When planning corporate events, partnering with Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs) and Destination Management Companies (DMCs) can often save corporate meeting planners time and money, while streamlining the entire planning process by leveraging these organizations’ vendor networks, negotiating prowess and local expertise.

“What did he just say?” Your speaker has gone off-topic, sprung a surprise theme, sworn or uttered some otherwise offensive term or viewpoint. You can see the shock ripple across the room as attendees exchange glances…

Today’s meetings and events are a mere shadow of their former selves, as most companies no longer host all-inclusive, large-scale soirees as they did in the past. Now, such gatherings are generally more budget-conscious, streamlined affairs, designed to deliver succinct information to a smaller crowd.

Are hybrid meetings still a thing? According to planners interviewed for this story, the answer is absolutely yes … and definitely no. There are probably multiple factors that can explain such differing perspectives.

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

Becoming an independent corporate event planner can be both daunting and exhilarating. The role requires you to juggle a host of tasks to produce a seamless event.

Tasked with creating ever-more dynamic, interactive experiences that go beyond passive presentations and traditional formats, today’s corporate and incentive meeting planners have their work cut out for them.

In the events world, sometimes the smallest things make the biggest difference, and the job of the planner is to balance the finer details with the larger picture.

Planning an event for thousands of attendees takes the latest in tech, extensive communication, and expert planning.

A solid relationship between corporate planners and hospitality representatives is essential to success, and it goes far beyond a simple business transaction. It’s about trust, communication and an ability (and willingness) to solve problems in high-pressure situations.