Omaha, a city that offers plenty of activities to enliven company get-togethers. Mullen always adds some extracurricular fun to the meetings he creates for the sake of camaraderie, community and team building. Beyond the basic bowling tournaments and miniature golf outings, one of his favorite memories is of the time he booked rooms at Arbor Lodge in Nebraska City, the place where J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day in 1872. After a morning meeting, Mullen treated attendees to a guided nature tour during which they learned about the native trees and vegetation.

The Maine Event

Based on its location and history, Portland, ME, offers a number of unique opportunities for planners to create exceptional events, with a variety of options available to personalize individual experiences for corporate and incentive meetings.

Just ask Abby Traver, vice president of group sales and marketing for Visit Portland. She assisted 434 event planners last year and says that with small towns dotting the way and fresh seafood at every turn, a drive along the Maine coast is a feast for all the senses.

Along the way, event planners looking to create memorable team-building experiences might elect to organize a spectacular sunset cruise for attendees on Casco Bay. Alternatively, for those in the group who crave physical activity, you’ll also discover options for paddleboarding or kayaking on the ocean.

With Portland boasting one of New England’s few remaining working waterfronts, Maine accounts for an impressive 80% of the world’s lobster supply, with the industry contributing more than a billion dollars to the state’s economy. Of course, Travers says, lobstering events are always popular with attendees, as they provide a true taste of cultural authenticity.

“By hosting a lobster bake, you can give everyone in your group a quintessential Maine experience,” Traver says. “Or you can take a lobster boat tour where you’ll help pull up lobster traps, measure claws and toss lobsters that are too small back into the ocean, and when you’re back into port, you can have a lobster roll or lobster dinner and really feel like you’ve been immersed in the action.”

Another popular activity is a coach tour to Portland Head Light, one of the most visited and picturesque lighthouses in the world. Completed in 1791 the landmark is situated in nearby Fort Williams Park on Cape Elizabeth and receives almost a million visitors a year. Other historic tours of the peninsula are also available.

Meanwhile, Portland’s cobble-stoned downtown is easily walkable and boasts a wealth of restaurants, while tours of the old port, waterfront and arts districts can be scheduled as well.

Attendees might enjoy being guided through one of the city’s breweries, where they can watch beer being brewed and bottled, learn how to differentiate ale from lager and, best of all, sample the product. Another option is a small-batch distillery, where tours and tastings are available to give visitors a close-up look at how spirits such as gin, rum and mead are made.

It should come as no surprise that Portland’s peak season for meetings and events runs from early spring through fall — but the city certainly doesn’t shut down during winter. During this time of year, attendees can skip the summer lines and still enjoy a variety of team-building activities, such as skiing, ice skating, snowshoeing and snow tubing, followed by a hot chocolate or apple cider afterward.

Attention to Detail

After more than 17 years with FLIK Hospitality Group — which is one of the largest food-service and facilities companies in the U.S., engaged in everything from corporate fine dining to event space and event management — Alexandra Lungi now serves as general manager for FLIK Conference Centers & Hotels at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. In her role managing the school’s conference spaces in Charlottesville and Roslyn, VA, she oversees over 500 meetings a year — a mix of entirely in-person events and hybrid meetings — using technology to integrate multiple locations.

“Food and creating events are my passion,” she says. “I love being able to take a client’s vision and bring it to life. Getting to know the client is the most important piece of the puzzle.”

Will the client require a simple presentation or a grand production? Is it a new product launch or an annual leadership meeting? Will it be a live, in-person event or a hybrid gathering? These questions are just the beginning.

“A meeting space is just a rectangular room with tables, chairs and technology. It’s understanding what the client wants to accomplish, and from there, figuring out how to enhance their experience [in a way] that turns a room into an event and makes it memorable,” Lungi says.

Lungi says she has three “buckets” or categories she uses to elevate a meeting. The first represents her commitment to supporting area food growers and producers. Whether it’s a one-day or multiday meeting, she wants to source as many local menu components as possible to provide attendees with the freshest ingredients available while also offering a custom experience that cannot be replicated elsewhere.

“We create emotion through food, and we create experience through food, which makes how we think about, curate and incorporate food into the client’s event essential,” she adds.

For example, all of the coffee she serves is locally brewed, provided by a handful of vendors who happen to be University of Virginia alums, which adds a personal story she tells through signs and printed cards.

The second “bucket” is a combination of sustainability and wellness. Wherever possible, Lungi aims for zero waste, and she cites carrots as an example. She uses the entire vegetable, combining the carrot tops with the basil they grow to make pesto. She also uses fruit rinds to flavor water in the hydration stations located throughout her buildings — little touches to customize an event while also helping the planet.

With health and wellness in mind, Lungi does her best to curate food offerings so they are nutritionally balanced. If a group is meeting all day for four or five days in a row, she’s thinking about what she can serve to help get them through the day without either resorting to sugary snacks or weighing them down with heavy meals.

“I’m looking for healthy options that help fuel my attendees’ minds and bodies so they can have a wonderful meeting,” Lungi says.

The third element Lungi uses to enliven her attendees’ experience is a celebration of seasons, meaningful calendar dates and new food trends. As February is Black History Month, with Lungi’s assistance, the executive MBA program celebrated the event for three days with visuals and food.

And when it comes to food and beverage, Lungi says she is seeing a rise in the popularity of microbreweries, so when appropriate, she brings in a local brewer to offer tastings to her attendees. For those who prefer nonalcoholic cocktails, according to Lungi, gone are the days when apple juice or soda were the only options available.

Beyond their attention to detail regarding food, Lungi and her staff make sure that the seating, tables and electronics are set up correctly to account for the number of attendees and the goals of each meeting. They also ensure that all necessary supplies are in place, from individual notebooks to whiteboards, and they provide their visitors with key information about the Darden grounds and campus tours, as well as advice about local attractions, restaurants and hiking and walking trails.

In the end, all of these small details add up to something amazing for attendees. Like Hannah Zank in Kansas City, Lungi knows that by focusing on the “little things,” she can orchestrate an event that is so successful, people can’t wait to return.

Says Lungi: “The best thing that can happen is at the end of a meeting, your client asks you to book the next one.” C&IT