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Tips & Trends

Meeting planners are no strangers to specialty menus and dietary requests. Whether it’s medical concerns such as allergies and celiac disease, religious restrictions such as halal and kosher diets, or just personal preference, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.statista.com/chart/24791/share-of-americans-who-who-follow-nutritional-rules/">a significant portion of people follow a restricted diet of some sort</a>.
While it might not be possible to cater to every food restriction, a mindset shift might help you see menu planning in a different light: Think of menus not in terms of restriction, but in terms of inclusivity.
Whether someone’s dietary restriction is medical, cultural, or personal in nature, your job as a meeting planner is to deliver an event your attendees will remember—something that’s impossible if they’re not properly nourished. Read on to learn the basics of creating a menu that will make all your attendees feel included.

<h3>Talk It Out: Pre-Event Communication</h3>
<ul>
 <li>Ask your attendees what they need. If you’re not already asking attendees about dietary restrictions during registration, start now. It may be tempting to use an open text box to solicit preferences, but doing so can lead to misinterpretation. Instead, use a broad swath of opt-in fields (shellfish allergy, vegan, etc.) for attendees to clearly identify needs and use the text box to capture outliers.</li>
 <li>Give your hotel partner and catering team a heads-up. The more notice you can give them, the better, but codifying lead time into your contract can help avoid confusion down the line.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Get Thoughtful: Menu Planning</h3>
<ul>
 <li>Make inclusive foods the base. No one dish addresses all dietary needs and preferences, but beginning with an inclusivity mindset will lead you to meals that require fewer workarounds to satisfy the most people. For example, making all entrees plant-based—with an option for meat-focused add-ons—flips the traditional script of beginning with meat and putting vegetarians into the “other” category.</li>
 <li>Evaluate the most common allergens. While it doesn’t matter why your attendees can’t eat a certain food, allergies can be deadly. There may not be a need to eliminate the most common food allergies—peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, fish, eggs, milk, sesame, soybeans, and wheat—from your menu, but making them add-ons instead of the base of what you have available is considered inclusive.</li>
 <li>Look for crossover opportunities. Low-carb and gluten-free diets have a natural overlap, as do vegetarian and kosher menus (with a little planning). You don’t have to have a separate menu for every type of diet out there, just options suitable for all.</li>
 <li>Let delegates DIY. Buffets and semi-buffets allow guests to assemble particularly tricky elements of a meal. For example, a sandwich bar with different types of bread (including gluten-free) and fillings (with ample vegetarian and kosher options) or the classic salad bar.</li>
</ul>

<h3>The Big Day: On-Site Considerations</h3>
<ul>
 <li>Label everything. Empowering attendees to select the foods that are right for them removes a bit of the burden from you and grants them full transparency. Labels should include all ingredients, including the type of oil used in frying and sautéeing. Avoid making exaggerated claims, particularly around allergies and medically related claims. For example, don’t label a dish “gluten-free”—even if the dish doesn’t have any gluten-containing products—unless the kitchen that prepared it is versed in cross-contamination.</li>
 <li>Group sensitive foods together. At a salad bar, this might mean grouping nuts, seeds, and croutons at the end of the line, with plain vegetables up front. This also lessens the chance that people will use inappropriate utensils to transfer food to their serving plates.</li>
</ul>

Global

How to Give Delegates a Taste of Belonging, No Matter Their Dietary Needs.

Make Your Menu More Inclusive

Educate

When meeting planners think about accessibility, their minds might reach for visible cues of venue accessibility: elevators, accessible bathrooms, Braille signage.
You’re right to invest time in researching your venue’s accessibility—but the fact is, venues have their own experts who are in charge of making sure they’re addressing people’s needs. But unless you make your meeting’s programming accessible, some of your attendees might be left out.
Here’s a starter guide on how to incorporate accessibility planning into your programming before, during, and after your event.

<h3>What to Consider Before the Event</h3>
<ul>
 <li>Review all materials for plain language. Clear, concise language helps everyone, not just attendees with language processing difficulties. Icons, illustrations, and simple language will help you distill your messaging and give attendees what they need without confusion. (You can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/">start here with the U.S. government’s guidelines on plain language communication</a>.)</li>
 <li>Determine what your attendees and presenters need. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.respectability.org/inclusive-philanthropy/executive-summary/">Only 30% of nonprofit executives say that their event registration forms ask about accessibility and accommodation needs.</a> You can help up that percentage with pre-event surveys on event registration forms. Offering specific options can help signal that your organization is investing in accessibility, but if you don’t yet have a starting point, try issuing a blanket accommodations statement in your pre-event materials asking people to notify you about alternative formats, interpreters, and other reasonable accommodations by a certain date. Make sure to give a specific way to make those requests (e.g., email address or phone number).</li>
 <li>Figure out what equipment you’ll need. Your audiovisual and tech teams can help advise you on the types of equipment you will need to accommodate your attendees. For event-specific technology such as floor plans and networking tools, evaluate potential vendors with accessibility in mind.</li>
 <li>Use your hybrid tools for in-person meetings. Hybrid and remote meetings gave planners a wealth of tools that can come to life as accessibility helpers. One example: live captioning, now easily available with automated tools. A simple A/V setup can enable live captioning to help people who are hard of hearing follow the day’s events.</li>
 <li>Establish your personnel needs. Are you hiring sign language interpreters? Give them access to relevant programming materials beforehand, particularly if the material is technical. Is there a sensory room or another space dedicated to making meetings accessible to all? You’ll need someone to make sure the space is maintained. Consider designating one staff member as the accessibility chief who can manage and direct accommodations.</li>
 <li>Include your presenters. This means two things: Consider your speakers’ accommodation needs, and make sure they are aware of any accommodations you’re expecting them to make in their presentations.</li>
</ul>

<h3>What to Consider During the Event</h3>
<ul>
 <li>Account for real-time feedback. You can’t please everyone, and sometimes when attendees’ needs conflict, you might not even be able to fully accommodate everyone. But you can listen to everyone, keeping in mind that they are the experts on their own experience.</li>
 <li>Continue your plain language quest. Signage and materials should be easily accessible to all attendees. That goes for “live” communication, too: Make sure there’s a “translator” in sessions who can repeat and synthesize audience questions in Q&amp;A formats in a way that all attendees can easily understand.</li>
 <li>Gather your supplies. Tech and signage are already a part of your setup, but consider adding an “accommodations” section to your checklist. For example, having noise-canceling headphones available for attendees to borrow can help prevent sensory overload, as can having rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs to help guests remove perfume they may not have recognized is overpowering for some.</li>
</ul>

<h3>What to Consider After the Event</h3>
<ul>
 <li>Make all materials available. It’s easier than ever to make recordings and digital materials available after the fact. And just as with most forms of accommodation, making these materials available helps everyone. If an attendee needs to listen to a session again, it doesn’t matter whether it’s because she’s hard of hearing or conducting research.</li>
 <li>Ask what you can do better. Include questions about accessibility in your post-event surveys. Remember that ease of comprehension can be even more important in surveys; the easier you make it for attendees to fill out the survey, the more likely you are to get the information you need.</li>
</ul>

Accessibility Doesn’t Stop at the Front Door. Here’s How to Make Meeting Content Accessible.

Is Your Programming as Accessible as Your Venue?

Network

“You’ve been working with the same people for 15 years, so that might be all you know, but don’t be scared to take that leap.”

With 87% of meeting planners saying that their organization actively strives to make their events more diverse, equitable, and inclusive, planners need all hands on deck. That includes vendors and suppliers, who can bring diverse perspectives and offerings to your events.
But simply curating a list of vendors who fit a universal definition of “diverse” won’t accomplish your DEI goals. You need to find representative vendors, nurture relationships with them, and find ways to partner with them. In doing so, you’ll elevate the community, your events, and your operations.
“It’s important for agencies to understand that bias really does hurt their bottom line,” says Chivonne Hyppolite, founder and CEO of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.abstractelementsevents.com/">Abstract Elements</a>, an Atlanta-based event planning and production agency. Plus, at a time when a tight events market is leading to a shortage of meeting vendors, it’s the perfect time to expand your roster in general—and a cue to do so with an eye toward DEI. Here are nine ways you can develop stronger partnerships with diverse vendors, expanding possibilities for everyone.

<h3>1) Turn to the experts.</h3>
You can’t build relationships with vendors you don’t know exist. To find diverse vendors and suppliers, you can turn to the resources you already know, but with an eye toward diversity.
Meeting Professionals International, local chambers of commerce, state supplier diversity programs, local opportunity programs: There’s no shortage of outlets with the information you’re looking for. In addition to the local chamber of commerce, many regions have culturally specific commerce councils, such as state-affiliated Hispanic chambers of commerce and American Indian chambers of commerce.
“There’s always a woman-owned business,” Hyppolite says. “There’s always a business owned by a person of color or a veteran. There’s always a business that has people who look like me. Being purposeful in seeking them out is key.”
For a purpose-built resource hub, turn to <a target="_blank" href="https://ourbloc.com/">OurBLOC</a>, a platform by and for Black and minority-owned event vendors.
<h3>2) Ask the right questions.</h3>
As with any vendor, when you’re seeking out diverse vendors, you want to ask about their skills, strengths, and operations. But finding diverse vendors brings another set of questions.
Hyppolite suggests getting specific. Asking about how many women or people of color are on staff is a place to start—but not an end point. “How many women do you actually see on-site?” she recommends asking. “How many people of color do you have, and not just in your warehouse? How many of them are actually boots on the ground, producing and executing?”
Having a diverse team matters. Values do too. Hyppolite asks potential suppliers about their mission statement and values before committing. “Integrity is big for me,” she says. “And I really want to work with people who stand for integrity too.”
<h3>3) Show up for your vendors.</h3>
Building a diverse network of vendors isn’t just about hiring them. It’s about mutual service: discovering what they can do for your business, and what you can do for theirs.
“I will not do business with a firm whose work I have not seen,” Hyppolite says. “But to nourish those relationships, you’ve got to get to know them—their brand, their mission, their values, how they execute. You build those relationships by showing up for them. You do that by being present at their events. By being of service to them.”
Asking vendors whose work you don’t yet know what kind of events they’re best suited for can help you play matchmaker. “Don’t just send business their way,” Hyppolite advises. “Actually ask them what type of events they’re looking to do this year. Ask them how your services can be of value to their company.”
She cites an example of an audiovisual company she was excited to work with but hadn’t yet seen in action. She approached the company with a roster of events she was developing and told them, “I want to bring you in on the right project, and I want to use you on more than just a one-off basis. Are you willing?” From there, she and the company could figure out the right event to use as an initial partnership. The key was that she showed up for an emerging company by giving them options.
<h3>4) Shadow them before committing.</h3>
“I can’t think of any organization that wouldn’t be willing to allow somebody who’s interested in working with them to come and see how they do things on-site,” Hyppolite says. “You’re not their competitor; you’re their potential client.”
When you’re on-site with a potential vendor or supplier, observe how team members are communicating with one another and how they’re conducting client interactions. If you hire them, they’ll be reflecting your organization, so you’re looking for expertise and professionalism—while remembering that “professionalism” means different things to different stakeholders.
<h3>5) Have them shadow you.</h3>
If you haven’t had an opportunity to observe a team but are eager to try them out, see if you can bring in one team member as a part of your entourage for an upcoming event.
“People hire contractors all the time, and this is essentially that,” Hyppolite says. “It doesn’t have to be the whole team.” Even if a team member isn’t involved in strategy, bringing them in day-of allows you to see how that person is accustomed to communicating and responding to real-time situations.
It’s a lower-stakes trial that can help build mutual trust so that when it comes time for you to hire anew, you’ll have an idea of what you’re working with. “You’re not taking as much of a risk,” Hyppolite says.
<h3>6) Design a trial.</h3>
If you have an internal event or a smaller event on your docket, treat it as a trial opportunity for a new vendor. “You can let them know, ‘Hey, we’re doing this specific event on a trial basis, but I can get you in as a verified vendor, and I’d love for you to handle this so we can see how we work together.’”
This also gives them the opportunity to see how your team executes events, and to determine whether they’re comfortable with your working style.
<h3>7) Follow up.</h3>
Involving vendors in your own event postmortems benefits both of you. If the event was a raging success, celebrate together to build community and shine a light on team members who went above and beyond. And if, as with most events, there was also room for improvement? Sharing feedback helps vendors see where they can grow.
<h3>8) Pay your vendors fairly.</h3>
“Do not lowball them,” Hyppolite says. Especially when working with emerging vendors, you might be tempted to use it as an opportunity to get talent for a below-market price. Avoid that temptation. “Don’t try to squeeze them for every nickel and dime. They’re trying to make it as well.”
Pay transparency can go a long way toward ensuring equity. Review your past contracts to make sure you’re entering into your contract fairly, and be clear with vendors upfront about what you can pay.
<h3>9) Let them wow you.</h3>
It’s standard to ask for references, but you can go a step beyond. “It’s not just, ‘Oh, here’s a person I worked with,’” Hyppolite says. “Have them show you what they’ve done before. A lot of agencies will see that as an opportunity to show you what they’ve done before and what they’re capable of.”
Building a diverse vendor network may mean stepping out of the formula you’ve gotten used to—and that’s part of the joy of bringing diversity goals to life.
“There’s magic in collaboration,” Hyppolite says. “You’ve been working with the same people for 15 years, so that might be all you know, but don’t be scared to take that leap.”

Find Magic in Collaboration—Outside of Your Roster.

Nine Ways to Build Partnerships With Diverse Vendors

If you’re like <a target="_blank" href="https://globaldmcpartners.com/sites/default/files/media/files/GDPPulseSurvey2022Q4/2022_GDP%20Q4%20Pulse%20Survey%20Summary%20Report.pdf">45% of meeting planners</a>, you’re working with a flat budget from last year—or a smaller one—but are being asked to produce the same quality of event. One area you might be loath to touch is your audiovisual budget. With good reason: Poor sound or visual quality can make even the most brilliant programming feel dull.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t dig deep to find savings. Read on for three ways to make the most of your A/V budget.

<h3>Plan ahead.</h3>
Starting early is hardly a groundbreaking tip for professional meeting planners. But particularly for tech-shy meeting planners, it’s easy to keep your A/V needs vague until the last minute or to trust that if there’s sound and screens, it’s all good.
That leaves money on the table. When you account for your needs well in advance, you’re better able to <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/481/five-tips-for-better-communication-with-your-tech-team">communicate with your tech team</a>, which can then rightsize your equipment and staffing needs. Start by knowing your priorities so you’ll understand when you truly need top-of-the-line equipment and when any old speaker will do, helping you avoid the trap of panicking and splurging on high-end equipment where it’s not necessary. Plus, you’ll avoid stressing out your tech team with last-minute requests, which may make them more willing to work with you on figuring out how to get the best value for your budget.
<h3>Schedule your sessions wisely.</h3>
Beginning and ending the day with a plenary session makes a certain sort of sense—get attendees jazzed up for the day’s events, then bring them together to seal in all they’ve absorbed. Trouble is, that can be pricey.
“One of the biggest money-wasters is the general session sandwich,” says <a target="_blank" href="https://www.brandtkrueger.com/">Brandt Krueger</a>, a veteran production manager in the meetings and events industry. “You know, you get the 12 people for the crew to come in and do the general session first thing in the morning, and then they sit around all day because you’re doing breakouts, and then they have to come back at four o’clock for a one-hour closing general session. So now you’ve got a full 12-person crew on all day.”
Opening up the day’s end for other types of events not only releases your A/V crew early, it can also provide more breathing room for attendees. Small-group networking, off-sites, or even an early release can be a budget-saving, attendee-friendly option.
<h3>Know exactly what you’re getting.</h3>
The price tag is one thing; the value you’re getting is another. If you’re working with an independent A/V provider, they may offer services that you might be searching for elsewhere—or already paying your venue for—such as stage management and visual design. If you’re working with your venue’s A/V team, your payment may include things like Wi-Fi. But without examining your contract and asking questions, you could wind up double-paying or missing an opportunity to bundle services.

Rule #1 Goes Beyond A/V, Too.

Three Ways to Rescue Your A/V Budget

Maybe you determined your sustainability goals on your own. Maybe you collaborated on them. Maybe they were handed down to you, and you’re just making the most of them.
But however your sustainability goals came to you, achieving them isn’t a one-person job.

“The reality is that no one can achieve sustainability goals independently. It requires a really deep level of collaboration between event organizers and event suppliers—and I would add in their event participants as well. All of those need to be working together to achieve sustainability goals.”

Here’s how planners can better work with vendors and suppliers so that everyone comes out ahead, Mother Earth included.
<h3>Know what to expect from vendors at various stages.</h3>
A vendor might be just as committed as you are to environmental goals, but their commitment might show up differently than you would expect. “There’s a disconnect between planner and supplier expectations,” says Mariela McIlwraith, president of Meeting Change, a meetings and events consultancy focusing on the strategy of social and environmental sustainability. Buyers often expect to see sustainability information without having to ask for it, but vendors don’t necessarily volunteer that information.
Planners can help close the communication gap by asking for sustainability information instead of assuming that it doesn’t exist unless it’s proactively presented. Suppliers should be able to answer basic questions about energy use, water use, and waste, even if they don’t yet have full-blown reports showcasing that data.
At the same time, meeting planners should also recognize that RFPs can be time-consuming for vendors, and that expecting all sustainability data at once may not be realistic. “You might find that it’s challenging to get the response rates that you want,” McIlwraith says. Consider a two-step process instead. The first step is aimed at eliminating vendors that don't fit general sustainabilty needs. In round two, you can dive into more detail around sustainability goals.
Once you’re past the RFP stage, make sure that the sustainability conversations you’ve had with various players are aligned and reflected in the contract. “Sometimes you’ll go from a conversation with the sales department to the service department, and you want to make sure you’ve created a way for expectations to be communicated all the way through,” McIlwraith says. Embedding them into the contract can help keep sustainability top of mind for all players.
And remember that environmental goals don’t end with the event itself. “It’s really important that communication carries through all the different stages of the relationship with a partner,” McIlwraith says. Post-event data related to sustainability can help you and your vendors understand attendees’ needs as you plan for the next event. Reach out to vendors for any post-event data they may have collected, and share your own.
<h3>Be receptive.</h3>
If there were a singular way to achieve event sustainability, we’d all be doing it. But there isn’t—and that’s a benefit, not a drawback. Keeping your eyes on the goal can be more important than the nitty-gritty of how that goal is executed.
“I think it’s important to find that balance between being overly prescriptive and allowing a little creativity and a bit of latitude in how a goal is achieved,” McIlwraith says. Let’s say one of your goals is reducing food waste. You may believe that using compost bins is the answer, but a vendor might have other established procedures or options to consider like using modified menus or smaller plates. Allowing your partners to be as nimble and flexible as you are lets you learn from one another and find shared opportunities to achieve your mission—and, potentially, new ways to get there that each of you can bring to future partnerships.
<h3>Find the person with passion.</h3>
“One of the things I always look for is somebody within the organization who has a passion for sustainability,” McIlwraith says. “That energy can’t be replaced. Finding somebody who is super excited about this goes a long way toward ensuring that the priorities are being met.”
Everyone you come into contact with as a vendor has a responsibility to live up to their public sustainability claims. But when you’re trying to go deeper, attempting something new, or establishing new protocols, the additional spark brought by a change-maker’s passion can be the catalyst for true change. That person can be the internal driver, watchdog, leader, or liaison, depending on their role within the organization.
Having your eyes open for this type of person may be enough to spot the right candidate. But if no one is emerging, get creative. “I like to ask open-ended questions around sustainability,” McIlwraith says. “Like, ‘Tell us about a time when you engaged in sustainable practices in order to support a client’s event.’ Let them tell you an engaging story, and you can follow their cues from there.”

<h3>Be on greenwashing alert.</h3>
The phrase “We have environmentally friendly practices” sounds nice—but it doesn’t actually mean anything. When you see a vague claim that’s not backed by any sort of certification or third party, or that eschews specific goals in favor of ambiguous language, investigate. It could be that the vendor is not communicating its sustainability practices effectively, or it could mean that the vendor hasn’t yet made the kind of commitments you’re looking for in a partner.
Transparency is also part of the picture. In fact, depending on the goal, transparency may be more important than accomplishments. “I look for what they’re telling us isn’t quite 100% there yet,” McIlwraith says. “What are they working toward? That helps me build confidence in their sustainability practices, because everyone has something that they’re working toward.”
<h3>Remember that we’re all in this together.</h3>
Just like you, your vendors don’t have it all figured out—and that’s OK. It’s an opportunity to work together and problem-solve, which is part of the reward.
“We’re all figuring it out together,” McIlwraith says. “There is this monumental challenge ahead of us to address all aspects of sustainability, whether you’re talking environmental sustainability or social justice sustainability, and I don’t think anyone has all of the answers. So let’s all recognize that we’re on this journey together and share what we know. That’s how we improve.”
One way to do that? Have fun. “So much of what we do is challenging, but sustainability really can be fun,” McIlwraith says. “That ability to do something really fun and creative inspires me to do more. It’s almost like a renewable energy source in and of itself.”

Change-Makers Don’t Work Alone.

How to Talk With Vendors About Your Sustainability Goals

Maybe you have a full-fledged production team; maybe you’re just working with the general email address at an event management app (and little else). No matter the size and scope of your technology support, your event’s success will soar if you’re better able to communicate with the tech and production experts who help bring your event to life.
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.brandtkrueger.com/">Brandt Krueger</a>, a veteran production manager in the meetings and events industry—and a communication specialist in his own right, as tech correspondent for Smart Meetings and host of <a target="_blank" href="https://audio.eventtechpodcast.com/">Event Tech Podcast</a>—shares his top tips for planners who want to communicate more effectively with tech teams.

I always tell planners, ‘You can speak in your terms.'

1. Be Comfortable Asking Questions
Production teams don’t expect you to come in with their expert level of knowledge. But they do expect you to be able to communicate your needs, and asking questions is an integral part of that. It also helps ensure that you’re being understood correctly. Asking questions can help avoid misunderstandings down the road, and can help keep your budget on point too.
“If there’s a piece of gear on your bid and you don’t know what it is, you should absolutely ask about it,” Krueger says. “You can ask, ‘Is this something that we need?’” You don’t need to know every functionality of every piece of equipment on your production company’s bid. But you do need to know whether it’s necessary.
And if you’re getting resistance about your questions? “That’s a huge red flag to me,” Krueger says. “If they’re in any way cagey about it or come back at you with a bunch of technical mumbo-jumbo, they might be trying to take advantage of you or something along those lines. They should be able to explain every single piece of equipment and why you’re paying for it in a way that makes sense. Same with software. And if they can’t, maybe they’re not the right fit.”
2. Have Confidence in Your Core Skills
Remember one of the principal traits of successful meeting planners (that’s you): versatility. You’ve had to learn about catering, hospitality, programming, communications, executive priorities, and more. If you take a little time and learn the bare-bone basics of how your gear works, that will be enough to communicate with your tech teams.
Unsure about that? Look back at how your skills came into play in the biggest shakeup the meetings industry has ever seen. “Going into the pandemic, we had all these seasoned planners who were great at in-person events, and for some reason they thought their skill set didn’t apply to remote events,” Krueger says. “And it did apply. You have 20 years of evaluating vendors, you’ve got your own sniff tests, and you can apply all of those skills to when you’re choosing a virtual platform or an online vendor. It took some getting over that hump for planners to remember, ‘OK, I do have these skills.’” The same principle applies to event tech. You know more than you think you do.

3. Know What Needs to Happen—and Let Your Team Get You There
You’re the expert in what needs to happen for your event to be a success. Your production team members are the experts in actually making it happen. Starting from your mutual points of expertise can lead to stronger collaboration and less confusion.
Krueger has seen planners cut-and-paste equipment lists from other shows and hand them over to their team, thinking that they’re supplying useful information. “I would rather have a planner approach any event technology company with what they’re trying to do than with a cut-and-paste gear list that might not be what they actually need,” he says. “Most A/V people would rather know more about the show and then figure out how to make it happen.”
For example, if you’re discussing audio needs for a panel event, your production team needs to hear from you how many people will be sharing the stage, not your stab-in-the-dark guess at how the stage needs to be wired.
Take the time to walk your production through the entire course of the event and consider your needs at each point to avoid last-minute realizations that create A/V or tech emergencies. “Are we going to have music? That’s one audio output,” Krueger says. “Are we going to have video playback? That’s another. The technical terms would be stepping through your inputs and outputs. But for the layperson, you’re stepping through the things that need to go onscreen and the things that need to make noise.” Defining these beforehand instead of realizing 10 minutes before the event starts that you’ll need entry music will help you create the ambiance you’re after.
 
4. Use Your Own Words
One specific callout of letting your tech team be the tech experts: If you don’t speak their language, don’t try to fake it.
“I always tell planners, ‘You can speak in your terms,’” Krueger says. You might think you’re being helpful by using the language of the person you’re talking with. But unless you can say with confidence what the term you’re using actually means, you might wind up causing more confusion than communication.
And as the adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. If you’re communicating with a production team member remotely, take pictures or screenshots of what you’re looking at.
 
5. Share What You Know, When You Know It
Meeting planners are known for trying to make things as easy as possible on everyone else. Take care not to let that translate to holding back information that could help your production team better collaborate with you.
“Sometimes planners hold information too close to the vest—they’re like, ‘Well, it’s not set in stone, so I don’t want to give wrong information,’” Krueger says. “But we all know that things change between the RFP and the day of production. Don’t be afraid to give us what little information you have as early as possible, even if it’s possible that it’ll change.”
In fact, inviting your production team into your venue visits, or even the venue negotiation process, can help you anticipate your needs in areas that don’t appear to be technical at first. “Let us help you,” Krueger says. “Meeting planners are looking at the beautiful resort and the food and spas and amenities, so let us look at the power setup and the freight elevator. If you’ve got the most beautiful resort in the world but it takes you an hour to push from the loading dock to the ballroom, that’s something you’re going to need to know.”

You Don’t Need to Talk Tech to Talk With Tech Experts.

Five Tips for Better Communication With Your Tech Team

Promote

Flagship events—annual meetings, biannual expos, major conferences—have their place. But a new trend is emerging that amplifies the power of host organizations, and the power of community.
Meet “everyday events”: smaller, more frequent touchpoint meetings. These everyday events—which can be as short as a half-day in duration—are on a smaller scale than what many planners might be used to, and not just in attendance. They have smaller budgets, more focused goals, and more limited time for promotion. But just because they’re smaller doesn’t mean they carry less weight.

<h2>It’s Time for “Everyday Events” to Shine</h2>
Research from the sales event platform Splash shows that people need to interact with a brand nearly 30 times before actually making a purchase—a number that’s increased more than 60% in just two years.
Regardless of whether your event is sales-focused, this emerging phenomenon has a place in your meeting strategy. There’s more information available than ever before, so to drive loyalty—whether in sales, membership, or attention—purpose-driven frequency is key.
Touchpoint events also have the potential to address one of meeting planners’ 2023 pain points: availability. Finding availability for events was planners’ No. 2 challenge in <a target="_blank" href="https://globaldmcpartners.com/sites/default/files/media/files/GDPPulseSurvey2022Q4/2022_GDP%20Q4%20Pulse%20Survey%20Summary%20Report.pdf">a recent survey</a> by Global DMC Partners. It might seem counterintuitive that more events can help relieve this pressure, but because everyday events are shorter in duration, planners can take advantage of one-day slots at venues and in supplier schedules, which are easier to come by.
Finally, there’s the human factor. The tumult of the past few years has attendees reevaluating the big picture—and yearning for connection. Hosting smaller, more frequent events allows people to nurture that instinct. And if that instinct turns into a loyal attendee for flagship events? All the better.

<h2>Four Principles for Creating Successful Touchpoint Events</h2>
1. Lean into what makes an everyday event special. If you approach a touchpoint meeting as a miniature version of an annual conference, you’ll be overwhelmed and attendees won’t get what they need. Instead, remember your mission for these events.
Intimacy-building. Creating a pipeline of communication. Fostering connections that go beyond networking and into collaboration. Large meetings can achieve these goals, but everyday events are crafted specifically for them. Let that guide your attention and your resources.
2. Frequent meetings require frequent communication. Potential delegates can easily be overwhelmed with emails and text blasts about events, and overdoing it risks drowning out communications about larger, revenue-building events. That said, the nature of everyday events means that attendees who might be interested but can’t make the first few iterations might be able to attend later ones.
Social media can hit the right tone and frequency about touchpoint events without overwhelming attendees. <a target="_blank" href="https://marriottbonvoyevents.com/news-and-highlights/article/422/perfect-the-art-of-the-hashtag">Strategic hashtags</a> can help you subtly avoid confusion among followers about the difference between flagship events and these smaller ones. Also consider a unique branding for these events—an “unplugged” version (softer colors, less flashy typefaces) of your larger event communications can help get the point across.
3. Get experimental. Everyday events aren’t incubators for larger events. That said, their smaller scale allows you to try out new formats and new suppliers with less risk. You can even use everyday events as a pressure test for themes and topics for upcoming conferences and panels, inviting attendees at the smaller events to share their experiences with the “trial-size” version on your social channels to generate excitement for larger meetings. (Who doesn’t love feeling like an insider?)
The smaller format also lets you better connect with attendees to hear their feedback. Post-event surveys are always useful, but these smaller events are also a space for casual feedback, because you’ll have less going on during the event itself. Let attendees tell you what they want to see, what worked, and what didn’t—not just for potential use in upcoming larger events, but to inform your strategy for your next intimate gathering.
4. Choose your team wisely. Touchpoint events are a lighter lift for you and your team, but they still require a good deal of communication. This shows in what marketers report as the No. 1 problem with repeatable events, <a target="_blank" href="https://go.splashthat.com/rs/985-MUN-268/images/2023-events-outlook.pdf">according to Splash</a>: coordinating across departments.
Think of your team as a task force, with each member selected for a specialized skill. When assembling your task force, look for people who are adept at creating systems that can pseudo-automate the logistical planning that goes into these events, people who don’t need a lot of hand-holding, and people who might thrive on having a pet project. Everyday events are an opportunity for early-to-mid-career meeting planners who have enough experience to know what success looks like and how to get there, so keep an eye out for eager employees who are at that point in their careers.

Are More Frequent Meetings the Answer to Planners’ 2023 Woes? Surprisingly, Yes.

Small Meetings, Big Impact: The Power of “Everyday Events”

Any savvy shopper knows that there’s a difference between price and value. There are ways for meeting planners to negotiate the best price on a venue, but it’s equally important to know how to determine the true value of a venue during the discovery phase. When speaking with potential venues for your next event, it helps to be armed with questions that allow you to dig deeper.
“It’s really important to ask a few things in the sourcing time period,” says Kara Dao, COO at <a target="_blank" href="https://jdc-events.com/">JDC Events</a>. “Properties want to disclose as much as possible to a planner, so ask it all directly.”
There are questions that give you the core parameters of a venue (cost, capacity, facilities, etc.), but the goal of the preliminary questions below is to uncover what might not be shared up-front. This doesn’t mean trying to extract inappropriate value from venues or to drive down the price of their services. Instead, it’s about asking the questions that will give you the full picture so you know everything that the venue has to offer.
Consider these five questions to get more value from venues.
<h3>Value-Driving Question #1: “Can You Explain the Specifics of Your Accessibility Efforts?”</h3>
You want your event to be enjoyable and available to all who attend. To that end, ask the venue how it accommodates people with physical limitations. Expect to get information on features such as ramps, elevators, automatic doors, wheelchair entrances, ADA-compliant restrooms, handicap parking, and on-hand staff to help attendees. Then, you can share this information with attendees before the event so that they’re prepared.
Another question to ask in terms of accessibility: “Are there any renovations happening currently?” You could find that certain accommodations are temporarily unavailable or that accessible entrances are affected.
<h3>Value-Driving Question #2: “How Many Other Groups Are You Hosting at the Same Time as My Group?”</h3>
Dao points out the importance of knowing what level of support you’ll be getting from the venue’s staff and how that might impact your event. That way, you’ll know that on-site staff will be there to help manage registrations, monitor service quality, assist if any problems arise, and support breakout sessions or other activities.
“What you really want to know is, ‘Who else am I competing with for those individuals’ attention? And what’s the impact of that?’” Dao says.
<h3>Value-Driving Question #3: “What Additional Fees Will I Be Charged?”</h3>
In some cases, Dao says, add-on fees have increased since the pandemic due to additional costs of keeping venues safe, and meeting planners need to be aware of them. Dao recommends being direct when asking this question, assuring venues that they won’t be eliminated as a choice out of hand because of add-on fees, but making it clear that you need to know so you can plan your budget accordingly.
<h3>Value-Driving Question #4: “What Can This Venue Offer That Nobody Else in Your Area Can?”</h3>
Of course you want your event to be special, so ask venues what makes them special. Venues will be eager to talk about their unique services that make them stand out above the rest.
<h3>Value-Driving Question #5: “What’s the Realistic Comfortable Capacity in Your Meeting Spaces?”</h3>
There’ll be a maximum capacity listed, but getting clarification on what the venue recommends could help you make attendees comfortable.
“Venues often want to present a large number but are not compensating for things such as a large space for AV to set up or an expanded stage or social distancing,” Dao says. “Diving into what those numbers actually look like in implementation is important.”

Getting the Full Picture of a Venue Is the Key to Picking One That’s Right for Your Event.

Five Questions That Will Give You More Value From Your Venue

By now, you’re probably an expert at communicating COVID-19 protocols to your attendees. But a recent survey from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) shows that for people who are traveling to events, that information might not be quite enough.
The GBTA <a href="https://www.gbta.org/blog/travel-program-communication-during-covid-19-and-beyond-what-business-travelers-want-to-know-and-how-they-want-to-hear-it/">surveyed</a> more than 500 business travelers about their communication needs in today’s ever-changing travel environment. The results: Nearly half of all business travelers say they need more COVID-specific travel information of some sort. The issue isn’t necessarily that the information isn’t available to them; it’s that the information is spread out, forcing meeting attendees to learn what they need piecemeal from a variety of sources.
Give your attendees what they need to know in one consolidated place, and you’ll prime them to enjoy your meeting without worry—which sets up your event for success. Here’s what to include:
● &nbsp;Regional information.What is the current COVID-19 situation in the region where the meeting will be? What local regulations do attendees need to know about masks, limited capacity, and changes in local service? What are the entry requirements for the host country?
● &nbsp;Travel partners’ COVID-19 policies.Airlines, airports, <a href="https://clean.marriott.com/">hotels</a>, restaurants, shuttles, car rental outlets, ride-sharing and taxi services—42% of business travelers say they want more information on what travel suppliers are doing to reduce the spread. You don’t have to include the policies of, say, every single airline that serves your destination, but if your event has designated or preferred travel suppliers, include information from them. Let your attendees know two things: 1) what actions they need to take to use these suppliers (such as wearing face coverings or showing proof of vaccination), and 2) what travel suppliers are doing to protect their staff and their customers (such as sanitation efforts and vaccination policies).
● &nbsp;Emergency resources.What should attendees do if they test positive for COVID-19 after the event? What should they do if they start experiencing symptoms during the event? Who should they contact, and what steps do they need to take to protect all attendees?
● &nbsp;Your event’s COVID-19 policies.Chances are, you’re already including these details in your communications. But including your policies in a larger set of information about travel suppliers and regional guidelines will give your attendees everything they need to know in one place.
As for the medium, business travelers prefer email, with 81% saying that email is one of the top five communication modes they want their own companies to use when sharing COVID-19 information. But text messaging was up there too, at 51%. And tech-savvy planners who have an event-specific app should take note: Business travelers prefer text messages over push notifications.
With the passing of each day, we’re inching toward normalcy. But until we’re truly out of this pandemic, comprehensive communication will help set your attendees’ minds at ease — helping you bring people together with care.

A recent survey shows that while there’s no shortage of COVID-19 information, travelers are still having to search for what they need to know. Here’s how to close that gap.

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