Two Tensions Keeping Senior Event Professionals Up at Night October 26, 2023 by Dave Lutz According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), the business-to-business exhibition industry is still in recovery mode. The bad news is that full year performance for 2023 participation and revenues is expected to be 9.5% below 2019. The good news is that 2024 is expected to eclipse 2019 results by 3.6%. (One can only … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning
Creating Memorable Events with the Customer Journey Canvas: A Facilitator’s Guide October 2, 2023 by Sarah Michel This is a guest post by Diana Kander. Diane is a keynote speaker on curiosity and innovation and a New York Times Bestselling author. Her latest book, Go Big or Go Home, outlines five ways to create a memorable customer experience. The event planning industry is one of immense creativity, innovation, and personal touches. In … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning
Better Because We Will Be There September 12, 2023 by Sarah Michel Many of our clients have had to navigate unchartered waters as venue contracts (that were secured years ago) are now being questioned and challenged by members in states that have adopted discriminatory and women’s health laws that go against the mission and values of the association. In response, we posted this article back in April … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning
Improve Your Output by 10% with ChatGPT August 2, 2023 by David Beckett With AI and ChatGPT on the rise, event professionals now have a helpful tool that can elevate efficiency and improve work quality —and you don’t need to be an expert to harness its potential. Over the past few months, I’ve tested out real-world applications for leveraging the power of ChatGPT. Here are three work tasks … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Event Technology
Five Qualities of an Exceptional Event Project Manager June 6, 2023 by David Beckett Our last post, Key Vendor Service-Level Expectations, explored how the events industry is managing through a significant loss of experienced talent. We shared some strategies to help close the gap and navigate this new normal. In the fast-paced world of event planning, strong project management from your key vendors is essential for success. Before … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning
Key Vendor Service-Level Expectations May 25, 2023 by Dave Lutz Key vendors who service the events industry lost a great deal of experienced talent during the pandemic and they haven’t fully restaffed. Here’s how event organizers can ensure they are still getting the service they require. Catering and convention services managers, AV/production project managers/producers, general service contractors, and housing and registration service providers — these … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Event Technology
Anti-Discrimination Resources for Associations April 4, 2023 by Dave Lutz IStock Photo by Bulat Silvia Last year’s Supreme Court ruling that repealed Roe v. Wade, leading to some states legislating restrictive access to reproductive rights, are considered discriminatory practices to a growing number of professional associations. Some associations and meeting organizers are reevaluating their site-selection requirements for future meetings as well as how to mitigate … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association best practices, Conference site selection
Event Planning Has Risen in the Ranks of Most Stressful Jobs March 15, 2023 by Dave Lutz Before the pandemic, one could argue that jobs with life-and-death consequences were surely more stressful than planning an annual conference. But things have changed. According to a study by the World Scholarship Vault, event planner stress levels are hitting a new high — the third-most stressful job in the world for 2023. Meanwhile, nearly every article … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , annual meeting, conference, convention, event planner stressful job, high costs, lower revenue, stressful job
Making Up for Fewer Skilled Workers at Your Conference November 16, 2022 by Dave Lutz Throughout 2022, nearly every meeting service provider continues to be short-staffed and plagued by last-minute no-shows or insufficiently skilled workers. This is having a huge impact on event organizers and their teams during both planning and execution phases of events. More than ever, we need to be running several steps ahead — checking, double-checking, and … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference planning, Covid effects, labor shortage, no shows, short staff
How to Embrace−and Achieve−Goals to Increase BIPOC Representation at Your Conference March 2, 2022 by Betsy Bair Greater Public (GP), an association whose members are public media fundraisers from more than 240 stations across the U.S., plans the Public Media Development and Marketing Conference (PMDMC) each year, hosting NPR, PBS, and community media stations. After the death of George Floyd in late spring 2020, GP embraced the goal of improving its diversity, … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Experience Design Tagged With: , BIPOC, DEI, diversity, equity, inclusion
