Inspiration Hub

According to many economic assessments, including this one, the financial impact of COVID-19 is being felt in the travel and hospitality industries first. Unfortunately for meeting planners, this means that some are facing a period of intense scrambling to postpone an event or move it online; for others, it means a period of un- or underemployment.

Closing big deals are usually a cause for celebration, but when John Ayo closed a deal while working for IBM, Ayo simply didn’t feel good enough to celebrate. He went to a doctor, and after spending thousands of dollars, he was simply told, “It’s all in your head.” This disappointment led to his journey into alternative medicines.

Valuing experiences over material items has been a growing trend and shows no signs of slowing down, according to a recent Airbnb travel trend survey, What’s Next in Travel: Nature Treks, Trips to the Past and Conscious Dining, in which 57 percent of Americans said they prefer to spend on travel rather than things.

Welcome to this week’s #EventIcons, where we’ll discuss the topic of diversity and inclusion in events. And if you’ve been following us for a while, you know this isn’t new. Because we find this to be such an important conversation, we’ve covered it a few times already. However, things like diversity and inclusion in events will always remain extremely important. Plus, we’re happy to have as many perspectives as we possibly can on the matter.

As we are entering further into the year, we must take a look around us to see if we have the boundaries that we need for our lives put in place. Boundaries are limits, simple limits put in place to prevent us for going overboard. Also boundaries can be limits that are in place so that others do not interfere with them. Here are 10 boundaries that you should put in place right now to help you lead a more healthy and productive life.

We talk a lot about how to organise and market a great event, but where you hold it also has a huge impact on its success. Our latest Event Trends Report revealed the UK and Ireland’s events industry is experiencing a period of stability. However, 58% of respondents plan to hold more events, 37% think their event budget will increase and 27% believe their events team will grow in 2020 – these indicators of growth push event creators to think about how they might evolve their approach going forward, particularly when finding a venue for an event.

Keeping on top of everything in the run-up to the big day is essential. But what is an event timeline? Put simply, it’s an overview of what needs to happen before, during and after your event. It’s something every coordinator should have in their back pocket – after all, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Get your green smoothie ready to go, because it’s time to talk about staying healthy in 2020! So, it’s no secret to anyone that event planners have one of the most stressful jobs in the world. And it’s not uncommon for the events industry to be considered one of the most draining. But our health is something we should always prioritize. So much so that we’ve even done an episode in the past tackling the topic of burnout. And is there a better time than the year 2020 to start getting serious about your health goals?

Planning for your next trade show can be hectic. And sometimes, mistakes can be made when you are trying to juggle several tasks all at once. With that in mind, check out our list of the top mistakes exhibitors make and do you best to avoid them.

Three months ahead of its flagship Frankfurt, Germany, show for meeting and event planners, IMEX Group is promoting the topics and presenters for day one of the May 11-14 event, known as EduMonday. With the organization’s central talking point for 2020 being “Nature: What we can do for nature and what nature can do for us,” a full session track on EduMonday will be devoted to how corporate planners can improve the sustainability of their internal meetings, customer events, road shows, and more.

Libations have been a part of social gatherings for ages, and have certainly been a big to-do in event planning of all types. However, as we continue to shape this new millennium, it’s time to reconsider how we include a growing number of attendees who don’t consume alcohol. Read on for our thoughts on why mocktails and/or booze-free drinks are important, and how to serve them at your next event. 

In a meetings world that is changing faster than the table set-ups from business lunch to gala dinner, event professionals have to be able to spot trends and leverage them quickly to meet the needs of evolving audiences. That is why serial entrepreneur, author and futurist Michael Tschong kicked off the first Smart Meetings Experience of 2020 at Hyatt Regency Renaissance at SFO.

Mental health in the workplace is gaining more attention these days as study after study is revealing how stress can negatively impact employee wellness and performance. As road warriors, there are ways that you can mitigate the strain on your relationships that frequent travel can cause. While you may love your job and don’t mind the travel, being away from family and friends can still take a toll in part due to something called ambiguous loss, which is a term that describes the uncertainty about how a relationship with a loved one may change due to separation. Below are strategies for keeping your relationships strong when your job keeps you apart.

Nearly 60 percent of planners surveyed said that they would be taking steps to address environmental issues at their events, according to the 2020 Events Trends Report recently issued by Eventbrite.

The survey included feedback from 6,800 event and experience planners worldwide—one-third of them from North America—to find out their expectations for 2020. Planners expressed more satisfaction with their jobs and indicated they’re focused on sustainability, inclusivity, and upping the original and immersive nature of their events. The biggest challenge they face is finding ways to involve more attendees.

Overall, the findings present insights into taking no “green” initiative for granted, navigating the needs of an evolving, diverse market and deconstructing the hot term “experiential.”

As sustainability has taken on a new importance in the global meetings and events sector, planners have struggled to make the right decisions to reduce their events’ impact on the environment.

Evidence shows, however, that planners are beginning to make the hard choices to improve their events despite the increased costs that often come with them.

Do you ever get so overwhelmed with work that you start to feel paralyzed? The to-dos keep coming, and you don’t even know where to begin. It’s ALL important, and it all HAS to get done. 

If so, you’re certainly not alone. Even if you’re an extremely organized person, it can be hard to determine what tasks to tackle first. If your to-do list is no longer cutting it, and prioritization is starting to become an issue, try this alternative approach to time and project management.

Any step toward more sustainable meetings and events is a step in the right direction, and new resources created by talent buyer and booking agent Stefan Lohmann, based in Hamburg, Germany, provide some good ideas and food for thought.

Most planners travel a lot. They are productive people, making it happen from California to Paris and everywhere in between. Traditionally, sourcing venues starts when a meeting or event is presented (or assigned), we seek out the right venue and then book the perfect space. One secret for finding that just right venue is maintaining a practice of continually seeking out other spaces to site while traveling.

The Harris Poll’s John Gerzema, who is the CEO of Harris Insights and Analytics, spoke at last year’s CEIR Predict Conference. His session, Trends Shaping Our Future, was the highest-rated session of the conference. Monitoring trends and being proactive in questioning how emerging trends might impact exhibitions are helpful in developing proactive strategies.

You may be vaguely familiar with feng shui (uhm…it’s a Chinese organizing thing, right?). Whether you feel the flow of chi or not, the issues that the practice aims to tackle with energy optimization have scientifically established effects on your performance.

“We have a lot of uncertainty out there,” Mike Dominguez, chief executive officer and president of Associated Luxury Hotels International, started off by stating in the first Smart Meetings’ Accelerator “2020 Hospitality Marketplace: Everything You Need to Know.”