Many of us attend meetings, events and trade shows multiple times each year. For those of us that host these meetings and events, we are continuously searching for ways to engage participants and improve the overall experience for our attendees. We strive to exceed their expectations in one or more
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After nearly 20 years on the hotel side of the hospitality industry, I have enjoyed the last 8 years as an independent meeting planner. The one part of meeting and event planning that I do not enjoy is the rush to sign contracts at month end, quarter end and year
Read more“Life is about moments; don’t wait for them, create them.” Anthony Robbins We all want to create meetings and events that our attendees are excited to attend and rave about afterwards. Recently, I have been reading some of Tony Robbins (motivational speaker, personal finance instructor, life coach and self-help author)
Read moreThanks to a recent trip with a group of young professionals in the hospitality industry, I have learned a new acronym, FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). The fear of missing out is discussed mostly among the younger generations. However, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we all suffer from
Read moreIf you are a corporate meeting planner or a meeting management company that works with corporate customers, you know that outside influences can impact your calendar of events. A few of my corporate customers have been going through mergers and acquisitions. With these reorganizations, comes the need to change the
Read moreI have attended several events this year and each presenter has highlighted the value of relationships to your overall success. This is especially true in the hospitality industry as we all need to work together to achieve a common goal…a successful meeting or event. Last month, I brought my team
Read moreI am writing to my fellow meeting planning professionals from the desk in my hotel room while on-site with one of my groups. This client was canceled by the originally contracted hotel and forced to find another location only eleven (11) months prior to their event. As I sit here,
Read moreI am writing this post from my hotel room in Atlanta while onsite with one of my customers for their event. The meeting kicks off later this week so we are in the unpacking, setting up and having some healthy discussions on ways to improve our productivity (professionally and personally).
Read moreBy Doug Baarman Why are we sharing this information? Your first question may be, why write an article about the biggest obstacles to outsourcing? We decided to address this topic directly because in the areas of planning and executing a successful meeting or event, we believe there are old
Read moreBy Doug Baarman I just returned from a cruise through the western Mediterranean with my family. We went to celebrate several of our significant birthdays as a ‘reward’ for reaching these key thresholds. It was an amazing experience and a wonderful celebration. On the topic of rewarding accomplishments, our ship’s
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