As the business world continues to grow, with multi-national companies opening offices in diverse countries, meetings and industry conferences will require more international travel than ever. But crossing international boundaries can cause concern for some delegates. Will there be a language barrier? How will attendees know where to go? According to a recent white paper, The World of Female Business Travel, 54 percent of respondents stated that they were concerned about cultural etiquette and customs when visiting a different country for business.

I LOVE a good brainstorming session. There’s nothing like great minds coming together to form a new idea or solve a specific problem. But in order to actually do that, the brainstorming has to be, well...good. It needs to be a productive meeting of the minds.

To ensure that happens, be mindful of these five tips.

When I was the newly hired president of Burger King USA, I worked for the late and legendary restaurateur, Norman Brinker. I was in Norman’s office one afternoon after he had seen a memo that I had written to one of our senior leaders. I was noticeably thorough and prescriptive in terms of laying out the course of action, to which Norman offered an alternate approach.

“I saw your memo to so-and-so and have a thought for you,” he said. “Next time, why don’t you just focus on the objective and leave how he gets there up to him?”

He continued, “Two things will happen: one, you’ll find out how smart he is or ain’t, and two, he might just come up with some new ideas you hadn’t thought of.”

That moment 36 years ago has shaped the way I’ve operated ever since, particularly when it comes to mentoring. While many mislabel mentorship as giving advice, there’s much more to it.

This is just one of the top problems Teneo Hospitality Group found in its recent 2019 survey, comprised of responses from 150 meeting planners and hoteliers. The results continue to follow the trends; keeping up with technology is still crucial for successful events, while creativity cannot be lacking if you hope to have an interesting and engaging meeting.

It’s time for meetings to evolve. Meetings are a benchmark of how efficient your company is and also how organized your team is under pressure. It’s easy to forget that meetings are an important element of the customer experience (CX), since they’re just, well…boring. You could have the best website in the world, incredible brand design and a variety of innovative experiences to offer, but these are not the only elements of CX you should be focusing on. If your in-person business meetings do not garner engagement, your customers will be less than impressed. In today’s hyper-competitive market, you absolutely must wow your potential customers if you want to strike a deal or cement a partnership.

Do you spend a lot of time on the road? Do you feel unrested? Perhaps you’ve just switched jobs and you’re looking to overcome the inevitable strain that traveling has on your mind and body.

These tips can be used no matter where you’re going (or how you’re getting there) to help you get more shut-eye.

Oh, the irony! At a session on sustainable meetings at Pharma Forum 2019 at the Marriott Marquis in New York, there were plastic bottles of water on each table. It could have been worse; they were large bottles so that session participants could pour their own drinks into glasses. As session leaders Jennifer Romo Dowd, manager, meetings & conventions at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, and Jody Brandes, group manager at Genentech, made clear, single-use plastic is one of the biggest problems for sustainable events.

Although planners do most of the heavy lifting in designing meetings, suppliers can provide invaluable support by sharing new technologies, strategies for room designs, or unique ideas to help create a memorable and engaging next meeting. No longer are there “basic” clinical investigator meetings, advisory boards, or international congresses. We have rapidly progressed from formulaic meetings to designing events that incorporate an array of engagement tools, neuroscience applications, and advanced event-design concepts.

In a world filled with endless distraction and instant connectivity, planners today are looking for ways to capture attendee attention and keep them fully engaged during long days of meetings. From phone check stations and interactive presentations to choosing a specific destination to disconnect from technology and reconnect with nature, planners can streamline a program in order to make the most impactful experience for attendees.

In 2019, it’s harder than ever to get consumers’ attention. For that reason alone, it’s easy to see why brands are falling in love with experiential marketing. Immersive, live, and memorable, experiential campaigns help deliver your message without distractions. But the strategy lacks a standard definition, which can be confusing when you’re new to it. So, what, exactly, does experiential marketing mean?  Are there different types of experiential marketing? How does it differ from traditional marketing, or from live events more generally? And when is it a good idea to use an experiential strategy over other tactics?

When obtaining a conference budget, there are many facets that can determine your success. The same goes for any operation, possibilities increase with financing. If you represent an association that has just acquired event sponsorship and are looking for ways to maximise on the allocated budget, then carefully considering the following aspects is imperative. Never underestimate your value as an association, along with the value that an organisation will gain by attaching their brand to your conference.

You’ve heard it (and probably seen it) time and time again: Video content is growing in popularity. Now that may either excite you or terrify you, depending on your comfort level with filming video. But the good news is, you really don’t have to have ANY videography experience to put together a top-notch video. All you need is your phone, a vision, and a few best practices in hand.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere these days—from smart assistants, cars and homes to investing, advertising, security and medicine—and it’s evolving rapidly. The travel industry is not immune to the impact of AI. On the contrary, it is fertile ground for new applications and innovations. Travel management companies are increasing their investments in the technology in order to fine-tune the traveler experience and, in turn, achieve their business goals. AI is already making business travel less stressful. It can make baggage tracking more seamless, facilitate hotel check-ins, and help minimize the pain of flight cancellations. Travel managers reap the benefits of AI-enabled and automated business-travel bookings in the form of fast access to the most cost-effective and rewarding options for their travel programs.

Chances are, you’ve already been inspired by (or at least have heard of) Marie Kondo, organizing consultant and author. Through her widely popular books and Netflix series, she’s helping us all create a more tidy, pleasant and peaceful way of living. Her approach? Simple and effective: She suggests gathering all of your belongings by category, holding each piece, one-by-one and evaluating whether or not it “sparks joy.” If it does, keep it, if it doesn’t — say thank you and goodbye.

It’s easy to be in awe of the attendees at Elevate!, the inaugural Association for Women in Events conference. Many at Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C., are among the industry’s brightest and most-driven stars. AWE’s hope is to inspire and promote its members to leadership positions. The fact remains that while women comprise the bulk of the events industry’s planners, a glass ceiling—however cracked—remains atop the ladder. “Make yourself indispensable,” advised Sarah Hurwitz, a former White House speechwriter who was the opening keynote on March 7. Her tip to up-and-comers is sound, but it raises the question whether men have as much work to do to prove their worth.

In early journalism school, I was taught the importance of a good headline. Hopefully this was a good headline to get you interested. What back up or spares do you think of when you read the headline?

Event planning is a mix of fast-paced excitement and mind-boggling stress. You know it’s worth it when you see the smiles on your attendees’ faces — but sometimes it’s hard to remember that feeling during a last-minute crisis. Whether you need to get pumped up to power through an event-day marathon or a tricky sponsorship negotiation, mantras can help you feel centered so you can take action.

United is the first U.S. airline to let its passengers pick a gender option other than male or female when booking tickets. Delta and other carriers said last month that they plan to make similar moves shortly. We’re with they/them.

Writing contracts and negotiating terms with suppliers can be tricky. How do planners protect themselves and their attendees from cancellations? Are attorney fees included? In a recent Smart Meetings webinar, veteran hospitality contracts attorney Lisa Sommer Devlin shared some tips for creating win-win contracts. Here are the contract clauses you shouldn’t do without.

Is your life hectic? It seems that everyone I talk with laments their frenzied life. Have you ever considered that your customer or client is also frenzied? You can add to their frenzy with uncertainty or create an oasis of calm certainty through proactive communication. Proactive communication is a simple technique that will set you apart because of the calming response of the customer’s brain to certainty.

With all the logistics you have to manage for your company’s trade show program, you might feel justified in skipping trade show promotional activities. But that would be like planning a party and not sending out all the invitations. Sure, the show organizer will get people to the show floor.  But it’s up to you to get them to your booth space.

The board of directors for the Las Vegas Convention Center has approved a recommendation to enter into exclusive negotiations with Elon Musk’s Boring Company to construct a proposed loop of underground tunnels with high-speed electric people carriers to whisk convention attendees and workers around the facility. 

As an association or chamber professional, you likely plan a lot of events (or assist your members in their events). But hopefully you’re able to attend a few events of your own for professional development purposes. If you do attend conferences during the year, do you feel like you’re getting your time and money’s worth? What do you do with all that information once you get home? To fully maximize your conference experience, take a look at these four post-event best practices.

You already know the ins and outs of planning an event, but how can you enhance your attendees’ experience and ensure that you’re engaging them before, during, and after the fact?

One answer is to more deeply leverage today’s meeting technologies. While event management software tools offer a smoother and more efficient meeting planning process, they can also improve engagement, build your brand, and provide attendee insights.