From left: Paul Van Deventer, President and CEO, Meeting Professionals International (MPI); Susan Adams, Vice President, Engagement, Strategy & Corporate Services, Next Level Performance; Valerie Bihet, Owner, Director VIBE Agency; Kurt Paben, CEO, Hosts Global.

The year 2022 was one of recovery for the meetings and events industry. In many destinations, in-person meetings, events and conferences returned, or nearly returned, to 2019 levels.

However, the industry still has a long way to go, as supply-chain issues, inflation, worker shortages and even fluctuating fuel prices are affecting company bottom lines. As such, many decision makers in C-suites worldwide are taking a cautious approach to fully opening the purse strings for things to return to “normal.”

We asked a few industry experts to give us their take on the State of the Industry as we head into 2023, nearly three years after the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shutdowns. Here are their thoughts.

Paul Van Deventer, President and CEO, Meeting Professionals International (MPI)

Paul Van Deventer

As the return to face-to-face business events continues — coming back from the pandemic and the quickest, most severe decline we’ve ever seen — there are, naturally, challenges, but also tremendous opportunities.

While in late 2021, only 3% of respondents to MPI’s quarterly Meetings Outlook survey said their business levels were back to pre-pandemic levels, by this fall, 10 times as many (32%) said the same, and an additional 31% anticipate a return to 2019 business levels in 2023. If realized, that means that, by the end of next year, almost two-thirds of meeting professionals will be working at levels they’d not seen since before the pandemic.

There are complications to this full recovery, of course, including significant aspects that are more or less beyond the control of meeting professionals. They’re not just dealing with getting back to business, but facing record inflation and the threat of a global recession, leading to the costs for many essential meeting and event elements rising greater than budgets. In addition, regional conflicts, political upheaval and various forms of general uncertainty are creating supply-chain delays, which will continue as long as manufacturing and international shipping are impacted by these and other factors. There are numerous headwinds facing meeting professionals, and that’s not going to change anytime soon.

Over the past year, we’ve seen a dynamic change in the primary reason to attend an event, switching from education to networking. Education at events is and always will be very important, but genuine face-to-face interaction — spending that important time with others in the same space — simply cannot be replicated online. In 2023, we’ll continue to see people attending in-person events in order to experience the joy that’s been missing for many, including some who still haven’t ventured out and experienced a face-to-face event since the start of the pandemic. So, when designing events, meeting professionals must be keenly aware of the enhanced level of elation and excitement among many participants, as well as the apprehension of others, and strike a delicate balance in accommodating every attendee in a manner they will feel comfortable.

That excitement and optimism is what I’m most thrilled to see. And within that are some of the greatest opportunities.

The near future is an ideal time for meeting professionals to approach their work differently — there’s been a lot of soul searching and innovation going on, in particular, the advancement and integration of technology and a focus on overall attendee wellness. Event professionals need to ask themselves what did you realize, personally or professionally, that you’d been taking for granted? Now is as good a time as any to address those matters to create the future that you want. Re-examine the goals of your events and how you can achieve them in a fresh way. Why do you and your organization do what you do, and how can you take a big step into the future rather than simply returning to 2019?

Despite the uncertainty that remains, I’m confident 2023 is going to be a marvelous year for meeting professionals and the public’s perception, and understanding, of the value of in-person meetings and events.

Susan Adams, Vice President, Engagement, Strategy & Corporate Services, Next Level Performance

Susan Adams

From a complete standstill to an explosion of demand, the incentive travel industry’s experience of 2022 served as a magnified view of the strain that was placed on workforce resources, corporate budgets and social and travel policies at large. While industry leaders felt confident in a strong return to travel in 2022, even these predictions and confidence underestimated the rush of demand. As the market experienced this resurgence, industry-wide labor shortages, inflation and ever-changing COVID-19 regulations made it a challenge to operate efficiently at every turn.

The year 2023 is shaping up to be another busy year for incentive travel, despite widespread discussion of the U.S. market potentially entering into a recession. The pressures of 2022, however, are not fully behind us. Here’s a look at a few of the factors that will shape the year:

Incentives and Recognition are Essential

The Incentive Research Foundation (IRF), FICP and SITE have just released the 2022 Incentive Travel Index (ITI). It states that 91% of buyers and sellers of incentives indicated that incentive travel has an even more important role in building engagement and company culture with a dispersed workforce.

With an increase in remote and hybrid workplaces, and with travel restrictions that have only recently been lifted in some organizations, the opportunity for face-to-face networking between employees or with customers is more important than ever. Incentive travel can facilitate sharing best practices, public recognition for a job well done and driving home company messaging or culture.

In the ITI study, participants reported that “soft power” benefits, such as a focus on culture, engagement and relationships, were of greater importance now than “hard power” benefits, such as increased sales. Even in this environment, however, the study revealed that senior leaders still view incentive travel as a “profit driver” and “source of competitive advantage.”

This is consistent with the demand seen in 2023 and beyond, as incentive travel programs are accepted as essential to the health of an organization.

Labor, Onboarding and the Service Gap

In July 2020, The American Hotel & Lodging Association reported that 87% of hotels had laid off or furloughed staff. In fact, at that time, 70% of hotel employees had been laid off. A year later, a survey from the University of Central Florida showed that 30% of hospitality workers had left the industry or were planning to.

Airlines did not fare any better, laying off 90,000 workers by late 2020. Hiring and retraining in such a technical, complex sector proved challenging, and the result was unprecedented numbers of canceled flights, stranded luggage and consumer complaints.

With demand resurging, the need to recruit, hire and onboard employees from every corner of the industry is intense. The Wall Street Journal reports that by the end of 2022, hotels will have recovered about 84% of their workforce.

But with so much hiring comes onboarding and training. It takes time for an employee to fully master their role, resulting in lagging service levels and productivity. In a recent Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) webinar focused on expectations and realities, panelists noted end-user clients no longer see the labor shortage as a valid reason for reduced service.

Having struggled with capacity and hiring throughout 2022, the hope and expectation is that this will normalize in 2023, as new hires become more integrated into their roles, narrowing the gap between expectations and service.

Budgets

According to the recent Incentive Travel Index (ITI) study, 64% of respondents indicated that spending will be “above” or “significantly above” 2019 levels by 2024. The index also states that 80% of respondents surveyed believe that future challenges faced by incentive travel professionals include rising costs and inflation. With inflation hovering at 7% to 8%, and hotel and airline prices responding to the extreme demand and higher costs of doing business, many programs are already faced with higher costs or reduced program agendas.

It remains to be seen if inflation, or a potential recession, will cause the market to return to a more normal pace, but so far, it does not seem to have affected the pace of interest. In the same Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) webinar on expectations, a representative of an international DMC noted that demand is plateauing at a very high level, and all agreed.

Participant Preferences

The IRF’s recent Incentive Travel Destination Preferences study noted that 91% of participants rated incentive travel as “extremely” or “very motivating.”

After months of lockdowns and travel restrictions, the most important things to survey participants were time to relax during the program, ability to take a friend or spouse, luxurious accommodations and experiences, and spending money to cover extra costs. In 2023, we can expect that program guests who are faced with exceptional inflation at home may particularly appreciate all-inclusives or programs where the changes for out-of-pocket expenses are reduced.

As always, beaches and sunshine led the way in terms of destination preferences, but in a post-pandemic world, wellness, cruises and a return to cities moved up in the ranks.

As the industry recovers from the many challenges of the last years, the focus in 2023 can and should return to delivering on the promise of the experience for participants, while driving business results for organizations. The current resurgence in travel demand serves as a reminder of the one constant that research proves year after year: business gets better when people get together. And group travel will remain as strong as the need to catapult business forward.

Valerie Bihet, Owner, Director, VIBE Agency

Valerie Bihet

The event landscape in 2023 will center around a few key things in my opinion: strategy, effective budgeting, education and sustainability, technology and experiential marketing.

Here’s what I mean: In regard to strategy, we’ll see events move from being multiday or week-long affairs, to maybe only one or two days. The overall days of an event will be shorter, and the focus will continue to move from international and national events to be more local and regional. This change will be balanced by the continual presence of virtual and hybrid events to still allow bigger reach without the necessity of everyone being on-site, or concerned about health risks.

That directly ties into budgets, which will be tight because of the speculation around a recession. Events are booked with shorter timelines, costs continue to increase and budgets do not. We will continue to contend with it next year, and agencies need to really understand how to sell during a “crisis mentality” that will be rampant.

Next is education and sustainability. As event professionals, we need to always educate ourselves about what is going on in other industries and our own. This ties directly into the importance of sustainability, which comes around every few years, but is a big topic of importance to Generation Z as they step into the workforce. Their influence will be felt on events, and it’ll be positive for us all.

We have been on a digital evolution in events since 2020, and I see that continuing. Having technology, whether it’s metaverse, hybrid, virtual reality or whatever as part of your event will be even more of a requirement, as well as an expectation of attendees and clients alike, rather than a “nice to have.”

And finally, we’ll see the focus continue to shift to the experiential direction, rather than just events for meeting’s or event’s sake. Companies are seeing the impact that experiencing a brand can have on sales and overall brand perception, and so experiential marketing tactics will be more in-demand than ever before.

Kurt Paben, CEO, Hosts Global

Kurt Paben

At Hosts Global, we are optimistic about 2023 as we continue to see a very active pace of booking. Today, the experience matters more than ever. Recovery is progressing, program design is evolving, and the role of the DMC as a local expert is more important than it’s ever been as the desire to travel to new destinations has increased for North American buyers. Interest in and booking trends for our international destinations has increased significantly for 2023, which will result in a continued expansion of our Hosts Global Alliance.

The reality of rising costs of goods and services has resulted in a need for stronger than ever communication as we assist clients with their program planning — using our local expertise to make the most fiscally sound recommendations for clients that also delivers the impact they expect from their investments. As availability tightens, the need for clients to lock in decisions sooner has become critical to ensure success and reduce risk.

Program design continues to evolve — we have seen a new emergence of key wellness program activities as well as CSR opportunities, and sustainability has become increasingly more important. There has been an abundant understanding of the value of having in-person meetings. Now, more than ever, the emphasis on the importance of companies looking to restore culture and improve communication dynamics among their teams is bringing on more internal meeting opportunities. C&IT

Rick Grimaldi is a partner at Fisher Phillips LLP, one of America’s preeminent management-side labor and employment law firms. Rick’s unique perspective comes from his diverse career in high-ranking public service positions, as a human resources and labor relations professional for an international hi-tech company, and in private practice as a partner in a large law firm working with companies to help them adapt to the ever-changing business environment, achieve their workplace goals and become better employers. He has been recognized as one of America’s best lawyers in three of the last four years. For more information, visit FisherPhillips.com.

People across the country are quitting their jobs in record numbers. If you’re a business owner, you’ve undoubtedly had a tense moment or two wondering, Who’s going to leave my company? But don’t just wring your hands — take decisive action. Smart leaders are approaching the Great Resignation as a time to pause, take stock, and really audit their business practices and processes.

This is the perfect time to ask, “What can we be doing better?” Not only is this the secret to keeping the people you have, it also gives you the opportunity to attract some of the amazing talent floating around right now.

People aren’t leaving the workforce altogether, they’re leaving old-school environments that aren’t meeting their needs for those that will. When you shift in ways that create the kind of culture people are drawn to, everyone wins — current employees, talented prospects, and, of course, the company.

So how do you leverage this opportunity? What do you absolutely have to get right? Here are a few tips for becoming a great place to attract and retain talent.

Ask yourself: Have we flexed? In a shockingly short amount of time, the employment landscape has changed dramatically. What about your company? Have you evolved to keep up? To answer, you’ll need to audit “What we’ve always done” and ask, “Does this still make sense for a talent base that demands an employee-centric workplace?”

This has to be a permanent shift. While there’s a talent squeeze right now, the new employee expectations are the new normal. Make sure leaders understand this reality. Then, honestly ask yourself: “What do my employees, current ones and future ones, REALLY want?” This is the first step to moving your company in the right direction.

In general, today’s employees value training and development, the opportunity to collaborate with teams, a sense of meaning in their work, and an affiliation with socially responsible entities. They insist on fairness, equity, diversity and inclusion.

If any area of your culture is not in alignment with these values, move to fix any glaring problems right away. Then get set on making long-term changes that will make you more likely to meet the needs and wants of modern workers.

Once you get a sense of where you are and where you need to improve, ask yourself: “Do our leaders need more training? Do they understand the attitude shifts your company needs to make?” Attracting and retaining talent needs to be top of mind for everyone, and that includes leaders at every level.

Getting employee-centric is about building emotional connections. If leaders inside your company have no idea how to make and nurture these connections, it may be time to take a hard look at the culture you’ve created. If you’re to win the war on talent, there have to be some changes in the attitudes of your leaders.

Since the gig economy exploded on the scene, it has reshaped the American workforce. The flexible nature of gig work appeals highly to the younger generation. To them, the work/life integration built into the gig economy is not a cool trend, but a priority. And companies competing for Gen Y and Gen Z workers need to bake it into the jobs they offer.

Now, workers are demanding flexibility in where they work, how they work and when they work. Millennials and Gen Zers in particular value work/life integration. If it works for the position, allow fully remote, hybrid and flexible arrangements.

Understand that it’s not just about WHERE people work; it’s about WHEN and HOW. Many employees want flexibility to work remotely. To be truly flexible, that means giving people the freedom to structure their workday and week in a way that fits into the rest of their lives.

To the extent that you can, let employees maintain control over when they’re available. Even if a job can’t realistically be done remotely, people may still be able to tailor hours to their schedule. This often ensures that their work is done at the most effective times and enables employees to fulfill family obligations.

When hiring, focus on skills, not academic histories. For decades, companies have prioritized candidates’ educational backgrounds. Now, more employers are hiring based on skill set instead of academic pedigree. This recruitment approach also makes it easier to build a more diverse workforce.

Hire for the skills you need in the moment and develop them based on how your needs evolve. Just don’t try to lock employees down in the same role long term. Let their talents and interests drive their skill development. It should go without saying, but try to hire people who are excited about learning and growing.

Put relationships at the top of your to-do list. Relationships have always been important, but they matter now more than ever. Get intentional about building strong relationships with your team, and get intentional about knowing your people. Of course managers need to know employees’ goals, strengths and other work-related factors, but they should also know their birthdays and who their kids are.

There is a resurgence of the old “management by walking around” method happening even on factory floors. When you schedule time to do this, and also make a point of having regular face-to-face meetings with employees that go beyond performance reviews, a lot of things will change. This can be challenging with remote workers, but with a few extra steps by managers, it can be done successfully.

Start a real dialogue and be open to what they’re saying. Don’t just send out questionnaires or use a passive “feedback box.” Talk to people one-on-one and give them the freedom to give you hard feedback. Proactively ask questions about their well-being. Are they happy? Why or why not? What can you do to keep them around? The more you involve people in running the company, and the fewer surprises there are, the happier they’ll be.

One-on-one conversations can help you get a sense of where people are coming from. You can learn who is burned out, who might be planning to leave, and who has new ideas around the future of work in the post-COVID era. It’s a great way to take people’s temperature and work together to find solutions to make the transition back easier on everyone.

Make employee well-being a top priority. This means checking in with people. Don’t wait on yearly assessments, we always need to know how people are doing on a daily basis. Mental health issues are no longer in the closet. They can’t be, in a time when so many have moved past stress and into trauma territory.

Create a culture where everyone belongs. For the first time, beginning in 2019, the majority of American hires in their prime — ages 25-54 — were people of color. Also, for the first time in 2019, women made up the majority of the college-educated workforce. And the 66 million working women today are expected to grow to 92 million by 2050. Though immigrants make up just 18% of the workforce older than 25 in the U.S. today, they obtain 28% of high-quality patents. They’re also more likely to be recognized as Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry, medicine and physiology.

We know diversity and inclusion are important, but organizations that want to thrive go further: They work toward what DEI expert Tristan Higgins calls “metaclusivity.” In other words, they cultivate a true sense of belonging. Feeling that they belong is what gets people engaged and allows them to do their best work.

Keep people fulfilled by getting reward and recognition right. Regular reward and recognition for a job well done helps keep people fulfilled and engaged. It’s not about a big yearly ceremony or a group thank-you; it’s more about individual efforts. It’s about noticing when people do something positive and recognizing them the way they want to be recognized.

Carefully manage the onboarding process. Know that people often make decisions to stay or leave in the early days of their job. In a staff crunch, every single hire really counts. It’s vital to check in immediately and see how things are going — and to stay in touch as time goes by.

Collectively, the Great Resignation is a gift for employers who are willing to accept it as the chance to reinvent themselves. It’s kind of a national pause. From time to time, everyone needs to step back and look at their life and say, “Is this really working for me?” This is true of individuals and of companies. Very often we find the status quo really isn’t working — and that’s our impetus to shake things up, shift our mindset, and create something fresh, new and energizing.C&IT

Alon Alroy is the co-founder & CMO of Bizzabo, the world’s first Event Experience OS for hybrid, virtual and in-person events. Bizzabo is helping marketers and event organizers from world-leading brands to promote, manage and maximize their professional events, and to create memorable and impactful experiences. Over the years, Alroy has built Bizzabo’s go-to-market teams from the ground up, including its sales, marketing, strategy and customer-service teams. He was recognized as a “40 Under 40 Young Leader” by Collaborate Magazine, “100 Most Influential People in the Event Industry” by Eventex, and “40 Under 40 Event Industry Leaders” by BizBash. For more information, visit Bizzabo.com.

In-person events are gaining momentum once more. From January to September 2022 alone, Bizzabo saw a 724% increase in the number of in-person events held on its Event Experience OS. According to Bizzabo’s recent “State of In-Person Events” survey, nearly all (98%) of the 200+ event organizers surveyed said they hosted at least one in-person event this year. More than 80% of organizers held at least three in-person events in 2022 and plan at least three more in 2023.

Events transformed during the pandemic as event experience leaders used new technologies to nurture connections and create impactful experiences for attendees, speakers and sponsors. Those pivots to virtual and hybrid experiences revealed the crucial role of event data in creating personalized experiences while supporting business outcomes.

As we welcome a new era of events, event professionals can maximize business impact and create exceptional attendee experiences by taking advantage of the rich data in-person events provide.

Activate Your Data to Bridge the Gap

The most significant challenge event organizers face is what is called the Event Impact Gap. It’s the chasm between organizers’ aspirations to deliver impactful experiences and the limits imposed by their event technology. Data can solve this challenge, bridging the gap between expectation and reality in your event planning and execution. In-person events hold enormous data potential, offering your events team a powerful opportunity to understand and cater to your target audiences. With the right event technology, in-person event data gives unparalleled insight into audience behavior and interests, including the most appealing and engaging content, peers, sessions and exhibitors. These insights enable your team to better understand how attendees connect to your brand and thus inform your future event strategy.

The right event management software not only collects meaningful data but, more importantly, empowers organizers to activate data to offer exceptional event experiences. When you can access and act on data insights in real time, you can change the outcome of an event as it unfolds, maximizing its potential and offering attendees a better experience in the moment.

Measure Event Success

According to Bizzabo’s recent survey, 7 in 10 event organizers reported their event budgets increased or remained the same in the past year. As economic uncertainties persist, event professionals will need to demonstrate their event strategy’s business value. Actionable data insights equip organizers to assess event success against key metrics and better communicate event value. You may be tempted to ask your team to measure everything immediately. Take a step back, and establish your event goals before identifying the best metrics to measure progress.

Some common event goals include:

• Increasing registrations
• Driving brand awareness
• Offering better experiences for attendees, vendors, sponsors and staff
• Boosting sponsorship revenue
• Improving networking opportunities
• Educating the audience
• Growing revenue
• Generating pipeline
• Increasing ROE (return on event).

With your goals in mind, choose three to five critical metrics to track. Survey respondents cited attendance, engagement, pipeline, overall satisfaction and registration as priorities. For example, if your team wants to drive registrations, consider monitoring: event site click-through rates (CTRs); page bounce rates and form fill rates; marketing email open rates and CTRs; and social media clicks, shares and form fills.

Experiment With Event Messaging

The right tools enable your team to experiment with every aspect of event orchestration, starting with event messaging. Use A/B testing to identify which message versions your audience finds most engaging. By refining your email marketing efforts based on the data, you’ll improve the likelihood of converting prospects into registrants — and attendees. Take the same approach with your event website. Site engagement tools, such as heat mapping, show how site visitors interact with your messaging.

Consider these questions as you assess site engagement: Does site activity indicate a preference for certain call-to-action phrasing, e.g., save a spot vs. register? Do visitors view the agenda or gravitate toward speakers? Do visitors play on-demand videos from past events?

Personalize Registration to Gain Insights

Better data activation enables your team to offer attendees a more personalized experience, helping you satisfy rising attendee expectations. Don’t limit your personalization efforts to the event itself. Collecting useful data during the registration process powers personalization leading up to the event and throughout your follow-up efforts.

Offer attendees conditional questions that create a choose-your-own-adventure registration path. Responses lead attendees to the ticket type and sessions that best suit their event goals, and you’ll learn more about attendees’ motivation for attending, learning styles, topics of interest and networking objectives.

Registration also offers an opportunity to show attendees your commitment to prioritizing their needs during an event. Ask attendees to share their name pronunciation, pronouns and accessibility requirements. Provide examples of accommodations, but also offer open-ended responses to account for needs your team might not have previously anticipated.

Optimize Your Event in Real Time

Data gives event experience leaders the insights they need to experiment before, during and after an event and pivot. Imagine this: Your team deploys a poll as morning sessions end on the first day of your event. Collecting audience feedback on those initial sessions allows you to act quickly, adjusting upcoming programming to meet attendee needs.

The resurgence of in-person events has led some event organizers to incorporate advanced strategies such as wearable technology. High-tech badges, wristbands and other wearables offer attendees a novel way to interact while capturing essential behavioral data for organizers to facilitate touchless contact exchanges during networking, seamless session check-in reminders and tracking, lead capture for sponsors, novel event engagement and gamification.

Wearable technology adds an additional engagement layer for attendees while enhancing your team’s ability to capture and act on data.

How do you combine the behavioral and engagement data you collect to extend the value of your event past the closing remarks? You need technology that helps you use data instantly and easily to create effective post-event outreach.

In addition to quantitative data — such as most popular content downloads and most-attended sessions — capture qualitative insights through post-event surveys. When you know which sessions an attendee liked, the content they downloaded, and the networking connections they made, you can personalize post-event content and communications to enrich the attendee experience and maximize your event’s impact.

Attendee expectations continue to evolve in this new world of in-person events. To satisfy audience needs and support business outcomes, event experience leaders must use data as a strategic advantage. The true value of your data comes from your ability to use its insights to provide the best possible event experience — from experimenting in real time to measuring event success to personalizing content for better engagement. When you leverage event data to inform event decisions before, during and after an event, data becomes the hardest-working member of your events team. C&IT

Marvin McTaw is the CEO at Sched. He’s primarily responsible for helping create exceptional experiences for the Sched team, event organizers and users. He has been in the event space for 14+ years, and is an industry expert. He initially formed the event management software in 2008 to better navigate a music festival, and after seeing the demand for the product, Sched was born. Sched has grown exponentially since 2008, with the long-term goal of creating a one-stop shop for everything needed to create and run a great event. For more information, visit sched.com.

Inflation is higher than it’s been in 40 years. As costs dramatically increase, most event budgets seem stuck in 2019. While inflation is hurting many consumers, the post-pandemic demand for in-person events and business travel is creating hyperinflation in the B2B event space. Travel, accommodation and food have all been hit hard. Supply chains suffer from disruptions, and we’re facing new labor challenges.

The result? There’s never been a more difficult time for event planners on a budget. By some estimates, event planners now require 45% more budget today than they needed in 2019. As we move into 2023, how can event planners prioritize expenses and maximize limited budgets without scrimping on quality? There’s no magic way to fit a pre-pandemic budget into today’s cost structure without making hard choices. The strategies below will help you stretch your event budget, while keeping attendees happy.

1. Extend Your Planning Cycle

Start planning twice as early. The earlier you start, the more leverage you’ll have down the line. Anticipate spending more time researching vendors and negotiating on price. The more competitive quotes you consider, the more options you’ll have to lower your costs.

2. Stick with the Same Vendors

Are you organizing multiple events? Once you’ve researched potential competitors, increase your negotiating power by committing to that vendor over a longer period of time. You are likely to receive a bigger discount if you can increase the value of the relationship. This same approach also improves the quality of the event, and makes life easier for the event planner.

3. Double Down on Logistics

Put an iron-tight build-up and breakdown plan in place. By planning efficiently and minimizing set-up, you could avoid additional set-up days. Most attendees are forgiving if you don’t use the latest technology. Skip the bells and whistles, and focus on a minimal set-up that delivers your event content.

4. Invest in Event Management Software

Time is money. Investing in event planning software is a great way to control costs, while freeing up your time for planning. Event scheduling software can significantly reduce expenses such as printing and postage costs for invitations, surveys, name badges, session attendance lists, etc. Be careful not to overspend. It can be difficult to figure out the cost of these platforms, which range from a few dollars to $40 per attendee.

5. Contact Hotels Directly for Reduced Rates

Do you need to book accommodation for attendees, speakers and team members? Ask for a reduced room rate if your venue is a hotel. It’s common practice to receive a discount if your event takes place on-site. If you’re booking multiple rooms, you may be eligible for a group rate. Rather than booking online, contact the hotel’s sales team directly.

6. Rethink Your When & Where

Venue costs can burn a hole in any event budget. If you have the luxury of flexibility, two questions can reduce costs — when and where? Rental rates fluctuate depending on the time and day of the week. Where possible, avoid hosting during the weekend. Consider a weekday and skip the peak-time price tag. Also, select a venue that’s well-connected to public transportation hubs. You’ll minimize costs, such as taxis and shuttles. Aside from the savings, your attendees will thank you for the convenience.

7. Check What’s Included

Ask your vendors if their quote includes any extras. Most professional event venues include A/V and technical equipment within the rental fee. Some catering companies offer staff and crockery rental, but you may pay a premium for special requests. This can go the other way, too. If you’re happy to roll up your sleeves, some venues will drop their prices if you take on post-event cleaning.

8. Crunch Down on Catering Costs

Catering has a big impact on any event budget. Food often ranks high on an attendee’s priority list, but there are simple and effective ways to minimize catering costs. Consider limiting your menu to vegetarian options. It’s more budget-friendly than meat and fish, while being a better choice for the environment. How do you plan to serve and plate food? Seated dinners eat budgets fast. You need to invest in staff, cutlery, furniture rental, etc. A buffet set-up is more economical, and you’ll give attendees a chance to network and mingle.

9. Lean on Alternative Revenue Sources

Try charging a nominal fee, even if the event was free previously. Also, attendees can provide additional revenue streams beyond ticket sales. For example, you could sell:

• Event merchandise
• Drink tickets
• Premium food options
• Season passes for multiple events
• Ticket insurance
• Advertising packages
• Upgraded seating options
• Access to the attendee database
• Exclusive networking sessions
• Access to on-demand content after the event
• Skipping the queue option
• VIP ticket packages that include a bundle of the above

Whatever you offer, it must be of value to your attendees. Ensure that the sale price is appropriate for the event and higher than the production cost.

10. Go Hybrid

Add a hybrid component to your in-person meeting. Putting your event online gives it a life well after it’s taken place. You’ll potentially reach more people in the long run and generate interest for future events. Adding a hybrid component doesn’t have to cost more, but creates an opportunity to extend the event’s connection to attendees.

Conclusion

Rising inflation in a post-pandemic world is hitting event budgets everywhere. To overcome the struggles of limited funds, remember the following when planning your 2023 event:

• Smart budget allocation
• Advance planning
• Finding alternative revenue sources
• Prioritizing customer-facing strategies
• Streamlining when possible and appropriate

Remember that negotiation is your key to success. Many event vendors face the same issues as event organizers. Approach them with the mentality of finding solutions together, and they’ll likely be empathic to restricted budgets. C&IT

Courtesy of Dewey LoSasso

Ask any meeting planner what accounts for meeting success, and you’re bound to receive a range of responses. Yet, one key ingredient consistently stands out among the others: the overall quality of the food & beverage service. Why? Because happy meeting planners know that top-notch culinary experiences make for more than memorable meals and a memorable event. When elevated from ordinary to extraordinary, exceptional dining experiences deliver an emotional wealth of well-being.

“Maybe that emotional response is the euphoric feeling of having an amazing bite of food you have never had before, or maybe it triggers a memory from your past, or maybe that bite of food is trumped by the people you are breaking bread with, but was only the vehicle that brought you all together,” says Joshua Murray, executive chef and director of food & beverage at Conrad Washington, DC. “The pure essence of hospitality is what I want to provide, and that means creating the moment for people to truly feel at home.”

The feeling of “an inclusive home away from home” is also the goal of Adam Tanner, assistant vice president of F&B for AHC Hospitality in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “We want you to know that your meeting will have our undivided attention to the details. From the comfort of a great breakfast muffin to Instagrammable event spaces, we have you covered.”

The small details are what elevates a mere conference meal into culinary experiences, agrees Elliott Grover, executive chef at 45 Park Lane, Dorchester Collection. “Just because you are providing a high volume of food doesn’t mean the culinary experience has to be basic,” he says. “You can put more effort into the prep where you have more time and manpower, and then the finishing touches will be a lot easier without compromising on the wow factor.”

For Andrew Chadwick, executive chef at Chatham Bars Inn in Massachusetts, there are three key themes that elevate a culinary experience from noteworthy to exceptional for corporate meeting attendees: “They are the setup, execution of the food and service,” he says.

Paul Peddle, executive chef at Four Seasons Hotel, Houston, echoes Chadwick: “The culinary culture at Four Seasons Hotel Houston is based on quality ingredients, thoughtful and creative preparations and extraordinary service.”

Pablo C. Aguirre, executive chef at Marriott Marquis Houston, says from his perspective, elevating a culinary experience from noteworthy to exceptional begins with the planning. “My team and I get involved with the planner and group’s vision for the F&B experience from day one,” he says. “This way, we’re able to plan more seamlessly for menu adjustments and customizations based on tastes and dietary preferences. Food is one of the most memorable experiences of any event, and our immediate and consistent involvement in the planning process is one of the key ingredients to our team’s success.”

A Conceptualized Experience

In this vein, to create the desired ambiance, whether one of comfort and class, evoking the vibe and feel of the event’s location or creating a truly modern luxury experience, Tanner thinks with all exceptional events, the theme can be felt from start to finish, he says, adding: “[These] intangible factors can lift an event from good to great when the vision of the event is met on all levels.”

Murray describes his and his team’s effort as trying to create “a true conceptualized experience like you would get in a restaurant.” He says, “Most great restaurants don’t just have great food, they have a great story with food, décor, service, china/flatware, music and more that all tie into the F&B experience to make it great.”

Courtesy of Joshua Murray

Murray details the seamless execution of a “conceptualized approach” at the Conrad. “Here, we are a very art forward venue, and we took great pride in leaning into that. We, of course, work to partner with groups on individual group wants, but our catering menus are conceptualized to tie into the art of the hotel,” he says. “For example the hors d’oeuvres section of the menu is called the ‘color wheel’ and has two sections to it. ‘Warm hues’ make up the hot hors d’oeuvres and ‘cold hues’ make up the cold ones. When choosing your menu for an event, this is the beginning of making your reception an art piece that works in harmony with the design of the hotel. From there, you may move on to your plated dinner where you are selecting from sections called the ‘foreground,’ ‘middle ground’ and ‘finishing touches’ to form the courses of your meal. All the while we focus on the all-important components of creativity, locally sourced, sustainability and seasonality. The end result is a start to finish experience that really makes sense and, in my opinion, stands apart.”

A conceptualized, synergistic approach is also top of Tanner’s mind as he describes his culinary experience discovering how to balance the flavors in one dish: “Working in Asia for nearly 10 years shaped my philosophy of creating a dish, getting all the taste buds energized in the goal of achieving ‘umami,’ where you try to stimulate every part of the palette in one dish — salty, savory, sweet, bitterness, for example,” he says. “I cook to achieve a balance between the key tastes on the palate, like pairing wine with a great dish when all the flavors come together to elevate everything even more.”

Less is More

Tanner’s evolution as a chef has led to his current culinary philosophy that “less is more.” In fact, he says, “Ingredient-driven cuisine with proper cooking techniques is hard to fault.”

Grover agrees, saying the inspiration behind most of his dishes are the ingredients. “I like keeping it simple and using the best seasonal produce available,” he says. “With the right produce, it’s hard to go wrong. I want my dishes to be comforting whilst still being luxurious.”

It’s that focus on an approachable culinary style with attention to detail that drives Peddle’s philosophy as well. “The best ingredients prepared thoughtfully allows the food to shine,” he says.

A less-is-more approach is also the philosophy behind the goal of these chefs to create a relaxed atmosphere that isn’t intrusive. “The quality of the ambiance and food should be at a level that is naturally so good it doesn’t require the attendees to think/talk about it,” Grover says. “At the end of the day, the meeting is not focused on the food, but the meeting itself.”

Courtesy of Dewey LoSasso

A Customized Approach

Karen Devine, CITP, CEO & founder of 3D Cruise Partners, cites the high-level dining selections as the deciding factor in many of her clients choosing a luxury, customized cruise experience to host their conferences and events. From Devine’s perspective, “culinary experiences at sea have become not just a surprise and delight any longer, rather an anticipated, and almost expected, experience.” She says, “So many cruise lines have relationships with top chefs and restaurants globally, and the ability to experience diverse dining at sea is now more prevalent than ever.” She adds, “[One] particular client, because she chartered the ship, was not only able to customize the menu choices based on her guests’ preferences, but also surprise them with a wide choice of dining options from the existing offerings. The attendees were delighted to see the deck dinner, not something normally offered on many ships, that had been set up and customized from a décor and F&B perspective just for them.”

For Tanner, a customized approach means creating bespoke experiences for each individual planner. For example, Tanner had a recent client who wanted strict sustainability efforts throughout the corporate event. The culinary team provided a number of special touches to exceed expectations, such as all plastics being removed from the meeting room, but the property’s executive chef spoke to the group about the locally sourced foods and beverages on the menu “with an emphasis on local must-try items,” since so often conference attendees leave a destination without ever having tried the food and beverages unique to the region. “If you haven’t been to Grand Rapids before, you might not know what’s here,” Tanner says. “Grand Rapids is known as beer city, but also has made its mark on the culinary scene with the olive burger, wet burrito, warm Fruit Ridge apple cider and doughnut holes in the fall, so we bring in some of those must-try elements as well just so people have that experience.”

Courtesy of Adam Tanner

Trusted Partnerships

If there’s one truism that has evolved from the global COVID-19 pandemic, meeting planners and culinary professionals alike attest to the value of nurturing trusted partner relationships whether between planner and the venue’s F&B team, or between the F&B team and their vendors. “The pandemic forced us to learn and adapt very quickly,“ Peddle says. “Our long-standing relationships with our distributors and suppliers proved to be so valuable, ensuring we were able to continue receiving the ingredients we needed to operate our restaurants and serve our guests. These days, we’re planning not just for the next three weeks, but for the next three months.”

Tanner says there is a trust that needs to be built between the two sides, which for him means, “Give our culinary team the freedom to make your events exceptional, and we will,” he says.

Chadwick says the ideal corporate meeting planner partner would be someone who allows him the creative freedom to develop and take charge of the event menus. “I love offering a completely unique and authentic menu that leaves their … meal instilled in their memories.” he says. “With that creative culinary freedom, I’ll infuse locally sourced and nontraditional ingredients into my menus to surprise and delight their attendees with unexpected new recipes.”

These one-of-a-kind offerings reflect what chefs are aiming to create more of across the entire industry, Aguirre says. “I am always looking for those wow moments. I get inspired by thinking about how I can re-create a dish that I see or eat in an elevated way with my knowledge of different cuisines. I love to weave my knowledge of Central American cuisine into my cooking.”

Grant Morgan, executive concept chef at Hotel Drover, Autograph Collection, strives to create ambiance that is reflective of Fort Worth’s distinctly Texas appeal and of Hotel Drover’s atmosphere, and he draws inspiration from local products. “When a farmer or rancher brings me an ingredient, I use that ingredient to inspire a new dish.”

Consequently, Morgan appreciates and respects corporate meeting planners who are open to discovery: “Someone that is interested in learning about and including regional cuisine to enhance their overall goals,” he says, and goes on to advise planners to look for venues where the chef is willing to work with planners to create an experience that is catered to them. “Don’t just settle for the deli platter for lunch or the chicken buffet for dinner,” he says.

Murray, echoing the other comments, says the perfect meeting planner client is one who is a partner. “This means we are in it together. I relish the ability to understand what they want to accomplish and then allowing the team here to partner with them to exceed those expectations,” he says. “I want them to know that we understand planning a meeting is a major responsibility that comes with a lot of stress. The food and beverage team here knows that, and we are here to make the food and beverage side of it a distant worry and the highlight for their event.”

Clear Communication

Within trusted partnerships, clear communication is key to building successful meeting events. “I like working with meeting planners who know their internal customers so we can create the right experience,” Aguirre says.

Clearly communicating their understanding of the customer to the F&B team naturally follows. “The most important part is that the client is able to give us a clear vision of the event and make sure we build upon that theme,” Tanner says. “Elevating an ordinary event into a top-notch experience happens when the vision of the event is met on all levels. This is possible with the whole team coming together and delivering the best product we can.”

Grover acknowledges “whilst running a busy and successful kitchen, I have to be quite specific about what I want to focus on at a certain time,” he says. “Timing is really important for us. We are always grateful when planners are really clear about what they need and when they need it. This helps us to not interrupt important meetings at the wrong time.”

For Dewey LoSasso, corporate executive chef at Bill Hansen Catering & Event Production, what elevates the overall culinary experience is the interaction between the end client and the chef. “It’s sort of an informal, organic interview,” he says. Toward that end, his image of the ideal corporate meeting planner partner is one where “a planner comes to the table with end-client data that is clear and concise, a planner who is open to a culinary brainstorming session that partners with us on logistics, as well as food and beverage.”

Peddle also notes that “A great communicator — someone who truly understands their group — makes all the difference in allowing us to make the magic happen from our side.”

However, even if planners don’t have a clear vision for their events, a great chef can ease the planner’s worries. “Just come to us, and we will make your culinary vision happen,” Aguirre says. “If you don’t have a clear vision, let us help to guide and craft your experience. We want to make your meeting distinctive. We have a well-seasoned team and a fantastic property that can offer endless options when it comes to activations and execution.”

LoSasso says there is never a wrong question. “For that matter, we take to heart ideas from planners and execute them beyond the scope of a simple catering company,” he says. “Planners are conduits to an amazing experience. What we do is source a product, fabricate a product, execute a product and get a reaction on that product, normally in a three- to four-day window. Meeting planners are instrumental in all aspects of that process. We are not making cars that may sit on a lot for a year. We create experiences and memories in an instant. When done right, it’s astonishing and will leave a lasting impact.”

Devine, in fact, implores planners considering a cruise event to “ask questions of the cruise line — particularly for a charter, as that is easy to do with customized menu choices; but even for a group on a regular cruise,” she says. “Find out if a dinearound can be done at sea, as many ships allow this now. Or find out if a particular restaurant can be taken over for your group and customize the menu. Choose your ship in the destination you are interested in by looking into the culinary offerings and ensuring there are venues that meet your guests’ interests, or offer some unique and different approaches to F&B vs. just a restaurant on board.”

For his part, LoSasso says: “All of this is dictated by … truly listening to the meeting planner. We want attendees to leave an event knowing that we cared about them.”

Peddle agrees: “Listening and understanding the group dynamics is essential. Every group and event are different, so planning and communicating in advance allows us to create something personalized that suits each meeting perfectly, giving the attendees an opportunity to enjoy a superb snack or meal and refresh before their next session.” C&IT

Family-friendly meetings and events are known to boost employee satisfaction. © Disney

Many organizations often choose to include attendees’ family members at meetings, whether or not they’re included in official functions. Incentives easily lend themselves to family-friendly gatherings, but even corporate meetings focused squarely on business can benefit by allowing attendees to bring family along, creating an easy way for employees to enjoy family vacation time before or after meetings. That can give employees an increased sense of work-life balance, and perhaps increase meeting attendance at the same time.

Bucket-List Destinations

In-person meetings of all kinds decreased over the past couple of years, but they’re coming back strong, including those that welcome families. “We see family incentives rebounding strongly,” says Amy Pfeiffer, director, convention sales & services, Disney Destinations. “Many companies have not been able to reward their incentive winners and employees with travel experiences for two years, so they’re eager to restart these programs. The pandemic helped refocus people’s priorities on family, so we expect ‘bleisure travel’ to continue growing in the months ahead.”

Walt Disney World Resort and its theme parks are uniquely poised to meet this demand with their proven track records in motivating top performers and their status as bucket-list destinations for families across the globe. “Regardless of the Disney destination they choose,” Pfeiffer says, “incentive planners know their programs will be flawlessly executed and unforgettable experiences for their attendees.”

Ron Black, director of human resources for Southern Pipe & Supply Company Inc., last year brought multiple programs to Walt Disney World Resort. A Champion’s Club event for top store managers and a President’s Club event for top salespeople were held at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, with 225 and 240 attendees, respectively. A Chairman’s Weekend event for top customers took place with 250 attendees at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Resort.

Black says some invitees chose to put off travel a bit longer, but that overall attendance was up. “Those who did attend brought more family with them,” he says. Last year’s meetings were part of a rotation. The three main recognition programs noted are at Disney World every five years. In the interim years, they’re at other Southeastern U.S. resorts.

“We allow and encourage invitees to bring immediate family,” Black says. The company’s recognition events are “100% fun and family,” and everything from the welcome event to the closing event includes all attendees and families.

Disney World is an obvious choice for a gathering, Black says. The company selects Disney World because of its family appeal and the excitement it creates within the employees.

Black acknowledges that planning a family event is more complex than a couples’ retreat, which some of the incentive programs are. “Travel, menus, activities and entertainment are more complex. However, in our case, it helps that we are connected to the families.”

Given that family is a core value of the company, these meetings are important. “We refer to our employees as ‘family members.’ Allowing family to attend is another extension of the Southern Pipe family and an important part of building stronger relationships across the company,” Black says. “For example, our family members from Georgia develop relationships with our families from Louisiana. We began this strategy with our main recognition events in 2006. Family is a key component of our culture.”

Ideal for Groups With Families

Great Wolf Lodges are also ideal for programs that include family. With 19 lodges from North Carolina and Georgia, to California and Washington, and multiple states in between, as well as Canada, they’re especially ideal for groups that book multiple events across multiple regions. Carrie Laparry, senior travel buyer, Maritz Global Events, assists with some 300 regional meetings throughout North America for one of her corporate clients. After canceling 2020 and 2021 meetings, the group was back to in-person meetings in the summer.

Laparry cites collaboration, social interaction, creating relationships within a region, team building and quality family time among the positives of regional family-friendly meetings. As part of the events, the company contracts rooms specifically for attendees’ children, separating them into age groups so the kids can enjoy age-appropriate playtime and games. Other than the awards dinner, families are welcomed at all breakfasts and dinners. “They have afternoons to do as they wish,” Laparry says. “And sometimes the regional leader will arrange off-site activities as well.”

As for Great Wolf Lodges, Laparry says, “GWL typically fits within our budget, and with the number of regions across the U.S. that we currently have, the lodges work well.” Not surprisingly, Great Wolf’s water parks are a major hit. “The water parks are a huge draw for our regions as they keep the kids happy, which in turn makes for happy parents.”

Southern Pipe & Supply Co. focuses on family for its meetings. Courtesy of Ron Black

Easy to Include Families

The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is a superb choice for upscale groups that include families with children as well as couples looking for quality time. The highly regarded historic resort is able to provide exactly what both groups want.

“What sets The Broadmoor apart from other properties, aside from its elegance and history, are its many activities and amenities,” says M.H., meeting event manager for a global consulting firm. “A visitor could stay an entire week and still not have time to participate in everything the resort has to offer its guests. For families, there’s plenty to keep children occupied, yet it doesn’t feel like an exclusively family resort to couples who want to relax and unwind.”

Including family at meetings, M.H. says, helps with program goals such as “reconnecting and making new connections, fellowship and allowing loved ones to get a glimpse into the business.”

The global firm hosted its recent Travel Award Program with approximately 150 guests in each of four waves at the Broadmoor this summer. M.H. says COVID-19 did not have a lasting effect on registration, pointing out that attendance, including family members, was the same as that of pre-pandemic meetings. At this program, all meal functions included all family members and guests, and the company arranges meetings, meals and child care.

“Having a domestic destination allows for our guests with children to travel with more ease,” M.H. says. “That, along with the natural beauty of Colorado and the service at the resort, makes choosing The Broadmoor a no-brainer.”

In terms of meeting facilities and services, “The resort offers plenty of meeting space, FedEx offices and in-house A/V partners that make it easy for us to host our meeting,” M.H. says. “Family amenities include babysitting services, plenty of outdoor family-friendly activities and even indoor entertainment such as a bowling alley and movie theater.”

When it comes to providing everything children and parents might need at a meeting, M.H. has this suggestion: “My biggest piece of advice for family-friendly meeting planning is to look at what is needed for a family from sunup to sundown,” she says. “This might include special meals due to dietary restrictions, additional bedding and cribs, as well as plenty of activities to keep children entertained. With children, simply hosting a group dinner with food and music is not enough.”

Balance is the Key

The meetings team at LinkedIn manages four to eight events each year, including three annual, regionally based incentive programs. In early spring, a group of 325 met at the Conrad Punta de Mita in Riviera Nyarit, Mexico.

Location, airlift, ease of access, cost and quality of lodging were all factors in the decision to meet at Conrad Punta de Mita, says Aline Whitman, CMP, senior manager, global events, at LinkedIn. Additionally, having the exclusivity of the resort was definitely a positive. The fact that family members would be attending didn’t affect the decision.

Like other planners, Whitman has been faced with pandemic-related challenges over the past couple of years. “COVID definitely had an impact,” she says. “Unfortunately, we had to cancel our 2020 events. Then we had to postpone our 2021 events from fall 2021 to March 2022.”

Whitman says including family members can definitely complicate the planning process, however. “One simple example: On the day we have our scheduled activities, we’re unable to include children in any of the activity options. This often means we need to shuffle times and appointments to ensure that one parent is able to be with the kid(s) while the other participates in his or her chosen activity, and vice versa.”

Whitman adds that her team does try to provide helpful information to parents. “We work with the resort to gather all information about kids’ clubs or babysitting services available. We then share that with our attendees, but they make their own arrangements.”

In terms of advice to planners who may be considering a meeting with family in attendance, Whitman says finding balance is key. “We’ve found a good balance of being family-friendly so that those who choose to bring their children are able to do so, but those who do not [or do not have children] don’t feel they’re getting less than anyone else. It’s also important to clearly communicate all parameters in advance,” she says. “If details are shared in advance and there are no surprises [on either side], it helps make it a better experience for everyone.”

A Different Spin

Kalahari Resorts is another hospitality brand where families and meetings converge. “We’re experiencing a very healthy recovery in meetings and conventions,” says Kyra Popp, corporate director of sales, Kalahari Resorts and Conventions. “The chasm between work and life got closer during the pandemic. With a remote workforce, companies became more accepting and connected on a personal level. Our family-friendly resorts offer a natural transition back to in-person events.” She adds, “We’re definitely seeing corporations and associations embrace and promote the amenities available for the entire family at Kalahari. With water park passes included in guest room rates, Kalahari offers a perfect platform for productive business, and at the same time, offers a perk that the attendee’s entire family can benefit from.”

Ann Elizabeth Christensen, of Houston-based Ace Events, worked on the late winter Scots Mining Conference at Kalahari’s Round Rock, Texas property. She says she cannot say enough positive about the resort. “The entire team was invaluable to me as an event planner going to a new city and a new resort with a new conference.”

The property, about 20 miles north of Austin, opened in November 2020, yet was unknown to Christensen and many attendees. But Christensen says some attendees have already booked vacation stays there as a result of the conference. Although a global meeting dedicated to bitcoin doesn’t seem like a natural for a family-friendly event, the goal was always to set this event apart from other industry conferences.

“Including family was purposeful from the start,” Christensen says. “That’s why it was set at Kalahari, an ideal venue and location that gave the conference a different spin than other bitcoin conferences. About 25% of the nearly 1,000 attendees brought children, but we heard from many attendees that next year they’ll definitely make the conference part of a family vacation.”

Kalahari’s family amenities were a huge hit, especially, Christensen says, the 228,000-sf water park. While children weren’t allowed in any business sessions, the group used almost every aspect of the resort for both business and free time. “We used every available restaurant on the property for functions or sponsored dinners, and companies also used them to entertain clients and employees,” she says. “The resort’s 12-lane bowling alley was the site of a large sponsor party. There was a lot of camaraderie and networking outside of the traditional meeting space and day because of all the amenities, activities and venues at the resort. All of this kept people on the campus so that networking was ongoing, even during family time.”

The group booked the larger lower level of the resort’s conference center and used the 40,000-sf Kilimanjaro Ballroom and all breakout rooms. “Even though there was also a group upstairs, we were not impacted at all,” Christensen says. “We got amazing attention. The staff was always available, pleasant and professional. Any issues were immediately resolved.”

As a new conference, Christensen says they were unsure what to expect, so requirements for rooms and space changed frequently throughout the planning process. “Things were constantly evolving, but the resort staff just said they’d handle it and get it done — and they did.”

Arguably, “the wow” moment of the event was the wrap-up party set in the new, 6,000-sf Barn off the conference center lawn. But it wasn’t just about the space, which Christensen calls “amazing.” It was about how the resort once again went above and beyond.

“We wanted to have a s’mores party on the lawn after the barbecue dinner in the Barn, with chairs set around a fire pit. Unfortunately, the resort didn’t have a fire pit and there were no rentals to be found,” she says. “It was starting to look impossible. Then the Kalahari staff simply went out and purchased four fire pits. That’s what can happen when a resort is family owned and the owners are involved. The purchase of the fire pits was immediately approved, and we were able to have the party we really wanted.”

Christensen thinks the inclusion of family not only made the recent conference a hit, but will increase registration at future conferences. “There’s definitely a plan right now to have a conference next year and to set it at a Kalahari resort,” she says.

Companies that include family at conferences and programs say there are huge benefits to doing so, and there’s ample evidence to support them. Resorts across North America are on board, leveraging their business, family facilities and amenities to help planners make those conferences successful. C&IT

Marty Glynn, CEO of MAD Event Management LLC, wonders if this year’s bounce back is real, or will things cool off in the next year? Courtesy of Marty Glynn

“We had an in-person meeting in September, and our attendance was good, but not great. The glory days of pre-COVID-19 are not coming back quickly,” says Naomi Romanchok, CMP, events manager at AFOP, an organization that represents farmworkers. “There are those who are still skittish about attending a conference. International is not coming back to where it was, especially as it has been proven it is possible to participate via Zoom and other platforms. Industries like gaming and tech that can easily meet remotely realized they don’t have to pack suitcases and get on airplanes.”

Room blocks have changed since 2019 as well. “We can’t block as we did in 2019. Will they show, won’t they show, are they still in business? These are prevailing questions.”

Budgets are not back, either. Romanchok says that could be felt at the recent IMEX America event in Las Vegas. “No one was handing out swag as they did in the past. Everyone is rethinking everything they are doing.”

Travel has returned, and people are meeting face-to-face, but the option to attend events remotely is still being offered in the form of hybrid events.

“Planners have learned they can reach a new audience and bring in new revenue with hybrid and virtual events. They have also leveled the playing field. Conferences can be elitist. They are expensive to get to, and it is not possible for everybody to get away from responsibilities,” says Lee Gimpel, founder and principal of Better Meetings.

However, a sense of optimism prevails regarding in-person meetings and events. According to the American Express 2023 Global Meetings and Events Forecast, two-thirds of its survey respondents are very optimistic, with two-thirds expecting the number of in-person events to return to pre-pandemic levels within one to two years.

Also, pent-up demand made 2022 a big year for meetings and events — but questions remain. “Was this year’s bounce back real, or just based on an excessive desire to be together? Will that wear off, and the combination of expenses and lesser experiences make people think about necessity?” asks Marty Glynn, CEO of MAD Event Management LLC. “Is networking or content the real priority?”

Another continued tendency is short booking windows, with lead times 25% shorter than in 2019. “We are experiencing many events coming up last minute,” says Angela DiPasquale, senior production coordinator at Eventique. “There seems to be fear about COVID picking up and other uncontrolled variables. Large-scale corporate gatherings are being booked with one- to three-week windows. Plus, these last-minute bookings are super aware of cancellation policies. They are reading their contracts more than ever, and want it spelled out what will happen if an event must cancel.”

Remote Work and Other Trends

Remote work has also affected the meetings and events industry. According to data company Ladders, 25% of all professional jobs will be remote by the end of the year, with remote opportunities increasing through the end of 2023. According to Ladders, this is the most significant societal change in the U.S. since the end of World War II. Now that teams are globally dispersed, meetings and events take on added importance. A ho-hum gathering in a drab conference room will no longer suffice.

Other changes in the post-pandemic meetings industry include an emphasis on sustainability, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I). According to the American Express 2023 Global Meetings and Events Forecast, four in five respondents say their organization considers sustainability when planning meetings and events.

Not to be overlooked, contracts are forever changed. Attorney Mark Roysner emphasizes the importance of not agreeing to unreasonable or unilateral contract terms that solely favor the hotel or otherwise contractually lock a meeting professional in with penalties or unanticipated financial liability risks. “We just came through a pandemic, and are now dealing with political uncertainty throughout the country,” he says. “Which, in a number of cases, has rapidly affected organizations’ policy-making and site-selection decisions, along with skyrocketing event production and promotional costs and unprecedented weather issues.”

Contracts must also evolve according to the times we live. For instance, venue and other staffing shortages are a reality. “Are you putting in terms to get the service you need?” Roysner asks. “What should be reviewed, modified or included in organizers’ contracts to reduce exposure to liability and risks?”

A successful contract is bilateral, Roysner says. He adds it is also imperative to thoroughly review all contracts with a fine-toothed comb. Make sure you have spelled out and consistently use terms such as event dates, show dates, peak room nights and even attendee. He recommends taking it one step further by defining these terms. Finally, he stressed the importance of writing your own contract, as it gives you a roadmap of the issues that are most important to you.

Blending of Events and Community

Another emerging trend is meetings and conferences as part of a broader marketing initiative. “In many cases, they are becoming part of a bigger strategy, and the event is being extended before and after it has happened, and it is stitched into a community platform,” Gimpel says. “It can also be a follow-up event a few weeks later to get everyone talking about what happened at the conference. This extends the value of the event, plus a community endures for the whole year. A two-day community event can be fuel in the fire of a 365-days-a-year community.”

Pent-up demand resulted in meetings where seemingly everyone was thrilled just to be gathering. Networking, building camaraderie and spending time together face-to-face are what people crave today. “Attendees are less tolerant of utilitarian events that don’t offer any experience and, thus, no compelling argument to be at the event in-person,” Gimpel says. “Attendees are more likely to ask, ‘Is the experience significantly different if I show up in person versus simply watching it on a screen at home?’ If the answer is no, people are likelier to veto the time away, the travel, the expense and the general hassle. It’s harder to sell attendees on the necessity of flying to a city just to stay at a hotel by the airport, watch some presentations, and then fly home.”

Increased Costs a Reality

Members Inc., an event management company, is seeing three challenges in the post-pandemic events world: spikes in the price of ground transportation, hikes in the price of temp staffing and skyrocketing A/V costs. And these increased costs are not going away. Some think companies are trying to compensate for losses they experienced during the pandemic. Plus, many companies didn’t survive the pandemic, straining the supply chain and pushing prices up.

The hotel industry has been slow to recover, says Gary Brown, president, and Karen Brown, chief experiential officer at Members, Inc. They described an event held at a five-star hotel in Florida in September where housekeeping was spotty, restaurants were closed and the hotel had removed coffee makers from the rooms, which led to a line snaking out the door of the coffee shop in the lobby that didn’t open until 7 a.m.

“Labor rates have gone up, and resources are scarce,” Gary Brown says. “Take A/V — there has been a 30% jump, and we are not seeing it go down.”

Also, planners have noticed it is taking longer hours to navigate this new reality. “Costs across the board are up,” Karen Brown says. “We are the ducks paddling like crazy under the surface so these increases don’t impact our attendees’ registration fees. We are negotiating harder and more strategically like never before, and doing what we can to keep the production and levels the same to give our clients the experience they’ve come to expect from us without increasing their costs.” C&IT

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Imagine this: On the eve of one of the largest events you have orchestrated in recent months, you receive a call from the caterer, who is in tears because their refrigeration system has failed, and the food they have prepared for tomorrow’s event is ruined. What do you do? With the right contingency plan in place, you should be able to quickly move to Plan B.

Predicting the outcome of an event is like forecasting the weather: You think you know what’s going to happen — then it doesn’t. Unforeseen circumstances and non-evaluated risks are inherent components of the meetings and events industry. In fact, many of these inherent risks — if left unidentified, unchecked and unexplored — can make or break your ability to effectively handle crises when they occur.

Common Problems

Let’s face it: You can’t plan for everything. Jessica Connolly, director of global events at Hubilo Technologies Inc., says natural disasters, health scares — such as the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, political issues, employee shortages or keynote speakers not showing up, are just some of the crises that occur frequently within the meeting and events arena.

“The health and safety of your attendees must always be the top priority. When you know your event may be impacted, make an educated decision on the next steps to take,” Connolly says. You must first understand what is happening — are there governmental rules and regulations in place? Monitor the situation constantly and get your team in place by keeping them informed of what may come and what their tasks are to execute. Create a risk assessment to include attendee impact, business impact and internal staff impact. Review this with your stakeholders to make a well-informed and educated decision.

Sometimes, you need to make quick decisions during a crisis. Remain calm — if you lose your cool and make a rash decision, it may backfire on you. Connolly advises fellow meeting planners to prepare for unexpected things to happen, things that are out of your control. Be agile and flexible, and work closely with your team to provide the best outcome for your attendees.

Experts also agree that not recognizing a crisis in its early stages is the most common mistake meeting and event planners make. React quickly and decisively, and most times your attendees will never know there was a situation. Always put together an emergency/contingency plan. And remember, the best contingency plan is the one you don’t have to use.

“Not all crises are so major. Things like a broken A/C can irritate attendees who are suddenly feeling hot and suffocated. Your keynote speaker could not show up,” Connolly says. “Dealing with these things are stressful, but have great communication with your venue staff. This is important when you are selecting the venue for the event.”

Also ask the venue’s team how they deal with these types of crises. And for all of your event sessions, have a Plan B as part of your event pre-planning. The idea is to plan for a speaker not showing up, or a presentation or video not working. “These things happen. Be ready for them so you manage through the stress a little easier,” Connolly says.

Erin Mills, CEO and founder of Strat House and a more than 20-year veteran of event planning for companies such as Viacom, McDonald’s, Shopify and many others, stresses that health and safety have been first and foremost on the minds of everyone in the events world. “Since 2020, we have to continuously plan for and consider COVID protocols, vaccination requirements, compliance with health regulations on local, regional, state and national levels, as well as our client policies and procedures — it’s a long list,” Mills says.

But another emerging issue is how to smoothly return to in-person events after so long away. As Mills explains, there are so many dynamics at play in the return to in-person events. What is the level of risk planners take by going 100% in-person? What are the social anxiety levels of attendees after so long away? How has an attendee’s ability to participate responsibly in person changed since they last gathered? How depleting and exhausting will attendees find gathering physically to be when they are largely used to remote-work settings, and how do planners ensure they aren’t contributing to that exhaustion?

“Before COVID, there were a host of issues of course — weather, technical snafus, missing speakers — but the safest and most productive planners realize early in their careers that very little is in their control,” Mills says. “As before, a good rule of thumb or best practice is to prepare for everything you possibly can in advance. Once you arrive on-site, you will be met with surprise, opposition and challenge, and that’s the beauty. You don’t know exactly what will happen, and this can result in incredible magic for your clients and for those attending.”

Adele Cehrs, CEO of the Convincing Company, has taught crisis communications and business at Princeton, Cornell, George Mason and Georgetown universities. Cehrs says the best event planners know that something always goes wrong. The most experienced and prepared planners in the industry have a well-mapped-out plan to deal with everything from speaker cancellations, COVID-19 outbreaks, mean tweets and social media posts to hotel issues, food-borne illnesses, assaults and even deaths.

The trouble with most crisis plans Cehrs sees is they are often outdated and ill equipped to handle modern-day-event planner crises that are bound to occur. And while updated policies and procedures may help, they are just a guide, and should be used with careful consideration.

“These policies are often written by the executive or legal team in a vacuum before the issue occurs at the event. Oftentimes, they don’t take into account how to message an issue or what to say to attendees,” Cehrs says. “They rarely think of how to handle the court of public opinion, which will largely fall on the shoulders of an already-overwhelmed event planner. To avoid this fate, crisis templates, frameworks and strategies are available and should be tailored to their audiences in advance so they aren’t caught off guard. Be sure to ask to be part of these strategic planning discussions.”

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Steps to Take

Let’s start with the basics: “look books” denoting who’s who, security boards detailing credential requirements, proper site plans with evacuation routes, escalation procedures, having a security detail and medical personnel on-site. “This may sound like Event Planning 101 — because it is. Risk management begins with fundamentals,” Mills says. “But the fundamentals alone are not sufficient to protect you. You have to have the right team, with the right level of experience and an ‘appetite-for-risk’ mindset.”

It should come as no surprise that assessment is the first step toward crisis resolution. You must consider all stakeholders involved in the event and the level of impact the crisis will have on them. Other steps to take include:

Have a plan for medical emergencies (first), shelter (second) and food and water (third). This will give you time to handle the other aspects of the crisis more efficiently.

In most instances, facilities, hotels and other venues have emergency plans in place for evacuation, medical emergencies and weather. Knowing these plans in advance is more than a good idea — it’s your job as a planner.

Remain flexible, as some inexperienced event producers may get caught up with the problem and lose focus on the answer. Remember, be ready for anything.

Safety first. Search for any obstacles that can cause injury. Have emergency numbers always handy. Also, look for possible problems when on-site, such as candles having been moved or burning down to a point of being a fire hazard.

Familiarize yourself with evacuation plans of the facility. Long before the event is to be held, ask for the facility manager or owner to send you their evacuation plans. You and your team should thoroughly study the plans so that, in case of an emergency, you can escort the event attendees by using the designated evacuation route, quickly and safely.

There are so many potentially unwanted outcomes in the meetings and events business. Mills says that being skilled enough to plan whatever you can in advance with all contingencies in place is important. “And though it may sound strange, I think a ‘healthy-distrust’ mindset will help you grapple with any crisis that may happen within the event you’re planning,” Mills says. “Why? Because having the understanding that everyone you are working with is human, and therefore things will go wrong, folks will make mistakes, and that a lot of what will happen will likely be out of your control, will ensure that you are thinking more competitively and that you have a back-up plan for when things go awry.”

Virtual and hybrid meetings come with their own set of possible problems. Courtesy of Erin Mills

Another way to prepare is to get to know your audience. Mills says planners should ensure the event registration process captures important information, including dietary restrictions, accessibility needs and even pronoun preferences, so you can provide for the safest experience possible, physically and psychologically.

Other questions to consider are: Have you fully contemplated the health and safety of your guests in such a way that you are minimizing the chances of an actual crisis once the event is underway? Have you thought through all issues around accessibility — and not just physical accessibility? Have you planned to accommodate attendees with neurodiversity issues who may be sensorially challenged?

Another important part of thwarting risk is ensuring you properly vet all event content in advance. Require your speakers to do table reads, outlines and share their slides or other content in advance to ensure you are philosophically aligned.

“Also, don’t fall into a ‘the-show-must-go-on mental trap. When met with adversity, it’s OK to pause, reassess and reconsider plans entirely, versus plowing through, as was done for years,” Mills says. “Lastly, don’t just have ‘a’ contingency plan. Often one is not enough. Expect multiple challenges and have multiple solutions at the ready. Having a Plan C and D may sound superfluous, and in the best-case scenario, you don’t need them, but you will have them there just in case.”

Proper training is paramount to ensuring a meeting planner weathers any event or meeting crisis. How your on-the-ground staff deals with risk is often going to be the most important factor in ensuring no problem with crisis-management scenarios.

“Often risk is never realized because it is intercepted by skilled event teams who know how to troubleshoot in real time, and who have been thoroughly trained,” Mills says.

She advises planners to ask themselves: Does my team have adequate context about the event, the audience(s), the goals and objectives? Do they know enough about the production at large to effectively solve a problem that may arise? Have they been spun through an FAQ? Have they seen the marketing material or attendee communications?

“Too often, producers keep details on a ‘need-to-know basis,’ which does little for the team assembled. Instead, treat them like a stakeholder and a guest all at once,” Mills says. “This creates vested ambassadors for the experience you’re producing, and for your clients themselves by sharing and communicating properly with your team.”

Cehrs adds that, although unfair, meeting planners are sometimes the last to know if there is a crisis going on because they are mired in logistics. Not knowing what’s happening makes it harder for meeting professionals to manage issues, and that can quickly spiral out of control. “Many times, the marketing and communications departments work in silos and don’t communicate issues to the meeting planner about things that could negatively impact the event,” Cehrs says. “Having a process in place for open and honest communications between departments can make all the difference. This requires a pre-planned letter to coordinate with the department heads in advance of the meeting or event.”

Crisis Management in the Virtual World

As more events offer a hybrid option, the chances of crises emerging within the virtual world is growing. Most often for virtual events, the crises revolved around technical issues. Did your speakers lose their Wi-Fi? Did your technology fail?

Connolly says if your speakers lose their Wi-Fi connection, most may have a back-up solution of using cellular data to call in and participate. “Others may not, so have that back-up plan of a “holding” slide in your presentation, or a rock star host who can jump in and talk for a few minutes while you get organized,” Connolly says. “Most importantly, you want to partner with a tech provider that you trust, a support team that will have your back and help you through any challenges during the live event.”

During any virtual event, Connolly recommends planners have skilled content moderators attending to the live chat and other real-time engagement mechanisms. Ensure they have pre-scripted talking points to steer conversations in the right direction, and a clear escalation protocol in place to deal with any unwelcome commentary.

“For virtual events in particular, everyone’s inclination is to mitigate technical risk — to create redundancies for dropped internet, plans for botched livestreams, solves for the poor tech of at-home presenters, etc.,” Connolly says. “While this is all important, it’s an incredibly short-sighted definition of risk, boiling it down to just the technical aspects of a virtual event. Event producers need to be as concerned with people fails as they are technical fails.”

That’s why Connolly stresses that planners need to understand that their job as producers is the psychological safety and well-being of attendees, serving them across many dimensions of diversity and providing access and inclusivity to all aspects of their events. The nature of virtual events, and the ability for participants to hide behind avatars and aliases, makes them inherently riskier than [live] events, relative to psychological safety. “To that end, I strongly encourage a clear code of conduct to be established and socialized in advance of — and again, during — a virtual event,” Connolly says.

Indeed, Cehrs points out that people are becoming more comfortable and can sometimes make inappropriate comments or ask difficult questions that can be seen by all attendees if not property managed.

“The ‘work-from-home’ lifestyle has made some people more isolated, and it can be triggering for attendees who ask questions and don’t get responses,” Cehrs says. “To account for this, make sure each question is accounted for, and if not answered in the virtual setting, follow-up after the event is concluded.” C&IT

Meeting planners should seek chances to boost their soft skills as well as their hard skills. Courtesy of Tracy Judge

Let’s say that after several years of working in your dream job as a corporate meeting and event planner for a Fortune 500 company, you’ve started to recognize your desire to enhance your current role, or perhaps explore career opportunities in a new company. But because you’ve been working diligently in your current role, you feel the need for some career development to make sure you stand out from the proverbial crowd and achieve your goals.

Today’s time-pressed movers and shakers in the meetings and events arena have many goals in mind, but the problem professional corporate meeting planners face — besides a tough job market — is knowing where to begin in their career development and how to stay on track.

Meeting planner Tracy Judge, MS, CMP, founder & CEO of Soundings Connect, a company created by meetings and events professionals for industry pros and companies that seek their services, points out that the future of the meetings and events industry is fluid.

“To stay relevant in today’s workforce, meeting industry professionals need to be intentional about their career development and take a more integrated approach to professional development,” Judge says. “As we have seen over the last few years, the hard skills needed to do a job can change very quickly. Soft skills like problem-solving, creativity, communication, adaptability and empathy help us manage change and are transferable to any job.”

At Soundings Connect, they weigh soft skills and strengths the same as technical competency when looking to place meeting and event talent in freelance roles with customers. For instance, a person can have expert knowledge of an event technology platform, but if they cannot collaborate with a team or communicate effectively, their likelihood for success is low.

Judge advises meeting and event planners to take a customized approach to their career development, keeping in mind that the career journey is no longer linear. Judge recommends meeting planners start by asking themselves the following questions: What am I passionate about? What are my strengths/soft skills? What experience/hard skills do I have? What problems need to be solved today and in the future?

“By answering these questions, planners can ideate and imagine where they see themselves in the future, and develop a customized career-development plan by incorporating experience, education, development of soft skills, mentorship and networking,” Judge says.

Marissa Long, director, talent development for The Opus Group, a provider of global event experiences, says professional development is important for everyone, but is especially important for meeting and event planners, as it’s such a unique role that requires various skills and knowledge.

“As planners, we often create an environment that facilitates learning and development opportunities for our attendees, and it’s easy to forget to carve out that same time for our own growth,” Long says. “Yet, we work in an industry that demands that we are ahead of the curve with trends, technology and health and safety needs. This is incredibly hard to do if we do not focus on our own development.”

Long further points out that planners work in an industry that is always changing, and planners are striving to create something even better than the last experience they created. In addition, they feel the direct impact of all world events.

“This means we are asking our teams to perfect their craft in an ever-changing environment. Meeting and event planners must be flexible, resilient and able to problem solve in-the-moment, all while striving to exceed the expectations of their clients and attendees,” Long says. “To do all of this in an ever-changing environment, we must create a culture of learning and growth to succeed.”

It’s no secret: The No. 1 way to boost your career is networking to create relationships. Courtesy of Elizabeth Sherry

Techniques To Use

Mark Herschberg, author of “The Career Toolkit: Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You,” agrees. “Suppose you have a really big event in six months, critical to the client’s success. Would you just wing it? Of course not. The best way to ensure success is to create and execute a plan. The same is true for our careers. If you don’t think you can successfully run an event in six months without a plan, how can you be successful in your career in six years without one?” Herschberg says. “Just as with event planning, the event itself will never go off exactly as planned, so, too will your career plan never quite work out as planned on paper — and that’s OK. As with events, planning alone may not guarantee success, but lack of a plan invites failure.”

According to Herschberg, career development for meeting and event planners begins with understanding your goals. Is there a role you want in the future? It doesn’t have to be a specific title, but could be a set of responsibilities or type of work. If you’re not yet sure, start by asking yourself a series of questions about your career plans.

“Once you know the desired goal, compare your current skills and experience to what is needed to qualify for that role,” Herschberg says. “You can then plan intermediate steps to build up your qualifications. This could be tasks and experiences in your current role, or intermediary roles to get you to your dream job.”

Herschberg further points out that, just like your event’s project plan isn’t written once, but is adjusted as you go, so too do you need to review and revise your career plan. “Right now, you can create a calendar event in your phone labeled ‘Update Career Plan’ and set it as recurring every three or six months. Now, you have a regular reminder to spend 30 minutes a few times a year to be intentional about your career plan.”

As with any role in the business arena, it pays to stay connected to others in the industry by attending networking events or connecting with constituents on LinkedIn, and industry groups and associations. As Judge explains, industry involvement has been critical to her career growth from both an education and networking standpoint. “Interacting with your peers in person and through online channels will give you more clarity on which way you should grow and enhance your ability to elevate your career,” Judge says.

So, what are some key career-development tools meeting industry experts would recommend planners consider? “The online assessment tool CliftonStrengths is based on the theory that we will be happier and more productive if we leverage our top five strengths in the workplace,” Judge says. “Planners wear many hats, and will strive to accomplish whatever needs to be done. Just because we are good at something, does not mean we are contributing at our highest value. By focusing on your strengths first, you can uncover strengths you may not be currently leveraging in the workplace and start designing a career path that brings you more fulfillment and success.”

Herschberg also advises corporate event planners to create a diverse network. Certainly, get to know meeting planners and others in your industry, but don’t just limit yourself to people in your own field. “Meeting planners have a great advantage in that you can meet lots of diverse people at your events. Simply walk up and introduce yourself as one of the organizers and talk to them,” Herschberg says. “You can ask what brought them to the event, what they like or don’t like, or things they’d like to see in the future. That’s the ice breaker, and from there, you can then get to know them and build a relationship. And remember that LinkedIn is no more networking than an old school address book is. Networking is about building relationships. The address book, and modern versions like social media, makes it easier to keep in touch, but it’s the keeping in touch and relationship building that is the essence of networking.”

Of course, one of the best things you can do is talk to other people about their careers. Ask them what do they like about it, or not like about it? Or ask what do they wish they knew earlier? “What advice would they give someone getting into the field? The more points of view you get, the more information you have to think through your own career,” Herschberg says.

Joining Groups is Great

According to Elizabeth Sherry, director of development and strategic partnerships at the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, it’s easy to forget to be involved and enhance your career when the grind has been immense for everyone over the last 30 months. “Thankfully, the meeting and event industry has a well-connected network. Planners are so fortunate to have access to associations like Meeting Professionals International (MPI), National Association for Catering and Events (NACE), International Live Events Association (ILEA), Twin Cities Wedding & Event Professionals (TCWEP), all which offer developed education and certifications or the opportunity to continue to build your network.”

She continues, “Professional development through accreditation and volunteering is not only easy to access, but expected. And as much as we are all friends in the industry, enhancing your professional and career development is a key way to have a leg up on your competition for coveted positions. I think it is essential that a planner keeps their finger on the pulse of the industry. It is easy to get preoccupied with the grind,” she says. “But to elevate your meetings and events career is to know folks in your network and the temperature of the industry. This is found at industry events, whether they have an educational topic or is just a networking function. All are playgrounds for collaboration and opportunities to gain knowledge.”

Sherry points to a couple of different avenues that can be explored to enhance your career and professional development. You have the option to add the alphabet soup behind your name such as CMP, CMM, CSEP, etc. by going through courses to add to your industry know-how and add validity to your name and experience. “You can volunteer and be on a board of directors. Or you can participate in leadership or mentorship programs to become a part of a cohort of like-minded individuals,” Sherry says.

But, overall, Sherry thinks the best industry tool meeting and event planners have access to is a simple handshake. Being able to meet people in person, learn from each other, collaborate with competitors on what works and what doesn’t, is the best tool in a planner’s tool box. “During the pandemic, like so many things were, this was disrupted and not easy to replace. But ‘just’ meeting folks in person is not enough, there needs to be the follow-up,” Sherry says. “And those great follow-up tools are LinkedIn, other relevant social media pages, being on top of email and using calendar tools like doodle or Calendly to schedule follow-up meetings.”

Long also stresses that it’s important for career development to have a multifaceted approach. Development plans should include opportunities to take courses that expand knowledge, time to connect with other professionals in the field and learn from their experiences, and opportunities to receive performance coaching. Career development plans should be future-focused tools to reach professional goals.

At Opus, they offer a variety of courses in leadership and relationship skills. They want to empower teams with the ability to navigate any situation, and collaborate both internally with teams and externally with clients and vendor partners.

“We also offer internal opportunities for our team to grow in their understanding of equity, diversity and inclusion, not only for our own culture, but to enhance the work that we produce,” Long says. “We are creating experiences that need to both represent our client’s culture and create a sense of inclusion and belonging for their communities. We also offer wellness workshops to help our team learn strategies to create a work-life blend that works for them, which is always a challenge in an industry like ours that often requires non-traditional working hours.”

Continuous Improvement

The biggest mistakes Judge sees planners make are underestimating their abilities, devaluing their experience and looking at their career path as linear.

“Do not get boxed in on what jobs are available or what the next career step should be,” Judge says. “Be creative and pitch the role you want and take the path you choose.”

Another mistake Herschberg points to is meeting planners just focusing on building a network of people only in their field.

“You might think, ‘Why would I need to network with a doctor?’ That doctor may join a hospital or medical practice that down the road will run events. She’s going to know lots of other doctors from her work, but how many event planners do you think she knows?”

Another common mistake is thinking that a career plan must be well defined or set in stone. “If you have a major conference in a year, you don’t know what exactly you’ll be doing on day 273 — and that’s OK,” Herschberg says. “You should be clear on what you need to be doing the next few weeks, and have some placeholders in the plan for months further out. Those future months will get clearer as you get closer to them and can be filled in with more details. The same is true for your career plan. Don’t worry about not having enough details or that it may change. The only mistake is to not plan in the first place.”

Looking ahead, Judge expects individuals within the meetings and events industry to take more responsibility for their own career development as opposed to relying on their employers. Communities will become the foundation for career development, offering members access to relevant education, industry relationships and mentorship. Modular learning will become a necessity to manage the pace of change, replacing traditional certification programs and courses.

Sherry thinks career development tools will evolve in a way where it is easier to stay connected. However, the more technology enhances, the easier it is to think that meeting virtually, or following someone’s updates, is the same as what an in-person connection creates. “There is nothing that replaces a good old-fashioned handshake and sitting down with someone to collaborate,” Sherry says.

And because many planners may only work on a select number of events in a year, any opportunity for them to experience an event they aren’t in charge of is a really good use of time. “We all need time to foster our creativity and keep up with industry trends. Our work provides connection opportunities for our clients, and it’s important for our development to make sure we also create space for our own growth,” Long says. “Getting involved with industry events and professional associations, attending networking events, or even subscribing to newsletters or podcasts that offer insights from a variety of business leaders can contribute to personal growth.” C&IT

New Orleans offers a blend of history, culture, cuisine and music that attracts planners and attendees alike. Photo by Justen Williams

After two-plus years of a global pandemic, event attendees are looking to be engaged in and inspired by the cities they visit. New Orleans is famously known as the home of the Mardi Gras festival, but also is a cultural hot bed for food, music and culture 365 days a year, making it an attractive city to host any event.

First and foremost, people come to New Orleans to have a good time. Even outside of Mardi Gras season, there’s always a party, festival or celebration.

Michael J. Sawaya, president of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC), notes New Orleans attracts people from all over the world. “Our history, culture, cuisine, music and festivals are just a few of the things that give the city its time-tested magnetism,” he says. “New Orleans is ‘Built to Host,’ with world-class accommodations, premier event spaces and a one-of-kind culture.”

One can head to the French Quarter and look at the quaint hotels and restaurants for an easy-going day, or listen to great jazz on Bourbon Street. “New Orleans is small and has a ton of bars and nightlife, but also has great upscale restaurants,” says Rhonda Bentzen, who has served as a coordinator on the board of an organization for more than a decade that has held many of their annual conferences in New Orleans.

“I have hosted meetings at The Ritz, as well as Windsor Court, both upscale properties and in the midst of ‘the action,’” she says. “Most people attend conferences for the social opportunities, thus being in the center of things with boundless restaurant opportunities does well. New Orleans is also easy and economical for most people across the country to get to.”

Francesca Vereb, recent V.P. of marketing for Cvent, notes, as many have discovered, New Orleans is a top tourism hub, as well as a great site for hosting meetings and events, both large and small. “With planners today looking to deliver more unique and experiential events for their attendees, New Orleans has a rich culture, which can be found in the city’s vibrant downtown area and its iconic French Quarter,” she says. “There are more than 22,000 hotel rooms concentrated in this area alone. Because of the hotels’ proximity, there are many that allow conference attendees to easily enjoy and explore city attractions while they’re in town for business.”

Year-round, when conference attendees aren’t in meetings, they can enjoy a unique-to-New Orleans shopping experience on Magazine Street offering a robust selection of locally owned boutiques. Meanwhile, art-enthusiasts can enjoy the Warehouse District, home to dozens of art galleries, cafes and bars. Then, in the evenings, conference-goers can head to places such as Harrah’s New Orleans — the city’s only land-based gaming establishment — which is conveniently located within walking distance from the NOENMCC. Not to mention Bourbon Street, which is of course known worldwide for its vibrant nightlife.

“Attendees can have completely different experiences depending on the unique city backdrop in which an event takes place,” Vereb says. “New Orleans is no exception. The city is famous for a culture that can’t be found elsewhere in the country. It’s an environment where jazz music, authentic Cajun food and a vibrant nightlife scene form the backdrop to events taking place all over the city. ‘The Big Easy’ is an exciting place to be.”

Thomas Samuels, president of Cardinal Expo, a full-service trade show and exhibit services company headquartered in New Orleans, notes the city is a great destination for event attendees because they can get incredible food all day long, have plenty to do outside of meetings, and easily get around the city.

“The most popular area for tourists is the French Quarter, where you can grab coffee and beignets from Café Du Monde in the morning before heading to your meeting, and find plenty of restaurants for lunch and dinner,” he says. “Visitors can walk around Jackson Square and see the painters and street performers, check out the St. Louis Cathedral, and take a tour in a mule-drawn carriage.”

In the evening, attendees can browse the shops — including voodoo shops — in the Quarter and visit art galleries on Royal Street, then later in the evening, get drinks on Bourbon Street or listen to live jazz on Frenchmen Street. They can also walk along the Mississippi Riverwalk, take a cruise on the Steamboat Natchez, or visit the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.

“If you want to venture outside the French Quarter, there are streetcars and buses that provide public transportation,” Samuels says. “We have a number of incredible museums, including the World War II Museum, for those who like history. For visitors who want to get in nature, we have City Park with numerous attractions, places to kayak and even swamp tours a short drive away.”

Samuels notes there are food festivals throughout the year, such as the Oak Street Po-Boy Preservation Festival; the Louisiana Seafood Festival; the Fried Chicken Festival; the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival; the Treme Creole Gumbo Festival; the French Market Creole Tomato Festival; and the Boudin, Bourbon, & Beer festival. During the holidays, there’s the Celebration in the Oaks. For event planners, this makes it easy to offer an incredible visit any time of year.

New Orleans offers a blend of history, culture, cuisine and music that attracts planners and attendees alike. Photo by Justen Williams

Where to Host

There is also no shortage of meeting spaces in New Orleans, with many clustered in the downtown area. Perhaps the most well-known convention center in the city is the aforementioned NOENMCC, the sixth-largest convention center in the country. The facility has undergone extensive restoration work and renovation updates, providing event planners with state-of-the-art amenities, including lighting and video and audio production technological features.

Sawaya notes NOENMCC offers the epitome of the hometown hospitality and professionalism you can only get in New Orleans. Drawing on the vitality of such a captivating setting, the NOENMCC is also stepping up its game, with major renovations designed to boost event bookings and improve the visitor experience.

“As part of our five-year $557-million capital improvement plan, we’ve completed several projects — including a 7-acre pedestrian park with more than 200 trees — and we’re working on more upgrades and renovations that will enhance the way our facility looks, feels and functions,” Sawaya says. “There’s also another big project underway in our convention center district. In partnership with … RDNI Investors, the NOENMCC plans to break ground on a new 39-acre mixed-use development, adjacent to the Convention Center, that will revitalize the riverfront as a hub of commerce.”

The property is set to include new dining, retail, housing and entertainment options. The new pedestrian park spans the length of the building, and features interactive water elements, live event spaces, public art installations and shaded gathering places. “Many groups have enjoyed using the covered porches for after-hours receptions, and we’ve received fantastic feedback from attendees,” Sawaya says. “It has been called one of the very best arrival experiences at a convention center anywhere in the country.”

The NOENMCC’s riverfront location gives visitors great access to the Warehouse Arts District, replete with hotels, restaurants, shops, art galleries, world-class museums, such as the National World War II museum, music venues and the world-renowned French Quarter.

“Convention attendees who are sports fans can easily enjoy a New Orleans Saints [National Football League] game or New Orleans Pelicans [National Basketball Association] game, while the theater-going crowd catches a show at the Saenger Theatre or enjoys our robust community-theater scene,” Sawaya says. “The fact that New Orleans is a popular vacation destination makes it ideal for convention attendees who like to add a bit of lagniappe [a little something extra] to the beginning or end of a business trip.”

But there’s more than the NOENMCC for meeting planners to choose. The recently redesigned JW Marriott New Orleans welcomes meetings at its historic French Quarter hotel, offering 505 guest rooms and 23,313 sf of meeting and event space, large enough for seating of up to 750 attendees.

Then there’s Smoothie King Center — where the Pelicans play — offering 21,250 sf of space and flexible seating configurations for up to 18,000; The Caesars Superdome, which offers more than 162,000 sf of floor space; plus countless restaurants and hotels that offer meeting space for groups and events.

New Orleans offers attendees the opportunity to experience a truly memorable event. Courtesy of Michael Sawaya

Successful Conventions

Just recently, New Orleans was the site of an international event, XeroCon 2022, hosted by the global small-business and software vending company Xero, where more than 1,000 professionals were able to gather to share ideas, discuss new technologies, and reconnect after the event was paused due to the pandemic.

“Throughout the duration of the conference, the event organizers worked closely with local representatives to ensure the event attendees were able to truly experience all that New Orleans has to offer,” Vereb says. “And in September, more than 18,000 members of the National Baptist Convention convened in the city. The current list of events and conventions coming to the city helps illustrate that New Orleans appeals to groups of all size — attendee counts range from 13 to 23,000.”

More recently, the NOENMCC hosted a conference for more than 18,000 water environment professionals, and the following week it welcomed more than 15,000 anesthesiology specialists.

“[Coming soon], the nationally acclaimed light festival, LUNA Fête, will return, making good use of our new covered porch areas and pedestrian park, followed by our favorite holiday event for locals and visitors — NOLA ChristmasFest,” Sawaya says. “Returning for its ninth year, NOLA ChristmasFest is an indoor holiday extravaganza with 300,000 sf of rides and a real ice rink. This dazzling, family-friendly seasonal event is the perfect opportunity to get into the holiday spirit and spread a little cheer.”

Hosting an event or convention in a well-known city like New Orleans can not only increase the number of attendees, but also improve ROE, or “Return on Experience.” “Optimizing ROE also means that planners must strive to balance both attendance quantity and quality; it’s not just about how large a crowd is, but also about ensuring that the right audience is there,” Vereb says. “Plus, ‘bleisure’ — the combination of business travel with a leisure component — prevails post-pandemic, and should be top of mind for planners and event organizers.”

More to Love in Louisiana

Baton Rouge has a plethora of interesting meeting spaces, including The Cook Hotel and Conference Center at Louisiana State University (LSU), which boasts 11,000 sf of meeting space encompassing nine conference rooms and banquet halls featuring the latest A/V technology. Meanwhile, the Ashley Manor Reception & Conference Center, set on 4.5 acres, can accommodate up to 500 attendees and features two banquet rooms.

Downtown convention hotels include Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center, which offers 16 meeting rooms and 34,000 sf of space; and the Raising Cane’s River Center complex, which features a 30,000-sf arena, two exhibition halls totaling 70,000 sf, and 21 meeting rooms totaling nearly 19,000 sf.

Further up in the northwest corner of Louisiana, the Shreveport-Bossier area may be less well-known than New Orleans, but it is a popular place for foodies, music lovers and gamblers, with six casinos in the area.

The top meeting place in the area is the 350,000-sf Shreveport Convention Center, which can accommodate large expos, state and national association annual meet-ups, corporate events, religious conferences, board meetings and sports events. It also has a 10,545-seat theater.

The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is LEED-certified, Gold. Courtesy of Michael Sawaya

Looking Up After the Pandemic

Like the rest of the country, New Orleans halted in-person events during the pandemic. For the better parts of 2020 and 2021, events have been largely virtual or had strict health and safety guidelines. However, more recently, interest in the city has been bouncing back. Through the first half of 2022, RFP volume to New Orleans through the Cvent Supplier Network was up nearly 150% year-over-year, and leaning into hosting larger events.

In fact, city officials recently met to update a pre-pandemic study to help map out a more than 600-room convention center headquarters hotel to help the city compete with other top convention destinations.

When pandemic lockdowns put a hold on in-person events, NOENMCC switched gears, using the downtime to make major facility upgrades, including investments to reduce its environmental footprint.

“We also took it as an opportunity to focus on developing our small and emerging business programs, to find new ways to bring in more minority and women-owned businesses, giving local small businesses more opportunities to prosper and grow alongside us,” Sawaya says. “But becoming more inclusive, diverse and sustainable is more than just the right thing to do. It’s also making us more competitive in the national event and meeting marketplace.”

As things are getting back to normal post-pandemic, business is strong. In the last quarter of 2022, the Convention Center will bring almost 185,150 visitors to New Orleans, who will stay an average of 4.9 days and spend an average of $1,034 each, representing more than $191 million in direct spending. “By the end of 2022, we expect business and attendance to be on par with pre-pandemic levels,” Sawaya says. “It’s an exciting time for the Convention Center and for the city as we strive to enhance and elevate New Orleans’ status as a destination and a place to do business.”

Unique Venues to Explore

The Cabildo is considered one of the most historically significant buildings in the U.S. Built between 1795 and 1799 to replace a structure that burned in the 1794 fire, the Cabildo served as the seat of government in New Orleans during the Spanish colonial period. Located on Jackson Square in the historic French Quarter, the museum continues to showcase the rich and colorful history of New Orleans and Louisiana.

The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France — better known as the St. Louis Cathedral — is the oldest Catholic cathedral in the U.S., having been built in the early 18th century. Still in use today, the church is open to visitors, and the site regularly holds free concerts at the nearby Catholic Cultural Heritage Center.

Being below sea level presented big problems for the people of New Orleans when it came time to burying the dead, which is why there are numerous historic cemeteries throughout the city, where the departed are entombed in elaborate marble chambers above ground. Lafayette Cemetery is the oldest of the seven municipal, city-operated cemeteries and houses immigrants from more than 25 different countries and natives of 26 states.

An event can often be considered successful only when attendees feel like they’ve learned something new, and their experience was valuable and unforgettable. And achieving just that is what many planners are working toward. New Orleans certainly has the right offerings to provide attendees with experiences that will be memorable for them long after the event ends. C&IT