Essential Event Crisis Management Tips for Planners

Event planners know that no matter how perfect the run-of-show looks on paper, chaos has a way of sneaking in through the side door. Flights get canceled, Wi-Fi drops out, the forecast changes without warning. In an era of climate unpredictability, tech hiccups and global travel disruptions, adaptability has become the planner’s ultimate superpower.

As Princess Castleberry, a global speaker and enterprise risk-management expert with more than two decades of experience, puts it: 

“When I think about disaster-proofing, my mind just goes to the worst scenario. You have to be ready for anything—and that means thinking ahead, building relationships and not being afraid to plan for the unthinkable.”

Here, pro tips on how to manage the unexpected.

Budget for the What-Ifs

For Nicole Osibodu, co-founder of Club Ichi, a private membership community for B2B event marketers, her most unforgettable crisis came just before her team’s biggest event to date. 

“Forty-eight hours before we were supposed to leave for New York—80 people flying in, hotels booked—we got scammed,” she recalls. “Someone changed a routing number in an invoice email. We wired everything we had left, and the venue called to say they hadn’t received it. I can’t even describe that moment—you just freeze.”

With the FBI involved and the event clock ticking, Osibodu’s team scrambled to piece together funds from credit cards and personal loans to keep the show on track.

“We made it happen,” she says, “but that experience taught me that you have to have contingency money. You don’t think about it until you’re in that position, but it’s the first thing I tell planners now.”

Building a financial cushion for emergencies—whether it’s a storm, a lost shipment or a last-minute cancellation—can be the difference between crumbling and triumphing under pressure.

Make Safety Part of the Program

When it comes to event planning, safety is often overlooked in favor of the more obvious details, such as budgets, weather and logistics. However, Castleberry, whose background in risk management informs her perspective, says, “It’s not just stadiums and domes that are targeted. It could be a 300-person event. You have to have relationships with local law enforcement and venue security, and you need to make that part of your event plan.”

Castleberry recalls attending two large conferences this year, each with thousands of attendees but vastly different safety protocols. “One had the strictest security I’ve ever seen—no purses and metal detectors. It was inconvenient, sure, but we all felt safer,” she says. “At another event of the same size, there were no checks at all, and I kept wondering, where’s the security?”

Communication, she emphasizes, is key to making attendees feel safe and informed. “Tell people what to expect before they arrive,” she adds. “If you know they’ll have to check a bag, say so ahead of time. People are fine being inconvenienced if they understand why.”

Prepare Your People

Risk planning doesn’t stop at logistics; it includes your event team too. 

“Basic safety training matters,” Osibodu says. “Everyone should know where the defibrillator is and how to use it. Even simple CPR training can save a life.”

And a well-trained staff can be a planner’s greatest safety net.

“Key personnel matter,” Castleberry says. “You can’t control every variable, but you can control how prepared your team is when something happens.”

That preparation extends to communication, especially when emotions run high. Planners often face a fine line between taking ownership and over apologizing when things go wrong. “Own it,” Osibodu says. “You can lean into a situation without apologizing. Acknowledge what’s happening and show how you’re handling it.”

Build for Comfort, Not Just Crisis

While disaster-proofing often focuses on emergencies, “mini-disasters” can also derail an experience and cause stress . For Castleberry, that means thinking holistically about attendee wellness.

“Disastrous doesn’t always mean dramatic,” she explains. “It could be not enough water, not enough downtime, not enough accessibility. You have to think about how people feel. Decision fatigue, overstimulation—it’s all part of taking care of them.”

She references the idea of “participant ease,” ensuring attendees have room to breathe between sessions or access to quiet spaces when needed. “If you want people to connect deeply, they also need space to rest,” she says.

Rookie Mistakes—and How to Avoid Them

If you’re a first-time meeting planner , you’ll need to be even more vigilant about thinking through all the possible meeting pitfalls in advance, specifically building in sufficient time and having a short-list of people to call when and if something goes wrong.

“A lot of new planners misjudge time,” Osibodu says. “They don’t leave enough buffer between sessions or account for delays in setup. That’s when the cracks start to show.”

“And they don’t think about relationships,” adds Castleberry. “In a crisis, you need people you can call—venue partners, local vendors, law enforcement. You don’t want to be introducing yourself in the middle of an emergency.”

Building those relationships early, especially with your venue, pays off when the unpredictable happens.

From Chaos to Confidence

Chaos is inevitable, but catastrophe isn’t.

“Begin with the end in mind,” says Castleberry. “Think about how you want people to feel— safe, cared for, relaxed. Every decision should support that.”

And when things go sideways? “Stay calm and creative,” says Osibodu. “There’s always a solution. It might not look like your original plan, but it can still be amazing.”